Je ziet het aan de bomen

We celebrated St. Jan in school. What used to be a sunny feast, turned out to be cold, wet and cloudy. Fortunately we made some pictures on Sunday evening, when the girls made their own wreaths. And M and L didn't mind the rain; they just danced and sung!

Slumbering

M isn't quite a fan of slumber parties. She normally simply quits these events because she knows what next day will bring for her: not bode well.
Some time ago we started to brainstorm about her birthday party, that will be in two weeks. M totally surprised me by suggesting a slumber party! Ok, I said, and the next moment her idea turned out into a slumber party completely our way: we'll leave the city and pitch our (great!) tent next to a natural swimming pool in the Biesbosch, a lovely nature reserve south of Rotterdam. Six girls will cozily fit in the large tent, while F, L and I will pitch our small trekking tent a little bit further away.

Last weekend I was making the initial plan for the invitations. Of course I had in mind that M had to do the job, but sometimes things are just coming out of one's hands in the evening... Btw till too late, so next day didn't bode well for me!

M agreed with the design, as she did doing an InDesign course with me to make it herself. She finished the paperwork and is delivering them right now!

Made with M

M started to make this bag for her friend Sofia and then I took over to finish it, because she had to go to sleep. Sewing precisely is quite a job for her, and I think details like the strap made by her turned out perfectly. For me a new experience with a decorative stitch of my Bernina (how I love that machine!). A press fastener of Prym was used again, but this time fastened invisible on the inside of the flap. I only have to find new D-rings instead of these rectangle ones.

This afternoon Sofia's great birthday party took place high up into the trees. Getting feedback afterwards that she loved the present is oh so rewarding, don't you think?

Like me

Facebook, not my cup of tea, I tend to say. But... look at the sidebar: time has come to change (Google reader is retiring) and to join the social media. Clickerdeclick and feel free to follow and like me wherever you want!

After work

Sometimes I just grab my sewing machine as soon as I'm home from work. These working days were not the best, so I needed to empty my head.

The lucky one who is getting a present this time is birthday girl Grietje, a beautiful romantic little girl in L's class. The bag is made of a fine and soft Liberty fabric and finished with a golden bias binding.

Like papa

F loves bikes, recumbents, carts, etcetera. And because he is not able to discard all kinds of 'lovely' parts like wheels, gears, pipes, and so on, our basement is a place where I don't like to be, but F so much the more.
Yesterday M spent the day in the footsteps of her father. Together with her best friend she made a sulky. (Now I know at least, what a sulky is :)) For many years they run along our streets and the park together with their stick horses. Both horse lovers can't stop doing so. I like them being outside this often, barely taking time for a break to eat or drink. The sulky was made by the two of them. In the end F helped a bit fastening the wheels. And there they run!
Btw, did you mention this post of Vervlogen dagen? I so hope L will once like a party like that.

Do the clutch - end

This third clutch was made for my sweet niece Sietske.

The clutches were made in the same order as shown to you. The pattern was just drawn by myself and was changed after clutch number one to get a slightly larger one. I loved to pick the fabrics with M, having the receiver of the present in mind.

After three clutches I wasn't bored at all! It's great to play with the patterns and to try to make the pattern continuously. The yellow pattern of this fabric was familiar to me, being one of the patterns in this book.

Let's finish these clutch series with some tips:

1. These Prym press fasteners are easy to cover. Cut a small circle of your fabric, baste along the edge, pull the thread to cover the upper part of the fastener.
2. It's better to reinforce the fabric on the inside for the lower fastener part. As the upper part is going through the flap with the volume interfacing, it is not necessary to reinforce here. 
3. When you make the wrist strap according to this tutorial and you're about to keep the swivel clip from sliding around, I recommend to stitch across the strap near the swivel clip exactly on the seam (that you made by connecting the two ends of the strap). Doing this will make the seam invisible. Something for purists, I know.
   

Wanna swap?

These fabrics of my stock, 50x110 cm of canvas cotton Pop and Popstar of Kokka, are apparently not my favorite. I thought that maybe one of you is into a fabric swap? Please let me know!

Do the clutch again

Today it's Christina's turn, who got 7 years old last Monday. Don't make it too flowery nor too pink, that's not like Christina, L assumed me.

We added some elastics and a hair band inside.

Do the clutch

Last weekend three clutches were made, two for two birthday girls of 14, one for a birthday girl of 7. Where were would we be for such presents without Sofie? The only little changes I made: the slightly bigger press fastener was covered by fabric. I'm not sure about Sofie, but for this clutch I used volume interfacing, that was attached to the lining.


Today it's Jula's turn. Now I know she liked it. As did M, who gave it to her.