Bit o' glam in the kitchen

I decided to make myself this apron as a trial run to making one up for my stepmums birthday. I didnt want to buy any new fabric for the trial run so it was a case of making do with my stash, I have a lot of groovey fabrics, including these two beaut damasks, but, because I tend to put my prints back onto plain fabrics like denim or corduroy, they all clash with each other. The ginger blossom stripe was the best thing I could get to match with the red/pink damask and the red gingham was the best I manage for the black/white damask. Oh and its a bit shorter than normal because I only had a half yard of the red/pink damask. It looks better longer!

I love your blog

Lovely Ingrid at Lottielulu (I havent forgotten your handbag either!) says she loves my blog. Aaaaawwwwwwwwww. The feeling is mutual because I love hers too! Thanks ingrid for giving me such a lovely award. Here are some blogs I would be delighted to give an "I love your blog" award to (in no particular order):

(1) Quirky threads
(2) Pinklizzy sews
(3) A little spunkiness
(4) Grosgrain
(5) Matt, Liz and Madeline (get your tissues)
(6) Sampaguita quilts
(7) She has the logic of a puggle

Some of my awardee's have already been sent some blog love by others so please dont feel the need to keep on lovin'. But if you do want to share some more love around here are the rules:
1. Choose seven of your favourite blogs to nominate and link back to them
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award
3. Leave a message on the blogs that you've nominated
4. Post the award on your blog (optional)

Its true love

I am completely and utterly head over heels in love with this fabric by Alexander Henry. Its called "Traffic Jam". I took possesion of a scant half yard last night and couldnt help myself but immediately make it up into this pair of shorts for George.

I already have 1 more yard of this delicious fabric the way and am thinking of getting a few more yards just to tuck away somewhere, so I never run out of it. You know how some fabrics just make you happy when you look at them? Well, for me, this is one of those fabrics.

For all the sewers out there, especially those who sew for little boys, this shorts pattern is Burda 9793. It comes in sizes 2-6, which is a good range of sizes! I have been searching for ages for a size 2 boys shorts pattern that wasnt just a basic elastic waisted pair with no pockets etc. I had been finding that most of the boys patterns for proper shorts tended to start at size 3 for some reason. Its a lovely little pattern, roomy but not too baggy. The pants/shorts have inset pockets, a mock fly flap and optional bum pockets, which are features I always like to add into boys shorts or pants made with printed cottons otherwise they have a tendency to look like Pyjama pants.

Hat

I made George this cute little bucket hat and in an effort to get him to keep it on his head I used fabric featuring some of his favourite animals. Looks like it worked!

Its taken straight from Butterick 4531. Its a great little boys bucket hat pattern (plus about half a dozen girlie styles). This is the largest size (XL) and is too big for George, who is not quite 2, so I am guessing that the pattern would be suitable for kids up to about age 3yrs.

This is what he did with the hat the first time I put it on his head. It was only when I pointed out the animals on it and got his big sisters to wear it a few times did he finally insist on it being "MINE!!!!!"

Tin whistle September 08

I have been doing lots of orders for custom pram accesories the last few weeks, as well as the occasional dungaree order. On the side I am also trying to build up stock for another market. I think it might be the Mathilda's Market on 16th November, but I havent confirmed this (with the organisers or with David who will need stay home with the kids). I am also trying to squeeze in fun sewing around all this too.. you know stuff for my family or things that just take my fancy. I am dreaming about jeans for David, a new set of curtains for the bathroom, a couple of summer tops for myself, an apron for my Step-mother for her birthday. Anyway, enough of that. Lets get back to tin whistle in September...

Size 1-2, choc cord with pink and brown "barcode" lining and pockets.

Size 2 Dungaree's in demin with red damask lining, pockets and detail on bum pockets.

Hangbag in cherry and geometric floral fabric. I played around with a zipper in this bag, It worked well, but because its basically impossible to source reversible zippers in the right length the bag loses is "reversible" function.

Hangbag in "handbag" mode


Jungle pram liner. This one had black microfleece on the reverse. I love this fabric so much and George is so into animals at the moment that I decided to make one for my pram(s).
This is what I put on the reverse side of my liner. Its from 'The very hungry caterpillar' range by Andover fabrics. It was origionally intended for my new (to me) Bugaboo Cameleon (AKA storage place for my half completed sewing projects) but decided that it looked too good to be stuck in the sewing room, so now its on my orange mountain buggy and gets an outing a couple of times a day.


Bugaboo Cameleon hood in brown chocolate corduroy and lined with Oilily kimono blosson fabric.



Bugaboo cameleon hood in animal damask fabric (it has all sorts of quirky things in it like skulls, ladybirds, pigs, dainty birds etc) and lined with a red/pink gingham. This hood was a custom order for someone with a grey base and two sets of toppings, red and pink. The owner wanted a hood that would co-ordinate with both sets of toppings.

Pram liner and stowable blanket in 70's guitars and pink chenille. This one went all the way to the UK!

A bit of mending...

Matilda has a pair of pants that she just loves. They are part of the Bindi the Jungle Girl range, and Matilda LOVES Bindi Irwin(I know, I know! She is the child beauty pagent equivalent of the conservation world... but at least her message is conservation... right?). Anyway, back to the pants... I remembered ages ago reading on a blog somewhere a neat idea for lengthening a pair of pants that otherwise still fit. So I gave it a go on Matilda's 'Bindi' pants.

Before...


After...
NOTE... make sure you make each tube of fabric the same length... or you will have to do a two tone effect like I hav eon the right hand leg. Although I think it looks so good I am going to claim it as deliberate!

While still on the subject of rebirthing clothes...a while back I made this rainbow skirt, which Elizabeth has hardly worn becaues she didnt like how the drop waist panel was not in a rainbow stripe (sigh). So this week I removed the drop waist and turned it into a MINI-rainbow-twirl-skirt. Elizabeth immediately put the skirt on and starting dacing around the living room test out the twirl effect. George then happened along and insisted on being part of the action. I snapped these photo's, which, I am sure, he will find extremely embarrassing in future years! I am pleasantly surprised at how well the skirt sat on a child of size 2 without looking ridiculous, considering it was designed for an 8 year old.

I have had quite a few orders go out this week for tin whistle pram accessories. I will wait a few more days for them to arrive at their destinations and then I will blog the photo's.

Titchy clothes

I sent off my first parcel of titchy clothes for babes born early... you can read all about the project here. Basically a bunch of sewing girls on Essential baby are working hard to stock Darwin Hospital NICU with non-hospital issue clothes for premmie babies. Something made with love and hope in bright cheerful fabric. All babies deserve to wear something gorgeous made just for them!

I used a modified version of this pattern here. Trust me to always change things about a bit as I sew! Please dont take that to mean I think the original pattern is in some way defective, most of my changes were born of laziness.

The first thing I did was to make the front pattern piece the same as the back pattern piece and then I also fully lined the tops so that they are reversible. I find doing it this way quicker and neater than fiddling around with bias binding. The next change I made was to make the tops close at the side, rather than the back, this was because the snaps on my snap machine are reasonably thick, and would poke into a baby. Placing them at the side gets them out of the way and was quicker than the alternative of having to sew on velcro or smaller press studs. I also played with making the tops less A-line (so the boys wouldnt look like they were wearing a pinny) but it involved adding in little tabs so that the snaps could go on- not sure if the extra work is worth it or not (I will have to wait and get some feedback on that from the organiser of the project). The last change I made was to downsized the medium size to make a micropremmie size (I hope!) . I could have traced off the small size from the pattern link above, but at the time I was ready to cut out the fabric the computer was turned off I was too lazy to turn it on.

All in all these are heaps of fun to do, quite addicitive and a GREAT way to use up scraps. I tried to spend the sewing time reflecting about the incredibly hard journey premmie babies, their mums and dads and any siblings must go through. I just hope the parents of babies that end up wearing these can feel some of the well wishes and love and hope that have gone into their making.

The side-closing reversible premmie top

Slimmed down boys version with side tabs (made from girly guitar fabric. DOH!)

Nine completed "medium" size tops (I am guessing they would fit 30+ weeks)

7 completed "small" tops. I think these would be micro-premmie size
Just to give you a vague idea of size... medium top next to a regular sized banana
Small and medium tops next to each other.
Baby blankets are approx 50cm square with the edges rounded so I could do a rolled hem on the edge.