Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Amy Butler Blue Sky hat

Now that is a brim!

Little Boozle 2010

I made this during my cleaning sabbatical
as a friend of mine leaves to go overseas next week and I promised her a hat that would:
1 Easily fold up to carry in her bag and
2 Actually keep the sun off her face and
3 Would be green or at least neutral.

Little Boozle 2010

I have made the Make It Perfcet Lazy Day hat a lot of times but the brim really wasn't big enough.

Well, no such problems with the Amy Butler hat.
I actually finished it,
tried it on,
thought "blimey"
then unstitched it and took a good 3-4cm off the brim width.

Little Boozle 2010

Don't get me wrong.
Some people would carry off the brim with aplomb.
It would also be a prefect gardening hat.
And it would also shade those people who are lucky enough to be anywhere near you.

But it wasn't for me and I knew my friend wouldn't like it either.

The end result is a great hat
with a very nice pattern that comes together easily.
I would have stabilised the brim by running a few lines of stitching around
but my friend was happy.

Little Boozle 2010

Just check the brim width before you commit to finishing it.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Alternate therapies.

A hint of non-Spring Spring cleaning.

Sewing 2009

It has been a good couple of weeks since I have felt the motivation
and wanted to spend time blogging.

It isn't that anything particularly spectacular,
spectacularly awful
or awfully absorbing has been happening.

I have just had the urge to clean.
(If you knew me, you'd be picking your jaw up off the ground right about now)

No, my parents aren't coming to stay.
No, I am not pregnant and nesting (please no!)
No, I don't know why exactly.

I just got the urge to clean out cupboards and rooms that were set up
at the time of moving into this house 7 years ago
or at the time of renovation 4 years ago.

Little Boozle 2010

And it has been therapeutic.
Still a work in progress but my itch to sew is rather intense
so I am trying to get back on a more evenly balanced keel.
I did get a bit of sewing done here and there in the past 3 weeks
but it was sporadic and not very satisfying.

Add to that, our attempts in the past 2 weeks to catch Elvis,
mouse-in-pantry-residence,
extroverted, fast, dare I say cute, and able to lick a mouse trap clean of peanut butter without setting it off.
We had tried mouse-friendly traps, mouse unfriendly traps,
swearing and gentle begging,
all to no avail.

Just when we decided that, possible like his namesake,
it would be (long-term) death by cholesterol,
he finally got caught,
thankfully in the mouse-friendly trap and has been relocated into someone else's back yard.

So then I felt the necessity and cleaned the pantry.

PS It is very therapeutic to spend a few nights in front of the telly winding ribbon.
Almost as good as meditation.






Thursday, June 10, 2010

Sewing solely for the little goddess.

Lolita tee by Cinderella *zwergen* mode

Little Boozle 2010

I gave this pattern a test run using fabric solely chosen for the fact
that the mini diva of the house would like them.
(= lots of pink)
I had no regard for the fibre content of the various stretch knits so it may come out of its first wash
more resembling a stuffed bear that has been pulled in 3 different directions
by 3 kids
at the same time 
than a tee shirt.

Little Boozle 2010

I chose the embroidery for the same reason.

Little Boozle 2010

Luckily she adores it.
I haven't seen her so keen and happy to try on something that I have made her
for quite some time.

I would have been more adventurous with my fabric choices
if I didn't care about it being shoved to the back of the drawer
by said goddess.

Little Boozle 2010

Fabrics: pink Stella from Crafty Mamas, other knits from stash.
Pattern: as above from Crafty Mamas
Embroidery: Designs by Juju- Fun Spring Butterflies (applique)
Approval rating from the kid: 6 out of 5

I lengthened the tee as other sewers had commented that it was quite short.
I would also seriously recommend using like fabrics.
(I'm now quite nervous about washing the darn thing.
Imagine the tantrum if it gets destroyed in the wash...)

Now if I can just get over the name of this pattern...
Lolita reminds me of THAT movie...
...and I have a hard time reconciling a pattern for a little girl called the same.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

A Harem of Bags

(Been a while since I have gotten to make up a collective noun)

Little Boozle 2010

Final instalment of my productivity from the Crafty Mamas retreat.
Bags are a good thing to do as no overlocker needs to be lugged 800kms
and they are generally quick and rewarding.

First up...
The Moonshine Stella bag

Little Boozle 2010

Loved the design
but the end result was a little puffy for me,
even though I used lightweight vilene.

Little Boozle 2010

Next time I would probably just use interfacing.
(I am sure somewhere in the world it is a crime to use interfacing in bags
but I do it a lot for my own bags. Shhhh!)

Little Boozle 2010

Next up I am a few key fobs.
My latest fun thing to do.
Fast, easy and people love them.

Little Boozle 2010

(there might have *ahem* been another cute little red riding hood one...
...but now there isn't)

Next bag was the uhandbag's Kyoko Frilled pouch.
I have had the pattern and frame for this for a long time
but hadn't gotten around to making it up.
Fast to make up
with effective results.

Little Boozle 2010

But what I really like about this is
that you undo a couple of screws,
remove the pouch
and put a different one on.
You can change ot to suit your occasion or your colour scheme.

Little Boozle 2010

I have some frames in my stash so I can see me making more of these
for gifts.

And lastly...

I used some vintage fabrics to make a little wallet
(can't find the pattern at the moment so can't tell you which pattern exactly)

Little Boozle 2010

The exterior fabric came from an ebay purchase.
A huge pile of the fabric in different colourways,
cut up into some swatches small enough to put a lot of people off apparently.
But big enough for me to see small wallets, purses, pockets and the like.

Little Boozle 2010

So that it is.
In spite of spending a lot of time drinking and chatting,
I did get a fair bit of crafting done.
Certainly at the expense of my beauty sleep.
But well worth it. 







Sunday, June 6, 2010

Barcelona wins my heart again.

Amy Butler Barcelona A line skirt

Little Boozle 2010

When my hubby and I combi vanned our way around Europe in 2001,
one of the highlights for me was Barcelona.
I just loved the atmosphere,
the buildings,
Gaudi.

I just whipped up the Amy Butler Barcelona skirt.
It is simple, classic, flattering and fast.
I love it!

Little Boozle 2010

The pattern lines the skirt fully
But given that it is a summer weight cotton,
I only lined the waist and hip area for some increased sturdiness.

Little Boozle 2010

Highly recommended pattern.
This is the classic A line skirt pattern that I have been searching for.



Friday, June 4, 2010

Make It Perfect and make it a Sprout.

A warm winter dress.

Little Boozle 2010

Make It Perfect's brand new, hot-off-the-presses pattern
is the Sprout dress.
Designed with a hoodie and a warm flanny lining for the winter version,
it is made for those girlie girls who don't want to leave behind their dresses for winter.

Little Boozle 2010

It comes together beautifully
and if the little goddess who approved of the fabrics before they were cut out
happened to approve of the same fabrics after they were made in to a dress,
all would be good with the world.
If only.

Little Boozle 2010

Still the good thing is,
once I got her into it for the photo shoot,
she couldn't get it off till I helped her.
So with a bit of bribery, manipulation and pleading,
we got some snaps before she got snappish.

Little Boozle 2010

Little Boozle 2010

However the inevitable grump session did provide a nice back shot of the dress...

Little Boozle 2010







Thursday, June 3, 2010

Sewing sock softies

For the kids.

I make a few softies here and there
but they aren't really my "thing".
I can't say that I get any intense pleasure from the process,
just a warm fuzzy at the end upon presentation to the recipient.

The sewing retreat (sans overlocker) lat weekend
was a good opportunity to do a few projects that I don't find myself getting around to at home.
And the kiddlywinks were happy.

Little Boozle 2010
Craft Schmaft Little Monsters

Little Boozle 2010
Craft Schmaft Toot

And let me just say,
that when it comes to sock softies,
size doesn't matter
but quality does.
The good quality socks give a better result.
You'd be amazed how much a cheap sock can stretch!


A crocheted thorn in my side.

So glad to have finished.

Little Boozle 2010

This project wasn't particularly hard
but it just dragged on...and on...and on.
I started at Christmas
and just did not spend enough time getting on with it.
A smidge of time here and there
just meant that it was taking so long.

Salvation came in the form of an interstate road trip last week.
I am luck in that most of the time I can crochet in a car without needing a vomit bag.
So the flowers got done
and the cardi got finished.

Little Boozle 2010

Pattern: My Little City Girl Flower Power bolero.

Little Boozle 2010

I added some extra length on as I don't love boleros
but this pattern caught my eye because of the sleeves.
Just beautiful.
ZToo big for the little goddess this year as you can see
but I will hang it carefully in her cupboard and hope that she "does" red next winter.

Little Boozle 2010

But now I can get onto my new project.
Hoo-bloody-ray.



Wednesday, June 2, 2010

A very sweet (re)treat.

(and a really fun road trip)

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I am a bit slow getting back into the swing of things.

That might well be because a 4 day trip away,
involving some gorgeous women,
lots of sewing, chatter and coffee,
a handful of op shops
and the most fun you can have on a road trip (and back)
from Adelaide to Bacchus Marsh,
made it very difficult to return to the reality of
cooking dinner. helping with homework and getting woken at 6am every morning.

While it was great to come home to sleep in my own bed
(oh, yeah, and meet and greet the hubby and kids),
the 2nd Annual Crafty Mamas retreat 2010
was as much fun as you could hope for.

4 of us South Aussie girls piled into a car
(now affectionately dubbed The Tardis
as she seemed to cope with everything that we bought at the op shop
in spite of the fact that she seemed full of stuff already)
and ventured over the border.

Little Boozle 2010

We stayed the night in Horsham
(visiting Spotlight,
as you do,
when you have just travelled 6 hours in a car
but when the sewing gods are smiling at you
and give you a quilting evening with late night shopping and great discounts,
what can you do?)

Little Boozle 2010

Then enjoyed a leisurely morning of op shopping
and made it mid avo to Sunnystones.

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Set up more for school camps than us crafting mums,
it was perfect.
Casual, meals provided,
ample beds and bathrooms,
log fires.
Rumour has it that it was lovely outside
but we wouldn't know.
We didn't get that far.

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2 days of sewing and crafting,
eating and drinking,
talking and laughing,
learning and teaching,
discussing and supporting.

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Everything that I have come to expect from these lovely women
whom I know so well on line
and am getting to know so well in real life.

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(See I did get some sewing done!)

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Here's to the next one, girls!