i'm on a roll...

a tshirt (for jammies) for ryan. made from some cute helicopter print knit (unfortunately a poly/cotton blend rather than straight cotton). he kept bugging me til i'd finished it and then put it straight on LOL i used a knitwit pattern from the late 80's which was so simple and just perfect.

the other is a vintage dress pattern made up for emelia. ufnrotunately it's too big :( but she is happy to wear it anyway (she is off dresses atm, so i was actually trying to make a pinafore LOL). i ADORE this fabric, which i got at spotlight in the sale. it was in the catalogue the week before and i wanted to go to solely get this fabric, but i love it even more in RL. i'm so glad i bought a whole 2m of it! i also made a matching headband which was totally fiddly, i think i must have done it the wrong way...

ps: dh has just redone my puter so i don't have a graphics program on it to resize the photos - so be warned if you click for a larger image they will be HUGE!!!

oh and of course blogger WON'T rotate the photos when i need them done!

call me crazy...

but i think i'll make another romper for rory! i'll simplify it though, and i have the perfect piece of fabric in mind...

Here she is, i'm so so pleased! how funky is she?!

Rory's Retro Romper!

the past few months have been crazy busy and also with illness :o( but at last i got to sew! geoff is on hols now in the xmas - new year public servant shutdown so i have just claimed some sewing time! of course i didn't actually plan to make something which took a day and a half but anyway....
This gorgeous romper (i am SOOOOO pleased with it!) is design #4 from Ottobre 2/2005. I havne't tried it on Rory yet so i hope it fits the little madam lol

ok, she has it on, it JUST fits (she'll be wearing it a LOT in the next month LOL) and i've got photos which I will upload after dinner...

quick shorts for rory

rory needed shorts as i didn't seem to have any for her, so today i finally got time to whip up a quick pair. i used the ottobre pattern i made her 3/4 pants out of and just shortened them. they worked out ok but i do need to play a bit to make them work better. the fabric i used was the doona cover i found in an op shop which i still love :)

excuse her expression, she wanted boobies not photos LOL

moomoo's skirt take 2...

another moomoo skirt

missy moo and her skirt fetish *rolls eyes* this was a remnant i got from lincraft last week, i think i have two pieces of it for myself actually! decided to just do side seam and gather but turned out the fabric was too wide to gather to the waistband elastic. so of course i made a simple job compicated yet again....

ended up putting pleats in it and then gathering the lot onto the elastic. then finished it off with the trim that belinda sent me a while ago. i'm planning to make a blue tshirt to match and finish with the same trim 9but planning to is not doing lol)

aagh, even writing on the closeup didn't get it the right way around

sydney sewing girls!

thought it might be easier to have a thread here where i am not so easily confused about what we are doing LOL


saturday
2pm
Cass
Belinda

Playland at ikea

emelia loves her new 'pretty' !

finally!

it's been a crazy busy weekend but after we spent half the day putting up tents (practicing for our upcoming camping weekend with some eb friends) i decided i HAD to make emelia some skirts. she is half TT'ing and will only wear skirts most days. i don't have many and when i have to put her in 2-3 a day then we have a problem! lol

so i thought i'd whip up a few quick skirts.

well, that was the plan anyway *rolls eyes* i grabbed out some cheap (and nasty heh) printed cotton i had stashed away and cut out a twirly skirt. however i forgot you don't have to do the 1.6x measurement on the waist, so it is twirlier than twirly! i also decided that as i was goin to have to join it i would make it a feature so i cut the strips into rectangles and joined them all, seams out, with a decorative zigzag (which i figured would give more strength and better protection from too much fraying)

so anyway, i wanted to sew ricrac around the bottom but didn't have nearly 4m laying around so finished it with a decorative stitch with yellow satin thread.

et voila.

i'll try to get a photo of her in it tomorrow. i'm not that happy with it but it's a skirt and she won't care that i'm not happy! lol

E's flirty skirt ;o)

first layer 50 x 1.6 = 80 + 2cm = 82cm

second layer = 80 x 1.6 = 128 + 2cm = 130cm

third layer = 128 x 1.6 = 205 + 2cm = 207cm

337cm of frill / 106cm fabric width = 3 pieces + 20cm

November measurements

Ryan
3y 5m
height - 101.5cm (big growth spurt in sept/oct!)
waist - 48cm

Emelia
2y 2m
height - 92cm
waist - 50cm

oh and...

no sewing lately - i've been soooooo busy and also having a bout of pnd which has had me to the dr and had me laying low. i feel like i'm improving though the damp and gloomy yet warm weather isn't helping, but hopefully i'll get there soon...

Thank you emelia!!!!

she just found my missing ottobre magazine! (3/04) it was in the back of the tv cabinet - as if i ever would have found it in there! lol

tiny bit of sewing

i've been just so flat out busy lately i have barely been able to sew. i'm actually hoping to get a quiet week next week (i have no plans at this stage!)

anyway last weekend i joined a gym. only - i have no clothes to wear to a gym! and even though i've lost 13 kilos (!!) i would find it hard to buy sportswear so i decided to make some.

this is the 3rd thing i've made from this pattern and they've all been wayyyy too big. i measured carefully, got mum to check the pattern against me... and still had to take about 3" off each side before they sort of fitted (really, they've turned out still a little big as i'm losing weight, but too late now)

i used the unbrushed cotton fleecy i'd bought from the mill and unfortunately between a flaw in it and having sold off the rest i now have not enough to make myself anything else which is a bit of a PITA. i can work around the flaw (5 lines wasting about 10" of fabric) to make some pants for the girls.

PS; these photos are disgusting (geoff can't for the life of him EVER take a flattering photo of me *sigh*) but they'll also double as photos to record my weightloss (unfortunately i didn't take any before photos as it was all far too terrible)

first softie!

well, ok, i made a few at school but my first 'adult' softie. i decided to handsew him, which was a challenge as i never handsew LOL but i was pleased with him. i wish now i'd put more in his tummy as he looks a bit slim at his destination at Flossie's

i got the instructions here. he was a lot simpler than most of the other softies in our swap, but i didn't realise how gorgeous some of the others would be!

anyway, the pics are of dh modelling with eddie :o)

gorgeous bunnies!

thanks to the talented Leah we got a parcel today full of bunnies!

here are the kids with their bunnies - they are very impressed and emelia is sitting on the lounge cuddlin them all right now :-D

my first ever compliment!

geoff pointed out the shorts to ryan this morning. i went and got the tshirt of his choice and dressed him. while i was making my breakfast (porridge, which is still too painful to eat :o( i am in such agony today) he told me "these are great mum, you made them out there (pointing at the sewing area)" awwww

OMG, i am soooo clever! LOL

and modest LOL

ok, in between bouts of pretty bad tooth pain i have been sewing today. these shorts took nearly all day but i think they were totally worth it. I think they look every bit as good as a $30 pair of pumpkin patch shorts.

they are ottobre 2/04 (i think) design #18. i was going to make them in a 104 but alice had already traced off the 98 and said they still fitted her RJD so i've made this pair to try on my RJD and will cut out another pair or two if these ones look like they'll work for next summer too, or ever if they'll last the whole of this summer (he usually goes up a size during the season which means he needs two separate wardrobes for summer and winter, ack!)

will post pics of him wearing them tomorrow :o)

PS: i made the images bigger than usual so you can see the topstitching clearly if you click on the smaller images here

some old sewing

this is for my mum's benefit, to see the fit of the dress :o) (she made it for emelia last christmas, and the capris were one of my first projects last summer, they were full length pants on emelia last year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mum, the dress still fits with room to grow, but is pinafore length now on the ever taller missymoo :-0

teaser........!!

i am making emelia something from ottobre! it has pintucks and decorative stitching was optional.... i decided to do it and wow! here is the partially completed item..

only problem is that i was using a pattern alice had traced off to use and she notes 'cut on fold' different to me :-| therefore my front has a lovely big seam down the middle. hopefully the fabric's so busy no one will notice...

stay tuned for the finished item!

lucky rory!

yet another pair of spring capris! i haven't started the matching top yet though. this was some material left from a piece i'd bought and alice made emelia a top out of last summer (before i started sewing).

PS: rory's red cheeks in the last entry are because she is sick :o(

this is us!

as the eb girls are sharing pics. sorry dh isn't in it but he was taking the photo!

more springiness for rory

off for a walk, will post details later (love the pants, not happy with the top)

ok, back from our walk (to get the kids out of dh's hair while he gets dinner prepared, of course he can't cook with them under his feet *rolls eyes* lol)

so the patterns are Ottobre 4/2004, designs #4 & #5.
i love love love the pants! just a gorgeous style and fit! i am half way through a second pair already :oD I think i'll make another couple of pairs, plus some for emelia if they go big enough!

the top .... *sigh* i don't hate it, but it didn't turn out quite the way i thought or hoped. i don't like the applique i've done. i think you need a bigger design to applique, like the one in the magazine. the whatsydoovie in the front of the neck (slit, gap, whatever it's called) is just too big. it needs to be about half the size. and apart from the fact i put the ribbon on at the wrong angle i just don't like the look. next time i'll use a button and loop i think. the towelling is a lovely weight for a spring top but a major PITA as it stretched as it was sewn and overlocked. i will have to invest in some of that tape that stops stretching i think! and then last of all, there's the fact that rory doesn't look good in purple LOL

fabric swap?

as per the eb sewing group

another spring romper for rory

as my poor girl has no spring clothes - only heavy winter stuff and bare-it-all summer stuff, i cut out a ton of spring clothes for her last weekend (with mum's help) here is the first item i've made - this fabric was $3pm from spotlight and it looks fabulous on her! i stuffed up the bloody zipper again so will have to fix it later.

witht he pink velour version i made as pj's for her, i used an iron on motif which just 'made' it - it now looks fabulous! (will take pics later) so i bought a few today to try on this one too, as it just seems to be missing to me...

she is with her aunty 'susu' (as ryan and emelia call her!) in the second photo :oD

and.... i have just been reminded that i didn't report back on my sewing machine! i THINK that i just had it threaded wrong. i assume so as that is what fixed it LOL how embaressment ;o)

arrrrgggggllle!

today was a big non-sewing sewing day!

our bbq plans were cancelled due to weather so geoff and reg took the kids to questacon while rory and i stayed home and sewed.

well, ok i didn't get more than 5 minutes of sewing done - i spent most of the day tracing patterns, cutting out and organising my patterns. mum came over in the morning and helped and then alice came over at lunchtime and did her own :o)

after dinner i started to sew at last! only to discover that something is wrong with my sewing machine :o( hence the argle! the tension is stuffed (i changed it to do the shirring) but i can't seem to fix it - if the tension is on 0 it looks mostly ok on the front but terribly loose and loopy on the back. if i turn the tension the other way even a tiny bit then the top becomes basically a straight thread (on zigzag) with the back thread looping right through from each side to the middle. so basically i'm STUFFED.

any ideas anyone? it's a brother bm2600...

brazen's crafts: woooh! bargains!

brazen's crafts: woooh! bargains!

i've just done a rough count and i think i probably have about 60-80m of fabric (OMG) there were a couple of unopened bolts of 15m each. plus 15m of the dark grey fleecy on the roll etc etc

wow!

woooh! bargains!

checking the paper this morning and there was a garage sale with sewing machines and fabric by the metre / roll. so mum and i headed over and arrived just after they opened at 8am. it was so busy! but i managed to get bargains galore - no really interesting fabrics but lots of basic fleecies, jerseys and ribbing that will last for years. got the lots below (i think you can't quite see some of it and there is also two rolls of twill tape you can't see at all) for $50 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i LOVE garage sales!

I've been tagged again !

by Lynn (Dreamweaver) *waving hello to Lynn*

1. What is your current pet peeve?
my infected tooth :o(

2. Would you rather be annoyed or bored?
depends who i'd be annoyed with LOL probably bored. at least it's not a totally negative experience.

3. When did you last drink champagne?
not real champagne but i had a glass of omni at my sister's last weekend (and then she kept the bottle for herself dammit LOL)

4. Who sleeps in your bed?
who doesn't???! ok, i sleep there all night. geoff sleeps there anywhere from all night to not at all depending on who has woken and when and what mood they're in. rory mostly doesn't now as she is usually in playtime mode no matter what time of the night, emelia has taken to coming in early in the mornings (though she does more wriggling and chatting than sleeping) and ryan is pretty much the only one who doesn't since i kicked him out after rory was born. the two cats do on cold nights too :-S

5. What TV hunk can come knock at your door?
wouldn't matter who he was, he could knock but i wouldn't have the energy to let him in lol

6. Do you wear perfume?
not often but lately some eden by cacherel and chanel no 19

7.If you wrote a book what type would it be?
booooring. i'm a really bad writer!

8. When did you last go to the dentist?
don't ask, to many times lately. and for the first time in my life i wish i could do sooner than next thursday, i'm in so much pain :o(

9.Ooops, you've just had boy/girl twins- what are they called?
i think i'd been too tired to give them names! so probably just baby and baby hehe

10.How do you get your news- TV/Internet/paper?
from eb and dh

11.Do you believe the story that Naomi Robson was going to save a boy from cannibals?
who cares?!

12. If you could go back in history where do you want to visit?
the hippie 60's

13.I am having a fancy dress party. What are you dressed as?
a sleep deprived mum?? oh ok, maybe a hippie or a cowgirl lol

i'm going to tag
natalie
and helen

budding super model LOL

oh gosh, this top was a bloody nightmare! lucky my cross dressing supermodel was happy with it LOL

the girls on eb made shirring look soooooo easy and i've been desperate to give it a go. so i used this scarf i bought at the vinnies in curtin. unfortunately i didn't find it as easy as i thought :o( 2 days, half a roll of shirring elastic and lots and lots of unpicking later i finally have a top which is finished but which i am not particularly happy with. still it is done and i think emelia will look very cute in it. i was going to make one for rory with the other half of the scarf but i think i'll try a new technique.

i will probably give shirring another try, but with a slightly heavier fabric...

look at me!

emelia had to go to the mirror to look at herself in the new skirt LOL unfortunately it only just fits :o(

twirly skirt for emelia

just whipped this up quickly (well except the ribbon which was a PITA). it was an ottobre pattern but no idea which one as it wasn't written on the pattern and i'd cut the pieces out before chirstmas last year LOL i'd bought the fabric after being inspired by an incredibly simple yet incredibly expensive fred bare skirt last summer (of course it looked nothing like this one, i think it had pleats in it lol)

i think i've cut the elastic too big again, uggggghhhh

the ribbon was a pain because silly me (brain totally fudged by this rotten and aching tooth) cut the ribbon 1.6 x the length of the bottom tier, when it was to be attached to the top tier...

what is needed for summer

emelia - some plain, basic shorts and skirts, summer weight jackets
ryan - everything especially shorts
rory -

here's my girl

me tagged?

i haven't had time to go blogging lately and so i've only just discovered clair has tagged me! i'm too headachy and tired to do links but here is the tag thingie...

The rules of the tag are: List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets. Tag 5 friends and list them. Then, those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people. Dont forget to let the people you tag know by posting a comment on their blog!

so I will Tag:
susan (susan's scrap n sew)
penni
mousey
paula
and dani (dsk)

and my 5 weird things...
i was going to write that i talk to myself but seeing as everyone else did it's obviously not that weird lol

1. i used to have fillings done without ANY anaesthetic, now i'm so bad i'm going to have to have a general for my root canal so i don't freak out on the chair (if i ever get the referral, despite the constant pain and infection)

2. i find it difficult to eat food prepared by family if they haven't chopped all the ingredients the same size and shape. i have to concentrate to get past it.

3. i have huge ridges in my toe nails and smaller ones in my finger nails atm, most likely from the blood loss i had at rory's birth.

4. i am the lazy perfectionist where my house is concerned. hate it being messy and dirty but am too lazy to clean it! where are my housework fairies???!!!

5. i constantly compare my children. how else am i going to know if they're developing normally???!!!!

PS: why on earth did blogger turn rory's pj's upside down? good grief!

new pj's for rory

as she's outgrowing all her others. i haven't had time to try these on her yet (she's asleep) but they are made from velour (pink as pink was the only colour zip i had lOL) and FOE. pattern is design 8 i think from ottobre 4/2005. sooooo easy to make. started this last night and it took a little longer than i thought because the zip was done differently (yet again)

my nose is still itching too - i'm sooooo over sewing fluffy material, ack.

found some time this afternoon...

to make ryan one of his long overdue pairs of pants!





i'm very happy with how these turned out - and they only took me a couple of hours!

they're made from what is like an uncut cord with a diagonal stripe. the top and bottom panels are cut running the opposite direction. all the top stitching was done using a thick rainbow thread (for the overlocker but sewed well on the machine). i used a denim needle which made sewing this fabric a breeze.

the pattern is design 6/7 from ottobre 1/2006, the same pattern as i used with the fleece to make him trackpants a few months ago.

the only annoying thing is that even though imeasured the elastic around his waist i didn't take out enough and it stretched as i sewed it on. i find it so hard to get the waists right!

emelia's party dress!

got it made in time - yay!

decorative stitching

by request :oD juts click to see it in better detail

it is a feather stitch in a pink satin thread.