Sprouting from Sewjourn

I'm back!

Life's been a little busy around here.

Unfortunately I don't just sew and play with kids - there's a bunch of other stuff I have to fit into my day that keeps me from the sewing machine.

You know, stuff like being on committees for both kinder and school, keeping up with friends and family, assisting in a number of classroom activities in the school with both our older girls (so twice the amount of classroom help!!), chasing work, doing work, helping people with IT/design stuff because they are not very tech savvy, running kids to and from activities, running, going to the gym and of course keeping things running on the home front.

So anyway - the weekend just gone involved none of that. It was one of pure indulgence and fun.
Yep - Sewjourn again!!

I won't go into all that we got up to because what happens at Sewjourn stays at Sewjourn!

Let me sum it up by saying the conversations are enlightening, funny, serious, uplifting, heartfelt and always sincere.

The sewing is creative, inspirational, experimental, enjoyable and relaxing.
The company - wonderful sums it up I think, though there are many other adjectives that could be applied.

There are a few pics to give you a feel for the weekend on Lara's blog.

And here is one of the garments I sewed, a Make It Perfect Sprout dress for Miss G - who doesn't like to wear her sister's hand-me-downs (aaaahhhhh), but who very happily put this new snug and warm dress on today for kinder - with no fuss.

It's always a winner for me this one.

I also sunk my teeth into some StyleArc patterns, a Clever Charlotte I have been wanting to try and finally finished off an Oliver + s cape I cut last winter.

More on those another time....
I need to catch up on some sleep!

Favourite things

There's a bit of talk about the new Sprout pattern from Make It Perfect so I thought I'd post a few more pics of the finished dresses that keep sprouting up around my place (yep - bad pun I know!).

As I mentioned previously I let the girls choose their own fabric for these, and they each chose some of their favourite things.
I have to admit I was nervous about the Michael Miller robot fabric, but I am really happy with the result.

It's a fun and colourful dress that Miss A adores and wants to wear constantly.

I also like that with black tights and boots to 'tone down' the colourful dress she is warm and comfortable while wearing it too.

These two dresses are size 5 that I shortened a little.
My girls are 116cm and 113cm, so the height of an average five (or six) year old, but they have a thing about dresses not being too long at the moment.

Knowing they would be worn with tights underneath I was happy to oblige and shorten them a little this time, rather than see them hang in the wardrobe unworn.


Here's Miss G who will be two at the end of July but who is the height of an average three year old (we grow 'em tall here!).

I made her the size 3 at the full length of the pattern (she's not as choosy as her sisters, yet!) and I think this is a great length for her.

Did you notice - the babushka's are not just scattered around randomly as I thought they were - but are in fact directional! All these little ladies have their heads down - oh well!


And here is the gorgeous child doing her own accessorising!
Looks comfortable that sparkly headband doesn't it!

This is a really easy pattern to follow with pockets and a hood for comfort and I like it so much I made another one babushka dress for the daughter of a friend of mine for her birthday.

Once you have made a few you can whip them up in a night.

Go on, give it a go.

Something to SPROUT about

Time for the big reveal, here is Toni's new Make It Perfect pattern, Sprout.


I currently have two girls who insist on wearing dresses all the time, so this little dress is perfect for our upcoming cooler weather.

Sprout is fully lined with flanellette so the girls will stay warm in winter but still be comfortable, and happy.


It has pockets on both sides for all those pieces of treasure you find while walking to the park, and a hood for keeping the wind at bay.

Not the greatest pics but my 'models' are having a rest so I will try to get modelled pics at a later date. I am 'recovering' from a big day yesterday of chatting and meeting an amazing group of friendly and entertaining women, some of whom are great dancers (if there is cheese or pina colada's involved) and will be back tomorrow to tell you more about the big Sew It Together weekend!

In the meantime - head over to Toni's to try and win your own copy of Sprout.

Oooh look!

It's all finished, soon to be revealed.

Another sneaky peek here.

Full details to come from Toni, keep checking! (PS - she usually does a giveaway with each new pattern launch).