44. Kids Clothes Week April 2015 - Day 1, 2, and 3

Lets get this Kids Clothes Week started! Would you believe that this time I actually started 2 days early!

A friend is pregnant with a girl and I just had to make her clothes for her baby shower which was on Sunday. So I made a dress and a couple of pairs of footed leggings.

The dress is from Ottobre 03/2014 #8 Jersey dress which I modifed by leaving off the cap sleeves.  Now it is a bit more verstile and can be worn over onsies etc

I have been pushing myself using more knit fabric and this time I think I nailed the neck and armhole binding.

And the footed leggings which once again are Ottobre 01/2014 #11 Footed pants:

I didn't realise that all these photos were blurry :( and I can't take more photos as they have already been gifted!  I have made these in Polar fleece for Rohan here and here (here).  I made my earlier adjustment of lowering the waist by approx 3cm and this time I slimmed them down a little in the leg.

I am really happy with them.  I wish I could have found some nice pink knit by Spotlight was all blues, greens and oranges. 

43. Kids Clothes Week April 2015 - I have signed up!

Yay, I have committed again to sewing kids clothes for 1 hour a day for 7 days.  It is a commitment but I am up for it!

42. More FREE sewing patterns

So there I am on Pinterest and I saw these awesome Antro leggings from this Pin:

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 Aren't they beautiful - that fabric! Then further down the same Pinterest board I found this site which has HEAPS of FREE patterns:

Spit up & Stilettos

Just look at this leggings pattern:

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And this dress:

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And this blazer which looks a lot like the Salme blazer pattern that I have:

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 And lastly a very nice peplum top:

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Don't they look amazing!  There are also skirt patterns, trouser patterns, shirt patterns, singlet/camisole patterns - this list goes on!  They do have childrens patterns that you have to buy but they look good too.  The other bonus is that there are even a few sewalongs on the website.  I really want to give them a go.

But first I am going to embellish a sweatshirt for Julian.  Better get onto that now... 

38. Wardrobe planning

It is January (for another 2 days) so obviously I am thinking about the year ahead.  I have returned to work after my last ever maternity leave and this is my last week of only working 2 days a week.  Next week I will be working 3 days and this will be my "new normal'' probably until Rohan starts school in 4 years time! This has got me thinking about the life I want to live and what makes me happy.  Sewing definitely makes me happy.  However I haven't shifted the baby weight as easily this time around, so I am not the size I used to be, let alone the size want to be.  With the limited amount of sewing time that I have due to 2 small kidlets and working, do I want to be spending it on making clothes to fit my current body shape/size?  I fear that if I do this, I am accepting my current body is a permanent change.

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I really do hate exercising.  I have printed the picture above and stuck it in front of our treadmill.  I bought an app for Couch to 5k and I have used it only 3 times!  I know that running is the only thing that shifts weight for me and that is why we bought the treadmill in the first place!  I spend hours on pinterest trying to find printables to chart my weightloss (they aren't very good either) and then watch Martha Bakes on Foxtel afterwards. 

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 I just made this fantastic Devils Food Cake for my birthday (it makes 2 tall 20cm/8" cakes!) which also explains why I am the size I am.  In addition I finally gave up breastfeeding a week ago - a whole year!! - and I am so chuffed with this.

So the long of it is, that I must focus on the things that make me happy (sewing and baking) and suck up the things that I dislike (exercise).

Which brings me back to sewing.  I haven't read  sewing blogs in ages (thanks to Pinterest) and when I sat down last night to read them using Bloglines, I discovered that Bloglines no longer exists! At the time I cursed and grumbled as I had no idea what blogs I actually read as it had been so long, so how could I set up a new blog reader?  I tried Feedly for 1day and I didn't like it, so I gave Bloglovin' a try.  Wow, isn't it fantastic!  It was so easy and I discovered some new to me blogs which are awesome!

I also did a search on "Capsule Wardrobe" and "Wardrobe Planning" as that is what I really want to do. There is the brilliant 2014 Wardrobe Architect series on Coletterie and the 2015 revision which is just starting; the excellent Wardrobe planning post on Grainline; the SewMamaSew post from IndieSew for a Handmade Wardrobe; Into-Minds whole website!; Make me a Wardrobe on My Make do and Mend year; SewOutnumbered and her Capsule wardrobe planning...Phew that was a lot of links!  So here it is, I think I am finally going to commit:

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I was just looking through my Pinterest and discovered more Capsule planners and Wardrobe builders which I must list here for completeness:

Project 333
Unfancy
Sewing plums

And how did I ever forget Sewing Pattern Review Wardrobe competitions.  There are lots of great ideas there and I see that there is a Travel Capsule competition starting 1st February!  Maybe this is a bit soon for me.

32. Kids Clothes Week - July 2014. I have signed up!

So I had a baby boy in January.  We named him Rohan and he is lovely :) By pure coincidence,  one of the people I was in the handmade fabric swap Craftykitty has a free hoodie pattern called Rohan, which I will obviously have to make:


ANYWAY,  as I now have 2 boys and a stack of Ottobre magazines with possible patterns marked,

I thought that I had better sign up for the Kids Clothes Week July 2014!

I have done this before and I found it quite motivating. This year it has a theme - Kid Art - which is a great idea but I don't think I am up for it.  I may change my mind...

I have a plan of sorts - Julian needs tracksuit pants and Rohan could do with a few more pairs of leggings.  I am also considering making jeans/cords for Julian.  He isn't 4 yet but he is in size 5 pants (he is 111cm tall).  I am now finding that he is too skinny for size 5 skinny jeans even with the button elastic waist. I would like to make Julian a polar fleece jumper as I have traced the pattern and I need to get it made better he is too big and I have to trace the next size up!

Hopefully you will see more of me around these parts from now on.  I have been sewing but mainly quilting and home dec projects.  See you tomorrow!

30. A while...

OK, so I am not good at keeping this blogging thing up but I hope to get back into it sometime soon. 

I did just sign up for another Craftsy course.  I really am a sucker for 70% off and a 'free' pattern.

And no, I have not started the Couture Dress one yet.  This is mainly due to my growing girth but that will gone and screaming very soon, so I should have plenty of time (around 2-3am) to watch it :)

29. Umbrella trimmings competition

No I just didn't get to making anything with my Umbrella Prints trimmings but my friend did:


Isn't her entry brilliant!  Actually she has entered 2 into the competition.  
Here is her second entry, a playmat:

 Go on, have a look at the other entries and "Pin"my friend!
Umbrella Prints Trimming competition - Hurry as it closes TOMORROW!

28. And we are back

Don't EVER move house!

Actually the move wasn't too bad and neither was/is the unpacking.

The problem is Telstra (and TPG).  The good news is that we now have cable internet - YAY.  The bad news is that it took 3 weeks and we have a stupid Telstra T-hub2 that we have to return as they have billed us $360 for it when they said it was free.  So we haven't finished yet...

Anyway, after trawling through 1121 posts on Bloglines, I discovered where I first saw that Craftsy course - Did You Make That.  Now that the weather has turned and it is bucketing down, I think the summer dress will have to wait.

No sewing around here at the moment but the new Ottobre magazine has arrived with a pull-up jeans pattern - perfect timing for potty training.  *groan*

27. Kids Clothes Week - Autumn

I really didn't think I would be doing the Kids Clothes Week this season as the house is in boxes and we move TOMORROW!  I really enjoyed the last KCWC which was in October as it made me use the Ottobre magazines that I had already bought.

Somehow I did manage to make a sweatshirt AND a pair of tracksuit pants for Julian - a complete miracle!

Once again I used patterns out of Ottobre magazine.  This is the sweatshirt (on the left):

Ottobre 06/2012

And these are the tracksuit pants (with stars and made out of a lightweight knit here):

Ottobre 01/2013

Unfortunately I stuffed up the neckline of the sweatshirt and had to cut out the ribbing and use self-ribbing (is that what it is called?) instead.  I also stuffed up the tracksuit pants and the pockets are too big and definitely not big enough to hold a Matchbox car.  Thankfully Julian hasn't noticed yet...

Man it is difficult to take a photo of a 2.5year old!  These photos were taken just as we were about to race out the door to Childcare - in the last photo I asked Julian to turn around so I could see his bum, hence the hand :)

I love the sizing of Ottobre as it is reasonably slim fitting and if it says it fits 98cm tall, it does.  If you do have a solid child, they also have a few patterns in a relaxed fit.  I cut a straight 98cm for both the Sweatshirt and trackpants and they are both quite snug.  I will make another of both but I will increase the length of the pants to give me more wear out of them (Julian continues to grow at 1.5cm per month!). 

I used a printed Sweatshirt fabric with a coral fleece backing which I picked up at Spotlight during their 40%off sale over Easter.  I bought the navy sweatshirting at the same time.  All up this outfit cost less than $10 which makes me very happy!

26.Craftsy course

Have you heard of Craftsy?  Amongst other things they sell downloadable patterns - I bought my Wiksten skirt from here (why can't I seem to find it on there now?)- and they do online sewing courses.

They have sales all the time and I have decided to sign up for Susan Khalje called The Couture Dress.  For a short time it is $US24.99 which is 50%off and the course includes Vogue pattern V8648 which is mailed to you!

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Apparently this is what I will learn:

• Muslin construction 
• Fit adjustment techniques
• Underlining
• How to hand-stitch perfect hems
• Pattern customization strategies

I haven't even done a "live"sewing course and I have learnt to sew initially from my Mum and then self-taught, so this should be very informative.  The best part of an online course is that I can do it at my pace, in my time without deadlines.  Sounds great doesn't it?  My plan is to wait until the pattern arrives and we are happily ensconced in our new house - only 3 weeks away - eek!

25. And the winner is...

Not me :(

Ok that wasn't too surprising as the competition was tough!

The winner definitely deserved to win.  Check this out:

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It even has a name : 'Lekaloru' Coat.  Congratulations to Sandra.

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My favourite was Tamie K's top, which was one of 5 special entries to win $100 Tessuti gift voucher.

Now back to the winning Coat - the really awesome thing is that it is made up of 3 different patterns: Sewaholic's Minoru Jacket, Lekala 4170 and Green Pepper 120.  I have never heard of Lekala or Green Pepper but their patterns look really good and excellent value too!


Green Pepper is mainly outdoor clothing -raincoats, jackets, overpants - and they only ship paper patterns (3 patterns max for $US18.95 - gulp) but their kids range may be worth the effort.  Patterns hover around $US6.


Lekala also has their own website (they are also on Craftsy)which is full of print at home patterns and they all seem to be $US2.49.  They also have free patterns which included this shirt pattern.  It also sounds too good to be true but you send them your measurements and they send the pattern sized for you!  I am going to try this out with the shirt pattern - it is free after all.

24. Tessuti Gridlock Fabric Competition

I did it!

I decided to join the competition last Tuesday and I finished it minutes before these photos were taken last night - not bad considering that Julian had gastro on Thursday/Friday and I had it Sunday/Monday.

The Jacket is from an old Burda World of Fashion (BWOF) magazine 05/2009 and the Knickerbockers are from another BWOF 09/2006.

I have to say now that I was absolutely CRAZY to attempt both of these pieces in such a short time period.  The piping was an absolute chore to make and it really got drowned out due to the busyness of the print.  And the print.  Well, what can I say, perhaps only that I like the blue?  The background is beige and it looks genuinely revolting against my face.

I will most likely only ever wear the jacket out of the house and the knickerbockers will be for around the home - I don't have the chutzpah to carry them off in public ;)

Make sure you have a look at the other entries on Pinterest - there are some stunners there!

Details:
Jacket
Pattern: BWOF05/2009
Size: 40
Fabric: 1.7m Gridlock from Tessuti (online) ($12/m)
Alterations: 1cm of sideseams, shortened by 2cm

Knickerbockers
Pattern: BWOF 09/2006
Size: 42 (and it fit with NO alterations - that NEVER happens!)
Fabric 1.55m Gridlock from Tessuti ($12/m)
Alterations: Nil

23. It's in the post

Finally today I managed to get myself, with toddler, to the post office to post out the hand printed swap fabrics.  Unfortunately they all weighed 56g so they were over the letter maximum of 50g (!!) and I had to fork out another $4each in postage.  Oh well, nothing could be done.

So here they are:

 Can you see the "watermark" jellyfish?  I had to take the photos in the shade otherwise it wasn't visible.

 A lighter version.

 This one has 3 colours and is my favourite.

 Not the best photo of this one but it is the best I could get.

Nicely folded ready to be posted.

Fabric: White Primavera 100% cotton from Spotlight (I wouldn't call it white though, probably a very light natural);
Printing: Ezi-carve block using Permaset "Junior Navy" ink.

22. Affordable Liberty

Why is Liberty fabric SO expensive in Australia?

Tessuti sells it for $45/m
Patchwork on Central Park has it for $50/m

Then when you buy overseas, outside the UK, like we did to New York it is still expensive.
At Purl Soho it is $36.52/m. Until recently, this was the best price online that I had found for Liberty Fabrics.

Not anymore!

Have a look at Shaukat which has an AWESOME selection of all kinds of Liberty Fabrics - knits, needlecord, craft fabric, poplin, silks, wool blends - the list goes on.  There is so much choice here it is really overwhelming.  The really best part is the price for shipping - 1m is 10.72Pounds ($AU15.50) and 8m is 12.72pounds ($AU18.50).  I haven't tried adding more to my basket to see how much fabric I can jam in at this price - way too tempting.  Tessuti charges $10 for posting in Australia!

We all know that Liberty Tana Lawn is not cheap but here is sells on average for 13pounds ($AU20).  I am planning to make long sleeve shirts for work and I need 1.6m, so for $32 plus notions I can make myself a Liberty Tana Lawn cotton shirt.  I can't buy a polyester blend shirt from Target for that price.  Spotlight has the Japanese Tana Lawn for $15/m when it is not on sale, which shows you what a great deal this is for the Liberty Lawn.  Obviously the shipping cost has to be considered but even then if I only bought enough for a single shirt each time it would cost $47.50per shirt which is still a bargin when Country Road is charging $99!

So what am I going to buy you ask?

Seymour Stretch Poplin 98% Cotton and 2% Elastane:

Seymour Poplin

Classic Tana Lawn 100% Cotton:

Hera

Mabelle

I am really excited as Hera is my all-time favourite Liberty print and soon it will be mine - I hope I will have the courage to cut into it!

21. Fabric Printing

It was 36 degrees C today.

It is 7:30pm and it is now 34 degrees C.

So what did I do today?

Well I loaded little Julian into the car and drove 1.5hours to my friends house to do some fabric printing for the swap!  Thankfully there was aircon so it was bearable which is important when 3 toddlers are involved.

My initial plans of overprinting was changed slightly to offset overprinting - a brilliant idea from my printing buddy.

I think the results are pretty good but sorry no photos just yet, you will just have to settle for a photo of them drying on the clothes rack.

We all had a great day - so much so that Julian was asleep before we reached the main road (under 4 minutes) and had a contented 1 hour nap.  Ah, the serenity. Thank you so much printing buddy!