Stashvember: No, it is not too early for Christmas sewing

I know, I know... You are all thinking why is she already sewing Christmas decoration in November?" Well, I only have one thing to say: Fat quarters.

Ik weet het, ik weet het... Jullie denken nu allemaal waarom is ze nu al kerstdecoratie aan het maken in november? Wel, ik heb hier maar 1 ding op te zeggen: stofresten.

I have made Christmas stockings as a gift and I had a lot of leftovers. While I was looking on Pinterest for some ideas, I saw several sewed Christmas decoration. Then it was quickly decided what I would sew with the fat quarters.

Ik heb kerstsokken gemaakt als een cadeau en ik had daardoor heel veel stofresten. Terwijl ik op Pinterest aan het rondkijken was voor ideeën, zag ik verschillende foto's verschijnen met zelfgemaakte kerstdecoratie. Toen was de beslissing snel gemaakt om dit zelf te doen met mijn stofresten.

The Christmas decoration consists of gloves, stars, hearts and a Christmas tree. I searched for coloring pages with this items on it to have the pattern.

De kerstdecoratie bestaat uit een handschoen, een ster, een hart en een kerstboom. Ik zocht deze figuren in kleurboeken om een patroon te hebben. 

 The sewing was really easy. I just have put the wrong sides on to each other and started sewing. Then I filled up the figures with some other fabric leftovers. At the end I sewed the figure for a second time with a special stitch so it would have the feel of old Christmas decoration.

Het naaien was echt eenvoudig. Ik heb gewoon de foute kanten op elkaar gelegd. Dan vulde ik de figuren met stofresten. Uiteindelijk ging ik nog eens over de decoratie met een zigzag steek omdat ik graag wou dat het op ouderwetse kerstdecoratie leek.

And are you planning to sew Christmas decoration?

En ben jij van plan om kerstdecoratie te naaien? 

PS: This is stashvember all the way, don't you think? Using Fat quarters, for the outside and for the inside.

PS: Dit is stashvember helemaal tot het einde, vind je niet? Stofresten voor de buitenkant en de vulling.

Sometimes miracles comes in pairs and sewing also

Hi there

Hallo daar

Finally, they have arrived! The twin, Nelle and Maren, is born and I have send my gift to them.

Eindelijk, ze zijn er! De tweeling, Nelle en Maren, is geboren en ik heb mijn cadeau naar hun opgestuurd.

I don't know this lady in person, but I subscribed myself as a fairy godmother to sew for ladies who have given birth to a child. And I am so lucky that I could sew for 2 little girls. 

Ik ken deze dame niet persoonlijk, maar ik heb me ingeschreven als "fairy godmother" om iets te naaien voor dames die pas bevallen zijn. En ik heb zoveel geluk dat ik nu voor 2 meisjes kan naaien.

I sewed 2 crossover dresses which can be used on both sides. One side is yellow as that is the favorite colour of the mother. Don't they look adorable? 

Ik naaide 2 schortjurkjes die aan beide kanten gebruikt kunnen worden. Eén kant is geel omdat dat de favoriete kleur is van de moeder. Zien ze er niet schattig uit? 

I also made a baby cap following the pattern of Kiind. So cute!
Ik maakte ook een babymutsje aan de hand van het patroon van Kiind. Zo schattig!

And I sewed the Winter Baby Bonnet of Corinne's thread. But then with summer fabric. 
En ik naaide ook de "Winter Baby Bonnet" van Corinne's thread. Maar dan met zomerstofjes. 

Unfortunately something went wrong with some of the projects in mind, so with the leftovers I created a headband. You can find the tutorial on my Pinterest Page. 

Spijtig genoeg ging er iets mis met enkele projectjes, dus maakte ik met de restjes een haarband. Je kan de uitleg vinden via mijn Pinterest pagina. 


I didn't forget the big brother. He received a matching bow tie. 
Ook aan grote broer werd gedacht. Hij kreeg onder andere een bijpassende vlinderdas.

And what do I get in return? Well, the parents have to send the birth announcement and the gift they give to visitors.

En wat krijg ik in ruil? Wel, de ouders sturen een geboortekaartje op en doopsuiker.

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed sewing this! Read ya the next time!

Ik hoop dat jullie evenveel genoten hebben bij het lezen als ik bij het naaien van dit pakketje! Tot lees!

Tania

Little boys on a wedding party

Dear reader
Lieve lezer

We were invited to a wedding party in June and I really wanted to make the shirts for the kids myself. But the time I had was very tight! Certainly because it was the first time that I did this.

We hadden een uitnodiging ontvangen voor een trouw in juni en ik wilde heel graag de hemden voor de kinderen zelf maken. Maar ik had zo weinig tijd! Zeker omdat het de eerste keer was dat ik dit zou doen.

Fortunately I had the 2 last sewing classes before the summer holidays were I could make these shirts. Though I sewed the other evenings also. I choose the gingerbread pattern from the book Homemade Mini Couture. 

Gelukkig had ik nog 2 naailessen voor de zomervakantie. Daar kon ik dan de shirts maken. Hoewel ik ook de andere avonden aan het naaien was. Ik koos het Gingerbread patroon van het boek Homemade Mini Couture.

What is a shirt without a bow tie for a party? Indeed, nothing. So I choose a fabric which fitted both shirts. They were very easy to make, but it was the finishing touch for the outfit. Check out my Pinterest to find out how you can make it yourself.

Wat is een hemd zonder een vlinderdas voor een feest? Inderdaad, niets. Dus koos ik nog een stofje dat bij beide hemden paste. De vlinderdassen waren zo eenvoudig om te maken, maar het was wel de perfecte afwerking van de outfit. Kijk zeker naar mijn Pinterest pagina voor de werkwijze.

Both of my boys received a lot of compliments for their outfits and people were really surprised when I then said that I had sewed the outfits. I was so proud!

Mijn beide jongens hebben zo veel complimenten gekregen over hun outfits en iedereen was echt verrast als ik vertelde dat ik ze zelf gemaakt had. Ik was zo trots!

Don't they look fantastic?

Zien ze er niet fantastisch uit?

This certainly isn't the last time that I sewed this pattern.

Dit is zeker niet de laatste keer dat ik dit patroon maakte!

The next time we hear each other, I hope to give you some good news. I sewed an outfit for twins. But the preview is off course for the parents. So the countdown has started...

De volgende keer dat we elkaar horen, hoop ik jullie goed nieuws te kunnen geven. Ik naaide een outfit voor een tweeling, maar de "preview" is natuurlijk voor de ouders. Het aftellen is begonnen...

Have a nice evening, dear reader!

Een fijne avond gewenst, lieve lezer!

Tania

PS:
For those who are wondering where I bought the fabric: Lizzy l'oiseau. This lady is so helpful when you have questions.
Diegene die afvroegen waar ik de stoffen kocht: Lizzy l'oiseau. Deze dame is zo behulpzaam wanneer je advies nodig hebt. 

When a good idea turns bad

Hi there!

Remember last week? When I was so enthusiastic about the Easter baskets I would sew? 

Well it was a good idea, but it went wrong. Not completely, but still... So let me take you into my journey of making these Easter baskets and try to find the mistakes....

The first problem I had was the time pressure. Only the cutting of the fabric took more time than foreseen, which meant that I had only 2 evenings for sewing the 2 baskets. Or read 1 evening and 1 night... Because it ended up with me sewing till 3 o'clock in the morning. 

My second issue was my basic experience in sewing. I for example had to create the opening for the mouth and at a certain point I needed to turn the fabric so the 2 good sides were at the outside. I already did this several times, but now it just didn't work! 

I solved it by sewing the opening and the beak with a very small stitch (the one you would use for the opening for a button). And at one of the sides a small piece of interfacing was still visible, but I was so tired at that stage that I have left it like that. 

But in the morning I saw that everything ended up well. My 2 little boys didn't notice the imperfections and they have been running around with their baskets for the egg hunt. And even now, after Easter, they play with it. It's their storage for cars. 

When I see the face of my boys, I forget all the problems I had when sewing it and I think "Yes, I did it!"

Have a nice Easter holiday! 

Tania


PS: Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Adorable Easter chickens

EASTER is coming!

I have already decorated the Easter tree together with the children. It was a lovely activity for a rainy afternoon. But when it was finished I wanted something extra for being in the Easter atmosphere… something sewed… And where do you search then? On Pinterest of course!

I have gathered several fun ideas for Easter, but this project I just had to sew already. It is so easy and quick to do. The tutorial is also very clear with some nice pictures with it.

So hereby I present you my “Easter chickens” pattern weights. Aren't they adorable? I would put them on my closet as they are so cute.

The fabric is from Soft Cactus and I have bought it in “De stoffenstraat”. The beak and the comb is made out of felt. The filling consist of fiber fill and rice to give it some weight.

The following project on my list is an Easter basket for the kids. So Easter still will be on my to-do list for the next weeks!

Read ya the next time!
Tania

PS: Are you curious about the ideas that I found on Pinterest? Please feel free to have a look at my Pinterest profile.

Let's start this blog

Hi reader

Welcome to my blog, there are so many things that I would like to tell you. Though, I believe there is only one thing you should know at the beginning. Why did I start this blog?

The answer is: my youngest son. He was 6 months old when we discovered that he had several food allergies (egg, peanut and potatoe). It changed our life and that from the people around us. 

The dietitian we visited had never heard of a potatoe allergy and gave only info which we already had found on Internet. She was a great help for learning to read the labels of products, but the first time we visited a shop we had no clue what was allowed. It doubled, no tripled, the shopping time!

And that, my dear readers, is the main reason why I am starting this blog. I want to share my experiences with you, inform you about products and possible food. My husband and I first thought that a food allergy blocks you in your daily life, but that is not true. We learned so many new products, which are healthy and yummie.

And now you also know why this blog is called "Tania stays positive". Yes, this food allergy was sad news and yes, I prefer a child who can eats everything. But on the other hand, thanks to this we tasted products which we otherwise would not buy. Isn't that a positive thought? 

So stay connected and follow me in my world. You will not only read about food allergies, but also about sewing, belly dancing and ...

Read ya the next time!
Tania