Catching Up

Phew - it's been a while since my last post. Here's a quick catch-up of what I've been up to.

Making baby shoes for the school fair using the same pattern as these:

These are fairly time-consuming to make at around an hour per pair but so cute and so much fun to make. I just wish I'd sewn some when my babies were still babies. Sigh. I had quite the production line going - it was like a proper sweatshop in my sewing room.

I also made dresses for the school fair. The pattern is from Ottobre Spring 2008.

I finally finished a shirt I had cut out for Noah a year or more ago only to find that it was slightly too short. I made him wear it a couple of times anyway! The pattern is from Burda WOF. The pants he is wearing in the last pic are from the same Burda magazine.

He's working that camera and looking FIERCE!

There was a hugs t-shirt for Milly, also a bit on the small side. My kids are growing like weeds! The pattern is from Ottobre Spring 2008.

I've also been making some zippered pouches/makeup bags using various tutorial's however my favourite was this tutorial. It's nice and tidy with the fabric covering the end of the zipper.

And lastly, buying some beautiful new fabrics.

Coming up next post will be my review of Twinkle Sews - it's a goodie.

Sewing HQ

I really love seeing other people's sewing machines and sewing rooms. Maybe it's just because I'm nosy but I do like to see how other people set up their sewing spaces. With the lack of sewing happening at the moment my sewing room is reasonably neat and tidy so I thought it's a good time for a tour of my little piece of the home.

I'm lucky enough to be married to a lovely man who is also a lovely builder, so he has built me a dedicated sewing room just off the main house that is all mine, mine, mine. (No kids allowed!).

The window looks out onto the back yard so I can sew and keep an eye on the kids at the same time. Mum gave me the sewing desk which is fantastic. I have a Mum and 2 Mum-in-laws who all sew so I've been given a LOT of sewing stuff over the years (yay! for being given sewing stuff!)

Here is the stash (but there's always room for more, lol)

and a bit more here as well:

A bookcase groans under the weight of all my craft books, Burda magazines and patterns, threads and other bits and bobs:

And, most importantly, the machines - both oldies but goodies and both gifted to me by lovely people :)

So that's it - my slice of paradise. I do have another craft book to add to the bookshelf which I will review in my next post 'Twinkle Sews'.

Back to Basics

With all the kid-wrangling going on here over the school holidays there has been practically no sewing time left. Sewing in the evening doesn't really work for me because all concentration is gone by that stage of the day and I usually end up unpicking what little sewing I manage to achieve.

So what's a girl to do? My solution was to do some small projects so that I could get my sewing fix where I could. Enter the 'lavender scented wardrobe hanger'. Because a girl can never have too many lavender scented things. Take one vintage baby's pillowcase (really, did babies have pillows?!) and voila, more lavender filled wardrobe hangers than you can shake a stick at.

Yes Milly, the birdie hanger is yours!

I've also been trying out my (very average) patchwork skills, a la Pink Penguin, but I think I'll be needing a LOT more practice to get to her level of patchwork expertise. (Her blog is definitely worth a look).

Haitian Earthquake

As you will already know, Haiti has been struck by a huge earthquake and it is estimated that as many as 200,000 lives will be lost.

They desperately need money so if you would like to donate, click here to be linked through to the New Zealand Red Cross Appeal. To have a $20 donation added to your phone bill, call 0900 73326.

New Year, New Header

To welcome 2010 I thought a blog update was in order so a new header it is. These are wardrobe hangers I made as Christmas pressies and they are filled with lavender and smell absolutely gorgeous. I have a big bag of dried lavender in the sewing room now and every time I walk in the smell is lovely.

Also for Christmas I made aprons for the kids, the pattern was from Kath Kidston's 'Sew'.

A dress for Milly to wear on Christmas day (oh shirring, how I love thee!).

and lastly some felt donuts to go with Milly's new teaset.

Notice the scratched up nose? My poor baby did a nose-dive onto the concrete a couple of days before Christmas. She's lucky she didn't break it and there were lots of tears. Poor wee angel.

Another Buttercup Bag

This one was for my MIL for Christmas. I really love this pattern - pleats and piping, how could you go wrong with that!

The fabric is Saffron Craig's Dandelion Circles (this fabric is very eco friendly and chlorine free) and the lining was one of the treasures I picked up at Stash Rehash. I made the piping and the covered buttons to match from some fabric I had in the stash. Because this was just a medium weight cotton it was all interfaced to give it a bit of oomph.

I would like to have added some o-rings on the straps but I have no idea where to buy them from in New Zealand (if anybody knows please drop me a line) and I didn't have time to order them from Aussie.

I do have some other handmade Christmas pressies still to show so I will load the photo's of these in the next couple of days. In the frenzied rush of getting everything done in time the blog has been a bit neglected but things are starting to get back to normal around here now so more time to blog now that preschool has started again.

I'm a Winner!

I have been lucky enough to win a giveaway over at All Things Mum. Go and check out her beautiful blog and her gorgeous newborn baby.

Milly has claimed them as her own already so I'm going to make her a skirt from the bird fabric and a top from the purple/white fabric (which is even more beautiful in person).

Thanks so much Kim - I love them!