Category Archives: Sewing

UFO’s

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I haven’t posted for a few days as I was determined to clear my sewing room of some of the unfinished projects.  Some of them were physically started and not completed and others were just in my imagination and not even started.

Anyway, here  are some of the finished items.

Shorts for Izz.

And a pair for Miss O.

This is another pair of shorts for Miss O using a different pattern.

This playsuit is one that I didn’t finish when Miss O was a baby (I did make 7 others) so it will be donated to charity.  Perhaps they will be able to use it in Christmas gifts.

A tiny blouse for my niece for her birthday.

And a pinafore to go with the blouse.  This is made from the leftovers of the pinafore I made for Miss O earlier in the year.

A summer blouse for myself.  I have had the material for 2.5 years and started making it last summer.  This is a tried and true pattern that I made from a purchased blouse.  I have made several using the same pattern.

This is not strictly something that I made.  I bought this dress for Miss O a few weeks ago at an op shop for $8.  It is ‘Fred Bare’ brand and in excellent condition.  There were a couple of small stains which were removed using Sard Wonder soap and a good wash.  The hemline is scalloped at the sideseams and had a facing which was pulling away in places.  I removed it a replaced it using plain fabric.  I salvaged the facing fabric and used some of it to make this matching shoulder bag.

It is a great feeling to have a collection of finished items ready for use rather than half-finished projects and fabric taking up space.

I still have several things to do including a pair of summer pyjamas for Miss O, dress for Belle and 2 polo shirts for The Duke.  I have drafted the pattern for the pyjamas from an old Enid Gilchrist pattern book and am about to start cutting them out.

What unfinished projects do you have?

Through a Child’s Eyes

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I mentioned yesterday that this simple living can be darned hard work – gardening, planting, harvesting, preserving, storing and cooking from scratch – not to mention the million and one other things that need to be done.

A sure-fire way to rejuvenate the enthusiasm is to see the ‘chores’ through the eyes of a child.  Our granddaughters stayed here this weekend and spending an hour or so in the backyard with them was a sheer delight.

2011-10-02 01Collecting the eggs.

2011-10-02 02Checking out the onion patch.

2011-10-02 03Splitting open beans to retrieve the seeds.

2011-10-02 04The excitement of finding a bean seed.  We will be letting them dry out and saving to replant.  We have also saved snow pea seeds.  Miss O had fun sorting the bean and pea seeds into separate containers.

2011-10-02 05Helping with the harvest.

There were lots of other things that did not get captured on film.  Pulling up the spent broccoli and cauliflower plants and dragging the up to the compost bin as well as pulling the old snow pea vine off the trellis.

Miss O helped me cook and we made a fruit slice with passionfruit icing as well as currant, orange and poppyseed muffins.  The girls took some muffins home to put in their lunchboxes for daycare tomorrow.

I also managed to get a little sewing done.  2 pairs of shorts are finished.  Here they are on the models.

2011-10-02 06And the second pair.

2011-10-02 07It is a pleasure to see the sheer delight on the faces of my grandchildren when they can help with the jobs we do every day.  I am reminded that what I am doing is ‘right’ and I look forward to sharing many more things as they get older.

Thrifted and Gifted

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In my post on Thursday I showed you the fabric and buttons I had for a sewing project I hoped to do on the weekend.

I have spent the day sewing and have almost finished the dress, along with some other things.

Here is the dress – I just need to finish stitching the yoke facings and turn the hem.

When I was with Belle yesterday she commented that Miss O and Izz needed more shorts for summer and asked if I would be able to make some.  So, today I sorted through my fabric and found enough to make 4 pairs of shorts.  They are not finished – still need waist casing and elastic as well as hemming the bottom of the legs but here they are so you can see what I have been doing.

And some stripes….

Frills on the bottom……

Pink pockets…..

All of these things were made with fabric that was left over from another project and saved in my stash or gifted from my mother, mother-in-law or friend.

I have also set aside two more pieces.  This one is left from the pinafore I made for Miss O and will be enough to make a pinafore for my niece.

I plan to make some summer pyjamas for Miss O with this piece which was also given to me.

Finally, Belle bought this Fred Bare dress for Miss O from the op shop for $8 yesterday.  It needs a little repair to the hem where the fabric has pulled away from the stitching but otherwise it is just perfect.  Thanks, Duchess for the tip about the shop.

Shopping For Something Special

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In my quest to live a greener, simpler life with less stuff I rarely go shopping except for basic foods.  When I do shop it is for a specific purpose such as buying a gift or something I need for a sewing project.

I also buy from op shops where it is feasible and appropriate, as buying second-hand goods stops those things being sent to landfill and there is no additional carbon footprint from the production of new manufactured items.

Whether it is second-hand or new, I do not go browsing and shopping for the sake of it.  I know of people who go op shopping to minimise the cost of their need for a “shopping fix”.  This still tends to result in lots of extra “stuff” being bought.  It can actually be worse in terms of acquiring stuff as op shop goods are generally cheaper, thus enabling more to be bought.

Today I went to an op shop in the city but it was almost like a boutique compared to the basic op shops in the suburbs and country towns.  There are 2 op shops in Maleny so I went there is the hope of finding what I was looking for.  The purpose of my expedition was to find some things I needed for my costume for the themed dinner at a work conference on Thursday evening.  Our table is 1960’s and we have chosen Woodstock as our theme.

Here is what I bought.

A cheesecloth sundress which I am going to turn into a long skirt – $6.50

A single bed doona cover to make into a tablecloth for our table – $8.50

And finally, a top from the Nepalese shop in Maleny – patchwork,tie-dyed and hand-painted.  It even has bell sleeves.

I need to make a shoulder bag and I may make a vest as well.

Now I am off to start re-fashioning.  Next week I will post some photos of my outfit.

 

Doona Cover

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2011-03-13 01
I am still trying to figure out the formatting of photos in my posts but in the meantime here is a picture of the patchwork I have been working on.  There is a sequence to the placement of fabric but I didn’t want it to look too contrived.  I am happy with how it is turning out.  I know Miss O will love it – Dora is her favourite!

A Fresh Start

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This is a brand new blog, so here goes.

Come and join me on my journey towards an organised, sustainable existence.

This will be a random selection of happenings at ‘The Castle’ which I hope will prove to be both informative and interesting.  Please comment, make suggestions and generally let me know what you think.

I expect that there will be photos, recipes, hints and tips as well as some more personal thoughts.

Today I have been working on making a patchwork doona cover for my grand-daughter.  A few weeks ago I found that someone was selling a piece of ‘Dora the Explorer’ fabric online so that was too good an opportunity to pass up since Dora is a firm favourite with Miss O at the moment.  I bought some plain fabric from Spotlight to go with it and am very happy with the effect so far.  There is also a small pile of mending to be done so I might try to get that done tomorrow.