Wednesday 26 March 2014

Mum wins?

I was determined to make this teepee on my own sewing machine gifted to me by a seamstress in the local kilt shop whilst I was at university. Mum thinks that we should use her new shiny machine that she got for christmas.
But mine is just beautiful. . .
However having turned the house upside down and cleared out every cupboard I have definitely and without a shadow of a doubt lost the pedal and plug for it. So unless I can source one soon, mum will be winning this round. Let's hope eBay doesn't let me down!

Decisions!

So lots of lovely little packages have been arriving and in a break from packing up the house I decided to have a little peek.
I'm leaning towards a woodland theme at the moment as there really are some beautiful patterns and colour combinations out there and these are a lovely high quality.

However the next parcel I opened contained a beautiful starry fabric which glows in the dark, how magical would that be?!
This is a lighter fabric though, so not sure how strong it would be.



Decisions, decisions. . .

Thursday 20 March 2014

Getting started


So I took the pattern to Mums to show her exactly what it was I had recruited her to help with.
This did not go well.
Mostly it involved Mum cackling with laughter whilst I got increasingly confused, the pattern pieces became even more mixed up and the air increasingly blue with my language. (I think if I introduce a swear box at this stage I'll have covered the cost of the materials and more before I've even started)
By the time Atholl woke from his nap I had made a few discoveries;

1. Mum works in inches and yards whilst I work in cm and meters, this means she has been reading the English instructions whilst I have been struggling with the French.

2. This pattern uses A LOT of material.

3. Patterns are confusing! Especially big ones. There are bits to attach to other bits, bits to be doubled and some other instructions that might as well be written in another language. (Other than French)
I also have to be careful with the ridiculously fragile paper as I have to use some of the pieces 5 times over. This means I'm going to have to be patient and delicate.(haha)

When we eventually put the pattern away and started to discuss fabric it really hit me exactly how much I am out of my depth, when Mum asked me which material Id like to use I think she was expecting more than 'Fabric' as a response. Having spent a long time looking at various fabric online I've decided that a trip to town will be required as there is just no substitute for being able to see/ feel the fabrics.
Some of the online companies do a great free sample service and I'm expecting quite a few little parcels over the next few days.
Ebay was also good for browsing fabrics with many sellers also offering sample services, except for one particular Ebay seller whose response to my sample request was
"We don't do that, letters cost money don't you know."
There's no need to be rude.

Cant wait to pick the fabric, although this will be a challenge in itself as there are so many pretty ones out there!











The problems


Having bought butterwick pattern B4251 I then began to think about what I was actually considering and this brought up a number of issues…

COST

Making the teepee myself is in no way a money saving exercise, fabric is expensive! Especially when you have to buy a large amount and can’t rely on end of roll off cuts.

TIME

Atholls 2nd birthday is in July, I have a lot on between now and then, not to mention the fact we are in the middle of moving house.

ABILITY

I can’t sew. There I said it. My sewing experience is limited to first year home economics and even then I wasn’t very good (well according to one particular witch of a teacher anyway).

And lastly. .

MY MOTHER

There is no way I can do this without some help, so I approached the one person I have always relied on, my Mum, who has (with a lot of doubtful laughter) agreed to ‘help’

I quote:

"I’m not going to end up doing the whole thing for you like that bloody scarf idea you had last time”

The spark

The spark
Whilst I love my 20 month old little boy and cherish every moment with him, my favourite time of day has to be that little time just after lunch when I get to drink an entire undisturbed hot cup of tea as he sleeps soundly recharging his energy for his afternoon adventures. 

It was during this little break, whilst enjoying my second cup of tea and doing the usual daily Facebook trawl that I came across a wonderful little company called Just For Tiny People.
(See link below)
They produce amazing wooden hideaways, hand made cushions, bedding, bunting and most of all the most beautiful childrens teepees.
The talented Effie who runs it really understands how much children enjoy having their own space to let their imagination run riot.

After returning to the page on numerous occasions and browsing through the many individual designs and pricing plans I eventually persuaded my husband that this was something our little boy NEEDED.

I found myself obsessing with teepees, looking online at all different designs and colours when I stumbled across butterwick pattern B4251 for childrens teepee and for some impulsive reason clicked buy it now.
So it begins. .