Definately last but not least...well, maybe last...or not...

Garden Party dress

This Little Lizard King dress pattern is very simple,

made up of rectangles of fabric,

but with a very cute result.

I didn't like the way some of it was constructed to be honest

so I just did it a bit differently to suit me.

I also increased the width of the lower band to showcase the cute Japanese print.

Little goddess loved this one too. It was going to be the last dress for a while until today I found a gorgeous

knit dress pattern that I printed out and have picked fabrics for...

Never say never...

Channelling Little House on the Prairie

The Miss Alice dress - The Handmade Dress

With this one, I am thinking less about white rabbits and Wonderland

and more about Laura Ingalls running up the hillside.

It is a sweet little pattern but I downsized it from a size 5 to a size 4 and my daughter is 3.

Maybe I should have considered length when I made it up.

I struggled a bit with the yoke corners when attaching and had to fully gather the area to be gathered to fit

but I am not sure that this wasn't just me.

Anyhow the girl is happy and is carefree about the length of her dresses

and it will be good sun cover.

So after an extended happy dance and a few laps around the kitchen and dining room...

"mummy, make me another one, please, please, please"

I'll chalk this one up as another win.

Zombie robots

...and other little things for a swap.

This month the Crafty Mamas swap was all about passion.

Send your swap partner something that you make, sew or create with a passion.

While I am generally passionate about sewing and creating,

the specifics of such passion are harder to pinpoint.

I was sending to Lisa, owner of Crafty Mamas itself.

My current passions?

Love making key fobs...

...have lots of fun making little wallets and purses

(and surely someone who is involved with her own and her hubby's businesses

has a use for business card holder)...

Keyka Lou business card wallet

...and actually am rather passionate about the old crochet hook...

While I get that little things are cute,

agirum...amugur...those little Japanese crochet things have always filled me with dread at the prospect of repetitive strain injury and tiny tiddly fiddly bits driving me up the wall.

But when I saw this book,

I had to get it to make some for my boys.

And who doesn't love a zombie robot?

...complete with a loose eye,

partially amputated arm

and of course nails and screws embedded in his head.

I think that she liked it.

My 5 year old son, however, thinks it needs a bit more work-

"Good job, Mummy.

But you need to stitch that arm on properly"

Hats off to the humble beret

Nicole Mallalieu's Quick Beret

I love wearing hats.

I used to wear them a lot at Uni, particularly my vintage op shop ones,

but since encroaching middle age amd domesticity have snuck up on me,

I find that my hat wearing is functional rather than fashionable.

Nicole's new pattern caught my eye recently

and having seen it made up,

I decided to give it a go

even though berets and I have always eyed each other off suspiciously.

I have never liked them and I suspect that they have felt the same.

After 2 silly mistakes on my part,

one of which was cutting through the body of the fabric and having to start from scratch,

I thought that I should just let it go.

But it is a beautifully simple and well written pattern

and I do like the result.

I am probably never going to love the beret

but I definately like it.

I used a piece of brown woollen fabric from my stash

and a not-quite-matching grey poly for the lining

but no one will see it.

And it will be perfect for those manic late school runs

when the hair style, like the children, is running amok and is best covered up.

PS Have you noticed that beret is one of those words that sounds strange and silly when you have

been saying or writing it for a while...

Butterflies and paisley

More for the summer wardrobe.

I love Japanese pattern books but haven't made use of the few that I have nearly enough.

They are ultimately very simple with clean lines

and I hope to make up a few more patterns sooner rather than later.

I fell in love with the dress on the cover when I saw it
and made it up last year.
It was a bit on the slim side so this year I upped the sizing-
to the point where there should be a good couple of years wear out of it.



Fabrics- Butterflies-Paula Prass for Michael Miller- papillon
and Paisley- Michael Miller Jan (yes, a line named after the Brady Brunch. Love it!)



Both very busy fabrics but they co-ordinated so well colourwise
that I couldn't resist.
And the little goddess loves them.




Said goddess runs off to show anyone who sets foot in the house her new dresses-
"My mummy made them"-
so my theory of pink and cute seems to be working so far...

Scratching an itch...

...to sew!

Having been away and having my machine in for service, it has been weeks since I have had a really good sewing session.

Granted I made my son a quick library bag for school

but it isn't exactly a satisfying project.

Tuesday is now my one day of the week where I have 6 glorious hours to myself

for the first time in over 7 years.

And this was the first one.

Taking out exercise time and showering and eating,

that should leave me with at least 4 hours of uninterrupted sewing bliss, right?

In theory, yes.

But take out an hour and a half for some act of God or Mother Nature or another unknown entity

that causes a power failure.

Seriously?

I still got a dress made and a hat started

in spite of fate's best go at putting the squeeze on MY time.

Pattern: Farbenmix Madita

Fabric: Quilting Treasures Little Golden Book and a quilting gingham from stash.

Approval rating: "Can I wear it to bed? Can I wear it to childcare? Can I wear it to...?"

It is actually for the summer wardrobe but I think there will be some thermal and long sleeved tees and stockings going underneath. I can't complain can I?

The pattern is one of those that I have had in my stash for ages and keep looking at

and screwing up my nose.

But it comes together really well and is a sweet little dress.

It looks boxy in the snaps but I did leave out elastic under the arms.

I really love the vintage feel (I am guessing due to fabric that could have been made when I was my daughter's age!)

The aliens have landed...

...and apparently laid eggs in our fruit tray.

Have you ever woken up one morning and felt like you were living in an episode of the Twilight Zone?

If an extra terrestrial life form had left the products of her rumpty pumpy in your kitchen,

would they look like this?

Or it could it just be something as simple (really strange but simple) as the fact that your mother wrapped all your lemons in foil because "they will stay good for yonks"

Oooooookaaaaaaayyyyy.

Yes, she was right.

I can say 3 months later that the lemons are good as the day that she wrapped them.

But...

(Well, there has to be a "but" somewhere because using up stacks of foil to keep lemons fresh in your fruit tray "for yonks" just doesn't seem right, don't you think?)

When good crochet turns bad.

It went wrong.

Terribly wrong.

So I am putting my tail between my legs,

retiring to the corner and whipping up another easier project in between licking my wounds.

This is a coat that I will give another go next winter.

The issues with it where most likely self inflicted. I used a smaller ply wool than was intended

and because I am impatient I made a bigger size
rather than check the gauge.

It did fit my daughter around the back and sides but not the front.

I also did something to the edges that meant the front was just...well, not going to happen.

Next time I will use a bigger ply

and will try to work out what I did wrong at the edges.

Meanwhile the remaining wool and the pattern will be made up into a skirt.
"Good idea mummy" says the wise 3 year old.

Sigh.

Some days...

Some days are brightened by a child's hug.

Some days are brightened by a cup of coffee and a magazine enjoyed in peace and solitude.

Some days are brightened by an hour-long chat with a old friend on the phone.

Some days are brightened by a worry being lifted off your shoulders.

Other days,

like today,

 are just brightened by a beautifully presented box of cupcakes...

(And I don't mind telling you that after the kids have shared some as a special treat for dessert,

and gone to bed,

mummy and daddy are sharing that one in the middle,

with its little pocket of lemon curd

and big dollop of meringue on top)

On this day...

...in 1553...Lady Jane Grey was replaced as the Queen on England after 9 days on the throne

...in 1692...5 women were hanged as part of the Salem Witch Trials

...in 1946...Marilyn Monroe completed her first screen test

...in 1954...the first part of "The Lord of the Rings" was published in London

...in 1961...the first ever inflight movie was shown on a TWA flight

...in 1990...I met my future best friend, future confidante and future husband.

OK So I didn't know his name as I showed him how to frog scull port but that came later.

Happy anniversary sweetheart.

Looking forward to our next 20 years together,

then the 20 after that,

and the next,

and the next...

Footnote:  Thank you for your best wishes. But due to an "incident" involving post-exam celebrations, myself and a cask of port a year later, I haven't touched port for 19 years.

White with one and a granny square please

The accepted etiquette of crafting with visitors

We have recently had a spate of visitors,

family or friends,

for morning tea or afternoon tea or even a meal.

I am the courteous hostess,

baking up a storm,

setting up a lovely table,

 ensuring that the kids are playing nicely.

So I make sure everyone is laden with food and coffee

then sit and chat...and crochet.

And wait for the inevitable (tongue in cheek?) apology from my husband

"Yeah, sorry, Tas will just sit there and crochet in front of you"

Hmmmm.
Am I being rude?

 I mean, I openly admit that, with age and child bearing,

 my multi-tasking skills are diminishing;

yet I can drink coffee, follow a conversation

and crochet a  few rows of double crochet

even with some occasional eye contact.

I also find it hard to sit and not do anything with my hands.

And if I can kill 2 birds with 1 stone, so to speak,

then bring it on, I say.

It never occurs to me that anyone might be offended by this.

I make sure that hot drinks are kept topped up,

that any blood from the kids gets a "Dora" or "Cars" bandaid pronto,

and I never run off quickly to my sewing room to run up a dress while the kettle is boiling

(as much as I might want to, depending on the visitors)

Most people that come into our house know that I am forever sewing or crocheting or the like

and really I just think that they accept that it is what I do.

Even if it is just a bit rude.

So what do you think?

Given that most of you are sewers and/or crafty people,
I am expecting y'all to support my cause

and say that it is entirely respectable thing to do.

(But regardless of public opinion,
I don't think that I am going to stop)

A big burst of Cherry Blossom

As a journal cover.

I'm not really a journal person but I am a person who has a more placid life with lower blood pressure if I have pen and paper on hand to jot down reminders,
shopping lists,
cute guys' phone numbers,
(just checking if you are still with me),
recipes from cafe mags (so I don't have to cough to cover up the sound of me ripping out the page
and hoping that I don't get smited),
somewhere where I can find them.

So I love having pens and note pads with me all the time.

I have wanted to make a journal cover for a while

and was torn between using some of my most beloved fabric

(think Stenzo rose paisley; think Moda Swell)

or doing a trial first.

I am not a patient person.

I don't tend to try out a pattern in muslin or an throw out fabric first.

So I compromised.

I love cherry blossom

and I chose some of my Japanese style fabrics.

In fact, to my eye,

the Smila's World ribbon probably made the whole thing a bit too busy

but I never tire of looking at it so I am happy to risk the social embarrassment of

excessive flower embellishment.

In the end,

it went rather well.

It is easy to do,

even easier if you use a tute already written up on the web.

I did some extra stitching down the inner pocket margins

and used my sewing machine rather than my overlocker so I could get a finer finish to the corners.
It is reversible but I chose the fabrics without intent to reverse the cover.

I would, however, suggest that you don't forget to avoid the ribbon with that hot iron.

It has what I would call the "shrinky dink effect"

and pulls in the journal cover.

But it is usable,

though not perfect,

and I am glad that I kept my bestest fabrics till next time.

When you are on a good thing...

Revisiting Barcelona.

Just three more times.

I love this pattern.

Simple.

Flattering.

Fast to sew up.

So much room for versatility.

I hav one in wardrobe already,

in quilting cotton

But a girl needs more!

In Stenzo cord...

(this Stenzo being one of my most loved fabric prints of all time)

In luscious soft denim...

(to go with anything)

And, finally, another quilting cotton print...

(Michael Miller's Lantern Bloom- Hanging Cages)

Finished with a simple velour ribbon.

Aside from my personal issues with birds being kept in cages,

I adored this fabric the first time I saw it.

OK. Now perhaps it is time to move on

and sew something else,

at least until I decide on what I how I want to sew up number 5.

Granny squares rule!

Garnstudio and Drops Design crochet skirt

I lost a lot of momentum with my crocheting on my last project

but, since finishing it, have thrown myself with enthusiasm into my next project

and the ones beyond that.

Yarn: Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic Elm 8 ply.

(Actually a mossy green as shown in the last photo)

I really wanted some rustic wooden buttons to finish it

but didn't have any and was too impatient to wait till I could go and find some in a shop.

Note to self: trying to take a photo of yourself wearing a skirt to show it off

is not going to work...

...but it will give a better indicator of colour!

What is not to love about the gorgeous granny square?