Poles Apart

Southern Hemisphere Christmas

::My Outfit::

Just off the phone with you Jacq, sitting having a glass of wine waiting for Giles to wake up before I got dressed into my new Chrissy outfit (it's hanging on the door). It was too damn hot to get dressed before I had to, or I would have arrived looking like a soggy lump of dough!

::Our Christmas Table::

Mel & Rhys did a beautiful job of decorating the tables and making it feel most festive! We shared our day with Mel's family which

::Outside Christmas Day::

Perth recorded 39.5C for Christmas Eve, 40.7C for Christmas Day and 44.2 C (111F) for Boxing Day, the hottest three-day Christmas period since records began!!!

What I really wanted to photograph was an egg frying on the road, but I couldn't bring myself to hang outside for long enough! Instead, here is a photo taken at about 8:30pm. We had just gotten home and the house was sitting at a stifling 37.9C. The only place to be was outside under the pergola with what little breeze their was, blowing though the yard. Giles toddled around for another hour or so while we had another cold beer, then we all collapsed into bed. A fantastic Xmas day!

I can't say we wished you were here (the weather was too revolting) but we sure wished we were with you on Christmas day! We love you all XXOOXX

I sewed something just for me

 

The first weekend in August was my friends, Chris and Steph's wedding. A magnificent afternoon ceremony beside Island Lake surrounded by friends and famliy. So lucky, were these two that the lingering smoke in the skies from the previous days was blown away...the views were stunning! Steph's dress was absolutely beautiful...you shouldv'e seen the look on Chris' face. Even after 12+ years these two still have that day one adoration in their eyes. We moved up to the lodge afterwards for delicious hors d'ouvers and drinks before heading downtown to the Best Western for a buffet dinner and dance. The party continued late into the evening, in fact until we were kicked out of the funtion room a little after 2am.

I finally made something for myself, a dress to wear for the day. It was an off the shoulder, fitted a-line dress made of a slightly stretchy floral fabric I fell in love with in Cranbrook months ago. Luckily it fit just right with no alteration necessary because I was still madly hemming the bloody thing the morning of the wedding whilst trying to fend off my curious children. Pretty happy with the outcome. What do you think?

The Browns go to Springfield

Ah ha! We have jumped on the Simpsons Movie craze and had ourselves 'Simpsonized'.

So, what do you think? Any resemblance?

Fleecy Butt-cover-uper-ers

These overalls are my very first attempt at making clothes for Giles. I did it the easy way and used bonded fleece and simply traced a pattern right onto the fleece from a pair of overalls he already wears. A few embellishments on his butt pockets and voila, easy-peasy!

It has taken me so long to show you these photos, Giles has nearly grown out of them. No kidding, his little milk-belly is making the seam down the front stretch to breaking point (I've since learned you are supposed to



reinforce an overlocked seam with a straight stitch....Oh well, next time)

More from the Wraped Mind of Stichy McYarnpants

Here's a giggle or two for you.

but wait...there's more

All cozy for Winter

Giles is growing fast and has grown out of the sleeping bag Helen lent us (thank you Helen, it has been a godsend!), so I sewed a new one that doubles as a pram liner for winter. I used Bec's liner as inspiration & to get some rough measurements, but from there I had to wing it. No wonder it took several weekends to finish it. It's really hard to think three steps ahead when you are living on chunks of sleep that are less than 3 hours in length (yay for teething & a headcold).

Anyhoo, I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It fits the pram perfectly and is toasty warm for our Perth winters. I made it from two layers of bonded fleece with 3M Thinsulate quilt batting sandwiched between. It has a open ended zip around the foot & snaps (of course) up the sides. This way, you take the cover right off if the weather improves.

I found these Army appliqués of Dad's in with mum's bag of buttons she gave me from her sewing supplies. Aren't they fantastic. Very boyish. Dad was really thrilled to see them find a new life.

Idea for you Jacq

I'm having another of those mornings letting Giles sleep in my arms. Yesterday we had the Dr. confirm he has an ear infection so he's a little crabby today. This does, however, give me the A-ok to spend the morning browsing around the web from page to page, seeing where the craft links take me.

I saw this picture at Craftzine. Its just one of those IKEA plastic bag holders used to store the wool for your WIPs. Neat huh!

Shame I still  don't know how to knit or crochet. Have many balls of wool though awaiting the day I learn.

In my travels this morning I've found;

• how to sew on piping (properly, not the wing-it-and-see-Amber-method),


• a website devoted to wrapping gifts


• an idea for your felted sweaters, potplant pincushions


• inspirations for craft rooms. I've taken a 'before' photo of mine but it hasn't really improved enough to take the 'after' photo! soon I hope, perhaps these links will help


• tonnes more but typing 1 fingered is too slow & sucky.

Enjoy your day! I'm going to start digging holes for our hedge, or have lunch with mum....hmmm it's even-stevens which to do :)

A new challenge

Ok Jacq, I thought I would start a new challenge for the two of us!!

 

I thought it would be fun to see what projects we could come up with given the same starting materials. I purchased this matching set of fat quarters on Friday (so I have a bit of a head start :) ) and will mail yours off tomorrow.

 

I figure a month or so should be enough to come up with some things....or should we make it two?

 

What do you think? Like we need more WIP...Ha ha ha ha .....

New shoes & shirt for the boy

Spotlight had their stocktake sale this week and bonded fleece was on sale at $10/m. Typical spotlight, I didnt' even know they stocked it until I saw it in the catalogue. You can never find anything in that store!

Anyhow, as today is a public holiday,  I spent the morning while Giles was napping, whipping up a pair of shoes from the Stardust Shoe tutorial & a matching T-shirt.

The shoes were really easy to make but they only just fit Giles' feet. Next time I'll have to make them longer and will increase the depth for the heel part. For now, they're a perfect fit & just right for our super chilly days.

I have to confess totally yoinked JoJo's idea for the matching t-shirt. Love it!

The Museum of Kitschy Stitches : by Stitchy McYarnpants

Check this out.

Here is the prize I won last weekend at Katherine's Tacky Vintage 240 Event. Need I say anymore than quote the title :

"The Museum of Kitschy Stitches - a Gallery of Notorious Knits.

By Stitchy McYarnpants.

Every time I pick this book up, I am in fits of giggles. I think I'll try and post a page a week.

Text reads:

"Ever wish you could have a wedgie consisting of an entire skein of your favorite yarn? Do you want to learn how to felt wool with your sweat while wearing it? Then have I got the project for you! This sensible bicycling outfit combines all the breathability of a plastic bag with the comfort of a bear trap. Add to that the unmatched creeping properties of knitted shorts, and you'll be tearing up the trails in no time!Amazingly, these shorts came down to her knees when she started the Tour de France earlier in the day. She's going to need a crowbar to get undressed."

 

Classy!

No hair & a big head makes Giles a chilly boy.

We trouped out to the Midland Farmers Market early this morning to stock up on veges for the week. There is something about coming home with 7 bags full of fresh fruit & veges to fill the fridge for less than $50 that makes you feel all holier than thou!

 

The point of this post however was to say that it was pretty chilly for the wee man, particularly as he follows closely in his daddy's footsteps regarding the lack of hair! We hunted through all our hand-me-downs and couldn't find a toque to fit his big noggin so he had to go without.

So, when we got home, I whipped up a custom fitted fleece hat following Martha's instructions. I'm really pleased I got to use some of the 'vintage' ribbon from Mum's stash. I'm getting better at using things in my collection rather than hording them waiting for the perfect project, as this is one of my new resolutions!

 

  No more cold head!

 :: You can't half tell that Giles is Mark's boy!!! LOL

 

Hemming like a pro

I have to quickly post this link to a fantastic tutorial perfect for those with 'ducks disease' ! I'm always afraid of cutting the hem off my jeans in case I screw it up, but with this method, you not only keep the original hem & stitching but it can always be unpicked and redone!!! It took me less than 10 min this morning to do my pants that have been dragging on the floor for two weeks ;)

The tutorial is by can be found here. Thanks

Hot Pink Diaper Mamma

I've "pumped out" yet another diaper purse...this time for Heather's sister-in-law

who just had a baby girl not two months ago.

I love the hot pink! It's "so hot right now". So perfect for a young mum to tote around this summer.

My first Yo-yos I think are adorable...and such an easy embellishment. Must keep my eye out for vintage buttons now. Ahhhh, a new treasure to be on the look out for.

Hmm. What to do with these fat quarters.....?

When I was at Calico & Ivy last week, I couldn't go past the jungle print from Anna Griffin so I treated myself to a pack of fat quarters.



Aren't they too cute. They had a great spaceman print too but I thought this was more unisexual (you know, thinking ahead to #2). Problem is, I'm not sure what to do with it. I thought of making Giles a sleeping bag so we can give the one we have back to Helen. Any ideas are more than welcome.

But I digress, the purpose of my visit to the store was to pick up some fabric for some more diaper purses. I need to make one as a gift, then I thought I would make another for me :) These are the fabrics I chose, two from the Echino range, and two from the Amy Butler range. It was hard to choose as I also like this one & this one but thought the print may be too big for the size of the purse. This will have to be project of the week...focus...focus...focus!!!!

 

A matched set

Wow, when it rains, it pours. This is my third post today. I wonder how many weeks it will be before I post again.....?I wanted a small coin & card purse to take when I was using my diaper bag so tonight I followed Lisa's tutorial for a Flexi fabric stash coin purse and voila!

I'm pretty happy with the result, although next time I wouldn't use the padded interfacing. I think it makes the purse too boofy. I found the clasp at a craft store for $2.50 so it makes for a cheap addition to my already loved nappy bag.

Soprano Sock Puppets

This must be a first for me.....getting a birthday present finished (well this part of it anyhow) 4 months early! I made three sock puppets using childrens fuzzy socks as I thought they would fit a little hand better than a huge adult sock. All the eyes were from Mum's button stash that she gave me from her sewing box. It is so great to give life to something that has been sitting in the bottom of a cupboard for years and years. My fave is the pig. The toe of the sock has been pushed in, then the buttons sewn in to make the nostrils. I am really pleased how this one turned out.

I hope she gets lots of fun out of these.

PS. they're called Soprano Sock puppets as I made them while watching season 2 of the Sopranos. Mark & I watched them back-to-back last weekend.

Bleach spritz stencils

Between two bouts of G teething this afternoon, I managed to spritz a couple of the cheap jumpsuits & T-shirts I bought ages ago when I planned to do the T-shirt embellishments for everyone at playgroup (another unfinished WIP!). I am so pleased with the results. What an easy project that I can see only gets better with practice. I've put a quick tutorial HERE.

Sock monkey

Well, when you're inspired and have a good tutor you can sure get heaps done in pretty short time! I started cutting out the fabric at 4ish yesterday afternoon and between settling Giles, eating dinner & chatting to Mark, by midnight I'd finished the diaper purse up to this point! Only the handle and velcro closure to go.
I tried out my bias binding maker and it worked pretty well. I'm glad you gave the hint about the longer piece at the back, wow that makes a HUGE difference. Not one bit of bias was missed in the whole bag. It is sure difficult to sew around all those bends and angles though. I'm really pleased with how this turned out. Thanks for the great instructions Jacq. I was running back and forth from the kitchen to the back room with the computer every 5 minutes but I figured it out in the end. I even managed to put the pocket on the right way up!
We're off to Nan & Pops as it is ANZAC day and Mark has the day off. I'll finish it this afternoon and post more pics.
PS. forgot to say that I modified the velcro closure for the wipes container and tucked the ends underneath the container itself and snapped it shut (as one does when they have snaps!) I don't even mind the three snaps as part of the embellishment on the front. If you didn't want them to be visable at all, you could do that too by measuring carefully and snapping the inside fabric before serging them all together. You'll get what I mean when you see the other pics.....

Shrinky Sweaters

Yep...my new obsession...one of them.

I'm always on the look out now for woolen wovens. My hands run down the racks of hand offs at the Sally Anne, anxiously anticipating the tell tale feel of a woolen sweater. Why? To felt of course. I'm slowly collecting different styles, patterns and colours in order to create wee felted jackets, patchworked together from other's throw aways. I can't adequately describe what is in my mind...so you'll just have to stay tuned.

I discovered these two sweaters at the Sally Anne my last visit. I excitedly...expectantly stood over the washing machine (not really!) to see what would happen. The bottle green will be added to the collection for further projects...but the pink 1980s Eddie Bauer sweater felted so nicely into a wee girls sweater I can't stop grinning...it's soooooo cute. The weight is perfect for a cool/cold/snowless day, replacing the snow suit jacket the kids live in. Even the buttons are just right. The skier motif is hilarious...I put off putting away my snowboard and learning to ski in fear of looking like this skier... bum out and all! ;)

  

  I'll never look at a rack of horrid, dated sweaters the same again! 

FINALLY...the Awaited Diaper Purse Tutorial

Well Amber, I finally did it. The tutorial is ready! Boy, I never realised how difficult it is to explian something you do without really thinking about it. Photos help, yes, but not as much as you would think. Let me know if you have any feedback/queries.

The purse pictured is for ME! Yep I finally made something I don't intend to give away...just yet anyways. I was so excited by how it all came together. A few disappointments, I'll admit, in the final finishing, but that's what I get for rushing...besides I think I'd be the only one that notices. I hope. Such a Virgo...perfection, perfection.

Please, any interested others, use this pattern only for personal use not for making purses to sell. This pattern took me a long time to perfect!

Great minds think alike

I'm constantly amazed at how 2 sisters, who live continents apart can do the same thing. Remember Barb & Mum used to send the same person the same birthday card?

I saw you del.ici.ous'ed these cute pinnafores 9 hours ago. Can you believe I bookmarked a link to Alicia's pattern a mere 20 hours ago. I swear, great minds think alike! You can download the 'Smocket' pattern from her website, The Mayfly.

As I don't have a little girl to spoil with this pattern I thought I'd upsize it and make one for me! What do you think....

Good for a Giggle

This website makes me laugh out loud. Mary and Kimberly post kooky vintage clothing patterns at Threadbared.com and write snide captions for them. Enjoy a tour through the decades of fashion (the 70s is especially nice, I think) and start snickering.

Wee Toques

I made these toques awaiting the next babe of the feminine kind to arrive. Well I had to wait a long time!! Finally, little wee Ava Brynn Schultz arrived and do you think I could decide which to give her?

She got both!

I love the little kanzashi flower on the white and wedgewood blue toque!

Thanks Amber for the tutorial.