Sew Darn Tired

..... well I was wrong! This is made from leftover aqua fleece (lining) and fluro red ripstop (only 6 metres left). I adapted a costume pattern and I'd say I'm about 95% right. I measured the dog and he did a fitting (I can't believe I said that) and I just needed to put the velcro on. So in the last two weeks either the coat shrunk (no) or the dog has put on weight. In all fairness, the dog had his food changed a couple of weeks ago and has suffered ever since. He's been having epileptic fits and my Mum and sister (who's dog it is) have been very distressed about it. They changed the food back after a bit of Google veterinarian advice (and the real vet at a cost of nearly $500) and he's doing well now. Forecast is heavy rain on Thursday and Friday so I thought I'd better get it finished. I have to put an extension on the front strap to fit around his belly and then he'll be all ready. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. What a drag the f...

It was last day of school holidays today and my son and I went to see Shaun the Sheep, have some sushi and gelato down our suburb (we live 10 minutes walk in opposite directions to two independent cinemas so it's cheap and close!). I wore my new dress ... I've been struggling to feel it is finished so I hadn't worn it till today. I made Burda 7231 about 4 weeks ago for our seemingly endless summer. Looks perfect for a long hot summer but it is deceiving. Maybe I should have taken more notice of  "young" on the envelope. I made it from some rayon I bought late last year at East Coast Fabrics. I really love the purple/grey with the flowers... one of my 4 sisters (or was it my niece?) said it looked like curtains! Hmph! No hand made things for them.  The dress is a very loose fitting, blousy halter top with elastic in the back. Seemed so easy - and it is to sew it up - but the top part does not fit well at all, and I cannot see how to make it fit bett...

I've just come across a fabric sale that is in Melbourne on Saturday 18 April. Below are the details from  designerstitch.com.au  where they have a list of fabric shops in Brisbane and surrounds and also through the rest of Queensland and the other states. I'm sure if you live in Melbourne you are aware of Designer Stitch School of Fashion and Design, but I'd never heard of them before. The list of fabric shops in and around Brisbane is very comprehensive and there are some I have not heard of before. Massive Italian Fabric Warehouse Sale  April 18th – Open Direct to the Public One Day Only – Saturday 18th April  from 9.30 am until 3.30pm. 5 Marriott Street, Oakleigh. (off Dandenong Road ) ( the building does not have an obvious sign –  with only a small sign in window that reads “ Christopher George”) Fabrics at wholesale prices – ALL imported direct from ITALY…. Linens – $5.00 p/m Denims – $6.00 p/m (varying weights and stretch) Silks – $5.00 p/m (...

Alice and Lizzie Alice and Lizzy again (yes I know, it's nearly the same photo, sorry!) Bianca and Rosie - both are more gorgeous in real life! Another bad photo but it shows Lizzie's beautifully fitting dress and Rosie's gorgeous outfit. Saturday 28th March was the Brisbane Spoolette's 2nd high tea meet up. It was also my birthday so double bonus.... I get to celebrate and have fun and I don't have to do anything! (I also had a 50th birthday party immediately after which was great fun also). I wore my Style Arc Alisha dress and got many lovely compliments... thanks ladies! I was RACKED with indecision about what to make... even at 10am I was thinking I could make something simple but still could not cut into anything. (It's been a busy time around here and it's slowed down from yesterday thank goodness). I took 4 photos, with only two really worth it, but I got so caught up with talking and catching up with everyone that I f...

It's not finished here... he was so excited .... I needed to finish one side of the zip, hemming  and the binding bit on the neckline. We have two winners in fact. Alex LOVED the sweatshirt and Colesworth commented knowledgeably that it was Adventure Time show copy. When Alex came in on Sunday night and saw it (not quite finished) on the couch, he was happily shocked it was "so good".  When I told him I was making it for him on Saturday, he was being very polite and said "oh, thanks Mum, but no offence, I don't think I'll take it". He's at that age where perception is very important - if it was anything other than perfect, I knew he wouldn't wear it. I was very happy with his reaction. Such joy in making him happy! If the sweatshirt wasn't an option, he (as most boys his age) wanted to go as some creepy, dark thing (wearing his cloak I made - so that's still good) but I came across a picture of a sweatshirt you can buy for abo...

Can you guess what this is going to be (it's nearly done!) There has been sewing going on. My son goes to camp for a week tomorrow and needed a 'fancy dress costume'. (on a side note, I found out only after being the cray cray woman at school... they don't give ANY information about the camp so I only knew this because I asked for a copy of their schedule, how dare I? - I got it Friday.) I have made some shorts from some Indian cotton type heavy weave stuff (that was conveniently lying around) and then I had to make the top part. If you have an 8 - 13 or so year old boys around you might guess. I'm copying something I saw on the internet to buy... I'll show you my inspiration and the final results tomorrow.  I went to East Coast Fabrics to get some fleece and bumped into  Liz from Busy Lizzie in Brizzie.  She's got so many things she needs to sew for at the moment, but I'm sure she'll do it. It was fun to get excited together about the fabric...

Finally I made some pjs. I made some about 18 months ago (with Butterick 6883) and I still wear the aqua ones (the others were a gift for my sister). The top on the Butterick was a bit wide in the front and the strap kept falling down... I say was, because I also fixed that up today and took  cm out of the width of the top edge (1.5cm each side) and resewed the binding straps and now they fit perfectly. However, we are here to see the new Burda pyjamas. They don't look so good on the mannequin as she is much wider in the shoulders than me. I made my bias binding for the arm holes/straps and the back, but I wanted a contrast for the front. I have a tiny piece of lace that was in my Mum's stash but I couldn't find it (of course) as I was going to put it under the matching bias but when I couldn't find it I decided to use the purchased (eons ago) bias as the colour was right, and then I found the ribbon so put that on too. I like that the ribbon and the contrast...