Pocket softie skirts and where we've been (and still are)

Well hello, that was a bit of an unexpected blogging break! November really did a number on me it seems. I managed to half write two blog posts and then not finish them or publish them. We did still manage to get plenty of undocumented larking around done, but nothin' in bloggitty blogland. Sorry about that. December has been just as sparse on the blogging front around here too, because we flew off to Blighty a couple of weeks ago, to see the fam. We'll be back in the US again in the new year, if Heathrow can pull itself together amidst all the snow, and likely things will calm down a bit for more regular happenings on Filth Wizardry :) Hope you all haven't given up and unsubscribed by then!

Thank you to all the nice folk that checked in with me to see if everything was ok over here. We're all ok, in fact things are good. The year that started out hard going with rotten health, pregnancy loss, and visas/greencard stress is happily winding up in the opposite way it seems. We have Green Cards in hand, and have a new family member on the way too. I'm at that point during the human manufacturing process where I'm queen of the chunder fairies and also feel like I've been gunned down by a zoological grade tranquilizer dart though, so don't expect me to rock the awesomometer until after the new year, when I'll be about 16/17 weeks :)

In the mean time, I wanted to post a few ideas of things to make for the kidletts for Christmas. We're currently snowed in up a mountain at a place called Rhosgadfan in North Wales, so I don't have access to all the pics on my home computer, but I'd half written this pocket softie skirt post before we left, so there are a few pics in it already for you.

One of the things I made for the girls last year and totally failed to blog about were these dinky little skirts with soft toys in the pockets. All I used was some nice patterned scrap brushed cotton, a few lengths of ribbon, and the waist band I sewed on was just an "ear warmer" headband thing from the Dollar Tree.

Little sister got the owl fabric skirt, with three little owl softies cut from the same fabric, and big sister got the outer space skirt with a softie rocket ship to go in the pocket.

LiEr has been posting a load of great pocket tutorials on her blog Ikat bag lately and it reminded me of these skirts I'd made and then K posted about some little softies she'd made too on her blog "Made by K" and so I thought you might like to see this pretty simple project from last Christmas.

I just sewed the fabric onto the headband when it was stretched taught, so that the skirt had a bit of fullness to it. The adult sized headband was the perfect size for an elasticated toddler waistband. The softies that I made from the same fabric were attached to the ribbon and sewn into the pockets so that the kids could play with them, but not loose them. They worked out really well for random waiting in line places and that sort of thing. I liked the way the softies were made from the same material as the skirt, so Ffi's little owls could even have conversations with the rest of the non 3D owl community on her clothing, and Carys's rocket ship could visit the planets on her skirt. I really need to make more now that they are a year bigger because these ones are like mini skirts on them now, and can only reasonably be worn with leggings underneath these days!

This time around, when I make new skirts I can try some better pocket sewing techniques, thanks to LiEr's tutorials! Given my current exhaustion levels, I might resort to sewing a few pockets on skirts they already have, and making ribbon pocket softies for them. I love the feel of brushed cotton, and there are so many cute kid prints available in it, that it'd also be nice to make a pillow case with a pocket and a couple of pocket softies to tuck into it at bedtime. I'm hoping to have a bit more get up and go, and a lot less barfing in the new year and that'll result in more knitty/sewy goings on.

Before I sign off and wade through some deep snow to see if the car is still burried, here are a few things from the last few of years that might work for you in the last couple of days before Christmas...

Presents.

• Superhero poncho fleece cape. (I made both of these on Christmas eve last year, so you definately have time still)
• Painted peg dolls. (these ones took quite a while, but a small set would be quicker)
• Homemade freaky unicorn pillow pet. (my mate back in the US is making a replica of this for her little girl at the moment. I hope it's going well jennifer!) Again, this was very quick to sew up.
• A little sewing/embroidery kit very cheaply.
• Fuzzy Felt friends and family set. I really want to make the kids an updated version of the one I made a few years ago. Maybe for my younger daughter's birthday in March.

Easy Holiday activities.

• No icing candy cane cookies.
• Printable christmas lego and hole punch set.
• Paper plate angels.
• Old tights snowmen.

Hope those links are useful to a few of you in the last couple of days before Christmas and I hope everyone gets some lovely time with their families over the next few days. I hate to think of all those people sleeping on the floor at the airport in London, just trying to get home :( Fingers crossed that won't be us next week. In the mean time I shall be stuffing my pregnant face with fish and chips, sausage rolls, Ribena, Rusholme Kebabs, Wensleydale cheese, and all manner of other British foods that I can't get my hands on back in California! Om nom nom!!!