Miss Wink enthusiastically wears most of her big sister's hand-me-downs. I'm grateful for that, especially when it comes to the ones sewn by me - it totally makes the effort worth it when the clothes get a second wear.
This is a Wrap-Up Skirt made 3 years ago. She's worn it alot recently as the Size 3-4 fits her now perfectly.
Who says craft and football don't mix? Cee Cee set off to the football with Dad yesterday decked out in a ribbon scrunchie in team colours.
This was hastily put together 15 mins prior to departure by knotting some lengths of ribbon around a piece of hair elastic.
This is an idea we saw at a local school fete where the mums had made up batches of these in the school's house colours.
Am rugging up today along no doubt with all you other Sydneysiders....It's cold out there folks!
This play mat or "reading mat" has been playing host to gatherings of kiddies, soft toys, dolls and books in a corner of Miss Wink's bedroom for some time. Here it is in its WIP stages.
It was going to be donated for a kindergarten fundraiser but that didn't quite pan out so we kept it here at home.
Having never made a quilt and having no real idea how to photograph one properly I've just left it scrunched up hoping that you get the general idea. You can also see some bookmarks that Cee Cee made by lining up fabric scraps and sewing them to bookmark sized pieces of felt.
I added some plain and contrast strips to the main zoo animals panel and quilted it with both straight and wavy lines. I also used Rita of "Red Pepper Quilts" unbound quilt tutorial as a guide - quick and easy.
There was a big surge of activity yesterday when I managed to finish a blouse from the pattern that I mentioned in my last post. I've been fiddling around with this one since last winter and really want to get it finalised.
Am counting this one as yet another muslin though as it's still not quite right - the neckline has too much gape (as you can see in the second photo).
I changed the pattern this time around to make a separate yoke with a gathered piece attached.
The fabric is a tiny floral which, while very pretty in real life, doesn't pack much of a punch in the photos.
Still, even with all the reservations, I'm glad of the progress made and what a glorious autumn day to be out taking some photos in the garden.
OK folks. I have a plan and there has been some work but not much to show as yet. With a teacher-free day on Monday and a public holiday on Wednesday (and therefore less child-free time than usual) we'll be pushing it to accomplish anything major.
So.....my plan is modest. To make inroads into a variation of this tunic top/blouse from last year with some lovely Liberty from the stash.
I will leave you with some pictures I took a long time ago (but never blogged) of an unfinished blouse made to this pattern. This one has a little tie at the neckline and is made from some lovely soft, silky cotton I bought in Japan.
Not sure why I took the shot below (maybe to congratulate myself for making the bias?) but it shows you the fabric in a bit more detail:
Good luck to all you other KCWC-ers out there! Hope you are into the thick of it....
My photo file for this dress was not quite complete. I had photographed it on a hanger for the pattern cover but hadn't had the chance for my little model to give it a twirl. Our holiday in Noosa provided the perfect backdrop to snap the dress in action.
I wish the flowers on our street at home were this pretty:
Have you signed up for KCWC over at elsie marley? Every week is kids clothes week around here but joining a sew-a-long definitely creates an added incentive!
Not only will I be participating but Wink Designs (known as "winkhandmade" on etsy) is also sponsoring this month. Here's my little ad below which you can check out along with the other sponsors in the elsie marley sidebar.
As a special offer enter code KCWC1 in the shop at checkout for a 20% discount on all patterns (valid until 30 April).
Sign up here if you haven't already and start revving those machines!
We had a wonderful Easter and early school holiday break in Noosa. Wow, what a beautiful part of the world!
Highlights were the pristine beaches and rainforest on Fraser Island; getting up close and personal with the wildlife at Australia Zoo (and, much to the girls' delight, an appearance by the Irwins - Terri, Bindi and Robert) and boating on the Noosa River.
There's lots for the adults too as Noosa is a foodie heaven and we also loved all the nearby handmade and produce markets.... We packed in lots of activity but seemed like we only scratched the surface. Will definitely need to go again sometime soon!
One of the casualties of my self-imposed working bee over the past few months has been my blog reading schedule. Less blog reading equals less discovering of new links to fabulous things in the internet and crafty world.
One bit of fabulous-ness I did manage to find (new to me, although maybe not to you) is the amazing work of Megan Nielsen. Megan is a young Aussie living in the US and has launched a pattern line based on a selection of favourites from her readymade designs.
Because 2012 is suppposed to be "The Year" of making clothes for myself, I ordered a couple of Megan's patterns just over a week ago. As you can see they arrived super-quickly from the US.
The packaging is divine and I love that the patterns have instruction booklets rather than the huge, awkward instruction sheets that tend to come with paper patterns.
I'm getting stuck into the "Darling Ranges Dress" already (I"ve made a muslin of the bodice in some of the chambray you can see in the first shot) and can't wait to try the "Banksia Top" as well.
I didn't know at the time of ordering but was happy to find out via her blog that Megan is organising a "Darling Ranges" sew-a-long over March/April. We'll be away for some of the time but I'll finish and post mine when we get back later in April.
Meanwhile, here is Megan's Pinterest page where you can see examples of Darling Ranges Dresses and lots of other inspiration.
Here are some more pictures of the Butterfly Breeze pattern in one of the larger sizes as the dress with ruffle option.
The dress pictured in this post had the body of the dress made in cotton and the sleeves/ruffle in voile - this time the entire garment is in voile, which gives the dress a lovely floaty effect.
The 25% discount offer to blog readers ends this Friday (and the shop will be closed for 10 days following as we're going away). So grab a pattern this week and enter "Butterfly1" at checkout for the discount to apply. In fact, I'm feeling generous this lovely Monday, so enter the code on any dress or skirt pattern(s) in the shop and the discount will apply!
Happy sewing!
