happiness

Happiness arrived on my doorstep today, thanks to Lilymeru in Japan! Lovely pieces of Liberty, which I am thinking of turning into a throw quilt for the lounge, and the floral's on the left will make something sweet for the girls room- yet to be decided. And how cute are the postage stamps, I wish they made ours as pretty as this!

kids clothes :: day 3

Well, yesterday wasn't quite as productive as I would have liked. Nothing got sewn, or even cut out for that matter. I traded in my sewing hour for a nice dinner out with my man, which was totally worth it! I will probably have to put the next few days on hold as well, as we are off the the Blue Mountains for a weekend away with only one child!
Anyway, here are some fabrics and pattern I have out to get creative with. Its easy to see what season we are coming into just by looking at the fabrics and colours I have chosen. Only 18 days till Winter!
I am thinking of Sewing the Oliver + S Sunday Brunch Jacket for Grace. I would also like to sew her a floral gathered top of some sort to go with the Jacket. Maeve seems pretty well off for clothes at the moment as I just unpacked all Graces old size 3 winter clothes. I might make Jude some pants similar to the ones I just made for Maeve, and he needs some fleecy sleep suits to wear over his pj's with the cooler weather coming. Hopefully I will report back Sunday!

shopping for stretch

Well, thank you all for the lovely comments on the baby boy onesie tutorial (which of course can be made for little girls too!). I am so overwhelmed with the response! Please let me know if you make one. I would love to see how it turned out and hear how you went sewing with stretch.

A few of you have asked where to buy quality knits from, so I will do my best to answer.
Remember to buy knits that are mostly cotton (or bamboo) with a small percentage of lycra (or spandex, or elastometric). The lycra helps the cotton to hold its shape and wash and wear well, which is what we want for kids clothing. It also has more stretch to it and stretches in all four directions. That makes it comfy to play in, and perfect for growing in.

For those of you that live in Australia,
I have managed to find the odd decent knit at Spotlight or Lincraft, but I am finding it harder and harder recently. There are a few shops online which are great:

• Crafty Mamas. They sell a quality solid coloured knit called Stella, as well as Campan stripped knits which are excellent (more here).
• Bamboo Fabric Store. Here are their knits.

For the US ladies,
I cant recommend any of these stores personally, but they look like they have a fantastic range of knits:

• The Fabric Fairy. Wow, good thing I don't live on your side of the world, my husband would probably cut up my credit card! They have pages and pages of cotton lycra knits. 
• Bunte Fabrics sell Campan knits which I am pretty sure are made in Germany by Hilco

Hopefully that's a start anyway.
Happy sewing!

red

anyone else partial to a bit of red?

I finally got around to covering the piano stool with a gorgeous piece of vintage red, given to me by the very creative Claire. And yes, it does entice me to sit down and play more often. Much more inviting than the grotty piece of fabric that was on there previously.
Staple guns are so much fun!

And some stunning vintage fabrics sent to me by my sister in law Amanda.
I cant wait to get-a-sewing with these!

vintage surprise

Well well...look what lovely surprises came my way yesterday all the way from Claire in Tasmania. Thankyou so much Claire, I am in vintage heaven! This is my 'vintage surprise' for the coat I made.

Lots of lovely purple fabrics that will go perfectly in some quilts I am planning to make for my girls.

And check out the reds in this picture...I have plans for these!

Amazing doilies, lace buttons, ric ric and binding. Isn't the green crocheted doily with pansy's on it a winner.

And some great patterns to get me sewing.

I am feeling completely spoilt, and am still wondering how you managed to fit so much stuff in that package!