Another Great Pattern from Make it Perfect

Win it over here. Fingers crossed as this would look lovely on my little man!

I have been busy...

But can't reveal too much! I finished my swap yesterday for the Polka Dot Swap. I was worried about stepping outside my comfort zones and making something other than kid's clothes..But I did it and I love it...so much that I actually wanted to keep the item for myself (bad..I know). I am happy with the finish and also the colours, as putting colours together makes me nervous. But it worked and I hope my swap partner loves it as much as I do.....

Sneak peaks and all wrapped up and ready to send.......

July is a busy birthday month for us..We have 4 birthdays in a space of a week. I used this tutorial over at MADE to make some crazy quilted birthday cards. Its a great way to use up scraps and it also allowed me to try out some of the fancy stitches on my machine. I used some card stock from an art shop but you could really use heavy folded cardboard. I think I will be making more of these..they were so much fun

Crazy Quilted Birthday Cards

Its my Mum's birthday next week and I made her a Prints Charming Brooch. Its the first time I have done any hand embroidery and as long as you don't look too closely..its not too bad! It was a nice little project that I could complete sitting on the lounge while the kids were tucked up in bed. I hope she likes it. I think it would look great attached to a bag as well.

Prints Charming Brooch

And lastly..how cute is the littlest man in his Tin Whistle Robot Tee. Its hard to get a nice picture of him now..he doesn't sit still for any length of time.

Another Great Giveaway

Check out this blog and her wonderful giveaway. The owls would look lovely in the girls bedroom. Hop over and join the fun....

Brrrr Its Cold Outside...

I have been sending the littlest man off to stay and play in about 4 layers to keep the cold out. He was desperate for a warm jacket. I searched my Otto mags for the perfect pattern and we came up trumps with the Little Ghost Fleece Jacket 6/2007. Its polar fleece fully lined with single jersey (minus the little ghost applique). I made a size 92 and didn't add the seam allowance, thankfully its a perfect fit. It came together so quickly apart from attaching the sleeves together. I came close to throwing the whole thing in the bin..I couldn't get my head around it. I find at times Otto instructions are so lacking. Thankfully my perseverance paid off and he had a warm snuggly jacket to wear to playgroup this morning. The only issue is the button holes. I interfaced the front panel underneath the button holes but they look like they are still going to stretch. I used much larger buttons than intended. I saw these buttons at Spotlight and knew they would be a perfect match. Anyway it just needs to get him through the next couple of months.

Sorry for the crappy photos..my model did not want to participate and its grey and gloomy inside to day

I will be glad when this week is over...

Gosh what a crappy week. We have been hit by a nasty viral / flu thing that had myself and the other half bed ridden for two days. Thankfully we both didn't get it at once. The girls have tonsillitis and the littlest man seems to have escaped this one. Fingers crossed. I can honestly say I have never felt sicker - 39 deg temps, hot and cold shakes. Nasty. I am back on deck today and at the least the kids will get some decent meals other than fruit, toast, cheese on toast and tinned soup. I was too sick to even have any mothers guilt with what they were eating!!

On a brighter note..for those that haven't already seen, Little Munchkins has a great giveaway over here. I would love to win the Sandbox pants pattern. I have a couple of O+S patterns to try out and even got some lovely material in the mail last week..but more about that when I am feeling better.

And here is another wonderful giveaway...I would love to win one of her Tilda skirts.

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.