The Twelfth Day of Christmas: Things for boys
December 12, 2013
Today is the twelfth and final day of Christmas in Laura and my The 12 Days of Christmas sewing series. Laura and I have been so impressed with all the guest posts - everyone has put in so much effort. We have also been thrilled to see lots of lovely festive sewing popping up in our flickr group. If you plan on adding a festive creation, please do! We will do a round up on each of our blogs on the 19th.
Today's guest is the lovely Abby from Things for boys. Abby lives in Melbourne too and we have met a few times - she is lovely!
She sews for her two gorgeous sons and also herself. I guess my all time favourite thing I love that Abby has sewn is her Peter Rabbit jacket. Amazingly cute no? Abby is also just and all round crafty girl - HEAPS of great sewing 101, tutorials and an amazing number of easy to read yummy recipes are on her blog too. She has also very recently collaborated on this great e-book! Today is she is sharing a creation she put together for her youngest boy, Ted.
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Hi Sewpony readers! I'm Abby and you can find me blogging at Things for Boys where I blog about all the sewing, crafting and baking I get up to for the boys in my life.
A big thank you to Suz for asking me to take part in the series. I have had such fun reading about everyone's holiday traditions and seeing what they've made.
The forces of nature were really against me on this project for some reason. Last week everyone in our house came down with a cold and I even managed to develop bronchitis...not fun! With all the down time between me and the boys, not a lot of sewing got done. I decided to change my original plan and go for something a bit quicker to put together. I must admit my post relies heavily on baby cuteness to disguise the fact I didn't do a whole lot of sewing.
With my post being on the last day of the series, I really wanted to incorporate the 12 drummer's drumming. I was thinking a fun vintage iron on transfer would be quick, simple and perfect. I was wrong on all counts! The graphic of a drummer was easy enough to find (you can get it here) and easy enough to print, but I really lucked out on the transfer part. I almost cried when I peeled off the paper and half of the image came with it! Hubby convinced me that it was just part of the 'vintage' look, but I was pretty devastated. Of course, I'd only printed the one, so couldn't have another go.
Thankfully, the cute elf shoes came to my rescue! The pattern isn't actually for baby shoes, but the size was perfect for Ted! I'm normally not one for such cheesy outfits, but they're only babies for such a short time, I couldn't resist! The shoes were really quick to make and are made from wool blend felt. I sewed the seams on the machine for an extra quick finish. You can find the pattern for the shoes here.
I added the little red pom poms to complete the elf look. Ted was quite fascinated by them and thought they tasted quite good! Ok, enough about my little elf and time for some talk of traditions...
Since having kids, I've thought a lot more about creating traditions within our little family. I don't remember much in the way of Christmas traditions from when I was a kid. I remember that we got a lot of presents, with big sacks appearing at the end of our beds. There was often a Super Soaker (giant water pistol), because Christmas is usually hot here in Melbourne. I don't remember putting up the tree or watching any Christmas movies, but these are things I love as an adult and would really love to create traditions around. I'm thinking of claiming Christmas Eve just for us to hang about in our pyjamas, watching movies and having some family fun. If you've got any great ideas for me, please leave a comment!
Hubby's family is Russian Orthodox, so they celebrate Christmas on the 7th of January. One of the things this means for us, is that a fake Christmas Tree is a necessity. Using a fake tree means I can put it up on the 1st of December and it will easily last until the 7th of January. A real cut Christmas Tree would not last too well for 6 weeks in the Melbourne Summer heat.
I do feel pretty lucky being able to have two Christmas dinners every year. We do Christmas with my family on the 25th and then 2 weeks later do it all again with hubby's family. With New Year's Eve sandwiched in the middle, it's very much party time!
Thanks again to Suz and Laura for hosting such a fun series! Happy holidays everyone!
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I love this Abby! I agree with your husband, the faded look of the sweet little drummers makes the romper look tres vintage! And the shoes are adorable as is little Ted. Lovely photos too! Thanks so much for joining in our series and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night for our Christmas catch up!!
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To see Laura's last guest post by the talented Trine from Groovybaby...and mama, head over to Craftstorming - click on the picture below to take you there.
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On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me,
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!
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Thank you so much to our amazing guest bloggers...please come back on Monday to see a round up of all the lovely posts in this series.
PS. If you are interested in seeing how I made my origami collar on Isabella's Christmas dress, I have my tutorial scheduled and ready to go for tomorrow - so please pop back to say hi!
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Thank you so much to our amazing guest bloggers...please come back on Monday to see a round up of all the lovely posts in this series.
PS. If you are interested in seeing how I made my origami collar on Isabella's Christmas dress, I have my tutorial scheduled and ready to go for tomorrow - so please pop back to say hi!
14 comments
Aww that toothless grin! Love those shoes Abby they are just adorable. The pom poms are perfect :)
ReplyDeleteAbby! These photos are absolutely gorgeous, how adorable is Ted? I agree with your hubby about the transfer too, it fits so well with the image you chose. The elf shoes are so so so cute - I think you should make a set for the whole family and include them in your Christmas Eve traditions ;) Thank you so much for taking part and I hope you're feeling better now.
ReplyDeleteSuch a cutie!!! And those elf shoes - adorable!
ReplyDeleteOh my, Abby. That boy!! So squeezable. No problem at all to rely on baby cuteness. I love the retro look of the onesie. And I hope you are all feeling better soon.
ReplyDeleteHI Abby, when first I saw the images on Ted's onesie, this impression came in my mind "cool graphics" (seriously) and the booties with pompom are cute, great job!
ReplyDeleteAbby, I actually prefer the fact that the drummers are a bit faded... it makes it more real! So pat yourself on the back for getting it "wrong" sista! Haha! The shoes are just adorable!
ReplyDeleteNatalie
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Oh Ted looks adorable and the tee is just perfect. I wish it was summer here too and I just love all the partying you get to do! Fun times :) I hope you feel better!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cutie! The tee looks great!
ReplyDeletethanks everyone!
ReplyDeleteSorry Abby, what were you saying? I got completely destructed by these gorgeous little chubby cheeks! hehe The outfit is oh so cute, very appropriate for a little person :) I would want to taste those pom poms too if I was little! The 12 drummers look cool. I have never attempted iron on transfers. So anyone who has - I salute you!
ReplyDeleteDo you also celebrate the Old New Year (just to confuse everyone here)?
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness, what a cute baby! i think the onesie is great, and the shoes are fabulous!
ReplyDeleteJenya - no, we don't do Old New Year, but use the old Calendar for all the Church dates, like Easter and Names Days.
ReplyDeleteDarling onesie and elf shoes!! Not to mention the handsome babe!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to comment - it makes my day☼