Flippy Figgy

I feel like I am still catching up a bit, but 'tis the season so that's OK...

This is a little dress that I made at Sewjourn back in November, but with the weather, the photo blogging issues and the lack of time you are just getting to see it now.

It was a bit glary, hence the toothy squint!

This is the Scirocco from Figgys Patterns, a cute little party dress with layers cut on the bias and an interesting twist to the back.

It was quite simple to sew and I love the finished look but there were a couple of times making it up when I felt the instructions were a little lacking.

It's made from the same spotted fabric that I used for this dress, just in another colourway - the fabric is something shiny with polyester in it! I used a cotton batiste for the lining, which is poking out a little in this shot...

It's still got plenty of room for her to grow into it, I think I might need to add another layer for length before she grows out of the size. I made the 6-7.

It turned out to be just what she wanted to wear for her very first piano recital, held in front of family and friends. It looked cute for this too because the open back and twist feature were on show as she played.

No nerves at all, she just sat and played away

First she played alone, then her family joined in...

Cousins on Trumpet and flute, Dad on clarinet and Grandfather on violin.

A very musical family!

It was particularly lovely to see her 82 Year old Grandfather perched next to her as they played together.

She's already planning what she might play next year.

Totally Mod

I should warn you that there is a bit of picture overkill coming up, so read on at your peril!

I originally posted back in July about joining in Cam's Bag Adventure by making bags for the girls' school teachers - starting them early so I wouldn't have to rush - blah, blah, blah!!

Anyway, fast forward to one week before school ends and I have one bag fully made and another nearing completion.
This bag was a bit of a step up in 'trying something new' for me - with a zippered gusset at the top and a curved outer shape.

So here's the finished product.

In case you missed the brief - this is Nikki's Mod bag.

I chose this because, well, I liked the look of it and hoped the recipients would too!

Heavy silver flat rings for the front tab and strap

I learned a lot making this.

I want to learn more about interfacing as I think that it is the key to getting the shape and feel of the bag right.

The interfacing I used for the flap was a little too heavy - so Nikki advised me to do a second row of topstitching - which helped immensely.

I wish I had styled this correctly because I carefully cut it so the ring sits centrally over the pattern!!

It's a roomy bag, perfect for lugging around all the things teachers might need as well as having room for their lunch if they like.

I made this one using fabric from the David Butler/Parson Gray range called Curious Nature and lined it with a very vibrant Lecien red dot.

I wanted a zip top so everything stays in  when you are on the move, I added the zipper pull to make it easier to use - they are easy to add and just give it a bit of a finished touch.

Clip off the existing pull and add one of these - easy!

Lara always puts in a key tag and I always wish I had one in my bag - so this one does.

So easy to add in - a piece of ribbon with a clip on it.

It also has three internal pockets on one side for sunglasses, tissues, phone or whatever else fits...

You can never have too many pockets I say!

And a zip pocket on the other side because it's handy!

My handy model showing the handy pocket!

I'm really very pleased with how this bag turned out, Nikki has a way of adding extras into a pattern that mean you end up with a product that looks professionally finished.

She helps you ensure your items look Handmade rather than Homemade if you know what I mean.

This fabric almost makes me dizzy at time!

Who knows, perhaps the lure of a bag could tempt some other lovely teacher to make the move to Melbourne...
This kid will need a Prep teacher the year after next if you're interested Annie...

Just had to include this so you could admire my Mod model's lovely foot positioning!!

Now working on the red microsuede version...
Stay tuned!

Renfrewitis

I'm a little late to this party...

Lara had this illness a while back as did many other garment-sewing ladies, so much so that a term was coined for it... Renfrewi-itis!

It relates to the sewing of various versions of the Renfrew top from Sewaholic patterns, and I really did find you can't stop at just one...

After seeing this pic I removed the vertically striped band and replaced it with a horizontal one

So I didn't!

I tried it out in two styles - the round and the V-neck and they were equally easy to put together.

I can see myself wearing this one a lot, I have a thing for red, can you tell??!!

They are great 'basic' T's that fit well into my casual school-mum wardrobe.

They are comfortable and quick and easy to sew up and I can see that there will be many more Renfrew's in my future.

The only thing I regret is that it took me so long to get onto making this pattern.

I got mine from Sarah at Sew Squirrel - she's in Australia and so they got to me super-fast and she's lovely to deal with, so order one from her if you are going to buy it!

A day in the hills

Life has been busy lately - a little too busy for my liking.

There's not enough time to stop and breathe, or spend time together.

So this weekend we grabbed a lovely friend, piled in the car and headed to the hills.

Yes they do taste as amazing as they look!

It's berry and cherry season here.
We planned at first to pick berries but as Saturday had been a beautiful day the berry farms had been picked-out and hence are closed for a few days.
So cherries it was.

Having a Dad who is 195cm (6ft 5 inches) has its advantages!

We all grabbed a bucket, boarded the mini bus and headed for the orchards.

There was plenty of this...

You are allowed to eat as much as you like...

Which resulted in this...

Yes, that second front tooth is hanging by a thread!

And then 'The guy who lives here' and Miss G's other favourite guy decided to engage in a pip-spitting competition, classy I know!

The bemused looks on the girls faces sums it up for me!

We took picked close to 5kg of cherries but bought two, that will keep us going for a while anyway.

Butter wouldn't melt would it... hmmm

Oh yeah, they have sour cherries as well!

And it was important to wear your cat tail on adventure such as this!

Fruit picking is a lovely family outing.
Apart from wandering in the fresh air together and engaging in the teamwork of picking, there are lessons of nature to be learned along the way.

After we browsed through the shops in Olinda and had some lovely wood-fired pizza.
A very pleasant, relaxing, reviving day.

Goodbye cherries - we'll see you again next year.

PS - sorry for my recent absence - I had a major Picasa problem - it seems a few bloggers have had this lately...

A huge thank you to Bec for passing on some information from Lisa that has saved the day.

After all, a blog post without pics is just, well, kind of dull!