Something I have been meaning to do all through Blogtober, is to tell everyone all about my favourite blogs.
I follow heaps of blogs, but these are the ones I never skip past... (interestingly, they are all Australian, hmm..)
You Sew, Girl - Nicole Mallalieu's blog. Heaps of great bag, hat (and other) tips and tutorials. I have read EVERY post on this blog. I guess by the way I rave on about her here, you would probably understand that I am a bit of a fan... If you haven't checked out this blog, then you ABSOLUTELY MUST!
Ric-Rac - Jodie of the Selvege Dress fame. I went in search of this blog after seeing the Selvege Dress in person at the Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show earlier this year. Jodie makes really cute softies with clock parts and other bits and pieces, and then she goes and makes these beaut little stories with her softies as characters. We all keep telling Jodie that she should publish a book, but she thinks we're all mad - check it out for yourself!
Badskirt - Amy makes Hippo, Kiwi, and Dog softies out of really cool fabric and sells them at markets. I'm not sure what it is that keeps me coming back to her blog. She is very friendly and seems to have a pretty good sense of humour (it might be the humour). Go and check out her blog and come back and tell me what it is that has made me become so addicted.
Curly Pops - Ok, another blogger that I can't stop myself from following is Cam from Curlypops. Cam likes to recycle things she finds at op-shops, and makes really cool bags out of discarded skirts and table cloths. Cam also has this really cool Superpops challenge on her blog that you simply must check out. I don't know how she does it, she must have this really cool magnetic personality thing going on, because I cannot see people making SuperCarmel's (that would be me) and entering them in a competition... Somehow Cam manages to keep it exciting.
My Black Cardigan - Nikki Cardigan. I first came across Nikki as I was checking out something she was pattern testing for Nicole Mallalieu. Like Curlypops, Nikki also recycles op-shop finds. Something I like about Nikki is the honesty of her posts. She will tell you about the stuff-ups as well as the things that go well. Nikki also will take a stuff up, turn it around and make it into a success. Nikki made a man's jumper into a ladies' cardigan, and when that didn't work out, she then turned it into a pair of pants for one of her twins. Nikki is warm, friendly and sweet. Check out her blog, trust me, you will love her....
Who are your BIG FIVE? What blogs can't you go past?
When sewing a 4-hole button, you can make it extra secure by sewing first one side. Tie the thread off, and then sew the other side. 
This way, if a thread becomes broken, only one side will unravel, leaving the other side to stop you from losing your button!
I was lucky enough to receive a $10 voucher from Embroidery Library for my birthday (way back in July). I chose to spend my voucher on the Radical Robots design pack. I may yet go back and get the smaller one as well. If you want to see something super cute, you should check out the Radical Robots Stuffies on there!
My Creative Space this week was largely dominated by this Laptop Bag. Actually, to be honest, my creative space was dominated by a pair of toddlers. I don't know if it is just me, but the stronger my desire to get into the sewing room and get something done, the more desperately the kids want my attention. I need to practise acting more cavalier...
The laptop bag has a large patch pocket on the front, and a divided pocket across the inside at the back. I made fabric straps out of the pinwale corduroy, and I added a little hook (not part of the pattern) so mum can put her keys in there without losing them. I've added my hand made label to the facing above the inside pocket. The bag also has a hard base and purse feet.
Sometimes it is difficult, or even impossible to use pins to hold things together. There are various things you can do to get around this, like paper clips, bulldog clips, hair clips, sticky tape... anyway, Nikki advises using sticky tape to hold various things in place throughout the project - which is a really, really, good tip. I used sticky tape and then sewed over the top, through the tape (along the entire length of the seam. I am not really sure what the cause was (Nikki uses tape from Officeworks, mine was Scotch Magic Tape, or maybe my needle was a little blunt?) Removing teeny tiny bits of sticky tape from pinwale cord isn't fun... so here's a tip; Use tape in place of pins where required, but remove it before your presser foot reaches it. Actually, another really good tip is to read all of the instructions before you begin a project, because Nikki does advise this in her instructions!
Beware of velcro, as it may stick to your clothes, parts of your project, and other items laying around the sewing table, and unguarded sticky fluff removing devices can also stick to projects if you don't put them away. I was having major dramas with everything in my sewing room being stuck together this week!
Thursday nap-time was great for sewing. I also completed this padded laptop sleeve for my mum's laptop. The pattern is the free Nicole Mallalieu Laptop Sleeve tutorial available from WhipUp. The instructions are also included in the Laptop Bag pattern. 
Nikki also includes instructions as to how to adjust the size to fit different laptops. I wasn't sure about the size, but I measured my mum's laptop and found it was the same size as Maxx's. I made the sleeve first, as I figure that if the laptop fits in there okay, then it will fit in the bag too. It turns out it is a really good fit if you leave the pattern as is.
I have joined the Blogtoberfest, which means that I have made the commitment to blog everyday for the entire month of October. To find out more about Blogtoberfest, or to sign up, you should pop on over to TinnieGirl's blog and check it all out.
