festive buntings

240 triangles sewn.
30+ meters of bias tape.
12 buntings later,
and my Christmas sewing is complete!
They are now all handed out, so I can finally upload photos.

They were all slightly different. Some just red and white, and others with Christmas fabric mixed in. Do you realise how difficult it is to find decent Christmas fabric? The holly print was the best I could find that matched what I already had.

We are having a lovely holiday so far.
Precious time spent with family, and plenty of steady rain which is much needed.
Just beautiful.

christmas 09

Sorry again for the huge blogging pause, things around here have been so hectic!
I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas yesterday, celebrating the birth of Jesus with family and friends. We certainly did, despite both the girls being unwell. Poor Grace was running a fever all day. She spent most the time lying on the couch, but still managed to enjoy the day.
Hasn't my baby boy grown! He is such a sweet little man.

I had wanted to sew the kids an outfit each for Christmas, but didn't quiet get there.
Here's the skirt I made for Grace, I ended up buying a top to go with it. Pattern is from Ottobre 1/09 with a few changes. Fabric is by Kaffe Fassett. I am so in love with his fabrics right now! Fresh, summery and gorgeous.

Here is the skirt for Maeve. Fabric is also Kaffe Fasset. The lace was some I found at the Op shop, and was a perfect match.

I also made her a top to go with it on Christmas eve (not really something to write home about, but she loved it all the same). There is a giraffe appliqued on the front.

And some new gear for Jude.
The baby essentials, plenty of cute bibs and a sleeveless bodysuit. These ones were so fun to make!

I stenciled the designs on using freezer paper. The wolf and crocodile were from this book, and the fish were my idea.

The clouds on the bodysuit were also from the same book.
This was also my first attempt at fold over elastic on a garment. It was quiet easy to do, and turned out fairly neat.

Another suit the same I made a few weeks ago and he has lived in.

envelope necks are great!


And this is a little pen and notebook wrap I made for my sister in law Kate.
I made up my own pattern for this one, to suit the notebook and pens I had.
Fabric is a beautiful natural linen, with a small piece of vintage floral fabric.

Phew! I really should update my blog more...sorry for the long post.
I have lots more to show you, but we are heading off for holidays in the morning (yay!!).
Then we will be home and getting things ready for Grace's first year at school. Lots of changes coming up.

Happy holidays and New Year to all of you!
xx

wordless weekend #9

(cicada shells are considered 'treasure' around here. Especially when painted with glue and dusted with glitter)

wordless weekend #8

Geninne's art

Let's just say I am quietly excited about the prints I ordered off Etsy...happy (early) birthday to me!! Geninne is the talented lady behind each of these amazing artworks, and I can't wait to have them hanging on my walls.

Don't ask me how I narrowed it down to these three prints, I could have closed my eyes and clicked the mouse on any artwork and been 100% happy with my purchase.

So you really must (right now) pop on over to her blog and Etsy shop for a good dose of Ooo-ing and ahhh-ing.

Enjoy your weekend!

redondo

Another skirt for a little friend of ours, this time it's the 'redondo'.

Ahh...still in love with the rolled hem my over locker so easily does.
Such a neat finish!

And here's what the skirt looks like when you lie it out flat.
One big circle. This skirt is for the girl that seriously loves to twirl.
Looks amazing in motion.

Here's another one I made a while back. Slightly different, I added frills in the seams.
And if you like this pattern you should check out Sara's version of the rainbow Redondo.
So fun!

pink

This singlet is one I decorated for my youngest girl a few months back.
I have had the lace butterfly sitting in the stash for years now, so it was nice to finally put it to use. I also did a bit of beading over the butterfly and around the arm holes to pretty it up.
It's nice to have some hand sewing like this to do while watching a movie, feels like you are being slightly productive at the same time as being entertained.

The skirt was one I made up for a little friend of Maeve's.
No pattern here. Just guessed by using Maeve's measurements and it fitted well.
(thanks Libby for the fabric!)

And for some more pink love, head over to this post on Katherine's blog.

skirt to dress

Here's a dress I put together last weekend, after chopping up an old skirt that belonged to my sister (Cath, remember this one?). It was so easy to do.
I cut off about a 30cm piece from the top of the skirt and turned it into the bodice. Because the skirt was lined, there was enough fabric there to line the bodice as well. I used the bodice pattern from the 'gracie' dress (how appropriate!) by Portabellopixie.

The bodice turned out pretty huge and had a serious plunge neckline going on.
And since I think little girls should be sweet and modest, I added a frill around the V neck for coverage. Looks much better!
I gathered what was left of the original skirt, and stitched it to the bodice.
And the dress was complete- easy!

Here's my pile of left over fabric, zip, tag etc...so as you can see, not much fabric went to waste.

wordless weekend #7

tinkering

We have been doing a bit of much needed organising and cleaning around the house. So when I was clearing piles of junk and paperwork off the top of the piano, I had the sudden urge to pull it all apart and see if we could find out why middle C was no longer working (all after midnight I might add). We found the problem, and with a little felt and glue were able to fix it.
The poor piano has been so neglected as of late, and it was so nice to have a little tinker on it. Its been years since having lessons, but it's amazing what comes back. Sort of like a long lost friend.
And then I felt a little sad for all the years gone by that I haven't played, and the skills that were forgotten. I would be so nice if I could find/make the time to play, especially for the kids. I would really love to be able to play songs they could sing along to.
It's funny the whole parenting thing. When you are expecting your first child, you have such grand plans of what you are going to teach them, the life experiences you will share. And then all of a sudden you find yourself with two, then three children and the days somehow become very full all on their own.
Just to keep on top of the washing, have the children fed, clothed and happy, with dinner on the table every night is a real achievement. And the finer details of parenting, the extra skills and creative experiences you were going to teach have slowly slipped into the background and you realise that these things are no longer as important as you first thought, for now anyway.
I guess eventually we will get there. And in the mean time we will focus on loving relationships and growing together as a family. Its a beautiful thing watching the bond form between the children, how they care for each other, the jokes the older two share. Of course its not all love and laughter, there are plenty of 'moments' to be had.
But I do like how the precious moments between them are the ones I remember and hold on to.

bow

Another new shirt for Maeve to add to her growing summer collection.
I purchased a plain white tee then made a bow from some fabric that use to belong to my Grandma. Stitched the bow on by hand, and voila!
Fresh, funky and ready to go.

wordless weekend #6

bird pinny

A friend recently had a gorgeous baby girl Neve,
and this was the outfit I made for her to grow into.
She has her own sewing business here, making beautiful clothes for little people.
The pinny is from Ottobre 1/08. I have made this one a couple of times before here and here, and its such a great pattern. It amazing how different you can make the same pattern, just by changing the fabric, adding pockets or applique etc. The leggings were from Ottobre 3/09.

And don't you just love the bird fabric! That fabric shop I was telling you about a few posts ago, has relocated even closer to my house. Yep, dangerous huh! I am rather excited. Needless to say, the bird fabric (and the cute polka dot binding) was purchased there last week. Give them another month or so and they will be sooo sick of me...haha!

rainy day prints

Yesterday was an indoor day, thanks again to the weather.
We did some printing with the end of toilet paper rolls, some folded into shapes for variety.
Just thought I would share, because sometimes when your stuck indoors with small children, it can be tough coming up with an easy craft to keep them amused!