Nips and tucks

Its been a very productive weekend. Ive managed to start and (almost) finish a dress for Miss G in one afternoon / evening and im pleased with how it turned out. The dress if full of firsts. First tuck pleats and first sleeves Ive ever done (or done since home eco in high school many MANY years ago). I even dared to alter the pattern and add a decorative hem and it worked well. The fabric isnt the loveliest but I wanted to use fabric that I wouldnt worry about if it all fell into a heap. The only thing left to do is to add a button and loop at the back for closing.
I bought this pattern a few weeks ago. I must admit that I chose it because it does not have a zip closing. Ive had a few bad experiences with zips and am alittle hesitant to try them again. This dress works well though and fit easily over Miss G's head. A bonus is that she likes the fabric (not my cup of tea) and is willing to wear it.


Miss G wearing her dress while putting on a concert. She does love to have her photo taken and LOVVEESS singing.


Back opening (TBC).



Hope you had a fantastic weekend!

Creative space

This week's creative space is brought to you by the colours pink and blue. Two finished items this week. The first is a dress made from a dress discarded by my niece. Pre-upcycle, the tag read size 10. I cut it short, added a kinda frilly hem and sleeves and voila, a new dress. Luckily the armholes were a perfect fit for Miss G but I did find it alittle strange that a size 10 dress fit a size 4 girl so well. Does the distance between the shoulder and armpit not grow between this age?



Second completed item was my first attempt at a twirly skirt from my last post. I cant take credit for completion though. Mum was round today and decided to unpick, cut and re-stitch to complete it. Its pretty darn cute I think and the tie on the side means that both Miss G and Miss A can wear it.


On another note we visited the 'safari zoo' this week. We've visited on a few occasions but never got to the lions which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was abit unnerving though as the only thing seperating lion from human was glass. Thankfully they (the lion) didnt seem too interested in us, preferring to bask in the sun.



Ofcourse the kids were more interested in the playground than the animals. Im hoping their appreciation for such beautiful creatures will develop with age.


For more beautiful creative spaces, head over to Kootoyoo .

Sugar and spice and everything nice..

Another birthday this week. It was a very special one as it was one of Miss G's most favourite friends. I wanted to try my hand at a skirt that i've been longing to make and this little girl is such a girly girl I knew it would be perfect for her.

Here are the end results. Im chuffed that it turned out well (and the bottom of the skirt was even!!). I even went shopping for a matching top and scored big time with a top and jumper / vest for next to nothing. I love the end of season sales! To sweeten the deal, they match perfectly. A matching brooch, some hair clips and the ensemble is done.

Shot of skirt with abit too much flash.


The top and vest match perfectly. Funny how these things happen sometimes. I went in looking for a summer top to match and couldnt find a thing! The brooch is made by me.


Miss G modelling the skirt. I didnt ask her to stand like that. I think she's been paying lots of attention to the catalogues that come in the mail.

This was the original skirt. I spent two hours trying to get the flipping pin attached to elastic and tie through the waist casing. By the end of it I just figured it would be easier to make a new skirt (which it was). I think my kids learnt some new words whilst I was trying to thread the elastic through.
The quantity of material for this skirt is alittle excessive in my opinion anyway so I will cut it in half and make two skirts. Its just too cute to be put in the uncompleted pile.

Hope you're having a great weekend wherever you are.

Four birthdays and a christening

As my previous post hinted, I've been super busy with present making and its given me the opportunity to be creative which is always good. I can be a little lazy if I don't have a deadline to meet. Procrastination is a (not so) good friend of mine. Im not sure if anyone else feels the way I do... I couldnt be bothered going into the sewing room but once there, I cant get out. On the odd day I do venture in, hoping inspiration will miraculously appear and it doesn't. Those kinds of days leave me avoiding the fabric, cotton and machine until a birthday or some other important event creeps up. I'm constantly getting frustrated with myself. Does anyone out there do this to themselves too?

Here are my offerings for the past two weeks. Alittle meagre considering more than 2 weeks has lapsed since my last post but they are presents and they are all done and delivered... and Im happy with them.

Firstly, I finished my last little offering for a young man who's christening I attended (and made the pants and hat for in the last post). It was made to match this quilt which was a present for him at birth.

For birthday number 1 , another space pillow for one of Miss G's little friends. His mum saw this pillow made for another young man and commented on it. So I decided to make him one too. I love making pillows (if you couldnt half tell) and the kids seem to get a kick out of seeing their name or initial on something that is their very own. Certainly when this young man saw the cushion, he was very happy (and so was his mum!) :)

Ive hand embroidered this one (as opposed to machine applique which Im not great at) and I think it looks neater.

Birthday no. 2 was a kinder friend of Miss G. For this birthday I made a new and improved pencil roll. I'd had feedback from my last batch (and infact from my own experience) that the pencils would fall out. So Ive incorporated a flap at the top that is folded down before being folded up. Yes, my explanation sucks. Here are some pictures:

I did make another letter cushion for another young man who celebrated his birthday but forgot to take a picture! I do remember thinking 'i should take a picture' but somewhere I've just plain forgotten. Probably a small child bugging me to be fed or watered was involved.

Finally, a present for a young lady (another of Miss G's friends) who celebrated her birthday on the weekend. I'm loving this cushion so much that Im going to make one for each of my girls (who will be celebrating their birthdays very soon). So simple. I strugged with what to make for this young girl for some time. She is shy and quiet and I sat for atleast an hour laying out fussy designs that just didnt work (and didn't seem to suit her). I was about to give up when a illustration in a book caught my eye. A simple flower. It worked and look no longer than an hour to design, cut and assemble. Ofcourse it is hand stitched so it took some more time to finish (again, bad time management skills). We went to the birthday empty handed but happily delivered it this morning at kinder.

Back of the cushion. Simple envelope opening. I didnt have enough fabric to do a solid colour so I used two different fabrics.

So its off to the sewing room once more as we have another birthday this weekend. Miss G and Baby A have a very busy social calendar in August and September!