Sewjourn

Last weekend Liesl, Cathy, Bec, Melanie, Caitlin, day tripper Cam and I went to Sewjourn.

There was lots of sewing and making, a bit of painting, loads of wonderful food, a little wine of course, and lots and lots of talking, getting to know new friends, and catching up with wonderful creative peeps I don't get to see enough of in the real world.

Apologies in advance for the photo heavy post, but I was the (un)official photographer for the weekend.

Tinniegirl art in progress

Caitlin and some of her stunning Pippijoe fabrics

Many hands make light work - basting Liesl's quilt.

More stunning Pippijoe fabrics

Caitlin's paper flowers, an elegant addition to the dining table

My quilt, started at Sew It Together in May, still a work in progress!

Melanie's gorgeous quilt top (particularly nice sashing there Mel!)

The view from Sewjourn - what's not to love?

Thanks girls for a beautiful weekend.

A Snappy Solution (this one's for you Cam)

Last week I had a lovely visit at Karen's place. Karen made us a yummy soup for lunch, the kids played and danced and dressed up, and Karen and I made wedding plans for them took them out for a walk. It was a fab day, and Karen has blogged some great pics here showing just some of the children's excellent fashion sense.

Not surprisingly, with 5 children under 5 years between us we didn't get any sewing done, but we did manage to have a play with Karen's snap press. It's awesome, I definitely need to buy one!

And Cam, you'll be pleased to hear, we replaced the broken snap on your pinny - hurrah!

 

So it's ready to be delivered to Spotlight with the other 20 or so dresses and 8 pairs of  shorts which have been sent to me by so many wonderful crafty peeps.

Completed - The Panel Bag

I've been doing a spot of pattern testing, and...

Ta-Daaaa!

 When it comes to bags I am a complete beginner. In fact, when it comes to sewing, I'm still a novice.  I have never made a bag before and would never have attempted one with a lining and a base! I have only ever sewn pleats once (and I'm not sure little ones on a pocket really count), I have never inserted a zip pocket or compartment pockets in a bag lining before, I have never used O-rings. And, I have never used one of Nikki's patterns before. I was more than a little apprehensive.

But look:

 Pleats!

O-Rings!

Zipped pocket!

Compartment pocket!

I made the bag completely from my stash, using a pretty bird fabric from Ikea, some black embroidered suede left over from my first attempt at a skirt (what was I thinking?), and some pretty paisley polycotton  I don't even remember buying!

I can't say enough great things about Nikki's pattern and instructions. The level of detail in the pattern made it possible for me to do some scary things I've never done before, simply by following Nikki's well written instructions.

Of course, no matter how fabulously well put together a pattern is, we all still love a good sewing mishap now, don't we? 

Can you spot what's wrong with this picture?

No? Can't see the problem? 

Does this help? 

Yes, it's always a good tip to have the O-Ring inside the tab before stitching the tab closed. Doh!

I can't wait to try another of Nikki's patterns, and if you haven't tried one, give it a go, I bet you'll love it!

Completed - Reversible Winter Pinafore

Buttonholed. Buttoned. Taken in a little. Unpicked. Restitched, taking care to line up the seams properly this time. Hemmed. Wrapped. Delivered to the birthday girl. Well received. Yay!

Pleated pockets made using this tutorial

Heart shaped pocket all my idea!

Vintage self cover buttons from the Op Shop.

My Creative Space

In my Creative Space this week I'm getting back to nature, playing with some flora...

and fauna...

(I'll show you when it's finished...which was supposed to be yesterday...but I keep getting interrupted when I'm trying to sew!

Click here to visit some more lovely Creative Spaces. As always, thanks to Kirsty for hosting My Creative Space.

My Creative Space - Reversible winter weight Pinafore

I'm not at all sure why I jumped into the 'Pinafores for an Orphanage' cause so enthusiastically, considering that I've never really made clothing before. And I've certainly never made a dress before! A whole lot of optimism and a 'Have a Crack' attitude I presume!

Armed with new confidence after my unexpected success in turning out 3 lovely (if I do say so myself) pinafores for the orphanage, I have whipped up another Pinny for my niece's 2nd birthday. This is a winter weight dress made using embroidered corduroy.

I even had a go at pockets on this one using this great tutorial from Made By Rae.

I have to take it in a bit under the arms (she's a tiny little thing!) and it still needs hemming and some buttons. Hoping to finish it today!

For more Creative Spaces, visit Kirsty.

The Great Pencil Roll Experiment...

Here is a little pencil roll I whipped up on Sunday evening. I used this excellent tutorial from Kirsty over at Kootoyoo (which is actually for an embroidered carry all!) but the instructions lend themselves to a pencil roll just as well, the instructions are very easy to follow and the pencil roll came together in about half an hour. Thanks Kirsty!

Please take no notice of the fact that I only stitched enough pockets to hold eleven pencils. Clearly I need a tutorial which reminds me to count the number of pencils in my child's pack before marking and stitching all the rows.

  

Here it is rolled up.

Next time I would use ribbon to tie around the roll instead of elastic, I think it would be prettier.

Since I am pretty much a complete novice when it comes to sewing, this was actually a practice run for a knitting needle roll which I want to make for my mum, so I will keep you updated with the progress of that, but I'm feeling more confident after the pencil roll experiment!

**Apologies to Kirsty for completely disregarding the 'embroidery' section of her tutorial - despite the wonderful instructions I'm just not that confident yet!