Well that was a tough one! (AKA Thank God its finished)

Yay, normal service has resumed! My back is still a little sore, especially when I've been up in the night feeding Baby Pickle, but I have a full range of movement again, so I can craft!

So I got the Farbenmix Jule pattern for my birthday. It's great, such a pretty little top. I dyed up some jersey especially to match the Big Little Pickle's eyes (she looks super cute in turquoise bless her), and cut out all the pieces.

But then I got stuck. The pattern was originally in German, and the English instructions seemed to lose some essential information in translation. I fell at the first hurdle. I searched the trusty net for help, surely somebody must have had the same problem as me and decided to enlighten others?????? But no :( I even emailed the lovely Nancy of Studio Tantrum, who tried her best to help. But I am a novice, and all the talk of interfacing, pocket facings and such like had me scratching my head. Especially as what was meant to be the pocket didn't look deep enough to be a pocket at all! I was confused (doesn't take much if I'm honest lol). So I put it away in a bag and got on with other things. I periodically did a search to see if anyone had posted anything new, but I just didn't have the motivation to work it out.

Then somehow, out of the blue, I found some determination. If theres one thing I'm good at with my sewing it's winging it. So I decided to do just that :) I jumped in feet first and guess what? I actually worked out how to do it right! Once I got past the pocket problem I flew through it, and had it completed in less than two hours. Best part is, unlike the dresses I have made her, Pickle will actually wear it! Go me!

So, for anyone needing a quick tutorial, here it is :)

The pocket facing (the little strip shaped like a U) needs to be reinforced with some fusible interfacing (I used fuse-a-web). It then needs the bottom edge (the outside of the U so to speak) overlocked, or just zigzag stitched if, like me, you have no proper overlocking facility. This U shape is then sewn onto the front bottom pattern piece (the one you chopped the semi-circle chunk out of), right sides together along the top edge (the inside curve of the U). Then turn it right side in. Top stitch along the bottom seam of the U, so you have a decorative stitch on the outside of the larger piece. Then stitch the two bottom front pieces together. And voila! You have a pocket :)

Ok, I should have taken pictures as I went. But if anyone has any questions you can ask me direct, I'll try my best to help out :)

Next up is a waterproof jacket for Boy Pickle, out of my "Sewing clothes kids love" book. I'm looking forward to making something that will get pretty much every day wear (don't ya just love English weather :-D). I'll try to remember to take photos as I go this time, but I'm not promising! Sometimes I just have to get my head down and get on with it, otherwise I'd never get anything done :)

Stay crafty,

Kelly :0)

Panda-Bums and pulled muscles

Things have been busy in the land of the pandas lately. The children are back at school/pre-school, and yet I don't seem to have any more time for crafting than I did before. Not sure how that works!

Anyway, since last november or so, when I started to make nappies, I have referred to my endevours as Panda-Bums. Now that I am making more and more clothes, I thought it was time for me to develop my own brand identity. I decided that t-shirt transfer paper and twill tape was the way to go. I just needed a unique design to print onto them.

Cue Polo the Panda, supermodel. I posed her on a chair on a white t-shirt, with her back to the camera, and snapped away.

Then I played around with the image a bit, trying to find the right look for my labels.



I finally settled on this one :

Then, I edited it in my trusted Microsoft Digital Image Suite (ok ok, it's not Photoshop, but it works for me!) and printed it out onto my transfer paper.

Then I cut each one out, and ironed them, one by one, onto a stip of twill tape. Then i cut them out and, taa-daa!

The end result:



I'm really pleased with them, and can't wait to start sewing them into my creations :) But that'll have to wait, because i've pulled my trapezium muscle (a whiplash-type injury the dr says) and can't sew :'( Or knit, or even pick the pickles up, so woe is most definitely me!

On that note, i'll leave you!

Stay crafty ;0)

Kelly.x

Testing for Mother and Baby awards - Charlie Banana nappy review

Well now that I'm all done and my reviews are submitted, i can confess what i have been doing for the last month. I've been testing reuseable nappies, breastfeeding products and baby feeding products for the M&B awards!!!

I love my cloth, so it was great to get the chance to test some nappies that i wouldn't otherwise have used. My favourite by a mile were the Charlie Bananas. A really versatile one size nappy system that is brand new on the market, they come in a range of very funky colours and the choice of one or two reuseable inserts or a disposable one. Now i was a bit disappointed with two things. Firstly the disposable option. If i wanted to use something which is peed on and thrown in the bin I'd give my money to Pampers or Huggies and basically throw it in the bin. I don't see the need for a reuseable nappy with a disposable insert (paper liners are ok in my opinion, as they are flushable and biodegradable). And the reuseable inserts are microfibre, where i would have preferred a more natural option such as bamboo. But neither of those things takes away from the fact that these nappies are fabulous! The sizing system in a step away from all those "Popper down to make smaller" nappies. Instead it has buttonhole elastic running down the sides, and you do it up on the relevant hole for the size. Its very easy to do, and because its hidden away the asthetics of the nappy are much improved. I will add pics when they are out of the wash :)

I found the fit on my skinny-baby-with-pot-belly-and-chunky-thighs very good, with no leg gape and no cutting in either. She seemed to love them too, posing happily for me to take her picture!

They were very generous with their testing kit too. I received 3 nappies with both inserts, a pack of disposable inserts, a wetbag and some reuseable wipes. The wipes feel supersoft and work great, so i had to give them a mention too :) Whilst they are not "pretty" like the WAHM wipes you can buy they do the job very well.

I have emailed Charlie Banana to tell them how much i love their product, and they have promised to let me know when they go on general sale in the UK and where will stock them, so i will update as soon as i know. Trust me, if you love cute funky cloth, you need some of these :) Plus i hear they do funky boy prints too, very hard to find! 

But until then, i am rather enjoying having the jump on the rest of the cloth nappy UK community ;)

Kelly.x

Analytical Armadillo: Brugo Mug Giveaway!! International Offer

I'm loving these mugs, flamingo pink is my fave :) I've often left my tea to go cold because Baby pickle needs a feed, and wants it RIGHT NOW, so this would be the perfect solution for me.

I think i may have to buy one if i don't manage to win one :)Analytical Armadillo: Brugo Mug Giveaway!! International Offer: "Ok I said when I got 300 Facebook fans I would give a nifty little something away - so how about a couple of Brugo Mugs? One thing I disti..."

Summer holidays are over.......its been a busy one!

So thats that over and done with! I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad. Glad to have time to draw breath though thats for sure!

Me and the Pickles have been busy over the last 6 weeks. I have completed Boy pickle's hoodie, and dyed up more BV for one for Big Little pickle. We've made sock monkeys and various bags, baked, iced and knitted. It's been fun :)

But now we are back to reality. School runs, and morning dramas. Forgotten lunches (Big Pickle) and lost glasses (Boy pickle). Theres never a dull moment in this house.....I wouldn't have it any other way :)

Just some of our creations :)

Stay crafty,

Kelly.x

When you wish upon a star........

Tinkerbell
Originally uploaded by keljbj

I've had this costume tute saved to my favourites for ages, ever since the Hubby stumbled across it whilst searching the net for something completely unrelated lol. Big little pickle is into Tinkerbell in a big way, so it seemed ideal for her. I ordered the fabric from fleabay (one-stop shop for all your fabric needs ;)) and had cut out the body piece, but then got distracted by other projects!


So last night, whilst the Hubby was playing with his virtual friends on the x-box (as he is right now, and always :/) i took the plunge and finished it off.


I'm quite pleased with it, although she complained that the tutu was itchy, and as usual wouldn't smile for a photo!

Tutorial can be found here, although i did make some modifications.

Big little pickle inspired piddle pad, AKA the Pickle pad

Camera Plus
Originally uploaded by keljbj
So last night we are driving back from Tesco. Big little pickle, recently potty trained, pipes up with "I need a weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee". So the Hubby and I say all the usual stuff, "We'll be home soon", "Big girls hold it and don't wee in their knickers" etc. But Boy pickle has other ideas. He whispers to her (we found out later) that it's ok to wee-wee your knickers as long as you're sitting down. So we get home to a very wet little girl......and a sopping carseat.

So, while the Hubby puts the shopping away, there i am wrestling with the thing, trying to extract the covers for washing. I can tell you now, Britax should branch out into costumes for escapologists. It's all but impossible to get those things off! Eventually, much child-friendly expletives later, i manage to free the seat from it's clothing, and in the wash it went.

But i was left pondering. There must be an easier way. So, an idea forming, i dug through my fabric boxes and came up with the equipment needed to make a pee-proof liner for the carseat. And hey presto - the Pickle Pad was born!

It took me half an hour to cut out and sew. I did have a few issues, it's not the tidiest it could be, but it fits in the seat and, hopefully, does the job :)

I will post a tute with how to make one if i ever get another minute to myself!

Baby pickle is now waking up from her nap, so my peace and quiet is shattered!

Stay crafty,

Kelly.x

Soap felting

Yep, it's me again :) Today Big Pickle and I have been felting soap. We had great fun, with froth and bubbles going everywhere. Big Pickle has been a bit.....grumpy lately, flying off the handle over every little things and doing the whole pre-teen "Everyone hates me" thing, so it was nice to spend a little quality time, just us. Never mind the fact that she got soap bubbles in my hair, leaving me looking like the abominable snowman, we bonded.....job done :)

The soap itself could have gone better, but i think for a first attempt we didn't do too bad! Next time i might let Boy Pickle and Big Little Pickle have a go. I may need to invest in full-body waterproofs first though ;)

Dyeing and patchwork........and children running wild!

Well the summer holidays are here, and with them comes the rain! I'm sure the elements conspire against me, ensuring i'm cooped up in a very small house with four monsters who just want to go outside.

Still, bad weather means plenty of crafty time. The big pickle and I made finger paints the other day, using a recipe kindly posted on the Cloth Nappy Tree forum. It didn't go well to be honest, we ended up with coloured jellified gloop, but it got her out of her pre-teen "I'm leaving home" strop, so alls good :)

I have been doing some dyeing. I had some bv arrive (finally) from fleabay, so of course i didn't waste any time getting it in a dye bath! I had some room in my tub so i threw in some scraps of material i had left over from upcycling a few old t-shirts into bags (will post pics and how i did it another day), as well as one of the Hubby's old white tees, which i intended to upcycle into something nice for one of the girls. The bv was intended to make an Imke hoodie for Big Little pickle, a pattern out of my birthday-present book, Sewing clothes kids love (by the ladies behind Farbenmix and Studio Tantrum, home of some of my fave patterns). But it didn't turn out quite as girly as i expected, so i think it's now going to be for the boy pickle. Luckily the pattern can be for either gender lol.

On the plus side, the Hubby's t-shirt came out very funky, and he immediately nabbed it back for himself.

My other new project is a patchwork taggy for baby pickle, using some fab scraps i got from Ems at http://www.puddlekins.com/shop/ . I can't finish it properly yet, as i'm waiting for some minkee from a co-op to go on the other side, but it's nice to feel i'm making progress :)

Not sure how much bigger i'll make it, i've got loads of scraps left!

I will attempt to update with pics of my progress on the hoodie, children allowing :)

Keep crafty,

Kelly.x :0)

Well this is all new to me!

So....here i am! Adding something else to my ever-growing to-do list. Am i insane? Possibly! But whats life without a touch of madness?!

Let me introduce myself. I'm Kelly, I'm a 31 (soon to be 32, how did that happen???) year old Mummy-to four. My life is a hectic round of schoolruns, playdates, coursework, housework and mess. Sometimes i have time to sew, or knit. Sometimes i don't. But i love it all the more for the lack of attention. I'm always up for trying something new, so crafty blogs have been my inspiration.

I'm hoping to be able to write down my ideas and share my love of all things crafty, as well as my pride in my most important role of all...Mother to my beautiful little pickles. If i can inspire someone along the way...well then all the better.

What else is there to say, but Welcome!

Kelly.x