Catch up and Christmas sewing.....Warning....Long post

I have been distracted by Christmas sewing instead of finishing the stripy dress in the last post but more on that later. I have just worked out I can put my SD card straight into my MacBook Pro so lots of photos!!

In September school holidays my beautiful boy and I went to Toowoomba just at the end of the Carnival of Flowers. Toowoomba is a two hour drive from Brisbane and it is a lovely city on the top of a mountain. It was just a couple of days but really fun.

Alexander's breakfast

Alexander eating my breakfast!

Some of the beautiful flowers (nice smoker in the background!).

Sewing room mess in process of being sorted! (random photo drop!)

This is the Motorcycle Museum on the way to Toowoomba.

For motorcycle enthusiasts - there are A LOT of fantastic, rare, special and weird bikes here all privately owned!

Now to the dress I started about 2 or 3 weeks ago. Pattern reminder. So I stalled as the fabric is quite thin I decided to buy some Steam-a-seam - where has this been all my life?? It is great to fix those seams and hopefully make sewing around the neck and armholes - I say hopefully because of course when I finally bought it and used it, I broke my twin needle - arrgh! They are so expensive so I had to make a trip to Spotlight. Finally today (after Alexander's piano concert) I will finish it to wear to Simple Minds (at A Day on the Green at Sirromet Winery with Devo, the Church and Models [?]) tomorrow. But I have proof of my stripe matching of which I am proud!

Dress in the make - nearly done

Stipe matching pride!

I've made two sets of Christmas napkins for teacher gifts. One is a set of 4 and one is a set of 5 matching the family numbers. It was as remnant fabric and I used my No 6 rolled hem foot. Most machines come with a No 2 but I bought a set with No 2,4 and 6 a couple of years ago. Great for napkins, hankies, hems, aprons and tea towels. I have also made two little Christmas dresses for a cousin's 1 year old and my new neighbour's 10 week old baby. I used Butterick 5326. I changed it a bit for the 1 year old's dress - I didn't put buttons all down the back..just put 3 buttons on the bodice. The baby's dress will have buttons all down the back. Actually I'm still to finish the baby's but will do that today. Actually the buttons are just for show I have put snaps to make it easy for on and off with little ones.

Christmas napkins - school teacher and piano teacher gift.

One year old's Christmas dress gift

Pattern used for Christmas dress

On another note, as evidenced above, I am clearing out my sewing room and have started an Etsy shop to sell the patterns I have used, never used, just hoarded or bought because I liked them but will not suit me. I will also sell some of the fabric I have because I have too much and some is just not me but I recognise as beautiful. Some patterns and fabric is vintage so when it is running I will let you know and have a giveaway! Stay tuned - I'm just in the process of photographing it all - boring but necessary! Till next time; happy sewing!

Bubble O'Bill: take 2; bikinis

With some time at home, I've been sewing a bit lately and I finally had time to make the bikinis for my son's girlfriend for her birthday. I cut them out in February from some scrap fabric my friend gave me. I made my son some swimmers and I see someone has some for sale if you feel you are missing out 😆. I had to piece together the bikinis as I had nearly nothing left over. I made the top back and the briefs from the free Madelynne Noelle pattern and the front top from another Madelynne pattern I can't find a link for it but was Mallory Lane. It's a basic top with scrappy back. If anyone wants it I have the download. Looks like it's not available any more. All this piecing and mixing was purely from fabric limitations. The other fabric I mixed it with was ombre from aqua blue to purple and matched well. I asked Liv if she wanted a frill down the centre front to break up the print as I wasn't sure she would, but she loved the idea, so on the went. She tr

The saddest dress, then a few more.

Well hello. It's been a while. It was 8 months from the last post to the previous one to that and it's a bit longer this time. The last day I wrote was 10 Jul 2021. On 12 July my son and I were finally seeing Tim Minchin after booking it before we went to Europe at the end of 2019. It was going to be April 2020, but changed a few times and although it was a school night (year 12 for Alex) we went for dinner and sat in the show. My Mum had gone to hospital that morning and my sister was still at the hospital with her. Just after interval I got a message on my phone, "get to the hospital now". So we raced out and to the hospital where. although it was a lockdown and no visitors allowed, all 10 of us were allowed to see Mum as she was end of life. I won't go into the whole thing but Mum didn't die that night, but because of lockdown, we were not allowed to go and see her until a week and a half later when we were allowed just to discuss palliative care. By the n

Emergency Rashie KS2600

I go to aqua aerobics 3 or 4 times a week and I like to wear a rashie as it's outdoor and it's a bit warmer in the (not very cold usually but really warm this) winter, and I can't reach the spots for sunscreen. In Brisbane you must wear sunscreen every day even in winter as we have the highest skin cancer rates in the world and I don't want to be any more wrinkly than I am! Anyway, I went to the Gold Coast to see my friend for a few days and I left my rashie at her place and I she wouldn't get to Brisbane for a few days so I pulled out KS 2600. I saw this pattern listed on a pattern site and then became obsessed with it till I got it but this is my first chance to try it. Isn't it lovely! I wanted to test it to see how the fit was. I've made McCall's 7417 a few times but it's long between the shoulder and the arm for me and even though I have made a few it wasn't ever a great fit but it is a quick sew. The pants on the McCall's is a good fit

Sew Darn Tired

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