Finishes!

Valentine's day rolled around and I found a tutorial for this gorgeous cushion and made it up in less than an hour for a friend! Stuck a fork in the middle since it's going in her dining area! Tutorial can be found at http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2011/02/creative-guest-amy-from-diary-of.html along with a gazillion other fantastic projects! Go check it out!



I love this quilt and it's finally up on my wall! I can highly recommend the tutorial for this Mod Sampler Quilt free from www.ohfransson.com. (she is apparently reworking it as a pattern so stay tuned if you want to give it a go!) It was so quick and easy and fun to do! All the fabrics in this with the exception of a tiny bit of black were from my stash! Win! The various black and white prints are psychadelic and do make your eyes go funny after a while!!! lol! All the prints are bold fun novelty prints... looks great in the playroom!


Finally for today I'm showing you a little quick tute I did (and sometimes I actually feel like I get nothing done!!!) for my DD9. A cute little bunny called Bunny! (http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts/2011/01/its-fluffy-its-stuffy-its-a-bunny.html) Fortunately I happened to have just the right size of fuzzy fleecy stuff just handy! :-)) She has a reversible dress! Very sweet!

Crazy days!

Thought I'd share a little bit about my last couple of days...

Yesterday morning my car wouldn't start... repair man came... declared a flat battery... eventually got it started and took kids to school an hour late...

Went and taught a friend's daughter how to sew on her new machine... patternless 1 hour skirt... wow! How proud and pleased does she look!? So I had just raided my stash and found this 150cm wide fabric which was just the right length! So... simple side seam, zig zag round the top and bottom edges, hem, whack some elastic in... done! She was very happy! Hopefully this is the start of a big sewing career!!!


So I went to school to get the kids... all fine until my almost 2 year old drops a can of coke, which punctures, sprays in huge, rapid spirals around my kitchen coating all the cupboards and floor... yep, every inch! So... mopping, wiping... just what you need before dinner! Every wondered why it's good to get smooth kitchen cupboards rather than those fancy ones with grooves!? Needless to say I didn't renovate this kitchen... grooves galore!

The day continued... suddenly thought it was time to clip my 7yr old son's hair... great idea... until... the size 4 cover fell off and I didn't realise until I'd done a big SHAVE track up the back of his head... aaaaaargh! I mean, how do you FIX something like that?!?! Poor lad! I'm good friends with his former teacher so I asked her to make sure she totally took the mickey out of me when she saw him at school... I was impressed... she obeyed!!! Poor kid!!! It was hilariously funny but I suppose a mother should NOT laugh at such things! His dad, who is very precious about his own hair, was completely unimpressed... which was even funnier! Hey, it will grow back in no time!!


But the day didn't end there... son decides to check his scary hair out using his sister's heart shaped mirror... promptly drops it on the floor... ohh horrors!... smashes into smithereens!!! At that point I was just thinking that maybe it was time I went to bed!!!

Today wasn't much better... car still wouldn't start... new battery on its way... 1 year old falls over bruises her nose... car still won't start... oh, I did manage to fit a little sideways trip into the patchwork shop (don't know HOW that happened!?!!!). Then I went to our school Parent's and Friends' meeting and handed over the job of president! So... now I actually have no schedule... except a 2 hr college course just for fun! 20th Century Theologians... should be sounding educated soon! Hopefully!

Well, there ends the crazy day... hopefully tomorrow will be better... I already have GENEROUSLY offered to stop in at the yarn shop to pick up some needles for a friend who desperately wants to knit something but has to teach children all day... such a shame!!! It will be a total chore to visit the wool shop... have I told you about my knitting stash yet?!? Maybe another day...

Mairi

A spot of dressmaking!

I've been having a little fun lately with the boxes of fabric in my stash!! Oh, and my local sewing shop... Liz's Sewing Centre, Boronia (lovely ladies will serve you in there!)... have a 50% off dressmaking fabric sale... 40% off patchwork fabric...

I decided to break out a little and sew a knit dress for DD1 in size 3... well in advance for next summer! Not my usual colours with the brown background but I'm in love with it! I've never tried lettuce leaf (learn something new every day!) edging before and was quite satisfied with the result!I've also been playing with some summer shirts for myself in satin fabric... not something I've worked with in a long time... but I do have boxes and boxes of fabrics from when I made my own clothes a lot more regularly (pre-kids in reality!!). Also pleased with how this one has turned out (Butterick B5493 for those who are interested) and I think I will be soon using the other 3 appropriate fabrics in my stash for the remaining neckline variations! Very exciting to find a pattern that is simple, quick, comfortable and fits well.


On other matters... we have a new kitten... Patch (don't blame me... I didn't name him!!) DD1 has been having some trouble learning what is "gentle". We are getting there and she loves to carry him around (sometimes almost by the neck but we won't go there!) I promise you don't need to ring animal cruelty... we are keeping a careful eye on her! Anyway, today I took this photo...

Who knew... cats apparently like to watch Playschool!!! He was purring so loud I could hear him from where I was! I think a cautious friendship is blossoming!

Well, DD1 is asleep so I'm off to make the most of it... more photos of WIP will follow shortly!

Have a great day,
Mairi

Plans for the week...

We had a lovely day today with a new family at our church... 4 kids... and the mother still looks fresh and relaxed! Wow! She doesn't craft at all though... perhaps there's something to be said for that considering my manic (but generally enjoyable!) lifestyle! I always find that when non-crafty people come around I keep the door to my studio closed... it's a little embarrassing otherwise... ahem... Personally I can't imagine a life without craft... I would be intolerable to live with!

So, yesterday I promised you a picture of DD8s latest creation at her sewing class... here it is:

The gathered peasant collar, sleeves and waist are kind of cute... as is the fabric! This is probably about the only way such "pretty" fabric will make it into my house!! She really is getting quite proficient at sewing seams and I hope this is a skill which stays with her for life... I need SOMEONE to leave my fabric collection to!!!

Meantime I've been working on another quilt to put on my madeit shop. The top is finished and ready to be loaded on the quilting machine...

This is such a sweet and pretty quilt from a Layer Cake purchased last year at the Craft Show for a bargain price!

This week I hope to make a bunch of library bags, finish my book pockets, and get a shirt made for myself... as well as finish this quilt... What do you hope to get finished this week?

Mairi

A few finishes...

Today my DD8 went to sewing class and made a dress! I will post a picture of that another day... But, the biggest news is that she is now OFFICIALLY a sewer... yep, she sewed right over her finger! Yes, it hurt, yes she did get a little upset (apparently) but she was very brave and kept on sewing after that! Wow! Impressive! I didn't sew over my finger the first time until I was 14 so she's way ahead of me! The first time is always a bit of a shock... sounds nasty but it's over so fast you barely have time to comprehend what's happening... then it's a throbbing ache for a few days! Hopefully it won't happen again for a long time!

I finished a few things myself today... a couple of shirts for DD8...

This shirt was dead easy to make... burda 9646 if anyone is interested! The sleeves are bound with self-bias... the front slit is done very easily and the button tabs are easy too! It's a really breezy light shirt and I love the handkerchief bottom! Here's a detail of the front as well...

From the same pattern I made a shirt while I was away on holiday... on a very simple machine... that wasn't working when I found it! Believe me, after 2 weeks without a sewing machine I was desperate!!! I was getting close to going out and buying one... okay, that might be a bit of a joke!! Anyway, if you can make this shirt on the most basic Janome machine on the market you can make it in a flash on anything slightly more upgrade!! This is such a pretty summer fabric from Lincraft! $8 for each... you've got to be happy with that!

Details of the front and slit sleeves!






So I have been busily loading my yarn collection into the stash section of www.ravelry.com. Oh dear... 93 types of yarn and counting! I dread to see if it actually adds up how many BALLS of yarn you have in total! Did you know it's possible to have a floor to ceiling yarn stash?!! Most of it was bought on sale... the question is: is it really a bargain if you never get to use it until you're 83 (and that's if you are fortunate to live that long!!). Tell me about your craft obsession... the one you try to kind of pretend isn't there...

I haven't had much time to sew for my madeit shop this week... I've been pottering with ideas!! A few other things I finished today I will show you tomorrow when the light is a little better!

Well, better go tidy up a little and perhaps get to bed before midnight if I'm lucky!

Mairi