The Not So Festive Duds

The little man was upset when the girls got a new skirt for the festive period (he really wanted one!) ....so I cut into some red and white ticking but I realised that there was far too much white in for my messy boy. So we added some panels of fine baby cord in blue and red, appliqued a t-shirt and we are ready for Santa...Of course my husband thinks they look like American pants..Oops..that wasn't the plan..I just wanted to put some colour into his new duds.

Festive Sewing...

I realised on Friday that we are on the down hill slide to Christmas and the girls had nothing special to wear for our upcoming concerts - Angelina Ballerina and The Wiggles, preschool graduation and Christmas parties. Their wardrobe is bursting at the seams but its nice to spoil them...

3 hours at the machine, including cutting and making my own bias binding and we have two little duck skirts. Prefect for twirling our way through the festive season. The white material is from an Egyptian Cotton Sheet that my sister left behind when she moved OS this year and the aprons, which are attached to the front and back are from Lizzy House's range..Red Letter Day. They looked super cute at the Angelina concert yesterday and I got stopped by two women and asked where could they buy them from...

5...

Two special little girls in our house turned 5 last week!

Wow 5....we are amazed at how far you have come

You started off as two tiny little scraps, entering the world 11 weeks early

And now we have two beautiful, caring, independent (and at times stubborn) little individuals

You are best friends

You are like little sponges, soaking up new information everyday and learning in leaps and bounds

We are so proud of you both

Happy 5th Birthday

We love you bottle tops...to the moon and back XOXO

The Fairy Queen Cake

The Cupcake Spectacular we shared with friends at the park

Cupcake Toppers - made by the very talented Tammy at Sweet Art Diva .

Thank You Gifts

Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair

I left the little people behind for the weekend (with their Dad) and headed off to Sydney. Such perfect timing and planning on my behalf...The Sydney Craft and Quilt Show was on...Yay! So Mum and I hit the fair. There was so much to look at and so many people...

I picked up a cute Big Owl Pattern from Hot Possum and a gorgeous Flower Brooch Kit from the girls at Prints Charming. I really liked the scarf kits they had put together but by the time I decided I wanted one they had sold out! So I had to suffice with some covered button instead. I had planned to buy some fabric but nothing really jumped out and grabbed me. Although their was lots of beautiful liberty and Japanese fabrics but I think I had better use some of my stash first.

I really loved these gorgeous knitted dolls by Annie at ak traditions. I so wish I could knit....
I also like what Jane at Be Be Bold had done with the oliver + s patterns. She had made up most of the patterns in beautiful Japanese fabrics...Oh my. I had to hold on tight to my credit card. I didn't spend too much time looking at the quilts but what I saw was pretty spectacular.

On Sunday my sister and I headed out to the Bondi Markets. Lots of interesting goodies. I got this handful of lovely large vintage buttons.

On the sewing front I finished a little vintage vest for the little man. It was a kwik sew pattern that I found at the op shop some time ago. The only problem was that the size 2 was way too small in length.so I added an extra 2 inches on and top stitched it for detail. You can barely tell. I struggled with attaching the ribbing to the v neck. The instructions weren't really specific. It took several un pickings before I finally realised what I was doing wrong. (Some times I think my brain is mushy after 3 kids). It looks so cute on. I will definitely be making more. I just need to find some better sources for knit material.Spotlight and Lincraft are pretty hit and miss and the last two knits I have bought from Spotlight have had small holes in them! Has anyone got any ideas where I can buy quality knit from?

I Heart Tilda

Finally something sew worthy to blog about. Last night I finished the Tilda T-shirt dresses for the girls from Otto 6/2007. I love them. It was such a lovely thick knit to work with and so much easier to sew than the knit I used in my first attempt. I also used a ballpoint stretch needle this time and I think its made a world of difference. It was the first time I have banded a neckline. I was worried about this..but it was so easy. I was too lazy to set up the machine with a twin needle so I just top-stitched around the neckline twice. The girls loved these so much that they had to wear them today to preschool. Fingers crossed that they don't come home covered in paint.

Do you ever have Groundhog Days??

I feel like I am having Groundhog Days..over and over, with my washing. Its endless and every day feels the same - washing, folding, putting away and its time to do it all over again...Agghh!! My wish is to have someone come in and do all the washing, folding and putting away. Lets hope we win the lottery soon!!

So no sewing. Everyone has been sick with a nasty cold. We are starting to feel a little better so fingers crossed that I can be a bit more productive this week.

I have had some lucky finds at the op shop over the last two weeks. So I thought I would share

Nearly 2m of lovely polished cotton, a new book that I am really enjoying, lots of buttons for the stash and a little pinafore pattern that is a size one that I am going to have a go at grading up for the girls

This wonderful book. Its is so detailed and so helpful and it was only $2 from the Slavos

And the best find of all - an antique cabinet for the hallway. Sorry about the crappy photo. It needs restoring, locks replaced but in the meantime it is great to have some more sturdy storage

Happy Days

Happy Mothers Day to all those special Mum's out there. I hope your day was as fun as ours;

• a special breakfast with the kids and a voucher for 1/1/2 hr Spa Package
• a relaxing lunch with a couple of glasses of wine, with 2 other special mums (and no kids!)..pure bliss
• meeting the Dads and kids at the park for a play, teddy bears picnic and in the littlest man's case..a swim (fall) in the lake
• a flat tyre :(

xoxo

Birthday Time...

Well it was my birthday on Monday..Happy Birthday to me. Which also meant it was my twin sisters birthday. I decided to go all handmade for her pressie and I am now well on my way to meeting my handmade target for all birthdays so far this year. She requested two things - lounge pants and also an Amy Butler Sling. I will start with the good things first...The lounge pants. They were made from a thrifted actil sheet. Not sure if it was vintage but it is lovely... dandelions (or poppers as the girls call them) and I cuffed them with something that was in my stash. They are super comfy and the pattern was made by cutting up a pair of old flanny Susan pj's.

(Do you like my new labels?)

The Amy Butler Sling, almost needs its own post. I am not happy with the finished result (maybe its just me being fussy). I picked some nice AB fabric from here. (Great service by the way). I originally decided to use the AB for the bands and bag handle. But when it arrived it was very blue..so blue it almost glows in the dark. Thankfully I had some Lecien spots in my stash that I thought my tone it all down a bit. The bag came together quickly but when I turned it out..I really disliked all the colours together. So I unpicked and re-cut a new handle from some fabric that was in the stash..ahh much better. But the interfacing bubbled on the inside band (maybe my iron was too hot???) and the band seemed to have stretched (I did cut the fabric on the grain but I didn't wash it but I am new to this, so not sure why?). You can't really notice it unless you look closely but I am disappointed all the same :(o

The orginal band (left) and the final band

The finished sling. It looks good from the distance!

I kept the AB fabric on the internal pockets. See what I mean about it glowing in the dark?

I tweaked things ever so slightly. I added a magnetic clasp (so easy, I was really scared about this one) and in one of the large pockets I sewed in a pocket that will fit her mobile phone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTER xoxo

No Sewing..but some new Inspiration

Still no sewing..apart from some library bags for the girls(But I suppose that counts). The sleep deprivation and the sickness continues in this house. Blah..Blah ..Blah. Although last night everyone sletp in their own bed. Its amazing what a decent nights sleep does for the soul and the sewjo. Today I traced a couple of things off from Ottobre for a little ones 2nd Birthday next week. So fingers crossed that the sleep continues and I may get some sewing done this weekend. Yay.


I decided to visit Spotlight last week for some inspiration (excuse the crappy photos). I really want to try sewing knit fabrics. I scored the mother load in knit fabrics. I think it was last years knits but they were all reduced to $7 per metre. I just love a good bargain! So I am hoping that some new fabric in the stash will get me motivated to do some winter sewing for the kids.

Some lovely knits for winter sewing - lots of chocolate brown. I hope this will look okay on little girls?

And some bright summer cottons that I think I will use to make the Siiri Pinafore from the latest Otto