a little bit of sewing

Today my littlest man, Alistair stayed at home with me. He was poorly last night with a high fever and I decided to keep him home. He was none too happy. You see, today was his Fairyland event, a project for which the children have worked hard since Christmas. Parents were invited to join the children for an hour of fairy tale adventures and games. Alistair was the tiniest of the three bears in Goldilocks and the three bears.

I had big plans for today but of course with a little clingy snotty bear, nothing much gets done. Well, to be honest, I just wanted to unpack all my fabrics and decide on a quilting project. I am in need of some sewing practice because soon, I'll have to sew 16 ballet rainbow outfits. I also want to sew a dress for myself and earlier this week, I ordered a pattern (Washi Dress). I can't start this project just yet because I need to loose two or three inches of my waist first. I can't bring myself to make the supersized tent version of the dress. Besides, the fabric for a tent-sized dress would cost a fortune.

Instead of planning a quilt, I enjoyed a coffee with my friend Christine, who came for a wee visit. We spent the morning in the garden, chatting and enjoying the March sun. Alistair was wrapped in a blanket and snuggled up on my lap. It was nice. Being at home has definitely advantages.

Around lunchtime, Alistair decided that he was absolutely better. He didn't want to miss his Fairyland event I think. I was in two minds but after a big bowl of cereal (he insisted on breakfast for lunch), he changed into his school uniform and I took him to school. It was only an hour before the parents were due to see the children and I figured he would be ok.

I rushed home to get my fabrics out. I didn't have much time but I thought I could sew a quick eye mask for the summer. Summer nights in Scotland are short but I like to sleep in darkness and so I sleep with one of those super attractive eye masks that you sometimes get on long haul flights. The one I had for years is a bit worn out (to put it nicely) and I didn't think it was rocket science to make one.

I found an old cotton dress that will never fit me again and an old black vest top that I can no longer wear in public. I printed off a template but if you have a pair of skiing goggles, trace these on a piece of paper instead.

I cut two pieces of cotton fabric and one of the black vest top. I did manage to cut them so uneven that I had to start again... If you have any common sense (I don't), you would of course layer the fabric, pin it together and cut it in one go. Which is what I did the second time round. I found a wide elastic band in my sewing box, which I roughly measured to fit around my head.

I very nearly got the layers wrong when I assembled the pieces. It is not unusual for me to end up with the wrong side on the outside when sewing simple things. Eventually, I got it right. So here it is how:

• Place the first cotton piece on the table with the right side facing you
• Place the elastic band on so that the ends are facing outwards. Bunch the middle bit of the elastic up so it doesn't get in the way
• Place the second cotton piece on top, with the wrong side facing you
• Place the dark lining on top
• Hold it all together with pins.

Above is the assembly turned over so I could draw a line with marker pen to guide my sewing. This is not so easy on black fabric. Sewing is real quick, it takes less than minute with a sewing machine. It is important to leave a gap, maybe 5 cm, so that the mask can be turned out later.

After sewing, I cut teeny tiny triangles around the curvy bits so it would later stay flat.

Turning the mask around is a bit like inverting a sock when it is the wrong way.
I pushed the edges out with my fingers and ironed the mask. Lastly, I finished by closing the gap with a few hand stitches. Easy.

Unfortunately, the model was a bit grumpy.

I did of course not do this in the hour before returning to school. The heating engineer had to be called back because when he fixed the heating this morning, he somehow stopped the hot water from working, a few phone calls had to be made and some washing needed to go on the line, too. I finished the eye mask after school.

Because of course I did remember to dash back to school to spend an hour at Fairyland with my littlest boy. It was sweet, the little children were all singing beautifully and tunelessly but from the bottom of their hearts and they remembered their lines. Alistair's was "we also built a castle" and he nearly missed his cue. We then spent 30 minutes playing games like "throw a fairy tale" using dice with fairy tale characters on and making a story with the characters on the sides showing. Having been at the same event with the three older children, I was bored out of my wits but I think I hid it well, although my enthusiasm may have bordered on hysteria, I am not sure. Alistair was a hoot. He always is. He is the smallest of all the school children and is so cute that all mums and girls and even some dads"ooohh" and "ahhhh" when he does anything at all, or even when he does nothing but stand in line with the other children.

And so ends another lovely day. I hope yours was as good as mine. Cx