Rainbow Birthday Fairies + More

K and S have decided that they want to dress up as fairies on their birthdays (they're turning 5 and 3 later this month). So I endured a 35 minute queue at Spotlight last weekend (they had a big sale) to buy the fabric to make their costumes. They're thrilled, which made it all worth it (although I don't think Mr Crafty Giraffe would agree, after taking three crying children from the shop to wait in the car, while worrying that I'd been abducted).

Anyway, here they are... three rainbow fairy tutus and two fairy wing tops (sewed wings onto cheap Cotton On singlets).

From the front

From the back, wings are looking a bit windswept!

After years of thinking about making one, I finally made a smocket (it's a pinafore that crosses over at the back). I made it reversible, so if C makes a mess of it, I can turn it over.

Front

Back

Then I made some merino tights for C, with a foldover waistband.

I've also made a teepee out of bamboo stakes and an old duvet cover, for the kids to play in. I had good intentions to make this as something to entertain the kids over the holidays, but it falls over whenever the kids go inside it. I'm planning to remake it with firmer fabric.... one day.

K enjoying the teepee in a brief moment where it stayed upright!

Squee! I'm so excited about this!!

So, I've just rediscovered the Supershed (where good stuff that people take to the dump, is onsold). It's over the other side of Christchurch, so a bit of a hectic drive at the moment. Anyway, I just found out it's relocating to Blenheim Road which is over my side of town, so I can go looking for treasures more often!

Last time I headed over there with Mum, I found 300g of 100% wool for $5. It came with a whole bunch of other assorted junk that I don't need, but for that price, who cares? It's currently being knitted into a top for me (actually no, it's currently sitting lonely on a shelf partly knitted into a top for me. I'll finish it one day, I promise)

I also spotted a rather run-down dolls house for $10. It was structurally really good apart from the back board not being attached, so I grabbed it. I had intended to renovate it in secret for the girls as a Christmas gift, but they spotted it so I caved and gave it to them early.

Here's some before pics:

House before was dirty with old magazine cutouts (from the 80's) blu-tacked to the walls. 

And here's the after pics:

Finished house

Kitchen with circular rug. Lounge with decoupaged sofa and canvas wall art.

The bedrooms are yet to be decorated.

Staircase in the bathroom. Not very conventional, but half the time the girls put the dolls toilet in the lounge anyway!

Lounge and dining rooms.

I spent a grand total of $19 doing up this dolls house (including the cost of the house!).  The other $9 went on test-pots of paint from Mitre 10. They were in the clearance bins, so I got a range of colours for that price. Carpet and lino was donated by Grandma. Curtains made from fabric I already had. Canvas for the wall art, I already had too.

I'm totally stoked with how this turned out and the colours suit K's Sylvanian Families furniture perfectly. I'll take a pic with all the furniture in at some stage :)

I have been busy making a few other items in the last month or so, too.

Pink merino hoody

Merino hoody with rockets lining the hood

Hoody for S

Tunic dress I knitted for K. This took ages because it's a size 5

Little shrug cardi I made for C. The colour is the same as the tunic dress above (I was just having a play with my camera and editing software :-)

So much to share..

Well, a lot has happened since I last posted, so I've been a bit slack with updating. I have still been busy crafting however, as I find it's a really good outlet for stress! Not that making stuff fixes the Chch earthquake or a death in the family, but it has helped me stay sane :)

First off, a couple more merino hoodies that I made pre-Feb 22. I absolutely love the pink one. The lining is a lot thicker, so really, really warm..

Purple merino hoodie with cotton lining

Sophie modeling her new top

This wool started off life a cream colour. I hand-dyed it with food colouring and was really happy with the result. It's now knitted into a tiny wee baby hat for a gift.

 A lovely lady sent me some leather scraps, so I've been busy making baby shoes. I've only made two pairs so far, but because they're so simple I can see myself making many, many more!

Newborn size shoes for a gift

Chloe sized shoes for Chloe

Chloe giving her new shoes a test stand

I'm also busy knitting a size 5 jersey for Karlie at the moment. I'm almost halfway through the second sleeve now, but it's taken me weeks to get to this point!

Finally finished the dress + 2 Horses!

I finally finished the cotton Summer dress I was knitting for S (mentioned in an earlier post). To find the motivation, I had to be firm with myself so I decided, no more sewing until the dress was finished! So here it is:

And here's my latest efforts. After finding the following tutorial on how to make a stick horse, I just had to make them for the girls:

http://www.ikatbag.com/2011/01/how-to-make-stick-horse.html

Needless to say, I had two very excited girls once I'd finished :)

The completed horses

                     

                        S's horse (yet to be named)

K's horse ("Ella")

Taking our new horsies for a spin!

Stopping for a feed :)

I finally have time for an update!

 Haven't posted for awhile, but I have been very busy making a few things. Funny how with 3 girls, I don't find much time to update (but I do find time to sew!)

 Made these stockings for the girls before Christmas. They're not very exciting, just copied the shape from an old Christmas stocking we have, and used some stretchy material and scraps of vinyl to make them. Don't look too close because they were a rush-job!

Dress for K. I cheated with this one and bought some pre-shirred cotton on special from Spotlight, so it was lovely and quick to make. Just had to hem it and make the straps. Haven't managed to get a good photo of the dress, but I DO have good photos of K, wearing the dress!

Market skirts for the big girls, made using this tutorial: 

www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/tutorial-market-skirt.html

The girls totally love their new skirts and wear them as often as possible so they can "match".

And my latest project was a merino, lined with cotton, hoodie for C. I used the Heidi and Finn Urban hoodie pattern which I bought from Etsy.com and can't wait to make more of these for the big girls!

Wooly craft from the past :)

When I was pregnant with baby girl #3, I spent a lot of my spare time dyeing wool and knitting. I've had a look through some past pictures and thought I'd share some of them on here. This is the process I use for dyeing my wool. Firstly, I wind it round and round something (in this case the end of the couch, sometimes I use a chair)...

Then tie at regular intervals with scrap yarn. I like to use a contrasting colour to make it easier to see later...

Here's a pic of the resulting skein. I made quite a large one in this case. I think it was 400 grams of 10 ply wool.

 Next put in a bowl and cover with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and warm water. Soak as long as possible, the longer you leave it soaking, the more vibrant the colours will be.

 I forgot to take a photo of the next step (I'm kicking myself now!), but wearing rubber gloves, I covered the kitchen table in glad wrap and laid out my skein in a circle. I then divided my vinegar/water solution into equal parts (totaling the number of colours I wanted to use). In this case I planned a rainbow, so made lots of dyes using my food colouring. I then carefully poured the colours where I wanted them, making sure to cover all white parts of the wool. I used my fingers to "press" the dye through the wool, rather than adding too much liquid which would have been more messy! Next wrap the glad wrap around the wool and add wool to a microwave-safe dish. Microwave on high power for 2 minutes. Open the door and check on wool. I usually give it a second 2 minute burst after this and notice that the liquid in the bottom of the dish becomes more transparent once the wool has taken up the dye.

Very carefully remove wool from dish and glad wrap and allow to cool for a bit..

Immerse warm wool in warm water to rinse. Drain and refill with slightly cooler water and some wool wash to remove excess dye. Rinse again in cool water than place in washing machine to spin.

 Hang to dry in shade and admire your work..

Put skein back over arm of couch, trim contrasting yarn from earlier and wind back into a ball..

Then knit into whatever you like. I was so happy with the way the colours pooled like a rainbow on this jersey. The purple trim was dyed in the same way.

Just before our girl arrived I dyed some more wool purple, blue and green, then knitted her some longies..

Another thing I've knitted fairly recently is this dress for Miss 4, also making a matching one for her dolly. I adapted this pattern to suit what I wanted, from a jersey pattern I like. Then I adjusted the measurements to suit the doll..

And one more thing to share. One of Daddy's old shirts became a dress for Miss 4. I was planning to make another for Miss 2, but that hasn't happened yet!