Is that greedy?  You see I have a fabric store now – and it has its own blog.  But I couldn’t bear to let go of this one.  So for now I have two.  This will still be my main blog, and most of what goes in the other one will probably be posted here too.  So why would you want to visit the other one?  Well I now will sell items I make through my fabric store, and all shop updates will be announced through the Earthgirl blog.  So if you want to get your hands on some Earthgirl creations (or want to buy some gorgeous fabric to create your own!), then get over to the Earthgirl Fabrics site and add the blog to your feed reader.  Oh and if you see something I make here that you think you might like to buy – then send me a message.  I’m not taking orders – but I would love feedback on the kinds of things people would like to buy.

This bin is not for sale…but it is made out of Anna Maria Horner fabrics available from the store.

It holds fabric scraps under my cutting table.  Unfortunately it’s already full!

We had a much better day today. No cooking, no bike kicking, and much less yelling. It seems to take several days for the kids to settle in to the idea of holidays. Thanks goodness they seem to be feeling a bit more relaxed and finally so do I.

This morning I was cutting out a skirt downstairs when Zoe called me up to the sewing room to see the dress she had designed. She had the fabric laid out on the floor – and asked me when I could make it for her. I picked up the fabric, sat at the machine, and told her she’d have a dress in no time. Thirty-three minutes later – here is the result:

After I had taken the photo Zoe said to me ‘Mum I didn’t expect it to be bunchy around the waist – but that’s ok, because I don’t mind when you make mistakes’. That’s her sweet way of telling me that she hates the dress and will never wear it again. Oh well, at least I got some shirring practice in.

I went to Spotlight later in the day and very nearly bought an arsonal of fabrics and trims to make her a fairy dress that she will actually wear. You see no matter how many hours I spend shirring satin (or nylon chiffon), the only dress she will wear is the made in China $2 number I bought from the bargain box at Sparties. She has worn that dress 7 days running now! I managed to come to my senses and realise that I could never compete with the $2 Sparties dress, and came home with just a few choice sparkly materials for my sparkly stash. And some linen…and some denim…and some lace. LOTS of sewing going on around here right now

I’m sitting here eating the kids Easter Eggs so I better hurry up and hide them and get to bed. No doubt it will be an early start tomorrow. Happy Easter!

Well to let you in on a little secret – school holidays haven’t been so much fun so far. Let’s see – there was the bike riding ‘adventure’ that consisted of short bursts of riding followed by prolonged episodes of shouting and kicking the bike. Then there was the biscuit making which also involved lots of shouting (although that was mostly from me). And then there’s the general day to day whinging and bickering that forms the soundtrack to our school holiday existence. Honestly yesterday I was contemplating how I hadn’t seen the dentist for a while and how peaceful his lovely chair would be compared to the mess and chaos that is life at home right now.

BUT I did manage to squeeze in a little bit of fun after Zoe’s shower last night. Who used to do this as a child?

Of course as much as Zoe loved her rags she woke several times complaining about them and then screamed at me today on more than one occasion that she DIDN’T WANT CURLS SHE WANTED PLAITS and to TAKE THEM OUT. Just quietly I think she did enjoy the ringlets – and I certainly enjoyed them more than bike riding or cooking biscuits. Here’s a late afternoon shot of the ringlets still looking pretty damn cute.

Here’s hoping the Easter Bunny brings us lots of chocolate and good humour for the next week ahead

I have had this denim skirt in my head for a long time. I actually tried to make it on that 46.4 degree day we had in January, but surprisingly enough it didn’t really work out (actually it was a complete failure and I have since cut it up and repurposed the fabric). I was therefore thrilled when this one turned out so well.

One more piece for the winter wardrobe – and a couple more on the way…

My cousin had a baby girl recently, so I used the scraps from Zoe’s quilt to make this bib:

After I cut out the circle for the neck I had a small piece of patchwork material left, so I made this onesie for baby Emma to go with the bib:

And here is the boy version for a new baby in Queensland:

The bibs have toweling on the back, as per my absolute favourite bib from when Zoe was a baby.

I really enjoyed making these, and plan to make a stack of them one day when I’m lazing around looking for something to do

I have had a blue singlet top and little pile of material sitting on my bottom step for a couple of weeks now, waiting to make something for one of my nieces in New Caledonia. I also had a parcel of ballet shoes and fairy dresses all ready to send the girls – but I couldn’t send the parcel until I had sewn up the outfit. So on Monday morning I walked past the two half made quilts, the half knitted blanket, the scraps of fabric ready to make into a bib, the denim on the floor under the cutting table to be made into another kinder dress for Zoe…and sewed up the outfit. It only took an hour all up – and if felt great to have a job finished and the parcel on its way. But I hated the result. The top is cute, but the skirt seemed all wrong. I’ve just had a look a few days later and I’m a bit more forgiving. Hopefully a little girl on an island paradise will be happy enough to wear it. Salut Lucy et Hannah!

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….