Solomon Sewing

Australia Day 2012

2012-01-27T18:59:00.000+11:00

Yesterday, we took advantage of the lovely weather and headed off to the beach.

We haven't really done a proper beach trip before, although the boys have been for a nice walk around Nelson Bay.

Amélie however, had never seen a beach before and was quite in her element.

Liz's Quick Currant Cookies

2012-01-23T12:34:00.001+11:00

This is my mum's biscuit recipe. I made some this morning. The recipe makes HEAPS of biscuits! I got 120 from this mixture, mum gets about 80, but hers are bigger. You could probably halve the recipe if you wanted, or take half the dough and wrap it in plastic and pop it in the freezer to make later. Or just make the whole batch, because you know they will get eaten anyway.

2¼ Cups Self-Raising Flour
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
2 Cups Brown Sugar
2 Cups Oats
1½ Cups Currants
250g Butter, melted
2 Eggs, lightly beaten

Pre-heat the oven to moderately hot. Ensure baking trays fit in the oven! Grease baking trays.

Sift the flour, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl.

Add sugar, oats and currants.

Make a well in the centre of the bowl and add the butter and eggs. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are well combined.

Roll teaspoons of mixture into balls and place onto prepared trays, allowing room for spreading.

Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

I bet you can't stop at just one!

One

2012-01-22T11:48:00.000+11:00

I can't believe my little girl is one already. I couldn't resist this gorgeous little pram for her dollies, especially since it was on sale at just the right time.

I think Miranda* likes it, too.

We spent some time at the pool on the actual day. Although not as long as we planned, as Maxx was suddenly called away for an unexpected job interview.

The cake (although delicious) was a bit of a rush job, due to the changes in the afternoon's plans, so I didn't take any photos of it, and dinner was late...

... but he got the job, so it was worthwhile.

Yesterday, we had some friends and family over for a barbecue to celebrate, and there was a proper birthday cake.

*yes, the doll finally has a name. We've named her after Miranda Hart.

Roast Pumpkin and Basil Frittata

2012-01-16T09:35:00.000+11:00

I've been wanting to blog this recipe for ages. It's perfect for a picnic or a barbecue, or lunch with a friend.

700g butternut pumpkin, roasted
6 eggs
1 cup cream
1/4 cup basil, torn
1 garlic clove, crushed
50g Parmesan cheese, grated
3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
200g feta, diced
salt and pepper, to taste

Cut pumpkin into 2cm cubes. Place eggs and cream into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Fold through pumpkin and remaining ingredients. Pour mixture into a greased and lined 20cm square sandwich pan and bake at 180°C for 45 minutes or until set. When cool turn onto a board and cut into serving sized pieces.

Two Little Boys for Two Little Boys

2012-01-15T10:56:00.000+11:00

When Amélie received her doll for Christmas, Liam told me that he would like one too. He was quite disappointed when he found out that the next doll wasn't for him either.

I promised him I would make him one too, and of course, Noah had to have one too. This time I used the Ric-Rac "Kinder Boys" pattern. The dolls remained faceless and without one arm whilst I made their hats and clothes. The boys would have taken them naked if they were finished, otherwise.

I finished their arms and faces last night and finished off their shirts this morning and snuck them off to the vegie garden before I handed them over, otherwise I would never have gotten to photograph them.

The boys are excited by their dolls!

(You can tell he's an Aussie Kid, by the Vegemite on his face).

Knitting Weather

2012-01-14T19:46:00.000+11:00

It is supposed to be Summer here, but we've had a lot of knitting weather lately. I've been enjoying the *Dr Who re-runs being played on the ABC and have taken the opportunity to get Amélie's cardigan finished.

This **Kina Cardigan is knitted using Bendigo's Spring Cotton in Spring Rose, which is a beautiful deep pink.

I knitted a size 12 months, and from one 200g ball of yarn, I have about 80g left. Enough for another little project I have in mind...

*Link relevant to Australia only, all episodes already played are still on iView if you need to catch up!
**The website is in French, but the pattern is in English - Google Translate is wonderful for translating French to English

Cousins

2012-01-07T23:34:00.000+11:00

Oh dear, this blog post would be so much easier to write, if the dolls had names... Anyway, introducing the new Dolly, who is Amélie's Dolly's cousin, who will be going to live with Amélie's cousin.

So Amélie's-dolly's-cousin is the last of the Christmas presents, and will be hitching a ride with Australia Post on Monday.

What an adventure she will have! Actually, I'm hoping that her trip is rather straight-forward and as unadventurous as possible.

Oh, and just for interests sake, here is dolly before I be-headed her and gave her a chin lift.

Can you tell she's had work done?

Belated Christmas Gifts

2012-01-06T23:38:00.000+11:00

Another couple of Super-Hero capes for some more nephews. Hopefully these will be in the post on Monday. I have one more really late Christmas present to get ready before they go.

Little Lady in Red

2012-01-05T17:57:00.000+11:00

I made another shirred dress for Amélie. This time I made a matching hat and bloomers. I really like this red fabric that I picked up from Spotlight the other day. I think red really suits Amélie, you may see more of her in it in the future.

The shoulder-tie detail is actually fake. The straps are plain, with extra "straps" just tied onto them with a bow. If we get sick of tying them up all the time, we can just take them off. Or I could stitch them so that they stay tied.

I also added a ruffle to the bottom, which I ruffled and attached all in one go, using the ruffling foot. I did have a few hiccups, with the needle screw coming undone. I had been warned about this, but it hadn't happened before for me. I wonder if it is because I was ruffling and attaching in one go, or if I was going faster than last time? Anyway, I noticed it doesn't "ruffle" as much when that screw is loose, so if you notice your ruffles aren't as ruffly, then you might need to tighten that screw - BEFORE the needle pops out!

I did a rolled hem along the top and bottom edges of the dress with machine embroidery thread in the upper looper, it gives a nice luxurious finish. I did the rolled hem on the bottom of the ruffle before I ruffled it, so I was hemming a nice, flat piece of fabric, rather than one that was ruffled and attached to a dress.

The hat is from Nicole Mallalieu's book, "You Sew, Girl". This hat pattern is the same as the "Kids Hats" pattern by Nicole Mallalieu, but in baby size. These hats are easier to make each time, as you get used to sewing the curves together.

The bloomers I am really happy with. I am going to make more of these. I actually used a shorts pattern and added some to the bottom, and took some from the top. I did a rolled hem at the bottom edge, and then added some narrow elastic about an inch up from the bottom. I also added a couple of little ties at the sides, which was a detail I liked from another pair of purchased bloomers that Amélie already had.

Shirr and Shirr Alike

2012-01-05T00:15:00.000+11:00

I'm really liking making little shirred dresses for Amelie at the moment. I love the freedom of not having to use a pattern. I made this one for her on New Year's Eve. The fabric is a cute Japanese fabric, Minny Muu from Lecien, and features French words and little houses, cars, boats, trains, flowers and birds. I've done a rolled hem at both the top and bottom edges of the dress this time, which I think works better than a regular hem.

I would love it if someone could try and translate some of the writing on the fabric, as I have no idea what it says, though there seems to be a lot of references to cafés and travel. Maybe it is just gibberish?

More Christmas Gifts!

2012-01-03T08:38:00.000+11:00

I still have a few bits and pieces from December to blog about. I made this ear-bud case for my nephew, Owen. He's staying with my parents over summer, and had brought his iPod, but forgotten his ear-buds, so luckily for him, this came with a set. I used a tutorial to make this, it was relatively quick and easy to do. Don't be scared of the zipper!

Upon hearing about their sale, and needing a few bits and pieces from a particular range of fabrics (I didn't want them to sell it all!), I popped into Spotlight. As I was standing at the counter, being served, I noticed there was a pattern that I needed, for just $2.50.

The pattern is Simplicity 9958, a 1 hour boxer shorts pattern sized for men, teens and boys. Overall, there are ten different sized patterns, ranging from a hip of 61cm right up to 130cm. They were pretty quick to make, but took me a little more than the 1 hour proclaimed on the packaging. I made two pairs of boxer shorts for my nephews, both in a child's medium size.

I added an adjustable waist to both pairs (not part of the pattern), by adding a couple of button-holes to the waistband and using some buttonhole elastic. This made me a little more confident that the shorts would be a comfortable fit.

Heliographic Art

2012-01-01T23:48:00.000+11:00

For Christmas, I received a selection of Sun Dyes from KraftKolour P/L. Sun Dyes are heliographic dyes, meaning that they are sun sensitive, and react to infra-red light. I've been wanting to get some for a while, after seeing a little tutorial for a similar product, over on How About Orange.

The dyes come in a lovely range of colours, I was lucky enough to receive Grevillea, Violet, Citrus, Opal and Fern in the medium sized bottles. I went to Spotlight yesterday, and using my $10 voucher I purchased some plain white broadcloth to use for projects like this.

There was an old door laying around in the shed, which makes the perfect portable table for this kind of project. I should warn you, if you are going to use something and don't want to stain it, you should really cover it with plastic before you begin. The dye goes right through the fabric and there is now a lovely (permanent) button design on the old door.

My fabric was about 40cm x 110cm. I taped my fabric to the door, and then we liberally coated it with the dye mixed 50/50 with water. I used about 60ml of dye to 60ml of water. I have since read other recommendations to water it down more, which I will do next time. I guess the manufacturers want you to use more than you need. Also, when I do this again, after taping my fabric, I might wet it before brushing it with the ink, just to draw out the drying time. There was a little ink left over, but not a lot, so I think my estimate of how much to mix up was probably about right. I would rather waste a little dye than run out mid-project.

It was so hot and sunny outside today, I was afraid the ink was going to dry before the buttons went down. So we put down a row along one edge and the rest were rather hastily scattered across the fabric. Some of the edges were a bit blurry, I think that would be partly due to the buttons not being perfectly flat and light getting under them, and partly due to them being moved around a little. I think the blazing sun was probably also a factor and that the dye had started to develop before we got those buttons scattered.

After leaving the wet fabric to dry in the sun, I brought it in and gave it a good pressing with a really hot iron to set the dye. After leaving it to cure for 24 hours it should be good to wash.

Goodbye 2011, Welcome 2012

2012-01-01T10:44:00.000+11:00

1. DSCF1684, 2. DSCF1744, 3. DSCF1035, 4. DSCF1217, 5. Glam Purse, 6. DSCF1362, 7. DSCF1453, 8. DSCF1601, 9. DSCF1612, 10. DSCF1213, 11. DSCF1309, 12. DSCF1496

Wow, what a year 2011 was! January and February were very quiet on the blogging front as I settled in with my new baby girl, Amelie.

Liam started three year old kinder this year, and has grown so much I hardly recognise the boy from the start of the year. He will be doing four-year-old kinder in 2012, and then next year (next year?!) he will be starting school.

My favourite Ottobre pattern of all time has turned out to be the Apple shirt. I have fabric sitting around to make another couple of these, the shape of these shirts is lovely and we always get comments on their shirts when the boys wear them.

I made Amélie two Puppet Show outfits in 2011, one of them using beautiful Heather Ross unicorn fabric, and the other using some Kokka Little Red Riding Hood.

I did lots of pattern testing and proof reading for Nikki this year.

I participated in the Hottie Challenge, helping raise funds for the Margaret Pratt foundation. I also registered as an organ donor. The appliqué design I used for my robot on the hottie was originally intended as an embroidery for a quilt for Liam. I still intend to use it, as an appliqué though, maybe in 2012?

I resurrected a pair of Noah's jeans that had holes in the knees and re-fashioned them as a very girlie pair of jeans for Amélie.

I discovered shoe making, and discovered I can also make shoes from leather, this led to a bit of a leather sewing stint where I also put together a City bag using beautiful lamb-skin.

The Sewing hit of the year would have to be the super-hero capes I made for my boys. I also made a couple of these for my nephews for Christmas. Who knew that such a simple project could bring little boys so much joy?

I knitted up a beautiful Kina cardigan for Amelie, I have another on the needles and plan to make her a winter version with long sleeves as well.

I was so excited to find the free tutorial for these lovely elf-style Christmas stockings, and also whipped up some bunting and gingerbread man Christmas decorations. I have never managed to get around to making Christmas decorations for my house before, it has always taken a back seat to gift-making. I hope to make a tree-skirt for my tree in 2012, and perhaps some felt decorations.

What will 2012 bring? I already have some exciting stuff under-way. Hopefully it will all come to fruition before the year is out.

Amélie's Kinder Doll

2011-12-31T11:44:00.001+11:00

On Christmas Eve, whilst Santa was out putting together the big Christmas present, I was busy inside finishing off this dolly for Amélie.

The pattern is from Ric-Rac, and includes the pattern for the cardigan and the beautiful dress, which is also reversible. I used some of my favourite scraps to make the dress, and trimmed it with some ric-rac from my stash.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T23:47:00.002+11:00

Christmas Eve and the night before that were quite busy. I managed to whip up another Apple shirt for Liam, make another sunglasses case, and put together a dolly for Amélie. You can see the shirt in the pictures in this post, the dolly I will come back to in a later blog post.

Mean-while, Santa was very busy putting together this awesome present. Santa and his helper were very busy Christmas Eve putting the final bits together and managed to beat the storm (although there was a lot of lightning - perhaps a little risky?). There were a few trimmy bits and a chalk-board that he left for us to add, Santa is very busy, you know.

There was a little more to do before going to bed, the dolly still needed her dress finished, and there were snaps to apply to the shirt. So it was a bit of a late night for me, but it was worth all the effort. The kids are out on there at every opportunity and I think most of the outdoor toys (not the bikes, thank goodness) have been down the slide by now.

Santa even made sure Amélie was accounted for. She loves the swing, she doesn't like getting off it much, though.

Is it too much?

2011-12-23T11:02:00.000+11:00

I decided in addition to the shirred dress and the frilly bloomers, my smallest gift recipient needs a hat as well. In the same fabric. I hope it's not overkill. The pattern I used was from Nicole Mallalieu's book, "You Sew, Girl!". It is very similar to the kids hat pattern, but covers the smaller head of a baby under 12 months.

To Be Shirr, To Be Shirr

2011-12-22T08:57:00.000+11:00

I had never had a go at shirring, and I purchased some shirring elastic some time ago with the full intention to have a go one day. Yesterday I decided to do so. I was quite surprised with how easily it worked. It was a case of hand-winding the bobbin and dropping it in. No tension adjustments or anything! The result is not bad considering it was made with no pattern.

Of course, a cute little dress requires matching bloomers, so I made a pair of these as well. I hope the recipient (and her mother) likes her gift!

A gift for a little baker

2011-12-21T11:30:00.001+11:00

It's actually full-sized, but still good for a little baker. My brother's girlfriend has a daughter who likes to cook. I've put insul-brite the entire length of this oven mitt so that she is well protected from hot objects. I had a little stash of spatulas and I'm thinking of adding a wooden spoon or two before I wrap. Mum has made her a matching apron and a chef's hat. I hope she likes it!

Super Hero Capes

2011-12-20T08:58:00.000+11:00

I made these superhero capes for some of my nephews. I've made some for my boys before and they are very popular and get lots of use, so hopefully their cousins will like them too. I'm a bit unsure what to make for their older cousins, but they won't be down until after Christmas so I have a bit of time up my sleeve. The pencil rolls last year seemed to go down well, and I know they are all still using their car-bags.

The super hero emblems this time, were a collaboration between myself and Maxx. Maxx wanted to be a part of the process and design the emblems himself. I really do have trouble leaving something like that entirely to someone else, it's the control-freak in me. But they were mostly his design with a bit of a tweak here and there from me.

Noah wants me to make super-hero capes for Uncle Ben and Uncle Al, too. If only I had all the time and money and resources to make everything I wanted to before Christmas...

Anyway, I'd better get back to it, there are still plenty of Christmas gifts still to make!

With Bells on their Toes

2011-12-19T14:00:00.001+11:00

I spent a fair amount of time last year trawling Etsy and Made-It, looking for just the right pattern to make some lovely elf-stockings. This year, I googled, and found this amazing free tutorial.

Instead of the appliqué monogram in the tutorial, I used my embroidery machine to put their names on felt, which I then appliquéd onto the stocking with blanket stitch. In addition to the instructions, I also added some bells to the toes, which I think adds a nice festive touch. Despite the fiddly-ness of the operation, I think sewing on 18 little pompoms was well worth the effort.

I also added a lining. The original pattern has no lining, so the stuffing is accessible at the bottom of the stocking. I used the stocking pattern to fashion a lining, chopping it off just below the ankle and adding a bit of a rounded edge. I stuffed the toe before adding the lining to the inside of the stocking. I basted the top edges of the lining and stocking outer before adding the cuff. You could still pull the lining out, but not the stuffing, which is what I wanted to achieve. I also under-stitched the lining so that stays nice and neat and doesn't pop out of the top of the stocking.

They have Noah's approval: "I really do luff it a lot".

Hopefully they will get used for many years to come.

Tutorial: Appliqué

2011-12-16T16:26:00.000+11:00

As promised, I am back with my appliqué tutorial. I will apologise in advance as it is very wordy and quite picture heavy. The appliqué I am showing you is part of my Christmas bunting project.

To appliqué following this method, you will need some fusible web. I like to use Lite Steam-A-Seam 2. Steam-A-Seam 2 is a double sided fusible web, sandwiched between two sheets of paper. It is designed particularly for lightweight fabrics.

There are heaps of similar products on the market you could also try. I prefer Steam-A-Seam 2 because the paper backing stays on well, and the webbing sticks lightly to the fabric before you press it with the iron, so things stay put a little better but you are still able to re-arrange things before you permanently affix it to your work with the iron. This makes fussy cutting and appliqué positioning very easy.

I purchased my Steam a Seam 2 from OzQuilts.

If you peel away a corner, you will see that between the two layers of paper, there is a layer of fusible web. This web will be sticking to one piece of paper more than the other. This is the sheet that you want to trace onto, as the other sheet will be peeled away.

You will need to trace a mirror-image of the final appliqué because this will be sticking to the back of the fabric. One thing that you can do, is trace it the right way around on the paper that you will be peeling away, and then trace that line onto the liner with the fusible web on it.

Once you have traced your design (remembering that it needs to be back to front and on the paper that will be peeled away first), you need to roughly cut out your design, leaving some excess paper around the edges. This will ensure that you will have webbing right to the edges of your applique.

Press the fabric that you are planning to use for your appliqué design. Press it from the back, so that you don't have to flip it over and you can then keep it flat, ready for the webbing.

Peel away the backing, ensuring that your traced design stays on the paper that is still attached to the webbing. Peel away carefully, so that if you notice the webbing is attached to the wrong sheet of paper, you can fix it before it's too late.

Position the webbing so that you are happy with the placement of the fabric within your design. If you are using fabric with a large motif, or a design that has a definite right-side up, then you might want to move it around a bit until you get it right. The webbing will stick a little, but is easily lifted and moved around. Once you are happy, give it a good press with the iron to bond the webbing permanently with the fabric. A good 10-20 seconds on cotton setting with some steam ought to do it.

Roughly cut away the fabric with the design on it, ensuring that you keep all of the paper intact. You can now store away the remainder of the fabric, knowing that there is no sticky webbing left on it to ruin your next project, or make a mess of your iron.

Now, trim away the excess fabric, carefully following the outline that you traced on the fabric.

And throw the waste edges into your over-flowing bin. Your bin is over-flowing, right? Mine is. It's also sitting up on a table right now, away from small children who like playing with fabric scraps.

Give your main or background fabric a good press, this time from the right side, as we want a nice smooth surface on which to place our appliqué motif.

Peel away the backing from your motif, ensuring that the sticky webbing is adhered to the back of the fabric.

Place the appliqué motif face-up, on the backing fabric, moving it around as before until you are happy with its position. Give it a good press with your iron to bond the appliqué permanently to the fabric.

Take some tear-away stabiliser, larger than your motif, and place it on the back of the fabric. You might like to hold the fabric up to your sewing machine light, or a window (during the day-time) to make sure that the stabiliser covers all the edges of your motif.

According to the instructions that came with the Steam-A-Seam 2, the paper backing can also be used as a stabiliser. I have heard of other people using baking paper as well.

Stabiliser is used to keep your fabric nice and stable whilst you stitch it.Without stabiliser, your fabric can stretch and skew and warp out of shape. You want your fabric to stay nice and flat and not become a lumpy, bumpy, three dimensional mess when you're finished.

There are different kinds of stabilisers, some can be ironed on so that they don't move at all whilst you are stitching, some can be disolved away with water and are great for things like lace making. The one I use can be torn away when I'm finished so that the fabric returns to its original, flexible shape once it is finished.

Choose a nice, decorative stitch on your machine. I chose to use blanket stitch. When I was looking to replace my sewing machine, a year and a half ago, blanket stitch was highish on my list of priorities. This is the first time I've really used it since I tested it before and after I purchased the machine and I'm pretty happy with it.

Test the stitch on a scrap piece of fabric before you start sewing on your design. I used some nice shiny machine embroidery thread on my design, along with a bobbin thread that I normally would use on my embroidery machine.

When I tested my stitch on the scrap fabric, I decided that it needed to be wider, so I made that adjustment. I also found there were a few loopy bits of thread from the back showing on the top. I loosened off my top tension a little, and this fixed the problem.

Now, flip your fabric to the right side, with the stabiliser underneath and the appligue on top, and get stitching!

You will need to be careful when you are turning corners with decorative stitches like blanket stitch, my machine does a series of stitches like forward-backward-forward-left-right-repeat. You really need to be stopping and pivoting, with the needle down both before and after it does the left-right bit so that it makes a nice neat turn.

When you flip your fabric to the back, you will see your stabiliser all nicely stitched to the back of your design. Hopefully, everything is all neat and tidy like mine is here.

You can now carefully tear the stabiliser away from the outside edges of your design. You can tear it away from the inside edges too, if you like. If you used paper, and you are planning to ever wash the finished project, I would strongly recommend that you do remove it all.

Your appliqué is now complete - now you can get on with the rest of your project!

Please let me know if this tutorial is useful to you, or if you have any feedback. I would love to know what you think.

EBDQS - Quilt received!

2011-12-14T12:42:00.001+11:00

This is the quilt I received from Rose in the Doll Quilt Swap. I love the colours Rose has used, especially the rose and turquoise. The coloured dots on the background fabric pick up the other colours in the quilt. The pieced stars are fantastic - I would like to try something like this myself one day. She has also used a lovely, textured fabric for the backing, which gives the quilt a more luxurious finish.

Thank you Rose, the quilt is beautiful! You have a very grateful quilt recipient here!

Run, Run, As Fast As You Can!

2011-12-12T17:36:00.000+11:00

You can't catch me, I'm a Gingerbread Man!

After years of wanting to, I finally made one of these.

Christmas Bunting

2011-12-11T21:50:00.000+11:00

I've finally managed to complete a Christmas decoration! I've been meaning to make some Christmas bunting for years, and I've finally gotten around to it. I used the blanket stitch on my sewing machine, along with a bit of machine embroidery thread. If you want to know a little bit about appliqué, I should hopefully be back in here in the next couple of days with a tutorial.

You Sew, Girl! - Wrap Skirt

2011-12-08T22:28:00.001+11:00

I picked up this Echino Chelsea fabric for only $10/m during Frou Frou's closing down sale. Which is good, because I got a bargain, but also sad because it's another great fabric store that is no longer around. The fabric is double-gauze, which is lovely and floaty and soft. Perfect for summer weather.

I didn't use a pattern as such, I followed Nikki's instructions in the pattern-free clothes section of her book, "You Sew, Girl!" I think the skirt is better suited to a more structured type of fabric (like a quilter's cotton, or maybe some linen), but I think I got away with using the gauze for this project.

The fabric was really narrow, so in the instructions, Nikki advises a centre-back seam as an option, but I wanted a fairly long skirt and the longer it is, the wider it is at the bottom and it was just a little too narrow. I also wanted my lions to all be the right way up, so I ended up making it with two side seams instead.

The only thing with this was that I'm not really sure I had the grain of the fabric right on the two over-lapping front panels. My concern about this caused me to procrastinate a lot, and this skirt ended up taking me a couple of weeks to finish, which is silly because it is not really that complicated.

The skirt has a facing around the waist-line, and along the front edge of the skirt, which takes a little more time than this skirt, but makes for a much better finish.

Resistance is futile!

2011-12-06T18:44:00.001+11:00

I became really excited when I saw that the next Aneela Hoey fabric line for Moda was going to be based around my favourite little fairytale girl, Little Red Riding Hood. I really like her girl on a tree-swing from the Sherbet Pips range, but as yet I don't have any. The new line is called "A Walk In The Woods" and is due for release in February or March.

I became even more excited when Amy Badskirt told me that Quilt-Jane had pre-cuts in her store. The prices are also AWESOME! I couldn't decide between the jelly roll or the layer cake. I put one of each in my basket and they both sat there for a weekend whilst I ummed and ahhed and finally decided I had to have both.

They are destined for a quilt (and probably some other things...?) for Amélie's room.

Snakes & Ladders

2011-12-04T09:58:00.000+11:00

Now that my swap partner has received it, I can reveal my completed quilt for the doll quilt swap.

Inspired by the backgammon board in the Meet Me at Mike's book, I decided to make a Snakes and Ladders board game.

My swap partner, Rebecca, has a little boy, Jack, who is close in age to my Liam, so I thought it would be appropriate. I didn't actually know he was a fan of Snakes & Ladders, so that was a lucky bonus.

Liam, Noah and I had a test run before we popped the quilt in the mail, and we were happy with the way it worked. I hope that Rebecca and Jack have lots of fun with it because we had a hard time letting it go.

I might just have to make another one for us.

Harvest

2011-12-01T22:46:00.000+11:00

Here are the boys showing off some of the vegetables that came from our garden. They were so excited and proud to cook and eat food that we grew ourselves. There isn't very much yet, so I had to supplement with a few other vegies, but they ate all their vegetables last night.

Sneaky Peek of my Doll Quilt Swap

2011-11-22T16:59:00.000+11:00

Here's a quick snap of my Doll Quilt for the 5th Annual EB Quilters Doll Quilt Swap. Can you guess what it is? I hope my partner likes it.

Raspberries & Cream

2011-11-19T19:35:00.001+11:00

Sorry it's been so quiet around here lately. After Blogtoberfest I felt like I needed a bit of a break. I managed to blog every single day for the entire month of October. I then sat down and got started on this Kina Cardigan for Amélie.

Carolyn gifted Amélie and I this yarn quite some time back and I had actually started another project. I decided that the other pattern needed some solid colour and that it just would not work with all these colours. When I saw Elodie modeling her new baby Kina on Corrie's blog, I knew it was the right pattern for this yarn.

I did have to navigate a French web-site to order the pattern, I know about as much French as the next (non-French) person, so Google translate donc venu à mon secours.

Eleven days later, I popped the finished cardigan on my little girl. It's taken me until today to take some photos in decent light, but here are the original photos, taken right after I finished.

I've popped this on Ravelry as well, if you are on there and would like a few more details. I'm NoahsMummy on there.

Nut Loaf

2011-10-31T21:01:00.001+11:00

I use special nut-loaf tins to make this. If you don't have the proper tins, I have heard that you can use a fruit juice can (eg pineapple juice) and cover the top with foil. This makes two nut loaves, so you will need two tins (or fruit cans).

1 cup chopped dates
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup sultanas
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ tablespoon butter
1 cup boiling water
2 cups plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten

Combine the dates, nuts, sultanas, sugar, baking soda and butter.

Pour over the hot water, mix and then add flour, salt and egg.

Mix only until well blended with a wooden spoon.

Place in two well greased nut loaf tins, replace lids and stand upright in oven at 180C (160C FF) for 50-60 minutes.

Slice and serve with butter (or not).

Liam helped me to make the nut loaf today...

When did he turn into such a big boy?

He helped to grease the tins

He stirred...

When you grease the tins, line the base with baking paper. Use baking paper. I used to think grease-proof paper was baking paper, but baking paper is WAY better.

Ready to go in the oven!

Finally Made It! Hellooo Leather City!!!

2011-10-30T16:07:00.000+11:00

I finally finished my red leather City bag. There were lots of tense moments. Some skipped stitches, knots, a broken needle and I even managed to steam myself with the iron this morning. It was totally worth all the angst though, as I have achieved my goal to make this bag in leather.

I decided that the side seams would look nicer with a bit of top-stitching, rather than just pressing them open. Every extra seam is a risk, especially top-stitching, as any seam that is un-picked will show as a row of tiny holes. I recommend that if you are top-stitching leather, that you ensure there is plenty of bobbin thread. I am glad I took the risk, as the finish is far superior to just pressing the seams open.

Inside the bag I included the zipped pocket from the pattern instructions. This time I matched my zipper with the lining and pocket fabric. I used some of the same Ink & Spindle Bonsai fabric for the pocket as I did for the feature panel.

I forgot to take pictures of the purse feet that I put on the last City bag I made. The purse feet will keep the base of my bag from being scuffed. I didn't follow the instructions in the pattern for the base, because they don't include purse feet, instead using this tutorial instead.

My straps were constructed differently to Nicole's instructions in the pattern as well. Being leather, I wanted to reduce a lot of the bulk at the ends where the rings were attached.

I really didn't think that I was going to be able to sew the loops to the bag, because of all the bulk, but I managed to do it. I actually did this bit with the industrial machine turned off, and just turned the hand-wheel. It is normally quite difficult to turn, but I have found that if I push down on the pedal a little, this reduces most of the resistance, and the wheel turns easily. I also only have two hands, so when turning the hand-wheel with one hand, and holding my work with the other, that left me with no hands for the back-stitch lever. I got Noah to hold it for me. I would never get him to do that with the machine going, but he was quite pleased to be able to help me make a bag! I guess an alternative would have been to put a big book or a brick on the lever, but a brick wouldn't have been so proud to help.

I was quite happy to find that I was able to line the zip up with the centre of the ring tabs much better this time around with the leather, even better than I did with the denim bag.

Here I am holding my newly completed City Bag, just to give an idea of size. There is still one thing missing, I need to put in an order to Nikki for some zipper pulls for both of my City bags.

Can't Stop

2011-10-29T23:25:00.000+11:00

I'm too busy to blog tonight.... top-stitching.

The Sale Show

2011-10-28T23:19:00.000+11:00

I could have stayed home and done some sewing...

But we went out instead.

Thanks Uncle Ben for helping out with the dodgem cars.

the kids had a blast

most of the time

Maybe we might do it all again next year...

My Creative Space - Getting closer to Leather City

2011-10-27T17:37:00.000+11:00

I'm working on my red leather City bag today. I've had some interesting stops along the way. I broke a needle. I've had trouble with skipped stitches. I ran out of bobbin thread, half-way along a seam.... but it's coming together, and I am mostly happy with it. I have a strap that I'm pretty pleased with and the Ink & Spindle fabric that I have chosen to compliment the leather seems to be working out to be a nice match.

I have discovered that leather and double-sided tape really work well together, however, I'm not sure my machine likes it very much. Since the skipped stitches occurred right after the broken needle, I don't think it was blunt or bent (the usual reason for skipped stitches). I noticed the needle was a bit gummy, cleaned it up and it's all good again so I'm guessing that was the cause.

What's happening in your Creative Space?

Jelly Slice

2011-10-26T20:36:00.000+11:00

I posted this image as part of wordless weekend some time ago. It was a bit of a tease, since I didn't post the recipe at the time (being wordless). Here it is again, this time with the recipe included.

Base
250g packet milk arrowroot biscuits
180g butter, melted

Filling
2 x 400g tins condensed milk
½ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
1½ tablespoons gelatine
½ cup boiling water

Jelly Topping
2 packets red jelly crystals
450ml boiling water

1. Line a lamington tin with baking paper. Alternatively, you may wish to use a plastic slice container, lined with baking paper. The baking paper will help you to retrieve your slice from the container once it is ready. Prepare a level space in your refrigerator.

2. Use a food processor to turn your biscuits into biscuit crumbs, add melted butter and mix well. Press into your prepared tin/container and place in refrigerator.

3. Dissolve the gelatine in the boiling water. In a medium bowl, blend the condensed milk, lemon juice, rind and gelatine mixture. Give it a good whipping with the mixer to get a bit of air in it. Spread the filling mixture over the base mixture, return to refrigerator and allow to set.

4. Combine jelly crystals with boiling water. Stir to ensure that all the crystals have dissolved. Cool to room temperature and pour over the slice.

5. Refrigerate until set. Slice and serve!

Zip Left, Zip Right

2011-10-25T22:16:00.000+11:00

It is always best when sewing zippers, especially when top-stitching, that you sew in the same direction from each side. My industrial machine has a left foot and a right foot. My domestic machine has one foot that does both sides. From memory, the industrial feet cost me $6 each a couple of years ago from here. The invisible zipper foot for my regular domestic machine cost around $20. Still totally worthwhile.

Sharing the Gadget Love - Magnetic Pincushion

2011-10-24T22:03:00.000+11:00

I love my magnetic pincushions. I have three, all in different colours. I keep one by the iron, and one by the sewing machine and one where-ever I am cutting out. I swap them around, because the one by the sewing machine tends to get fuller, and the others get emptier. They are great because you don't have to stab anything with a pin, just sort of toss it in the general direction and the magnet does the rest. This means I can focus on my sewing and not have to worry about looking up to get rid of a pin. If you drop a bunch of pins on the floor, you can wave the pincushion over them and it picks them up.

You will notice that I use berry pins. Some of them have bigger heads than the others. The ones with the smaller heads are glass headed, whilst the others are plastic. You can iron over the glass ones without melting them. The plastic ones melt and can stain your fabric.

Four

2011-10-23T23:40:00.000+11:00

Ok, so Liam's birthday was back in July - over three months ago! I was having issues with my camera - flat batteries mostly. I forgot that I had photos on my phone. They aren't very good, but still, better than no pictures at all... I made a chocolate cake, and decorated it with Kit-Kats and topped it with Smarties. Smarties are always popular around here.

We had a nice, quiet family birthday dinner at home with just the people who live here and Nanna & Grandad and Paige & Tess. Liam received his first two-wheeler bike which Grandad and I assembled. He also received a red car (the blurry part of the second picture).

Leather...

2011-10-22T23:19:00.000+11:00

Leather is durable and beautiful. It's appearance is individual and unique. There is no grain that needs to be followed, thus bag pieces can be moved around to fit without worrying too much about which way is up. Some disadvantages are that it can be a bit bulky to sew, and care needs to be taken when cutting out, to avoid marks and holes. Care also needs to be taken to avoid creating new marks or holes when sewing it together.

I am working on my strap for my red leather City bag. I had cut a piece of leather for the bag, and discovered it had some flaws, so have used it to make a test strap. Whilst the photo above looks great from the right side, you can see from the photo below, that it would not be strong and durable enough to be carrying around a largish handbag on a daily basis.

The join would gape and wear and catch on things....

So I will go with an overlap underneath the stitching. Kind of like the image below. Only I will be more careful and neat and hopefully my thread will not break whilst trying to do it on the real thing...

A few things that I have learned whilst sewing leather...

1. Use heavier thread - I'm using Gutermann upholstery thread. It is heavier than regular Gutermann thread. A 100m spool of upholstery thread is about the same size as a 250m reel of regular sew-all thread.

2. Use a longer stitch length than usual. I usually use 3, for leather I use 4 (For stuffed toys I use 2.2, which is the default for my domestic machine)

3. I use my industrial machine for leather, with a teflon foot, some people use a domestic machine and a walking foot. I have heard that the best is an industrial machine with a roller foot. Industrial machines are generally designed to one job well. I don't have the space (or money) for enough industrial machines to suit all my whims and fancies, so what I have will need to do!

4. With leather you need to sew it right the first time. If you make a mistake, and unpick it, you will be left with unsightly holes.

5. You cannot pin leather for the same reason. I would like to thank Amy Karol of "Angry Chicken" for this video "I don't pin, 'cause I don't want to" that encouraged my disdain for pinning as it is really helping me out now. I do use the odd bobby pin for bits where I am less than confident. Other people have suggested hair clips and bull-dog clips, but my bull dog clips have gone walk-about?

6. I discovered that the feed-dogs on my machine chew the leather a bit. It's not pretty. Reducing the foot pressure helps a little. Placing something between the leather and those nasty teeth also helps. I have been using the odd bit of tear-away. If anyone has any better ideas I would love to hear them. Most of the time, except for straps, the feed-dogs don't need to go near the top side of the leather anyway.

Today...

2011-10-21T23:49:00.000+11:00

I went to the library for story-time and picked up a crafty book that I had reserved. I will come back and do a review later...

I received a little crafty mail.

I went to my local fabric shop and bought some zips... why is it that I have a massive stash of zips, but I hardly ever have what I need and still have to go buy them?

I did a little gardening in the vegie garden...

I cried for my friend who was called in for her lung transplant this morning, only to find the lungs weren't suitable after all.

....and I changed my blog header.

What do you think?

My Creative Space - Leather City, Here I Come!

2011-10-20T22:37:00.000+11:00

In case you have come here from Our Creative Spaces and haven't been here since last week, you might not have seen that I finished my red leather spec case,

and I also finished my bag.

My plan now, is to make the same bag in LEATHER! My original plan was just to do the whole thing in leather, but seeing my denim one with the Ink & Spindle fabric, I want to achieve a similar look with the leather one...

I have some more plans, down the line to mix these two up as well....

If anyone was wondering, I get my leather from NSW Leather Co in Collingwood, and I get my bag patterns and shiny-bits from Nicole Mallalieu Design.

You can see more Creative Spaces, over here, and you can join in with the Blogtoberfestivities over here.

Ottobre Woman

2011-10-19T22:47:00.000+11:00

The last long-sleeved black t-shirt I owned, met with an unfortunate laundry accident shortly before we replaced our washing machine. While I was using mum's cover-stitch machine, I decided to make myself a replacement.

Armed with Ottobre 2/2006 and some "Seaspray" from Spotlight I set to it.

A normal adjustment for me would be body length adjustment. I am not a tall person, but when sitting down, I am taller than most people I know. I really, really hate too short tops, so I usually add about 7cm to the length of almost every top or dress I make, so I made this adjustment to the pattern. It should be noted, that the length on most tops doesn't change by more than a couple of centimetres from the smallest size to the largest size.

I often lengthen sleeves too, but I held the pattern piece up to my arm before I made it, and felt that the sleeve was adequate, which it was. Love having sleeves that go all the way to my wrists - luxury!

If you look at the pictures, you can see that the top is of a very generous length. I probably could have gotten away without the adjustment, but it is nice to have a top that covers my midriff, and it also doesn't ride up, due to the shaping in the pattern. Whilst I can see that the fit isn't perfect, it is about 1000 times better than anything I can buy in the shops, so worth the trouble of making it. I might have to start making myself some summery tops though, as it is a little warm for this sort of attire at the moment. Lucky for me, there is a short sleeved version and a v-neck as well if I want to go that way.

Wren City

2011-10-18T16:36:00.000+11:00

This is what I have been working on over the past few days. The pattern is Nicole Mallalieu's City Bag, and I used some of my precious "Wrens" Fabric by Tegan Rose for Ink & Spindle. I've teamed the Wrens fabric with some denim that was in the same dark inky colour.

This is the first proper bag I have made on the industrial machine. I am actually surprised with how easily it came together. I guess all the practice with the machine has actually paid off. The magnetic seam guide helped a little, too!

I even managed to insert a zipper on a curved seam, and an internal zipped pocket with no dramas!

The bag wouldn't be complete without a bit of bling, and I was really undecided whether to go with my usual choice of silver, or if I should go with the brassy rings and feet to go with the natural tones of the Ink & Spindle fabric. I'm glad I chose silver, it's so shiny!

I have spoiled myself with an internal zippered pocket, using more of Tegan's Wren fabric. It's so beautiful, and only I will see it in there, but the bag is for me, so why not?

The next bag I plan to make is leather.... wish me luck!

Sharing the Gadget Love - Snip, Snip, Snip!

2011-10-17T23:31:00.000+11:00

I love these snips! They are under three dollars (!) and the best little snips ever. I have bought other ones that look similar and cost more money and they were not near as good. In fact they were crappy. These ones have BBB on them and are navy and come in an orange sleeve.

I use them for snipping threads at the beginning and end of every seam. You really should snip those threads as you go, you know, because otherwise you could end up in a tangly, knotty mess. Of course, automatic thread cutters are lovely, but they can't altogether replace a good pair of snips. I have three or four of these floating around the sewing room. One is just not enough! Hopefully they sell them at your sewing supply store too.

Sharing the Gadget Love - Magnetic Seam Guide

2011-10-16T21:49:00.000+11:00

I wouldn't be game to use a magnetic seam guide on my electronic Janome machine, but so useful on the industrial machine...

Rajah Cloth Tip

2011-10-15T16:14:00.000+11:00

Do you use a Rajah Cloth?* If you do, do you have trouble sometimes finding the writing to know which side is the right side to have facing up? Searching, turning, flipping.... Where IS that writing?

Thanks to a small boy who likes to snip things, I had an idea. Snip! Now I can easily see which corner has the writing on it. (If you look REALLY closely, you can see the writing on this Rajah cloth below, it is just very faint - no WONDER I had trouble finding it)

*If you don't have a Rajah Cloth, you should seriously get one. Maybe even two. They are great for steam pressing.

Red Leather Spec Case

2011-10-14T10:49:00.001+11:00

If you are looking for a project that provides instant gratification, look no further than Nikki's Spectacle case from the book "You Sew, Girl!" I made one last night in leather (rather than felt), and I am very happy with the result.

The flex frame is easy to install and provides quick, one-handed access to my sunnies.

There is no lining, so it goes together very quickly.

Most of my time spent at the machine was working out tricky, sewing machine related things like tension and pressure, and how to avoid nasty feed-dog track marks on my leather.

The spec case itself went together in minutes!

I am getting better at this industrial machine thing. I do need to work on my back-stitching though. It's still a bit wonky.

Now that I have that under my belt, it's time to make the City Bag in denim with some Ink & Spindle embellishment. I will do it on the industrial machine - with denim I can unpick if I need without leaving holes in my fabric.

My Creative Space - On my way to "Leather City"

2011-10-13T15:50:00.000+11:00

I'm working myself up to making a leather City Bag. I have a small project from Nikki's book cut out and ready to go. Once I have made that, I plan to make a City Bag in Denim, with a bit of Ink & Spindle to make it more exciting, and then... then I will do the leather bag that I have been planning to do for ages.

What's happening in your Creative Space this week?

...and the Winner is.....

2011-10-12T09:36:00.000+11:00

Congratulations, Stephanie and Carlos. Please email me your address and I will pop the magazine in the mail for you.

I Love My Local Library

2011-10-11T21:55:00.000+11:00

We go on a weekly basis. They have a storytime session twice a week, which the kids love, and we also usually take home a stack of books for them to read.

Sometimes I get something for me too. It's tricky for me to browse with the kids there, so my books are often reserved for me behind the counter. If there is a book I am interested in, I can check the catalogue on-line and see if it is available.

Inspired by Sally's post about this little guy - I reserved a copy of Pip's book. They don't actually have it at my library (which, in my opinion, has a serious lack of craft books) but another library in the network had it, so it somehow made it's way to my library where I can pick it up.

There is heaps of inspiration here - I recently borrowed a copy of Sew Liberated and there was another clock project that I found equally inspiring. So whilst I might not make this exact project, I do see a clock in my future...

I also might not make backgammon as such, but maybe some other board game? Something the kids can play?

Anemones

2011-10-10T22:02:00.000+11:00

Not much crafting has been happening here today. So I will leave you with some pictures from my garden.

These lovely anemones have been popping up out the front over the past couple of weeks.

I bought the bulbs in Liam's kinder fund-raiser. I'm all for bulb fund-raisers!

Don't forget, I am having a give-away. Tomorrow is your last chance to enter. Also, you check out this wonderful blogtoberfest link - now you can easily see new posts from fellow blgtoberfestians.

Honolulu Meatballs

2011-10-09T20:43:00.000+11:00

This is another family favourite. Mum used to cook it when we were kids and now I cook it for my kids.

You can add other vegetables if you like, carrot is nice. I added a tin of baby corn to this lot and we weren't really thrilled with the result, so probably won't do that again. I have also replaced the meatballs (first 6 ingredients) with chicken for something a little different.

500g minced steak
1½ cups cereal*
1 small onion chopped
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon oil
1 450g tin pineapple pieces
1 tablespoon corn flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
⅓ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 green capsicum, sliced
1 red capsicum, sliced

Combine meat, cornflakes, egg, onion, salt and ginger. Form into 20 meatballs about 1 tablespoon in each.

Heat oil and brown the meatballs quickly, then lower heat and simmer until meatballs are cooked, about 15 minutes. Remove from pan and pour away regaining fat.

Drain pineapple and measure syrup, make up to one cup with water.
Combine corn flour and sugar in a bowl, stir in syrup and water until smooth.

Add vinegar and soy sauce.

Pour into frying pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils.

Return the meatballs to the frying pan with pineapple and green pepper. Heat through and serve with rice or noodles.

*The original recipe says to use cornflakes but I actually use crushed wheatbix, because we don't usually have cornflakes, All Bran is another good alternative, and in a pinch I have used Just Right a couple of times - picked out all the sultanas and stuff the first time I did it, but never bothered again, it was still fine!

Have you entered my giveaway yet? Only a couple of days left, so get in quick! I am also participating in Blogtoberfest.

Ultra-Quick Spectacles Pouch

2011-10-08T16:10:00.000+11:00

If you're looking for a quick project, the Spectacles Pouch from Nicole Mallalieu's book is a good one. It would make a lovely gift too, as almost everybody can use a case for their specs or sunnies. This one is actually going to be for one of my boys.

The trickiest bit for me was trimming the edges with the pinking shears. Seriously. The rest was dead easy, but for some reason, both pairs of pinking shears were wanting to chew, rather than cut the edges. I'm thinking that next time I might try one of the other finishing techniques or increase the seam allowance a little.

I may even try a better quality of felt. This stuff is the cheap acrylic kind. I have plans to make some of these in leather too.

I am participating in Blogtoberfest. I am also having a giveaway.

Amélie's Hilco Stripey Shirt

2011-10-07T22:08:00.001+11:00

You may have seen this Ottobre top before. It's Ottobre's Striped T-Shirt from Issue 4, 2007. Here's one I made earlier I'm a bit happier with this one. I cut into some of my more precious fabric this time, with a bit more cover-stitch experience under my belt.

The fabric is Hilco Campante knit from Crafty Mamas. I happened to have some ribbing in my stash that was a nice match.

It's a bit easier to see the neck-band detail in this lighter fabric too.

I am participating in Blogtoberfest. I also have a giveaway running at the moment - you have until the 11th to enter.

Puppet Show Shorts Pocket Placement

2011-10-06T22:30:00.000+11:00

I heard some good news earlier today. Oliver + S have finally released a digital version of the Puppet Show pattern. So if you missed out on buying the pattern when it was in print, you can now purchase it here.

This news reminded me that I was meaning to show you a little trick to help get the placement of the pockets right on the shorts. This is what I did.

Where the pocket markings are on the pattern, cut out the pocket shape. You can either trace the shape onto the shorts piece with chalk or disappearing ink, or you can overlay the pattern piece and place the pocket that way.

Pin and then stitch it down. There, that was easy!

Reverse Star Applique

2011-10-05T16:21:00.000+11:00

I'm getting the hang of the cover-stitch machine now, I think. This shirt is made from the Ottobre Workshop 301 pattern that I bought from Crafty Mamas. The orange and navy stripe is Hilco Campan knit, also from Crafty Mamas. I am not 100% sure, but I think the navy was Seaspray from Spotlight.

The embellishment is called a reverse applique because instead of cutting out a star and sewing it on top of the fabric, I cut a star shaped hole in the fabric and placed the fabric behind.

I used my sewing machine's stretch-stitch to top-stitch around the star. I think it looks quite effective.

I am participating in Blogtoberfest, hello to all blogtoberfestians! I am also holding a give-away over here.

My Vegie Garden

2011-10-04T13:24:00.007+11:00

Welcome to my vegie garden, come and take a look...

Liam and I spent yesterday afternoon planting vegetables in the garden. We started with the blueberry bush, which we planted right where I said I would, which technically isn't in the vegie garden at all. You will notice that I haven't gotten around to removing those weeds yet - all in good time!

Before we got started, I did a bit of reading about companion planting. Tomatoes and basil are good companions, so I will be planting some basil in the pockets near the tomatoes. Tomatoes and strawberries are bad companions for Broccoli, so I planted the broccoli at the other end of the garden bed. Mint is a good companion for broccoli so I planted it nearby. Corn and tomatoes share the same kind of pests, so are best not planted near each other.

I planted corn in the other bed, between the peas and the beans, which are good companions for corn. With the corn, there really was only enough room for eight (or less, they are a bit close together) and there were 60 seeds in the packet, with three years until the use-by date, so I planted two per hole. I figure we pull the weaker of the two after they germinate?

You can see that I have placed a board across the bed. I have planted carrot seeds under there. Apparently this helps to germinate them evenly. I'm not sure why. Dad told me of this trick, and it says it on the seed packet as well. At least it will stop the birds from digging them up. Does anybody know if it would be a good idea to do the same with my corn?

This is the potting bench that Maxx made for me out of old pallets - isn't he clever? He also made the gate at the start of this post - you can see it in the background here. My potting bench already looks a bit like my sewing table - covered in crap!

Check out the Blogtoberfestivities - over here, and don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Doll Quilt Swap

2011-10-03T21:04:00.000+11:00

I signed up to participate in the 5th Annual EB Doll Quilt Swap. We are each assigned a partner who we make a quilt for which needs to be posted by the 30th of November. The image above is to help my partner make a quilt that suits my tastes.

We also had to answer a questionnaire

1. What colours do you like?
I like bright colours - especially against a white background.

2. What colours DON'T you like?
Anything murky or dull.

3. What style of quilt do you like best? (Abstract, arty, traditional, modern etc.)
I'm pretty open to all of these, although probably more modern and arty, than traditional. Would prefer to stay away from anything too country, with chickens or cows etc. I am liking fairy tale and nursery rhyme themes at the moment.

4. What techniques and trimmings do you like?
I love appliqué. I admire Helen's flying geese. I am open to many things.

5. Is there anything you DON'T want on your quilt?
Chickens, cows... home-sweet-home type sentiments

6. Skill Level
I'm relatively new to quilting, but I've been sewing for a long time. Intermediate but my quilting might be a bit wonky...

7. Which other EB-ers you've already made a quilt for, or received one from
I made one for Anna last year, and received one from Mands

8. Who will doll Quilt be for - child, wall hanging etc
I would like a wall hanging for Amelie's room. Hopefully she will be in her own room by the time this swap is over. Perhaps something that she can use for her dollies later on?

I participated in the swap last year, and this is what I made for Anna:

And this is what I received from Mands:

I haven't really decided what I am going to do this year... a decision that I need to make (and get started on) during Blogtoberfest.

Check out the Blogtoberfestivities - over here, and don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Ottobre Striped T-Shirt

2011-10-02T15:30:00.003+11:00

This is the striped t-shirt from Ottobre 4/2007. My mum loaned me her cover-stitch machine, so I have been doing a little stretch sewing. This one has a nice placket-type detail in the back so it is easy to get on and off with just one snap. It also matches her stripy leggings. Nice for going under some of her summery dresses so she can wear them before she out-grows them.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway

Joining in with the Blogtoberfestivities

2011-10-01T13:19:00.001+10:00

Welcome Blogtoberfestians! Feel free to take a look around. I've decided to join in with Blogtoberfest again. I'm not sure how I will go, but I will do my best to blog everyday for the month of October.

One of my other goals this month is to get these seedlings into my garden beds - hopefully very soon. I had a go at starting from scratch with seeds, but the ones that were to be planted straight into the garden were dug up by something (I'm suspecting a largish black bird - maybe a crow or magpie?). I also tried growing some tomato seeds but they didn't germinate. I'm not sure if it is my fault or if there was something wrong with the seeds. I have done it before, although maybe I didn't water them enough?

As you can see, it is a bit wet here today. Don't worry, when I realised that someone left his tricycle out in the rain, I brought it in.

I fear the seedlings will drown :( Hopefully, these strawberry plants that I planted earlier won't.

I am also a bit excited about this blueberry plant. I love blueberries. I bet birds like them too....

I think I will put it over here. I might get rid of those weeds too.

With all this rain, it seems today might be a better day for sewing than gardening. If you're new around here, that is what I mostly do. If you have any gardening tips, I would love to hear them. If you are a regular, and wondering what I am talking about, you can find more by clicking on this button:

PS: I am also having a giveaway over here

The Month of Many Milestones

2011-09-30T23:06:00.002+10:00

Miss Amélie has been very busy this month, reaching all sorts of milestones. It was on Father's Day that she worked out how to get herself into a sitting position.

A few days after that, she managed to work out crawling.

She grew a tooth, and then a couple of days later, another one! (Can you see them both, down the bottom in the photo above?)

And she can now pull herself to standing.

She can also clap and wave bye-bye.

We have been busy swapping beds around - Liam has gone from a toddler bed to a proper big-boy bed. The toddler bed has been converted back to a cot and Amélie has been moved in there because we can't have her standing up in a cradle.

It's all very exciting, but geez girl, can you slow down a bit so I can keep up?!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway over here.

My Creative Space - A Frilling Pattern!

2011-09-29T15:48:00.003+10:00

I have always admired this Bettsy Kingston Baby Ruffle Pants pattern. I had not realised however, that it was available in PDF format.

Of course, once I realised this, it didn't take me long to buy it. By the next day, I was tracing and cutting out and putting together these lovely bloomers.

I even took the time to work out how to use a ruffling foot. Which is a good thing, because now I can make more of them, faster!

It's a bit of a scary looking device, isn't it?

I recommend downloading and having a read of this tutorial from You Can Make This, and for that extra bit of confidence, I watched this YouTube clip.

You can check out more creative spaces over here and don't forget to enter my giveaway over here.

Three!

2011-09-28T22:32:00.001+10:00

Noah turned three last week. I made him a Devil's Food Cake for his birthday cake.

His favourite present was an orange torch that cost only $5, despite also receiving a skateboard, amongst other things.

He still really likes his super hero cape. He also enjoyed everyone at library story-time singing happy birthday to him.

Isn't it wonderful how easy it is to please a three year old? Now all I need is shares in Duracell to keep that torch going...

Don't forget to enter my giveaway.

Give Away! Homespun Kid's Issue 2010

2011-09-27T16:16:00.002+10:00

*comments have closed - you can see who won here

I treated myself to a Homespun Magazine this morning. Sometimes when you buy a magazine, you are lucky enough to receive a bonus magazine for free. Sometimes it is one you don't already have, and sometimes it is one that you do. I already have this magazine. I bought this copy to read whilst I was doing my Gestational diabetes test last year. It's a good one. It's a kid's issue. There is a lovely pencil roll project in there by Kellie Wulfsohn, amongst other things.

Anyway, since I already have a copy, I thought I would give this one away. Waste not, want not. All you need to do is comment on this post. I'll come back in two weeks and pick a winner. I will even post internationally.

My Red Nikki Skirt

2011-09-09T16:17:00.001+10:00

I finished my skirt by hemming it this morning. The pattern is Nicole Mallalieu Design's A-Line Skirt. I used some red hatched-denim that mum gave to me that she got for $2 a metre. I love that it has a little bit of give because it is denim, but doesn't look like boring old denim - and way more comfortable than jeans.

I also love the yoke on the skirt - no more facings rolling out the top of my skirt. There (as usual) were heaps of little tips and tricks to get a really professional finish in the easiest possible way. The best part though, was the instructions for inserting the invisible zip. There is no need to be afraid of zips - not even the invisible ones!

My Creative Space - A-line Skirt

2011-09-08T09:42:00.002+10:00

Working on this today...

Check out some other Creative Spaces

* edit: you can see the completed skirt here.

My Little Super Heros

2011-09-05T14:20:00.002+10:00

He flies through the air

Smarter than a speeding bullet

Cuter than a locomotive

Able to leap tall Duplo towers in a single bound.

Look - up in the sky

It's a bird

No, no, it's a plane

It's Super Noah!

And Super Liam!

Wait? Where did he go?

Did I mention, able to disappear in seconds?

Super Hero Cape Tutorial

Lovely Leggings

2011-09-03T14:24:00.000+10:00

I recently made these leggings for Amelie, using a pattern that I purchased from Crafty Mamas. Whilst the pattern is lovely, I was looking for something a little more fitted. So I took a couple of inches out of the middle of the pattern piece, and from that, made these.

Amelie is also wearing the shoes I made her, so you can see them in action. When I made the leather ones, I went up a size as these ones with all their interfacing and wadding were a little snug.

I plan to make a long-sleeved t-shirt from the same fabric so Amelie can wear them both together under brightly coloured little dresses and tunics.

Little Red Riding Hood Puppet Show

2011-08-30T17:29:00.002+10:00

I love the Oliver + S Puppet Show tunic and shorts pattern. I have made two already in some lovely Heather Ross Far, Far Away double gauze. The double gauze is lovely and soft and drapey and perfect for babies. Which leads me to a question. Why did subsequent releases of FFA2 and FFA3 not have double gauze? And why, why, why has the Oliver + S Puppet Show pattern been discontinued? It must be one of the most heavily sought after patterns.

Anyway, this time I opted to make the Puppet Show outfit, using some Kokka Trefle and a nice red quilter's cotton. The Trefle is a cotton-linen blend, and the shorts have lovely structure. The print is of Little Red Riding Hood, which I love. I'm thinking I might have a bit of a penchant for Fairy-tale themed fabrics for my little girl. I went with the tunic length so that Amélie may be able to crawl in it. Just a little.

Oh, and there are those shoes that I made (IN LEATHER!) in action. I can't take credit for the cardigan though. I love the lacy edge. That was a lucky hand-me-down from Amélie's cousin, and knitted by my Mother in Law, Di. Thank you. It's still way too cold to be wearing that outfit at this time of year without a cardigan and tights.

Little Red Riding Hood Shoes

2011-08-28T17:44:00.000+10:00

Ok, so I said that I was working up to something. I did it! I made Mary-Janes from some pretty red leather. It was so much fun! I used my industrial machine and I managed to not sew any of my fingers to the shoes! It is the first time I have sewed anything with leather.

They are far from perfect. My top-stitching is a bit crooked, but I am pretty happy with them for a first effort. With leather you can't un-pick (it leaves tiny, ugly holes), so you only get one shot. I can't be my usual pedantic self and un-pick and re-stitch until I am happy. Also, leather is kind of slick. It glides under the presser foot like nothing I have sewn before.

I don't think I can stop at just one pair.

My Creative Space - Little Red Riding Hood

2011-08-25T13:28:00.000+10:00

I'm working on another Oliver + S Puppet Show outfit (previous outfits), this time in some Kokka Trefle, Little Red Riding Hood, and a lovely red print I picked up at Amitie. I'm hoping to get it completed before the weekend, without over-exerting myself, as I am also fighting a lurgy that I seem to have caught from Liam. Sharing is caring.

Later I hope to gather up enough courage to chop into some lovely red leather from NSW Leather Co.

What's happening in your Creative Space?

More Mary-Janes

2011-08-21T15:17:00.000+10:00

I made another pair of Mary-Janes. This time I applied some of my knowledge of interfacing (I learned heaps from Nikki) and the result is a lovely pair of shoes that will stand up by themselves. They stay shoe-shaped. I am working up to something here, stay tuned...

Cute Mary-Janes

2011-08-12T13:17:00.001+10:00

Look at the cute Mary-Jane baby shoes I made using this pattern from My Sweet Little Patterns. I see lots of babies getting gorgeous gifts in my near future.

I made the 3-6 months one, and they were snug enough to stay on Amélie's feet for the entire library visit this morning.

Liam's Jungle Jerry Shirt

2011-08-09T16:22:00.000+10:00

I have made this Ottobre 1/2008 "Jerry Shirt" a couple of times before, and whilst I like it, I don't love it, like I love the "Apple Shirt" from 3/2010. The Apple shirt has a nice shape, both to the sides of the shirt, and the bottom edge. I also like the yoke on the apple shirt.

I feel that the collar on the Jerry shirt is too big and a bit shape-less, and the cuffs are too wide - not that that isn't easily fixed. The pocket is also a plain, rectangular shape and the shirt is a bit on the short side too. So I'm thinking, after making three of these, that it might be time to move on to something else.

Mum bought this jungle fabric for me, as well as some more in a different colour-way. I may end up making another Apple shirt from it, or I might have a bit more of a look around and see if Ottobre has a similar long-sleeved pattern.

Leggings for Amélie

2011-08-08T11:32:00.001+10:00

I have been hunting through my Ottobre magazines, and my Top Kids magazines on the hunt for a leggings pattern. Everything I found either had a seam down the outside leg, or wasn't in a small enough size, or was too baggy. I did try adapting one of my Kwik Sew patterns, but there was a LOT of adjustment going on, and I realised that I would have to do the same thing over again when I made it in a bigger size.

Anyway, last night on Facebook, Lisa from Crafty Mamas posted a picture of a new pattern she is selling in her shop and I was unable to resist. It's the Knit Leggings pattern, by Whimsy Couture, and it's an e-pattern, so you can buy it online and it is emailed to you in pdf format. There was a little bit of cutting and taping required to assemble the pattern, but it isn't too bad when it is for little clothes.

Since there was no waiting around for the postie to arrive, I managed to whip these up last night. Talk about instant gratification!

My Creative Space - Hexagons

2011-08-04T15:46:00.000+10:00

I've been enjoying this lovely weather. Considering it is still meant to be Winter here, it is so lovely and warm. I can't wait until Spring is here for real.

Today, whilst looking for something else (which I still didn't find), I found my little hexagon kit from retromummy from last year's Sew It Together.

So I've been sitting here, by the open door, enjoying the warm, fresh breeze and stitching some hexagons.

Check out some more Creative Spaces.

My Creative Space - Amélie's Jeans

2011-07-28T17:03:00.001+10:00

These jeans once belonged to Noah. Before that, they belonged to one of Liam's friends. I am grateful for hand-me-downs. It is both economically and environmentally friendly. These ones look a bit past it though. Noah was crawling when he was wearing these. They came to us in good condition, but now they are completely trashed....

... they weren't particularly girlie either, so I've patched and girlified these jeans today. I had to unpick the in-seams and to do that I had to undo the hem. The difference in the colour of the jeans is because of the difference in light between this morning and this afternoon. I promise, they are the same jeans.

Luckily there is a Gutermann top-stitching thread that matches these jeans and I happened to have it in my stash. I used Kellie's pattern Pretty 'n Pink for the appliqué design.

Oh, and Amélie is just over six months old now, and she can sit up by herself!

Off you go now, check out some more Creative Spaces!

Are you going to the ASG Industry Day?

2011-07-25T19:49:00.000+10:00

It is on Saturday August 27, 2011 at Boronia Uniting Church Hall, Boronia Road, Boronia from 9:30am - 3:30 pm.

View Larger Map

The cost is $30 for members of the Australian Sewing Guild, and $35 for everyone else. This cost includes morning and afternoon tea, including cheese and biscuits and Scones with Jam and Cream (did someone mention Devonshire Tea? Mmmmm...!) and your lunch (quiches, sandwiches and fruit platters), so pretty good value, I think.

There will be some awesome speakers, including

Style ARC, who have up to the minute fashion patterns, including one just like Pippa Middleton's bridesmaid dress (if only we could all look as good as she did in it!).

Leanne Church from Echidna, for those of you who are interested in machine embroidery.

Nicole Mallalieu, my favourite pattern-designer, blogger, and author of "You Sew, Girl!" will also be there.

If you want to go, you need to register and pay by Saturday, August 13. You can do this here, or by contacting my mum (ASG Membership secretary - she wont sign you up for the guild unless you want her to, I promise) or if you happen to be at the Melbourne Quilt and Craft fair later this week, the lovely ladies at the Australian Sewing Guild stand will help you.

I will be going, will you?

The Hotties at Open Drawer

2011-07-24T20:37:00.000+10:00

I finally made it to Open Drawer today to check out the Hottie exhibition.

Amelie and I traveled to Melbourne with my mum and dad especially to see the exhibition and it was lovely to see all these beautiful hotties in person.

It is amazing how differently so many people approached the same task.

There were felted hotties, scrapbooked hotties, knitted and crocheted hotties.

Hotties with thread sketching, applique and quilting.

A hottie with spoons and zips!

Hotties with recycled materials, metallic fabrics and lace.

Hand-stitched hotties and hotties that were glued together.

a double daschund hottie for two, a few mother & daughter(s) entries and even an entry from a man who made his hottie with guitar parts.

Hotties with robots, mice and elephants....

....and a hottie from the amazing Curly-Pops, who was responsible for many, many people joining in on the Hottie Challenge. What an awesome effort!

After checking out the gallery of hotties upstairs, we checked out Open Drawer downstairs.

Everything is made by Australian artists

So many beautiful things to wear...

and I bought myself a little something special....

Clifford - The Big Red Dog

2011-07-23T18:19:00.001+10:00

Right after Amélie was born, my mother-in-law sent me some fabric, including a fabric panel for Clifford the Big Red Dog.

There were lots of cues to make this book, but I kept putting it off. When we went to library yesterday, they read a Clifford book and that is when I finally decided it was now or never. I think I was over-thinking the whole thing, because once I sat down and got into it, it took me about an hour to do. I probably would have been quicker if I wasn't entertaining Liam at the same time. It even has some batting inside to make it nice and puffy.

Liam was suitably impressed and enjoyed "reading" the story to Amélie.

Robot Pajamas

2011-07-22T21:31:00.000+10:00

I finally finished Liam's pajamas that I started, back here. I really should get a wriggle on and make some more so I can pass his old ones onto Noah.

His are looking a little small!

If you are new here, the pattern is Kwik Sew 3126. It is my most used pattern by far. I got the fabric for $3-something-a-metre at the end of season last year at Spotlight.

My Creative Space - Happy Birthday to Me!!

2011-07-21T21:57:00.000+10:00

Look what I got for my birthday from my clever, clever man! This wonderful screen-printing set arrived in my creative space recently, and today, I finally had a bit of a play with it.

So far I have discovered that inkjet transparencies have a right side and a wrong side, and my printer has a transparency setting. I am still playing around with getting the exposure right when making the screen, so no actual screen-printing yet, but I will definitely be back to let you know when I do.

You can check out more Creative Spaces over here.

Bus Stop Bag

2011-07-18T16:00:00.000+10:00

Sorry it has been a bit quiet on the blog. I've been a bit busy lately with the kids. Anyway, I have been meaning to blog about this Bus Stop Bag for ages, so now is a good time, I guess. When I made this bag it was all hush-hush as it was a secret squirrel pattern testing project for Nicole Mallalieu's new book. Now that the book has been published (um, yeah, a while ago....) it is okay for me to blog this.

The fanciest part of this bag is the seam binding, which is quite tricky, and one of the reasons the pattern has been given the advanced skill level rating. Never fear though, if you think it might be a bit too tricky, you can put the seam binding on the inside until you are confident with the technique. I would also recommend that you try the toiletry bag first as it isn't as stiff as the bus-stop bag, and therefor a little easier to manipulate on the sewing machine.

The finished bag is quite sturdy and has a firm base with shiny purse-feet. It stands up al by itself and there was enough room inside for the toiletry bag and my hairdryer and a number of other assorted personal items when I was in hospital having Amelie back in January. If you've ever had a baby, you will be aware of all the extra toilety items you need in those early days and trust me, there was room inside for all of these!

If you want to make yourself one of these, you need to get your hands on a copy of Nikki's book, You Sew, Girl! For the cost of a couple of patterns, it is chock-a-block full of tips, techniques and patterns to make all sorts of lovely things.

"Usual Chicken"

2011-06-28T20:01:00.000+10:00

In our house we have a bunch of things that I cook regularly. One of them is something we like to call "Usual Chicken". We call it this, because the recipe starts out by saying "Boil chicken in the usual way..." I have no idea what the usual way of boiling chickens is. Cookery the Australian Way suggests boiling for an hour with two peppercorns and a teaspoon of vinegar, so that's what I do. You might like to boil yours in your slow cooker.

Im not sure where this recipe came from, but it was all in ounces and stuff, so I've since converted it. I also changed the bit at the end that suggested frying your breadcrumbs in butter before adding to the top. You can do that if you like, but I don't think the recipe needs any extra butter.

You need:
One whole chicken
60g butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup cream
2 tablespoons parsley
2 sticks celery
1 can corn kernels
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

Boil chicken in the usual way (tee-hee) until it breaks apart when lifted with tongs. Reserve 1 cup of stock and set aside chicken to cool.

Melt butter in a large saucepan, add flour and stir over low heat for two minutes.

Remove from heat. Gradually add reserved chicken stock and return to the the heat, bring to the boil, then simmer uncovered for two minutes.

Add undiluted soup, cream and parsley. If you want, you can use dry parsley, but only use about 2-3 teaspoons. Mix well.

Chop celery, and drain the corn. Strip the meat from the chicken - I use a knife and fork to do this. Chop the meat roughly and add celery, chicken and corn to the saucepan and stir through to combine.

Pour into an oven proof dish. Top with breadcrumbs and bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve it up to your kids (and significant others) and watch them eat it all and ask for seconds! Yum!

My Creative Space - Robot Fever

2011-06-23T10:57:00.000+10:00

I seem to be on a bit of a robot bender at the moment (robot BENDER - get it? hahaha!). I'm ready to get started sewing up some more pajamas for Liam. The lovely robot fabric is some flannelette that I picked up from Spotlight at the end of season, last year. I'm using my favourite pajama pattern - Kwiksew 3126. I have lost count of how many pajamas I have made from this pattern, it is one of the most used in my whole pattern stash.

Here are some pajamas I made last year:

I just found out this morning that a lovely local business, Crafty Mamas, is now stocking Kwik Sew patterns (just give them a little time to get them up in the shop) including the Kwik Sew Books (Sewing for Baby, Sewing for Toddlers etc.) that I use all the time, and are the Australian distributor of the Ottobre sewing magazines. Between those, it covers just about everything I make for my kids.

Now go and check out some more Creative Spaces.

The Hottie Challenge

2011-06-22T21:13:00.000+10:00

The Margaret Pratt Foundation is a charity organisation that supports research to improve the outcomes of heart and lung transplant recipients. Open Drawer are running the Hottie Challenge to support the Margaret Pratt Foundation. If you want to know any more about this fabulous event, and check out some of the entries, you should step on over to the CurlyPops blog and check it out.

I had a really difficult time trying to decide what to put on my hottie cover. I felt that it should reflect me and my blog in some way. I eventually decided to use my own robot appliqué design, (inspired by a comment from Jodie on a recent post) but using free-hand, raw-edge appliqué techniques (that I learned from Kellie) rather than by using the embroidery machine. Instead of using regular thread to appliqué and quilt my hottie cover, I used thread from the embroidery machine. I love the finish - it gives the whole project a lovely sheen.

I almost forgot to put an opening in the hottie cover to be able to insert the hot water bottle, but fortunately remembered before I stitched the whole thing together. There's nothing like last minute creativity! My hottie cover went in the mail this afternoon, and now I am relying on Express Post to get my parcel into Cam's letterbox by tomorrow. Oh, and I have no idea if an actual hot water bottle would fit in there.

Echino Skirt

2011-06-21T19:44:00.000+10:00

After the first skirt, I was confident enough with the fit to chop into my precious Echino fabricthat I purchased from Patchwork on Central Park during Sew It Together last year. I think this skirt is going to be one of my favourite articles of clothing this winter. The bright colours really cheer up a dull day!

I Made a Skirt! Sew What?

2011-06-19T21:08:00.000+10:00

My friend Karen, has been having a little sew-along on her blog. Making skirts using Prints Charming fabric and instructions from the book Sew What Skirts. I already made a wrap skirt using this book, but I just don't have enough skirts in my wardrobe, so I thought it might be a good idea to join in.

I don't have any Prints Charming fabric, and I wanted to make sure I had the fit right so I started with some light weight denim from my stash - I have loads of this, so no immediate fear of running out. You can't really tell in the photos, but it has a cross hatch texture through it.

I'm pretty happy with the fit of this skirt, there isn't much that can go wrong with a skirt, unlike pants. I now have a skirt that is comfortable enough to wear around the house, and nice enough to wear down the street (maybe with a nicer top than the daggy old maternity one I am wearing in the photo). The best part is, it took hardly any time, and I now have a pattern to make MORE SKIRTS!

Robot Hooded Jacket, Revisited

2011-06-16T20:42:00.000+10:00

Just over two years ago, I made this jacket. It has been a firm favourite of Liam's and he has only recently started allowing Noah to wear it occasionally. The only thing is, it doesn't really fit Noah any more, either.

I have been meaning to make him another one for quite a while. In fact, I intended to make one last winter. Anyway, I finally got around to it over the long weekend.

The only major difference (apart from the size) was I made larger cuffs, to make more of a feature from the robot fabric. You can see in these photos, that Liam has the cuffs folded back, but it looks the same when unfolded too.

The Red Baron

2011-06-14T22:18:00.000+10:00

It was a long weekend here just been, and the weather was awesome. I got heaps of stuff done! Lots of sewing and I even managed to get out in the garden and plant my bulbs that I have been wanting to do for weeks. Maybe soon I can come back and show you the result of that... wish me luck!

Anyway, this was the first thing I sewed this weekend, a hoody for Liam, using a $1 design from Embroidery Library. The fabric was left-overs from Paige's school uniforms from about umm... I dunno... 10-12 years ago? It's not a colour I would rush out and buy, but it looks nice on Liam. I wanted an embroidery on it so it didnt look too "school-uniformy". I had to borrow some threads from Mum as I just didn't have enough of the right reds.

I used the Kwik Sew Sewing for Children book, and I included the kangaroo pocket on the front for Liam to keep his hands warm and store treasures in.

Look What the Postman Brought!

2011-06-06T17:01:00.001+10:00

I was very surprised to find the postman at the door with a parcel the other day. This beautiful Olearia was gifted to my baby, Amélie, by Susan of The Brissmiths. It is hand-knitted from lovely, lovely Bendigo yarn. It is a little large at the moment, but I think it works just nicely over the top of a dress for now.

Tracksuit Pants

2011-06-04T09:35:00.000+10:00

Well you don't get much more exciting than tracksuit pants, hahaha! I made these using Kwik Sews Sewing for Toddlers book BUT I did a few modifications. I changed the shape of the leg. The Kwik sew pattern is quite tapered, so I widened it out a bit. I added some pin-stripes to the sides. I also made my own pocket pattern for these pants.

The best part of these tracksuit pants is that apart from elastic and thread (and a few hours of my time), they were FREE! The fabric is left-overs from other clothing. The sad part is that Liam is not a fan of tracksuit pants...

Amelie's Rompers

2011-05-24T22:37:00.002+10:00

Ok, so it took me a while to get these rompers finished, and almost as long to get around to blogging about them. It's probably time for me to show off more pictures of my beautiful little girl, even if they are over a month old.

I started these before Amélie was born, and since I didn't know I was having a girl, I went gender-neutral. The fabric was left-overs given to me by mum, the binding was cut from my stash. The pattern was the turtle baby romper from Ottobre 3/2008 which I have made before. There is a girlie version, with puffy sleeves, I might make that version next time. I made four rompers altogether.

My mum kindly loaned me her cover-stitch machine to put the binding on with. It has a binding attachment, but I found it easier to operate without it. I'm thinking if you are going to do a lot of binding (and I mean HEAPS) then it may be worthwhile learning how to use it, but for me it was too fiddly. I think next time I make these, I might stretch the binding a little more around the legs, they do seem pretty loose.

A Glamorous Mothers' Day Gift

2011-05-21T23:45:00.000+10:00

I was recently lucky enough to pattern test one of Nikki's newest patterns. It's the Glam Purse, and I finished stitching the frame on this purse just in time for Mothers' Day, as a gift for my mum.

It's a little different to the other purses, a little more glamorous. I made it from different materials to what I normally work with, and I am quite happy with the result. I especially like the clever way that Nikki incorporated the pleats into the pattern. I think Mum might have liked the clever way that I incorporated a box of Ferrero Rocher into the purse...

My Creative Space - Sharp!

2011-04-28T17:44:00.000+10:00

I'm working on this at the moment. The pattern is the Glam Purse, the latest pattern from Nicole Mallalieu. I must admit, it looks a bit scary right now with all those sharp pins!

What are you working on at the moment? You can find other Creative Spaces over at Kootoyoo.

Paper Dolls, Lady Bugs & Unicorns

2011-04-15T15:05:00.001+10:00

I've been wanting to make this outfit for Amélie for a while now, and finally managed to get the fabric and the time to do it.

I've made this once before as a gift for a friend, and when I heard that the pattern was being discontinued, I went and got myself the one in the larger sizes - before I even had a girl to sew them for. Let's hope I can still convince her to dress like this when she is pre-school aged!

The pattern is the "Puppet Show" Tunic & Shorts by Oliver + S. The patterns come with a cute paper doll that you can cut out and dress up in the same paper outfit as the pattern. I wonder if I will let Amélie play with these one day, or if I will still want to keep them for myself!

The fabric is Heather Ross' "Far, Far Away" Unicorns for Kokka, and I used some Kiyohara Clover & Ladybug for the shorts and the bodice and sleeve cuffs. Both fabrics are double gauze, which is lovely and soft and light. I was looking at the unicorn fabric, and noticed the Kiyohara on the same page at Kelani. The colours are a pretty close match.

I also thought of a way to make use of the cutest selvedge I have ever seen...

The Apple Tree

2011-03-27T17:38:00.001+11:00

When we bought our house, just over two years ago, we were delighted to find it came with an apple tree.

Sadly, a couple of months ago, we had a small* flood and the tree fell over. The tree has to go eventually. According to everyone we have consulted, it can't be saved. It is still alive, however, and the apples weren't yet ripe, so we are letting it stay out the season**.

Of course, we have to share the apples with these guys...

....and that's my silver lining!

*we had a bigger flood last Tuesday, but that's another blog post entirely!
**actually, I think the chainsaw is broken, but why split hairs?

My Creative Space - the Boys Get Creative

2011-03-25T14:53:00.000+11:00

They say that play-dough is good for releasing tension and aggression. We haven't really played with play-dough much lately, because Noah tends to eat it. I did kinder duty last week, and took Noah and Amelie along with me. When I saw Noah playing with the play dough and not eating it, I decided to make some more for home. The recipe is on the side of the Cream of Tarter packet, or you can get the recipe here.

He still has a little trouble resisting...

Ok, so I guess you're wondering about the hats? They are from this morning's story-time session at the library. The theme was ducks. After the story, the kids do a craft activity.

Liam did his all by himself. Inspired by Picasso!

I also recently discovered that our local newspaper sells end-rolls of paper, so I grabbed a couple of those last week as well. Good fun for the kids, and also, if I need to draft a pattern...

To see more Creative Spaces, visit Kirsty at Kootoyoo.

My Creative Space - a dash of pink knitting

2011-03-18T08:31:00.001+11:00

A couple of weeks ago, I had a lovely blogger friend come and visit me and meet my new baby, Amélie. We enjoyed some *Roast Pumpkin and Basil Fritatta for lunch and I was left with these lovely balls of wool to knit something for Amélie with. I'm trying out something with a bit of a fancy edge, but I'm not sure if it's going to work well with the variegated yarn - we'll see how it goes....

for more creative spaces, visit Kirsty.

*I may come back and post the recipe for that some time