NIKKI-SHELL

Scrouchy Bear

Heidi received her first birthday party invite from school last week which caused a great amount of excitement! After seeing the monkey that Mia made for her friend she insisted we make something for her friend too.

Scrouchy (as she was named) is from the same book as the monkey, 'Softies'. Heidi chose the fabrics and helped me to put her together.

Heidi has just returned from her party at a play centre and is high on sugar (lucky me!) and Scrouchy was lovingly received by the birthday girl.

I'm hoping my next stint at the sewing machine doesn't involve clipping curves and stuffing tiny limbs, I have a dress to finish!

Wardrobe woes and a cheeky monkey!

I'm still working on my wardrobe cull. I spent a day sorting and stashed quite a few things away for my girls when they get bigger and i stashed some winter clothes in another suitcase since i'm not wearing them right now. What i had left was quite a mismatch of things that don't really go together all that well. So, i still have a way to go but have decided to work on a cooler season wardrobe that i can mix and match since summer will soon be coming to an end (not that you'd think it with 15 days of 30+ degree heat).

I've been spending a few too many hours on Pinterest looking for inspiration and making a list of things i'll make but more on that later.

Mia had a birthday party to attend last weekend and as you know i'm all for making something if we have time. Mia wanted to make a dress but i gently steered her in the direction of making a soft toy. I have a few books of toy patterns and she finally settled on 'Mabel Monkey' from the 'Softies' book.

Mia chose the fabrics and cut out the pattern. As i sewed each piece she stuffed them and within an hour we had this cute little monkey, so cute that Mia had a hard time wrapping it for her friend!

Monkey was very well received and has been named Mia by her new owner ;)

Working on a wearable wardrobe

For the past 2 or 3 months i've been feeling blah about the clothes in my wardrobe. There's quite a mismatch of things in there, some i love, some i don't, some don't fit well, some i wear over and over and some just shouldn't be in there! 

I haven't sewn much over the past few months, kids on school holidays and working on Handmakers Factory were my priority, but i was also feeling uninspired and cluttered. My routine has changed and with it the clothes i'm wearing. I have too many clothes, mostly made by me or refashioned in some way but my taste has changed over time and things aren't working well together. I need to cull my wardrobe and i've been putting it off.

Today i came across Project 333 via TinkerMaker and i had that 'AHA!' moment. The aim of Project 333 is to live for 3 months with 33 items of clothing (including shoes and accessories, not include pyjamas, workout clothes, wedding rings or underwear). The rest of your clothes are put into a box and taped up. Every 3 months you reasses your 33 items, changing them with things in the box and discarding the things you don't wear. See here for more guidelines. I think it's a great idea and while i may not stick with all the guidelines i think it will help me to put together a more wearable wardrobe.

I'm going to start over the weekend by sorting my wardrobe into piles:

• Possible 33 
• Op shop
• Bin 
• Store (things i don't wear often but want to keep and clothes i've made and want to keep for my girls when they grow up)
• Sell 

I'll assess what is in my 'Possible 33' pile and make decisions about what i may need to make (or even buy). This should stop me from making those impulse sewing decisions (that and i'm no longer surrounded by all the temptation at Tessuti!).

 

Handmaker's Factory Launch

I've been busy, very busy. The kids are back in school which means full steam ahead for Handmaker's Factory. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you'll know by now that we launched on Friday and have had an amazing response over the weekend. I'm lucky to have my wonderful friend Leisl (aka Jorth) working alongside me and the best IT guy a girl could ask for ;) I couldn't have done it without them.

So get yourself on over there right now and join, we'd love to have you. Oh and don't forget to sign up to the newsletter while you're there! 

Finishing

I've decided to concentrate on finishing my unfinished projects before i move on to new ones. There aren't many but some have been lurking for a lot longer than i'd like. There are a few knitting projects that have been on hold over the summer months and i fear they may end up waiting a little longer because it's just too darn hot to knit. Then there's the crochet skirt guard which was started a year ago. I pleased to say i'm almost finished and should hopefully be able to show it to you next week.

My longest unfinished project has to be my black, white and green quilt which was started back in early 2007. I sent it off to Amitie to be machine quilted back in October and didn't collect it until this week (thanks Jus!).

All it needs is binding and it's finished. Of course hand stitching binding onto a king sized quilt will be hotter work than the knitting projects but it must be done. A few weeks of stitching in my undies should do it! (Don't come round without calling first ok?)

I've started sewing a jacket and have a vest from a Japanese pattern book cut out and I actually think that could be all of my unfinished projects, can you believe it? No, neither can i! 

2013

A happy belated New Year to you all! I hope your Christmas was merry and bright! I've managed to have a wonderful break over the festive period, taking it slow and enjoying time with my family and friends. I've had some time to reflect on the year that has passed which has been a good one for me, it was a year of learning, planning and change.  

watching the seals at Melbourne Zoo

This time last year i set myself a few goals which were to take a photo a day, keep a notebook, be more organised and get fit. Did i manage any of them? I didn't manage a photo a day but i did take a lot, my notebook was more business related than sewing, i worked on getting more organised and although i may not be super fit i am fitter than i was at the beginning of the year. 

What happened in 2012:

• I studied at The School for Social Entrepreneurs where i had the pleasure of learning with an amazing group of people wanting to make a change in the world.
• I researched, planned and planned some more for Handmaker's Factory (more on that soon).
• We decided in September to send Mia and Esme to school after homeschooling from the beginning. This turned out to be a wonderful decision for us all at just the right time in our lives.
• Kev started a new job after staying home with the kids for quite some time.
• I joined the gym which i'm really enjoying, i'm particularly loving body pump and spin.
• I blogged sporadically. I realise blogging wasn't a priority for me in 2012 and i'm ok with that.
• I read the Earth's Children series (finishing the last book now) and have loved it. 

Plans for 2013:

• I will leave my job at Tessuti (the week after next to be exact). Working there for almost 4 years has been a wonderful experience and i'll be sad to go but it's time to move on.
• I will launch the first stage of Handmaker's Factory and i have someone awesome working alongside me.
• My little Heidi Boo will start school! I can't quite believe it but that kid is so ready and oh so excited. Her teacher is in for a treat :)
• I will continue to look after myself by exercising more in the gym, riding my bike to and from my new place of work (HMF) and eating well.
• I will make an effort to spend more quality time with quality friends.
• We will have more family holidays.
• I will make time to be here more often.

For now i'm going to take it slow and enjoy the rest of the summer holidays before the kids go back to school and daily life kicks in. 2013 is going to be a good year! 

How was 2012 for you? What are your plans for 2013?

Single Girl Quilt

Back in May 2011 at Craft Camp i started on the Single Girl quilt with the intention of having it finished for Esme's 6th birthday in October. I used fabrics from my stash (aquired over time from Amitie Textiles) for the circles then stalled on the sashing fabric. I eventually chose a linen a few months later and worked on it a little more then, of course, other stuff got in the way and it sat in a box until a few months ago.

The push to get it finished was when Esme asked me where her quilt was. Ahem! "Err, yes darling i've been working hard on it and will have it ready for your 7th birthday!" So, a few weeks of mad sewing and i finished the quilt the night before her birthday. Phew!

It's rather wonky but i like how it turned out and more importantly Esme loves it!

Tessuti Christmas party frock

Last night we celebrated our fourth Tessuti Melbourne Christmas at Maha Bar and Grill.

There's an unwritten rule that we must all sew a party frock for the occasion. I started mine back in September knowing i would be busy around the time of the party but of course i was still finishing it off yesterday afternoon!

I used this 1960's pattern from my stash and made up version 3 but lengthened the sleeves slightly.

It was so easy to sew (just like it says on the packet!) although i did have some trouble when sewing in the zip. The fabric has some give and stretched slightly creating a wavy zipper seam. I fixed this by removing the zip and stabilizing the seams with fusible tape before sewing it back in resulting in a perfect finish.

The beading took up most of my time, just look at how many there are! Only kidding, it's a trim that i sewed on by hand. I mitred corners at the front and sewed individual beads on to cover the joins. Also, due the fabric being quite drapey and the beaded trim being on the heavy side i strengthened the facing with shapewell so the beads would not fall forward.

I finished off the dress with a black lace trim around the hem (Brianna was very impressed). I used bias stay tape to hold it in place before hand stitching.

Fabric: Late Night Stroll
Trim: Stoned 

both from Tessuti Melbourne.

You can see more photos of the night over on Flickr, including a full length photo of my dress.

Baby

Three years ago i made some Waldorf dolls for my girls and Ezra. I was delighted to discover Ezra grew quite attached to 'baby' and his Grandma recently emailed me to ask if i would make another for his little cousin. 

I hope he loves it.

(supplies from Winterwood)

 

Mini Freddie Vest

5 weeks at school and Mia has attended 4 birthday parties, 3 of them in one weekend! She was incredibly excited and asked me to make the gifts.  There were a few summer skirts and a pair of harem pants made (none of which i got photos of because i was finishing them off on the morning of the parties!).  Then for the last birthday girl of the four i made a mini Freddie Vest.

The best thing about this pattern is how it uses such small amounts of fabric, great for using up scraps and the stash.

Now Mia wants one for herself...of course!

Details

Pattern: Freddie Vest by The Makers Journal
Fabric: Front and back fabrics are linen from Tessuti Fabrics. Lining fabric is from the stash (bought at Amitie Textiles)
Tie ribbon from Tessuti Fabrics