My creative space

Its been a few weeks but Ive not had much to show. Two little offerings today with more to follow. I finally have the sewing mojo back and Im hoping its here to stay as Ive a few presents and orders to complete.

First of all, my lovely niece asked me to cover a scrapbook album for her. She's doing a school project and couldn't find a scrapbook with a cover she liked. I was more than happy to do it. I love making new things. She chose the fabric (from my 'shop') and asked that I include her name somehow. I suggested some embroidery which she was happy with (love hearts were the prerequisite). I found the love heart pattern somewhere on the internet (i'm so bad at linking things back as Im bad at remembering where the images came from). Im happy to report that said niece was very pleased with the result. Its also given me an idea for christmas presents but more on that later.

Front

For some reason the iron on interfacing puckered the material. No amount of ironing would un-pucker. I guess that would teach me to apply interfacing with a really hot iron.

Finally have a chance to use macro on my camera.

Also gifted was this set of 3 (4th was delivered the next day) place mats for a friend who was celebrating a housewarming, birthday and Australian citizenship! I should have possibly made the place mats alittle more Aussie but they were well received.

Other than that, sewing has been slow. On the cards though are Christmas presents. Its getting exciting now with the lead up to christmas. I wanted to make the girls an Advent calendar (my girls still have no concept of what next week, next month or next year are) but never got around to it. Maybe next year...

For more creative spaces visit Kootoyoo

Hope you're having a great week.

Gorgeous giveaway

Another quick post today. I came across this giveaway today and needed to share with you, firstly because its a requirement of the giveaway (clever!!) but also because I know you all love (and need?) more fabric.

On offer is the Sweet Broderie range of fabrics by Rosalie Quinlan.

Head over to Retromummy for a chance to win this gorgeous fabric.

Good luck!

Small things

This weeks sewing is full of small things.

Small notebooks for some small people...

with small pencils for small fingers...

and some notebooks for the bigger small children (these hold pens)

and a small library bag for a special small girl.

Hope you're having a wonderfully big weekend.

Squeezing in some sewing

As you know, I havent been feeling great of late and I've neglected to share some pretty great things that have happened in my life, both personally and crafty.

So first off I'd like to thank Vreni of Oops Lah for awarding me this bloggers recognition:

Its nice to have met people like Vreni who are so positive and helpful in their comments as well as super talented. I had a hunt around for where this award has stemmed from but was unable to find its source. However, I did find the rules which are as follows:

Award Rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you this award

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass the award along to bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (in no particular order…)

4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.

1. Been married for 6 years but have known my husband for 13 years (it took him a while to propose);
2. In my previous life (ie. life before kids) I worked as a receptionist, admin officer, personal assistant and software tester and changed jobs at least every 2 years;
3. I've lived in Melbourne all my life;
4. I've only done alittle bit of overseas travelling (why didnt I travel more when I was younger!!). The only three countries i've visited are Indonesia (Bali), Japan and the former Yugoslavia;
5. I've never lived alone;
6. I have a very small (extended) family here in Australia but have a gigantic extended family overseas (most of which I've never met).
7. One day in the future I'd love my little family and I to travel around Australia in Winnebago.

I'd love to pass on this blog award to the following bloggers who I think are wonderful for the following reasons:

Z Twist Art - a wonderful lady who makes amazing items with her own hand spun yarn.

Small things.. I 'met' Tab through a Sew Mama Sew fat quarter swap some months ago and really enjoy her writing which covers everything from sewing to being a mum.

One Plus Two Equals Three - Lisa makes some seriously beautiful clothing both for her little girls and for herself. She inspires me to get back into the sewing room when all the inspiration has gone.

Bella Linguine - Some of the most beautiful and unique quilts I have seen. She hasn't blogged in a while and I hope she comes back soon.

Madomi - We have more than a few things in common which instantly drew me to her blog.

Antmee - Beautiful beautiful sewing. Another inspiring blog for me.

Finally, Ive finished my second 'japanese' floor cushion which was intended for my niece however, due to a lack of room on her bed (wink J) will probably be sold or gifted (unless she changes her mind in which case its totally hers!)

Now back to the sewing room to finish a library bag for Miss G. She is expecting it for our visit to the library this afternoon so i'd better get to it!

My (failed) creative space

This week has seen me (yet again) not do very much creatively. Although the virus seems to be leaving me alone Im still quite tired. My efforts in the sewing room haven't been as positive as I'd hoped and its adding to my reluctance to get back into the (sewing) swing of things.

Here are the two meagre offerings I have this week.

Firstly, Ive been trialling Christmas stockings for the market night Im doing in 3 weeks!!! (insert expletive here)!!

I used scraps (its almost a mountain of scraps that I have now) of red fabric. It looks fairly flat in the picture but there is a opening at the top for small gifts. If I can get myself motivated again I may make a stocking with small gifts already included.

front

back. You may be able to see flaring on the binding as I topstitched on the front side. Anyone have any good tips on how to topstitch resulting in both sides looking neat?

Second offering for this week is this very easy laptop cover that you can find over here. This is a mockup for a cover that Im making for my eldest niece who turns 18 tomorrow!!

Ofcourse I didnt follow the instructions correctly and managed to make an almighty mess inside (I sewed together the interior and exterior rather than joining them after side seams were sewn so all the seems can be seen on the inside). There is lots to be said for preparing things weeks in advance. I like to torture myself and make things days (if not hours)before presents are to be given. So J if you're reading this, you are getting a laptop cover (you've only been waiting a few months) but thats not all!!

TOO MUCH FLASH!! (even my photography is shocking this week)

Very badly topstitched (note the fold in the fabric tsk tsk)

Velcro strip was sticky backed so the machine was fighting me the whole way resulting in a very ugly sewn line. Just keep reminding myself that this is only a mockup...

So all in all, im not feeling 100%, my expeditions in sewing were pretty blah and im tired. Ahh well tomorrow is another day (and hopefully a better one).

Hope you're all doing well!

For more (successful) creative spaces, click over to Kootoyoo

My (not so) creative space

So the past two weeks have been pretty uneventful in the crafting department. This is due to some hideous virus infecting mainly my head resulting in lots of naps on the couch and a husband home on carers leave for 5 days. It is by far the worst head cold I've had and thats saying alot because I suffer from sinusitis atleast 3-4 times a year.

I am somewhat back in the land of the living, hubby has returned to his normal line of work and things are getting back to normal (well our kind of normal anyway).

The only handmade item i've made in the past two weeks is this t-shirt.

Miss G appears not to have any eyebrows but I can assure you they are there... somewhere...

During the process of making this t-shirt I questioned myself several times... why the hell am I putting myself through this when I can go down to Big W and buy one for $4!?!! The answer... I love the ruffle sleeves. The pattern is from Ottobre Design (issue 3/2010), a Finnish sewing magazine I picked up at a craft fair last year some time. It was pretty straight forward but the pattern was cut for Miss A (2 year old) and its just slightly big for Miss G (4 year old). Maybe my girls aren't as big as Finnish kids?

The neck doesn't sit properly because I cut the material the wrong way (again trying out my way rather than following the pattern) and the ruffles, for some reason, arent as ruffly as those in the picture but what the hey... i made a t-shirt. Overall it was fun to make and I can now say yes, I have made a t-shirt.

Definitely too big for Miss A (seen here showing you where her nose is located... messy substance on face is the remains of a honey toast breakfast).

When I wasn't slowly dying on the couch, I decided to try a cool idea (which I found on a website which I was totally was going to credit but now cant remember for the life of me what its called) for painting with very watery tempera paint. Pop the paint in some containers, put some paper in flat cooking trays, give them some spoons and away they go. My girls love anything to do with painting and will paint with anything.. so long as its messy (think flour whilst making dough, chalk mixed with a)water or if water not available b) spit, water, dirt, gravel, sand that's escaped the sandpit, squished food etc). But I digress.

Here is how it started. Really fun and they loved getting the paint to run this way and that.

Miss A really got into it.

Miss G loving the idea but exploring different ways of making it totally messy.

Then mummy (I blame it on the nurofen) got a crazy idea to use the huge box from a recently unpacked (but not recently purchased) ikea shelving unit. And here people is the anarchy that resulted:

Yes thats right, pants off, paint tipping, body painting madness.... but the kids had fun.

For creative spaces with alittle more creativity, visit

Kootoyoo

Hope you're having a great week.

Market goodies

Yesterday saw the first 'SewSofie' market / fete stall. All in all I think it was a very positive day. There were lots of positive comments and requests for my contact details. To say I was happy is an understatement. Its great to have hard work appreciated even if it didn't translate to too many purchases. I was, after all, at a school fete. Personally, when I've gone to fetes as a visitor, Ive never really taken much money (enough for rides and a snag etc). I did let alot of people know about this here blog as well as another 'market night / fundraiser' Miss G's kinder is putting on in November.

So what can be made in one and a half weeks? Well have a look below. I should mention that mum was by my side and helped enormously with getting all the cut pieces of fabric together as well as entertaining the kids when I was sewing. My mum is a champion!!

Some lovely little A line dresses...

Polka dot dresses size4 and green and orange dress size 5. All $30 each.

Some reversible pinafores (that grow as your girl does)...

Owls motif, size 1 ($35)

Bird & denim Size 1 ($35)

Cherry & denim size 2 ($35)

Some spinning skirts...

Little ladies size 2, owl motif size 3 & flowers & dots size 4, all $25

and some letter cushions.

Large letter cushions ($35)

Small love heart cushions with hand embroidery, for hanging over door handles or wherever else takes your fancy ($10) (also seen here).

I'd also made a rocket ship cushion and got a few comments on it.

So now I have some stock and a market in 5 weeks. Im hoping to meet a new bunch of lovely local people (as I did yesterday) and maybe sell a thing or two. Hope you are all well and Im planning on catching up on ALOT of blog reading in the next few days.

Sof

PS. Sorry about the font weirdness. Blogger isnt liking me much today!

To market to market

How did the month of September pass so quickly???! As you can tell, I've been fairly quiet on the blog front. The madness of September parties are finally coming to a close. Its been fun though and the girls have really enjoyed getting out to different places for the celebrations.


Another spaceship cushion, this time changing the colour of the spaceship and letters. This little boy's mum tells me that he loves it and takes it everywhere with him. Im so happy that the kids that have recieved these gifts really treasure them.


Twirly skirt for my gorgeous niece.


Letter T cushion. The material used on the side of the cushion is yellow and sparkly. Perfect for a (now) 6 year old.

I have signed myself up for two local fetes, one happening in 2 weeks time and one in mid-November. Im not sure how Im going to get enough stock for the one in two weeks. Its awfully close and I've made very little headway. Mum has promised to come around and (yet again) help with the sewing. Im so thankful for all my mum's help.

Here are a few pencil and drawing pad folders I've made specifically for the fetes. My original template has been claimed by Miss G who likes to write notes to her friends whilst in the car :)




Thats all from me for now. Im back into the sewing room frantically cutting and sewing. Wish me luck!

Scrap busters

This week's creativity has been and gone (see previous post). I did, however, manage to finish a bathroom mat made from my copious amount of scraps. Im planning to make a few more but not today.... Ive got a head cold with a side order of headache so Im not feeling too motivated today.

The mat is backed with old flannel nappies (yes I intended to use washable nappies but never did). The mats are desperately needed in the main bathroom as the kids are always complaining the floor is too cold. Its getting abit much carrying an almost 4 year old into the bathroom because her feet get cold!

Hope your creative space has been alittle more creative than mine this week.

The celebrations continue!

Before anything else, I'd like to say thankyou for all your lovely comments on the girls dresses and on many of my other posts. It really helps keep up momentum when I get such positive comments. The crafting community is indeed a lovely place. Thank you all!

This week we've had 2 birthdays and fathers day so I've been busy in the sewing room. Ive managed to get all the presents to the birthday people ON their birthday (as opposed to days / weeks / months later). Yes, I do have presents that I still need to complete that were due months ago.

I dont really like to make too much of the same thing so I welcome the opportunity to make for different people (especially the kids). In saying that though, Ive made yet another of my rocketship pillow cases. I really love making them.. its become abit of an obsession! Miss A has even learnt how to say rocketship because of them. :)


Next on the present list was a gift for my hubby for fathers day. Miss G made a lovely plate and money box for Daddy at kinder but I thought alittle bit of handmadie goodness from wifey was needed.


This little pouch was made so Daddy could put all his worldly possesions in one place when taking Miss A swimming. Its big enough for the beloved iPhone and his glasses. Thankfully he likes it :)

Second birthday of the week was for anothed of of Miss G's kinder friends. Ive been wanting to make these little heart shaped cushions for some time. Ive sewn in a ribbon at the top of each one so they can be hung on a wall or they would be just as nice on a bed. Miss G has already put in an order for her birthday at the end of the month which I'll happily do. They took next to no time to make and they are rather cute!




I really didnt have a nice place to display them so here they are with all my washing :/

My creative space

Today's creative space is a special one. Two years (and one day) ago I gave birth to one of two of my most precious creations... Miss A.

Here she is twirling in the dress that was made especially for the occasion.

These two years have been a whirlwind. Having two kids very close in age can certainly have its tough times but these little girls make me smile every day.... especially when twirling!

We had family over for dinner which I love to do. Birthdays were (and are) always cause for celebration in our family. Miss A was certainly spoilt.

No less than 3 cameras were pointed her way when the cake came out. She positioned herself (along with her sister) infront of it and proceeded to pull all the butterfly wings (aka chocolate freckles) off the cupcakes. The event was well documented by the family :)

Last but certainly not least is a big thank you to my mum. I hope Im as patient as she is when my girls are older.

Happy birthday baby!

For more beautiful creative spaces, head over to Kootoyoo.

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 .