Tales From the Box

I am notorious for having stacks of magazines piled around the house.

I love to pull out a stack every now and then, and flip through them to get a regular dose of inspiration. It’s really just an excuse to look at pretty things.

So far the Widg has been pretty good with “no touching” the ones within his reach. Considering he quite enjoys tearing paper.

However, a lot of my inspiration these days is online. I follow a lot of blogs – everything from interiors and decorating, photography and typography, to sewing and crafts. But how do you “store” the images you find online, so that you can peruse them again and again when the mood strikes? I have gone through various phases of bookmarking, even saving the links onto a google doc. Now, finally, some interwebby genius has come up with the answer. Pinterest. And it’s not just for fancy-pants home decorating ideas. You can pin anything to your boards, whatever you are interested in. For example, if you were interested in collecting rare and unique spoons, well, you could pin pictures of them to your boards. You could have different boards for different types of spoons. A board for wooden spoons, one for ladles, one for teaspoons.

I’m finding it very useful. There’s more information about it here (and they explain it better than me).

I made these pants for Noah using a new pattern, but they ended up being too small. They fit him around the bum and thighs, but they’re a bit too short.

I miscalculated the measurements and forgot to add length for hems and waistbands. Rookie mistake.

These ones (above) are actually a black and white seersucker fabric that I found in Vinnies for 50 cents. I was hoping to replicate something like this. I will try again another time.

These ones (above) are actually a really fine corduroy that I got from Spotlight. Love the monkey heads. And (below) a super soft flannelette with bicycles. Very cute.

I have gifted them all to a friend from mothers group who’s little boy is younger and smaller than the Widg. I have plenty of the fabric left, so I plan to re-draw the pattern and try again. I know the print on the fabrics is a little kitchy, but I figure there’s only a very small window in a little boy’s life where he can get away with wearing monkeys and bicycles on his pants. I intend to make the most of that window.

UPDATE: I have since re-made the pattern and the pants. I can report that they fit very nicely indeed.

My first project when Olga came into our lives was to make runners for the dressing tables in our bedroom. And I had one main reason for wanting runners: I was sick of dusting. Yes, you heard me. I’m confessing my complete laziness right here in public.

I love our Malm dressers, I love the crisp white furniture. But I hate the fact that you can see the dust quite clearly just 2 days after cleaning them. So I figure if I make 2 sets of runners, I can just swap them out every week or so, have one on the dressing tables and one in the wash.

No, my husband’s dressing table does not usually look like this. He is human after all.

To make the runners I simply measured up the fabric and overlocked the edges. That’s it. Took me all of 10 minutes. Awesome. Of course they look home made. But I don’t care – they ARE home made.

My dressing table occasionally looks like this. It usually has a hairbrush and hairdryer on it. Some random jewellery that I haven’t put away. Some of the Widg’s toys.

Here is a detail shot of the fabric. I still need to find some different fabric to make a second set. I’m looking for something with geometric shapes in colours that will match our various doona covers, and overall, something cheap. I am anticipating getting bored with looking at the same pattern all the time, so if I have 2 options, I can change them when the mood strikes.