Sewing Skills

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Posted on February 5, 2025

I am not a professional seamstress or dressmaker but I do have reasonable sewing skills and am always ready to turn my hand to a bit of upcycling. It was with these skills in mind that I picked up a couple of things at the op shop today.

I spotted (pardon the pun) a cute pair of pyjamas which look as though they have never been worn. I love the colour and pattern plus the fact that they are 100% cotton. I bought them without trying them on as I knew that there are multiple ways to use the fabric.

Well, the shirt is a great fit so that is a win.

The bottoms need a little bit of work to make them perfect but I am confident that with some simple alterations I will have a brand new set of pyjamas for the princely sum of $4 plus a bit of time and handiwork from me.

I have removed the waist elastic which was too soft and obviously perished. Perhaps, these have been sitting in someone’s cupboard and unworn for an extended period of time. I am going to turn them into boxer shorts rather than mid-calf length trousers. This will give me enough excess fabric to make them a bit wider at the sides as well as extending the length of the crotch. I will use my existing pattern as a guide for these adjustments.

I also scored this collarless men’s shirt for $3. It is 100% linen and there is plenty of fabric for me to unpick it and remake into another summer linen top for myself. I can’t have too many sleeveless linen tops while the temperature continues to hover around 35C and above.

Assorted Sewing

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Posted on February 1, 2025

I have done several sewing jobs over the past couple of weeks so I thought I would gather them up and share in a single post.

These boxer shorts which are pyjama bottoms were both made from other garments which belonged to my mother. One was a nightie which she had made and the other was a dressing gown. They had been sitting in my stash for nearly 4 years with the vague notion of using them to make sleepwear. My hand was forced when my 2 existing pairs of boxer shorts became so thin that they ripped. Both had also been made from salvaged fabric and had a good life.

Of course, there were smaller pieces of fabric left over so I cut them into squares ready for future patchwork projects.

This pair of trackpants had been waiting since I bought them at the op shop a few months ago. They were definitely not a priority as we were coming into warmer weather. When I tried them on it was quite hilarious to discover that they were a bit too short in the leg for me. Those of you who know me will understand but for everyone else – I am 5’2″ or 157cm tall so clothes being too short is not normally a problem for me. The also had an odd angled raw edge at the bottom which is not really my style so I straightened it up and added contrasting cuffs. I bought them because they are a neat fit, not at all baggy and will be perfect for winter days at home.

Finally, I used up a few more pieces of fabric by making 3 more bags which I have donated to the Community Pantry.

Upcycling Inspiration

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Posted on January 22, 2025

This is a follow-up from my last post about buying secondhand in preference to buying new wherever possible.

Of course there are items of our own and that are donated to thrift shops that are really not saleable for one reason or another so a lot of it does unfortunately end up in landfill.

However, when we were shopping for the champagne flutes, I noticed a large piece of patchwork displayed on a wall behind the counter.

This is the note that was pinned to it.

What a great reminder of the possibilities that upcycling affords. I love the design and will definitely consider trying it one day. It reminds me of stained glass.

A Mixed Bag

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Posted on January 12, 2025

They say that variety is the spice of life. Well, today has included a bit of everything.

I have done a bit of ironing, some sewing (paid alterations) and tackled what I mentally refer to as Operation Photos. I dream that one day I shall have all of my photos digitised, sorted, labelled and categorised. I know that it is not going to happen overnight but I now know how I can break it down into bite-sized pieces and feel that I am slowly, inexorably making progress.

These are slides of my siblings and me that were taken by my father over a period of 2 decades. The sorting began when our mother was still alive and my sister and I are continuing the process of making sure that they are properly recorded in a manner so that we can all enjoy the amazing memories which are preserved in the slides.

I am the eldest child and as far as I am aware this is the first photograph that Dad took of me. According to his notation on the edge of the slide, I was 8 days old.

Finally, we went out to dinner this evening at an historic hotel in Castlemaine which dates back to the mid 1800s.

I chose field mushrooms with salsa, guacamole, cauliflower rice and fresh green salad.

This is definitely a meal that I would consider replicating at home.

A Continuing Quest

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Posted on January 10, 2025

A sense of order in my sewing room seems elusive at times but I do continue to try. These shelves contain most of the fabric and sewing equipment that I have on hand and it could certainly be arranged a bit better.

I am not a massive fan buying heaps of matching containers to ‘organise’ spaces in my home. I generally use whatever I have on hand but it is also important to consider what stuff actually needs to be kept and organised and what actually needs to be decluttered and moved out of our life.

Most of the baskets that you can see previously belonged to my mother for a variety of uses and I have managed to re-purpose them. The shelves have also been moved from other areas of this house as I chose not to use them as the previous owners had done so.

Even the drawers, cupboards and 2 glass shelf inserts had been by left unassembled when we bought the house. I found the glass shelves particularly useful as they divide each cube into 2 smaller spaces.

When we were on holidays our travels took us directly past an IKEA store in Queensland so I took the opportunity to purchase 2 more sets (4 glass shelves) to further increase the functionality of the unit.

I installed them yesterday and am looking forward to some more re-arranging to improve the storage of my sewing fabrics and patterns.

Here is a close-up of one of the new shelves. The existing baskets are a perfect fit in these spaces.

Refreshed and Ready

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Posted on January 6, 2025

We are on our way home from our holidays and will be back in familiar surroundings by Wednesday afternoon. Relaxing in motel accommodation with no specific demands on your time provides plenty of opportunities to plan.

I have been jotting down notes on my phone of things I would like to do once we are home. Some are small tasks that will literally take 5 minutes. An example is updating the rainfall chart which has not been done since we went away. We have a rather clever electronic rain gauge which automatically records the rainfall from midnight to midnight each day and does not require emptying. The weather station which is indoors records this data for a maximum of 30 days so all of the information will be stored for when we arrive home. I then transfer these records into an Excel spreadsheet which is useful to be able to compare the data year on year.

There are other much larger projects but they will still depend on me taking the first step. Some have been being discussed at length but a new year is a good time to get the ball rolling. One such project is replacing the gas cooktop/900mm electric oven with an induction cooktop as well as a smaller (600mm) built-in oven. The very first thing I need to do is to contact our electricity supply company to ensure that the amperage of our supply is sufficient to support the induction cooktop.

I have a number of sewing projects that I am keen to work on and it will be a matter of prioritising them.

The holiday has been fun but now I am ready to make a start on new projects – large and small – as well as continuing with existing assignments. You are sure to hear more about some of them as time goes by.

Time to Reveal

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Posted on December 28, 2024

I have made some fleeting references to some red and black patchwork that I was working on in the latter part of the year but I couldn’t reveal too much as it was a gift.

This is a photo that I took in the very early stages when I was still unsure of the overall plan.

It all came together quite quickly as I used some larger pieces in places rather than all disappearing 9 patch blocks. This after it had been quilted but before the final trimming and binding.

The quilt was not actually a Christmas gift but an early (milestone) birthday present for my brother. I know I won’t be with him to celebrate on the day so this was a good opportunity to be able to give it to him in person.

I was very pleased with the result and I think his smile says it all.

Change It Up

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Posted on December 17, 2024

I had been contemplating the destiny of this shirt for a while. It is a black linen one that I made and has cute ladybird buttons. I really only wore it with my ‘ladybird’ pants – a pair of red cotton drill trousers with large black spots. They were good while they lasted but have since been moved on from my wardrobe.

I had decided to change the buttons to black ones to make the shirt more wearable with other outfits. However, yesterday I picked up a pair of lovely black and white patterned trousers at the op shop which solidified my plans for the shirt.

After a quick search of my buttons collection I found some that I knew would work perfectly.

Here is the complete outfit which I am really pleased with.

Blue is Best

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Posted on December 4, 2024

I generally stick to a relatively small palette of colours when choosing my clothes. Black, white, navy and grey are the neutrals I wear. I like strong colours with a blue undertone and my favourites are cobalt blue and cherry red along with almost any other shade of blue as well as emerald green.

It is clear that I am not alone in sticking to a narrow range of colours.

This is my elder granddaughter yesterday on her 17th birthday. She was excited to be wearing her new blue dress out to dinner.

Coincidentally, a photo popped up in my Facebook memories a couple of days ago. It was a blue dress I had made for her 8th birthday gift in 2015.

This photo of her wearing it was taken about 15 months later.

Her high school formal is early next year and the dress she has chosen is blue, of course. In fact, her motto could almost be, “Any colour, as long as it is blue”.

Notes From the Sewing Room

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Posted on November 16, 2024

I finished the piece of patchwork I was working on and that is now with a lady who will quilt it using a longarm machine.

I then turned my attention to a bit more tidying up in the sewing room which seems to be a continual work in progress. I noticed a couple of pieces of Christmas fabric along with some fabrics which had a definite Christmas feel to them.

So, I made these two tote bags.

I am not sure where they will end up but I think they are rather gorgeous.

My storage space is definitely not well-organised but I keep living in hope. These cube shelves were repurposed from their original location in our walk-in wardrobe and a lot of fabric was simply unpacked from boxes and shoved in to spaces wherever it would fit. I know I can do better and I am working towards that goal.

The previous owners also left two unused glass shelves for these cubes and I added them which makes the size of the cubes more functional for small baskets and other items.

Here is a close-up of one of the glass shelves.