A day for 'Days'

As I mentioned in my post back here, Days for Girls were staging sew-a-thon's around the globe as part of the Day of the girl - a day when we can all get together and do something to break the poverty cycle by helping girls stay in school longer.

Things to consider are that in some countries girls are not able to attend school when they have their period and so they lose days of education.
Enough of these days add up to put them behind in their studies and cause them to either become disheartened with education or their parents to pull them out as they are not getting good enough results.

The poverty cycle can be broken when girls stay in school!!

Wendy and I decided to 'host' an event together...
So we gathered together in the little smARTys studio for the smart-sew-in.

We cut...

Cutting strips for flannelette liners

We trimmed and ironed...

Robyn (my mum) made up over 160 small shield pockets.

We cut some more...

The lovely Wendy - looking like an arty teacher!

and we cut some more!!

Mel was amazing - coming along both days and working tirelessly, once she had coffee!!

Then we sewed, young...

Amelia put her school sewing skills to fabulous use and basted like an expert...

and even younger...

Our youngest sewing lady in action - she was unstoppable.

we made long flannelette strips... 

Liners doubled and ready for cutting

that were cut into numerous liners and then overlocked...

Finished liners in colourful piles.

and the threads were then tied off to make them secure and long lasting.

Our champion thread tying team of Nicola and Rachel.

and we ended up with 330 liners and 90 shields that will soon be packed into bags (that we are still working on) and sent to girls who need them...
for dignity...
for confidence...
for the power to learn...

Items ready to pack.

Thank you so much to the wonderful group of women (and one man!) who gathered together in friendship and community to work through the day and night on this very worthwhile task.

The spirit of friendship and camaraderie was amazing - we shared stories, a meal and our skills for many wonderful hours.

Through this project we are making a very tangible difference and aside from empowering girls - it empowered out community - to stand together and act in defence of those who need a voice.

You may be hearing more of this project as we think it might just become a semi-regular event...

In the meantime have a look at the Days for Girls website and see if you can help in some small way.
Have a look at Wendy's post for more detail on the kit contents.

On the bedside table...

I make no secret of it, I love a good book - there's nothing better than having a book you can't wait to get to each day, stealing moments when you can read...

...while you stir the dinner, waiting for the kids to get their shoes on, or stealing a page or two while you eat your lunch, and THE ROSIE PROJECT was one such book for me.

Cover image from Text Publishing.

It was suggested by a friend and when I looked it up at my library I was 111th on the reserve list... WHHAAAATTT!!

My friend then also mentioned Overdrive, and electronic catalogue of books that libraries make available to members.

I waited for two days and then got notification that it was available and had read and returned it before I would even have received it from the regular system.  It is so quick and easy to use and I really don't know why libraries are not promoting it more, mine had never mentioned it to me...

So now I am onto my third Overdrive book and enjoying not having to wait so long to read popular new release titles.

Onto the book...
The Rosie Project is the story of Don, a University Associate Professor and, obviously, his quest to find a suitable life partner.
The character Don is a quirky and rather eccentric personality who would definitely be on the Autism Spectrum with his need for order and organisation including schedules for meals, shopping and life in general as well as his self-expressed social awkwardness.

If you enjoy the character Sheldon Cooper from the tv sitcom The Big Bang then you will love The Rosie Project as Don bears a number of similarities to Sheldon, but I feel he is far more lovable!

Are you an e-book reader?? Have you discovered Overdrive? Got any good reads to recommend to me??

Joining in with Blogtoberfest.  Jump on board.

Sharing the love

So I dropped the ball there for the weekend....

Back on board now though and ready to get on into Blogtoberfest, again!
I decided this year not to beat myself up if I missed a day - it's about being involved, not killing yourself to post each day.

Today I wanted to share a few blogs I like to read, in the hope that you will do the same and maybe we will each find something new to read.

I love to read the blogs of fellow crafty friends of course, particularly Melbourne girls, and am fortunate through blogging to now be able to call a number of these ladies friends.
Lovely, kind, generous people with whom I enjoy spending time whenever the opportunity presents itself.

They motivate, inspire and challenge me to think outside the square.

Particularly Wendy and Lara, who apart from being all of the above, are two of the most genuinely lovely people you could meet.

Others that fall into this category are my "Out of town" friends Tan, Annie and Rachel, all very 'good eggs' as Jodie (another favourite) would say.
There are so many other lovely Melbourne bloggers that I can't list them all, but we have a wonderful crafty community here in Melbourne.

Wendy indulging in her 'other' love - teaching art to kids in her studio, my kids on this occasion!!

When it comes to dress making these are a few of my favourites, I'll list them to make it easier to read:

Sewaholic - despite not having made enough of the patterns I have, I love Tasia's patterns. And she just sounds so lovely - like someone you could easily be friends with!

Poppykettle - I often pop in to read Melanie's blog and enjoy the very detailed tailoring she has been doing at  jacket course in the US - oh to be back in the days of being child-free with more disposable income to indulge in such lovely things as this!!

Lower your presser foot - Kristy makes a LOT of clothing and often tries new techniques in construction and gives lots of detail, which I love!

No Big Dill - Katy has been a favourite of mine for a while now - she blogs about sewing for her five girls and one son along with the occasional project in there for herself.
She has wonderful taste/style and I love the little quirky design elements she always includes in her projects.

Crafterhours - Always something on the go over here - lots of great ideas to be found as well as patterns, mostly for kids!

Skirt as top - also lots to be seen - for kids and adults alike.

So what about you - what do you read??

Blink and you'll miss it...

That's how these holidays have felt...

They seem to have just begun, but now they are over...

This is but a brief snippet of what has been happening - so many days, parks, friends, play dates, family outings and fabulous cubby houses built that remain as memories, not images.

Blogtoberfest is on again - join in over here.

Bend and stretch...

then flip upside down!

This kid is gymnastics mad at the moment, so when the gym exhibition called for a 'Space-themed' outfit I took her shopping, and this is what we came up with!

Long, long legs...!

She knew exactly what she wanted and I was very lucky to have been given a pattern by Kelly that she no longer needed and it was perfect for this outfit, having leotard and leggings in the one pattern.

It is Kwik Sew 2725.

Raspberry and silvery white, stretchy, stretchy, stretchy.

She wasn't keen at first but I convinced her that a small silver piping strip down each side would look good and I am glad she let me as it really sets off the star.

Always the wrong way up!

The shorts are quite snug - I would probably go up a size next time, but she says they are perfect, and they certainly didn't cause any performance problems on the day.

It didn't take much encouragement to get her back into it!

I realised I hadn't taken any shots of just the leotard, so here she is, bad indoor evening shots - sorry!!

When she raised her arms up the creased section disappeared, without any 'wedgie' factor!

I added 5cm through the lower body of this leotard as she is very long in the torso.

She measured a size 5-6 but length was size 10!

I made a size 7 with the extra length and it was perfect, did not need to be pulled at or adjusted at all.

I think she will be wearing this again and again - and I certainly plan to make her more leotards using this pattern.

To complete the outfit I made two tiny scrunchies that she wanted to wear on two little hair buns to keep her long hair at bay as she was performing.

She was more than a little proud to receive her very first trophy - it was a demonstration day so everyone got one, but that didn't diminish her excitement. She is working hard and loving her gym and deserved something special.

I'm playing along with Blogtoberfest. 

Join in!

Wordless Wednesday

Playing along with Blogtoberfest.
It's not too late to join in...

Blogtoberfest here I come!!

Ok, yes I have been a bit blog slack...
Don't worry I've been reminded about it and questioned as to whether I really am a blogger anymore!

So when prompted by the lovely Wendy about whether Blogtober was going ahead I did a little hunting around and found it's being hosted by Shells in the Bush, so click on over if you want to get on board too and grab a button.

I am going to do my best to get back into the blog habit and post something every day in October - no matter how small...

Today I want to bring to your attention a great cause/event that is happening in ten days.

There's an International Sew-along happening to make up feminine hygiene kits for girls in countries where they sometimes have to manage each month by using leaves or newspaper, or they simply stay home for the duration of their period.

Days for Girls - Every Girl. Everywhere. Period.

Having appropriate supplies, in their own little drawstring bag,  means they can attend school every day, and not miss out on up to 60 days every year.
It gives them the chance to stand tall in their community and not have to hide away.
It gives them dignity.

It's such a simple thing and I love that practical skills can be applied to make something that can make a real difference to someone's life.

The Sew-along is being hosted by Days for Girls click the link and visit their site to read more - it will be time well spent.

If you are in Melbourne and want to get involved, Wendy and I are hosting an even in the Eastern suburbs on Friday October 11th (2pm til late) and the morning of Saturday 12th October.

Leave me a comment that links to your email address and I can send you further details.

Otherwise jump on the Days for Girls website and see how else you can help.