Goodbye Little Car....

To My Dear Getz,

The time has come for us to part ways, life has moved on and our family has grown and we no longer fit in you comfortably. You were never meant to be a family car...you were my 'just finished uni and just got a job so Im going to treat myself'car. I loved your beautiful greeny blue colour, the way the seats sat so high up, the way your lovely split back seats folded right up and you became a tiny little wagon...

We have had so many adventures together, like the time Ben moved up to Batemans Bay for work, but then the job fell through and together, little car, you and I drove like knights in shining armour to rescue him. Our first ever adventure together was driving to Adelaide to visit Bens family about three days after I got you.

I can never forget your most impressive moments. It had to be the year I did family day care. You helped me squeeze those four children in safely and carried us from one point to another on our daily outings to parks and playgroups. We would put on the Wiggles 'big red car' song and change the words to 'little blue car'. The kids would shout this out so that we would over ride the CD.

You carried both my babies home from hospital safely and for this I will always be ever so greatful. You are the car that everybody knew because of your bright colour. Kids I taught would recognise me as I drove around Geelong and more recently you have become know as the car that belongs to the lady with the two kids that lives in the old squash court, how does she manage those stairs with two little ones?

Then there was the day you first got very sick...the day the mechanic accidently cracked your water casing without knowing it and your lovely little engine over heated on my wedding day, almost a year to the day that I had bought you. You never fully recovered until eventually your beautiful shiny engine became clogged and we were forced to replace it...you haven't been the same since.

So little car at this point in our lives we must go our seperate ways. You will spend some time in the car yard next door until someone after a fancy little car snaps you up. Hopefully your exhaust pipe remains attached for them....I thank you so much for your service and the good times we have had. I wish you all the best and you will never be forgotten....

Goodbye little car, my Getz that gets you places

Shell

Chloes first car ride

Elyssas first car ride

Chloe using her hat as a blankie when we forgot it one day

Elyssa

Chloe in her Dora seat

Elyssa, 6 months

Planting out the vegie garden

We had lots of fun! I think Chloe liked it best because it was an opportunity to run under a sprinkler. I turned the tap (tank water) up just enough that the water splashed just a little bit out of the garden bed and she had a great time. She also loved digging in the garden. We go back most days and water. I put the sprinkler on for 15 minutes, we go play at the park next door, then go back and move the sprinkler to the next garden plot. Its on a timer so we set it for another 15 minutes and off we go! Chloe likes to ride her bike to the park/garden.

Winter Dress/ Pinafore

The pattern called this dress a 'jumper' but its not any type of jumper I know of! Im calling it a Winter Dress because it is quite different than the Pinafore I made yesterday so I am re-naming it! After making the reversible pinafore yesterday I decided I wanted to tackle something a little more challenging. I still had all my cords out so I decided to make this dress. There were 14 pieces all together so lots of cutting and organising and also lots of sewing involved. I used a pattern I got at Spotlight a while ago for $2. It is harder than most patterns I have used because it assumes you know alot about sewing and doesn't give clear directions or clear pictures so I had to muddle through bits of it. I also had trouble because I live in a small town and it is hard to get the things you need to make it perfect, like zips and bias binding. I ended up finding a zip at the op-shop this morning but I could only find a purple one and it was really long. The lovely ladies at the shop explained how to cut it down to size before I sewed it in. I don't mind the colour of it because it matches the purple in the flowers. I had some bias binding  that I used for the sleeves. Overall I am really happy with it. The zip was challenging because I don't have a zipper foot but I didn't do a terrible job. I struggled a bit getting the hem even and I followed the instructions for the arm holes with the bias binding and did it as it suggested but I don't think I would do it that way again. The other issue was the size! It is way too big. I made a size 4 because the last few things I have made in a 3 have only just fitted. Rather than pull it apart and remake it I decided to alter it a bit. I sewed the shoulders up to lift the dress a bit so the waist of the dress sat in the right spot. Then I sewed the sides of the dress in below the arm holes. The skirt of the dress is a bit pinched because of this but I think the alterations were worth it because I can remove them as she grows and get lots of wear out of it.

My favourite part of the dress is the bodice, this was tricky but it came out really well. I also like my colour choices. At the last minute I decided to add the floral panel in the middle of the bodice and I love it. I only bought half a meter of that floral cord and so far I have made three things with it and there is still plenty left! I also love the floral panels in the skirt, they hide until she moves.

I think its going to look great with a white long sleeve top and white leggings. It will definilty be an inside dress though! Light pink, what was I thinking!!!

Another Pop-over Reversible Pinafore

I love this pinafore E-Pattern. The pink ladybug one I made Chloe gets worn twice a week. One day I face it one way, the next day I reverse it! On hot days she wears it with shorts and nothing underneath, on cooler days she wears it with jeans or cords with a top under it.

Today I made another one out of cord and Im sure it will get just as much use! It is a bit heavier so will be used more in cooler weather rather than warmer weather. I love it because I put in a bit of effort and added appliqued flowers to one side. I love the floral print on the reversed side as well. The material on the appliqued side came from my mother in laws stash and is probably ten or twenty years old!

This time I made the pinafore in a size 4 because the pink pinafore could have been a tiny bit bigger. The floral print side would probably look the nicest with a pair of pink or white plain leggings with a matching top to go underneath because it is pretty 'busy'. The appliqued side could be worn with cord, jeans or leggings. Pinafores are perfect for Chloes busy life, particularly Kinder and Daycare. I might make one more pinafore for her as well, not that she needs it but they are sooo easy to make. It took less than 30 minutes to sew todays pinafore (I had already cut it out and done the applique though) and I have ALOT of cord material to use up. I need to make her some more pants too.....

Bibs Bibs Bibs!!!!

Im obsessed with bibs at the moment. My life currently revolves around them, choosing them, washing them, changing them...so many bibs! I have at least 80 of them, probably more. Some I never use until the pile is low, some I use the minute they are clean, some I use for going out, some I use for staying in, some are small just to catch the dribbles, some are so huge that they get in the way when Elyssa tries to feed herself. Some are plastic backed, most arent. So what do I decided to do? Make more bibs!

Crazy, I know, but all these bibs are stressing me out because I never seem to be able to find a bib that will do everything I want. Last year I adapted a bib pattern to make some dribble bibs and Im still happy with these but now I want some bibs that will cope with the food onslaught. I am so sick of having to change Elyssas entire outfit because there is pumpkin all over it and Im also sick of seeing her covered in pumpkin when I don't bother changing the entire outfit!! I went looking on Etsy and madeit.com and found some designs I liked but realistically I need at least nine, but probably twelve, of the things and at over $10 each thats just a bit crazy. So I decided to once again make my own! The beauty of this is that I can design the ultimate bib to suit a particular purpose.

I want a bib for each meal that covers Elyssa almost all over, is still a bit fitted so that it doesn't get in the way of her hands and food and that is easy to get on and off...so I drafted a pattern that I think fits all of the above. I then made nine! They aren't all finished yet, I have to put either snaps or velcro on them all yet but I have completely finished one and this is it!

The Back

It Fits!

The Ultimate Test

It Works!

I made these bibs out of old towels and material from my stash. Im thinking of going all out and buying some bamboo terry and making some really good dribble/reflux bibs. See? Im obsessed. I think it comes with having a reflux baby. Chloe hardly ever wore a bib, she never even really dribbled. Little Elyssa always has something coming out of her! Next Im going to make some sleeve covers, probably like baby legs.

hmmm...March Challenge - a Softie

Im thinking about some ideas for this challenge. I could make my girls a doll or animal but the thought doesn't really inspire me, probably because the amount of softies we have is just crazy and Im not sure they would appreciate one because of the amount of toys they have. Then I remembered seeing a tutorial earlier this year about easter eggs. Im thinking I might sew them some for Easter. I might make a few for each of them, sew a basket as well, and put little bells inside the eggs. I might sew a small chicken for each of them as well and put it in the basket. See, all I needed to do was blog about it and it would all become clear! I might get started today, Im having a catch up on the washing day so this is a simple project (hopefully) that I can stop and start.

I was just looking at the flicker group for this tutorial and saw that someone filled the eggs with rice for their kids. I might borrow this idea and do one with rice, one with a bell, one with just the usual soft fill and one with some crinkly plastic in it. I might use different textured material for Elyssas as well. This is going to be fun!

After typing the above I have kept searching and I have found a tutorial for an Easter basket that Ill make for the eggs to go in and Im going to follow this tutorial for a love bird but change it a little to be more of a chicken. I might put a little chocolate easter egg in the pocket instead of a heart.
I love a new project!!

Shell