Sunday 18 November 2012

Peppy Le Phew!

It worked!  I'm so pleased!

So, after finding the below retro fabrics I decided to have a go at a Peplum top for the Rosebud, thinking that the Kitten fabric definitely needed to be used in at least one retro outfit.

I mean, how retro is that fabric???  Seriously, I keep having flashbacks to the early eighties.  Not sure when it was around, but those kittens look veeeeeeeerrrrrrryyyyyyyy familiar...


Anyway, I searched high and low for a peplum top pattern for kids.  And do you think I could find one?

No!  Zilch.  Zero.  Nada.  Nuffin.  Not a single peplum pattern for kids to be found.

(Side note: I did find another awesome blog though - Jorth.blogspot.com - you should check it out.  Another one to add to my regular reading list.  And she made this very cool peplum top which has now made me add "peplum top" to my list of post-baby bump sewing for myself.)

Despite my search being fruitless was unperturbed.  I was determined.  I wanted that peplum top if it was the last thing I did.  So, I made my own pattern.

I know.  A-ma-zing.  I am also totally shocked at my resourcefulness at 8 months pregnant.  And not only did I make my own pattern, but I am really, really happy with how it turned out.

Like, "I am totally happy for the Rosebud to be seen in public wearing it" kind of happy.


Don't mind the photos.  It was, once again, a fight to get them.  There were a lot of photos that looked like this...



And then, of course, she decided she really had to sit in my quickly decreasing lap, right at that particular moment.


And in my attempt to escape to a better vantage point for taking photos I must have offended her because then she was off.  Tears and all.


Oh well.  All for a good cause.  Fashion :)

Here she is - my prototype.  Up close and personal.



A simple silhouette.  Didn't want anything too flashy with that fabric!  I was a little too scared to cut into that kitten fabric on my first peplum attempt.  I stayed with the retro look though - orange fans - very 70s-esque.


With an open-back circular skirt.

Lesson learned - don't use a one-way print on circular skirts.  Looks a bit weird.  But still totally wearable and pretty cute I think.

To make the skirt I had to google the equation for figuring out the diameter of a circle when you know the circumference.  It was eleven o'clock at night.  But, blow me down, I got it right.  First time.  No wasted fabric.  Phew.

Definitely more peplum tops in the future for the Rosebud.  I've got one in mind with little ruffles on the shoulders, and a gathered skirt, instead of circular.  And I saw this beautiful Japanese cherry blossom fabric that would be just right.  Maybe one with a little lace collar...?

But, now I'm not sure if that's how I want to attack that cute kitten fabric...   I'm thinking a pinafore...  and it might need rick-rack...

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Friday 9 November 2012

The List

Yikes!  It's been a little while since I've blogged.  Such a little while, in fact, that I've decided to make a list.  Yep, it has come to that for me.  I have finally arrived at Destination Desperation.  You may know it.  It's that place you get to when you have a deadline that is slowly but surely sneaking up on you and which you feel entirely helpless to do anything about actually ensuring you are prepared for that deadline to arrive.   

So, I'm resorting to a list.  You see, I'm not a consistent list-maker.  Not like some people who have lists for everything they do.  A list for shopping.  A list for projects.  A list for baby names.  You get my drift.  

It's not that I don't believe in making lists.  It's just that normally my brain is functioning at a higher level than it is currently.  Usually I don't NEED to make lists.  Usually (when I'm not 7.5 months pregnant and chasing a 17 month old around) I'm pretty good at remembering everything I need to do.  And another thing.  Usually I get everything done in record time.  Usually I can clean my whole house in half a day.  And that's no mean feat because I've got a pretty big house to clean.  But I'm efficient and very task-oriented.  Normally.

Currently, I'm easily distracted, my back hurts after doing about a quarter of the vacuuming and, well, if I really want to blame something, the ol' 'nesting instinct' just hasn't kicked in.  Just thinking about housework makes me want to sleep :)

I have a feeling my 'usually' is about to change.

Like, forever.

At the moment 'usually' for me, means needing several hours of sleep through the day.  And then after waking up from that sleep, thinking only of going back to sleep and how tired I still am.  Unfortunately, my days have been starting around 5.50am (not by choice, believe me, although, I guess I chose to have a baby so I guess chose waking up at 5.50am *sad face*) and then, if I can manage to get the kid down for a mid-day nap I might also manage to wrangle a couple of hours of nap-time myself, if I'm lucky, because that deadline is looming and it's all I've been able to think about, so I TRY to do something productive when I've got the chance.

The late nights haven't helped.  If you have children you've probably experienced the absolute love for post-bedtime.  Those blissful, quiet, distraction-free few hours of the day when you can actually get stuff done.  That time, when no one is tugging at your leg telling you in no uncertain baby babble to get off the computer, or when you can safely leave the sewing pins less than a foot away from the edge of the desk knowing that you aren't going to find anyone using one as a toothpick.  (Ummm, not that that has actually ever happened before or anything.)  Aaaah.  I love post-bedtime.  It's wonderful.  And so, so, SO very productive.  But the way I feel the morning after, when I've only managed to get 6 hours of sleep (not uninterrupted, mind you, between getting up to go the toilet three times a night and responding to cries from the Rosebud) after forcing myself to stop whatever I was doing and just go to bed.  That ain't wonderful.  That's just plain horrible.  And only adds to the terrible cycle of tiredness I've been finding myself in.  

But as I said, I am pretty sure my 'usual' is about to change anyway.  I am so excited about having a little baby again, but I'm really not looking forward to those first few weeks with a newborn, when day and night blur into one and you feel like your eyes might very well fall out of your head.  And when people feel free to tell you how terrible you know you look.  And then, once I've made it through that hurdle there'll be the whole thing of renegotiating life with a toddler and baby, figuring out what is realistic for us as a family and what is simply just pie in the sky.  I know there's going to be changes.

But anyway, getting back to the purpose of this post...  I'm starting to make lists.  Well, one list.  With everything I have/want/am going to try to do before Master Grundy arrives.  Before Christmas Eve, or whenever this little person decides he's ready to grace us with his presence.  Because, if I don't, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be packing my hospital bag in between contractions.  And since I'm not great at packing my own bags at the best of times that is probably a scenario I should definitely aim to avoid.

So far, the list looks something like this...

  • Pack hospital bag.  
  • Have baby.
It's a work in progress.