What a week

Baby rage:

This expression has graced our household all week long... poor Fin had his first virus and wanted to tell the whole world how terrible he felt. To keep myself sane amidst the fevers, tears and tantrums, I set myself the task of making some art smocks for our Montessori environment.

(What I haven't yet updated here in the blog-world is that our Toddler Community is well and truly underway! We currently have two little friends joining us through the week which has been a joy for both me and Fin. Miss.I and Mr.J have settled in beautifully and I can't wait to share some of our adventures with you. It's high time I posted a tour of our new house.... that's a project for the coming days!)

During Fin's naps (the only time he would let me put him down!), I got to work....

I searched online for a pattern and decided upon this one. I used the downloadable pattern pieces as a start and made my own adjustments as I went along. I wanted the smock to be made of a double layer of plain calico which would absorb paint stains and become more individualised over time. I also had some lovely printed fabric which made for a cute detail along the bottom of the smock. Then I found some plain blue bias tape for the cuffs and collar. Elastic sewn into the top of the shoulders and tied behind the neck finished it off! And because I was in a crazy mood I decided to embroider each child's name on the front of the smocks. Here is the finished product (on my very un-willing model...!):

I made sure to leave Miss.I's smock unfinished until she joined us a few days later, so that she could watch me complete the embroidery of her name and the finishing touches on the sewing machine. At 21 months, this all seemed fascinating to her! Now every time she sees her smock she points to it proudly and says her name :)

Happily, when Finlay woke up a few days later and smiled at me, I knew the worst was over. Our happy Fin is back! Now, let's get out the paint....