Two Tutus for Two

I have been following a little gray's Oliver + S Sewalong.  You should too! This month is the Bias Trimmed Apron
It's not on the list but I thought I would share this anyway.  I made two tutus for a friend's twin girls birthday. (Gees that sounded confusing)
I made a bit of a toned down version.  Not quite as many layers as the pattern called for.
But I think they still turned out very sweet.

I had one folded layer plain and one folded layer all sparkly. Oooo Pretty.

After I finished there was glitter ....everywhere.

But I do love them.  And the glitter was worth it.  I think the purple one was my favourite.
I will definitely give them another whirl.  

Little Things To Sew Along - Penguin Backpack

I got myself a copy Little Things to Sew by Liesl Gibson
I loved it. So many amazing projects. So beautifully photographed, which always wins me over.

My first project from the book was actually the Tutu, but it was the Penguin backpack that was the clincher for me. I had been looking for a backpack pattern for ages and this one looked perfect.

I made the penguin backpack several months ago, for my cousin's little boy for his 2nd birthday. He loved it. It was a great size for him.

This book was actually the first time I had made something from Oliver + S patterns. I since have fallen in love with so many patterns in the range.
The instructions were very thorough. The zip insertion - wow. I would have to say that its the best zip I have ever inserted. I was quietly very proud of myself.

I used a black duckcloth for the body and straps. It was easy to work with, so very soft. Unfortunately not a lot of structure though. I wanted the bag to have some stand up ability. So I actually inserted a piece of rigid plastic in the bottom. I used plastic from the "green" shopping bags. It worked really well because it was rigid but a bit bendy too.

There was lots of great tips and advice to give such a professional finish. Love those webbed feet.

It was here I first fell in love with spots.

I would highly recommend this book. I am really keen to try the messenger bag as well.

Thanks for the sew along Jessica.

Hot Pink Tracksuit pants

I saw the announcement for Elise Marley’s Kids Clothing Week challenge a little while back, and thought to myself that would be a great challenge. Check out all the info here





So I started a day late but with great ambitions.
I had been meaning to try Rae’s baby pant pattern for a very long time. I’d had wanted to make some tracksuit pants for my children. You can never have enough tracksuit pants during winter. Comfy and warm. The littlest one was first up.

She desperately needed clothing for winter. And I had picked up a piece of hot pink tracksuit material from the remanent bin at Spotlight, which was just perfect.

I put a little pocket on the back. A bit wonky, but cute all the same.

I'm trying to get into the practice of topstitching. Always gives a nice finish.

I love the chocolate brown waistband. I get really frustrated with elastic waists. So I thought I would try something different. It turned out to be quite easy to insert.

And the best bit was I got to take my new overlocker for a spin!!! Yay! I love it to pieces. Makes everything just looked so nicely finished. I’m going for a lesson at the shop I got it from next week. So I can get the best out of it.

This will be a go to pattern from now on. Easy and quick.

FYI hot pink is really hard to photograph!

Easter baskets

I made these little easter baskets for our family easter egg hunt. I made them after finding this great site, called Saltly Pineapple and her tutorial for Easter bagskets.(yep, I spelt that right) :)

I love their bright colours.

Guess what I made them out of?

Dish cloths!! A pack of six from the supermarket. I love the waffle fabric.
The kids loved them. And filled them up so quickly.

Very simple great basic design.

I've linked up with Made by You at Skip to My Lou

Baby headbands

Now, I’m not really a baby headband sort of person but I was glad to be able to have a go at making these for a friend to give her new baby niece.

They came together very easily. I used this tutorial from Heartmade Blog which I found through Sewing In No Mans Land post here to guide me. For the rose-like flower I actually stitched the petals down into the centre rather than stitching them flat. I liked the finished swirly effect it has given it.

Just don’t tell anyone I did it by accident because I was remembering the tutorial from my head rather that reading the directions. Gotta love happy accidents.

I used a t-shirt that I had stashed, which was super soft. So gentle for baby's head.
I just had a rough guess at the size, but I think they will fit fine.

I will definitely make some more in the future for gifts.

A gift for a precious new arrival

A friend's daughter finally welcomed her beautiful baby boy this week. A very special arrival.
I am a practical sort of girl so I made this Nappy changing set for her. I used two fabulous tutorials to help me.

I think I might like spots :)

I used the Diaper Pouch Tutorial from Noodlehead.

It's actually the third or fourth time I have used this tutorial. So simple and so practical.

When constructing the body of the pouch I actually used a Quilt-As-you-go technique. It allowed me to do the topstitching on the body which I really love.

I only just had enough navy thread to finish!

I also made a changing mat to go in the set. I used this Baby Changing Pad tutorial from Homemade by Jill which was part of the Celebrate the Boy last year. I resized it to suit what I needed. I used a piece of red vinyl I already had from a previous project, which I think really sets off the navy and spot.

It folds in four and ties up with a simple strap with velcro.

I am really happy with how it turned out. Now I have to get to making another set as another friend's little boy arrived early yesterday! Maybe more spots ....:)

I have linked up with Skip to my Lou- Made by you Mondays for the first time. Go check it out!



And this one to here at QuiltStory - great place lots of inspiration!

Note to self....

Don't throw out your $100 camera battery with sewing scraps

Work in Progress

I started making this quilt the day I found that one of my best friends had had a little girl. I finished the quilt top really quickly. It's this one from Oh Fransson!
Then the quilt top sat and waited for me to have my baby girl :)
And now, only 5mths later am I actually getting it quilted.

The party has started

Quiltstory's Block Party has started...finally.

I've been waiting to see what blocks people come up with. Very exciting.

This is mine. I am going to enter it into the modern category.

I didn't manage to get around to making another block. May be able to squeeze making one in tomorrow. I really wanted to do a wonky star

Go have a look at all the great entries here

My first Block Party

Quilt story are having a block party.




and I thought I would join in.
My first block is one from Elizabeth Hartmans new book A Practical Guide to Patchwork. Its a block from a quilt she has called rain and shine. The points were a little tricky.

I like that whenever I look at the block a different perspective stands out to me

Now to find another new block to try.

tree

when i first saw this tree i fell in love.

And my mum loves hexagons. I wanted to make it for her. I have never been that good at hand piecing, I'd tried hexagons before but a long time ago. I really enjoyed making them. It was really great to do some hand sewing.
I used my scraps, funny thing is that a lot of them were her scraps that she had given me when I’d been looking to make “something”.
I reverse engineered this beautiful tree. Making up as I went.
I finished it. Eventually. Just in time to give to her for Christmas. I am pretty pleased with the outcome. Mum loves it. Even my nasty stitching in the trunk.

beginnings

thought i might collect a few things. a bit of this and bit of that.