girls nightie

with the warm nights and a growth spurt, Miss almost 3 needed a new nightie. Pink is her favourite colour and luckily I had this poly cotton floral print in my stash and Style 1715, another 10 cent pattern from the hospice shop. A couple of nights sewing and this is the result... a pretty pink nightie!

Photo removed for safety reasons due to cyber stalking!

girls nightie

with the warm nights and a growth spurt, Miss almost 3 needed a new nightie. Pink is her favourite colour and luckily I had this poly cotton floral print in my stash and Style 1715, another 10 cent pattern from the hospice shop. A couple of nights sewing and this is the result... a pretty pink nightie!

plate clocks

late last year I bought this clock for my kitchen from trademe seller natelee. As you know I'm an avid lover and somewhat collector of crown lynn and the idea of this clock appealled to me just as much for being a piece of crown lynn as for it's distinct, visual appeal. Last week I bought these 2 clocks from the same seller. The safari brown clock is a gift for a family member and the ironstone clock for my sewing room.

my husband suggested that I might like to attempt making a plate clock myself. After all he reasoned, it's simply a process of selecting a plate, finding the right drill bit, carefully drilling a hole and then attaching a clock movement. I'm not so easily convinced. My hands would probably shake so much from the thought of drilling a hole in a crown lynn piece that I possibly crack more than I'd successfully drill!

sundress

         

                                              

this is the cheapest dress that I've ever made. A leftover remnant from an 80s project plus a 10c vintage pattern from the hospice shop equals a quick afternoon sew. Miss almost 3 resists regular naps when the older children are on school holidays so quick and easy projects seem to be the way to go at the moment!

Photos removed for safety reasons due to cyber stalking!

sundress

         

                                              

this is the cheapest dress that I've ever made. A leftover remnant from an 80s project plus a 10c vintage pattern from the hospice shop equals a quick afternoon sew. Miss almost 3 resists regular naps when the older children are on school holidays so quick and easy projects seem to be the way to go at the moment!

another heart

using this scented heart tutorial, I set about making one for my wardrobe. It's an easy project that can be completed in less than an hour. I cut freehand heart shapes in my scrap fabric (I like my hearts to be assymetrical), added a vintage button, leftover polyester stuffing, homemade dried lavender and recycled ribbon from christmas gift wrapping. Viola! project complete and ready to hang!

kwik sew 3612 tote

I blogged about this tote bag back in September 2008 when I made a rip roaring start on it. Then I had an issue with one end of the fabric base that refused to give me a tidy corner, no matter what I did. So it went onto the ufo pile. And there it sat for almost 1 1/2 years. Yesterday I got stuck in and finished it.

another ufo celebrates completion!

groovy play dress

I blogged about this dress back in June 2009 and then for months, it just sat in the ufo pile waiting for button holes, handsewing and hemming.  Here it is finally finished and being enjoyed by Miss almost 3. A perfect twirling dress!

Photos removed for safety reasons due to cyber stalking!

groovy play dress

I blogged about this dress back in June 2009 and then for months, it just sat in the ufo pile waiting for button holes, handsewing and hemming.  Here it is finally finished and being enjoyed by Miss almost 3. A perfect twirling dress!

2010 plans

                                

like most people, at the beginning of each new year, I like to look back and review what I have or haven't achieved. It's my personal 'reality check' time. Here's my 2009 plans and my thoughts on how I did...

1. daily blogging   I'm frequent blogging instead. I don't have enough interesting stuff to share to warrant daily blogging.
2. improve knitting skills goes onto 2010 list. I lost my knitting mojo in 2009 and didn't do anything to improve.
3. etsy & felt shops at 100%  I'm ditching the felt shop & keeping the etsy store. This year I'm doing a lot more sewing for ball jointed dolls.
4. try gocco printing this stays on the list. I'd like to produce my own stationary, notecards and even christmas cards this year.
5. try scrapbooking again this gets kicked off the list. I'm not that into scrapbooking so I'll stick with my plan to only scrapbook christmas photos.
6. more personal sewing this one is a real biggie and needs to stay on the 2010 list. 2009 started off well and then my sewing inspiration fizzled leaving me completely unmotivated to sew. On the plus side, I lost a total of 18.5 kgs ( thats about 40 lbs) which added more sewing challenges to the mix. Later in the year, my sewing mojo returned and I sewed clothing for my growing 13 year old daughter.
7. no unfinished projects another to stay on the list. I'm embarassed to admit that I still have some 2008 ufo's in my sewing basket to complete. Getting them done is a priority.
8. reduce wool & fabric stash done! about 3 big boxes of wool was donated to the Middlemore hospital charity knitters and several black bags of fabric to the local hospice shop.
9. continue charity knitting another for the 2010 list. Although I didn't knit a great deal last year, I did contribute 4 christmas shoeboxes and 9 christmas gifts to the K-Mart wishing tree appeal. So this years plan is to continue crafting for charity.

and there you have it, my 2010 plans.

hello 2010

wishing you all the very best for the new year and thanks for visiting my little corner of kiwi blogland. Hope 2010 is a great one for you!

happy holidays

                                

                                                

from my family to yours, we wish you all the very best for the holiday season. Take care, be safe and I'll see you all again in the new year 2010.

granny dress

Miss 13 put in a request for a maxi dress (to wear to a birthday pool party). They are all the rage here this summer. Every dress store seems to have a version of this style in a huge range of bold prints and colours. She didn't want a deep vee neckline or thin straps. I remembered some groovy 70s styled dresses in the February 2009 Burda issue and thought that this dress (122) aptly named the 'granny dress' might be just right...

it's a typical 70s inspired design with elastic at the neckline, sleeves and waist. I used a polyester border print and worked against the grain of the fabric to get the florals all lining up. The elasticised empire waist is a nice feature of this pattern but I lowered it to sit just above Miss 13's waist. Although on reflection, it makes the bust look too full. So after she's worn it to the party today, I'll unpick the waist elastic and move it up a little to get rid of the fullness. Overall, the dress is a success!

Photo removed for safety reasons due to cyber stalking!

granny dress

Miss 13 put in a request for a maxi dress (to wear to a birthday pool party). They are all the rage here this summer. Every dress store seems to have a version of this style in a huge range of bold prints and colours. She didn't want a deep vee neckline or thin straps. I remembered some groovy 70s styled dresses in the February 2009 Burda issue and thought that this dress (122) aptly named the 'granny dress' might be just right...

it's a typical 70s inspired design with elastic at the neckline, sleeves and waist. I used a polyester border print and worked against the grain of the fabric to get the florals all lining up. The elasticised empire waist is a nice feature of this pattern but I lowered it to sit just above Miss 13's waist. Although on reflection, it makes the bust look too full. So after she's worn it to the party today, I'll unpick the waist elastic and move it up a little to get rid of the fullness. Overall, the dress is a success!

christmas tree

now that the children are older, they've taken over the decorating of our christmas tree. It's so nice to see them working together to put the tree up and then hang all the ornaments. Once that's done, they're busy writing cards and wrapping presents and putting them under the tree. Meanwhile I'm busy getting the last of my christmas baking done.

ornament swap

a quick pic to show the handmade christmas ornaments that I received from the group 10 swap. This is the 2nd time that I've been part of the swap and again, I'm impressed by the creativity of my fellow kiwi crafters.

Also a big thank you to Louise of twentycentmixture for organising the swap!

strawberries

on our way home from the bach, I stopped at a roadside stall in Matakana and bought a $5 bucket of strawberries for making jam and some extra punnets full of nicer ones for the children to eat on the way home. Later on in the afternoon once all our holiday unpacking and laundry was done, it was time to turn 3 kgs of strawberries into 11 jars of delicious jam. All that's needed now is some cellophane, fancy ribbon and handwritten labels to complete my 'foodie' presents. I used some leftover strawberries to make syrup for drizzling over ice cream too. Hmm!

pohutukawa

one of the best things about a kiwi christmas is when the pohutukawa (aka New Zealand's christmas tree) blooms at christmas time. It has large feathery, brilliant red flowers that stand out against it's dark green, somewhat glossy leaves. The most magnificent pohutukawa trees are often found on the coast (there's plenty at Martins Bay) - with multiple trunks, gnarled roots and massive outstretching canopies. Just perfect for shade or climbing in if you're of an adventurous spirit.

                                    

as you can see we had a fun time at the beach (caught the children helping themselves to 'donkey drops'). It was nice to come home to find some of the ornament swap goodies had arrived in the post. I'll wait till all of the ornaments arrive and then post a photo.

martins bay

every year we try to get to the beach to enjoy some rest and relaxation after the christmas rush. This year however the bach is fully booked then, so we're making our trip to Martins Bay before christmas instead. So in a few hours from now, we'll be on our way. Should be a great trip!

bye bye birdies

making the birds for the kiwi xmas ornament swap has been a fun experience. They're now all packed up and ready to be posted. I can't wait to see what shows up in my letterbox when the other crafters in my swap group send theirs.

next up in the crafting queue is a couple of child-inspired projects centred around this vintage recipe that I found recently. (click on the photo to enlarge the image for easier reading). Keeping Miss almost 3 in mind, I'm thinking that an apron with big patch pockets, a cape with a hood and a treasure bag (for all those leaves, pebbles, bottle caps etc that she somehow seems to find when we go for walks) would be good things to make.