beachy keen

It's the start of the third day and I haven't laid eyes on sand yet. It's been cold and wet and windy and the boy and I both have colds complete with sneezes and coughs and runny gummy noses.

But I was clever enough to bring the machines and some stash so I have been well occupied indoors. I have also been able to make up for a few of the deficiencies of our packing - I tell you, it's the last time I let the 7 year old pack for herself and her younger brother - though not as many as I would have if I'd had a 30cm open end zip.

Amy's much needed new jeans are a resounding success. I used left over organic denim from the jeans I made last year and the Ottobre pattern cacao check pants from 4/2009, and it's great.

I changed a few pocket details and used the size for 104cm height (about a size 4 or maybe 5), but the length for 116cm, and I still had to add elastic at the waist to stop them falling down. I'm not sure if I've said this before but my kids are small.

Amy is the smallest grade 2 at her school and while she's short, she's even skinnier. In general I think the Ottobre patterns are well constructed to realistic proportions, but D's genes mean I generally need to make a smaller size and add length.

Since I was feeling the cold myself, I sewed up the remnant of boiled wool jersey I bought last month at Tessuti into a cowl neck vest using the same method I trialled for the hot wire. Very satisfactory. I have another similar piece in grey and I'll be tweaking a bit before I make another one in the same vein. And just for fun I made a cap, also from stash scraps (I think this black canvass may be over a decade old!). It's a little roomy but I think a wash and turn in a tumble drier may make it a better fit. Pattern is also from Ottobre kids (what can I say, my head is small) 4/2006 and both Amy and Wil are clamouring for their own, so I may be trying the pattern out in every size!

And then because I wanted something not too challenging, I used the super lux remnant of rose tulle I got from Tessuti, combined it with some red silk scraps left over from a rather stunning party outfit I made myself about 9 years ago (really truly scraps - there's a LOT of seams under that skirt!) and made Amy a party skirt. I'm actually a but unsure it should be so long - and the more I look at this pic the more I think I might take it up above the knee...we'll see how bored I get today...

And as we were sitting at dinner with Wil yanking up his falling down too short jeans and I said next up were new jeans for him, D asked why I didn't just extend the life of these. So after dinner I did just that by taking off the old waistband and the bottom hem and adding new bands of grey denim scraps from these shorts to make a new and more elasticated waist and add another almost 10cm to the length.

Still on the agenda are Amy's new winter coat, a few pairs of leggings, perhaps a new top to go with her party skirt, and some pants and a top or two for Wil, as well as my second vest, a gift for a birthday girl on Monday (a skirt perhaps?), a big pile of mending and refashioning and maybe, just maybe another cap or two. Unless of course the weather fines up a bit...