Surfing for inspiration

I only have one pattern that needs making at the moment, being the Oliver+S Bubble Dress, however, with it coming into winter and the fabric that I have in mind for the dress, on its way from the States, I have been Blog and Flickr surfing for inspiration. I have found a couple of great finds that will keep me going - for the next week or so.

This top - I LOVE! I think that there is something similiar in an Ottobre magazine that I have, so this one might be first on the list.

I have this fabric (the Ginger Tile) and this looks like a pretty easy skirt to make. Might put some corduroy fabric to go with it.

I have been umming and arring for a couple of weeks whether to buy the Oliver+S 2+2 blouse and skirt pattern

I have made quite a few skirts, and was not sure about the blouse. I love to O+S patterns, the instructions are really clear and I have always been happy with how the patterns turn out. Today in my Flickr surf, I came across this photo

I love love love this short sleeves version. I love this blog - it is called the Night Knitter. The clothes that she makes for her little girl are DIVINE and quite a few of the clothes use the O+S patterns.

So I have gone and bought the pattern from Kelani Fabric today. I should have this pattern to start working on by Thursday. I also love the shorts - which is the O+S Puppet Show Tunic and Shorts.

I am not really sure about the tunic top. I don't really think that it would suit Ella. Please let me know if you have seen/made a lovely version, so I can better visualise what it will turn out like. I love the shorts though - and I really had to hold off buying them - even though they are on sale, but I thought it was expensive for a pair of shorts, plus they only went up to size 2 and I think that Ella will be this size (or close to it) by summer. So I will probably add this for a summer project.

Talking about summer projects - I have found the sweetest skirt. It is currently for sale on Ebay - the starting bid US$79.99. Ouch!

It is called the Watermelon skirt. I just love it and cant wait to make something similar for Ella for summer. It can't be that hard. I just love all of the colours and fabrics together. A great little skirt for a two year old

OK enough blog surfing - I will have to get back to sewing!

Pink Cat Camo

I bought some pink camo fabric from SL a while ago and always intended to make a skirt out of it. Rather than make one the skirts again that I have patterns for, I thought I would adapt a pattern to a skirt that I had a vision of in my head. I used the top half of the O+S Sunday Brunch Skirt, and I added pleats to the bottom.

I think that the skirt turned out pretty well seeing that I was interrupted about a hundred times as Mat was bored and Ella was sick. The top stitching is not as neat as I would like it to be.

The skirt looks crooked in the photo - but it isn't IRL

I wanted to do an applique top to match the skirt and Ella is obsessed with cats at the moment, so I thought that it would be perfect to put on her shirt.

Not sure what I will sew next. I think I need to get stuck into another pair of pj's for Ella, which is also the EB May/June challenge.

Leila & Ben Sweet Little Dress

I had a great find on Wednesday, I was out collecting the mail, and found a new fabric shop. There really was not much in there, but on the way out, I noticed some lovely pink striped knit fabric. It was only $2 p/m, so I had to have it. I got the last 3 metres on the roll and I thought it would be perfect to practice using knit fabrics and for a trial for the Leila&Ben peasant dress.

When making it, I had a few shockers. I thought my overlocker had stopped working, and then after a bit realised that the foot was up (yes I am blonde - really I am)

Thankfully I can say that there was no unpicking needed on this dress. The dress also looked huge, so I did not really want to finish it off this morning, but Ella was good to me with a sleep, so I finished it. I must say, it is so cute!

And just one more pic of Ella - as I am a pushy mum.

Plumbers Bum

Are you ever too young to suffer from a plumbers bum. Ella has a pair of skinny jeans (which I love), however, she constantly falls victim to the 'plumbers bum'.



A belt would resolve this problem, but she is probably bang on trend with the teenagers. Gee that makes me sound old!

Oliver+S Tea Party Sundress

I am on a roll! I cut out the fabric for this dress more than a week ago, but the Uptown Girl jacket took priority. I was hoping that Ella would be kind to me today and have a good sleep and I could get this dress whipped up. Ella was pretty good - she slept for just under 2 hours, however I was having a shocker today.

This dress nearly killed me! The pattern is a beginner level, but it took me forever to sew the bodice and the skirt together. It kept gathering and I kept having to unpick it. I have not done so much unpicking in my life. I think everything after the step where you had to sew the bodice to the skirt - I had to unpick - even the buttonhole had to be unpicked. If the dress had not been made out of my favourite material - I would have chucked it in the bin.

It is finished - except for all of my garments - it is missing the buttons. I have received a notification to say that my buttons are on their way. However, the buttons will be fabric covered (the same material as the skirt) No pics of Ella wearing it. It is 5pm and she is grumpy.

The colour of the bodice is blue denim (but has photographed black due to the light)

Edited to add: Pic of the buttons.

Next project - The little peasant dress - a practice before my new fabrics arrive.

Insensitive

I am still totally blown away by how insensitive people can be.

Last week was my last week at my old work in Sydney. Unfortunately things did not go according to plan. I went to work last week - arriving after a 1 1/2 hr drive at 7am and worked until 10:30am. I left work to have an appointment at my GP and then onto an emergency scan, where I was told that I had suffered a miscarriage. I usually stay down at my parents on a Monday night, working on Tuesday and then driving back home on Tuesday afternoon. There was no way that I felt that I could stay down at my parents and keep working like nothing had happened. I went into work, paid some people their weeekly wages and I went home.

I sent an email to my boss yesterday (they have been away for 5 weeks) explaining what has happened and apologising that I had not finished off everything that I expected to. This morning I have received a phone call from Satan (Julie - one of the bosses) asking whether I am going to come into work this week for a handover. I explained to her that I sent an email to Brian, and advised her that I had had a miscarriage last week. She asked if I had done my full week last week. Hello! Do you not hear what I have just said? All she was concerned about was whether she was going to get her key back, and you could hear the disgust in her voice about not coming down. No sympathy at all.

I dont know how people can be so insensitive

Bubbles!

Ella loves her bath and as soon as she hears the bath water running - she hi-tails it into the bathroom and opens the cupboard to get out her bath toys. I have to undress her at the side of the bath as there are major tears if I try to take her into her bedroom to get her undressed.

As she loves her bath so much, I thought that I would get her some bubble bath to make her bath more fun. At first she did not know what to make of them, and had trouble finding her toys, but she has now discovered the joys of bubbles - and also has learnt a valuable lesson - they don't taste very nice!

Make it Perfect 'Uptown Girl'

When I saw the Uptown Girl pattern I had to have it! This week has been a trial, but I thought that there was no better way to get back into sewing than making this pattern. I had already cut out an Oliver+S Tea Party Sundress, but seeing that we are coming into winter, I thought that the dress could wait.

The pattern called for 1.15m x 2 of fabric as it is reversible + 2.0m of iron-on pellon. Pellon was $10.00/m - this was going to be an expensive jacket. Here is a tip for anyone making this jacket - it does not take this amount. I used 80cm of both of the fabrics - plus only 80cm of the pellon - halves the cost of the jacket straight away. So I have bought 2.0m of pellon - so I can now make a second one!

The main fabric is Sandi Henderson - Petal Party in pink (my favourite) and the purple is a quilters cotton from Spotlight. The only thing that is missing from the jacket is the buttons (which I have had to mail order as Spotlight has no stock)




It was a really easy pattern to make - basically like making two jackets and joining them together at the end.

When I make this pattern again, I am going to put a blanket (or something warmer) in the middle to make it a great winter coat (as I dont think that it is really that warm)

Mat, usually not too fussed with my sewing (thinks its for Nanna's) really likes this jacket. With Mat liking the jacket and me telling him that is cost $30.00 to make - which he thinks is pretty good - maybe it is the time to ask him if I can do another Etsy fabric order.

Edited to add - photos of Ella wearing the jacket

Addiction

I am seriously battling over buying more fabric. I said to myself that after the last purchase that I would not buy anymore (for a bit anyway), but I can't help myself. I reeeeaaaallllyyyy want to make another Etsy order. These are the fabrics that I want to buy.







Aren't they all lovely........ I have also been buying some other things. I bought some self cover fabric buttons (but they do not count) and I have also bought another pattern.

I originally was looking at Oliver+S creations on Flickr and came across this creation by isewstuff her daughter is such a cutie and the clothes that she has made are divine and mostly my style - and I was flicking and found this picture

Love love love the dress (and the fabric - which is why it is on my list of fabric to buy). Luckily the pattern was listed - and so I have bought it too. It is Leila&Ben Sweet Little Dress.

So no more surfing the internet tonight - I get into too much trouble and spend too much money.

I have completed the Make It Perfect 'Uptown Girl' Jacket - I will update with photos soon - as even Mat said it is really good!

Keeping myself busy

I am trying to keep myself busy at the moment. I should be keeping myself busy with cleaning the house (as it looks like a bomb went off), but I really cant be bothered.

I dont have any compulsion to sew at the moment - I am sure that that will come back, but at the moment I think that I will keep myself busy by adding to my sewing stash.

Last week I bought the Oliver+S Bubble Dress Pattern.

I have looked at this pattern a number of times - and like the dress (without the curvy bits on the sides), however, I was nervous to get it as it was an 'advanced beginner' pattern. With my success with the Oliver+S Sunday Brunch Jacket, I thought I would be able to tackle this pattern too.

I also bought on Friday (and which arrived today) the Make it Perfect Uptown Girl Jacket pattern.

I heard about this pattern from one of the EB women a couple of weeks ago (as it had only just been released) I emailed Kelani Fabric about it and was told that I would be notified when it arrived. I was emailed last Tuesday- which was just after I bought the Bubble Dress Pattern. I was tempted to buy it (but my conscience got the better of me), so I held off until I was sure that I had not won the pattern giveaway.

Not sure what fabric I am going to use for this jacket - as it says that you need 115cm of fabric and all of the material that I bought from the US is only a yard. So we will see. Another project to add to my list when I feel up to it.

Miscarriage

I never thought that this word would have any personal meaning for me. It really never crossed my mind that this word of 11 letters would change my world from happiness and contentment to devestation and emptiness in a couple of words. "I'm sorry, there is no heartbeat".

Last Thursday I started bleeding. It was only small amounts of brown blood. I tried to ignore it. I googled it and thought that with it being brown that there was little to worry about. However, the bleeding continued. I tried to find reasons of why I could be bleeding, kept googling to keep myself sane and to give me hope. The bleeding all but stopped on Friday, but came again on Saturday, nothing more than before, but still there to be a worry. I rung the hospital birthing unit, they told me that it could be nothing, it could be a miscarriage, and to wait it out and to see my GP on Monday. On Sunday the bleeding got worse, still brown, but there was more. I knew something was wrong, but didnt know what to do. I thought that if I tried to tell myself that it would be OK, and that everything would be fine. Sunday night the bleeding basically stopped. I felt nauseaus, to the point of gagging, and that gave me a glimmer of hope. On Monday I went to the GP, who said that it did not look good. He arranged a scan and did a blood test.

On the way to the scan, I kept talking to the baby telling it to hold on. When the lady started to scan my tummy, she was very quiet. The silence was deafening. I knew. I said to her "there is no heartbeat" She said that she could not find one, but she would keep checking and she would also do an internal. Both of those were to no avail. It felt like hours that I was lying there waiting, but there was no point. She said after an age "I am sorry, I have looked for a long time, I can't find a heartbeat"

The baby was 8 weeks gestation. If you go by the scan from last week, it means that the baby died on Sunday. I am angry and upset that we had a scan 8 days before and everything was fine. You are told once you see a heartbeat that your chance of miscarriage is only small. I clung to that hope, deep down I knew the outcome.

So as I write this, I have tears running down my face. Monday I was exhausted from crying, I still feel totally worn out. I feel that if I dont think about it, and dont talk about it, I am OK. As soon as I talk about it, I can't help but cry. The problem is, I dont know what to say to people and they dont know what to say to me. I feel lucky that I still have Ella and think it would be a lot worse if we did not have her.

O+S Sunday Brunch Skirt

I have made another Sunday Bruch Jacket - yes I know - that is the third jacket that I have made! This time, I decided that I would make it bigger and longer. The new version is 12-18months in the sizing and 2 years in the length. I think it is a better fit for Ella. I also made it in a lighter blue denim as Mat thought the first one was too dark. Even though the new jacket is bigger - I still prefer the smaller one. All I have to do to finish it off is put buttons on it - I will blog it after that.

To go along with the Sunday Brunch Jacket - there is also a matching skirt. I cut out the fabric last Saturday, but hadn't made a start on it. Ella had a 3 hour sleep today, so after I finished the jacket I thought I would make the skirt. I love love love the fabric and it is a really easy and quick skirt to make. The sizing is 6-12 months - and it is way too small for Ella - it does not get all of the way up her legs (and I have not even put the elastic in yet).

Pocket detail. I have never made pockets before, so pretty happy that I have learnt something new.

Note to self - Ella is bigger than 6-12 months. So I am going to make it again - same fabric, but in a bigger size.