recycling tshirts

how to make a toddler pants from an old tshirt... seriously, it takes only half an hour!

http://www.favecrafts.com/Clothing/Recycle-Your-Husband-Old-T-Shirts#

how to make a circle skirt

I saw the tutorial at this mama makes stuff for a circle skirt and thought, my mom makes it so easily without a pattern!

so here are instructions to make the simple circle skirt for you or anyone else, its that simple.

measure your waist. write this down as W=_

measure how long you want the skirt to be. write this down, L=_

fold your fabric from selvedge to selvedge. fold it down to make a squareish shape.

now draw two circle shapes on the fabric like this:

oh wait, dont just draw them, you have to think a bit first.

the small circle is a bit larger than your W. (little math lesson here, circle perimeter is Rx2x3.14 so R should be around W/6. so divide the W by 6, and round up. say, if my waist were 24inches(oh, the possibilities), we do 24/6=4. but we need to add a bit to this because i would want to pull the skirt over my hip...and i dont want a zip.

so i add 0.5 to that, so R=4.5 inches.

if W=20 (like my baby amy, right now eating pickled onions .........oh no! be right back!)

err where were we? ah yes, w=20. so 20/6 will be... wait, let me get the calculator on this..ok,we get 3.33, so we round it up to R=3.5.easy peasy. hmm i hope you think so. you still with me on this?

0k. mark your fabric with a chalk or disappearing pen. if you dont know how to mark a circle shape, the easiest way is to tie a lenght of string(or yarn, or thread, or ribbon) around your marker and FROM THE MARKER, measure the distance and make a mark on the thread. hold this point to the folded corner of fabric and mark the circle with the marker end.

first, mark the waistline. for another way to do this, check the picture and tutorial at this link.

next, use W+R as the marking length and mark the hemline.

now cut through all layers to make a donut-shaped circle skirt.

attach elastic to the waistline.

finishing the hem:
with doublefold bias tape

with ribbon like in the famous lazy days skirt from oliver+s
with lace, using the same technique

a shirred dress for karen

this is a simple dress to make if you have elastic thread and a machine that cooperates..mine tried to kill the elastic thread in 20 different ways.


I have been trying to make this dress from the first time I saw this on portabellopixie, when everyone and their sisters started raving about shirring. I tried and tried.... no, my elastic thread got bunched up and knotted and who knows how it managed to break off, not a bit of proper shirring was done. I had to rip out lots of stitches I made in the hope that the thread will come even after running some time..I surfed the net hoping for an answer, I changed the tension, I turned every dial on my stubborn machine. , then left my shirring plans and went and made some other stuff.

One fine day, the planets aligned, the machine suddenly discovered the fine art of cooperation, I was able to make this dress. then the planets went their separate ways :) so I havent been able to shir another stitch yet. well, I'll always have my trusty 1/4 inch elastic.

Some excellent tutorial links for making this dress and cute fotos can be found at MADE
another detailed tutorial from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross is available at Etsy storque.
if you'd loke a visual reference, there's a video from craftzine.

p.s. this was a dress I made in the beginning of summer, now it is almost winter here. that says a lot about my blogging habits, alle? I will try to post some more of my past work in the coming days..

a giveaway at sweet tidings

hi, i heard about this giveaway at sweet tidings from craftgossip, and since it is open internationally, thought i would check my luck.

Holland fabric house has a lot of colorful whimsical fabric and notions, fabric lovers, check out the shop for a little eye candy.

i just discovered this jem. see more at the progressiveboink,

blogsurfing

no time.

amy turned one. published some photos.

she got a bad allergy attack.

should i beleive in the evil eye?

he goes alone, while i am staying..for two weeks.

then it is time to go to that land again.. the land where we dont belong, but me and mine live there.

packing, unpacking.. it is a big job. not a tiny vacation.

relishing each moment left here. will be almost a year before i return.

found a blog new to me.

indian parents with traditional views..check this out.

moslems of any region, i am intrigued by this post..what is your opinion on the subject?

home is where the heart is..

last week someone labelled me an NRI. my sister told me that he was right, i am instantly recognizable as an NRI. yesterday someone called me an auntie(again!). i found out that i cannot climb the hill near my childhood home in one go, like i used to do. today, i found that i dont recognise any of the faces in the local youth group i used to belong to.

today we cut amy's hair. her baby curls are gone. she had a terrible heatrash problem, so we had to cut her hair. not that she had much to speak of.. still, her birthday photos won't have those baby curls.

i'm finding my hometown has become an alien place. i need a guide just to find a new shop, a good tailor, a clothing store. the only people i know are the dentist, the ....well, thats all.

you know what is the definition of an NRI?
a Non Resident Indian is an indian who lives in a place other than india.. someone who wants convenience and is willing to pay any price for it.. they dont know the actual price of anything, so you might as well quote them something higher. like, a blouse costs 120Rs, if it is an NRI, just say 500Rs.. if they like it they will buy it without bargaining!

as time goes on, i am finding that yes, i would rather have convenience than low cost..because i can afford it..i am becoming used to not-bargaining. i am finding that my travel is limited to places that serve trustable-quality food.. so the kids dont get upset stomachs. i am finding that my shopping time is limited to 2hours.. the space of time before the kids get bored/hungry/sleepy.

more to do with having multiple kids than being an NRI, but , well, i had to write. now back to the precious time spent with parents and siblings, seen for only so little time each year..dad's advice, mom's fussing, sister's backtalk.. things i miss the most when i am away.

a website

after the comment incident, i read around on sarah mae's site, and i found this wise christian lady, a mother of 14 children, whose blog is calm and quiet and wonderful. these are some of her posts that particularly impressed me..
about population
about fairness
about simple, better living
about housework
about being a housewife aka, being a stay-at-home mom

i am inspired by the way she writes, she speaks so clearly and simply about her ideals. i share some of her work here only because i would like you to see some of my own ideals, written eloquently by someone else.

my take on instant obedience

i found a new blog today..sarah mae, a lady spouting bible verses left, right and middle. as i went through her blog, i saw that she had a lot of followers, and was wont to give advice on parenting ..the "godly " way.. Her post on obedience raised my hackles.. here is some of it..

"What Is Direct Disobedience?
Direct disobedience occurs when you tell your child to do something (or have told them not to do something) and they don't respond to the instruction immediately.

How Do I Correct Disobedience In My Child?
Commit to being consistent in giving your children a consequence for disobeying. If you say "come" and those little feet don't start moving, they are disobeying and need a consequence. If you catch them painting on the walls after telling them not too, immediate consequence. Now, because we are ultimately dealing with the heart and not just outward obedience, we must make sure to correct in love not anger. In fact, if you are so angry that you can't control the disciplinary measures you choose to implement, don't even do them. Take a breather. Gain perspective. Children are supposed to sin, we must help them learn not too (at least do their best - we all need Jesus after all!""

I used to think like this too.. until i had kids of my own. i am just pasting the comment i made on her blog here, because this is one thing i feel strongly about..

i do not like the term "first time obedience"...are you raising curious, lively, inspired 'future citizens of this world' or starting a nunnery? children are children because they behave like children. they learn to do things by constant repetition, ok.

teaching them to obey the authority figures(in this case, their parents) without question is a potentially suicidial move in my opinion, because the association of authority=obedience will be too deep in their mind. what about a stranger? what about an ill-motived teacher? what about some impostor in a police uniform? heck, what about future bosses at workplaces? "obey the first time", indeed..

if the child says "hold on, wait, give me a minute," remember to GIVE FAIR WARNING.. like, tell them "we're going out in ten minutes, i expect you to be ready by then, close your coloring book after this color, you can finish that when we get back" instead of "put on your shoes on right now".

what will you do or feel if someone comes in while you're working at the computer and switches it off, and says, "get your coat on, we're going to the mall"?

parenting is a lot about respect.. respect the adults they will become. groom them to be respectable adults.. sure, it will take a lot of work , be less convenient for you and will be much tougher than saying "get your coat on. instant obedience", but it will be better for your children AND will make you a better parent.

whats happening in may

somehow in the past month, i failed to post even once about my family. it is not that they are not here, they are just such a big part of me that sometimes i just want to escape into webland and live in denial for a while, so i did not write about them. ponnu celebrated her 7th birthday, chinnu is discovering reading, amy has started standing up and climbing up onto stuff. no pics, i have edit them and all, too much trouble right now.