Somewhere Different

1 Comment

Posted on June 12, 2016

We have been to Melbourne for a couple of days. The reason was to visit our daughter and celebrate her birthday. However, I managed to sneak in a spot of shopping.

Last year I got rid of my knee-high black boots as the heel was simply higher than what I was comfortable wearing. I had been debating for some time about replacing them and I finally found a pair that I was happy would suit my needs.

2016-06-12 01

I wore them for most of the past two days, including quite a bit of walking and they are very comfortable. I am really pleased with my purchase and expect they will last me quite a few years.

My other purchase was at a small, independent fabric shop in the northern suburb of Ivanhoe. There were lots of beautiful winter fabrics but I bought a piece of linen to make something for myself next summer – probably a blouse of some description.

2016-06-12 02

I fell in love with the colour and pattern of this piece and am sure it will make a gorgeous garment.

Some Sewing

Leave a comment

Posted on August 16, 2015

You may remember that earlier this year I ran a series of posts titled “Sew My Stash Sunday”. Well I have finally got back to my sewing room and continuing to sort and cull. Of course, I did not get too far as I was inspired to actually sew. I have made 2 little t-shirts (Size 1) from a piece of fabric that I found last week when helping my mother sort through some excess fabric. I just have to put the ribbed neckbands on and they will be complete. There was some blue ribbing that was with the fabric so that is what I will use.

Next, I found a couple of pieces of fleece and have cut out some tracksuit pants.

The black ones are a size 2 and the red spotted ones are a size 6. The spotted fabric would not be my first choice for tracksuit pants but it was a piece leftover from a dressing gown I made for my grand-daughter a few years ago. They might make a snug pair of pyjama bottoms that will keep someone warm.

That is a couple more pieces of material gone from my pile and hopefully will be of use to someone.

Sew My Stash Sunday – 16

Leave a comment

Posted on May 24, 2015

Today I got right back to the essence of what this series is all about – using up the stash of fabric that is sitting in my sewing room. It does not have to be for what it was originally purchased nor for me or my family.

Several years ago I was visiting Melbourne and I friend offered me several metres of dark blue poly cotton fabric. I accepted as I felt sure that I would be able to put it to good use at some stage.

Two years ago I wrote this post about making a fabric suit bag. Some of the fabric was used for that but there was still plenty left over.

I decided a while ago that I would make up some simple shorts and donate them. Today I cut out 9 pairs of size 4 shorts from the fabric.

They are a simple pull-on style with an elasticated waist.

Tomorrow I need to go into Maleny so while I am there I will call into one of the shops which has a sign about donations for Nepal earthquake victims and see if they would like to take the shorts.

I would like to make some other simple clothes for children who may otherwise have very little so will be looking closely at my fabric to see what else I can make.

Sew My Stash Sunday – 12

2 Comments

Posted on April 5, 2015

I am pleased to report that I have actually finished something. Remember this trial from a couple of weeks ago?

Well, I went and bought the silver/grey lawn to line the front yoke. It cost me the princely sum of $1.80. I then made the top with one slight alteration from the original pattern. I made the front 8cm narrower as I felt there was too much fullness in it for my liking.

It was simple and easy to make and has no fastenings of any kind. I am really pleased with the look of the finished garment and am looking forward to wearing it. It is easy to forget that this was only ever a prototype so it is an added bonus that I get a pretty top to wear as well.

Buoyed by the success of my trial I was ready to cut out the next top. Here are the pieces cut out and ready to sew.

As with the first top, I need to buy some lawn for the lining of the yoke and the back neck facing so that is on my ‘to do’ list for this week. I would normally use the same fabric for the lining and facing, however, in both of these instances the fabric is so fine that the pattern from the lining pieces could show through and disrupt the look of the finished garment.

Sew My Stash Sunday – 9

Leave a comment

Posted on March 8, 2015

I have made steady progress this week with my sewing.

I cut out and have started sewing my next skirt.

The pockets, side seams, yoke and facing are stitched. I had hoped to get more done today but Miss O and Izz came to stay. It is pretty well a full-time job to keep them fed and entertained so sewing took a back seat.

The green skirt now has a zip.

I actually added to my stash early in the week when I bought this piece of fabric.

The photograph does not really tell the full story. It is lightweight with a variable texture and is 100% cotton. I paid $35/metre which seems a lot but for $52 I will have a gorgeous quality blouse to wear with the green skirt. This will be my ‘good’ outfit if we go out in the evening when we are in Singapore. I have not made a final decision on the exact style of the blouse yet.

My other achievement was to draft the pattern for a long-sleeve shirt for my daughter. I hope the cut it out next week.

Savvy Spending

4 Comments

Posted on February 11, 2015

Today was my day off and I had arranged to meet some friends at the coast. We had morning tea and a long chat in a park and it was after 1pm by the time I headed off. I had planned to use the trip and petrol consumption wisely by incorporating a visit to East Coast Fabrics. I am regularly disappointed by the range and quality of fabrics available at Spotlight and Lincraft so when I heard advertisements for East Coast Fabrics on the radio recently, I made a mental note to check them out.

Since I am working through my stash of existing fabrics I am loathe to buy too much so I was fairly restrained. I bought these two pieces to make some more skirts. The mint green piece is linen and the other is a lightweight denim. The fabric plus a zip for each skirt cost $18.91 which I think is pretty good for two skirts. I will be using the same pattern that I used for this skirt I made recently.

I am planning to take these skirts when we go to Singapore in September. I have worked out which tops I will wear with them. There is this one that I made a few weeks ago.

I have chosen another three tops.

My thoughts are that all of the tops will go with the denim skirt, all except the yellow can be teamed with the green skirt and the striped skirt can be worn with either the yellow or white tops.

I plan to add 2 pairs of sandals, a pashmina, bathers, sarong, hat, fabric shoulder bag and umbrella. A pair of pyjamas and some underwear and I will be set for pretty well anything that a week in Singapore can throw at me.

What do you think?

New & Shiny Stuff

4 Comments

Posted on December 30, 2014

Regular readers would know that I am not an advocate of shopping. Of course, I buy food to feed us and things that we use in our day-to-day lives but I am definitely not into shopping for recreation.

Every now and then I have a day like today when all I seem to do is buy. I had to go to Brisbane this morning with The Duke as we were to pick up our latest purchase this afternoon, but more about that later. It meant that I had the whole day to fill in so my first stop was Spotlight. I bought 5 white buttons for a blouse I am making and I also took some time to look at the fabrics which were all 40% off the marked price. I do not buy things just because they are discounted but I found some fabric that I am planning to use.

The white piece is linen/cotton blend and I am planning to make a summer dress for myself. I also bought some white lawn (not shown) for the lining. I am going to use this dress as the pattern.

The red is a stretch cotton (t-shirt) fabric which I plan to make a copy of a top I bought earlier in the year.

The other piece is white with black silhouettes of kitchen utensils and I am going to make some more potholders and a cover for my Kitchen Aid mixer which lives on the corner of the bench in the kitchen.

After my Spotlight expedition I went to visit my mother and we went to a large shopping centre near where she lives. Apart from having lunch there we wandered around and I checked out several boutiques and I ended up buying a pair of white, slim-fitting trousers and a blue, patterned cardigan/bolero. I did try on numerous other pieces but I am very selective in the clothes I buy and wanted to be sure that were exactly what I wanted but more on those another day.

The final hurrah was to pick up our new car after our previous one was deemed to be a total write-off after the damage sustained during the recent ferocious hailstorm.

I am planning a much less adventurous day tomorrow. I will be staying at home and hope to get some sewing done. It will not be any of the new material just yet as I have a couple of other projects that I need to complete before I start any new ones.

What are your plans for New Year’s Eve? Partying or a quiet night at home?

More Material

2 Comments

Posted on November 11, 2014

Last weekend I spent a fair bit of time in the sewing room. I am working on a project that I cannot show you for another week so more details then.

I have also been cleaning up and sorting out material – yet again. Much of what I have is relatively small pieces so I have prepared some of them for future patchwork projects by cutting them into 5 inch squares. The remaining pieces are bundled according to colour so that I know where to look if I need a specific colour.

Today I was given a couple of bags of material. It is mostly substantial sized pieces which will be suitable for making entire garments so I am off to have a closer look at them and dream of some future creations.

My First Attempt

16 Comments

Posted on June 2, 2014

It is never too late to learn something new so today I have started some patchwork. I am hoping to make a quilt. It is not entirely true that I have never done patchwork before but it has been generally on a small scale and my own ‘design’.

Following some basic tips that I gleaned from Frugal Queen and this Youtube video, I set about making my first disappearing 9 patch square.

I did not buy any fabric because I believe that patchwork should be the ultimate in making do with what you have, not an excuse to rush out and buy all of the latest mix’n’match patchwork fabrics. I am using leftovers and offcuts from many of my own sewing projects as well as some that my mother gave me recently. Some of the pieces in the bundle are over 40 years old.

Here are some of the first squares I cut out. I was starting to arrange them for the block.

I chose to use mostly blue in my first project as that is the colour that I have most in the available fabric. It is also the colour of our bedroom so the quilt will look perfect on our bed if it reaches completion.

The first nine squares sewn together.

The disappearing 9 patch depends on then cutting the block into 4 squares, rearranging them and then sewing them together. This is the result.

So far today I have made 4 of these blocks and I am really happy with how they are turning out.

I think I am hooked but there are other things I need to do today as well. I will be back tomorrow with more adventures. In the meantime, let me know if you quilt or sew. Is it for fun or frugality?

Pretty Pillows

Leave a comment

Posted on April 11, 2014

I didn’t get back to doing the follow-up post about the bathroom cupboards so that may have to wait until next week. I will do the ‘Foodie Friday’ post this evening but in the meantime I wanted to show you something I made the other day.

These are 2 pillowcases I made from some pieces of fabric that were given to me. The fabric was just wide enough for the cases. I cut the pieces to ensure that the design was centred on the case. The darker pink fabric is from a doona cover that I bought from the op shop to use in some patchwork.

I gave them to Miss O and Izz when they arrived last night to stay for a few days. They are very excited with the new pillowcases for their beds.