Sew Darn Tired

I brought another orphan home. I found this Janome machine on the street like the last one. How could I leave it there? It works but has the same problem as the other one which is the stitch selection is not accurate. It sews very nicely though and has a motor that purrs.  It seems to be the 80's version of my current machine as it has electronic selection and my favourite feature which is the button to raise and drop the needle. It is such a small thing but makes me happy. All the feet are there and it looks ok but I'll have to save to fix it (maybe I'll get a discount for three machines) and may give it to my niece if she wants it. What do you think? Now I must be less judgemental about others (ahem..also me?) who (seemingly) collect machines like they collect patterns and fabric! I have a couple of other things on the go too. A 70's dress and a(nother)new addition to the sewing room coming soon. This coming addition led me to give my sewing table to my friend ...

  Along with the dress I made this weekend (previous post), I also made this cushion for a friend's 1 year old daughter. I used to babysit this Mum many years ago and her Mum died a few years ago (a wonderful woman who showed me many things - her children are a credit to her).   This is during the make - I just googled large printable letters and cut them out then cut  some vintage tiny gingham on  the bias   (bought last week at the 2nd hand shop)and sewed it on with triple stitch zig zag. The "I" is a bit wonky.      This is how I wrapped it and below the finished product before wrapping. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  Lilia has a sister who is 3yo and I knew I would need to make her one too, so I will hopefully this week.   Her Mum made her this yummy chocolate butterfly cake.

I have coveted the Vogue cowl neck dress that everyone but me (it seems) has made but I just cannot afford Vogue patterns unless on sale and I just can't buy one pattern so I don't go to the sales. (Didn't stop me buying 10 the other week when Simplicity were .99c with  exorbitant )so when  I picked up many patterns 2nd hand recently (don't need any of those either) I wanted to make a cowl neck dress that I got there for $1. I went to Spotlight yesterday with my friend as she had been looking for some large white spot on navy fabric and I found some great looking sateen and also some nice drill when I went a few days ago looking for white wood blinds (for the newly painted bedroom). Even though I am in a self imposed fabric buying hiatus (just as I was when I went to The Fabric Store a couple of weeks ago and still managed to buy something)but I broke that and bought a stretch fabric for $3 per metre to make New Look 6154. It is an 'Easy' pattern and I think ...

Sorry not a great photo - using my new tripod but it doesn't make you look better! This is one of the Simplicity Amazing Fit patterns. I am too tired to look for can't find the number but it has a nice cross over bodice but I made a 10 and went to a 12 in the waist and a 14 in the skirt but it all seems too big. I will take at least 4-6 cm off the sides of the skirt and look to see if I can take the front in.  I am pretty short at 156 cm and a bit chunky at the moment but I seem to always make stuff too big ... this is despite checking the measurements. I am very short from the shoulders to the waist but with a D bust and this makes fitting a nightmare. When I did pattern making at Tafe I  made  my own sloper but alas that was 18 kg ago!    This pattern has the various cup sizes but I think the D is way too big for me.  The back is a little high and could have at least 6 cm taken out... I think I should make the back a size 8 with the front a 10 a...

I mentioned I am a member of  Freecycle  locale Brisbane. This is their mission statement: "Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community." Freecycle is active all around the world and basically you "offer" or "want" something and put it on the local site.  All members get email updates daily of stuff wanted and on offer.  Then you make arrangements for collection/drop off  via email through your local Freecycle email address. I needed a piano for my son who has been learning piano for two years and practicing on an electric Casio keyboard. These don't actually have the complete set of keys so he was running out and that limited his learning.   His keyboard was doing strange things and we were getting desperate. (He had his tonsils and adenoids out last week so he hasn't pl...

I bought a ruffler a few years ago and it's quite a scary contraption but does an excellent job. Recently I made a friend's little girl a dress from some scraps from Kindy sheet sets I used to make and sell. I always used 100% cotton so these scraps were perfect for a dress for our hot climate. I used this old Style pattern (what happened to Style?) for the bodice only as each scrap I had was too narrow for the skirt which is slightly A-line on the pattern.  I just joined 3 panels that I had and gathered at the top.  I then made a bias ruffle from some scrap gingham another girlfriend gave me and used the extra ruffle to cover the straps. Ruffler contraption Makes a nice gather   Recipient of dress All small scraps - straps not attached yet   The bodice I lined with the gingham fabric as the print on the front is a rubbery texture and would stick to you on a hot day.  Cross over straps I used the ruffler for gathering of the sk...

My girlfriend was dragged to the auto shop with her husband - funny I don't think he goes to the fabric shop with her, but that's another story.. Anyway as she is bored in this shop, she was looking at the funny things around and she bought me a Christmas gift there of all places. Yes, a magnetic parts tray... it has a rubber base (stops it slipping) and it is magnetic so it keeps all the pins in place!  I always use a small tray to throw my pins in as I am sewing along but how useful is this when you knock the tray over! I love it! And it was all of $10 ... who would have thought! Have you had any "tools" from unusual sources?