My Creative Space

It's been blankets, blankets and more blankets over here! With the gypsy theme in mind, I'm starting to create a new range for winter, all made from blankets. So time to get stuck in.

The range will include hooded jackets, similiar to the ones I made before here, trousers, flat caps and mittens.

I'm hoping to create lots of unisex styles with that 'thrown together' look. I'm starting with the grey blanket, which is surprisingly soft and we think may have angora in it! I love the red edging.

Of course I'll also be 'decorating' this little jacket with all the usual bits and bobs that I manage to find to recycle; buttons, ric-rac, ribbon, beads etc.

I'm still deciding on the pockets; side ones like these or just patterned patch pockets? I'll wait and see what looks best once I've put on the buttons.
 

 
This one will be for one of Maggie's besties Felix. You know how the first ones are always abit of an experiment.
 

 
What have you all been up to whilst I've been away? I'm heading over to Kirtsy's now to check out more lovely projects. Why not join me.

My Creative Space

My 'Village' applique bags have still been completely and utterly consuming me this week. These are just perfect for kiddiwinks library bags as I made them big enough for the lovely large picture books.

And yesturday I spent a couple of hours just cutting fabric as I was getting abit low on squares and triangles for quilts and  bunting. Not my favourite thing to be doing but it's so satisfying seeing them all cut and ready to go in my cupboard. It also makes it fun for people to choose their fabrics and have a play with designs when they want a bespoke quilt or bunting, with a matching toy. 

What have you been up to this week? I'd love to hear. And don't forget to pop over to Kirsty's blog Kootoyoo to see what others have been busy creating.

Monday Morning Book Club

It was my birthday on Saturday and I received several beautiful books including this one which I will share with you today. All you fans of upcycling, reforming and refashioning will love this book. The book is called Free-Style Handmade Bags and Skirts, but it's the 'free-style' bit that stands out when you look at this book. It's so much more 'urban street cool' than others I've seen which tend to go for either that 'home-spun' or 'pure organic cotton' look. This is different, it's more New York than New England, more hippy chic than shabby chic......are ya gettin me?

There are 50 projects for bags and skirts with easy to follow instructions. The first chapter - Sewing and Pattern Making Basics is particularly good in this book and helpful for anyone attempting their first project.

My Creative Space

Yey, in my creative space this week I finished the sleeping bag! So after sandwiching the layers and cutting out the pattern, I quilted around a few of the groovy flowers to hold it all together (I only ended up doing a few at the back). I also made enough single fold binding to go around the neck, arm holes and sides of zip.

It was then a case of assembling; I started on the zip by binding the two edges of the front pieces where the zip goes and then 'stitched in the gutter' to attach the zip......I love saying that:). I then stitched the front to the back at the shoulders and attached the binding around the neck and arm holes. Finally turn it inside out and stitch all the way around the sides and bottom to join.

The blanket used instead of wadding makes it perfect for chilly nights. Just make sure you lengthen your stich (3.5 on my machine) and use a 11+ needle cos there's some serious thickness you're sewing there.

I had a fab day yesterday sewing clothes for Maggie; two dresses made from sheets, and trousers made from my jersey cotton stash. I may finish off the bottoms of the trousers with trimmings but I really should have done that before I stitched them up. I was just too keen to get them on her and to the park, such a beautiful day today in Tassie. I'll put up pictures of the blue dress I made another time.

I love using binding and ric-rac around the arms, neck and bottom.......any excuse to use ric-rac, I love it:). When you're done here, pop over to Kootoyoo to see what others have been up to. It's such a fab way to share projects, abit like a show and tell of your creations.

Cat Rabbit Workshop

On Tuesday I had a fun night at a workshop with Cat Rabbit, a Hobart based illustrator and toy maker. Cat creates such cool little soft characters and manages to achieve what I strive for......a unique style that really stands out from the crowd. Which I think is partly due to her choice of colours and materials and partly to her ability as an artist. Maybe that's what can be achieved when an illustrator sews, or did the sewer illustrate? Whatever came first, I think it's a recipe for success when it comes to crafting. This one's my favourite.

At the workshop there were about 20 ladies and gents sat around a large table laid with felt, pins, needles, scissors and thread and we each created a little character based on a template offered by Cat. It was really interesting how different they all were. I found myself really out of my comfort zone without 'my things' around me; my sewing machine, my vanishing ink pen, my embroidery needles, my 'box of tricks' and my music. But it was fun to create in company, sing to ourselves and each other and use a muffin as a pin cushion.

I was glad I got the opportunity to talk to Catherine about how she comes up with her characters and how she tranforms them into a three dimensional 'pattern'. This is something that I'm really struggling with at the moment. We also got talking about our mutual love of sewing/craft groups, craft blogs, and she gave me some really good tips. So thank you Catherine for a lovely evening and here are our creations. Can you guess which one is mine?

Stitch and Bitch Weekend March 2010

It's here, no more sleeps. In a couple of hours I'm off on the Stitch and Bitch weekend in Port Sorrell and my poor little car is stuffed full with all my bits and bobs. I'm gonna take several projects, mainly those that need finishing but also one special project - a skirt. Having never attempted dress-making before I thought I'd take the plunge and take advantage of the fact that they'll be so many lovely ladies with a multitude of talents who I'll be able to turn to for help when I get stuck. With a 'to-do wish list' as long as the great wall of china, it was so hard to decide what to do, but I've decided on these:

• A-line ankle length skirt - based on my longtime favourite skirt (which really needs to go for rags). It's gonna be tough as I will have to make the pattern and sew stretching fabric....yickes!!!!
• The final part on the baby quilt - hand sew the binding.
• Make some flower embellishments for applique on some new bags.
• Fix a seam on a favouite pair of shorts (my 5 min. saturday morning hangover task).
• I've also taken some knitting for night-time.

And this is my paking list which I managed to squeeze into my car:

1. Sewing machine.
2. Sewing baskets containing threads, needles, pins, pens, scissors, craft knives, rotary cutter, lippy, tape measures, colour chart etc etc
3. Cutting mat, meter rule, set square, compass.
4. Drawer of trimmings, embroidery threads, lace, buttons, beads, zips, bias binding etc etc
5. Ironing board and iron.
6. My big basket of fabric scraps.
7. Fabric for skirt and skirt I'm copying.
8. Gin, tonic, lemons, nibbles and a Victoria sponge I whipped up this morning.
9. Clothes, quilt, towel (mmm should I take my bikini, there's a pretty cool beach on the doorstep). I will, hang-on i'll just go and get it..........ok, got it:)
10. Outfit for tonight, we're going to see a Fleetwood Mac tribute band - can't wait for that :)
11. Camera.

Sorry there's no photos on this post, I've packed the damm camera right at the bottom!!!!! hehehehe But I will take heaps during the weekend, promise. In the meantime, thought this pic was pretty funny. Gotta go for hair appointment now. Bum gonna be late. Pop back Monday for the all goss :)

Monday Morning Book Club

In my pantry I have a big bag of cardboard boxes, bottle tops, toilet rolls, string, etc which I collect ready for the day when Maggie-May is old enough to start making things like cars, dolls houses and model villages....... I just can't wait! Already she has her own basket of beads, buttons, 'bubbles' (as she calls them), material & paper scraps, fabric flowers, trimmings and boxes which she happily plays with when imitating me sewing.

Art/craft is so important to children in excersing their creative brain.  It stimulates their imagination, is a great form of self expression, improves motor skills and encourages them to be independent in decision making, problem solving, experimentation and encourages perseverence, thus increasing their confidence and self esteem.

So start collecting bits and bobs now and order yourself a copy of this book from your local library or book shop and start creating with your childen. There are 35 step-by-step projects for you to choose from that use natural, recycled and found materials. The projects are mainly suited to older children (3+) but the 'pumpkin animals' and 'cardboard sandals' could be fun for you and your toddler. My favourites are the peg dolls, the pom-pom caterpillar and the dolls house.

My Makes

It seems that I may be a somewhat shy blogger!!!! Each time I attempt to write a post, words seem to fail me. For someone who is not usually short of a word or two this feels a little weirdorama. Maybe that's it, maybe I just have too much to say and don't know where to start. Nevermind, until I find the confidence and feel comfortable about revealing my thoughts, creations and aspirations to the world, pictures of 'my makes' that I have for sale will have to suffice.

The bag pictured above is one of the many different coloured bags I have for sale. Made from recycled wool, buttons, beads and beautifully handmade fabric/felt flower embellishments. Great for little girls to carry their own bib, wipes and spoon when meeting friends for lunch.
Below is Florrie-Blue and Violet from my softie range. Made from recycled stock. I use all the same fabrics for bunting, softies and quilts for a fully co-ordinated baby's boudoir. (See quilts and bunting on the right hand side of the page).
this is sunny...........
and this is Florrie and Maggie.

So there's a few of my little makes for you to ponder over. Baby Boudoir is a very new venture for me and I'm very excited about seeing how it develops. One thing I have discovered recently is how many very talented ladies there are busy in their homes creating wonderful handmade treasures. We need to get together, share ideas and inspiration. I would love to hear from you all, particularly if you are local to NW Tasmania and would be interested in selling your creations in "a winters eve artisans market" that I'm hoping to organise over the winter where people can come to sell, buy, chat, hang-out and have coffee and cake. Look forward to hearing from you.......and don't forget to follow me, sign up over there on the left.