NIKKI-SHELL

Sewing Japanese

Did i ever mention that i work in heaven?  Not only do i get to play with endless bolts of beautiful fabrics, trims and buttons but i also get to flick through piles of Japanese sewing books.  Did i mention i get paid to do all this?!  Of course the customer comes first ;)

One of my favourites is this one,

It's full of wraps, collars and garments that are all about simple construction.

I'd say there's at least two or three patterns in each book in the store that i'd like to make unfortunately I'm doing a terribly good job of collecting projects of things i want to make but a terribly bad job of actually doing them at the moment although i have finished the secret gift i've been working on!  I have a three day weekend this week so hopefully i'll actually get to work on some.

OK must go get some shut eye.  I have a Hatha Yoga class booked for 7am tomorrow.

ahhh!

There's nothing better after an exhausting days work in 34 degree heat than to sit out in the yard with my feet up (and a bonus foot rub from a 4 year old and 5 year old), working on the last stages of a special gift and catching up on some blog reading.

What do you do when it's 34 degrees?

Get the paddling pool out of course!

 

I went to the gym after work tonight just so i could cool off in the pool.  I tried out the plunge pool too, bloody hell it was cold!  It did the trick though :)

All you need is love

Love heart found while preparing dinner tonight.  Just a little reminder to say "I love you" to those most dear.

Union Jack

There's a furniture store near where i work which has a Union Jack cushion and also a cushion with a crown on it in the window.  I don't know if it's the Brit in me but i really love these cushions but at around $80 a pop they're not in my budget. 

I just visited Vintage Pleasure who was inspired to make her own Union Jack cushion using a tea towel she had.  I'm in love with it!

image borrowed from Vintage Pleasure

So, i went on a hunt to find Union Jack tea towels.  My Mam would tell me that i'd find them everywhere if i still lived in the UK (guilt trip?), but i don't i live in Australia so the internet is my best bet.  I came across the regular touristy tea towels that are a little garish but then i came across this screen printed version,

Image borrowed from Rockette St George

Oh it's just perfect!  It's wonderful as it is but with a little embellishment this would make an awesome cushion.  It's a pity the postage for a tea towel is £33!!  What's that all about? Crazy!

I'll just go back to coveting, dreaming and scheming...for now.

Local

We've moved to an older part of town where there is endless opportunity for wonderful photographs of our surroundings.  I love the houses around here, they're so colourful and have heaps of charm.  The local milk bars and old buildings have so much history.

I plan on taking more walks and more photographs of my new local area.  What about you?  Do you take notice of your surroundings?  Why not leave the car at home and walk, you'll be amazed at what you find!  If you take photographs you can add them to the Walkabout Flickr group.

A little light reading

Sorry, not much to tell you tonight.  I'm too busy pouring over my new books :)

Tessuti's fave top

If you read Sew Tessuti then you will have seen Lisa and Colette's versions of this top.  The pattern was drafted from a favourite top of theirs which they both own and now every fabric that is delivered to the stores is considered for this pattern.

It's so comfortable to wear and extremely easy to sew!  I made my version from a Josh Goot double knit jersey which i love and is perfect for cooler days.

I'll be making a few more in lighter fabrics for the impending summer heat.  I have my eye on a Gucci jersey and some of the lighter weight woven fabrics in store.

I have put together a PDF download of the pattern which you can find here.  Don't forget to add a pic of your finished top to the Tessuti Flickr group :)

Family time

I've been lucky enough to have three days off in a row thanks to the wonders of the Melbourne Cup for which we get a public holiday!  Those three days have gone by in a flash and i feel like i got a lot accomplished but at the same time not enough, if you know what i mean!  I did get to spend some quality time with my girls which has been wonderful but we've also had some issues with attitude, not listening, fighting and a whole lot o' cheek.  You wouldn't think it to look at them would you? 

Well maybe not the last one!  That girl is in a world of her own i tell you, so much so that once she's there there's no reasoning with her, she does not hear us, she carries on regardless of what we do.  She's hyperactive one minute, running around the house pulling faces and making silly noises at the top of her lungs or talking none stop, dancing around from one foot to the other unable to stay still then the next she's as quiet as a mouse engrosed in some activity or requesting cuddles or a story.  Check out that face though.  The way she smiles for photos cracks me up every time!

Ok, off to bed for me.  Yoga at the crack of dawn then work. xx

A new look for summer!

The warmer weather has arrived and is hopefully here to stay (just not too hot please!).  I've been thinking for some time that my blog needed a brighter summery look so yesterday i took some photographs when we visited Simon for a bbq.

We had soda stream!  I never had one of these when i was little but i remember friends having them.  I think i may need to add one to the list of 'Things i Desire'.

The Bottlebrush is native to the east and south east of Australia and is a popular garden plant.  They come in many colours but i particularly like them red.

I spent some time working on a very special gift for a very special baby girl while our host slaved over a hot bbq.  I'm in love with the simplicity of hand stitching, it forces me to slow down, relax and enjoy the moment in an otherwise busy life.

I've played around with the layout and colours of my blog and have settled with quite a girly look this time, what do you think?  One thing i would like to do is change the font to something a little more interested than the generic fonts available on Typepad.  I did try to add one but only the text in the main body was changed while the rest stayed the same.  Any advice?

Oh and did you hear?  62Cherry is back to blogging and she has some wonderful news!