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.

Op Shop Treasures

I'm trying not to go op shopping today as I've just spent a ridiculous amount of money on groceries (necessary) and petrol (also necessary) and am feeling a bit poor (probably unnecessarily).

So here are some finds from recent times instead.

This little mosaic table came from the Salvos at Sandgate for $8.

I just love this tin! It's full of old cams from a sewing machine, which may not be much use, but the tin will be. It came from Deagon Secondhand.

I actually got this a couple of months ago and have barely taken it off since. It's a little rose from the Salvos at Sandgate and from memory, it cost around $5.

And the best find was the baby's bassinet, also at the Salvos at Sandgate. I love that store. It was $90, but worth every penny in my book. I just love it.

Rocking Reindeer

Blogging... I'm not sure why I still do it. I'm not much of a blogger any more. I hardly write anything, I rarely comment on anyone else's (although I do read them) and I don't participate in blog events.

I think I just mainly do it for myself - to spur myself to keep taking photos of my life and to keep documenting things I make and places I spend time.

But every time I feel the urge to post something, I go through this internal debate about what the point is. Then I generally post anyway.

So here I am, posting. I have no idea why.

Here is a recent creation, a play mat I made last weekend. It has a quilted underside and is quite cute if I do say so myself. Only thing is I forgot to pre-shrink the fabrics, so I just know that the first time I wash it they'll all shrink to different sizes and it'll get twisted out of shape.

I guess I just can't wash it. Babies don't make much mess, right?



In case you're wondering why Maisie is tied to the veranda, we'd just been for a walk and she was muddy and couldn't come inside. She also can't go in the backyard as she's worked out an escape route and Dan hasn't had a chance to block it yet.

So she's just hanging on the veranda, watching the world go by.



This here is the humble beginnings of the baby's room. Much work still to do, obviously. Six weeks to do it in.

The rug is yet another from the stockpile they're selling at Lifeline for $25 a pop (I've bought four now), and the rocking reindeer came courtesy of the side of the road - a friend picked it up on council pick up day.

I think it's amazing what people will chuck into landfill. Dan thinks it's amazing what people will try and salvage from it.

We just agree to disagree - and disinfect.

Royal

This is Royal, a little pup who came to stay with us recently while his owners were up the coast.



He missed them terribly and spent a lot of time hanging by the front door waiting for their return.

Maisie seemed to think he was a stuffed toy and kept whacking him on the head waiting for him to squeak, so I'm not surprised he was a little homesick.