Hive of Activity

I had to meet Dan at our house (we're not living there any more) to meet a carpet salesman today and the place was a hive of activity.

Lucinda and I sought refuge from the crowds of tradies on the upstairs deck, but I did duck around and take a few photos.

As you can see, there's still a fair way to go until the work's done and we can rent the place out, but progress is being made.



















Lucinda found it all hilarious.

I just want it to be done so Dan's around on the weekends again.

Between this place and Karra'd Away, it's now been more than a year since he's NOT been away most weekends.

The end is in sight though, or so he assures me.

Op Shop Dollhouse

I ummed and ahhed about whether to stop into the local Lifeline Superstore on my way home today.

Lucinda was getting tired and I was keen to get home, but I decided a quick browse might be OK.

I'm so glad I did. This dollhouse was up the back of the shop, along with another even larger one which I left there for someone with a bigger house than ours...

It's handmade and was for sale for $49.

A good clean and a few nails and it'll be looking miles better already, but I do plan to paint it eventually.

Good thing Lucinda's still a fair way off appreciating it - gives me plenty of time to bring it to life for her!

Lazy Weekend

You gotta love a lazy weekend. Nodding off on the couch, lazy afternoon naps in bed and wearing the same pants, two days in a row.

Saturday:

Sunday:

I hope your weekend was as lazy as Lucinda's.

Making Baby Pants

I've been sewing a lot in the evenings recently, particularly now I have a little lady to make things for.

In fact, she's wearing pants and a top I made for her in this photo.

I have so many gorgeous fat quarters that I buy and never use, so I decided to make a few pairs of simple baby pants from them.

You can easily make these pants from two fat quarters, depending on whether you grade it up or down.

I dug out my copy of Simple Sewing for Babies by Lotta Jansdotter*.

There is a pattern for simple baby pants in there but they were miles too big for Lu, who is just moving from a size 000 to a size 00. So, I took a pair of her 00 pants and measured the outside leg from waistband to ankle.

I measured the outside pattern leg and worked out that Lu's pants were 70 percent the size of the pattern on that seam. I then worked out 70 percent of all the other seams, which is why some of the measurements below are a little niggly (11.5 centimetres, for example)

And I came up with my own pattern:

You can see the dimensions on the pattern above. With the leg and crotch area, I just measured the two straight sections and drew a curve between them.

From there, I cut two pieces on the fold and stitched the sides, with a 1.5cm seam allowance (included in the pattern above).

I put elastic in the top and, hey presto, new pants!

They were so quick and easy to make. I think, including re-drafting the pattern, this took me less than two hours.

She has several pairs now.

Lucinda

So, obviously this blog is dangerously neglected. But I thought I'd do a quick photo update with the new arrival...

This is Lucinda, born on 27 June.

We are both hopelessly in love with her.