How Indi made a softie.

This morning Indi (aged eight), and I found ourselves home alone for a few hours and decided to make an owl softie.

First off, we heat set one of the owls we screen printed yesterday. We did this by ironing the back of it.

She then drew around the shape of the owl adding a couple of centimetres, the seam allowance.

Then she cut along the line she had just drawn.

Earlier in the week we had been to the local craft shop to buy some elastic and the girls chose a fat quarter each for holiday crafting. I love letting them buy fabric because it is guilt free shopping for me. Indi chose this floral print.

The printed side of the owl and the right side of the floral were placed face to face and then the two were pinned together.

Indi then cut the floral fabric by tracing around the owl shape.

At this point I decided she was probably ready for a quick sewing machine lesson so I got out my old Bernina, saved for exactly this moment, and set it up.

I showed her the basics and then drew a whole lot of squiggly lines on some fabric which she traced using the machine. She got it so quickly and was dying to make something.

She then machine sewed around the line of the owl print that could be seen from the wrong side. Obviously this seam could also be hand sewn.

I marked a big line on the fabric for where she had to stop sewing. A gap between the start of the seam and the end has to be left for turning the right way out and stuffing. The gap was about eight or ten centimetres wide.

She then pushed the owl through that space we left in the stitching to turn it the right way out. She used the wrong side of a texta to press into the ears to push them right out into shape.

And then she stuffed him with enough stuffing to give him a good shape but not too full or he wouldn't be cuddly.

I forgot to take a photo of the seam she sewed to close him up. Obviously there are ways to do invisible, neat closing seams, but as we were in need of a quick finish at this point in time she just machine sewed along the outside.

Then, assuming we had finished, I left her to go and make a call and when I got back she was accessorising her owl by sewing him a scarf.

What fun!

Tomorrow she wants to make a bag.

Basket of Craft.

This is the basket that contains all the current knitting and crochet projects I am working on. There are bundles of wool piled in different places around the house, but these are the right now, can't live without, must have with me all the time items.

This basket travels with me from room to room at home and then out of the house to school assemblies, waiting rooms, friends' houses, cafes and car trips.

It contains my knitting project which is sadly at a standstill as I have run out of that beautiful wool and the shop was closed when I went to try and buy more yesterday.

Lots of crochet hooks, needles for darning in ends and scissors. I will one day soon sew up some type of lovely bag for these items to be carried in..

My granny square thing that possibly could become a laptop cover.

A partly completed beanie.

A bowl.

Some gorgeous wool that I had to buy because the shop is next to my hairdresser. I used most of another ball of this over the past 2 nights to make the skirt of a dress but unraveled it this morning when the tension was funny on one side.

And some random balls of cotton and wool that might inspire me because of the beauty of their colour or the loveliness of their texture to create something wonderful.

I am loving how portable these wool crafts are.

When I was in my twenties I drove up to Byron on holiday with my sewing machine in the boot of my car. I could not be without my craft for any period of time. Not much has changed since then but let me tell you this basket is slightly more convenient than my Bernina.