Sewing & A Sandy Saturday at the Seaside

It's me again, and it's not even a week since I last posted - wow! Wonder if I've ever done more than 1 post within 7 days (and to think of the many bloggers who post everyday!). Anyway, this post is rather picture-heavy (like 14 photos, I think!).

Here is Abigail modelling a dress I made for her on Friday night (she wanted her brother in the photo with her - complete with violin - and they've got quite funny expressions on their faces). Abigail was really excited when she woke up on Saturday morning to find the "bear dress" finished (I'd cut the pieces out a couple of days earlier and she didn't know I was sewing it while she slept). Anyway, I couldn't tell if the dress was going to look a bit dated (the pattern was an older Burda one that I found on eBay) but I think it's quite cute anyway. I had to hand embroidery the bear's eyes, nose & mouth, and there was elastic to put into casings in the back, etc, so not totally straight forward like some dresses - it took me about 2.5 to 3 hours in total, so not toooo bad. The pattern comes with options for shorts or trousers, so Abigail is really keen that I make Benjamin a matching outfit with the remaining fabric, but I'm not totally sure how the fabric/style would suit a little boy. Might be quite cute, but I'd probably have to make it first to see! However, I'm already starting on another dress for Abigail - another Burda pattern from eBay (this time a modern one) and fabric from eBay too. I'm sure I'll post pics of it too if I ever get round to sewing it! I've cut all the pieces out this afternoon but felt too tired to sew it tonight. Maybe tomorrow! :)

Right....sewing topic finished, now onto the "sandy Saturday at the seaside"! it was rather wet on Saturday (at least around town) so Peter suggested we go for a drive (rather than a walk, as we'd first thought of doing). He mentioned going to Portmahomack (and I thought, Yay, sand & seaside for Abigail), so I packed a lunch and off we went. We weren't sure if it would be any drier than it was here, but it turned out quite nice really. Overall, a mixture of sun & showers, but it stayed bright most of the day. So here are some photos to guide you through our outing! :)

A smiling Abigail as we begin our drive

Benjamin eating a cheesy breadstick

This is the lighthouse in Portmahomack. Benjamin fell asleep soon after we started out and Abigail dropped off too, only about 5 minutes before we got there (as seen in photo below). So we drove on to see the lighthouse while they got a few minutes more sleep. Eventually Peter & I ate our lunch while they slept, and then I fed them some food once we finished & they woke up!

Two sleeping beauties :)

A view of what's below the lighthouse

The beach in Portmahomack

How you dress when you go to the seaside in Scotland in the spring - warm coats, hats and mittens!

A funny photo with each of them looking another direction!

Thinking about heading off for an adventure on his own!

Building a sandcastle

Father & Son! :) (Peter was struggling to get Benjamin's mitten back on - Benjamin likes to pull them off the first chance he gets, using his teeth if necessary.)

They played in the sand for quite a while but eventually got too cold. So we headed off for Tain and had a wee walk around. Went in one bookshop (didn't buy anything) and then into the Blythswood charity shop, where we got a half dozen or so children's books (can never have too many of them!).

Abigail climbing down from a tall pulpit inside an ancient church in Tain

A very big oil rig that was in at Invergordon

.....and so ends the photographed adventure! It was really nice to have a relaxing day out and Abigail is still talking about the sand and the sea. :) Hopefully we'll get at least one hot day this summer where she can actually enjoy it without eventually freezing!