Mummy Daughter Time

COLETTE GINGER SKIRT

2012-01-27T06:53:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting a denim skirt for a while now,
but not one of those that you wear with thongs and a mullet!

I have seen plenty of Colette Ginger Skirts on the 'www' and thought that this pattern would be perfect.

I made View 3 and its a super easy pattern to make up in less than a day!

I decided to line it as the denim appeared to be quite a loose weave and I hate it when your skirt 'seats' in the behind!
Thanks Tracy for the lining - it handles really well.

I have absolutely no idea where the denim came from:/

The 'innards'...

I did a mock flat fell seam in thread that is matchy-matchy with the lining.

The pattern called for an invisible zipper - which I LOVE doing, but chose not to in this case as they don't really work well with denim waistbands.

Love the skirt!

Will definitely be making more and I thoroughly recommend the pattern.

NEW LOOK 6805 and BUTTERICK 6582

2012-01-08T17:20:00.000-08:00

My first project for 2012 is a 'mish-mash'.

I love the New Look 6805 pattern and have made this up a few times with View C but wanted a different neckline so chose the View A version.
I also wanted a different skirt so I rummaged through my patterns and found the perfect skirt in Butterick 6582 (View C).

I have plenty of fabric left over so I will certainly make myself a matchy-matchy belt.

I bought this Vintage Style cotton voile from Spotlight a few months ago and here's the result.

I love the fact that the gathering stops at the front princess seam panel so it lies flat across the tummy. I certainly don't need any extra volume in that area after all the Christmas Cheer!

And a gratuitous twirly shot!

And for the neat freaks out there, here are the innards!

I couldn't get a nice green for the lining as they all seemed to darken the bodice too much so I just used cream which worked well.

Check out that fabulous hand sewing:)

I chose to just sew a narrow hem this time as the fabric was quite fine and I thought that hand sewing a blind hem may pull on the fabric too much.

I didn't have to make any alterations to the bodice as I'd made this up (in a different version) before so new it fitted and fitting a gathered skirt isn't exactly rocket science!

Off to do my Colette Ginger skirt now....
See you soon.

Happy, Happy!

2011-12-31T16:49:00.001-08:00

Just popping in to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

Lots of sewing planned for 'Twenty Twelve'.
Promise!

CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS

2011-12-17T02:45:00.000-08:00

I whipped up some Christmas Bunting this week,
something that I've wanted to make for a long time...

Made with some fat 1/4 packs from Spotl ight.

I also made this fabric gift pouch with the left-overs with thanks to this tutorial

I reckon I'll be making lots of these little gems!

It reminds me of a big, fat, juicy strawberry!

Hope your Christmas preparations are going as planned!

GRADUATION TEDDY BEARS

2011-12-04T07:17:00.000-08:00

Remember these?

They have morphed into 'Graduation Teddy Bears'.

First, their hats were decorated with the school logo...

Then their ties were made...

Their collars were next...

Ta-dah!
Aren't they cute???

All 66 of them!!!

It has been a school tradition to send off the current Year 6's with their own 'Graduation Teddy Bear'.

I took over the role of decorating the bears a few years ago when Bec graduated Year 6 in 2008.

Tom will graduate next year, so I may have to pass the baton on once he's into middle school.

I love doing these and it's not a hard job, just lots of fiddling around and waiting for glue to dry before the next phase is started.

And I'm sure these little suckers all have a personality of their own! There was one teddy that looked rather smug, and another I nick-named Dopey!

Anyway, they're done for another year and all packed up ready to head to school.

All the best to all those parents sending their babies off to middle school next year!!!

Have a great week!

WORK IN PROGRESS...

2011-11-16T20:35:00.000-08:00

This is what I'm working on at the moment.

I'll keep you posted...promise!

MIRROR, MIRROR, ON THE WALL...

2011-10-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

We were invited to a (story book themed) 21st Birthday not so long ago.
Do you realise how hard it was for the four of us to agree on a theme? We had plenty of warning but we all couldn't agree on what storybook characters to go as until about 10 days before the party!!

With work commitments and a JRock Eisteddfod to help organise, it didn't leave me with a lot of time, so I took a few shortcuts.

It actually wasn't worth making Bec's Snow White costume - I picked it up for around $20 from ebay. I just added a red ribbon sash around the waist to give it more shape, a pair of long white socks and a wig and hers was complete.

Tom wanted to go as Dopey and the kids and I thought Glen would make a perfect Grumpy because, well, just because;)
Both the dwarf tops and hats were made of polar fleece. I used McCall's 2895 for the tunic-style pattern and made some huge yellow felt buttons for the front. Thick wide elastic was used for the belt and I just added a large belt buckle. As time was running out, I just bought some cheap tracksuit pants and dyed them and they wore ugg boots.
I didn't have a pattern for Grumpy's beard so I just whipped one up and stuffed it a little with wadding and added some elastics at the end to hook around his ears.
No pattern for the hats either so I just made them up as I went along and embroidered them with their names (Darn it, I didn't have my own embroidery machine then!).

I was the old woman (kinda hoping that was obvious though...)
I used McCall's 2853 with panne velvet and tied black rope around my waist. I bought a cheap wicker basket and cane and added some apples. I do regret using black nail polish though, it took ages to get off and stained my nails considerably.
My rather yellow teeth and nose were a great addition - except that they kept on falling off into my apple basket all night, but that may have been due to too much champagne!!
Mwahahaha!

"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?"

MISSING IN ACTION...

2011-10-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

Life around here the last few months has been pretty craayzee, to say the least!

Apart from my secretarial job which I absolutely adore (I get to frock up a couple of times a week), I got another part-time job which has left me very tired and with little time to do the one thing I really enjoy....sew!

I won't mention where my second job is as I really don't think I'll be there for much longer for it has been rather disappointing so far, and I guess I'm just used to being around for the kids during school holidays.

So please bear with my lack of posting for a while longer until I pluck up the courage to resign;/

But alas! I have a new toy!

I've been pretty much embroidering everything that's not tied down but Bec has done the first piece that is actually 'Show and Tell' worthy!!

Bec had a birthday party to go to last night and wanted to make her friend a makeup purse.
She did a smashing job I thought (but I might have to hide my new toy!)

And a sneaky peaky inside...

OK, yes, that is lime green nail polish you see in there, along with flouro pink and flouro purple!
I've been told she'll grow out of that...one day...

Have a great week and I'll keep you posted on the job front.

ANZACS FOR ANZAC DAY

2011-04-25T03:09:00.001-07:00

Today is Anzac Day

Bec and I made Anzac biscuits.

In rememberance of all those fallen soldiers,

Lest We Forget.

Edit: Oops! Forgot to link to the recipe we used.

VOGUE 8184

2011-04-19T06:39:00.000-07:00

Ahhh Vogue 8184...How I love Thee!
(Especially because I cheated and didn't put any boning in!)

This is the fabric I bought a little while ago from the Potter Textiles Outlet in Leederville.

It's 100% cotton with a nice slub in it, I was a little disappointed in the way the fabric faded and softened considerably when I pre-washed it, but it's still OK and I'm willing to forgive seems I got it at such a nice price.

I was going to make up a nifty vintage suit with it but as it ended up quite soft, I opted to belt out another sundress before the cold weather hit.

As I mentioned before, I decided not to bone the bodice and it still fits nicely so may do the next couple of dozen of these without the boning (Ha! I think Tracy and I are having a secret race to see who can make the most.......she's winning!!!)

A view of the inside bodice. As the fabric felt quite soft, I decide to line the skirt section.
I'm quite chuffed how the end of the zipper and lining sit really well, I usually muck that bit up!
The lining is a bit wrinkly because I wore it out to lunch before photographing it.

It was a 'hand hemming the darn thing as I have hair dye on and only an hour before I have to be at lunch across the other side of the river!' kind of job, but I work well under pressure!

And just to prove I'm still hand hemming:)

Hmmmmmm, what to sew next?

Enjoy your Easter!

NEW LOOK 6805

2011-03-29T22:24:00.000-07:00

I wasn't going to make another New Look 6805 this time, but I couldn't help myself!
(When on a good thing, you know???)

Anyway, I finished this dress about two weeks ago but only finished the belt the other night. I plan on wearing this to a wedding on Saturday so I didn't want to wear it until its debut there!

I was going to make this fabric up in the Crepe design from Colette Patterns, but the fabric had more stretch than I originally thought and it still remained a little stiff after washing, so I went to 'Plan B'.

No inside shots this time......because I'm lazy!!

And yes, the hem is hand stitched:)

And thought I'd make a little fabric flower brooch to pop onto my bag for the night.

Made according to this tutorial here.....

And a close-up of my belt!

Have a great week!

FABRIC THERAPY...

2011-03-01T19:01:00.000-08:00

Tracy so kindly shared her latest fabric shop secret with me and took me to a wonderful fabric shop on Monday.
Potter Textiles Outlet in West Leederville would have to be the 'find' of the year!

Not a huge shop, but certainly has quite a range of discounted fashion fabrics and the staff are so lovely and helpful!

This was my first snatch and grab!
I saw it in the 'bargain bin' and grabbed it straight away. At only $3.00 (yes, $3.00) per metre and 150cm wide, how could I resist??

It's a cotton/spandex woven fabric with such a nice feel to it.
I'm considering making up the Crepe Dress from the Colette Pattern Range but I've only just ordered the pattern so this will have to wait until the Postie comes.

My second purchase was this 100% cotton at $9.95 per metre (150cm wide again). They had a couple of colourways in this design but I liked this the best....it's an almost black fabric with a lighter grey slub through it.

I'm thinking of making the purple outfit up with it. I'll line the dress and jacket and might make the jacket sleeves more of a bracelet length instead, seems now it is officially Autumn.

Tracy has posted some photos of the shop here, she took some photos on her discovery visit a few weeks back.

They apparently change over the fabrics about every three weeks, so I'll have to pop that into my diary for my next trip!

VOGUE 8184

2011-02-27T04:20:00.000-08:00

I made another one of the Vogue 8184 this week but with the View B skirt and View F bodice.
Made from 100% cotton from Spotlight from their craft/quilting range.
I do really like the fit of this dress but I think I'll move on.

The rear view...

Some very neat inside bits!
I'm not really a hot pink kind of girl but thought it might be fun to pop some colour inside.

And a slip-stitched hem...

Hmmm. I think I need a new fabric cutting board, mine kinda fell apart today!

I'm off to do some coffee and fabric shopping tomorrow...I'm giddy with excitement!

Have a great week!

VOGUE 8184

2011-02-18T16:38:00.000-08:00

This Vogue 8184 just be another 'go to' pattern!

My sewing pal, Tracy, introduced this little gem a while ago but I've only just made it up. It's actually the same fabric type as my previous dress.

I decided to use poplin for the bodice lining as this dress has boning in it so I wanted something with a little more firmness than the typical lining.

I must admit though, when I found out it had boning, I thought "pfth! No need for boning!" but I eat my words......there probably isn't any real need for boning, but it does give the bodice a really nice, firm fit.

Here's the back view...

Once again, I decided on an invisible zipper and lengthened the skirt about 5cm.

And for all those 'neat freaks'...here's a couple of inside snap-shots!

The boning is quite easy to put in. I couldn't find the right width covered boning at the time, so I just bought some sew-in boning and made the channels out of some bias binding which worked a treat!

Lower edge of bodice was painstakingly hand-sewn (for a nicer finish!)

And my hand-sewn hem (Thanks Tracy for the motivation to hand sew all my hems from hereon in!)

Enjoy your week!

1965(ish) Shift Dress

2011-02-03T06:47:00.000-08:00

I finished this dress last week but just haven't worn it until today.

The fabric is a little 'louder' than the clothes I normally wear so about half way through making it, I was still undecided as to whether I would like the finished product.

It was quite a hot day today and I felt really 'summery' wearing it and received some lovely compliments, so I guess I'll give it the 'thumbs up' then.

The pattern is Butterick 4127 and I think it's circa 1965.
I made View B but without the back neck ties because I decided to make a tie belt to bring it in at the waste for more shape (kinda defeats the purpose of a shift dress, hey!).
I didn't want dangly bits on the front and the back:)

The only adjustment I made was to put in an invisible zipper instead of a lapped version.

And eek! The fabric is so totally polyester! I don't know what I was thinking at the time but the fabric design just grabbed me when I saw it.....Thank goodness for air-conditioning!

I will probably make this again, but have a few other things I want to make first.

Have a great week!

SEWING AGAIN....

2010-12-31T20:15:00.001-08:00

Well, it has been a while. A LONG while doing a whole lot of no sewing!
But that's OK, I think I needed a long hiatus to make me realise how much I missed creating.

Now I've got the 'bug' again, I'm hoping to sew up a storm in 2011!

Christmas brought me some inspiration for a new dress; although I bought the fabric and binding way back in September on a fabric shopping afternoon at Materialise with my sewing buddy, Tracy, it wasn't until just before Christmas I felt the desire to frock up in something new.

Sew, without further ado, here is my Christmas dress...

I really love this pattern and it just may be my 'go-to' dress pattern as I don't have to make any adjustments to it. I did actually lengthen it by 5cm as I do like a longer skirt. Made from 100% cotton and with a lined bodice, it was very easy to sew.

Here's a bit of hemline loveliness...

I found this bias binding in the shop when I was there and thought it co-ordinated with the fabric perfectly. I'm going to make a self covered belt with the bias as an accent but I do need to go purchase some more as I didn't have quite enough at the time.

Here's a sneak peak of my next 'work-in-progress'.

With Rebecca's birthday tomorrow and off to Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi the next day, it just may have to sit, unfinished, on my sewing table for just a little while longer!

Finally, hoping that 2011 brings you lots of fun, laughter and creating!!

1976 JUMPSUIT

2010-07-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

I was recently invited to a 40th birthday party with a 70's theme.

I was very excited about this...

champagne cocktails, chocolate fondue, nibblies of the era, platforms, jucke box, flares, blue eyeshadow!

I typically left it for the last minute to start making an outfit, and so rummaged through my stash of patterns to see if I had something reeking of the 70's that I could whip up and found this little treasure!

It's from 1976 and I knew it was to be the moment I saw it. I first had a vision of light blue satin with some white ABBA boots, but after some serious re-thinking, decided to do a denim number with tan boots

(I had to buy some new boots anyway... muahahahah, no, really, I did need some)

I may actually wear the denim again and thought I'd only wear it in satin the once.

I gathered some groovy jewellery together and tried, oh so tried, to do the Farah Fawcett Flicks and gave up after about 30 minutes of trying to burn my scalp with the curling wand and popped a headscarf on instead!

I practised my disco dancing all week so that I could get my groove thing happening on the night.

My kids just don't get that!

Anyhoo, here's the finished product. It was really easy and didn't have to make any alterations at all, which was just as well as I finished it the afternoon of the party!

And a little top stitching never goes astray!

And here was my favourite sound track of the night, which just happened to be released the same year as my jumpsuit pattern.

Enjoy!

1957 meets 1970 meets Multicultural Day!

2010-05-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

So my children's school hosted their annual Multicultural Day on Friday and I put my hand up as a parent helper....again!

Although I've helped out most years, it's always been last minute and I've never bothered to do the costume thing myself - usually because I'm too busy costuming the kids!

Alas, this year, Tom just wanted to go as an English Soccer player (how lame I thought, but seized the opportunity to deck myself out instead).

So last week, I was in Textile Traders with my Mum and spotted this glorious craft fabric and knew immediately that I had to make a Novelty Dress with it.

The bodice is from Vogue 9071 (circa 1957) View A and the skirt is from Simplicity 9065 (circa 1970) the longer view skirt. I didn't want the full skirted version of the Vogue - just a 'no frills' skirt with minimal fabric requirements.

I eliminated all unnecessary seams (centre front and back) so that the print wouldn't be compromised and I also needed a very plain design so that it wouldn't take the eyes away from the fabric print also. I inserted an invisible side zipper so I could eliminate the centre back seam.

A very easy dress to make, I lined the skirt as it was a wee bit see through.

The dress and I had a wonderful time on Multicultural Day, and caused quite a few compliments... and laughs...and prods!

"Oh, Mrs P, I'm dressed up like that person there, and my friend is this one!"

I'm thinking now that I'd like to make up the Vogue dress again with the full skirt for work, maybe in a plaid?

A BELT AND MUST SEW #6

2010-05-22T05:21:00.000-07:00

I have been so very uninspired to do some sewing lately, but I got a bit of a prod from someone the other day......which made me get off my bot-bot and finish a long awaited project - actually two projects!

I made this self covered belt to go with my Easter Dress that I sewed over a month ago (I know, I know, way too long between drinks!)

I hadn't made a belt like this before but am now thinking I'd like a few more - they really finish an outfit off nicely. I probably could have put in a couple more eyelets, but I thought 'Hey, I'll quit while I'm ahead before I muck it up!'

Rather pleased with myself!!

Then there's the matching jacket. I think it took me so long to finish because half way through it I wasn't sure that I actually liked the darn thing and it just sat there staring at me from my sewing table for about 4 weeks, but having finished it and worn it to work,

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!

And don't you just adore the nifty back view of the collar?

I was a bit puzzled how to put it all together at first, but it kinda fell together quite nicely in the end.

And it won't be so long for the next post.....promise!!!!

EASTER DRESS

2010-04-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

I finished my latest project in time for Easter...just!

It was really easy to put together, although I had to take in the waist about 4cm, which was unusual because I don't normally have to make any alterations to the actual fit of the garment. (I'll probably have to let it out again though, considering the ridiculous amount of chocolate I have consumed in the last 24 hours!)

Loving the design. I was a little perplexed at first when constructing the pockets. I was thinking that I had the incorrect pattern pieces as they didn't seem to sit flat on each other, but soon realised that they were designed to sit out from the actual garment.

It's a cute feature, and was probably a good idea in the 50's so that the fashionable woman could fit in her hanky and cat's eyes sunglasses without causing ugly bulk in her pockets!

At first I wasn't too keen on this design element, and almost re cut the whole pocket again so that it would lay flat on the dress, but decided to keep with the original idea.

I'm SO glad I did! I found an even better reason to have these pockets!

Now I have to admit to avoiding hand stitching like the plague! I hated doing it, and was never satisfied with my hand hemming etc.

That has all changed!

I had lunch with a couple of friends a while back, and one of my girlfriends wore a fabulous dress that she had whipped up. Yes, she had hand hemmed the darn thing! And did a fine job of it.

Bearing this in mind, I decided to give it one more go. I got a bit 'OCD' over it and brought out this trusty little gadget and measured every stitch along the way. Very please with the result too, I might add.

Thanks Tracy, I'm a convert!

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter!

We are off to Kalbarri for a few days, so the jacket will have to wait until then...

MUST SEW #6 AND A VINTAGE DRESS

2010-03-29T21:47:00.001-07:00

My next project is this circa 1954 Simplicity 4651 which I bought from this lovely Etsy Seller

Bec and I spent some Mummy Daughter Time together on Saturday fabric shopping, and I found this lovely (craft) fabric in Textile Traders .

I'm thinking that the dress pattern would look really nice made up in the Polka Dots....

Love Polka Dots!

It's 100% cotton, and now I'm busy making chocolate coloured bias binding for the pockets and neckline. I bought enough chocolate fabric to make the matching jacket for my Must Sew #6!

Bec found some groovy fabric to make some pj's....she thinks I'm making them...

Muahahahah!

THE DRESS THAT ALMOST WASN'T

2010-03-22T06:34:00.001-07:00

Well, that's several hours of my life I will never get back!!

I thought I'd whip up a simple shift dress, and it turned out bigger than

Ben Hur!

Love the sketch on the pattern cover, and it could have been a simple pattern, but for the life of me, I couldn't work out how they did the neckline and facing! My Mum told me that I need to think like someone from 1966 (funny!)

I tried to do it how the instructions stated, but I just couldn't get the thing to work out. In the end, and several days later (and more than enough unpicked facings later...), I put the instructions back in its packet, and just made the whole thing up as I went along!

Its McCall's 8565 (circa: 1966) and I've made it up in a cool wool suiting in the teeniest of hounds tooth pattern. The fabric feels really nice to wear and this is the first time that I have made up a pattern that called for underlining.

Because I didn't want the pockets (no need to make my hips look any bigger), I made a self covered button for the front just to add a bit of interest (to match the buttons on the back belt).

It's not my favourite dress,

it will be OK for work though, and I'm sure it will grow on me over time.

Not sure if I'd ever make this up again.

MUST SEW #2

2010-02-21T04:57:00.000-08:00

Well I finally finished this shirt for husby. He likes it. Yes, he does.

So do I.

And Bec.

And Tom.

Tom wants a mini one for him.

It was really easy to sew up, I like the simplicity of the Kwik Sew patterns. I was going to hide the pocket in the guitar panel, but changed my mind and placed it onto the other side (as per pattern instructions). It's more of a balance, I think.

I didn't have to make any alterations, although I reckon I could get away with making a size smaller for the next one. Both fabrics were 100% cotton, but the guitar fabric was actually a craft fabric and I think it really suits the style of shirt. Husby just has to learn how to play the guitar now...

And it actually didn't really take almost a month to make, just when I was getting my 'sewjo' back, Tom's class needed some chair bags to be made up, so I was distracted with that for a while...

Have a super week!

MUST SEW #2

2010-01-25T17:38:00.000-08:00

As my New Year's Resolution was to finish off last year's Must Sew List, this is my current project awaiting completion (and starting for that matter!)

Glen doesn't know I'm making this so Shhhhhh!

I am making view "B" with the guitar contrast fabric down one side, but instead of adding the pocket to the plain side, I am going to hide it in the contrast panel.

So will post this project in the next few days......hope he likes it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

2009-12-31T15:53:00.000-08:00

Wishing you a fabulous 2010...

Keep it safe and keep it gorgeous!

Well I was "blog naughty" these last few months and kind of lost my sewing mojo (whilst getting into the new work regime of mine!) Because of that, I didn't finish my "2009 Must Sew List".

So my New Year's Resolution is to complete the list BEFORE I sew anything else.

Here's what I did achieve...

1. Vintage Butterick 4699 DONE

2. A funky shirt for Glen STILL TO DO (bought the pattern)

3. Animal print shift dress STILL TO DO (still looking for nice print)

4. A funky shirt for Tom (or anything else

he desires!) DONE

5. An apron DONE

6. A jacket or coat STILL TO DO (no excuses here)

7. A few tops/blouses DONE

8. An outfit for Bec (or help her make one) STILL TO DO (no excuses here either)

9. A skirt (or two) DONE

10. A pair of pants/jeans DONE

I'd better get 'crackin' as there is sewing to be done!

WALK AWAY DRESS

2009-12-28T01:43:00.000-08:00

This is my version of the 'Walk Away Dress'.

I've used a really nice embroidered gingham from Spotlight with the re-issued pattern from Butterick 4790.

The original pattern was Butterick 6015.

OK. This was a super easy pattern....no facings at all and it just needed bias around the neckline, armholes etc.

This was actually going to be my Christmas outfit and was going along just fine (on Christmas Eve) when I realised that the centre front was only held together by 3 press studs.....

Yeah, Right!

I stopped sewing straight away. The thought of my 3 tiny snaps "popping" after downing the Christmas turkey left me in a cold sweat! I didn't even entertain the idea - I had read a few pattern reviews on this particular pattern, and a lot of sewists suggested making a size smaller than needed, so I had, and it was nice and firm around the waist (the full circle skirt makes it rather heavy, making it drag a little at the behind), so any added pressure would have been disastrous!

So instead of the press studs/snaps, I used a 'hook and eye tape' and it holds nice and firm. And the 'self cover' buttons on the front just hide the sewing nicely.

I love this dress! Perhaps it's my New Years Eve Dress instead...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2009-12-24T00:06:00.000-08:00

Rebecca, Thomas and I wish you all a safe and joyous Christmas.

WIGGLE SKIRT

2009-11-27T23:22:00.000-08:00

I made myself a wiggle skirt for work....unintentionally!

I've used the McCall's 5523 pattern (View C) and lengthened it by about 15cm as I prefer the longer line. I also made it on the more fitted side (that's the intentional part), but because I lengthened it, I should have actually made the frilled section a little fuller to accommodate walking. I can walk in it, but with a wiggle (that's the unintentional part!)....ha! Hence the term "Wiggle Skirt".

I love this pattern because of the different effects you can have on the back panel. I'll probably make this again with the View B as it was so easy

Made from Prestaline which wears really well. The pattern didn't call for lining, but I chose to line it anyway as I believe that skirts/dresses just hang a whole lot nicer when lined, and helps with 'seating' in the rear as my job calls for sitting pretty much all day (not fond of the pouchy bum look in skirts and pants!).

I also put in an invisible zipper instead of a lapped one because I'm getting really quick at these and they look better.

And for the back view...

PRETTY FLAMINGO...

2009-11-04T21:11:00.000-08:00

The flamingo costumes (x4) that I made for the JRock Eisteddfod that I spoke about last post would have to be one of my most favourite costumes so far.

I sourced some beautiful fabric that was called "feather" and it just set the costumes off. It was a hot pink chiffon with feathery strands hanging from it. It played havoc with my hay-fever, and in fact, still over 12 months later, I still find bits of pink fluff on things!!

I made the head section using the Simplicity 3663 pattern, which were a little tricky to put together. The beaks being the hardest as they were from craft foam. Well worth the effort in the end though. And just because Bec was one of the flamingos...I ordered some extra long false eyelashes from ebay for them all and stuck them to the eye section. Then I used sparkly glue on the eyes to make them glisten. The girls thought that was a huge laugh! You may just be able to see them if you click on the photos...Very girly indeed!

I just made the necks like a bent tube that thinned out towards the head and attached them to the skirt front and head section. They're just stuffed with wadding.

As they were performing a ballet, the teacher requested that they be a little more delicate looking for the body part, so I took inspiration from this. Only as the fabric wasn't stiff, I had to find another way for the back part to stick out. Several prototypes (and weeks) later, I ended up making elasticised skirts with an extended behind so that they could hide a 'bustle' under their skirt. I haven't got any pictures of the bustles that I made them (tsk, tsk), but they were pink and made from the Butterick 3737 View D. Another 'hit' with the girls!

We just bought black skivvies and hot pink tights to finish off with.

Making those flamingos was indeed a very long journey. But the 'Ooohs and Ahhhs' that I heard from the crowd when they graced onto the stage made it so worth while.

Edit: I forgot to add that the school scored a perfect 10 for the costumes too!!!! Yay!

CHAMELEON COSTUME

2009-10-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted about costumes for a while, and went through some photos that I hadn't yet sorted and came across a bunch of costumes I did for a JRock Eisteddfod that my children's school entered last year. (I've smudged child's face for privacy reasons)

The production was based on a book titled "The Cool Pool" about a group of animals giving their monkey friend a surprise birthday party (to cut a long story short).

This costume is of a chameleon, and although I wasn't happy with how the costume started, I was really happy with the end result.

I used the Kwik Sew 3104 unitard pattern (view A) for the body. I made it a few sizes bigger than required because when the fabric stretched, the shiny coating didn't seem to have much of a memory, so I didn't want the costume too fitted. The fabric I used was a shiny rainbow lycra (which was really horrid to sew as my needle kept sticking to the fabric and missing stitches....but I persevered and it paid off!)

I added a huge curly tail and stuffed it with some wadding. I also added some spikes down the length of her back and tail for effect.

I loved making the head! I just got an old bike helmet, covered it in wadding to soften the look and made an elasticised cap (like a shower cap) to slip over the top of it and added spikes down the centre as well.

The eyes were ping-pong balls that I painted with Kindy Glitz (Sparkly glue) and painted a black dot on them for her pupil.

These photos were taken at the dress rehearsal a week before and I hadn't yet made the 'claws' and didn't end up getting a photo (drats!). But these were just modeled on oven mitts and slipped over her hand.

For the tongue, we used one of those party blowers which turned out to look really cute. She was in the opening scene sitting on a rock. Her movements were so life-like and when she blew the tongue out it looked great!

On the night, with the stage make-up etc. She looked really effective.

And those pink legs in the background? They were my pride and joy....Flamingos! but that's another post!

SWEET DREAMS!

2009-10-25T01:25:00.000-07:00

"Circles" on one side...

Which is so appropriate as the fabric range is called 'Lollipop' from Spotlight .

"Squares" on the other side...

When we moved into our new house (over 12 months ago now) I found it all too overwhelming to do the curtains for the whole house, so I called in the experts....Spotlight. They did a fabulous job with the pelmets, curtains and blinds. When I saw the 'Lollipop' range, I knew this would be perfect for the kid's rooms. The colour ranges are in pinks, aquas and blues; and within each colour range has different patterns - circles, squares and stripes.

So the I had the pelmets and curtains made in the stripes by Spotlight. And I decided to make up the kid's doona covers and pillow cases in the other co-ordinating patterns. The rolls of fabric have been staring at me for the past 6 months...

Tom wanted press studs for the opening of the doona cover. Something which I had never attempted before - punching holes in fabric used to leave me cold, but now I'm wanting to put press studs in everything, it was soooo easy! Yay for me!

Bec on the other hand wanted bows at the end of her doona cover

Can I sew something for myself now kids?

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

2009-10-08T02:01:00.000-07:00

A huge Thank You to Lisa from the Hemline for nominating me for a Kreativ Blogger Award. I'm ever so excited about this. I peruse the Hemline almost daily, and have purchased some patterns from her store. Very reasonably priced too, I might add!

Anyhoo, I now have to tell you 7 things you might not know about me:-

I am a twin to a very tall six foot red head brother (I'm brunette, or at least used to be brunette...I have to get my hair colour out of a bottle these days!). We were born in Derby, Western Australia, and headlined the newspapers in that town as we were the first twins born in 10 years.

I have been sewing since I was 10, but only sewed my first vintage pattern last year.

After studying Italian for 4 years in high school, I can only remember this..."Santo Cielo, ce non il latte!" (ie: Heavens above, there's no milk!).

My hand sewing is horrid, and I would throw a pair of socks into the rubbish before I would darn them.

I refuse to only drink champagne on special occasions. Every day is champagne worthy!

I have a thing about coat hangers...they are all matching white ones - no black, no wood, no wire (except for skirt hangers of course).

I am really wanting to sew a Mondrian style dress for this summer...the patterns are so rare, anybody have one lying around the house by chance?

So here are my 7 nominations:-

Linda from Welcome To My Blog (because she got me hooked on this bloggy thing in the first place!).

JuliaB from MarmaladeKiss (because she is so very talented).

Super Kawaii Mama (this gal has so much style, and I can't help but read her blog each day, and sometimes even twice a day, I've been lurking for ages and never posted a comment..tsk tsk tsk!).

Nikki from You SEW Girl (because I love bags).

Suzitee from Stitch Scrap Sew (because she seems a little cheeky to me!)

Janellybelly from Threads of Friendship ( because she's super, super nice with a whole lot of talent thrown in!)

Wikia wiki (this is not a blog, but I could easily spend an hour just clicking on the random page link...)

Ta Ta for now....

My Secretary Dress! YAY I finished!!

2009-10-04T00:37:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like a hint of warmer spring weather to make me want to finish a dress suited to winter! I thought that I may not be able to wear this until next year if I leave this any longer. I hope there will be one or two more cooler days before the spring sets in!

The pattern is c.1959 and went together really easily. I used a lovely soft charcoal suiting (which has a slight blue coloured fleck through it), and didn't have to make any alterations at all. The only thing that I changed was to put an invisible zipper instead of a lapped zipper. And no, I didn't lengthen the skirt, and no I'm not short.....the illustration leads you to believe that it's around knee length. And I won this from Oztion the other day...I thought it would look really nice at the neckline where the split starts. It's a vintage (c 1959 ish) marcasite brooch. I haven't received it yet but can't wait!

AWWWWWW

2009-08-30T02:32:00.001-07:00

Here are my new babies! Only a few hours old in this photo....

They were actually born last Monday morning (24th - I've just been a little behind with a few things OK) which makes them now nearly a week old. Sadly, we lost one - the runt of the litter, but the remaining 6 are doing beautifully, as is Mum. Tasha has been just the perfect Mother to them all, it's amazing that they just know what to do on instinct (not like us humans...we have to read books about it and still get stuff wrong!)

I'm loving my new job, and am still trying to get the routine thing happening, so sewing has taken a back seat to this, but I did cut my dress out and hopefully will get started on the sewing side of things tonight....if I don't have too many wines of course (tee hee)

WHOA!

2009-08-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

What a busy, busy time it has been for me, and I'm wondering where on earth the last 3 weeks went!

*Bec really enjoyed her music camp, and wants to go next year (phew) - and she even made some new friends in upper school.

*My German Shepherd is due to have puppies any day now....I have mixed emotions about that one. The kiddies are of course excited, I have no idea what to do, and the first mistake I did was to Google German Shepherd birthing - apparently anything and everything can go wrong, and they like to have them in the middle of the night - nice - but of course I can always take her temperature each day (and guess where I have to stick the thermometre) and when her temp. drops, it'll happen. No. Way. Will. I. Do. That!!

Wish me luck...I'll post photos when they come.

*And I now have a job as a secretary..WOOHOO. I am really loving it, but feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment - I didn't realise how rusty my typing skills had become. So I have been madly trying to do the Mummy, Secretary, Wifey, House Worky thingy lately and am feeling a bit pooped! (Hence the lack of Blogging)

Anyhoo, now that I am working I have to have some new work clothes...I'm starting to run out. Here's a McCall's 5205 (c. 1959) that I bought a while ago from this lovely seller on ebay.

I have some lovely soft suiting in a black (surprise, surprise) with a faint, light blue slub in it. I'll pop a crisp white shirt underneath and voila! I think I'll look very 'secretary-like' in it, and I'll show you the pictures when I've finished it.

Catch you later...

REVERSIBLE HEAD BAND

2009-07-26T00:19:00.000-07:00

I sent my brave little girl off to music camp first thing this morning...I say 'brave' because she was the only year 7 girl going! She forms part of a guitar ensemble, and that's why she got to go.

I expected her to burst into tears when it was time to go, but she didn't and I'm really proud of her! (I got a bit teary when I jumped in the car though)

As a surprise, I whipped up this reversible head band out of scraps left over from the guitar case name tag and the music tote bag. She thought it was pretty cool and wore it with pride.

Have fun Bec, and see you in a few days...

I LOVE GETTING PRESSIES!!

2009-07-19T02:47:00.000-07:00

Especially the hand made variety!
Thank you Linda for my lovely crochet dishcloths that you made.....I have been using them and they are fantastic, and also for my retro-style mugs!

"Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art"
Leonardo da Vinci

Linda also made me this framed dressform for my sewing room. It is truly beautiful and sits nicely in my fabric cupboard.

I've done a little sewing this week - with a holiday down south at Busselton and school holidays and sleepovers and movies and playovers and....well, I haven't done a lot of sewing this past fortnight!

I made this from black corduroy and animal print scraps. It's New Look 6391 View B I won't talk about the pocket that I forgot to add to the inside! This is a very easy pattern and you can whip one up in a night. I have my eye on the View A as well.

School holidays are now over and school starts tomorrow, so I'll be ironing and preparing the kids for their new week.....and getting some sewing done - Yee ha!

Have a great week.

MUST SEW #10

2009-07-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

For my Must Sew list, I made these pants up last night. A very easy pattern which took me about 2 hours to do...which was just as well as I didn't start until about 10.30pm!!

No zip (woo hoo) just a really wide band with 5cm wide elastic threaded through it. It's New Look 6354 View A without the splits at the hem...or bow. If you make these up, just watch out for the amount of ease. I made a size smaller than I should have according to the pattern envelope, and I reckon I could have gone an extra size smaller still! I bought the fabric (suiting) last year some time from Spotlight to make a dress with - I guess I'll have to buy some more now.

I do like the style, but I'm still searching for that perfect pants pattern. And the colour also reminds me of my Tom's school trousers (note to self: don't wear these pants to school!)

Anyhoo, I wore these today to a lunch that Linda hosted, and I finally got to meet the very lovely Susan from 'Stitch Scrap Sew' (who is a total expert on hand embroidery!) and also Janelle from 'Threads of Friendship' (who makes the nicest bags...and lots of them!). It was an enjoyable day - so thank you, Linda, and also for my lovely birthday presents. The clever thing made me some "artwork" for my sewing room and I got the nicest retro themed mugs. I will post photos later as it is pm, and not good light to take photos.

Bec made some delicious cupcakes to take to lunch today - I was a bad, bad mother and didn't take a photo of them......next time.

Have a great week!

MUST SEW #9...CHERRY RED

2009-06-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to show another of the New Look 6594 in a cherry red corduroy.

I thought I'd make a nice bright colour just so these stormy days we've been having lately don't seem so glum. Wore it this morning out to coffee with a friend and I felt really girly in it.

I can just about make this skirt with my eyes shut now! Once again I didn't have to make any alterations, instead of a lapped zipper, I put in an invisible zipper (I'm getting quite good at doing these now!) I've now made 3 of these, time to move on.

And Susan... NO BOOTS!

MUST SEW #1

2009-06-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

Remember my first disastrous attempt at the Butterick 4699 (mid 1960's) for my Must Sew #1? I wasn't going to let this pattern get the better of me!

This is my second attempt....

I kind of butchered the pattern a little. Although I made the original dress according to my measurements, it was too big and sack like. So I took it in about 2cm in all off the width, lowered the neckline a little (about 1.5cm), so it didn't feel like it was choking me so much, and shortened the dress by 8cm (I felt the length was a little dowdy).

I thought when deciding what fabric to use, I could go for a cross between a coat and a dress. So I chose a pinwhale cord in black and faced hems and sleeves etc. with bias binding. Because it was cord, I had to make a side seam so that I could cut the pattern with the nap, instead of on the crosswise fold.

I have to say that this isn't my fondest adventure with vintage patterns. I will wear it though, and am on the lookout for a hot pink skivvy and matching tights to brighten up the black!

GUITAR CASE NAME TAG

2009-06-11T06:09:00.000-07:00

I love listening to Bec play the guitar. She's pretty darn good for a 12 year old! In fact, the other week her teacher phoned me and said that at her level, we should seriously think about getting her a better guitar. So we did! If it makes her enjoy playing the guitar even more....I'm all for it.

I had some guitar fabric in my stash, so this afternoon I made her a name tag for her guitar case.

My inspiration came from Lisa from A Spoonful of Sugar with her crafty tutorial in the Jan/Feb issue of Silver Magazine, although I used a slightly different method.

I used some iron-on vinyl that I bought at Spotlight (this is a bargain on ebay as I paid around $30 for my roll!) You just iron the vinyl onto the right side of your fabric and it coats it and makes it water proof...and pretty and shiny! I used my trusty old tag templates that I've had about a million years.

*Just iron the vinyl onto the right side of fabric and cut out 2 tags (front and back) mine were about 12cm by 6cm.

*Iron on some stiff interfacing to the wrong sides of both tags.

*Cut some clear vinyl (non iron on) to make a pocket for the name tag to slip into. Bind the top edge for neatness if you wish.

*Place this clear vinyl on top of one of the tags and baste really close to the edge.

*On the other tag, sew on a D ring using some tape or ribbon. Then attach a split ring.

*Place both tags wrong sides together and sew around all edges (about 5mm in from raw edge). Then unpick the basting from when you sewed the clear vinyl pocket on, and sew another row of stitching around all edges.

*Trim and neaten edges (they may slip a bit because you can't pin as it makes holes in the vinyl.....that's the downside).

*Place name and address details on co-ordinating cardboard and insert into pocket.

TA-DAAAAA!

MUST SEW #9.....again

2009-06-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

Here is another skirt I made from New Look 6594. I was going to make this up in a corduroy, but I couldn't find a nice chocolate colour, and I wanted another skirt in a hurry, so instead I bought this fabric from Textile Traders . It has a teeny bit of stretch to it (I don't think it matters in this skirt that the fabric is stretch as it's not a firm fit anyway). No alterations again, which is way cool!

Oh, and I had to buy some chocolate coloured boots to match......just don't tell my husband (shhhhhhh)

I can see myself making a whole pile of these skirts. They are so easy to make and comfortable to wear.

I do think I'm starting to have a bit of a boot fetish though......

ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD

2009-06-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well, today I received my very first award...."One Lovely Blog Award".

Thank you so much to Susan from Stitch Scrap Sew and DJStoreRoom for nominating me for this award.

Apparently I have to nominate 5 Blogs.....I nominate the following because I love to read these lovely Blogs on a daily basis - I find them inspiring and interesting, I may not always comment, but I do enjoy a daily dose.

1. Texmorg

2. Stop Staring and Start Sewing

3. A Spoonful of Sugar

4. The New Vintage Wardrobe

5. Norma Tika Designs

I'm currently making another skirt (I'd have it finished by now if I stopped snooping around Blogland!) I'll post pictures soon.

Have a great week!

MUST SEW #9

2009-05-29T08:32:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest project that I made this week. It's New Look 6594 View E. I like border prints, but never really liked one enough to make a dress or skirt out of. Last week I spotted this cotton fabric at Textile Traders and had to buy it! I then had to get a cute little skirt pattern to make it up in (and don't even go near that horrid skirt on on the left! I didn't like those puff skirts in the 80's and can't believe they made a come-back!). The only alteration I did to the pattern was to insert an invisible zipper instead of a lapped one. Everything else was as per the pattern, and it was quite easy to put together. It looks super cute with my favourite boots! I'd like to make another one out of corduroy...nice for the cooler weather that's upon us.

A close-up of the fabric.

Anyway, so I can tick off number 9 on my Must Sew list (See side-bar..I think I've neglected this list for a while and must get right back on track with it).

PS. Have a look-see at Linda's blog and wish her a Happy birthday for Saturday!

Have a great week!

70's DENIM DRESS

2009-05-20T06:25:00.000-07:00

I have wanted a denim dress for such a long time, but have never seen one that I liked...until now! I was afraid that I would look like a biker chick in a denim dress (not that there's anything wrong with that!!!).

Anyhoo, I bought this pattern a few months ago from this seller on OZtion. This is a really good site for vintage patterns, similar to Ebay, and they are usually quite cheap, not quite the same selection, but you could be lucky like I was!

I chose a black denim from Spotlight (to match my black boots that I HAD to buy for my 40th, which was a few years ago now). The fabric has a slight stretch, and a bit of a slub through it, so it doesn't make the dress too plain. View 2 (far left) was the one I made and I'm really loving it. I may just make the pant suit too!

I didn't have to make any sizing alterations to this pattern which is wonderful, and because the denim was on the "stiff" side, I made the facings with black poplin to reduce the bulk, and used bias binding around the armholes.

And in case you think my right leg looks kooky, it is. I had the 'big C' about 15 years ago and lost my knee joint in the recovery process! Those close to me know I usually wear pants or dresses/skirts below the knee, but I liked this pattern so much I didn't care. Quite liberating, really!

Anyway, this was my first 70's pattern, and it certainly won't be my last!

And I almost forgot, I tried a new method for backstitching seams which I discovered on this great blog. It really works a treat, and I really wanted to try this method to reduce the bulk with the denim. Give it a go!

Enjoy your day.

MY NEW TSHIRT

2009-05-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

I'm not really into Tshirts - especially those with silly sayings on them, but I just couldn't resist! There is a whole lot more on the Australian CafePress Site (although I think most are sourced from the U.S.). You can key in just about anything that interests you (scrap booking, quilting, sewing, soccer etc.) and there will surely be a Tshirt for it, or you can even design your own!

I am also coveting this....

AN APRON IN AN HOUR!

2009-04-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

Last year, Jona gave a tutorial on her blog for "An Apron In An Hour". Here's one I made for a friend of mine who is having a birthday on Saturday. This is such an easy apron to whip up...It doesn't take much fabric at all and I used up some of my scraps. Go check out Jona's Blog - it's full of wonderful stuff!

And of course, when preparing dinner in her new apron, she must have a drop of her favourite wine!

I also made a matching bag for a nice bottle of wine. This was another easy project.

I cut a rectangle about 38cm (top/bottom) by about 46cm. Made an 8cm hem on one of the shorter sides (for top of bag). Fold in half lengthways. For the ties, (use 1 length of ribbon about 65cm or make matching ties like I did) fold the ribbon in half and place folded edge of ribbon into the bag's seam allowance at the side, about 8cm from finished top of bag. Sew down side and bottom to form the bag. Square off the bottom of the bag. How easy!

MUST SEW #4

2009-04-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

I have been AWOL again the last few days. We decided to take another trip down to Busselton for the second time these school holidays! Lots of Sea, Sun, Sand, Surf and Swimming! I am now catching up on a few things that I needed to post that I didn't get a chance to do before I went.

My Must Sew #4 was to make something for my gorgeous Thomas. I must have been a bit slow on completing this for him...He said to me last week "Mummy, why don't you sew for me?" Which was like a dagger through my heart! I hope I have redeemed myself. His face lit up when he saw the finished product. He loves sharks (or any animal that kills for that matter!) and I saw this cotton fabric at Spotlight a while ago and had to buy it on the spot! I used Simplicity 4381 View A with which I used a navy piping. A really easy pattern - but I have to admit, the piping must add on about an hour extra to make. I will definitely make this again in a fleece for winter (WITHOUT PIPING OK TOM?)

Here's a close-up of the fabric pattern and piping.

Also, I was a very lucky girl indeed the other day when my friend Linda surprised me with this lovely pencil tidy that she made. It's in the shape of a handbag...(she knows how much I love handbags!) How cute! You will find more about how she did this on her Blog. Thank You Linda.

I Love, Love, Love it!

VINTAGE DRESS

2009-04-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

I went to pop this on the other day when I realised I hadn't posted about this dress. It's Simplicity 3446, a 1950's pattern I made last year from some lovely cotton fabric I bought from Spotlight. I had the pattern (I can't remember which site I bought it from...I think ebay), and as soon as I saw this fabric - it screamed 1950's to me, I knew it was the one. I didn't have to make any fitting adjustments at all on the pattern, which is always a bonus! All I changed was I inserted an invisible zipper instead of a lapped one.

I really love the neckline (tie). I will make this dress up again, in the slenderette version though, but it will have to wait for now....I have so many other patterns to sew!

A BIT OF KOOKINESS

2009-04-11T02:56:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd take a quick photo of Bec practicing her piano last night (I don't take enough of those types of photos), and had to giggle, did you spot anything weird in her Great Barrier Reef diarama? (on top of piano)

OK, so here's a close-up of the behind enemy lines scene!

I just LOVE my children's sense of humour...

Bec and I managed to squeeze in a bit of crafting before Easter. Nothing too earth shattering - it's all been done about a gazillion times before, but I had some nice fabric I wanted to use.

I used the flower fabric for my coasters because it really matches my favourite cup so well. The golf ball coaster is for my die-hard-golfer-mad Dad, and the tape measure one is for my Mum's sewing room.

Bec has just discovered how easy it is to make pony tail holders! She made 9 pairs today - lucky for me I ran out of self covering buttons! The metal ones are better to use than the plastic ones because the 'shank' is a lot bigger and you can fit the snagless elastic through it easily (so you don't have to stitch or glue it on)
***

We would just like to wish you all a very happy Easter.

MY AUTUMN DRESS IS FINALLY FINISHED!

2009-04-07T06:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm really happy with this dress......it took way too long to finish, "life" just got in the way of my sewing this past week, but I'm ready to start another project!

I must admit that while tackling the bodice, I remembered why I don't like making shawl collars...it was like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, you know that corner section where the top part of the shoulder seam is a right angle, and the actual collar is rounded - I tweeked, said a few "foofy" words, threw it on the floor for a day (or two), tweeked some more and finally "nailed it"! I made some 'self covered' buttons (which are sooo easy to make, and look really great!)

I love the sleeves, though I think they are a bit too 'full' for popping under a 3/4 sleeve cardigan. The picture on the pattern cover makes it look like the sleeves are slim fitting. I suppose that is the problem with sketches of designs, it is the artist's impression of how they think the garment should look, not how it actually is. The short sleeve version would be best suited I think for under a cardi.

Anyhoo, I will go through my latest vintage purchases tonight and decide what is next.

MY AUTUMN DRESS PATTERN

2009-03-27T17:28:00.001-07:00

Well my pattern arrived this week from The Hemline and I was soooo excited! I rushed out to purchase this fun polka-dot print from Spotlight and am ready to go! I will be doing View 1 with the longer sleeves. Wouldn't this look great with a red 3/4 sleeve cardi and matching shoes?

I have been doing a little (ie: a lot) of vintage shopping this week, so I will reveal in another post. Bec has been fabric and pattern shopping as well, so I guess we'll be fighting for sewing space!

ZIPPITY DOO-DAH

2009-03-17T06:39:00.000-07:00

Bec made these...

Into this...

I don't know if this craze is at just my kid's school, or everywhere at the moment. Lots of children began school this year with these type of pencil cases from either "Smash" or "Smiggles". Bec of course wanted to make her own custom made one!

We bought some 35cm zips in pastel colours from Textile Traders this week (they had a 20-50% off sale). It took 12 zips altogether (2 zips of each colour), but you could make it as long or wide, or as many colours as you wish. Sewed them all together to make 2 sides (6 on each). With the right sides together, she sewed all around the edges to seal it all up. The sides were the trickiest part because of the zipper ends being a bit bulky. She sewed some bias-binding down the side seams where the ends of the zippers were for strength. Turned it out, and there you have a Zippity Pencil Case! It can be opened from any of the zips.

Well done, Bec!

MUST SEW #7

2009-03-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

I PROMISED myself that this will be the last time I sew this blouse (OK, until next summer!). So I could tick off number 7 from my Must Sew list, but I still have to make some tops/blouses up for autumn and winter, so not-just-yet!

Once again, no alterations and whipped it up in an hour. I bought the fabric, cotton voile, from Spotlight the other day. I was going to do the sleeves on View C with the tie, but it was 10 o'clock at night and I couldn't be bothered tracing it off the pattern. I just wanted it done... like...yesterday!

MY NEW AUTUMN DRESS...

2009-03-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

I bought this pattern last night from the Hem Line and am keen for it to arrive in my letterbox. It's vintage is about c. 1957 and it will be perfect for autumn which is around the corner.

I know a day dress isn't on my Must Sew list, but what the heck, I'll look pretty darn good dropping the kids off at school in this! Now to find some perfect fabric.

MUST SEW #7

2009-03-09T20:51:00.001-07:00

Have I told you that I really LOVE making up this pattern? It is so easy (can be thrown together in an hour!) and it is really comfortable to wear. Once again, I didn't put elastic around the sleeves. The broderie anglaise (and yes, Linda I checked the spelling!) was bought from Spotlight a couple of months ago - just click on image and you should be able to see the detail of the fabric. The dress version is really great to wear as well.

I just want to make one for each day of the week! I may do one more with the longer sleeve version....and then I shall move on...OK!

Mmmmmmmmmmmm

2009-03-07T21:54:00.000-08:00

Rebecca was busy baking today.

She bakes more than me... tsk!tsk!tsk!

I LOVE her mini cup-cakes. They are soooo delicious, and I just can't stop at one! (Did you notice her pretty cup-cake apron?)

Here's the yummy result.

WOO-HOO

2009-03-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

Received the latest copy of mixtape the other day. It has lots of crafty ideas, interviews and articles. A good read. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. For a small magazine, it has a lot going for it.

ONE MUST ALWAYS HAVE A CO-ORDINATING HANDBAG!

2009-03-03T05:36:00.000-08:00

I made a handbag today to match the dress that I had sewn last week. I still had some fabric left over and thought "why not have a co-ordinating handbag?!" Unfortunately, the New Look pattern I used is now out of print, but I'm sure that I've seen this design with another pattern company.

I've made a couple of these over the last year, and just love the design. Just a bit different to your usual handbag, but still big enough to carry your purse, mobile and make-up!

Not a lot of fabric required, so it's good to use up your scraps - and it's reversible as well, so 2 handbags in one!

I do so love a matching bag and dress...

Have a great week!

MUST SEW #7

2009-02-27T05:24:00.000-08:00

So here's the blouse I made from the Simplicity 3835 I referred to in the last post. It was so easy to follow. I made it from a cotton voile I had spotted in Textile Traders the other week. It was supposed to have elastic around the sleeves, but I didn't want that (it makes my arms look fat!), so I just hemmed as normal. I would certainly make this again. A much better option to the Tshirts I wear on a daily basis. I felt a little more dressed up without going over the top! After all, it was just made to pop into school to drop the kids off!

There is some lovely black broderie anglaise I have in my stash that would look really nice with this pattern....I'll get to it! I reckon that's a big tick on number 7 for my Must Sew list.

A NEW LIFE....

2009-02-24T01:36:00.000-08:00

Remember this?...

Well, my Must Sew #1 disaster now looks like this...

I had that darn 3 armhole dress hanging up in my sewing room begging for forgiveness, so I thought I'd give it a new life.... I loved the fabric - and still love that vintage pattern (Butterick 4699), but the 2 together just didn't work, and I still need to make the vintage pattern smaller. I had this Simplicity pattern already, and thought that it may just save the day! And I think it did. I unpicked the original dress, and used the fabric from what I had....it's a little shorter than I prefer because I didn't have enough fabric, but Oh so Summery! This pattern went together so easily, and I really like the fit. I also lined it because I think garments just hang a whole lot nicer when thery're lined.

I actually used the shorter length sleeve in View C (without elastic gathering) because I really didn't like the longer sleeves on the pattern.

I am still wanting to sew the original vintage pattern (3 armhole dress)....I'll have to give that one some extra thought.

I am going to make up the blouse pattern from the Simplicity 3835 because it looks SO easy! I have just the fabric to make it up in. I may just do this tonight or tomorrow. I'll show you when it's done...

POT HOLDERS

2009-02-12T06:59:00.000-08:00

Geez..That quilting gig is harder than I thought! I had never attempted quilting before, so I thought it safe to try it on something small. I did the fancy-pants random straight line thingy, and was quite pleased with the result. But I think I will leave quilting to the experts!

I do look rather fancy swishing around the kitchen in my new apron and matching pot holders though.

MUST SEW #5

2009-02-10T04:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, I can now tick off another item from my Must Sew list. YAY.

Here is the cupcake apron I made for Linda from http://texmorg.blogspot.com/ - It's the adult version I made for Bec's birthday (Butterick 5823).......and below is the version I made for me. Once again, it's reversable (I just like reversable "stuff" as it looks like you own more than you actually have). Both sides are animal print - which I really dig!

Hmmmmm I can feel some matching pot holders coming on...

A LITTLE CRAFTING...

2009-02-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

Bec needed (wanted) a pouch to protect her new calculator she requires for Maths. So she chose some fabric and co-ordinating ribbon from my stash. When she asked for one of these pouches, I remembered a great tutorial from the Stop Staring and Start Sewing blog I read the other day. The tutorial was really easy to follow (I wondered why I hadn't thought of it myself!), and to make them was so quick. The only thing I did different was I lined each one in co-ordinating fabric (only because I love the way lining makes things look so neat and tidy inside, - pathetic, I know). This lady does some pretty cool stuff, so go and take a peek at her blog.

http://jonag.typepad.com/stop_staring_and_start_se/

And of course, all her friends wanted one too!

With that done, I'm off to sew something for myself!

AND SO IT BEGINS....

2009-02-01T04:12:00.000-08:00

Well, Bec will be going into Middle School - she's so ready! Me, not so ready! And Tom will be going into Year 3! I'm feeling a little anxious, but this year will be a good year. My focus in 2009 is on my family, I felt that I neglected them somewhat last year and things are gonna change!

Anyhoo, here's hoping that this week won't be too traumatic for you or your little ones.

I haven't sewn this week....it's been far too hot and I can't handle it. Our airconditioning goes in on Tuesday, so I'll be firing up the sewing machine then!

Here's a costume I did for Tom for a Christmas concert. Can you guess what he was?

Yep, a Christmas present. I just grabbed an old box and covered it in some hologram contact. Attached some gold ribbon around the box with some Christmas decorations. Tom made a gift tag with "Merry Christmas" on it. Chucked on some straps that would blend in with his T.Shirt and Voila!

Have a good week.

SCHOOL PREPARATIONS

2009-01-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

So I was feeling a bit restless this evening and couldn't sleep... I did some sewing instead.

Bec's old music bag was looking a bit 'tired'. I bought this fabric from Spotlight what seems a gazillion years ago with the intent on making such a bag...finally it is done. No pattern for this, I just copied the dimensions from her old music tote and lined this one in a plain cream fabric.

I'm taking Tom to Spotlight tomorrow, Oh yes indeed! He will choose some fabric and a pattern for #4 on my Must Sew List. I may have to buy some for myself too.....

I haven't forgotten to post some more costumes. I just didn't want to overload you with them all. I will post some more in a few days.

2009-01-25T22:06:00.000-08:00

HAPPY "AUSTRALIA DAY"

Monday 26th January

MULTICULTURAL DAY

2009-01-24T22:40:00.000-08:00

Like most schools, Multicultural Day is held each year. I made these costumes in 2006. I use poplin most times with costumes because 1: it is cheap and 2: there are so many colours available.

Spanish Dancer: I used Simplicity 5042 (View C minus the hip drapes) which I don't think is available any more. I shortened the skirt slightly and added 3 rows of lace to give the tiered appearance. I made a simple ribbon choker (length of satin ribbon and used bather clips to attached around neck and glued a fabric rose to it). Add pair of fish-net stockings and you have a Spanish Dancer!

Tom's Beefeater costume was a real hit!

Loosely based on the above pattern (View B but no cape....obviously),
it was actually a jumpsuit, but I just made the bottom 1/2 into the pants and the top 1/2 I lengthened, and made into a jacket by using Velcro down the front. I added epaulets to the shoulders with some fancy silver buttons and made a Mandarin style collar. I used a silver piping around the sleeve edges and jacket edge to finish. The hat was made from polar fleece (no pattern so I just fooled around a bit until I got it right.), giving it that furry appearance. I stuffed it full of wadding so that it would keep it's shape and used black elastic for the chin strap.

Tom had just finished studying England at school, and his class had made little paper Beefeaters. So this was just the perfect thing for him to dress as.

MUST SEW #1

2009-01-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I can certainly tick off #1 from my Must Sew List.

Do I like it? No, not on me anyway.

Will I ever wear it? Not likely.

Why don't I like it? It just looks like a sack on me! I really think that if I was a stick insect, this dress would look fabulous, but because my frame is on the curvy side (ie: I have boobies and a bottom), it did nothing for me. I didn't even put it on for the photo. It made me look and feel like I'd gained a couple of kilos! The lack of bust darts and basic shaping really should have rung a few alarm bells with me. Although I did use the correct size according to my bust measurements, the dress felt too big around my top half, I may resize it and make it smaller because I really do like the style.

First I have to say that this was such an easy pattern to sew. It took less than 2 hours to complete. Instead of using bias around the edges, I just lined the whole thing and "bagged it out" and sealed it up,so if I wanted to, it could be reversible. I love the fabric I found at Spotlight, and will probably restyle it somehow or cut it up and make something completely different. I will show you when that gets done.

I think I'm more disappointed in the fact that I didn't get to wear a new dress to the bbq, than losing 2 hours out of my life that I will never get back! So, I will put that disaster behind me, and move forward!

''P" and a "V"

2009-01-23T02:17:00.000-08:00

Let me introduce you to 'Po' (for those uninitiated, Po is a member of the Teletubbies series which viewed on the ABC). I made this one for Glen to wear to the the 40th Birthday party I spoke about last post. This was so easy to make. I used McCall's 8953 (View D)and used polar fleece. The spats were way cool, and really made the costume complete. I had to copy the antenna and ears from a child's costume though, that took the longest part getting the proportions right. I just attached the "TV" section to the front with Velcro so that the zipper could be done up easily.

And I was obviously (I hope) a Viking. I used Simplicity 9891 (View B) for the bodice section. The sleeves had to be altered to suit, and also had to shorten the skirt section. Fabric used was a faux suede which made up really well. The helmet was bought from Lombards, but I think that most party hire/supply places sell these and are quite cheap (about $10). My fake plaits and shell necklace were from a $2 shop which finished off the ensemble quite nicely I think.

Now I have to go and make that 3 armhole dress. I want to wear it tomorrow night and still haven't started it! Wish me luck.....

MORE COSTUMES....

2009-01-21T23:29:00.000-08:00

We had a 40th Birthday Party to go to a couple of years ago, and each guest had to dress as something beginning with 'P' or 'V'. So here we have a Vampire and Violet from the Incredibles.

Tom's costume was made from poplin fabric (because it's cheap!) using McCall's 3746 (View D). It consisted of elasticised pants, vest and cape. His cape was lined in red fabric - I don't think you can tell from the photo, and I just sewed Velcro down the front of his vest and attached some fancy gold buttons (only because I couldn't be bothered spending time doing button holes on a costume!) He did have some huge fangs to wear but they annoyed him, so I just painted some on him instead!

Rebecca's costume was made from Lycra fabric. I used Kwik Sew pattern number 3104 (view A) for the unitard in red, and placed the zip down the back instead of the front, so that I could applique the "incredibles" logo on the front (I bought a cheapie costume and cut out the logo from the bib). I made some knickers (I can't remember what pattern I used ,but any would do) and added the orange band to them, and made a matching headband. I LOVE this costume! The boots and gloves were purchased. We tried to dye her hair black for the occasion, but didn't quite work out. We painted her mask on so she didn't have to wear one all night.

I'll post what Glen and I wore tomorrow.

Thanks for popping in.

YABBA DABBA DOO!!!

2009-01-21T00:41:00.001-08:00

Thanks Linda from http://texmorg.blogspot.com/ for the lovely post today about my costumes and sewing! And seems you asked so nicely, here is the photo of the Fred and Wilma costumes I made back in 2005 for a 40th Birthday party. We had to dress as either a Superhero or TV character. McCall's 2895 was used for both, and I made them out of polar fleece (Fred's black spots were individually sewn on!) and I found some great flocked animal print fabric for Fred's tie, and my necklace was made from those foam balls you get from the craft section. I think we made a pretty swanky couple that night!

I tried my hardest to get Bec and Tom to dress as Pebbles and Bam Bam but with no success. Here they are....

Here we have Spiderman (I can't take any credit for that costume, it was just a shop bought one!), and Tinkerbell, I had no pattern for this so I just copied the bodice part from an old dress of Bec's and attached a full skirt.

Thanks for stopping by.

A PEEK INTO MY COSTUME CUPBOARD

2009-01-20T07:52:00.000-08:00

OK, I have been asked to show some of the costumes I have made over the years. I won't torture you with them all at once....there are way too many, way too many! They won't be in any particular order, I'll just have to rummage around my digital photos and post one or two at a time. Here is one of my favourites from a few years ago......

I made this one for Bec's Year 2 Christmas Concert back in 2004. She was Frosty The Snowman. I didn't have a pattern for this costume, so I had to make it up as I went along. As the words in the song go, he had corncob pipe and a button nose / with a broomstick in his hand. The corncob pipe was made out of a bell shaped craft foam painted mustard, and transparent elastic held her button nose in place. I made an underskirt with a few rows of boning attached to it to give her that round look for the bottom, and used wadding to fill out her top half and hood. Felt was used for the top hat and I drizzled some fabric paint on it with some glitter for the snow. I think that this would have to be one of my most favourite costumes, it's been used for several school productions, and even her petite Year 2 teacher got to wear it!

I will have another look around my photo stash, and post another costume in the next day or so. Stay tuned....

WE'RE BAAAACK...

2009-01-18T04:46:00.000-08:00

We're back and refreshed from our beautiful holiday at Busselton. This was the view from the beach one evening. Lots of fishing and fun was had that night! It was so hot down there, but it only took us a minute to walk to the beach......bliss!

Anyhoo, an exciting package was waiting for me when we arrived home. It was this vintage pattern I ordered from http://www.oldpatterns.com/.

I'm thinking that I might sew this up in either a white or black broderie anglaise or linen, or even a Pucci print. I feel the need to go fabric shopping real soon! We have a bbq to go to on Saturday, and I would love to wear this. Oh dear, so many outings and not enough frocks!

I've made a list of 10 Must Sew items. If I publish them, then I have to sew them or I'll look like a right git! So here they are....

Abovementioned dress.

A Funky shirt for Glen.

Animal print shift dress (to go with the fabulous bag I bought in Busselton. It was on special.....really it was).

A funky shirt for Tom (or anything else he desires!).

An apron for myself (I'm sick of wearing my daggy old one!) Oh, I have to make one for Linda at http://texmorg.blogspot.com/ (she liked the cup cake one).

A jacket or coat.

A couple of tops to replace the many Tshirts I get around in.

An outfit for Bec (although she could probably make it herself! maybe I'll just help her make one instead)

A skirt.

A pair of pants or jeans.

11. Make God Daughter a ball gown

Yeah, I know there's only supposed to be 10, but I forgot the Ball Gown and was swiftly reminded by my God Daughter's mother, so I added this a couple of days later!

There! I said it and now I have to do it!

DRUM ROLL.......

2009-01-12T06:56:00.001-08:00

Rebecca's VERY first fashion item that she has sewn is now complete and ready to frolic in along the Busselton Beaches! I think it's a little longer than she would have liked, but hey, the way she's growing, it'll be mid-thigh by the time school resumes next month!

I'm so proud of her. Not only was she enthusiastic, she did everything herself, and did a pretty darn good job of it as well. To be honest, I thought she'd get half way through and give up. We gave her a sewing machine when she turned 10, and since then, she's only sewn a hair scrunchie and a blanket for her favourite teddy bear. Now, that's not her fault, she's been keen to sew for a long time, I just didn't have the time to spend with her (I'm a bad, bad mother!)

Hey S.P. (you know who you are), I guess we have a new recruit for costume sewing for the next JRock! I'm sure Bec will be an expert by the time we do another one.

Off to Busselton now, so see you in a couple of days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BEC'S SEWING LESSON

2009-01-10T04:24:00.000-08:00

Today Bec has started her denim skirt. I've shown her the do's and don'ts with cutting out, and that's it for now as I don't want to overload her (and make it confusing and boring!) She wants to make this skirt all herself, so we chose a rather easy pattern that I already had, and used some denim that was in my stash. We will continue tomorrow with the 'fun stuff'.

She will be sewing view E for the yoke, but have the bottom section of the skirt view F, which is slightly more flared.

It was nice to watch her do her thing. I recall sewing my very first halter neck dress at the age of 10, and was pretty well 'hooked' from then. It was such a lovely fabric, Mum was a demonstrator for a sewing machine company, and took me to a fabric store around the corner from her shop. I remember sewing the dress where she worked....with one onlooker saying to his wife "If she can sew, so can you!" Mum sold a machine that day.

We are off to Busselton next week, so hopefully she can finish this in time to wear it on our holiday.

HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY, GORGEOUS!

2009-01-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

It was Bec's 12th birthday the other day, and she was showered with all things fine! This is 'the little something' I made Bec as a surprise. She is really into cooking cupcakes at the moment, and I couldn't resist when I found these fabrics in Spotlight.

It's reversable, so here's a peek at the other side.

I've used an old Butterick 5823 apron pattern, but the child size was too small and the adult's was too big, so I had to do a bit of adjusting (not sure if you can still get this pattern, I didn't bother to check, but there's plenty of apron patterns available).

Here's a close-up of the fabrics.

I will be making myself one as well...probably in a leopard print, I think! Kinda cool I reckon.

Bec's next project for the holidays is a denim skirt. Will start today and post some pics when done.

Have a great week!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

2009-01-01T08:30:00.000-08:00

Hoping the first day of your 2009 was as relaxing as ours. Swimming in Mum's pool and generally "pigging out" on my family! I only made one resolution for 2009, and that is to sew a lot more for me and my family...a LOT more!

Anyhoo, I ordered this pattern the other day from http://oldpatterns.com/ and am looking forward to it arriving in my letterbox. It's a Butterick 4699 from c. 1967. A groovy wrap-around dress, and with the hot weather that's been around lately, I'm looking forward to making this up and wearing it EVERYWHERE! Maybe a navy with lime green trim? Any suggestions? Hmmm...... let me think on this for a while.

Bye for now.

OUR SEWING ROOM

2008-12-30T08:42:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-23T16:14:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-22T07:25:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-21T16:09:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-17T03:05:00.001-08:00

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

2008-12-14T17:40:00.000-08:00

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....

2008-12-13T07:13:00.001-08:00

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.