It is supposed to be fun..right..?

Finally this weekend I got around to making Hannah's nightie.  I bought two lengths of cute flannel at Spotlight at the start of Winter, planning to make nighties for Maddie because she has worn her old one to shreds! Maddie's got made straight away (I was pretty proud of myself too!) I made it from Emma Hardy's "Making Children's Clothes" which is one little book I have used a lot.  The pattern only went up to size 5 so I fudged a bit for an almost 7 year old and it was all good. Maddie LOVED it. She loved it so much that the 12 year old decided I should use the other length of fabric to make one for her...um..problem..
I have always been envious of those talented individuals that can eye a piece of fabric and just know how to cut it, just so, to make whatever they damn well liked.  My grandmother was like that. I remember watching goggle-eyed as she hacked into fabric with that satisfying "snip, snip, snip" sound that dressmaking scissors make, not a pattern in sight.  I remember thinking that one day I wanted to grow up to be just like her.  I wish she had taught me more before Alzheimers claimed that clever mind.
Well, even with a smaller pattern, and a right-sized jammie top to modify the arms it was still tough going. No amount of clever fudging will deny the fact that my baby girl is growing up and has loooongggg legs and loooonnnngggg arms. We ended up with a fair bit of colourful language and 3/4 sleeves.  I did a bit of creative thinking with the sleeves and hemmed them with grosgrain ribbon (and now I am wondering about the few fancy coats I own that have ribbon hems? Was it a feature or are they just skimping an extra inch of fabric?)

Anyhow, to cut a long story short. It is done. And she has worn it three nights in a row so I think that means she likes it.  I am holding onto that for as long as I can as I had thought we were getting too grown-up for Mummy-made nighties. 

I like the way they are similar without being matchy matchy.  My Mum made flannel nighties for me when I was a girl and they were always so comfy and snuggly.  We also had full length flannel floral skirts for Winter (gotta love the 80s!) but I don't think I will be reviving that tradition anytime soon. Anyhow, now that I got through it, I think I may just go and buy an extra length of fabric and make a couple more nighties for the girls - without playing yardage chicken I can make full sleeved ones - and hopefully I can use these nighties as a workable pattern (maybe tweaking Hannah's to allow a slightly wider sleeve)

In other news, I hit the trifecta at the library this time around:

Three very different reads but all good.

"The Almond Tree" is kind of harrowing but also kind of uplifting.

"Euphoria" is very much about cultural anthropology and human relationships - kind of a bit disturbing but also fascinating.

"The Truth According to Us" made me happy because it is written by the co-author of one of my favourites "The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society"  This was a "first novel" and Annie Barrow's Aunt (the other co-author) passed away before it was finished.  I am so pleased to see Annie writing again - loved this one!

Now that the weather is warming and Winter Days are (hopefully) coming to an end my thoughts are turning less to porridge and more to muesli for breakfast. My children go through muesli like nobody's business so I made my own using my friend's granola recipe.  You mix everything in apple juice and coconut oil.  It really is yummy and moreish and because it is rich and toasted hopefully the children will eat slightly smaller servings!

I know it is insane but I get such a buzz out of making stuff like this from scratch. Channeling my inner Martha Stewart?

Till next time,

Keep smiling,

Nell

xxx