The Brown Skirt

Last Friday, was color day at my daughter's day care. And the color decided was brown. Brown!! I was thinking - Really?? I thought there would be some brown dress stashed in her cupboard, which probably was not being worn and was long forgotten. On Thursday, I pulled out all the dresses, but could not find one that was brown. Hubby said let's buy one or let's just forget it was Brown Day. Even I felt forgetting was better. I tried to forget it the whole day, it just didn't leave my mind. But I didn't want to buy one either. 

Thinking thinking thinking, I thought I should make something. But my sewing skills are bad. I pulled out the few old brown clothes we had. I could not decide what to make - a brown top? shirt dress? or what. I knew attempting any of these would need enough time to complete, which I didn't have. And it may not end up neat. I was worrying more than required.

Soon I thought - I can make an easy peasy skirt! Yes, I finalized on it. That was the easiest I could make in this short time. I browsed for some really simple, yet cute patterns. Summary of most of the patterns were - cloth twice the waist size and some wide elastic. I had both handy and started off.

Cut out the bottom portion of a brown kurta of mine. I really loved this but had not worn it for the past few years. So the fabric was ready.

Measured out the elastic and kept it ready.

Took out my sewing machine and started stitching. 

It really didn't take me much time. It was cute but too plain. And it was sleep time. So I thought let it be plain. 

Friday morning, my heart again wished that I add some cuteness to it. Before getting ready for office, I quickly pulled out my ribbons, decided on a very soft pink wide satin one, and stitched it to the skirt.

Let me show you the pic.

It may not be a perfect one. But it was quick, easy, and cute. And my daughter was also excited!

Something to make me happy again.

Crochet Hat and booties

I was asked to make a hat and pair of booties for a cute little girl. Though I kept pushing it and delaying the project, the lady was extremely understanding and waited. I finally got the determination, ordered the yarn, and completed the project in a few days times.

Picture Time!

I chose the colors. The blue is a Nako Pirlanta and Off white is an Acrylic Vardhaman Yarn.

I just cannot get enough of these rosettes. They are super cute and easy to make.

A hint of ribbon!

Booties... hmm... these were meant to be for the summer actually. But I made the delay! Again a baby pink cute ribbon to perfect the fit on the teeny tiny ankles. 

And how could I end the post without showing you these lovelies blooming on my balcony.

 Just look at these... Three-a-bunch. Hope my heart will allow me to cut and place them in a bottle in the living room.

Minnie Update

In my last post, I mentioned how I put together a quick Minnie mouse costume for my daughter. 

Here is the pic of how it looked on her.

We did not manage to get any good photos as she kept wriggling around and once she wears her shoes, then she does not want to wait a second to go to school. She was happy. Me too. 

What I think was the cutest was the headband. She wore it the whole day and insisted on wearing it when we went out the next day. So I had to pull out the bow and the pom poms :-(

Red, White, & Black

Wondering what the title is about?

Well, my daughter started going to the Day Care last week, and day before yesterday I was informed that they are conducting a Fancy Dress Competition for the kids to celebrate Children's Day that is today. I thought I will just dress her in some traditional skirt and blouse as I didn't have much time and my lil one does not co-operate well with dresses other than stretch pants and Tees.

But my crafty side and wanting to dress up my girl was not letting me sit idle. I was clear on two things - I will not buy any costumes nor will I spend too much time on the project, as I was not sure if she would wear it at all. I took a look at her dresses and finalized on a cute, red frock that she wore on her very first birthday. Then it was up till a little above her ankles. Now I knew it would be just till her knees or so. But it is a cute dress... will frills and tiny embellishments, satin and a tulle over it. Many thoughts crossed my mind - butterfly, angel, and even Red Riding Hood.

I had almost zeroed in on a Butterfly. But could not buy the supplies yesterday due to incessant rain. Then I thought I'll go with Red Riding Hood. I searched my stash and old clothes, but could not find a material to match the hood and I was very doubtful that she would wear it. Finally when I was putting her to bed, I browsed for ideas and saw some Minnie mouse costume. Yes! I finalized. As soon as she was asleep (11:45 PM) I told my hubby that it would be a Minnie. After finishing off a very very late dinner and other stuff I finally started to get the dress together.

Here is the pic for my idea and details.

The first thing was the black highlighted ears and the red bow.

- I wrapped black yarn over a headband and hot glued the yarn ends.

- I thought of cutting out felt ears but hubby suggested Pom Poms. He had seen me making some of those over the last few days. I opened my Pandora's box :-D (my yarn box). I was lucky enough to have some black yarn and quickly made two Pom Poms. I hot glued them to the headband and tied the strings also so that it doesn't come off.

- For the bow, I cut out a bow shape felt, gave it a little pinch in the center (vertically) and hand-stitched it onto the yarn layer on the band.

- Next, I cut out white small felt circles and stuck them to the bow.

And the headpiece was done.

The pics were taken on my phone, early in the morning and are not clear enough!

Now the polka dots for the dress. I thought of many things - paper circles, felt, fabric paint, etc. Felt won. But again fixing them to the dress was the next question. I knew hand stitching would be the best option, but I was out of time. It was already 2 AM. I quickly cut out some felt circles and stuck them onto the tulle layer with some clear tape. It was very clear to me that these would come off but I had no more energy and time to spent.

And how can you miss the yellow shoes Minnie wears. Felt was my option again. I just cut out a small half oval for the front of her pink shoes and stuck the pieces with clear tape.

I wanted to kick myself for not having bought her a pair of black stockings yet. The closest dark color stocking she has is a navy blue one and it didn't quite go with it. So I matched it up with a black stretch pant and red and black stripped socks. 

Done.

And how it went? Well, the little Minnie loved it and she is a little obsessed with her yellow crocs now. When one felt dot fell off from the dress, she starting picking the other dots and I had to keep fixing them back :-) The bow and ears looked too cute on her!

I skipped few things for the costume - gloves (no time), black full sleeved tee beneath the dress (it would be hot for her), and did not paint her nose black ;-)

My Minne mouse was all happy and I did click some pics while she kept wriggling out of the frame. Hopefully, I'll post those soon.

Back with Pom Poms

It has been a very very long gap. I am not sure if I would contribute frequently going forward also - because Crafting is taking a very back seat in my life now. Even though I do some knick knacks now and then, who gets the time for photographs. And what is a craft post without some nice cute pics. 

This post also would not have any pics... but I am just letting you know... I am now making some pom poms. WHY? I have lots of yarn which I would not use for any other projects and making pom poms does not require me to keep track of stitches or be very keen. 

I am planning to make a small plush rug. Hopefully I will be done in a few days (weeks) time. I often see my pom poms rolling on the floor, being thrown up in the air, and being spread around by the lil one at home :-)

And btw, I used my Big Pink Blanket for the first time ever. It is huge and cozy. The three of us snuggled to the warmth under it and I kept clinging to it all night. And it looks lovely when laid out on the bed. Hopefully I can take a picture and post soon.

See you soon!

Craft Stall

My first craft stall was put up over the weekend at an apartment for an event they were hosting. I had mixed feelings about putting up the stall. It was the first time ever I was going to put my items out in the display for the public to see. But it went well. I didn't make much sales though. Yet I got to learn a lot, met lots of new people, got my contact across to many, and so on.

The stall was up by the time I was at the venue and the sun was right on top. A friend was helping me out. We put out the items on display. We spent quite a lot of time hanging stuff, pinning, re-pinning, rearranging, viewing, discussing, and so on. Finally, everything was spread out and it actually looked pretty. I was a little nervous too.

Around evening people started dropping in. Some just passed by, some came and took a look, and few others looked at each item. People who were interested in colorful stuff and handicrafts spent time at my stall. They went through each item. Asked me the price, time involved to create, yarn type, and so on. And some who were knowledgeable about the craft enquired more.

Almost everybody made it a point to take my card (hubby was happy about that as he had designed it ;-)). We were at the stall till night. I wouldn't say it was a great event. But yes, I finally got a platform to display my stuff. And the best thing, I completed many unfinished stuff which had been lying around for a long long while. Especially the Big Pink Blanket. Looking forward to many more such events in the future.

Interesting Happenings

With my little one and work, life does not give me much time to craft. Thanks to my parents being here, so that I get at least the minimal time for little knick knacks. 

I started something new - Teaching Crochet. Yes, I finally really did that. Initially I was very skeptical about the whole teaching process. Meeting new people, teaching, keeping up time, being organized, everything pulled me back. But then I finally made up my mind and put forward to the process. I created off a basic plan, worked out a fee, decided on some easy yet interesting patterns, and then put up my ad. Initially the response was not that great. Or the enquiries came from too far. But over the last 2 months, it started working out. I got a couple of interested candidates. And yes, I have been teaching them and it is really great!

What I like the most about these classes are that I get to interact with people interested in crafting and I get some crafty time without any distractions. I am not doing the classes at home. Otherwise my lil one wouldn't let me do it at all. So that's about the classes.

Something more interesting happened. In response to my ad, I got a call to put up a stall for an event! I really couldn't believe it or wasn't even prepared for it. But I didn't want this chance to slip by. So I held onto it tight. Family is also supportive. The event is happening tomorrow. I have been very busy over the past one week. My daughter waits for me to reach home in the evenings and doesn't leave me for anything else after that. And any few minutes I get when she is distracted from me, I take up the hook and yarn. I haven't made much progress. But managed to make a couple of items. I am sure it won't even be enough to fill up the table, but looking forward to it. 

Unlike selling online, this is actually going to be a tough job. I might have to answer queries, sit in the heat, organize and re-organize, and what all... not sure.

Hubby designed and got the visiting cards and tags printed out. He is also helping me with the tagging part. Mom and dad are ready to help with the paper bags. And my angel is ready to pull down and tear off anything coming within her reach :-)

Phew! Lots of work left for the day! More updates after the event. Wish me luck!

Lacy Dress

After making the modified version of the Angel Pinnafore dress, I wanted to make one more dress for my angel. I ordered some yarn from Pony Store - Nako Pirlanta. I kept drooling over it for days and weeks. Could not decide what to make out of it. Thinking thinking thinking. Didn't want to make one more dress of the same pattern. So finally decided to go with my creative instincts and create a new one based on my own pattern. 

I drew out patterns, tried swatches, and what not. Finally I discovered what I wanted and made this cute lil dress for my angel. Take a look.

Its perfect on her. It looks like a flowing dress with the ruffles at the bottom.

I added two buttons and applied coat to match the dress color. May be reworked on.

My heart skips a beat or two with joy whenever I see her wearing the dress. 

I put on a lighter shade of stockings for her and her attire is complete and elegant. Love it.