NIKKI-SHELL

4

Today this little girl turned 4.  She has been patiently waiting and counting down the days for over a month now.  Every night as she went to bed she would count with much concentration on her fingers how many days there were to go.  I love how excited she was and could see the sheer joy in her face as she thought about her birthday.  I love that her wishes for her birthday were for a pretty dress, a doll made by Mammy, a painting from Daddy and a visit to the park for a picnic.

Her dress is from Burda magazine.  I had an image in my head of a simple dress dip dyed with the colour turning from light pink to dark pink.  It didn't turn out like the image in my head, my dip dying needs a little work but Esme is happy with the outcome and i'll try it again.  One thing i need to remember is to use a cotton thread that will dye with the fabric.  I'll be trying this again, maybe some tie dying too!

I finished the doll at 1:30am this morning.  Nothing like a last minute rush!!  It was the hair that took so long, the yarn is fuzzy so sewing it to the head took forever, lots of tangles, sore fingers and thumb and me swearing like a sailor.  But, it was all worth it, Esme loves her 'Little Esme'.  She has already put in an order for more outfits, i think she at least needs knickers, a jacket, shoes and a hat.

Happy birthday beautiful girl!  You drive me and your Dad crazy on a daily basis but we'd be lost without you.

A garden visitor

A few weekends ago we had breakfast in the garden and were joined by this beautiful creature.

It stayed for quite some time

and didn't seem to mind us getting up close

The girls were in awe...i was too.

Found it!

In the move i misplaced my camera battery charger and eventually the battery died.  I finally found it yesterday in a bucket filled with other random pieces of crap that we had collected from around the house after all the boxes had been moved.  Tonight i downloaded almost 4 weeks worth of photographs! 

Today i want to show you a refashion i did this weekend.  The girls have a pushchair for their dolls/teddies/each other and the seat had torn from wear and tear.  So, instead of throwing it away i took the seat apart and made a pattern then cut and sewed a new one from some stash fabric and trim and reused the D-rings from the old seat. 

I'm pretty pleased with the results and the girls were too, they fought over who got to play with it first when they discovered it yesterday morning.

Can't touch this!

Finally FINALLY we have internet access at home!!  What should have been 7-10 days turned into 2 and a half weeks due to an error with the phone company giving us a new number then deciding they needed to change it when the internet transfer was halfway done.  I was able to check my emails on my phone or at work but started to feel a little antsy after a week or so.  Not being able to check my bank account or what time the next train is or just look something up just showed how dependent we have become on the internet.  I've been wanting to post on my blog, check Wardrobe Refashion and work on BurdaStyle stuff.  Kev has had serious withdrawal, he turned into a grump, complaining of the lack of internet and would disappear off to the internet cafe down the street at any given opportunity to check his Ebay auctions.

Anyway, we're pretty much settled into our new place after a very stressful few weeks.  I have my sewing room unpacked and have managed to do some sewing.  Last night i made up a pair of harem pants using McCalls pattern 5858.  I'd seen Sandramary's version on BurdaStyle and bought the pattern the next day.  I wasn't too sure about the whole baggy MC Hammer style so I decided to make them from stash fabric to see how they turned out.  

So rather than this:

They turned out like this:

 

I made version B in size 8 and added just less than an inch to the side seams and they fit perfectly.  The only thing I'd change is the bagginess around the bum, a little too much in my opinion but they are oh so comfy!!!

Oh and just to show you how baggy they are.........

Lisa and I were crying laughing after this. ;)

It's good to be back.xx