Happy & Sad in the Sunshine

We have been enjoying the most amazing week of sunshine and warmth and open doors and open windows and playing in water and playing in tents and garden picnics and ice cream and exposed arms and legs and feet.

The girls and I have hardly been inside all week.  This is the kind of weather I love.  Sunshine and fresh air on our skin.  Warm air, allowing doors and windows to be open right until we go to bed.  Curtains staying open to enjoy the late evening light.

Sleeping with windows open.  Sleeping under sheets (no duvets) and quilts.

Perfect...in every way.

The paeony had opened up.  Almost fully.  That colour!

Yesterday the wind picked up and Ava's tent started blowing around a little.  Next thing it was in the flower garden...where The Paeony lives.  In the blink of an eye, my beautiful paeony was de-capitated.

Petals thrown to the ground.

It must have been quite a fragile flower, because my initial thought was that I could put the broken flower in a bowl of water.  It wasn't to be, with petals strewn e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.

If our neighbours hadn't been in their garden, I would have howled.

If the girls hadn't been with me, I would have cried.

Sigh...what a waste....

{Get your little person a similar pair of baby hot-pants that Chloe is wearing!  So soft and comfy and cool in this warm weather.  If you would prefer a different fabric or ruffles or appliqué on the butt, let's have a chat.  I have other fabric in my stash and would gladly send you a photo for you to choose from.}

Trainee Photographer

To distract Ava while taking photo's for my 2 new Spring Dresses today, I gave her my phone.  She is an expert photographer on that thing.  She probably knows how to use the ruddy thing better than me!  She even knows how to use pinchy fingers to zoom - she isn't even 3 yet...

This is my new photography spot, until I find somewhere else with better natural lighting...or spring/summer arrives with lovely sunshiny days - whichever happens first.  It is our Granny Room (others would call it a spare room), which is now also my Sewing Room.  My sewing space used to be in a corner in our lounge...which drove the daddy of the flowers rather nuts - me and my Mess.

This wall is a kind of greyish-blueish-greenish sort of colour.  Pretty.  But looks a bit bleugh in the pics as it isn't white.  It is the same wall that I have used behind my colouring in softies.

Anyhooo - the 1st of the two Spring Dresses are up on Etsy as well as my webshop.  More will hopefully follow next week.  And even more hopefully, they will have some pretty Patty Young knit fabrics included in them....I ordered some last week :).  My hands are ITCHING for them to arrive!!

Enjoy!

Spring Dress Sneak Peak

With Ava at nursery on Wednesday I managed to get a bit of Spring Dress preparations underway.  It takes me a while to prepare the patterns and then choose fabric groups for each dress.  And the fabric choosing takes time for Each and Every dress, because Each and Every dress is unique.

I only had time to cut out 2 dresses - one is 2-3yr and the other in 3-4yr.  I hope to have these sewn and ready to photo at some point over the weekend to be ready for my shops early next week, so that I can do more dress preparation again next Wednesday.

All good things take time...and these are Sure to be Good!

The pics are taken with my iPhone...so are a bit fuzzy....

I really do need to get cracking with adding to my shops again - I plan to have lovely floppy brimmed hats, more dresses and maybe even some boys t's there by the time Spring has Sprung.  I also have a pile of dish towels that I am itching to screenprint with some pictures for colouring in...one day!

It is a lovely early spring day here at home.  To be enjoyed, just in case it turns freezing again before March arrives.

Enjoy!

Sneaky Peaky of a Custom Dress

There is just a little more stitching, buttonholes and buttons to be done and then this dress is ready for its new home.

I just love the fabric combination chosen by Ella's mommy.

Enjoy!

Pretty New Things in the Shop

Colourful new bits and bobs have been added to my shops....valentine kits, mug cosies, soft and cuddly nappy covers...

As always, custom requests are warmly welcomed!

Enjoy!

Another Dress! This time a bit more subdued

This 2-3yr size dress has just been listed for sale in my shop.

I am extra pleased with this one.  The grey fabric is so deliciously thick, but soft and stretchy and warm.  If I had had a bigger piece of the grey fabric I would have made myself something warm and cosy, and this dress would never had materialised (pun intended!).

Lovely to wear with jeans, or go crazy mad with colour and put your toddler in blindingly bright leggings for dazzling winter warmth.

New Dresses in the Shops

Ok, so I know that there are other things waiting to be finished and posted for sale....but I have been carried away with these cute dresses that Ava adores.  The pink and green one neeeeaaaarly didn't make it to the shop.  It was hanging in our bedroom when she saw it and immediately claimed it: "Ava's new dress!!".  I had to whip it out of reach quick sticks.

The dress that Ava is wearing is a little shorter than the other dresses - more tunic length.

My mom made the sweet crochet heart, which has been stuck down with iron on adhesive as well as stitched on for extra security.  I plan on making more hearts as well as other motifs for embellishing these dresses. My aim is that each and every one will have something super special about it.

The dresses are made with the same love and care that I put into all of Ava and Chloe's clothes.  They are also unique, there will only ever be 1 like it, so you know that your little person is wearing something as special as they are.

You can find the dresses via Etsy or TLF shops.