OUR SEWING ROOM

I think that it took great courage for me to show you what the state of our sewing room has been like since we moved into our new home. Bec and I tidied it up over the Christmas break (OK, Bec just watched me do it and went ooh - aah at all the right times!) , and I just can't help but going in and just staring at what we've achieved!


I don't know how I managed to sew these past few months. I spent most of my time trying to find things.



But now.....

We can see our desk!


And storage for all of our fabrics, notions and patterns!


Somewhere to finally hang the costumes! That will have to be another post on showing you some of my favourite costumes I've made.

What I'm loving...

*The white cupboard from Ikea is just perfect for storing my stash!

*Our beautiful costumes are no longer shoved into a box.

What I'm not loving...

*The black desk. I do most of my sewing at night and it is really hard on the eyes. Will have to replace this with a lighter desk.

I have made a little something for Bec's birthday which is just around the corner. I can't show you yet because she might see this post! Will show you after her birthday...

And finally, Rebecca and I would like to wish you all a safe and wonderful 2009!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Rebecca and I would love to wish you all a safe and happy Christmas.

A huge Thank you to Linda from http://texmorg.blogspot.com/ for making this beautiful Christmas village setting for me. It's lovely and a lot of work went into making it.

Rebecca and Jenni

MY ALICIA KEYS FROCK

Alicia Keys Rocks!!! The concert was absolutely sensational. She is just such a beautiful and talented performer, and quite honestly, any one who can wear high waisted white jeans and still look fabulous gets a big tick in my book! And what a bonus...I didn't realise that Jordin Sparks would be performing as well, so that was a wonderful surprise. I think she's a real sweetie!

Well my hand recovered enough for me to make my dress for the concert. I made up View 'C' of New Look pattern 6805 in a black and white gingham. It came together so easily, I may have to make a couple of these for the summer months ahead. The only thing I had to alter was the length (I added about 5cm). I'm really diggin' the neckline of this dress - it has a kind of 50's feel about it.

Here's the finished product....

MY LITTLE GIRL IS GROWING UP

Today I want to show you Rebecca's graduation dress from a few weeks ago. It was a vintage Simplicity pattern 2543 from 1958. As soon as Bec saw it she knew that was the one!

We bought it from http://www.oldpatterns.com/ . I get excited about how vintage patterns just smell old, and there is writing on the envelope from way back in 1958, the previous owner jotted down the colours and fabrics she would have used.

It was quite easy to make, I lined the dress to give it more body though, and added some tulle at the hem of the lining to make it stand out a little.

We chose vintage because girls really knew how to 'frock-up' back then, and Bec didn't really like any of the modern patterns. They were either too young with lots of bows and frills, or too teenage! The fabric was two-tone - celery and pink, and it turned out fantastic! Bec was thrilled and she looked like a princess wearing her tiara hair slide. AND.....she won the Year 6 Citizenship award, which means basically that she's a darn great gal! We were all so proud of her.

The year 6's really enjoyed the after party which followed the formal ceremony. I'm not so sure that I'm ready to hand her over to the Middle School though....

CHRISTMAS CRAFT

Bec's been doing a bit of Christmas craft today. Her final piano lesson for the year was this afternoon and she wanted to create a special card for her teacher. She copied a piece of Christmas music that she'd been learning for the festive season. Then cut it out into a star shape and glued it onto some cardstock to make a border. Outlined the music with some Kindy Glitz and used a "music note" punch to make the hole. I think she did really well for her first effort. Here's the result.

ALICIA KEYS

Cause I am a Superwoman

Yes I am

Yes she is

Still when I'm a mess

I still put on a vest

With an 'S' on my chest

Oh yes

I'm a Superwoman

Alicia Keys - Superwoman lyrics

I am soooo excited to be going to her concert! I'm thinking that I will have to whip up an outfit for this event..hmmmm I've never been a VIP before, so I think that this calls for something nice. I cut my hand on some broken glass the other day, so it will come down to whether I can handle scissors etc. I will post some pics if I can!

DH and I are staying the night close by so that we can make a night of it. It's my early Christmas present from him. Bec (my DD) is a bit miffed that I'm going without her, I'll make it up to her ...somehow...

Have a lovely day.

"L" PLATES....

Well, here is my very own first post. I'm feeling kind of nervous and not quite sure what I'm getting myself into! I guess I'll be on "L" plates for a while until I know what I'm doing. My aim at first is to have 1 or 2 posts a week - but I'm sure as I get addicted to Blogging, you will be seeing a lot of ramblings and photos of our sewing and cooking experiments.