iPhone snapshots - January 31

Tapas and sangria for lunch at Mesa Lunga, Adelaide

And the winner is...

Using random.org to pick a comment number:

The lucky entrant is paula_lemos who stated:

"So cute! I would start with the dress pattern for my daughter.
Thanks for the giveaway!"

Congrats Paula, I hope you get great use out of the pattern. I've sent you an email for you contact details so I can post your prize to you.

Many thanks to everyone who participated in my first giveaway - it's been fun seeing what you've all written in your comments :)

Giveaway reminder

Just a note to remind you that my giveaway ends in one day so if you haven't already entered and are interested in a free sewing pattern, get in quick!

Good luck!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Get Creative 4006: Little Girls Top

Using one of the many patterns I purchased from Spotlight's Get Creative range (win one here), I decided it was time to try my hand at making something for Little Miss SY2. I hadn't realised that I had patterns for 6-month-olds so I was very happy to come across this one. After umming and ahhing a bit I decided to try my hand at a little top for her.

Material
I used some very cute quilting cotton from Japan. The squirrels and hedgehogs on the pale pink background were perfect for a garment for a little girl.
Plain white thread was used for the stitching.

Pattern (Get Creative 4006 : View C)
The pattern was very straightforward and easy to follow. The only difference I made is that I didn't finish the bottom up with lace or ric-rac as the material was busy enough. I also omitted the bow for the same reason. I think if I made this up in a plain material a contrasting trim would be ideal.

Would I do it again?
Unfortunately I don't have Little Miss M around to test the fit, but I am quite confident she'll be able to wear this. I'm keen to try this out in a couple of other colours once I'm sure that the straps are the correct length (the design said adjust length to fit)

Hoping she'll like it.

My first giveaway!

A couple of months ago I stopped by a Spotlight that I don't regularly frequent - I just happened to be in the neighbourhood and needed to get a denim patch for someone. As usual, I decided to have a bit of a browse around, and couldn't believe my luck when I came across a whole bunch of patterns that were on sale - some for $2 each!

Needless to say, I got rather excited and bought quite a few - after all, it's always handy to have some easy patterns on hand when you suddenly get struck with the need to sew something up!

I eventually worked out once I got home that the pattern instructions are faded in some areas, however the writing is still legible so there are no complaints from me about my bargain buys. The only thing is that in my excitement, I ended up buying 2 of the same pattern. Silly me but lucky you - because as a result I've decided to host my first giveaway.

The item is a Get Creative pattern 4008 from Spotlight. The pattern is one of a range that Spotlight seems to have released, and is a pattern for Toddler Casual Wear for boys and girls as can be seen from the picture below.



The rules are pretty simple:

- For one chance to win, leave a comment on this blog post
- For a second chance, become a follower of my blog and leave a comment stating you have done so (those of you already following me can just comment saying that you already are)
- For yet another chance, create a blog post about this giveaway and leave a comment stating you have done so with a link to the blog post

The giveaway closes one week from now (Saturday 30 January Australian EST) with the winner chosen using a random number selector.

Entry is open to everyone - happy to post to international entrants as well :)

Good luck!

** EDIT - The giveaway is now closed - thanks to everyone who entered! **

Flower Girl in action

I just wanted to share a snap of Cheeky Miss C all dressed up in the flower girl dress I sewed up awhile back. The bride chose the light coloured waist ribbon to match the bridal party colour scheme and the gorgeous little shoes really complete the outfit.


Based on the pics I stole from her Mummy of her dancing around, I think she had fun that night :)

Overlocker bargain

I've often thought that having an overlocker would be handy - yes a standard sewing machine can do the job - but I personally have found working with stretch materials a bit of a pain on the normal machine. Finishing of the seams is a real pain, and call me lazy, but sewing a narrow double hem seems to take me forever (and I'm already very slow at sewing as it is!)

Maybe I'm just making excuses but when a girlfriend of mine (thanks Linda!) told me that there was a Singer Overlocker on sale for half the RRP, my ears pricked up. *Hmm... this could be interesting...* She was lovely enough to even call Harris Scarfe to put one on hold for me and it's a good thing she did - the rest sold out after 2 days on sale!

So now I am the proud new owner of a Singer 14T5545 overlocker *HURRAH*

More booties

It seems these days that there has been a bit of a baby explosion around people I know. Everywhere I look, I see expectant mums or a beautiful new bub (or two) so I decided that it was time to make a few more pairs of baby booties. Seeing as it has been super warm recently and one of the bubs I had in mind for pair lives in a tropical country, I decided to ditch the flannel and try them out in a lighter material - muslin.

I found some gorgeous pink and baby blue material, as well as some cheery yellow fabric with ducks to play around with and these are the results:


I'm very pleased with how they turned out, but I did at one point wonder if I had made a mistake in selecting muslin due to it being so thin. When I was sewing the elastic onto the inside of the bootie for the first time I was worried that the reinforcing stitches I was putting in were going to rip the fabric, but with a bit of care I managed to make it work.

Hope they are warm enough for teeny tiny feet!

Books!

2 new purchases - Amy Karol's book "Bend-The-Rules Sewing"


and Kelly Doust's book "The Crafty Minx"


Both of them are gorgeously presented and after having read "Bend-The-Rules Sewing" from cover to cover I am absolutely loving it. I suspect from flicking through "The Crafty Minx", it will probably serve more as inspiration than an out-right instructional book as it seems to have fewer diagrams/patterns than a lot of sewing books I have come across.

Hopefully I'll have something of note to show from these soon!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Melting Monday

I am usually really happy when the weekend comes about but the next few days are going to be pretty warm, building up to a scorcher of a Monday. Check out the forecast!
I'd like to stay in the confines of my house with the AC and sewing machine running (bliss!) but unfortunately I have a few things on this weekend, and the killer 41 degree day had to fall on a weekday where I'll be commuting in to work.

Heat + public transport = unhappy me :(

UPDATE It reached 43.6 degrees!!!

First for 2010 - Inspired Ruffled Skirt

Happy New Year everyone!

As the title says, this is the first project of mine for 2010 - a ruffled skirt inspired by this post on Dixie Mango. The 2 skirts up there were so cute, I decided I needed to have a bash at it as well.

After umm-ing and ahh-ing over what materials I had in my stash to use, I followed the steps listed in the recommended online tutorial and came up with this:

The gingham print is actually a pinky-purple on white, which hasn't come up too well in the photo but you get the gist.

Hopefully it fits Princess S!