The 'something' has been found!

After deciding this little striped dress needed some kind of ribbon sash I trawled the internet and found this beautiful cotton ribbon on Etsy.

I added a couple of belt loops to hold it in place and tied it in a bow at the back. I'm really happy with the result. A lovely springtime dress!

Umming and Ahhing...

About how to best finish this little striped dress for Bea. It needs...something. I'm thinking a sash or ribbon at the waist and I'm liking the colours in this Cath Kidston fabric in the background with the blue stripes.

What I really need is a leisurely browse round VV Rouleaux or The Cloth House but these days with a buggy and toddler in tow such a trip is unlikely!

A sundress on a sunny day

It felt a bit crazy making this little sundress in February but the sun is out today reminding me that it won't be cold and drizzly forever! I feel inspired now to sew some more pretty dresses for Bea's summer wardrobe.

Alphabet

I did this alphabet ages ago and forgot about it but I just found it behind the sofa and took a photo of it. I think the reason I forgot about it is that it is really big and a complete pain to scan in.

Japanese inspiration

Kokka
Kayo Horaguchi for Kikohara

Daiwabo

I've got a couple of sewing projects in mind at the moment, making summer dresses for Bea, so I have been browsing the internet for fabric. I absolutely love modern Japanese fabrics, especially the more illustrative designs. Some of them, like the Little Red Riding Hood one above manage to tell a whole story. Problem is I can't decide which I like best!

Finished dolly blanket

The little crochet blanket I made for Bea's new dolls pram is finished and now keeping Little Red Riding Hood warm.

I really enjoyed the granny stripe, nice and simple to crochet and watch tv at the same time!

Its just a shame Bea is not a fan of dolls at all and prefers to chuck a few megabloks and Peppa Pig figures in there to push about. Nevermind, I get to play with it when shes asleep!

Mini crochet project

I have been working on a little toy blanket to go in a lovely wooden dolls pram that Bea got for christmas. I love crochet blankets and would love to make a full size one one day but thought this teeny one would be good practice for now!

I used Attic 24's granny stripe pattern and made up a border. I have used cheapy acrylic toy yarn and the colours are a lot more garish than they appear in the photos but I quite like that - it looks like its come straight out of the 70's! I have finished the crochet now so just need to block it before I post photos of the final article!

The birthday dress in action

I finally took a quick snap today of Bea wearing the red dress I made her for her birthday. She's not the most cooperative of models and wouldn't stand up but you get the idea! I'm really pleased with the way it turned out and the yarn has become lovely and soft after a few washes. I am planning to make this again as a top.

A personal Christmas gift

This Christmas we put a bit of extra thought and effort into a present for my Mum and her husband and came up with a design for some labels featuring a drawing I did of their house. They like to grow their own vegetables and enjoy making things with them, even entering the village produce show so we thought they might like their very own brand!

We made them a hamper including stickers and tags as well as jars such as the above, a book on making preserves and a few ingredients to get them started. Unfortunately I didn't get to photograph the finished hamper as it wasn't ready until about 10pm the night before we went to stay with them for Christmas!

I would love to have time to make more homemade gifts at Christmas but never get organised in time. Maybe that should be my new year's resolution!

Get out the violins

Happy new year!

Lets start this year with a couple of illustrations I did at the end of the last for US magazine Strings.

I certainly now know more about violins that I ever did before!