Mission (mostly) accomplished...

So I set off from finishing my last blog post with a spring in my step toward the sewing room, intent on getting things done.

First cab off the ranks was the denim hat. I finished the binding on the brim.. check. Next up, attaching brim to crown. After much fiddling, sewing, unpicking, sewing, unpicking (you get the vibe) it was finally attached. Alittle grosgrain ribbon to finish the inside, some hand sewing and voila! finished. Or so I thought. On checking the fit on Miss G, I noticed that i hadnt attached the brim to the crown straight. This wouldnt have been a problem if not for the fact that I'd topstitched everything in a bright blue. Lets just say its pretty obvious. So back to the 'to do' pile it goes.

Next, the red spotty hat. Should be a cinch I think. No such luck. I've decided that the way the pattern finishes the hat doesn't really satisfy my standard of 'finished'. Back to the 'to do' pile.

Next, costumes for the girls. Cutting went off without a hitch. Sat at the machine to put it together and my machine starts to skip stitches. At this point Im just alittle over it all. Call in "mrs fixit" AKA my mum. We change needles, adjust tensions, change cottons, rethread the machine, all to no avail. Mum takes the materials home and completes two gorgeous fairy costumes in 3 days. No mean feat but she did it, and here they are:

The only credit I can take on these is buying the fabrics. At this point, my sewing mojo is threatening to leave me again.

Ok, final project of the week. A present for the birthday girl. I have been meaning to make a hair clip stand / frame for my girls for some time. It went together really easily. Of course my girls are going to have to wait for one of their own.

I had enough time to make some hair clips for the birthday girl as well.

Her mum tells me that it was well received and well timed. The birthday girl had received a number of hair clips as presents.

Yes I am alittle disheartened by my fails of the week but I guess every mistake is a lesson learnt. This week I aim to:

Finish the two hats;

Make some dresses for the girls;

Investigate some new sewing machine options;

Not be so hard on myself!

Last but not least, a very big THANK YOU to Lisa for sending me a large bag of beautiful scrap fabrics. I have been inspired by the array of fabrics and its sent my mind ticking over with ideas. Thanks so much Lisa!

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!

Angering the pinning gods

Ive been working on my brown / green / blue quilt and managed to get to the point where I start sewing large strips together. Being lazy, I decided to bypass the pinning process and get straight to sewing. I matched them nicely and stitched one continuous line to the end of the strips. And then I see this:

Why?! So, me being alittle on the stubborn side sew two more strips together. I figure ive just lined them up wrong. Nope, another uneven join. Ok Ok I'll pin them and I get an almost perfect match at the bottom.


So then I have to do this, my most hated task in sewing.

Cant figure out why though. I matched them up perfectly and yet they come together uneven. Obviously Ive angered the pinning gods.

Snail mail rocks
Recently I participated in a fabric swap. This is where you email your name to some unknown person and that someone somewhere in internet land sends you back the names of others who want to swap fabric too. It was fun, and I cant wait to see what the others have sent me. I have received one parcel (thanks Tara) with this inside:

What to do with this beautiful fabric.... I decided to use it on a notebook my sister had asked me to cover. Now some of the fabric looks like this:

I think its purdy :)

One mans trash
We currently have a hard waste collection going on ... well its not due to come around for another week but people are putting their items out. This morning, as we drove out to take the kids to the zoo this is what I saw across the road:

They need alittle TLC as they are alittle tarnished but with a good polish and re-upholstering of the cushions (they STINK of cigarette smoke) they will be ready for the girls rooms. Now all I have to do is thrift little dressing tables that match!

Last but not least..

A little card made for a lovely friend


Miss G was sick and unable to go swimming so while baby A and daddy went, we did some magic wand conjuring :)

Have a great week!