The week that's been...

Busy, busy, busy...

I honestly feel like I blinked and I was time transported from Christmas 2011 to now with the first half of the year feeling like it has whizzed by in a blurry whir (actually, it feels like I turned 18 and then bam! The days, months and years began crazily churning over).

Yes... I do always think of how people say the years go faster as you get older... it must be a true sign you're getting older when you start saying this more frequently and then feeling that slight twang of panic and wonder at just how fast can each year get.

*Sigh* Anyway, I think you get the picture... I feel like someone is stealing my hours and pushing fast forward on the clock... even as a young child I used to wish I could stop time by touching my two index fingers together and then race round getting everything I didn't have time to do done... I wish this now more than ever it seems.... what was that television show? (oh the wonder of google... Another World... just watched a few little clips on youtube - man, I never remember it being so dated... haha).

Well, here's a quick catch/round up on the week that's been... 

My gorgeous little one turned three...

My sister in law had a perfectly beautiful baby girl on Tuesday...

My two little ones think their new little cousin is simply ADORABLE

I did a spot of sewing inspired and for the gorgeous little one pictured above...

The bonnet although a XS seems a little big in comparison to the shoes and appliquéd onsie so I might whip up some more over the weekend... little baby clothes make me go all crazy clucky!!!

And now with the next birthday party only three weeks away it's still all party, planning madness around here... My five year old has requested a unicorn rainbow party... so were all about fulfilling magical little girls whimsy and imagination here and I'm just a little bit of a lot excited!

I bought a special lamb cake tin which google and the power of the internet tells me I can refashion once baked into an awesome looking unicorn... I guess that remains to be seen! I've got my fingers crossed for my little girl!

Well, I didn't really keep you all up to date with my photo a day May challenge but it kind of felt like I was doubling up posting it here and on Instagram (and on FB) so if you wanted to check it out search me out on Instagram I'm easy enough to find... (there's even a handy little link in my sidebar ☺)

Cheers till next time... I'm hoping to get more sewing done over the weekend (along with cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking and all things equally domesticated... I just might need a glass of red first to find my motivation).

xo

Sewing again...

It's been a while... too long really. 

It seems like so long since I've sat down at my sewing desk and actually felt excited and like I want to sew.

I haven't sewn lately for a whole bundle of reasons... disorganised day-to-day life, a sewing room that was so overwhelmed with fabric it was hard to sit in there and feel even the tiniest bit inspired, sewing-life-children-family-husband-you-name-it balance (or lack thereof)... I could go on and on - but let's face it, the fact is I hadn't been sewing, I didn't feel like it and now I do... and I'm happy about it too!

I'd had a picture in my mind for a while of combining some pretty vinty doilies with denim to create a winter shoe range - oh, how I miss summer already :( but I am excited about making more winter styles to beat sew away the gloomy weather blues... 

So, today I finally felt inspired enough to sew up these mary janes, they are the first pair of my "Dainty Denim" range for this year:

There will be a similarly styled boot in the denims as well... ooh, just thinking about them is making me smile as I type! Yay!

I'm also sewing up a couple pairs of this style and colour, of last years BOOTiful boots, they were super popular...

I have grand (well, in my own mind anyway) visions of a pretty funky hounds-tooth and hot pink version of my BOOTiful boots too... you know you'll see it first on my FB page or maybe get updated on that new love of mine Instagram!

And hopefully will be finishing off a few more projects that have lain about half finished...

...like the red riding hood cape

...the Japanese pattern book top

...some winter dresses

...and the list goes on!

So, all in all a good day... a sleep in (followed by mad, crazy efforts to make up for time lost from my day solely the fault of the aforementioned luxury), sewing, laughs and lemon tree climbing in the back yard with my girls, good gym session... probably should have gone for a run too - damn you cold, misery-guts weather... but yep, overall a really nice day. 

Hope yours was a nice day too!

Yay for nice days!

xo

All in pieces

Seriously . . .

Are you a one project person, start to finish?

Or do you start one, then another, then another and have a few on the go at a time?

Me? I'm the latter . . .  I start one project then intersperse it with the beginnings of others . . . sometimes this leads to distraction and in-completion . . .  other times it just works!

A few weeks back I made these gorgeous dollies for my two little princesses. . .

Let me introduce you to Big Little Miss M's new BFF, Jemima (what can I say - the girl loves her some playschool)

This next one is Little Little Miss M's new bubba . . .  Abbey - not sure where or  what inspired the name but she was adamant right from the beginning that her dolly would be called Abbey, and she has not wavered on it since - which is a little special in the ever changing world of a 2 and a half year old!

Yes, the Japanese project is underway. . .

but I thought I'd just give you a peek at another little project I'm also working on.

I began cutting another two dolls. . .

when Little Little Miss M wanders in, enquires as to my makings and then promptly put in a special request.... so one of these 'all in pieces' dolls is going to be a little extra special!

Three more Bit of Whimsy dolls . . .  One  a custom order . . .  one to find a new home when completed and one a special order by Little Little Miss M..

Can you guess what she wanted? I was a little surprised by the request but I'll let you know what it was in due course . . . ooh the mystery . . . the suspense . . .  lol, it must be late and yes I do need to get some more sleep!

xoxo

Be back soon with a first glimpse of the 'Japanese Project'

☺

. 

When moons align, the wind is right and the world conspires WITH you...

Rolled hems and I...  (or rolled hems and me - as I'm told is correct grammar these days???) we have a relationship that is often tempestuous! I like to tuck the rolled hem foot away and pretend it doesn't exist but at the same time I just love the finished look of the neat little hem that it can create (when the moons align, the wind is right, the world is conspiring with me and it all works as it should, that is!)

Well people... today was one of those days!

Gorgeous, little and neat rolled hems! Bliss!

I heard about a little hint of snipping the start corner on a 45degree angle to help it feed onto the foot. Sounds easy enough... and it seemed to work too! I was on a ROLL!!! (heehee... really sad pun I know, but I just had to!)

UNTIL... it seemed my new found confidence with the rolled hems was short lived as then my machine began to skip threads, bunch up the bobbin thread and generally give me grief!

Time to inspect... and look what I found:

How disgracefully, lint filled is my bobbin holder? Kind of embarrassing. I'm not sure when I last cleaned it out - and I know, I know, I should be cleaning it after each use... but really, how many of us do that? What, you do? Okay, I'm off today to buy a can of compressed air... I believe that I should be cleaning the serger EVERY time too - I'm not even going to let you get a look in that baby!

Anyhow, my poor dusty machine got a bit of a dust out and she was back to giving me perfectly rolled hems. I wonder how much better she'll perform once I start giving her a burst of compressed air every day!

Oh, and did you notice the new blog header? Do you remember the old one? I thought it needed an update... what do you think? I'm not sure on it yet - it might grow on me though, we'll see.

Hope you're having a day where all your moons are aligning, the wind is right and that the world is conspiring with you - whatever you're doing!

Cheers xx

A spot of sewing...

Time sometimes seems to just disappear... I look at the clock and its early afternoon and before I know it, in the blink of an eye the afternoon is fading into evening - and that's even though we've just started daylight savings time here less than a week ago!

It's been school holiday's for the past couple of weeks but they're over come Monday and Spring began at the start of the month... warmer weather is on its way!!! I love summer - I pine all winter long for more warmth (even though I absolutely love the snow - but only if I'm skiing). 

I've actually managed to fit a little sewing in over the last couple of days and here's a peek at some of it:

A gorgeous A-line with a really quirky, vintage looking owl and cat print... I wasn't sure about the dress design at first but when I popped it on Little Miss M I fell in love... it kind of helps that she really turns it on for the camera (even if it's a little over the top at times ☺)

Ooh... and this gorgeous vintage style romper - I'm seeing some of these pop up all over the place at the moment. This outfit makes me want another little bub (even more)... I think I'll be making more of the kanzashi style brooches too, I really like how they look and they are super quick to make.

So, are you following my facebook page, SpaNGle yet? Check it out, follow along and say hi - it really makes my day! The above two items will be for sale on my page at 8pm (AEST) on the 25th October 2010... plus more gorgeous outfits that will be previewed over the coming weeks. (Oh and while I'm at it - why not follow my pinterest boards too... ... I promise I'll check out your pins and boards to see what goodies and projects have caught your eye!)

And just because I love how they turned out here's a few more photo's of my two little ladies...

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Pop by again... leave a comment if you like - because I'd love to hear from you! It'll send a smile my way.

Cheers

Thrifty upcycle… top to toddler dress

The last few days have been strange days I guess – been in a bit of a funny mood, who knows maybe its the weather? Or just the comedown from the Christmas season?

Anyhow, here’s what I started with:


This top is a size 10 Target ‘Hot Options’ branded top but I picked it up at the thrift store for 50c and I thought it had some potential.

It is a little hard to make out much of the detail because of the print and crinkled fabric (it is meant to stay crinkled – no ironing yay – but not something I’d wear because ironically I’d be thinking it looked like I simply neglected to iron before heading out, oh and it’s been a while since I could fit into a size 10!!!).

Here’s a quick photo overview (just click on the photo to see an enlargement and read some of the photo text a little easier).

THE PRO’s of this little number:


These buttons are going to be saved for another project and were the original driving force behind my lashing out 50c on the top.




I love little details but probably would not be inclined to hand stitch individual beads onto an outfit unless it was VERY special – too time consuming I think, so already there is a bonus!





THE CON’s of this top:







So, I hope that gives you a better idea of the garment and my reason for showing so many photos of the original is because although this is a refashion I will be incorporating many of the features/pro’s of this outfit in the remodelled garment and knowing how it originally was will hopefully make the following tutorial easier to understand.

Well, shall we get it underway?

…. Yep! I am writing this tute as I go so you’ll have to check back a little later to see the final result – scary thing is I don’t even know what it’s going to look like at this point (other than the usual mental picture in my head, which doesn’t account for any hiccups or roadblocks nor give me the directions on achieving the look)… so cross your fingers for me, check back soon and hopefully tomorrow I’ll have the final instalment ready to reveal!

Cheers!
***UPDATE***
Okay, the refashion is complete… BUT and I’m sorry to leave you hanging with this – I am still putting the tutorial together (they really take a bit of time to work through, sort pictures and not to mention attempt to be logical and fluent). So, here’s a sneak peek:

Hmm… can you picture it??? I even did a little bit of shirring on the back – I am quite happy with this one (apart from the fact that this busy busy fabric really does not lend itself to great pictures) It is a very girly dress and somewhat classical in style but with some modern touches. Well, I hope this little teaser is enough to encourage you to come back tomorrow where I PROMISE – cross my heart and all - that there will be a full reveal and tutorial, that is of course unless there is some major life/domestic/toddler world in crisis type situation!

Righto... ALL FINISHED, VICTORY DANCE COMPLETED now all's that left is for you to CLICK HERE to go to the finished tutorial and dress!

Marshmallow puddings & Dex Hamilton

I have finished the Dex Hamilton shirt… yay! My first foray into boys clothing. I am fairly pleased with the final result and I can definitely say I learnt along the way!

Here it is beside my example picture:

 
If I had to do it again I’d tweak the collar design a little but on a whole I am happy with it…. just hope the little boy who’s getting this for Christmas likes it too!

And just a flash of insanity… its 3am Australian time and I’ve just finished making a plate of marshmallow puddings. There really isn’t enough hours in the day sometimes…



These little puddings are just the easiest plate of Christmas party treats I think you could get. With only a packet of Chocolate Marshmallow biscuits, 100gms of melted white chocolate, a bag of Jaffa's and some cut up mint leaf lollies you’re all set!

Check out the link party at

Pattern drafting, mess creating and a little inspiration...

I didn't get a chance to fit any sewing into my day today but after the girls went down for the night I decided to attempt a pattern draft for a skirt I kind of had a mental vision for.

 Now, I have no official training in pattern drafting so my attempt created a fair amount of mess and took a little longer than I had hoped.

Note the many, many redrawn lines... The first one I drew up was a size 3 (3T) for my little big Miss M and the second one was a size 1 (18mths) for my little little Miss M.
The second pattern was sooooo much easier because I could use the first one as a guide.

The fabric above is the material I'll use for the size 3 skirt. It's going to have the blue waistband, a red main section with blue ric rac and a gorgeous birdy fabric hem panel finished with red bias tape.
I really hope it turns out how I am imagining it in my head...
Fingers crossed for a good nap time from the girls tomorrow afternoon so that I can sew up this skirt.
Cheers xo