New Challenges!!!

Hi Lovelies!!

I am giving myself a new challenge this year, quilting! Bear with me, I may ramble a bit...

We lost my Grandad around this time last year. It was sudden and unexpected and a massive shock. He was a big man in bot height and personality and he space left was immense. His passions were family and Church foremost and he is incredibly missed in both. I have travelled with my girls a couple of times to Grandmas' Church and always been welcomed with open arms and the girls have enjoyed themselves, the children's area is well stocked with toys and silence is no required! It is however a little stark.

The Church was built in the 70's when those blue/grey bricks were in fashion and it's also a very large open space. There were children's pictures on the walls, but it still lacked something. Then I stumbled upon this on Pinterest. here was no pattern so I had to wing it.

I won't go into too much detail now as I plan on doing a post just on that, but after I had got over the stress and joy of doing the hanging, I realised I'd quite enjoyed it! So I joined a group on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChallengeQuilts/ #pq6 and made my first quilted piece!

The theme was Trees. Little One had been given a book for Christmas, Day Monkey, Night Monkey, and I used that as my inspiration. I had a piece of fabric with slants on it that would make great trees and found some lovely green velvet with gold detailing. I had some wadding and backing left from the hanging and Bob's your uncle!

Can't wait for the next Challenge!!! If you want to join in, check out the website: Quilting Challenge

Pinch, Punch, First of the Month!!

Hi lovelies!!

Happy New Year!! Did you all have a good one? I'm afraid we belong to the 'not bothered' group in our house. We have only stayed up once to watch Jools and that was our first night in our own house. We had rented for years and got the keys on Christmas Eve. We spent New Years on a mattress in the living room, drinking a small bottle of Asti we had been given when we got married out of proper teacups that I made Him buy - because you have to have proper teacups with saucers when you own your own house!

How daft!

No, this year we were in bed for 10:30 and joined by the Little One by about 2am. Yes, I know, I shouldn't be letting the 3 year old join us in bed. Trust me I had it with the now 5 year old too! But the snuggles are nice and will be over far too soon. Plus, she's a little hot water bottle. If only I could get her to sit on my feet.....

I am hoping for some big things this year. Little One starts pre-school this term which will give me a couple of hours free. I really want to concentrate on this little blog and my business and get them up and running. I am hosting an amazing gig in my village hall which will hopefully fund an embroidery machine for me which will in turn fund other things. We are attacking the house, one room a month. We have already started on the new kitchen today and I have an amazingly violet wall! We have a lot of VW and Folk festivals we want to hit as well as using our family Christmas present from the In-Laws, a National Trust membership.

So, a few things going on! My aim is to post 3 times a week to start and hopefully build up from there.

Please check out my shop, Rory and Millie's Wardrobe, which will also be having a re-vamp, or have a look on Etsy; My Shop.

Speak soon!!!
XxXx

Merry Christmas!! And a Happy New Year!!

Hi lovelies!

Did you have a good couple of days? I hope Father Christmas brought you every thing you deserved? Good.

Shall we talk New Year yet? Have you thought about your goals? I want to grow my business and get my house in order. We have already decided to re-do the kitchen, so I want to take a month to do each room in the house. Not necessarily a paint and new carpet job each time but a sort out and re-organise. With this in mind I have been trawling the internet to try and find some inspiration and came across this great Blog with some fantastic resources in it www.goingreno.com.

Shaunta lays it all out neatly and to the point and is a great pick me up!

http://goingreno.com/2014/12/01/introducing-going-reno-planners/ is the link to her two planners, one for me and one for this blog. I'm hoping that using these will sort me out!!!

Speak soon!!

Holiday Stress....

Why do we do it to ourselves? Why do we add things to our already hectic lives?

I saw a comment on Facebook the other day, 'When did Christmas get so stressful?' This was from a lady with a new baby, a toddler, a husband and a dog. She had decided this year to start doing the Elf on the Shelf thing. And she'd just heard about the North Pole Breakfast, so wanted to do that.

I politely told her that it is only as complicated as you make it. We didn't put the tree up till last Sunday. Before then, we only had the Advent Calenders and that was plenty for my two! Not that they aren't excited, they are, but there is so much going on that they just don't need any more stimulation and I don't need any more stress! We have Nativity plays, Christmas Fayres, dance performances, toy day, stay and play, Christmas Dinner at school, family parties......

I think that's why I love my sewing so much. It's my chance to shut off from all that stuff and just focus on the next bit of fabric going over the feed dogs, and that's it. I have been working on a very special piece that I will be able to share after the weekend and I didn't want any more worry on top of that. Having got the girls dresses and mine sorted, the blog tour done, I could concentrate on this project. I can't wait to share.

So, my tip for the Holiday season? Keep it simple. It's way more special to be relaxed and have fun.
XxXx

All Tucked In For The Holiday Tour!!! :)

Hi Lovelies!

Have you missed me?

I have been super busy, what with school Nativity plays, trips to light up forests, Campervan weekends away, and the odd bit of sewing.

After the fantastic Superhero Tour, I was asked by the lovely ladies at Every Thing Your Mama Made to take part in their All Tucked In for the Holidays Tour, featuring their Riley's Night shirt/gown pattern in knit. There are many cotton patterns out there but few in knit fabric which is odd! What I loved about this pattern is the lovely side detail. It is a real Wee Willie Winkie-esque pattern and looks so cute!

I had to make two, of course, one for each! Millie's was first.....

Isn't she cute????

The fabulous neck detail was what I was going for on this picture, but man what I would do for those eyelashes!!!

These jammies are great for talking on the phone to Nana or watching the t.v.

Then I had to make Rory some too, only I ran out of the butterfly fabric! Fortunately she liked the red, so that was all good!

                         Here is the lovely side hem detail that I adore, so cute and traditional.

                                                   And then here are the goofy shots!!

 Okay, so how was the pattern I hear you ask?

Well, as with all the EYMM patterns I have made so far, the cutting and sticking part was very easy. There are very clear lines fr lining up the pieces and the nesting makes it all quicker. I am in the unfortunate position of needing to print both sizes due to the ages of my girls, but hey! That's what happens when there is such a fantastic age range!

The instructions were clear, to the point and didn't leave any room for error. I even asked Hubby to have a read to see just how newbie-friendly they were. His response? I don't know what the bits are called, but I can follow it! Believe me, this is high praise.

There are a few options for this, long or short sleeves and either a long night gown - as I did - or a shorter night shirt. Your knit has to have the right stretch in order to make the hems and collar but it's not too difficult to sort out if not and you are given instruction for this. There is also an adults version, Callie's.

If you have got this far, well done! You deserve a special code and price for this fabulous pattern! Coupon code SNUGASABUG, good for 30% off any Riley's Nightgown & Sleep Shirt or Callie's Nightgown & Nightshirt purchase (including the bundle) at www.eymm.com until 11:59PM PST on Dec. 11, 2014. Please do check out the other stops on the tour, these ladies are amazing!!!

And breathe.......Oh no, wait, can't!!!

Howdy all!

Can you believe this year is nearly over?!? Goodness me, where has it gone?

We have been super busy the last couple of weeks and it doesn't seem to be slowing down yet. Rory took part in a national dance competition yesterday in Blackpool and it was amazing! She was so good, I was so impressed how this little 5 year old handled all the noise, pressure and excitement of performing at the Opera House. She was also picked to go back on stage while the judge read out her comments so that was extra special.

This was taken at home after the performance. How fab does she look??

My two dancing girls!!

Anyway, no time to rest, I've got another blog tour coming your way!! Yes, very soon I will be taking part in the EYMM All Tucked in for the Holidays Tour!! I will be showcasing the Riley's nightgown in knit for both the girls, and probably popping a pair of The Plucky Butterflys' shorts on underneath!

I'm blogging on the 5th, but I will be sharing before then, so keep looking!!

(And no, I didn't make her dance dress!! :D )

Busy, Busy, Butterfly!!!

Hey lovelies! Have you missed me?

I have been somewhat inundated with Superhero orders, thanks to Children in Need having Superhero for it's theme! Cheers Pudsey! :D I was very good and donated £2 from each set to Children in Need so a lovely donation of £10 has gone from Rory and Millie's Wardrobe. *warm and fuzzy feeling*

I have also had the lovely chance to test another pattern!

I first bumped into The Plucky Butterfly a couple of months ago when I was venturing into the world of knit. I fell in love with her Rissa Roo Pixie top and it was next in line for purchase when I was actually lucky enough to win it! It is now a staple in our household with lot's of options, the girls love the cute ruffle and Daddy loves that it covers their butt! So, when a message popped up on my Facebook that the Butterfly was looking for testers, I jumped in!

The Beach To School Knit Bottoms are amazing. That's all really. What can I say? 3 fits, 3 styles and 5 lengths? Erm, yep, that's my kids clothed for 10 years as it runs from 2-12 years old! Oh, and there's a doll pattern as a freebie!

Rory loves her trousers. We had great fun taking pics and she gave them a full workout. These are the slim fit but I like that they are not legging slim. I have two extremely active girls and worry that their trousers may be indecent, no worries here!

That was the longest length. The shorts were also great, although we will keep them for pj's here in the UK! These were fab for just popping on under her jammie dress or under those long dressing up princess dresses to keep bums warm.

These were such a quick make, I managed to get both pairs done from printing to wearing in about an hour, and I am not that fast! The yoga waist band means no extra elastic to buy and there are options for ruffles and flounces on the longer sizes.

The Butterfly's instructions are a joy to read and full of her own personality. They are a joy to read and I had a constant smile on my face while making them.

Please, go visit her website and buy the only bottoms pattern you will ever need!!