Sew Darn Tired

I'm finished.... uni that is.. until March next year! Phew what a semester. I also had two court dates in the last 10 days (I'm self litigating a property settlement) so I am exhausted but for now I'm free!! So this is just a tempter as I said as it is nearly midnight and I'm beat. I started a 5km running programmme... this means I do it on my treadmill (I bought a cheap one a few months ago but haven't really used it much). This is from a programme that Fehr Trade mentioned on her blog a few months (weeks??) ago. Anyway I'm not making any claims about wanting to do a marathon next year or anything ('cause I don't want to) I just want to get my fitness from where it is (passable) to much better. I like swimming so I have a pair of training togs (swimmers) ready to be cut out so I can start swimming again soon.  Bought at a Thrift shop for $1 recently But before I can do that I had to make my son a pair of boy leg togs today. It is the big schoo...

To our U.S. friends being battered right now... I hope Sandy is kind and you are all safe. Good luck. Kookaburra (on right) Here, when you hear the kookaburra call you know it's going to rain.

Has anyone used Lekala patterns? There are some seriously great designs there and they are so cheap and they fit to your own size. I mean look at those dresses... I love that one with the folds and that top jacket is just dreamy. The coat at the bottom - just simple clean lines. I'd love to hear if anyone other than Tanit Isis Sews  has made any I'd love to hear how it went. Oh... I have my last lecture and tutorial for this year tomorrow and in two weeks my first (of four) exams... but on the 13 November at 7.30pm I am finished for this year!(But who's counting??)

As the Hunters and Collectors song goes "Do you see what I see???" I saw this ad in Gumtree and immediately emailed the seller... all these patterns for $10 - that wasn't what thrilled me (even though some are nice - but I mean really I don't need to get any more patterns - not that it stopped me buying some the other day..oops!). No, what thrilled me was the Very Easy Vogue pattern in the bottom left corner.... a Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress pattern! The anticipation was almost too much - the woman emailed be back... she'd had no response from the Gumtree ad and so she took took them to the salvos!!! Like I said - DAMN!!

  I made a pair of running shorts! Ha that's a joke.. I don't run..YET! I made these about 5 months ago from an old pattern (I can't find it at the moment tho). It's a one piece pattern and I didn't hold much hope for it really but it fits really well. I added about 5cm to the length as the pattern was short (too short for my legs). This was a piece of wicking fabric I bought for a dollar off a remnant table. It was the exact size for these shorts. I used my overlocker and a twin needle for the hems and waist and I used contrasting pink thread.  I also made a little pocket for the front of the waist. This helps me know which is front and back and also, if I ever run outside I can put my key in there. I bought a treadmill recently - just a cheap one from Aldi that was only $300. A (tall)friend suggested making sure it is long enough but I'm pretty short and it 'fits' me well. Now as I can't get out to walk because I can't leave my son ...

  These are some rtw jeans that my son had. The khaki ones fit him like a glove.. the others...look like *rap! The length of that crotch was big enough nearly for me! I find that a lot with pants for boys... anyway we'd had these in the wardrobe, along with two other pairs of pants (pull on ones) with the same problem so i decided I'd tackle them... this is about 2 months ago actually, but just noticed the photos again. So I cut the pants to the same shape as the khaki and voila! Three 'new' pairs of pants and no trip to the shop. Sometimes I just figure, by the time you get into the car, drive 20 mins to the shops, get a park...you get the picture, it's just as easy to adjust (in this case) or make something from scratch yourself! Notice how the foot tips back due to the thickness of the fabric With a small spacer it raises the foot, making it easier to move forward I also thought I'd share a little tip I learned in fashion design college (anothe...

Hmm.. that mirror was embarrassing so it was cleaned as soon as I saw the photos. It wasn't noticeable in real life! Notice it's at about 8 year old boy height! So this is a ruffle skirt I made about 6 weeks ago. I got the fabric at the fabric sale I talk about for $8 per metre. It was the only colour. If you hold the fabric up one way; it was just like normal ruffle fabric... nice straight ruffles going across, but if you turned it the other way,the little catches in the knitting made the ruffles scallop and I thought it looked interesting so cut the skirt this way. The skirt is really comfortable and goes with a black merino wool knit top I bought at the fabric sale last year for $5 and the little cotton/linen jacket in the photos is from this years sale for $10. You can't see it in the photos but it has buttons down the centre back - a cute feature. I cut the skirt in a way that made a little fish tail at the back and you can also wear it to the side an...