You say "Summery" I say "bbbrrrrrr".....

I felt a bit of a thrill today to see the Flower Power pants I made for Kate featured on the Sew Mama Sew blog.

Funny thing is, the inspiration for the post is 'Summery, sunny images'. And I made the pants for Kate because we are now into Winter and she doesn't have enough warm pants (plenty of gorgeous tunic dresses and tights, but do you think for a minute she will wear them.....oh no!). Then again, we are talking winter in Queensland - and today is a chilly 22 degrees (that's about 70 degrees Fahrenheit for those using the Imperial system)...which I'm sure is considered Summery weather in many places.

Oh, and the gorgeous jumper you can see there is the one I would love her to wear with the pants. If she would consent to wearing more than one layer of clothing (which she won't). I bought it from a local yarn fair and it is all handknit and so so soft. And so far it hasn't been worn...squealing and tantrums if I even pull it out of the wardrobe with hopeful raised eyebrows...

But anyway, back to the pants. Very stoked to have them shown in such good company - as always there's plenty of gorgeous creations on the Sew Mama Sew blog - check out the beautiful Summer Dress by Ibi - so gorgeous. The simple button closure is killing me....if only I could get Kate into a dress like this....in fact, if only she would even consent to wear a dress occasionally...**sigh**...and who raised such a strong-willed girl anyway!!!

Thank-you Beth for the inclusion in such a great blog. You made my day :)

Flower power

I think I've been channeling my inner hippie lately....


Genuine flower power pants for Kate, made from a 1970s pattern. The fabric is a really fine corduroy, and it sits beautifully. Made in under an hour during her nap. I love projects like this - ie. instant gratification.

And a new reversible bag for the shop.


This fantastic fabric was actually an ironing board cover.


Reverse side is made from blockout curtain fabric.


Art cards (or ACEOs) from Jellygnite - an Etsy purchase I couldn't resist.


They are now making me smile as they brighten up my sewing space.


They came in a gorgeous package with a lovely postcard and little handmade notebook too. Isn't it funny how the packaging and little extras count for so much? It just feels so thoughtful and personal. You don't get that from ordering things from big corporate companies :). Oh, and Ali has also started a new blog (called Charlie and Grace), full of everything from art, craft, sewing, book reviews, and lots of retro loveliness! I highly recommend it - check it out :)

Lastly, I know I'm late for the 'this is...' meme (the theme this week, as chosen by Quilting Mick, is the space in which I create). But I still can't decide if I can bear to show you my sewing space in all its messy glory. It's really a disgrace at the moment, and I'm worried that a photo of it might be, like, oversharing, you know? And I know, I could just clean it up - but (puts whiny voice on now) I have SOOOOO much to do this week, and if I start then I won't be able to stop there, and I'll end up cleaning and sorting the whole rumpus room, and then I'll notice the outdoor area under the deck and suddenly I'll be sweeping and tidying and gardening, and sorting out sand-pit toys.....aaaaahhhhhh. A job for next weekend I think (*wink*)....

Oh bugger it. Here it is, don't say I didn't warn you!


Slinking away to feel embarrassed now....

Forty three smiles for me :)

Thanks to everyone who left a comment, and a happy thought on my blog this week. Each one gave me a smile. And I really needed some extra smiles this week. Today alone I've had two sick kids (one with croup), a trip to the doctors, and I'm on day three of severe sleep deprivation. I know it's getting bad when the voice in my head that tells me to stay calm and it will pass, is starting to get drowned out by the voice that says "for $%^$^$% sake everyone, just leave me alone for one second!!!!!"....And then of course I get to do that lovely pendulum swing between being ridiculously frustrated with my grumpy, demanding, sleepless ill children, and then horribly guilty for having such feelings when they clearly just need extra patience and humouring. I'm sorry, usually I do like to keep this blog as my happy place..but...some days are just like that.


But back to happy stuff! I did print off all the names of people who left comments, put them into my trusty lotto bin (aka, my apron pocket) and let Lee do the honors. And the name he pulled out was...


...Hyena in Petticoats

So Leah, if you want to email me your address I will get this little sucker posted off to you next week (the bag I mean, and I wasn't implying that it sucked, although maybe it was a Freudian slip, as I did have a moment of anxiety when Lee pulled your name out, as I was kinda hoping that the winner would be someone whose sewing skills I wasn't just a bit intimidated by.....okaaay, I'm rambling now aren't I? I always do this when I'm tired. Anyway, I do hope you like it....)

I really am losing the plot....I was going to post some pants I made for Kate, but because of the full-on chaotic week I had, I made them (at night, because I REALLY needed some quiet time to do something constructive yet meditative) then forgot to take a photo of them until the end of the day after they had been worn and covered in crumbs and avocado, so I think I will wait until they are washed and ironed and look all nice, and..... aahh, what the hell, here they are anyway, creased as all getup and covered in food. Noice! They do actually look quite cute on.


And yes they did get washed after this (although given how tired I've been it is lucky they didn't get put back into the cupboard while on the hanger - ooohhh, extra noice!).


I really like them with these shoes, so for some bizarre reason I thought I'd hold the pants over them, so you can get an idea of how they look together. Is this a bit weird? I don't even know now - too tired to have any perspective I think.

Oh god, can I blame my above-mentioned sleep deprivation for this rambling nonsensical post? I promise I'll be back to my regular programming by the next post (it's the weekend, so at least Matt and I can do 'sleep shifts' if we need to. Yay!!!)

Goodnight everyone. May you all have restful and rejuvenating sleep...or at least, just......sleep.

xxx

Show and tell

It's an unfortunate thing that the more there is to blog about, the less time there is to actually do it. Well, that's how it goes with me anyway. Been so busy doing stuff I've had no time to write about it - plus we are having Internet issues at the moment which is making things very hard....gggrrrr....

So anyway, here is a quick show and tell of what went on last week. First cab of the rank is...what a surprise...bags!

Three bags for three lovely ladies I used to work with. I'm still enjoying trying out different shapes, styles, and methods of construction. It's just such fun! And all three are a mixture of new fabrics and Op Shop finds. There's something about the mixture of old and new that quite appeals to me.


Clutch in Heather Bailey fabric from her Freshcut range, with a beautiful glass button from my Grandma's collection. Lined with fabric from an old sheet.


Shoulder bag in Amy Butler fabric, from her Lotus range, and cuff, straps and inside in vintage denim remnants I found in an Op Shop. More old buttons from Grandma's button tin.


Shoulder bag in soft quilting fabric found at Spotlight, with vintage designer fabric found as a remnant in an Op Shop, and thrifted red cord remnant for strap. And of course, another button from Grandma's trusty button tin (going to have to start replenishing the vintage button stash soon - ebay here I come!)

Also whipped up a couple of things for Kate this week. First was a twirly skirt I made by following a tutorial at this link http://www.home.earthlink.net/~cornpatchcreations/twirlyskirt.htm



I also made some light summery pants from the same old sheet I used for the inside of the Heather Bailey clutch. The pattern was actually a pajama pants pattern that I had used to make pjs for Lee, and I just altered it to have more of a wide leg and funky cuff, rather than the tapered in look. I was quite happy with how they turned out, and they literally took me about 20mins to whip up. Yay! I love a bit of instant gratification.



And that's about it for the 'making' stuff. Poor kids had a lovely bout of 'hand, foot and mouth' virus (not to be confused with the deadly 'foot and mouth' disease you get from cattle). So a few days of fevers, crankiness, and awful foot blisters and mouth ulcers. Boy it's gotta be tough being a kid sometimes. But all's good now and we came out of quarantine on the weekend - whew!

Looking forward to a slightly more relaxed week this week. Yes I know, famous last words....