Chocolate mug cake

If you love chocolate cake, give this recipe a try:

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract

1 large coffee mug (300ml size is good)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix
thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate
chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts
(high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be
alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

EAT! (this can serve 2)
And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world??Because
now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of
the day or night!

BJD sewing again!

After a wee break, I'm back sewing for the BJD dolls again. I started off my foray into doll sewing by sewing for Barbie dolls (when my eldest daughter was really into Barbie), then I moved on to 16 inch Tonner fashion dolls. From there, I discovered BJDs (ball jointed dolls) and soon realised that the bigger 60cm+ dolls were my preferred size for sewing. I had more choice in the fabrics and styles that I could create and above all, sewing for this size was less fiddley. Since then, I've been slowly building up my family of BJD models with 3 Elfdolls, 1 Lishe, 1 Domuya Fin and 1 Limhwa Mano. I do have 2 smaller MSD sized BJDs: Minifee Lishe & Narae models, although I don't sew for these dolls much. I beat the boredom factor by sewing for other dolls including Pedigree Walkie Talkies and Saucy Walkers.

There's such a variation when it comes to BJD clothing, ranging from anime & cosplay right through to high fashion. My BJD styles are more focussed towards being casual/fashion. My doll collecting hobby goes hand in hand with my doll sewing. I've been lucky enough to make this hobby pay for itself with my sewing as well as onselling my many fashion & vintage dolls, as the BJDs are very expensive with the average 60cm+ BJD costing between $500-$800 USD. (I try to buy second hand BJDs when I can). But with the drop in the NZD (I can't see it improving vastly any time soon), I don't think I'll be buying any BJDs for a while.

First sewing machine

I learnt to sew on my mother's old Singer with the knee bar. I must have been about 9 or 10 years old at the time. What a grunty machine! It had both speed and power & it took a while for me to learn to master the knee bar. Mum would whip up dresses for my sister and I to wear to church on Sunday. We had the matching thing going on in those days when she'd dress us alike. Then Mum won a new Riccar sewing machine in a competition and her Singer was traded in as a condition of the win. After she said that she wished she hadn't done so as she preferred her Singer.

As for my teenage daughter, I bought her a groovy retro Singer Genie to learn to sew on. There's no way I'd let her near my sewing machine. I'm sewing on a Singer Rumina. She loves her little machine although doing button holes on it is a pain. Thank goodness someone invented automatic buttonholes!

Dress form at last

Ok, after a great deal of thought, I decided to order a Purfex adjustable mannequin. I'm convinced that this brand will suit me better. It's both sturdy and robust, ideal for all the extra padding that I'd need to add to get those 'bumps' just right. I didn't have any success locating a vintage dress form.

Knit for AIDs babies in Africa

Just finished reading a news story about the AIDs babies in Africa being sent home wrapped up in newspaper for warmth. They were referred to as "fish n chips" babies. It made me think of my own children & how they left hospital all snugly wrapped up for their journey home. I decided to knit at least a couple of jumpers to send on. As I'm a tight knitter, no. 5 needles work well and I've chosen 8 ply red acrylic wool for my first jumper. I'm an average speed knitter but I am making quick progress with the jumper. Hope to have it finished within the next day or so.

Finished retro look border print top

The pattern which I drafted is basically a series of rectangles for the bust & halter strap) with a slightly shaped A line body. I used the 'flat construction' method to sew this. The border pattern was 58cm from the selvedge. I kept the top long so that it can double as a pull-on mini sundress for going to the pool or beach.
My teenage daughter favors the layered look at the moment and is wearing it over a t shirt and jeans. (She's happily modelling in the photos).

I'll certainly be sewing her a couple more border print tops in the fabrics I posted about the other day.

China cabinet

I'm a keen collector of vintage & retro china too. The china cabinet was a $20 find on Trademe. As you can see, I'm a blue & white fan. Most of the dinner plates on display are from Crown Lynn except the one in the middle of the top shelf, which is by Burleigh. My all time favourites are the group of 3 lustre swans (I'm nuts about poodles & swans at the moment!) and the groupings of 1950s Japanese lustre partial doll teasets. I haven't been able to find a complete set yet. I'm still searching!

The cabinet drawers are jammed packed full of vintage & retro linen & textiles, most of which I inherited from my husband's mother & grandmother.

Well I really should get back to sewing. Talk to you all again soon.

More fabric?

Just popped into Spotlight this morning to buy some more shirring elastic. I left the store with the elastic and about $60 of fabric. "Do I need more fabric?" I asked myself while I waited at the counter. The answer was an obvious "No!" but I just couldn't resist the newly arrived Japanese craft fabrics or the voile border prints that were on sale.

Coming up is Labour weekend in NZ( we get a 3 day weekend) and I'm planning to do more practice sewing on the Coverpro, make some progress on my unfinished projects and maybe get started on some bjd sewing.

PS: I'm making great progress with the shirred top for my daughter. Posting pics real soon!

Janome Coverpro

After months and months of thought, I found a Janome Coverseamer on Trademe. It belonged to a dressmaker who's upgrading to an industrial. Lucky me! She's hardly used it, so it's almost like having a brand, spanking new machine.

There are no extra attachments with it. That won't be a problem as I can easily get those when I need them from the local Janome dealer. For now I'll just get stuck in to learning how to use it. I'm looking forward to being able to present a more polished finish on my own sewing. Can't wait!

Retro inspired border print top

While shopping yesterday, I popped into the local Farmers Department store to check out their teenage fashions. That's when I saw the cutest halter top with a shirred elastic bust, and a slight A line body made up in cotton poplin border print. I knew that my teenage daughter would love it. So I had a look at the front and back, then drew a quick reference sketch on the back of an envelope.

On my way home, I stopped at Spotlight and after a good hunt round, managed to find a retro inspired border print. Now it's just a matter of checking my daughter's measurements, doing some simple maths and getting started.

Subversive Seamster books

These have got to be the coolest craft books ever.

I came across them while browsing my local bookstore's craft section. I bought them as I know my teenage daughter would love these for Christmas . She's always been re-creating thrift clothing into her own individual fashions and these are a great source of inspiration.

And even if, like me, your adventurous clothing days are rare, the creative ideas are just fantastic & very inspiring! Plus it's a great walk down memory lane to see some of those vintage & retro fabrics again getting a whole new lease of life.

Tote bag progress

Still working on the shopping tote. I was going to line it in hot pink drill but then decided that it was starting to look "too pink!" So today I went and bought some purple drill which I think will tone in nicely. Not too sure about the width of the bag handles. On the pattern cover it looks great but cut out, they look really wide. I'll persevere with it for now!

Finished projects so far

Firstly, I finished the shirred summer dress for my almost 2 year old daughter. I remembered that the seersucker fabric was a $1 remnant at a Spotlight sale. I gave the dress an extra 4 rows of elastic (so the elastic part of the bodice finishes a smidgeon below her natural waist & allows for growth) , extra length on the straps & a nice wide hem, so that she get at least a couple of summers wear before she outgrows it. She loves her dress and wanted to wear it straight off the sewing machine.

I also completed two cute dresses that fit 21" Pedigree & Saucy Walkie Talkie dolls. The dresses were started a while back & needed hems & buttons. Finally got that done and the undies sewn. These dress sets are destined for ebay.

Dress form update

Well I unpacked the dress form, assembled it and then decided that it didn't feel very sturdy and I really detested the plastic stand. I'd definitely prefer to have a more robust model to work with. Especially since I'll need to add padding to it. So I took her apart, put her back in the box and listed it on Trademe. It sold in less than 24 hours.

I'm sure now that I should get a vintage model or a brand new Purfex. Either one has to be better than what I've just bought. More decisions to make!

Retro poodle bottle cover

Remember these? every home seemed to have one back in the 70s. My mother used to have a pair of these poodles sitting proudly on her china cabinet. So of course, when I saw this little beauty on Trademe, I had to buy this item of nostalgia for my china cabinet. I've since found a vintage pattern to make a knitted poodle bottle cover. Another project to add to the many twirling around in my head!

Adjustable dress form

At long last I've bought a dress form. It was on sale for $259. (retail $399!) So now it's at home, ready to be put together and padded. I've been online checking out the best ways to pad 'Tika' (that's her name) so that she's got my exact shape. Now she needs a bra and lots of dacron!

Seersucker shirred dress

While digging through my fabric stash, I came across this seersucker fabric with the cutest daisy print. Thought it would make a great shirred elastic dress for my younger daughter. So now I'm sewing up the shirring elastic rows.

Christmas shoe boxes

Yesterday we packed 2 Christmas shoe boxes with lots of goodies especially for 2-5 year old girls. The boxes are destined for Papua New Guinea. For the 'something to wear' category, I'd chosen pink cotton t-shirts. I woke up this morning thinking how nice it would be to make up a couple of simple ruffled skirts to go with the tops. I found some great floral fabric in my fabric stash & whipped the skirts up in a jiffy then put them in the boxes too.

Workroom tidy up

I've had to stop working on my projects and focus on getting the workroom tidied up. It's a small room and all my latest purchases were piling up on the floor. So I spent a good 2 hours tidying up and finding a home for everything. It looks much better than when I started.

As you can see, I'm still waiting for my dear hubby to wallpaper the walls & put up shelving. It's been almost a year since he stripped off the old paper and prepped the walls. He's promising me that he'll get it done before Christmas. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Dress & coat for Patti Playpal

My visit to Wellington was a welcome chance to recharge my batteries. I'm full of thoughts and inspiration regarding all the projects that I want & plan to do. Firstly I have to complete my 'offcuts' fabric bag. It's been cut out and ready to be sewn together.

Found these 2 patterns for a summer dress & coat that with a little tweaking should fit both my almost 2 year old daughter as well as vintage Patti Playpal doll. They should both make up well and look very sweet.

Good to be back in the sewing room again!

Back from Wellington

I'm back from Wellington, feeling recharged with inspiration and creativity. I went to Te Papa to see the Rita Angus art exhibition. I've always loved Rita's works and to be able to view 200 of her works in person was something quite special.

There wasn't any time for fabric shopping. However I did manage to buy 2 really great books: Rita Angus art prints book and Thrift to Fantasy by Rosemary Macleod. Looking forward to reading both books cover to cover.