bugger!

i was finding the black too hard on teh eyes as now that ryan is computer obsessed i really only get on at night, so i decided to change my layout. now i've lost all my links. bugger. it will probably be weeks before i geta chance to put them in there and i use them a lot :o(

anyway, i've started my swap item but i'm not happy. i've made so many stupid mistakes. i'm in a 'mood' (ie a pnd mood) which doesn't help. i need to send them this week but i think it's best if i leave the item for another night when i'm not in such a sh*t of a mood.... perhaps i'll find something else simple to make and cut it out, i've been thinking maybe a simple summer item.

the no-sew update

let me see...

got my overlocker fixed today - turned out to be a simple user-error threading mistake as i suspected. i bought a new pair of tweezers to replace my missing ones so hopefully will help. the lady was telling me that in the next few months they will be running 10-4 one of classes on saturday which would be perfect for me to go to. she was a funny lady - she didn't even say hello to me when i got there, introduce herself, ask my name or anything. she rushed through what she showed me at a million miles an hour (she did show me heaps of different techniques etc), didn't smile once. then all of a sudden when she was done she turned into a totally different, relaxed, friendly person! most bizarre.

anyway what else?

i have not been sewing. the side effects of the drugs have only just subsided so i just haven't felt capable lately. also rory has been sick so waking a lot at night and ryan and emelia have been refusing to go down at night, taking up to 2 hours to sleep. so i really haven't been in the mood to sew or scrap or do anything. i do feel like it tonight, but i will have to go get dinner ready now and fold at least a couple of baskets of washing before i 'let' myself sew!

i got a bunch of vintage patterns off ebay, from a seller ingrid recommended, plus a few other odd ones from here and there. i will tryt o remember to take photos soon.

i ordered some fabrics from the fabric mill who make the colorado cotton. fleecy for track pants for geoff and maybe ryan (it's not the colour i thought it would be as i didn't have a colour chart for the fleecy), some unbrushed fleecy for trackpants for me, some gorgeous light stretchy fabrics for l/s. 3/4 slv and s/s shirts for me and the girls. i had to buy 5m of each to get the cheaper prices (about $5-10 pm) so i'm going to try to sell off a few metres of most of them to get some money back as it ended up costing more than i thought. (if anyone's interested let me know!)

i also go my new ottobre magazine this week too, which i like but am not thrilled about. i do want to make a few simple items for emelia. i need to write a list of what they need i think. all 3 kids are lacking in certain items in their wardrobes, so that we keep running out - such as sweatshirts and jackets for all 3, pants for ryan, warm pants for emelia, l/s t's for rory.

secret sewing...

i finished rory's item which is the practice item for my eb secret swap. it was a BIG learning experience so they are far from perfect but i like them anyway :) i had to put a zipper in them and boy the ottobre way of doing zippers is weird. i think i'll use my own way from now on! lol

can't show a pic for a week or two, until i finish my swap one and send it on it's way...

here are ryan's trackpants

love them! design 6/7 from ottobre 1/2006

this mroning i needed them finished for ryan to wear so i unpicked half of the waistband, planning to cut out a small piece of elastic then resew the waistband. i finished and realised... i had forgotten to cut out the small piece!!! ack!

love the style of these pants and will be making more from fleecy and denim and cord LOL

oh, this was the size 92 (though i think i cut hem when it was already included) and ryan is 100cm! but look how long they are!

bit of sewing

i have decided i don't like sewing polar fleece! it stretches as i sew it, grrrr i'm finding it easier zigzagging on the machine rathre than using the overlocker though, which is surprising. i've had to start using my machine because there is something wrong with my overlocker and i don't know what. the threads keep breaking and i've rethreaded it several times. i'll have to try to get to the shop to work it out. what a pain.

anyway, i've nearly finished ryan a pair of ottobre trackpants. i've just realised that they're the same ones i tried to make rory when she was first born, and they were a dismal failure! anyway, ryan's have worked much better. i used the pattern on alice's recommendation. I like them on (though i made the elastic a bit big but that's easily fixed) so now i'm goign to make ryan a few pairs, he is always running short on trackpants.

i was goign to use it for emelia too but i have ingrid's easy pant pattern now in emelia's size so i'll use that instead.

i also have my eb sewing swap item to make, and one for rory too. i can't say what it is but it's from here http://www.ottobredesign.com/lehdet_js/2005_1/frameala2.html

and just for those of you who only read me here, i've just been diagnosed with pnd :o( it seemed quite mild at first but didn't stay that way, so i'm now on horrible anti depressants. here's hoping i can sort it out soon...

sids for kids crop

even though rory wouldn't sleep all day i still powerscrapped through 5 layouts :) (albeit very simple ones)