denim bag

We had a 5yr olds party to go to today, so I whipped up this denim bag for the birthday girl. Hope she likes it! My big girl certainly liked it, and had a little play with it before we gave it away. If you want the pattern its free here. I had some issues with the shapes on it being way too big, but managed to scale them down to fit. The colours on the top photo aren't so accurate, they were much brighter like the bottom photo.

vintage coat

I finally got this coat finished last night- it took a lot longer than I planned. The outer blue fabric is a piece I found at the Salvos last winter, held together with some rusty pins, looking and smelling like it had seen better days. Its amazing how a little napisan can bring old fabric back to life!
I opened it out and it looked like just the right amount for a little coat, took it home and measured it...and would you believe it- it was exactly the amount I needed right down to the last centimeter! 115cmX140cm exactly! This was the second time this has happened to me. A month earlier I was at the Salvos hunting for fabric to make myself a coat, I found a piece I really liked (and the choice was very limited), took it home to measure and it was the exact measurement as well! Divine intervention? Absolutely. God really does know the desires of our heart, as small and insignificant as they may be. I had never made a coat before and didn't want to experiment on expensive suiting fabric. I think I paid about $12 for the two pieces- bargain!
The pattern is not an original vintage, its Ottobre "girls wool coat" 5/2006. And a quick word about matching up those checks- remind me never to do it again! I am sure it doubled the time spent meticulously pinning, cutting and matching checks.
Grace chose pink for the lining, which surprisingly turned out a pretty match. Somewhere I went wrong and the lining was too short, so I added a line of the pocket fabric to the hem, still too short, so I added a little lace and it was perfect. Very feminine. I also stitched the height on a little tag for future reference.
I will enter this in the Crafty Mamas May competition and see how it goes.

monday

Mondays are a slow day for us, no appointments or commitments. Today was one of those days. I put some lamb bones and bits in a pot when I woke to make an all day stock, nourishing traditions style. We then had a friend and her little girl come to visit with good news (baby on the way!). I think I now have about 7 good friends who are pregnant...am I missing out on something here? When it was rest time I did a little sewing on Grace's jacket. If I get some buttons for it tomorrow, hopefully I will have it finished that night.

Here's a little glimpse:

weekend

How we spent our weekend:

running

playing

eating

creating

relaxing

smiling...in scary kind of ways

Its almost over, but we have had a top weekend. We are trying to make it a new rule in our house to visit the beach each weekend, and so far all of us are loving it. We're not big on swimming at this time of the year, but we are loving the fresh, salty air and warmth of the sun. Grace is the only one happy to brave it and get wet. Yes, sadly we are the indoors, sheltered types who really really need to venture away from the home comforts (computers/sewing machine/guitars/books) and get a good dose of Vitamin D.
I was lecturing Luke the other day about how he spends 95% of his day indoors, to which I was quickly corrected to 100%. Its kind of sad (but funny at the same time) because we realised that he gets in the car (which is undercover) to go to work at the office (which has undercover parking) and then reverses the process to come home at night. A big fat "0" for sunshine. Hence, the new rule to visit the beach on weekends.

I have been sewing this weekend too (surprise, surprise). The work in progress is a jacket for Grace, made from fabric I found at the Salvos last year. Photos to come.
Crafty Mamas is running a competition this month for a project that utilizes vintage/recycled materials, so I am thinking of entering.
Speaking of competitions, the amazing Bloesem Kids is having a giveaway contest. Check them out and let me know if you join in on the challenge!

more tops

So these are the other tops I made last time I was on holidays. They are for Grace since she has outgrown all of last winters clothes.
The first two are the same pattern- "Polka dot" blouse, Ottobre 1/2008. I think these tops are super cute, trust me they look much better on. Grace has refused to wear the red one on many occasions because she thinks it looks like a paint shirt (we have red paint shirts at playgroup that have gathered necks and sleeves!).
Then there is the dog hoodie. When I saw this fabric I couldn't walk past it! I gulped at the price, but knew how happy it would make my little dog lover. The pattern was New Look (kids tracksuit pattern) and I added a pocket on the front.
The stripy top is a boys pattern, but I liked the wide cuffs on the sleeves. Its a really wide cut shirt, too wide for my delicate daughter. I have tons of the fabric left, so I will make another one in the same pattern as the apple shirt.

clay creatures

Check out these little dudes. These are Grace's creations from playgroup. The left is a person, and on the right we have an Echidna. I love how her person looks so much like the way she would draw a person, and I love the fact that she created them all on her own with no adult assistance.

nanna knits

How good is my Mum! She has been knitting this little vest for Grace, and it just arrived today. It is absolutely beautiful Mum- thankyou so much! I really, really love the little flower...so pretty. And thanks to the lovely Lisa for the pink/silver stripy top from her shop. Perfect combination.

apple shirt

Every time we stay at my parents I pack the sewing box full of patterns and fabrics for my sewing holiday. Last time we were there I think I arrived home with about 4 new shirts for Grace and a million others patterns traced to sew once I got home. This shirt is one of my favorites, because I absolutely love the apple fabric! I will post pictures of the other shirts I made soon.

doctors

What else would you play when you're feeling sick, doctors of course!
This blog was suppose to be pictures of thing I have made, but sometimes all I want to add is pictures of my girls...because they are just so lovable!
Actually I did make Maeve's pants recently. The are 'Susette sash pants' from Ottobre 1/2008. This is not the best photo of them. They turned out really well, but next time I would lengthen them quite a bit and use a prettier fabric (once again trying to use up all my fabric scraps).

Redondo

Grace was up on Saturday night with a tummy bug (or eaten too much of a bad thing while we were out during the day). It meant that we had to spend the day at home Sunday and missed out on seeing some of her favorite friends- she was totally devastated! In order to ease the disappointment I asked if she would like me to make something for her, and she requested a pink twirly skirt (the kind that flares out when you spin around). Lucky for me I had not long ago ordered the pattern for a 'Redondo' skirt by Studio Tantrum. I didn't have much pink fabric that was suitable, so we made do with scraps of pink, green and white.



I copied the pattern over breakfast and she watched me sew throughout the day, passing pins and chatting away. It was finished before bed time and she was madly twirling away.
The skirt was hung, she went to bed, woke this morning, skirt back on, and has had a very twirly, girly day!