Tales From the Box

I really should have taken some “before” pics, just to show you how bad my old ironing board cover was. To give you an idea, my husband made fun of how “shiny” the fabric had become, and a friend asked if I had set it on fire. It was one of those things that you don’t really notice until someone draws your attention to it. When I took the old cover off, the fabric was as stiff as a board (pun not intended, but couldn’t really be helped). Ridiculous.

And I know I could have just bought another cover, but I found a tutorial for making one, so I gave it a go. It’s pretty self-explanatory (use the old cover as the pattern, cut, sew a casing for the thread or elastic). Except that I’m impatient and wasn’t concentrating, and made it a bit too small. Technically it does fit, but it bugs me, so I think I’ll make another one.

The hardest part was threading the elastic through the casing, simply because it was so long. But I love the result, it almost makes ironing enjoyable. Oh, and the fabric is from Ikea.

So the weather here at the Box has been getting milder. There is still the odd cooler day where I need a cardigan, but overall, we are heading into t-shirt weather.

I love the top of this kid’s head.

The Widg has quite the little collection of jeans and winter pants, thanks to some thrifty shopping (St Vinnies, markets, Big W, etc). But he is lacking in warmer-weather pants. Not quite shorts weather yet, but getting a bit warm for jeans.

You can see where this is going: I made some more pants.

He grew out of the last batch before winter hit. So it was time to draw up a new pattern for a slightly larger child. I think this pattern (and this batch of pants) will last longer than previously, as he isn’t growing as fast anymore. He is mainly growing in height, so I figure I can just roll up the pants as he grows and then they will become shorts (or I could actually take them up, depends how lazy I feel).

The green pears I have made before, but I love the stretch cotton fabric (and I had heaps left) so I made some more. The blue and white stars fabric I found at a St Vinnies store for maybe 50c, and the black and white check is some really cheap cotton from Spotlight (very cheap – a little tricky to sew with, but I managed).

I also found some great check fabrics in different colours – I love this green and brown. It actually has a very fine aqua stripe through it too, which is awesome. And I found some more of this orange and blue check that I have used previously.

I have also added little pockets to the back of some of the pants, just because it’s a little bit fancy.

It’s a shocking photo (husband is the wicked photographer, not so much me), but I hope you can see the little tags I have been putting into the back of the waistband (sometimes it’s hard to tell the front from the back of the pants when dressing the little man).

Here is my pants model wearing the black and white check:

I will have to take some pics of the little guy wearing the actual pants. If for no other reason than to prove that they actually function as pants. And any excuse to show my sweet little boy.

Sorry for the break in transmission folks, it’s been a little busy here at the Box lately. Nothing too exciting going on, just life in general. Birthdays and visitors and car repairs and all of us catching the cold and sharing it around.

I have been doing a little bit of sewing (just more pants for Noah really), but I have heaps of ideas for new projects and never enough time to try them all out. Now that the Widg is crawling I can really only sew when he’s sleeping. But I usually find a bazillion other things that need doing when he’s sleeping (like cooking, cleaning, showering), so sewing gets put to the bottom of a long list. Bummer.

I wanted to share this little gem with you: the lovely and sweet hubster gave me these very cute tea towels as part of my Mothers Day present (yes, way back in May).

But before you get all “he bought you tea towels?“, his words as he handed them to me were “I thought you could sew something nice out of these”. He knows me well.

I really love the colours and the prints, but I have no idea what to turn them into. Thoughts? Ideas? C’mon people, I need your help!

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.

I would like to introduce to you, dear readers, our newest addition to the Box – Olga the Overlocker.

For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, an overlocker is a sewing machine that produces a special type of stitching to prevent fabric from fraying over time. If I’ve already lost you, don’t worry, that’s where I stop explaining.

I have a little bit of a crush on Olga (hence why I named her). She has literally already changed my sewing life – and I barely know how to use her properly yet. She just makes things so much easier, and she actually makes me look like a better sewer than I really am. She was purchased from Aldi, for the bargain price of $199. No, that’s not a typo.

This (below) is the trusty Brother machine that I am currently using. She doesn’t have a name because technically she isn’t mine. She is on loan from my mum, but I hope to save up and get my own one day. Maybe Santa will bring me one. But until then, the loaner is performing just fine.

Before I got the overlocker, I had never used one before, so I decided to practice on a few projects that were really simple (basically just straight lines). This first one is just a runner or cover for the coffee table. The fabric is from Ikea by the way. And yes, that is my morning coffee on the table.

Then I made some runners for our dressing tables in the bedroom (below). There is more to this story, but that’s another blog post. For now, just say “ah yes, I see.” Excellent. Moving on.

So here are my 2 workers (below), side by side on my sewing table. Oh, and the absolutely best thing about Olga so far? Not only did she arrive fully threaded, but to rethread her all I have to do is tie the end of the new spool to the end of the old one, and keep sewing – she rethreads herself! (For anyone out there that knows how difficult and annoying it is to rethread an overlocker, with 4 spools, you will understand my excitement. Everyone else is just thinking “so?”. Trust me, it’s a big deal). Not sure if you can do this special threading trick with all overlockers. I do feel blessed though.

I hope to log many more sewing miles with Olga.

I received these lovely mugs for Christmas (thanks Harris’s) and I absolutely love them.

Essentially, they are just mugs, like any other. Granted, they are pretty, and when stacked they make a geisha doll. Adorable, no?

But there is something so satisfying about drinking my morning and evening cups of tea from them. They are so cheerful, I actually think they make the tea taste better. Well, they must be good- the husband has even taken to using them!

On another note, I am going to Ikea tomorrow, where I will scope out the fabrics – they are ridiculously cheap and very cool. Exhibit A:

(from Ikea)

Exhibit B:

(from Ikea)

And these ones:

(from Ikea)

(from Ikea)

I am very excited (so is the Widg) – I will be dreaming about new sewing projects all night!

I made pants! Cute little baby pants for the little man.

I am getting quite good at this sewing thing. Well, to my standards anyway. It’s very exciting. Every time I make something new, and it actually works out, I do a little happy dance, show the finished item to the husband and say “Look what I just made!” like a giddy little kid. Pathetic, I know. But I really am quite pleased with my efforts.

I have been scouring the net looking for patterns (there are heaps of free ones out there. This one is the best.) Then I used some of the Widg’s store-bought pants to check for size and shape, and drew up my own pattern. I made a few test pieces out of an old pillow case, tried them on him and made a few adjustments from there. And I have found the cutest little fabrics for kiddies at Spotlight. And this is the end result!

They are a little big on the Widg, but he will grow into them before I can say “cute butt”.

I love that I can make as many as I like (they only take about half an hour each, now that I’ve got the hang of it). They are really cheap to make (depending on the fabric you buy of course) and I can adjust them to fit with his cloth nappies, which is great. Plus I can easily adjust the pattern to make them bigger as he grows.

Now that I know I can make these, I might venture into something a little more complicated.

I don’t actually need any sympathy. It was just a good title. Anyhoo, I have been a busy little sewing bee. I have been mug-rugging up a storm. Ok, enough with the twaddle. My point is, I have made a few more mug rugs.

I am pleased to report that my skills are improving slightly with each new one I make.

Although I am still not going to call myself “good” at it yet. I would say “competent at best”.

However I am thoroughly enjoying the process. Lots of fun is being had. I have been using that new-fangled thing that is the interweb to find tutorials on binding and the like (here and here).

And the husband is so supportive (he indulges me) that he asked me to make some for him too. Very sweet.

Now it’s time to take a break from mug-rugging to get to a few new projects (ssshhh, it’s a surprise. I’ll tell you later). But I do have plans to make some more mug rugs for specific people as gifts (nope, not telling).

I have a dirty little secret. I wish I could quilt. Yes, you heard right. Quilt.

Anyone who knows me is probably laughing right now. For a few reasons. Firstly, I’m not crafty or even particularly creative. All of my creative ideas I pretty much steal from other sources and maybe tweak a little bit. Secondly, I tend to get obsessively enthusiastic about a new project or hobby, then get bored with it really quickly and drop it like a hot potato.

So when I set up the sewing machine several months ago, I was totally realistic with myself. I assumed I would have a bit of fun for a month or so, then never go back to it again. I made a few drawstring bags and some toys for the Widg, and I quite enjoyed it. Then we were having some visitors throughout December and January so I packed the sewing machine away to make the Box a bit more child-friendly. It was at this point that I thought to myself “I’ll probably never set it up again”.

But I actually found myself itching to get back into it. I’ve been trawling blogs looking for projects to sew and getting all excited about it.

I won’t give away my ideas just yet (I’d be terribly embarrassed if I shared the goss now, only to chicken out and not do it). But I will show you my first attempt for 2011: a mug rug!

A what? (I hear you ask). A mug rug. Essentially a coaster, but a bit bigger. For holding a cup of hot something and a couple of biscuits.

These things are all over the net – just google “mug rug” and you’ll see them everywhere.

(from a cuppa and a catch up)

(from pin. sew. press.)

They’re really just a mini quilt, which is why I love them. I get to make lots of little quilts, which satisfy my urge to make something, but they’re not a huge project (like a real, full-size quilt) that I would quickly get bored with and lose interest.

I’m pretty happy with my first attempts (I made 3 actually), although I recognise that there is a lot of room for improvement. I hope to make many more, and get better with each one.