My creative space...

 

I made a skirt today.  Came home after netball, realised my triathlon/bike riding obsessed niece is turning 12 next week and whipped this up.

 

I believe this is a Birch fabric, one of a bundle of lovely fabrics I grabbed at Gail B's this week.

 

I've followed the simple skirt pattern but made it nice and full by using two full widths of the fabric so that there are lots of pleats.  I also added some red ric rac to the bottom and one of Mollie Makes' 'handmade with love' labels that I got for free off the front of the magazine a month or so ago.

 

 

 

 

Hope she like's it!

 

There are more beautiful creative spaces over at Kidspot.

My creative absence.

I've come to the conclusion that one cannot be creative and be anything else at the same time.  Anything else being... parenting, working nights and weekends, having a husband working 14 hour days, washing, cleaning, being elected as the new Kinder President after a massive slanging match between other committee members!

 

Everytime I sit down to crochet, guilt sets in.  I should be folding the mountain of laundry, cleaning the kitchen, washing the floor, reading one of the eleventy billion unpleasant kinder emails that now land in my inbox.

 

I hit the pause button on everything over the weekend.  Didn't have to work, ignored the emails and the laundry and forced myself to make something, just because.

 

 

 

A lovely Hello Birdy Pillow, with a very untidy bum closure since my hand sewing is quite simply appalling!  She's pretty cute and simple to make... and of course, I just had to give her babushka wings!

 

I also managed to add some more rows to the Rainbow Rug.  She's getting super pretty (and heavy).  This is Lucy's granny stripe pattern from Attic 24.  It is easy to do and just 'flows' off your hook - rows of trebles, no chains in between so it is quite dense.  Great tv craft!

 

 

Joy of all joys, today my girlfriend took Matilda after Ballet so I could make a solo excursion to Patchwork with Gail B.  I had birthday gift vouchers burning holes in my pocket! 

Top to bottom: turquoise chevron pattern, very boy coloured bunting pattern, red babushkas on soft grey background, teacups on peachy pink, gorgeous red bikes with a turquoise bike here and there, vintage looking dollies in cream and pink.  And I was being very restrained.  Now I like to just sit and look at it while project inspiration hits!

 

The rest of my afternoon will now be taken up 'creatively' writing the monthly president's report for kinder... and 'creatively' hiding vegetables in pasta meat sauce!

 

Have a good week. x

Change your mind reversible skirts!

I have new favourite birthday skirts!  They are still simple and have taken less than an hour each!  I totes love them!  The dollies!  The ric rac!  The reversibility (we all know little ladies like to change their minds)!

The pattern is from 1, 2, 3 Sew and the author has a lovely blog called The Long Thread which I totally think you should go and visit since she is ever so generous and shares lots of crafty links and tutes and whatnot!

You can see Ellen's change your mind skirt from the book right here.  She has used beautiful Liberty fabric which my budget can't quite reach yet.  The fabric below was purchased from Spotlight yesterday (except for the black babushka dollies which was gifted to me).  The red and blue is from their Lisette range and the vintage dressing up ladies was just a lucky find in their quilting cottons.  Cute yes?!

These two are heading to Hobart to my lovely neices who have birthdays days apart from each other.  I am going to team them with a couple of plain tops each from Target and maybe some nice tights - outfit complete!  Present complete!

I made a dress... for a grown up!!!

I signed up with Miss Curlypops Lisette dress sew-a-along yesterday!  Today, the dress is made!  How quick was that?!

Now, my pictures aren't great unfortunately - I only had a 7 year old and an iphone on hand. 

I chose the same fabric from the pattern image cause I thought it was super pretty. 

Here's the dress without the tie.  I actually haven't made up the tie and don't think I will.  I like the pattern in the material broken up by the brown belt below.

I made up a size 14 straight off the pattern without measuring any of me!  Risky, yes?  It seems to have worked out ok though.  I can get it on and off without any difficulty and I think the looseness means I can layer things underneath during winter.  I have read a couple of other blogs where people have said the arm hole is a bit baggy and I would tend to agree but I don't have enough technical sewing know how to adjust it.  I also think a sweet cardy might solve this (small) problem anyway since we are coming into autumn.

Does the belt need to be wider praps?

I also REALLY liked the addition of pockets on Curlypop's dress too, and considering my sewing skills are pretty basic I think I might borrow them from the pattern I found in this book from the library....

Here's what this dress looks like.

And of course I had to include this one - Oscar's photography director skills in action!

Would I make it again?  Yep!  Once I'd cut the pattern out it all came together quite quickly.  Nothing like instant gratification!  Plus I had a little visit to the Sew Lisette flickr group and saw some other dresses in really beautiful fabric.  I also pranced about the house this evening in it beltless and quite liked the look of the way it hung.  Not too much billowing of fabric where one might be mistaken for being preggers!

Thanks to Cam for the inspiration! 

Curlypop's Lisette Dress Sew-a-long.

Who can resist a visit to Spotlight on a 30% off everything day???  Even if you have to take the three small people with you and bribe them with lollypops!

I had been thinking of joining in with Miss Curlypops sew-a-long, so I managed to snavel a pattern and the same material from the picture (which I thought was gorgeous) today.  I shall go forth and pattern cut in front of Revenge!

My creative space...

Oh, Ikea. How you taunt me from your new home... 20 minutes drive away!  Having grown up Ikea-less in Tasmania, any visiting relatives insist on a visit there as part of their itinerary.

And what am I to do as I tag along but buy 3 metres of housy fabric for no apparent reason and then have it taunt me from the craft cupboard, forcing me to make it into a new sewing maching cover!

This is supposed to be the right side cause the houses on top face the right way, but of course I prefer this side....

...they all seem to line up better don't you think?

If you are interested, it is a super easy pattern that I found here. I made sure to measure up my own machine to be sure of a correct fit and I also tend to use trusty baking paper from the kitchen to draw up a pattern before cutting up the fabric. Would hate to waste any of that 3 metres of housy fabric!! Any ideas on what I can use the other almost two and half metres on????

This week I also tried my hand at making a fabric yo-yo!  Addicted after only making one!  I followed Emma's advice over at Frog, Goose and Bear and bought a yo-yo maker online with the Haby Goddess - super fast postage and a wee freebie was included!

I'm thinking of making up a few simple skirts and teaming them with a t-shirt decorated with a couple of yo-yo's made using the same skirty fabric for little girl birthday presents!

Other creative types hang around over at Our Creative Spaces on Thursdays.