Sew Darn Tired

Hi just a quick post to say  sewingpatterns.com  is having a Simplicity patterns sale for .99c with a maximum purchase of 10 patterns.  I have used them twice before and it is very quick service and they are very helpful. Even with the postage it will still be cheaper than 2 or 3 patterns at full price here in Australia! Good shopping!

So I have all this free time as my son is going to his Dad's for a week on, week off (for the first time in 4 years) for the 6 week Christmas/summer holidays!  I thought I would get more done but I am exhausted and I have just had Christmas at my place so full clean up and set up took it out of me!  I bought a Karcher water pressure hose and blasted the green off everything - after a year of rain everything went yukky and I couldn't have that for Christmas. So in this long post, after sorting out the photo business (see previous post) I can let you see what I have been doing.  Add to this making Stollen (German Christmas bread/sweet) (about 10)and cooking a ham (for the first time) and a turkey for Christmas in the Weber kettle (they both turned out great!)and I could hardly move yesterday so I just tidied up and mopped the floor and today I start other things.   This is a Simplicity pattern that I have made up - (2217 I think - one of the Amazing Fit patterns) but look

Well, I think this is my last post for the year. Such a cliche but I really can't believe how fast this year has gone. My son (right) and his best friend at school Christmas concert. (Edit: as I couldn't work out my photos I left this as a draft and forgot about it... I have worked out my photo problem - small issue with wrong year on date that is now fixed! so please excuse my comments about "before".) Some reflections about my year: I have learnt so much... that is formal learning at university and also personal learning that we do every day.   My relationship with my ex partner has really improved and that has been a blessing for my son especially but for all involved.  I have learned that I don't need to hang on to some friendships that have had their time and I can (and am trying to be) true to myself. I have also learnt that, true to words of wisdom from one who had gone before, some people treat you like their project and when they

Well how long has it been?? I finished up my university semester on 10 November and here it is nearly 2 weeks and not much done still.  I have been exhausted since finishing; add 30 degree humid heat and about a gazzilion appointments.  I have nearly finished my appointments and will start on some Christmas sewing for gifts .... funnily enough I am also making some aprons out of Ikea fabric like Bernice at  Raindrops and Bellyflops  for a teacher and a cooking friend who has a birthday breakfast a couple of weeks before Christmas. I have yet to purchase my fabric but am going to Ikea on Thursday to buy some more. I have just recently bought some and made some cushion covers for some cushions I also bought at Ikea about 18 months ago but never opened.  They were vacuum packed in a cylindrical shape that had a diameter of about 10 cm. When I opened them they stayed flat as pancakes for about three and a half weeks and they are nearly fully fluffed now. I wish I had taken a photo as th

Image from here  imgres Singer is having a competition for their 160th Anniversary. They are calling for stories about sewing with Singer and the prize is a limited edition machine.  You can find it on  mysingerstory.com  . I've had a look but just quickly.

A few weeks ago I picked up my son from school a little bit earlier as we had an appointment to go to and his teacher said "oh we were just talking about what will happen tomorrow with the children do their parade of story characters tomorrow" "oh" says me ... "what parade" "it came in a note a few weeks ago" "mmm... no I didn't get that note" "Not to worry... just make something up out of what you have at home is what we've said. No need to go and buy anything" "Ok" me says again. So after our appointment and at 5.30pm while making dinner, I whipped up a Robin Hood outfit.  I think if Robin Hood went out in this the rich would feel sorry for him and give him their riches but my son was thrilled (as 7 yo boys are when you "whip something up" for them).  He was so grateful he kept saying, "wow, this is great", "I can't believe it!".   It

Oh, sorry... I don't mean family additions in the way  Kristy  does! I mean of the paper variety! Remember the trip to Bribie Island and our little stop on the way at the thrift shop? Well these are the patterns I bought for 20c each. Bargain!  I really love the kimono sleeves on this one  and it looks so simple (I wouldn't use the big cuffs as I feel overwhelmed by those types of details).  The girls dress comes with transfers to replicate the white and yellow dress/top.  Reminds me of the dress  Treena self drafted  in August.  Might try to enlarge that for myself! This is really for a friend who sews for her neices.  This cowl top is designed for woven fabrics!  I will make it with short sleeves though as too hot (not today mind!) soon for long sleeves.  I liked the Burda for the red striped dress as it is princess seams and that is much more flattering for me and I think it will be an easy one to modify. I don't usually buy costume patterns but I bought thi

I am not talking about fabric (or even horse racing) but the last stretch before I finish this (first) semester at uni (and the last term before school holidays for summer!) I have only had one week holiday (school holidays was two weeks) but it was relaxing and fun.  I had my sister's boys over for a sleepover on the first Monday.  I bought them all a white t-shirt and had fabric crayons and they drew their own design on them.  I washed the shirts and two of them wore them the next day when my Mum and I took them to the Planetarium for a look see and a show.  Before the show at lunch time we had a small picnic and a play at the Botanical Gardens next door.  Then a play and explore after inspecting Neil Armstrong's space suit and other stuff there. Boys love this stuff! T-shirt designing Two finished shirts  Three boys and a planetarium Then one sister and nephew joined us for a Bribie Island beach mini break.  A friend has a house two minutes from the surf beach t

I know it's late ... but thoughts go out to all in the US who have been affected by the 11 September attacks.  I was in Sydney with some German friends.  We would alternate who went to which country and it was their turn to come to Australia.  They love Brisbane but adore Sydney and we ended a wonderful trip together in Sydney for a few days.  We went out to the Basement the night before and planned meeting in New York City the next year as it was one place neither of us had been. We were very excited by our plans but woke the next morning to the unbelievable footage.  Sydney Opera House - another time. I don't usually watch t.v. in the daytime but my friend put it on in the hotel and it was just at the moment one of the towers was falling. I couldn't see a building it was at the moment when all you could see was the grey cloud of dust. It looked to me like a volcano had erupted and said so to my friend, but I thought I heard New York and said to my friend "th

The   Sew Convert  did a post about her home town of Singapore. She mentions a roti shop and I just said to my friend who will have a stopover in Singapore in a month that she must stop there for the best rotis I have ever eaten and the lime drinks next door - fabulous.  The fabric shops are just around the corner and I hope she has a corner in her bag left after a month in France! I have visited Singapore many, many times.  Some times for stop overs, sometimes for separate trip and always, always wanted to stay longer. The food is great, the people are great, the transport is great, the fabric shops to die for and did I mention the food? Oh not to forget shoes! bags! Oh I just love it.  This is where we ate every day (above). We had a great hotel but who wants to eat bacon and eggs or cereal when this array is on offer??  My father is Greek and my mother is Cypriot and we are very fussy food people.  My mother has lived in Australia nearly 60 years and has never eaten a meat pie, s

A documentary following four women from Melbourne who've taken a seemingly staid pastime of craft and injected it with a youthful modern aesthetic. [Coarse language, Sexual references/sex scenes] This is on tonight on ABC2 at 9.34pm for those of you in Australia.  I hope I remember to watch it (I"m so tired. I've just finished painting and have to clean the blinds, wash the windows, screw in all the handles and fixture thingys and then hang the blinds and screen - not to mention uni stuff!) I am really intrigued as to why it has an MA rating: coarse language I get (I sew therefore I curse!) but Sexual reference/sex scenes????  Nothing like that ever happens when I'm doing anything handmade or do I get the interpretation of handmade wrong? These are just photos so there is some interest here.  The first one is when we were in Cyprus 2 years ago.  That is some lovely voile I bought at Spotlight with a basic peasant blouse pattern I've had for years.  It looks a lit

No, Ange and Brad haven't come over for dinner and let me snap their photo. I won't bore you with how long it has taken to scan this photo and the drama with it, but I persisted...  (sorry about the bad quality photo - after too many attempts I gave up scanning it and just took a photo with the mac's camera) What's with the zip hanging out like that?? Doesn't someone save her? Haven't you ever tapped someone on the shoulder on the bus and said "Oh, just thought I'd tell you your tag is hanging out"? I nicked this magazine from the hospital physio waiting room as I couldn't believe it ... it's not even an invisible zip! That green dress is a Versace and must have cost a bomb! It was from the Golden Globes this year so shows how up to date I am.  (I just looked at a lot of the dresses worn and I don't really like a lot of the choices.) I really don't like blondes wearing a nude colour - they look washed out. I s that just me thinkin

Carolyn  showed us the table her father made on her blog a few days ago; her family seems to be a really crafty and hand made family which is really inspiring. It also reminded me that I made a table too.  It was a while ago... hmmm let me think when ... it must be about 15 years ago (wow, where does the time go?)  I was a travel agent for a long while. One of my clients was quite a traveller and a really nice guy.  He ended up travelling lots with me (actually that means booking with me) and he ended up getting married to a young lady who was a furniture maker (and traveller) ... not just an ordinary furniture maker but she had learned from Bell Bros. which was an old traditional furniture make now sadly out of business (quite a while now).  She wanted to teach people how to make simple things and pass on her love of woodwork; and she particularly wanted to teach women.   When she told me about it I jumped at the chance and another travel agent friend made one after me too.  The

While doing yoga this morning (I do it every morning so that I am a little looser due to an old car accident) I was thinking about sewing and about having a blog.  I am not such a proficient seamstress like many in blog land, nor am I so precise and patient like many seamstresses out there.  Then I thought having a blog and a blog land of sewers makes us competitive... I have definitely sewn more since having my blog. During this musing though I changed my mind and decided that rather than making me competitive it inspires me.  I think more about sewing and what I am making and fitting etc.  So thanks to all the bloggers I read (even if I don't comment) for the inspiration, information, encouragement and the sharing of a lovely community. This is a maxi-dress I made a couple of years ago.  $2 per metre cotton and a shirred bodice with a big ruffle on the bottom.  Sooo comfortable and nice to wear but the cheap fabric didn't last.  We had just been swimming at South Bank on A

Well, I haven't done much sewing as it is just too cold in my house at night to sew.  I've lived in my house for nearly 20 years and I caved and bought a heater this year; one of those heavy oil heaters .. lugged it up the stairs, put it together and... it didn't work.  Took it back to the shop the next day, repeated the lugging and putting together for the heater to work perfectly warming up my kitchen and some sewing was done (see previous post) however, that only lasted 3 days; or rather the heater did.  So that went back and now I am wondering should I buy another?? I am cold; so I say yes, but that would be 4 trips to the shops so far for no warmth.  I had to go to Adelaide to help a friend in need .. cold and wet there .. took fabric to cut out a jacket and she borrowed a machine for me - but a lot of talking, reading and relaxing got done but alas no sewing. That's ok I didn't have my son with me (he was at Dad's) so it was the first uninterrupted time I

Well I've finally finished something!  I finished my Butterick 5187 jacket. I bought this scrap of wool from the fabric sale for $5 I think and it was not enough to face the back panel so I used a fine fabric that I made a dress from (must show it one day).  It is an unlined jacket but the wool keeps you very warm and it is my replacement for a sweatshirt or fleece. It got very thick in some places but it is very soft fabric so wasn't a big problem. This is very easy pattern as it is an unlined jacket and really perfect for our cool but not cold winter days. The black turtle neck is a sleeveless top out of merino wool that I also bought at the fabric sale and it was $20 but really warm.  I also bought a long sleeve top in this fabric but as it had a tiny (unseeable) hole it was only $5.  The other top is one of the Vogues I bought  at the beginning of the year and I tested it out with this cotton knit I bought forever ago. I love the colours and I made the top a longer tun