Sew Fun!

I had the opportunity to attend Sew Fun's Baby Knits class and had fun making a bib and t-shirt for Baby Nico. It was an abridged version of their Sewing Knits: Ready for Baby class. The class was just three hours long on a Saturday afternoon. I was amazed that we could finish making a t-shirt from scratch in such a short time, given that many in the class were first timers. The class is suitable for beginners. So do not fear if the last time you touched a sewing machine was during your home economics class years back.

I enjoy working with the sewing machine although I am not really good, particularly cos I never really learned to do everything the proper way. I love pretty fabrics and I love being able to turn them into the things I want. Noah is now wearing Nathan's clown costume that I made a few years back and my Hungry Caterpillar Pillow Mattress is still being used. 

It was my first time working with knits. Always stayed away because I thought the stretchy nature was hard to handle. I was glad to learn that it wasn't all that difficult, and I need not stick to woven materials all the time.

The instructor started off by introducing us to the sewing machine and teaching us how to thread the machine. Perfect way to start for beginners. Then we went about our first project - a bandana bib.

My sewing machine for the session

It is a simple project to get us acquainted with the machine. Mostly straight lines. Pretty forgiving. Not too daunting.

Bib in progress

Ta dah! A bandana bib for Nico.

Nico's new bandana bib

In the second half of the class, we worked on our t-shirts. No more pictures of the t-shirt in progress cos I was too busy sewing (and unpicking)! But here's the final product...

The class gave me an opportunity to work with knits and I learned that sewing that t-shirt wasn't as difficult as I imagined it to be.

I think it's about time I sweep off the dust on my sewing machine and start using my fabric stash.

Baby's First Shoes

What did you do with your baby's first pair of shoes after he/she has outgrown them? May we suggest framing them as a memento that will be treasured by generations to come.

Little Impressions is currently having a special offer for first shoes frame.

Solid oak shadow box frame with a pair of baby's first shoes: $38

Solid oak shadow box frame with a pair of baby's first shoes & baby photo: $48

Solid oak shadow box frame with a pair of baby's first shoes & baby's foot print cast (as shown above): $280

Shoes and photographs are provided by customers. Little Impressions will provide full framing service with options to personalise the frame with baby's name.

Check out www.little-impressions.com.sg for more information.

Home-made Clown Costume

The last day of term 1 is Spots & Dots Day in Nathan's school. The children were asked to come dressed in something spotty or dotty, and to be as creative as they can. Nathan decided that he wanted to dress up as a clown. I thought it was a brilliant idea... and my job was to help him create a clown costume.

Thankfully, I had all the materials required at home. I bought an extra plain yellow t-shirt when I was making Noah's birthday t-shirt. The Fox Outlet store at Anchorpoint carried plain t-shirts in several bright colours. I liked that there wasn't even a logo that I had to hide. The spots were stuck on using Heat n Bond Lite and sewn in place using a sewing machine. Since it was a clown costume, it didn't quite matter that the stitches were slightly crooked. Adds character! Also made suspenders and a bow tie out of red and white polka dotted fabric that I had in my stash.

The final result...

A smiley clown

A clown deep in thought

Hmm... my nose is a little too big

The clown's cousin Marissa

The clown and his chef friend 

The clown and his cousin

Nathan actually asked me to make spotty clown pants and to paint his face as well. Urm... I think we'll save that for another time. :P

A Hungry Caterpillar Pillow Mattress

My boys have been sleeping in their own cots since they were born, and in their own rooms since they were 5 to 6 months old. I like this arrangement because everyone sleeps better, I get some time to wind down after I've tucked them in bed, and can choose to read a book before I turn in.

Noah likes me to stay in the room while he's falling asleep, so I usually lie on the floor while waiting for him to fall asleep. Though it doesn't usually take more than 5 minutes, I sometimes doze off and wake up with cramps on my hips. :/

I came across this pillow mattress cover idea on Pinterest recently and thought it'd be perfect for me. A mattress would be too much trouble, takes up too much space, and is difficult to store. With this pillow mattress cover, I just need to use 4 regular sized pillows, and they can easily fit into any of my cupboards when I want to put it out of sight. :)

I bought 2 metres of the hungry caterpillar material and 1 metre of the solid lime green material. Used french seams for the whole project.

4 pillows - just the right length for me

The hungry caterpillar...

and all the food he ate.

Yay! No more bad back. They boys love it too.

T-Shirt for the Birthday Boy

For Nathan's 3rd birthday last year, I ordered his birthday t-shirt from Etsy. This year, I decided to make Noah's birthday t-shirt myself. His favourite cartoon character right now is Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story. With some inspiration from Pinterest, here's what I came up with...

It was my first attempt at machine appliqué and his name proved to be too complex for me to handle. I ended up sewing that by hand.

Made one for the big brother as well...

I managed to use bigger letters for 'Nathan' so machining that was still possible.

Not too bad for my first attempt at machine appliqué yah?

Cardboard Car

Nathan and I made a car out of cardboard a few days ago... 

With a cardboard box, construction paper, lots of glue and scotch tape, a rafia string... some inspiration, and some creativity, here's our final product.

With the driver... the helmet is Nathan's idea... he was watching the F1 races on TV, and learnt that F1 drivers wear helmets... so he insisted that I helped him put on his bicycle helmet.

The car tilts forward no matter how I adjust it because it is front heavy. There's even a steering wheel which I made from the cover of a milk powder tin!

And this morning, he drove himself to school...

Have you heard of Caine's Arcade? A 9 year old boy actually made a whole arcade out of cardboard. Very impressive! I haven't showed Nathan the cardboard arcade just yet... not till he's older and can do most of the construction himself. :)