Spring project ideas

This week has felt more like spring is here despite the strange smog/Sahara sand that has been hanging in the air.  The lighter evenings and less need for heating has had us thinking about holidays and doing the garden.  We have removed the children's trampoline as they did not use it at all last year even though they said they would so we replaced the net.  The net has just perished and left it looking like an eye sore, so my husband took it all down.  They did not even mention it was gone!  We have decided a pergola and seating area will look nice in that corner of the garden but we do not want to pay too much for this.
My husband is very good at building and repairing stuff so he has been weighing up whether or not it is worth making the pergola and bench or buying a second hand one from eBay.  Sometimes the price of wood means it is not worth starting from scratch but you can pick up some good pieces if people are moving or bored with them that might just need retreating and a bit of attention.
I found this gorgeous idea on instructables ....

Follow the link above to see the original and full instructions

How fabulous is that bench!  It is made from ordinary dining chairs that have had their padded seats removed,  secured with batons at the back, arms added and panels across the seat tops.  This is what the chairs looked like before..

I'm sure a lot of people have old furniture in their family that gets thrown out or donated as it is not the current fashion.  If you have something similar it could be something you  could use in your own garden rather buying expensive garden furniture.  If you are not skilled enough to tackle the arms I'm sure it would be fine without and the straight bits of wood you could have cut for you at the DIY shop.  ( Make sure you measure correctly first) It would also need to be treated with appropriate outdoor protection.

I also think this piece of furniture would look good inside the house, you could have thick foam cut  (Dunhelm Mill do this, I've had it for seating before) and make a cover for it.

If you have not looked on the instuctables site have a look now there are ideas for all kind of things.

Alice dress finished

I went shopping for the fabric for my fancy dress costume yesterday and I didn't find any cheap sheets like I thought I might.  In fact the fabric ended up costing me £10 altogether (not very frugal at all!) but I had made my mind up on what I wanted to make and decided I didn't want to be trying to rush something on Thursday evening and then feel stressed about it.
I bought 2 metre of poly cotton and just under a metre of white poly cotton, plus 1 and a half metre of dress net.  I started it last I just measured my chest and from shoulder to waist and marked it out on the fabric then it was just a case of trying it on and adjusting using pins...

I try on inside out then mark with pins if its a bit big, I also mark front darts with pins while I am wearing it and the back ones when it is laid flat.  I left it a bit big around the waist as I want it to pull on over my head without the need for zips and fastenings.  It won't matter when it is finished as it will pull in at the waist with the apron I will make.

The skirt was just two long rectangles at the right length, I pinned the dress net all along it ready for stitching with a few gathers ( it will get gathered further when attached to the bodice). The sleeves I just cut out too big for the arm holes so I could put pleats at the shoulder so they were full and made a band for them to fit into at the bottom of the sleeve.  The apron is just rectangles made up once the dress was finished and I could see how big they needed to be.  Then a band long enough to go across the front with enough to tie at the back. 

I also made a band for my head.  My children think I look ridiculous! Well I'm not intending on going shopping like it so they needn't worry!  I better make sure I don't need anything from the shops on Friday  after work as I want to get out of the car and straight into the house at home time.

Dress up inspiration

I need an outfit for dressing up next Friday, it has to be book themed.  I didn't want anything too outrageous as I have to work in it all day so I have been having a look and thought maybe something like this...

I'm thinking Alice not the other strange characters

(love those stripy tights)

So I'm off on a little trip to the fabric shop tomorrow to see how cheap I can get some pale blue and white cotton.  I may also try Primark because if they have inexpensive sheets it will be a cheaper option.  I have bought sheets from there before when I had to make a large banner it works out better value.  I may come back having not found a thing so then I will have to rethink but I have all week if the plan changes.  I had not planned on buying any more fabric just yet but I need a costume and I figure it will probably come out every year if I make it (around book weeks that is, I don't just randomly dress up as odd characters)

Alice in Wonderland was first published in 1865.