Gifts for kindy

We love P's kindergarten. It was my last choice of the local kindergartens due to location and the lack of long daycare but it has been an absolute revelation. The teachers are awesome, the grounds are lovely, the other kids and families great and it's become a favourite place for P. This year he's really grown and there's no doubt his school transition has been helped immensely by this kindergarten.

I really knew it was the best kindergarten in the world, when I stayed to play one day and one of the teachers came out into the playground wearing a Shifter Bikes hoodie. There'll be very few people who'll know just how awesome that is for me, but for anyone who doesn't get the reference, at least you now know how to find the best bike mechanic ever (and he once built wheels for us for the price of bourbon infused chocolate mudcake!)

When we first enrolled there was a form for parents to fill in with any useful skills we might have. I didn't rate being able to sing the Hokey Pokey in French as much use to anyone, but did write down that I could sew.

That seemed to go unnoticed until three quarters of the way through the year and footy colours day came around and P wore his homemade Bulldogs T-shirt....

Then I got my first commission: The kindergarten needed a hanging thing with thirty pockets to hold hats for outdoor summer play.

I borrowed an idea I learned from Oliver + S sewing and made an inverted box pleat in each pocket to make them expandable for the hats.

Once that was finished and delivered I got cracking on the project that I really wanted to make for the kindergarten.....

I'd taken the puppet theatre that I made for the kids last year down to kindy one time and when I got it back a few days later there was a list in the bag with all the kids names on it. It seems they'd been queuing up to play with it. I thought I'd make them one of their own as an end of year gift for the kindergarten.

Those little toes peeking under at the bottom crack me up!

I wanted to make it a bit simpler than the house design in the book and planned just for some spotlights over head and some footlights down below as well as the kindergarten's name. But then the doors just need to be there to fill that space.....



I used some 3D puff paint for my neon-esque theatre sign. It's not my neatest painting job ever but I think the effect is great and so long as the kids don't pick at the paint it should wear well.

The background fabric was on sale at Spotlight as was the duck canvas. All the other fabrics were from the stash or the scraps tub. I was quietly pleased when P stood back, looked at the red and blue spotlights and worked out the combination purple idea. Although he then went on to point out how the curtains should be a bit orange on this side and a bit green on the other side given the yellow footlights. Smarty-pants!

 

 

So with that distraction completed, my next project from the Little Things To Sew book will be one I haven't done before. My idea to make them all has grown legs and I'm excited to say there's a sponsor, a giveaway and prize, so stay tuned and sew along with me.

 

Back tomorrow with details!