Mohito Refashion Frock Tutorial and Giveaway

Mohito Refashion Frock Tutorial and Giveaway Wow, it's THE dress tutorial I've needed to solve my teeshirt/dress problems! Making this soon for sure.x

Baby Feel-Me Toys

While on a postnatal visit not too long ago, I spotted some little beanbags made from some lovely 70's vintage fabric. When I picked them up, I realized they were filled with all kinds of different household items for, perfect for toddler fingers to explore!

I do make most of the gifts I give to clients,

not to mention friends.

So I immediately whipped some up of my own!

I used various scraps recycled from clothing of

interesting textures,

and oddbits from past baby quilts,

including satin, velvet and seersucker.

I used a square book of my daughter's as a template,

since I don't have expensive quilt cutting supplies!

I made ribbon tags, some I've collected and some

snipped from items of recycled clothing

(like, for example, the unsightly loops they put in nicer teeshirts and dresses! They're supposed to help them stay on the hanger but with me they just like to hang out my neckline and wave at the wide, wide world.)

Then I sewed 3 sides and 2/3 rds of the last side,

leaving a g a p to insert whatever

noisy, tactile items my little heart desired.

• bells
• chunky beads
• bottle caps
• lentils
• broad beans (I don't cook with these anyways! They kinda just hang around in my cupboard and look healthy...)
• seashells (great clinky sound!)
• crinkly recycled plastic wrapping

Turn right side out, stuff, and hand sew. So quick, and terribly fun. I give these to new mothers along with some of those clippy plastic ring sets, with a list of ideas how to use them:

• String a few together with the links
• Attach one or two to the stroller, and the links mean they can't be tossed on the floor.
• Rotate the objects on a hanging gym/play mat, otherwise baby gets bored!
• Use the links to clip items to baby's overalls, which entertains them for a moment, trying to figure out why they can't get it off..... *wink*
• Above all, bean bags are just one of those things babies will love to put in and out of things, like buckets and baskets! In and out, what a fascinating game when you're 10 months old.

A cowl.... or something like that

I'm going to have to take a better picture!

Okay, you can't see it very well,

So, when a particularly lovely

doula client of mine brought back

one skein of hand spun, hand dyed wool

from the states,

(yarn is so hard to come by here)

I knew I had to do

something special with it for myself.

But what?

Enter Inspiration via JC Handmade and her

knitted cowl pattern.

Simple, I know, but oh so effective with one beautiful skein.

Somehow, with my (nonexistent) maths skills

and pathological avoidance of

s w a t c h e s

The cowl turned out a bit more snug than JC's origional.

But I don't mind.

It works really well pulled up into a kind of head scarf

on windy days, too!

On our recent trip to England, I hardly ever took it off.

Unless my daughter begged it off of me,

which happened more than once.

UPDATE: (Here's the new picture, I had planned on modeling it in the cowl method of wearing, but with a teeshirt on a really hot day it's a bit ridiculous. You can see the beautiful striping, though!)

Purim....again

Another Queen Esther dress -

this one much more carefully constructed than last years!

The bodice is velvet from a skirt I found on the street.

The lace sleeves are from a shirt

handed down by a friend.

The lace was donated by another friend

who cut it off her skirt

and thought I could use it.

The skirt bits I DID buy as oddments from the scrap bin at my local fabric shop.... so the entire outfit cost me 20NIS.

...And the crown she made herself.

The Pledge

I, Sarah Vine, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 6 months. I pledge that i shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings!

Signed

Sarah Vine.

A Bag that's Just The Right Size

Okay, so I did mention eye masks,

but my camera has traveled to the UK

along with my husband

so we'll have to suffice with pics I had already taken.

I made this bag for my sister out of

two pairs of trousers that were donated to me by a friend.

The pattern is from Artsy-Craftsy-Babe,

it's free, and it's a good one!

The button is an antique I inherited in my grandmother's button box, and the lining is curtain offcuts. The only thing I had to buy was the magnetic snap, and boy are they expensive! In Israel, anyways.

My sister dropped the compliment that it doesn't even look handmade.... aw.x

Didn't I mention knitting in the title of this blog?

When I knit I kinda get carried away.

Case in point:

these adorable quick stash-busting baby booties.

Once I knit one pair I couldn't stop!

And I've already given some away.....

Get the PATTERN online here!

And then, the next flurry of knitting....

we've decided to go to the UK for a few weeks

and listening to the reports of cold snaps and snow on the BBC

I decided the whole family needs mittens.

Mine are boring plain old red, but I thought

the stripy ones for Noah and the pretty purple flowered ones for Ana

were cute enough to post.

Tomorrow..... I go crazy with sleep masks!