Upcycling! My first attempt.

As I have been cleaning out my wardrobe and getting rid of clothes I no longer wear for the '2013 things in 2013' de-cluttering challenge, I thought I would take on my own challenge and do some up-cycling for the first time.

Using this easy online tutorial I turned this jumper into a nice warm winter skirt.

                                   

I then turned a top I made for myself a few years ago into a little hoodie for Beth using a wonderful Peek-a-boo pattern.
 

  

Lastly, I resized this jumper for Nicholas. Sadly he was unwilling to get a photo in it for me.

I must admit, cutting into that first jumper was a bit of a nerve-wracking experience. I thought I would definitely stuff it up. Thankfully, that wasn't the case, and I am actually a little bit excited to see what new creations I can make for Nicholas and Beth of my old clothes.

It's going to be a warm winter!

This winter will be a cosy winter for both Nicholas and Beth alike, especially when they wear these lovely soft hoodies I made them.

That's two more garments to cross off on my to-do-list :).

• Rain coat
• A hooded jumper for both Nicholas and Beth (have pattern and material)
• A hat for Nicholas (have pattern and material)
• Two long sleeve shirts for me (have pattern and material)
• Two dresses for me (have pattern and material)
• A shirt for me (have pattern and material), and I bought some nursing shirt patterns which I would like to make up (need to buy material)
• A winter skirt for me (have material, need to find a pattern)
• A pillow for Nicholas (have material and pattern)
• Finish the very first quilt I attempted (have the quilt top but need to buy the rest).

And I'm going to add a more things to the list:

• Curtains for the lounge room (I have material for them)
• Finish off the binding on the quilt I made for Daniel and I, and make some matching pillows with the left over material. 

Let it rain!

I finally finished the first of my to-do projects, a rain jacket for Nicholas. I bought the pattern from Peek-a-Boo patterns which I originally found on Etsy. Since then though I have liked them on Facebook and also visited their website. They have heaps of patterns. There are at least 5 or 6 that I really want to buy to make both for Nicholas and Beth. However, before I am able to do this I need to finish all my other projects.

This is the rain jacket pattern I bought. The pattern had a great tutorial that was super easy to follow, with both a written explanation and a picture beside it showing what to do. It was very easy to put together and makes a great finished product.

Rain Jacket

So when the first wet day presented itself we set off outside and to take some photos. I love these photos, the Autumn leaves everywhere are just so pretty, and Nicholas is rather cute too in his little blue rain coat. 

Aww...so happy :).

And here is my list of things to finish (I think it might take me a while):

• Rain coat
• A hooded jumper for both Nicholas and Beth (have pattern and material)
• A hat for Nicholas (have pattern and material)
• Two long sleeve shirts for me (have pattern and material)
• Two dresses for me (have pattern and material)
• A shirt for me (have pattern and material), and I bought some nursing shirt patterns which I would like to make up (need to buy material)
• A winter skirt for me (have material, need to find a pattern)
• A pillow for Nicholas (have material and pattern)
• Finish the very first quilt I attempted (have the quilt top but need to buy the rest). 

Hopefully I will get it all done before the end of the year, because there is a bunch of other stuff I also want to make. 

Elizabeth's Quilt

Here is evidence of the making of Beth's quilt (sorry about the poor photo quality they were taken on my phone):

This was on my to-do-list of things before Beth was born. Surprisingly, I got it finished and even took it to hospital with me. I am really pleased with my efforts, especially as the last quilt took me two years to finish. 

Q is for Quilt

Q is for Quilt. Just a tiny bit more hand sewing to go and it will be ready for Nicholas to open on Christmas day :). I hope he likes it, it has taken me two years to finish. Hopefully, the next ones won't take as long :).

Here are some photos of its journey into becoming a quilt.

The start!

The end!

Finally...

I finally finished Nicholas' jumper that was meant to be finished for Christmas! I think he looks great in it. Although, I don't think it is going to fit him for very long now, he just keeps growing!

As you can see, getting a photo of Nicholas these days is becoming more and more difficult because he just never sits still for very long (and please excuse the mess in the background).

Havin' a hoot of a time!

Evelyn, my niece, is almost one!

She started like this:

And now looks like this:

Such a cutie!

For her birthday she had an owl themed party, and Emily made her this fantastic owl cake. Isn't she talented!

And by chance, I dressed Nicholas in an owl shirt that I made for Ryan a few years ago, and other than having to super glue the owl's eye back on, the shirt is in pretty good condition.