Posts from — March 2009

I was so excited to get the first square back in the post today Thanks Kristine!! Here is an updated photo of the blanket:

It’s not to late to join if anyone wants to - just have a look at the FAQ and shoot me an email (annabel@earthgirlfabrics.com).

Remember this dress that looked like a nighty? Well when I found this drop dead gorgeous linen I knew immediately that it was time to give the pattern a second try - with some more appropriate material. I think this is my favourite dress I’ve made yet, and is the first small step in creating a much needed winter wardrobe for Zoe.

Here is the gorgeous Miss Zoe all ready for kinder in her knew frock:

I’m knitting squares for a blanket - and you are more than welcome to knit along too. Check out the Knitting For A Good Cause FAQ for all the details (there’s a link on the top left of my blog for next time!). I must say these squares are highly addictive. I’ve been knitting them at traffic lights and while my toast cooks.

I’ll update with more photos as the blanket grows, as well as some pics from my other square projects.

Can’t talk anymore now…must knit!

Once I was over the pain that was the pettiskirt, the natural thing to do seemed to be to pick up something equally large scale in the dullness stakes and sew up some lined curtains for Zoe’s room. I bought some tab top curtains for $30 from the bargain bin at Ikea 2 years ago thinking that I could somehow string them up without having to get my sewing machine out of the cupboard. Of course I couldn’t - so they have sat clogging my cupboard since then. Which was fine, until they got moved to my marvelous sewing room cupboard where quite frankly they were taking up precious space that could have been used to store more inspiring fabric. So I bought some lining, cut the tab-top curtains up, gritted my teeth and started sewing.

And here are the photos to show that you shouldn’t put jobs like this off - because as boring as sewing curtains might be, nothing transforms a room like taking down the 30 year old faded blue curtains and replacing them with something new.

Here are the before shots:

And here are the new curtains:

These photos don’t do the job any justice - the curtains give the room a soft creamy quality which the faded old blue curtains certainly didn’t. I purposely put a very lightweight backing on them because I can’t be bothered opening and closing them every day, so this way they can stay closed most of the time and Zoe can still see during the day. The only problem I can see with the curtains is that they now show up how old and faded Zoe’s bedcover is - which is ok - because next on the list is a new quilt for the little girl….

This year I participated in my very first craft swap over at Strollers and Prams. The idea is that each person in the swap receives the name of somebody else and you make something for them (much like a Kris Kringle at Christmas time). There was no real theme to this swap - just a budget of $20. I was partnered with someone with a 3 year old girl which meant I had no shortage of ideas, but I wanted to do something that I hadn’t done before, or something I’d been meaning to do but hadn’t quite got around to. I stumbled upon some photos of a doll’s quilt someone had made and decided that this was the perfect opportunity to dip my toe into the world of quilting.

Here is my very first quilt

The block in the middle and the fabric around the outer edge is of course designed by the very talented Melissa over at Mahogany Turtle

I machine quilted around the flowers which would have looked so much better if I had done it by hand, but alas there are only so many hours in the day! I quickly whipped up a matching pillow the day the swap was due to be sent, and had it safely in the post at 5.30pm.

Now I must say that after lovingly creating the doll’s quilt I wasn’t too worried about what would arrive for me. I really enjoyed spending time creating something for a little miss 3, and the kids had been really interested in watching me sew the quilt and hearing about who it was for. Really by the time I posted it I felt I had had my swap experience and I had thoroughly enjoyed it.

It was nice to think that a little something would be arriving for me soon though, and my Zoe in particular was curious to know what it would be (or more to the point who it would be for :P). Imagine my excitement when I received a parcel from the the lovely Kirsty in Queensland full of the most gorgeous delights!

Miss Zoe was the very lucky recipient of this pink sparkly twirly skirt and matching top.

Master Hamish got this very cool (and much needed!) t-shirt, the applique designed and sewn by Kirsty herself.

And *I* got this stunning apron. I LOVE it!

Wow, what a lovely experience the swap turned out to be! Thanks to Kisrty one more time, and also thanks to Jakki over at S&P for organising it

Zoe came home from kinder one day and asked me to make her a purple dress with a lion on it. Now how could I refuse a request like that? I chose this very purple linen from Spotlight, and after initially puzzling over how I was going to get a lion on there I remembered the gorgeous Wizard of Oz fabric I have squirreled away in my stash.

One evening and one viewing of the Wizard of Oz later, and here is Zoe modeling her dress as she practices being a school girl ready for next year.

It is the first time I have used linen to make a dress but it most certainly won’t be the last. At first the dress puffed up in strange places, but the more Zoe wears the dress the more it falls into a beautiful shape around her neck and arms. I’m not sure I’ll ever have a need for purple linen again though!

Yep - that’s where I’ve been all weekend. Sewing thousands of yards of nylon chiffon. Ugh! I know I know I know….it’s not like I wasn’t warned. Who in their right mind would make one of these things when for a very quick and painless $75 you can buy one? Yeah…well…where is the challenge in that?

The truth is that I was never particularly in love with these things to begin with. But then more and more people kept getting them in more and more impressive colours, and then people started making them, and then I realised that I my daughter needed to have one like all the other mother’s girls. And since I was never going to pay more than $20 for one…I needed to make one. So I bought the chiffon, thinking I’d tuck it away to make one day when I had nothing better to do. But then I saw more and more pettiskirts arriving and my need to make one of these things grew stronger and stronger.

So, late on Friday night I started cutting out strips of chiffon, and then I sewed straight lines down that chiffon for hours on end, until the site of the fabric itself made me want to gag. The odd bits of ruffle I was trying to join together kept reminding me of cheap lingerie, and I wondered how on earth this thing was a) ever going to be finished, and b) ever look any good.

Well once I started there was no way back…so I emerged from the sewing room 2 days later with the skirt. I’d like to crow about how it was all worth it - but to be honest I’m still a bit bruised to really be able to enjoy looking at it. Anyway - after I begged Miss Zoe to try it on (she’s been sick with gastro all weekend and I think the nylon chiffon might make her feel nauseous too), she seemed happy enough to perform for the camera.

So now my daughter can hold up her chiffon masterpiece to her overawed friends and announce that it was her mum who created such a magnificent piece of art. And one day I’m sure I’ll look back and say it was all worth it. One day!

A long long time ago when I first started this blog (ok - so it wasn’t THAT long ago…but if sure feels like it now) I made this softie based on a drawing by Zoe. Soon afterwards, feeling chuffed by my success, I asked Zoe to do me another drawing so that I could make her another toy. Zoe very kindly obliged with a lovely drawing of a pink 7 footed ballet shoe shod bow covered tiger with purple ears.

I took a deep breath and started to sew….

…..and about 8 months later I decided that it was time to finish the ballet loving pink tiger. Here she is:

Hamish really took a liking to the tiger, so I took another deep breath and asked him to draw me a picture.

His creation had many spikes but thankfully it was adorned with neither ballet shoes nor ribons, and after only a couple of evenings the stegasorus was finished.

The kids are planning their next designs, but I have informed them of the ’sewing queue’ and they seem to understand that it may be a little while before mummy starts stuffing miniature feet again.  So…next in the queue?  Curtains or yards chiffon?  I haven’t decided