Bunting flags (yes, again)

In October 2014 ....
No further explanation required. The brief for this little project - bright and cheerful, but not predominantly pink. I think I managed that.

Personalised bunting, seems to always go down a treat.  All good!

Makenna

Makenna

First school concert costume

In September 2014 ....
Daughter #1 had a school concert, the theme for her class performance was 'Colonial Australia'.  The kids were singing and doing some heel-and-toe polka as part of their act.  The costume brief was for the girls to wear an apron of some description with a peasant-style dress.  However, the school didn't want student to have a costume that they would never wear again, so my plan was to make a dress that would be worn again after the concert.

The final costume -

Apron and dress

Dress

pocket detail

Apron detail

I added a ruffle to the dress to make it longer -
I should have made it wider than this!

Happy singing heel-and-toe dancer!
(And she's worn the dress heaps since then, yay!)

Anna's Birthday Bag

In August 2014 ....
To celebrate my friend's 50th birthday, I wanted to make her something personal, as I thought she would get a kick out of that.  I decided on a bag for two reasons (1) I already had the pattern and had been looking for a reason to use it and (2) who can have enough bags?!

I decided to use Anna Marie Horner's Sidewalk Satchel, which looked a little more glam than your average tote bag.

For some insane reason, I decided to go with the pleated/gathered bag version, rather than the flat bag version.  I should have realised what that would mean - more sewing, more fluffing around!  But I think it was worth it. (Well, I hoped it was going to be worth it).

The instructions were pretty good to follow, nothing too bad.  I decided to make pockets on both sides of the lining, as it was a large bag and I figure it's better to have too many internal pockets than not enough.

Internal pocket - big enough for sunglasses, phone, keys!

Stitching on internal pocket

Pinning the pieces (lining)

Overall, I was pretty happy with how it turned out.  It was a bigger bag than I expected, but I don't think it's too large (I hope not!)  I think the outside fabric looked great and it's definitely in the colours that my friend likes.

I think Anna liked it, and that's the main thing.

Finished the Scrappy Lone Star Quilt for Gran!

So, I finished the quilt for Gran, yay!  Here it is ...

Final measurements - 42" x 60".

The piercing didn't take long.  The quilting took me a while and I made a couple of mistakes but they aren't majorly noticeable.  I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

And Gran thought it was lovely, so that made me super happy. :)

Progress during process is blogged here and I used this tutorial to make the star.

Scrappy Lone Star Quilt for Gran - progress

So, I got started on the quilt for Gran using this scrappy lone star tutorial.  It provided excellent directions and was easy to follow.

Again, the fabric is from the Habitat design (Benartex)

So, it started with a few strips ...

which were then sewed together into one of the star points

and then all placed out on the table to look a bit like this.

and somehow it was put together to look a little like this.Yes, I can see a star!


Finished quilt top

So, this is the second quilt I have ever made and I decided to try quilting it myself.  For 2 reasons (1) the long arm quilter from my local quilting shop is no longer available and I didn't know where to find anyone to quilt it for me and (2) my friend Cath convinced me that I should give it a go myself.

So, I decided to stitch in the ditch for the star and then to straight double lines for the rest of the fabric.  So, lots of lines to mark out and lots of pins.  I now see why quilters using basting spray and safety pins!  I pricked myself heaps.

Scrappy Lone Star Quilt - a start!

So, after much delay, I have started on another quilt.  I decided on a star quilt and used this scrappy lone star quilt tutorial from the BetterOffThread blog.

I had bought the fabric a while ago - the Habitat fabric range from Benatex (designer is Michele D'Amore). In total, I ended up with nine fabrics, mainly going with the teal-taupe colourway.  Not sure how it will look but I will give it a go and hope for the best. :)

Circle skirts!

I haven't posted.  In truth, I haven't done a lot of sewing, just bits and pieces.  I did sew a circle skirt for Asha - she loves it.  And that's all that matters. :)

Flat front, gather back, and an owl motif on the front.

By the bucket load!

I have definitely had a siesta with my sewing blog.  :)

I had promised my two girls ages ago that I would make them a hat each, hubby had an order for one as well, and I thought I would make one as a birthday gift for a close friend.  Anyway, this time, I managed to remember to take a few photos of the Lazy Days hats (pattern from Make It Perfect).  These are basic reversible bucket hats.  Instructions are easy to follow, but I tend to finish off the hat by following the instructions on this tutorial so that I don't have any hand sewing.

Here are the finished results.

Father's Day hat for hubby

Hat for Daughter #1

Happily modeled by Daughter #1 (it's a favourite for daycare)

Hat for Daughter #2

Hat for friend (same fabric pattern, two different colour schemes)

A dress for my niece

I was asked if I would mind making a dress or two for my niece for Christmas.  I made one a-line dress but for the other, I thought I would make something a little fancier.  I used Simplicty 2677.

I picked a pretty blue floral print from Spotlight and teamed it with a crisp white for the contrast tie.

I think it turned out great.  I just hope it fits!  :)

A-line dress bonanza!

I managed to get a few A-line pinafores done for Christmas.  One was for my niece and the other two pinnies were for my own girls.  I used Simplicity pattern 5489, which is about as easy as it gets.  Although you do have to do two buttonholes, the bane of my existance!

I basically followed the pattern, just made each dress a little unique. All fabric was from Spotlight - they have a fabulous range at the moment. I hope they all fit now!  :)

Sneek peek at niece's dress

Pink and purple flowers, with purple batik border

Samantha's dress

Pink with a ruffle hem

Love the buttons!

I used an iron-on butterfly motif to give it some interest

Asha's dress ...

It's all in the fabric

what else but hooty owls for Asha?  :)