Bags for the Teachers

These are the bags I made for our teachers!
I couldn't decide which one I like more, I think I like both equally! I tell you what, that new walking foot likes to sew plastic, its so much easier.

My First Quilt...

...and I am very proud!

It turned out great, probably thanks to the fantastic art work supplied by my daughter's class of beautiful kids. I just love our school and the teachers are the best. I was asked to make a quilt, if I could, for my teacher by our other Prep teacher who is as equally as wonderful and so very nice to think of our teacher. So she got the kids to secretly draw a picture and say something special about our teacher using fabric pens on pre-cut calico squares, then I got the job of putting it all together along with the lovely poem she found.

I have to thank my Mum for handstitching the binding down to the back. I used Heather Bailey's binding tutorial to get the corners right. I bought a walking foot for the quilting part and (hope this is the correct term) quilted in the ditch around each square. I think the quilt measures about 140cm square and I made a matching carry bag since I had a fair bit of leftover fabric.

I can't wait till the kids give it to her on Friday, she is so special and deserves every ounce of thanks we can show!

Unity and Peace

Here are the first Christmas singlets for this year, actually second, Joe boy's was first! I love doing these, each year, Kimmy and I make them for our kids, this year we decided to branch out! We are having trouble getting enough red singlets so we've done a few white ones which look great luckily, so watch this space for more creations!

These are for my lovely cousin's boys, she asked for the meanings of her boy's names on their singlets. So Unity and Peace are just perfect!

On the back is a tiny present.

Quick Skirt

This is a Burda skirt I quickly made for myself using Spotlight $3.99/m fabric! So for $6 plus the cost of the zip (the doily is from my stash and the buttons thanks to Nanny's stash of which I've got a few things and treasure sooo much) its a pretty cheap skirt, and very comfortable I might add. Unfortunately this fabric is fairly see through, whoops, so I either add a lining or save it for round the house!!! I quite like it, so I might line it...

And here is the cutest little Royal Doulton teacup in the pattern of 'June'.

My second best friend Kimmy found it down near Iluka during her week long family beach holiday, she is so good to me, she loves teacups as much as me, but she chose to give it to me!!! It is so tiny and very old, I love it Kimbo! What am I going to give you for your birthday next week old girl!!??

SHFMOCD...

...nope it's not a mistake!!!

Those letters stand for:

Sandi

Henderson

Farmer's

Market

Obsessive

Compulsive

Disorder/Disease

It's a very serious condition I've developed and probably will never recover from! I just love all this fabric so much, so finally I've made something for myself in it.

I've ordered some more Vintage Cherries from Kelani, since she's just got a new shipment in stock, to make myself another wrap skirt and canvas some for my bedroom wall so I can stare at it forever. Is that abnormal!?! Make sure you check out Kelani, there is an excellent competition on there at the moment, which is really easy to enter.

So anyway, this is my second Make It Perfect, Versatile Wrap skirt, and the info on the back of the pattern is 100% accurate in that this skirt would indeed have to be one of my favourite items of clothing. It is so comfortable and you get to wear your favourite fabrics. I've got another cut ready to sew in Anna Maria Horner Garden Party and so does my second best friend, I'll be blogging her creation as well. For this skirt I cut the 5 panels to make the contrast trim and tie an inch wider than the pattern says, I think this gives you a little more of a look at the contrast fabric!

give...LOVE

Singlets ready for Christmas!

This one says " give (heart) " which is supposed to mean: give love!!!

I hope everyone gets it. I used a gold thread which was tricky and probably won't use it again. This one is a size 6 and is for Joe Boy.

...and here is my little bloke wearing it at Lill's Prep Christmas Concert, which was soooooo cute. They did a fantastic job, the kids were so good and the teachers amaze me every single time with the effort and time they put into things.

And while I'm on the topic of singlets, here are a couple more we've (-Kimmy, my second best friend you've heard all about before) done. On the back on one of the corners they have a little applique square and heart.

Little Lambs

Here are my two little lambs!
I made these costumes for Lilly's Prep Christmas Concert. I just used a basic children's costume pattern in white tracksuit fabric using the fleecy inside as the outside and made the hoods look more lamby by lowering the ears and making them floppy. I think they look very very cute. They are the Large size on the pattern, which I'd say is a 5-6. The back has a velcro closure and the tail attaches just below.

Strappy Sundress Christmas Dress

Here is my most favourite fabric of the year Sandi Henderson's Farmers Market, in particular Red Vintage Cherries. Love it!

I got the last piece from Kelani and also the co-ordinating Apples in Spring and Red and then made it into the Strappy Sundress, all purchased from Kelani, my favourite online fabric shop.

This is a great dress for twirling!

This pattern is so simple and yet the finished dress is really very special with the elastic back and pretty straps tying in a bow attached to a loop. The skirt part is 2 rectangles (or in my case strips joined together for lack of enough cherries) joined together to make 88 inches of fabric which you need to gather, i.e. lots of fabric involved!!

This is the size 6 and I cut the bodice a little bigger and added an extra row of casing for the elastic back. If I make it again for Lill, I'll have to cut the bodice even bigger as this is a squeeze as it is, great big 5 year old unit she is!

Also, I have to mention my sewing friend Novy, who made this exact dress completely in the cherries for her little girl. It is just gorgeous, check it out on her blog. Thanks Novy for the inspiration!

Labels are here...

...and here is one (exactly as I imagined) on my latest bag, which is an order to become a gift for someone!

I got my labels through Apparel Labels, the same place as Lilly's school clothes labels which have been great. And can you see the cute tea cup hiding in the background, its new, did I need it?- no, but it was a bargain at $25 and I couldn't resist it!

Thanks Kelani!

Here is some very lovely mail I received today! From the fantastic Kelani Fabric Obsession's Elissa. Check out the Kelani link button to the right.

I recently won a comp just for submitting a photo to the inspiration gallery of something I had made after I had purchased fabric or patterns from Kelani. The prize was a $25 gift voucher. I got some more gorgeous Sandi Henderson Farmers Market and the Make It Perfect - Versatile Wrap pattern, which obviously came to more than $25 but you get that! I think the best thing about Kelani is the free postage together with the personal service and quickest delivery, the prices compare with anything available here in Australia at the moment. Thanks Elissa.

The vintage cherries fabric, on top in the pic, is going to be turned into a christmas dress for Miss Lill. I really wanted to do the Strappy Sundress like Novy's, but I won't have enough so I have to come up with something else...

L O V E purple

I am not sure that many people are going to like this outfit (no particular reason, just not everyone's cup of tea)...but that's ok, cause I DO!!! And so does Kimmy (my second best friend, that is a joke by the way!) who hung out with me while I made it. We had heaps of fun and I made plenty of mistakes due to laughing so hard at Tonia Todman jokes and remembering our old days of making hairclips using hot glue guns to stick massive flowers to stuff. We are sure the glue fumes made us go troppo.

So this is a vintage tablecloth turned into a twirly size 5 Simplicity skirt like this one and a matching chesty bonds singlet in size 8 with LOVE appliqued on.

Luckily I decided to make a few things that are not in Lilly's size otherwise this one would definitely be going in her wardrobe. And during the fun of making this outfit, we came up with heaps of other ideas for cute singlets using simple words. So watch this space cause there are a heap more coming...

Sesame Street Shorts

These are for Charlie that match Ella's outfit. It's the same old Burda pattern that everyone (my sewing friends listed below that for some reason are not listed below anymore!) is loving at the moment. These ones are a size 4, I'd say they will be a little bit too big for Charlie.

I love this material, why can't they make stuff like this again these days!

Ella's Outfit

My friend Wendy gave me this (Sesame Street) sheet, actually I took it! I said I'd make a pair of Sesame Street shorts for her son, which are cut ready to go. And with the bits left over I made this Simplicity skirt and matching ruffled singlet in size 6. She also handed me this doily which I added as an apron.The idea for the ruffled singlets came from my friend Bianca, who makes the most amazing stuff with Maria. The sheet was actually a Sheridan one and in perfect condition apart from being a little faded. I'd say there is enough left to make another skirt/singlet outfit or a small bag. I hope you like it Ella!

More Madeline

...not so sure about this one! The white apron looks better in normal light (not so shiny) though and I love the blue and green retro floral which I've used before.

The Madeline Dress Meets Old Doily

Here is The Madeline Dress, yet again, in a size 7 using nothing fancy blue floral... ...with what seems to be my favourite red spot for the waistband and a gorgeous old doily for the apron! I didn't cut this doily at all when making the dress. It is just slipped under the waistband, so when little Miss outgrows it, I should be able to unpick and retrieve the doily intact. I am not too sure what the person who made it would say, seeing all those hours of work tacked onto a dress that will no doubt be well worn and loved! But then again, I wasn't the one who dumped it in the Op shop...at least it is getting a second chance at life!...and here is the really cute but tired little girl modelling it... thankyou my gorgeous girl!

See what a packet of Spring Flowering Seeds does...

For Mothers Day, amongst Worm Farms and Royal Albert tea cups I got a packet of seeds, which were purchased completely unsupervised at our school Mothers Day stall-so I think I did pretty well there. So they were scattered, actually dumped in one big clump over the top of the pansies and this is what happened.

Tags for my bags and other stuff, and a cute newly acquired tea cup and saucer (thankyou my bestest friend Kimmy) that just so happens to look perfect with this orphaned plate.

Remember this image...we are hoping it does actually grow into juicy corn, stay tuned for that one too.

Bag for My Mumma

This is a bag for my Mum, she got the very first official Glam Green Bag (thanks again Milly) and needs another! So she picked the material on a recent trip to Spotlight with me and tonight I made it for her. Love you Mum. I wish I had photos of the stuff my Mum used to make when I was little, she was so clever (would still be, but has no time for sewing these days...stay tuned for what she is sooo clever at now in a post to come).

Latest Glam Green Bags

Finally, I've made some more bags...

This Spotty Leopard is already sold! It seems to be a favourite. And in the background you can see my cool not-so-new dresser I've added to my sewing room. I am yet to tidy it up and display all my pretty stuff on it.

And this Retro Summer Chocolate Check (which I've done a couple of times before) is up for grabs. It's listed in my SHOP!

Boys Shorts

Who says Joe boy doesn't get anything made for him! After seeing these shorts made up here and here, I had to make them.I got this pattern and fabric today and went to work straight away (well after the ratbags hit the pillows!) I found the pattern very easy, the way they've done the waistband is so simple compared to others I've done.

Fabric Haul

These are for Glam Green Bag linings! and other projects of course, but mainly bags.

I got 2m of each and I have to say a big thanks Mum for keeping my ratbags so well controlled during the spendup!!!