easter bonnet

This was an Easter gift for our little niece Honor (who is a bit too young to be feasting on chocolate).

The velor was cut from an old hoodie, and made for a very soft bonnet!

Pattern is from Ottobre 4/10.

lovely lounge & cosy cushions

So here's the lounge: cleaned, repaired and slightly modified - goodbye skirt, hello legs! I am so, so happy with how it scrubbed up. We finally brought it inside today, which was just a little bit exciting. It goes kind of well with our other mismatched lounges. And you will be glad to know that I have actually been doing some sewing again - yep, I know... super exciting!! See those colourful cushions? Some were finished about six months ago, and the others I churned out this week. Piping, zips and all. And even though I chose the fabrics over a year ago, I must say they are a perfect match for this couch and really bring it to life. The fabrics are a mix of 'Nicey Jane' by Heather Bailey and 'Love' by Amy Butler.
In case anyone was wondering about the *sleeping* children on the lounge, I can assure you they are not - just happy to get in a photo any way they can!

hello autumn, hello pretty blouse

We pulled some warmer clothes out of the cupboard this morning - some with sleeves, how nice! The freshness in the air is making me feel like Autumn has set in, and I'm loving it. I was probably a little over ambitious dressing the kids in layers this morning - by lunch time they had stripped off and replaced their jeans with shorts. Oh well... it was nice while it lasted.
For those of you that have been reading along here for a while (a long long while) you may remember this sweet little blouse and pretty knitted vest. The vest was knitted by my Mum and the blouse was one I made - for Grace. Its so nice to see them back in use again!

group photo

Finally... the group photo of the mermaids heading up to Queensland for Hope Softies. Packed in like sardines, and looking very colourful all together. For those that are curious, the pattern is from Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love. I did change the instructions slightly to accommodate sewing with felt, and that in turn cut down my sewing time quiet significantly- a big bonus when sewing in bulk. Goodbye lovely Mermaidens, I do hope you all find wonderful homes! 

hope softies

For those of you that like to sew, and love to help those in need, why not pop on over to mon petit poppet and join in Hope Softies. The Queensland floods have been just so devastating and so many families have lost their homes and belongings. Sewing a softie for a child that has lost most (or all) their possessions is a great way to show that you care, especially when you can't be there personally to help. Its something small we sewers can do to help bring some joy back to flood affected children! Mermaiden (above) is my first softie for the cause. The pattern came from Hillary Lang's book Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love. I have a ton of felt left over, so hopefully tomorrow I can get the production line going, and the sweat shop sewing!

Wishing you all the happiest Christmas as we remember the birth of a very special baby, Jesus!

   In the words of a favorite hymn:

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
~ O Holy Night 

We are heading out of town for a couple of weeks, for a much needed break. So it could be a while between posts. So I hope your Christmas is a special one, and somewhere you get to spend time with loved ones and friends.
I have been sewing like mad trying to get things organised for the trip. New covers for the sleeping bags, repairs to another. I have also made a 'bed-in-a-bag' for the port-a-cot and one of the camp stretchers. They have a fitted bottom sheet and top sheet all attached to a drawstring bag (thanks to the preschool sheets for the idea!).  They are going to be great, can't wait to get them into use!

I will be back sometime in the New Year, Happy Holidays!

shorts

New shorts for the boy, made from some pretty cheerful fabric I picked up from Spotlight last summer. It can be so hard to come by decent fabrics for little boys, so when I saw this one I had to add it to the stash. It feels so good to have finally turned it into something wearable, and at the same time made a little more room in the sewing cupboard! I have used this pattern a few times now, and really like it (Ottobre 3/2008). They did turn out a tad longer than I had planned, but at the rate this babe is growing its no issue at all. And our machine/engine loving boy highly approved of the fabric choice, which was a first! Lots of 'brrr brrr, rooom rooom' noises, excited squeals and frantic pointing with pudgy little hands. He is so lovable!

summer frocks

 After pricing summer dresses in the local children's clothes shop, I came home determined to make my own. Sure the one's in the shop were nice, but seriously overpriced for little girls. I have a stash of lovely voile's in the cupboard, so when I saw this gorgeous dress Ansia had made for her daughter, I just had to give it a go. The instructions can be found here on 'From an Igloo'. My girls are so happy with the result. Soft and floaty, feminine and twirly! Grace chose the subtle floral voile which suits her perfectly. She is steering clear of bright colour choices these days. Maeve still loves all things pink, so the checks were her choice. She looks adorable. We had such a lovely afternoon at the beach. The breeze was up, but that didn't stop the squeals of delight as the girls raced up and down the sandy slopes. Jude and I did a little shell collecting. Spring = happy days.

cot bumper

With the sewing machine set up in its new corner, I have been trying to tackle a few old and forgotten projects that needed finishing. A cot bumper was one of them... probably a totally useless item for a umm, err, now 15 month old (!!). Yikes, time has flown. The poor boy has been sleeping in a port-a-cot since he outgrew the bassinet, because I refused to set up the cot until I had the bumper finished. Oh the relief to pack the port-a-cot away! I feel like he had been camping out in the bedroom. His cot now has a small space in the girls room which is working out quiet well. Next job on the agenda is to paint the room that will be his and set it up. I am thinking a soft gray would be nice. Don't hold your breath friends!

quilt love

I feel a quilt (or two) coming on. Every time I pick up this book, I have the urge to sew quilts just like this for my girls. The colours, the triangles and size are just perfect and grab me every time. Hmm, I have piles of vintage sheets which would be ideal for this project. And how cute is Jenny in her green velour romper! I might need to make some of those too. Feeling so inspired!

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!

kids clothes :: day 2

I am back for day two of the Kids Clothes Week Challange over at elsie marley! The objective here was to make a pair of pants my 'skirts-and-dresses-only' girl would actually wear. I thought they turned out pretty cute. When I showed her this morning there was a very long pause before she finally commented, but she is happy with them...phew! The embroidered heart on the pocket was a hit.

kids clothes :: day 1

Here's my first completed item of kids clothing, sewn last night and embroidered on this morning. This is part of Elsie Marley's Kids Clothes Week Challenge. Wow, try saying that really fast with your mouth stuffed full of biscuits. Could be messy.

Anyway, back to the shirt. This one is a baby gift and the pattern is from Ottobre 3/2010. Its the Savanni Voile tunic. Such a sweet pattern, and I am so glad it comes in Maeve's size. You will probably see more of these soon.

kids clothes week

A last minute decision: 

To join in the action over at Elsie Marley's Kids Clothes Week! 

Anyone else in on the fun? 

I will be off for a cup of tea soon, then sew till I drop.

And to get the ball rolling, here is a skirt I made for Grace about two weeks ago (technically cant be counted though). I didn't use a pattern, just based it off an old denim skirt she has worn to death. Seriously, you could put your finger through the fabric! This fabric is a lovely light denim I scored at the Salvo's last time I visited. I have plenty more to make something for Maeve. Now, off for that caffeine fix...