Wordless Weekend

The Mad Hatter

It seems that summer has finally arrived here in good ol' NZ and of course with the arrival of summer comes the slip slop slap of sunscreen, topped off with a hat to cover tender young faces (the kids of course - mine is already like an old leather boot after 34 years of sun exposure).

I have trawled the net for a free online pattern but they all seem to be a bit sparse or not the shape that I want. Next stop - Burda books. Although I no longer get Burda magazines I have quite a sizeable stash of them waiting to be used and whaddaya know - baby hat AND toddler hats. (7/2008 for sizes 38, 42, 48cm circumference and 4/2009 for 48, 50 ,52cm circ).

I had imagined that hats would be (a) difficult to sew and (b) require special materials that I would have to go and buy but I'm pleased to report that it was easy peasy and only required fabric and regular interfacing.

Here is the result:

The fabric I used was a Japanese quilting cotton I picked up from Spotlight awhile ago. I wish I had got more - I love it.

After Milly's haircutting incident recently, the more hats she owns the better so I intend on churning a few more of these out. Her hairstyle is now looking remarkably similar to this dude...

Wordless Weekend

Babushka Love

Finally, finally, FINALLY, somebody in NZ is importing and selling the beautiful babushka fabric that I love so much yet have never been able to get before. The online seller, Stitchbird Fabrics, also has some other gorgeous Japanese fabrics as well as Saffron Craig, Heather Ross and lots of spots (which I looooove).

I couldn't wait to make up a dress for Milly and I've even made up a few to sell online. Here she is in the Babushka/green spot combo:

Trying to get her to stand still is a trick I'm still to master and getting clear pics of a moving target is totaly outside my realm of expertise when it comes to the camera. Here it is on the hanger:

I've been pretty busy of late - now that Noah is at school Milly need's a lot more attention and my evenings are spent making Christmas pressies. Here's the list;

For Milly

Apron

Softie - Done

Felt Food

For Noah

Apron

Softie

Time is a-tickin now that there is less than a month until Christmas - eeeeek!

Baby Shoes

One of the best patterns in the sewing calendar I bought is the Stardust Shoes pattern. A friend has just had a baby boy so I was able to whip these shoes up in less than an hour.

They are made using a scrap of really cute Japanese linen that I got for $1 in the scraps bin at my local fabric shop and are lined with spotty cotton. I used 2 layers of polar fleece for the sole which is so lovely and soft for little baby feet.

If you would like to make these and don't have the sewing calendar, fear not, the free pattern is also available here.

Sew! by Cath Kidston

When I heard that Cath Kidston had another book out I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. After feeling a bit lukewarm about her previous offering Make!, this book didn't disappoint. There are 40 gorgeous projects in here and the best bit is that you also get all the supplies (precut fabric, buttons and a woven Cath Kidston sew-in logo) for making the bag on the cover. All the patterns are full sized which is such a bonus because if you're like me, grading up a pattern just isn't going to happen. This is such a pretty book with typical Cath Kidston lovliness - I could look at it for hours. Here are a few of my favourite projects:

The Verdict - rush out and get this book, especially if you are intending to sew a few Christmas pressies.

Wordless Weekend