IVE MOVED!!

Just a quick post to let you all know that Ive moved to a new blog.
There were many reasons for this, which I wont bore you with, but you can now find me over at

sew delicately

thanks!

Jessica

Quilt-a-long Geese : :

Quick update on my last post,  I have finished my flying geese for the Happy Quilting quilt-a-long.



I'm really loving the fabric that I've chosen. I cant wait to sew it all together!!

I have to work this afternoon, so I have a couple of hours with the kids. I might see if i can finalise my fabric choices for the quilt!

Jessica

Happy Quilting Quilt Along # 3: :

Well, the tumble weeds have been blowing in around here.
There has been lots of sewing going on, but unfortunately not much blogging.

Ill try to catch up on that later, but for the minute, I am joining in again with Happy Quilting's quilt-a-long. YAY! This will be my third happy quilting quilt, and they are always lots of fun. (Check out my first and my second) You can check it out here if your interested in joining in on the fun! 

I wanted to make a big quilt. A 4 by 4 layout, in king size. I seriously spent hours last night pulling fabric from my stash. I honestly pulled nearly all of it out, and I'm just not feeling it. I just cant seen to get the right combination of fabric!!

It was doing my head it, so I crammed it all back in my cupboard (folding is for the weak!) and I decided to at least start with a cushion!

I'm making a single block, in the smallest size (20 x 20 inches). Something is better than nothing right?  And it lets me still quilt-a-long while i figure out what I'm doing with the quilt.

The blue/grey upholstery fabric, and the brown velvet are actually left overs from an Amy Butler ottoman I recently made, more about that later.

The navy floral is from happy-go-lucky, Moda, and the others are just randoms from my stash (I think the script is from Michael Miller).

So that's the cutting done!

Cant wait to put it all together! (and figure out my quilt!)

Jessica

Pattern Runway : Kimono Dress

I have had my eyes on the Kimono Dress pattern by Pattern Runway for a while now.
I was just waiting for fabric-inspiration to strike.

Then Tessuti announced on their blog that they were running a competition, with silk crepe-de-chine!!! As soon as I saw this autumn inspired print, I was sold! (and there's still some left at the discounted price!!)

It arrived only 2 days after I ordered it, all wrapped up like Christmas present in an old pattern and tied with a sting. I know it shouldn't matter how its packaged, but to me it totally does!

I unwrapped it eagerly and got sewing! This dress is relatively easy to make, but it took me a looooong time! Many hours went into sewing this dress.

 

To make it special I wanted to make sure it was finished as professionally inside, as it was outside.

Pattern Alterations: I lengthened the bodice by 3 inches. I originally thought I wanted a nice, big "pouf" over the elastic waist, but after I had sewn it, it was way too much pouf. Yes there is such a thing. It gave me a boxy, really unflattering silhouette. So I painstakingly unpicked the elastic waste and my french seam (believe me silk hates unpicking as much as I do!), and shortened the bodice by 1.25 inches. (so overall my bodice was lengthened by 1.75 inches).

I also lengthened the skirt by 5 inches as I wanted it to hit my knee, and still have a deep hem.

I used french seams where I could, and Hong Kong seams where I couldn't, and to finish off the edges of my facings.

(Just incase you were wondering, yes I'm wearing it inside out, just to show of how nice the innards are!)

I made it up in a size M, grading out to a L at the hips (pear shape). I would definitely recommend grading up a size if your in between or just over sizes at the hips as its quite a slim fit.

I also did a blind hem (by hand I might add!!), and finished it all off with a fabric covered button.

I L.O.V.E. this dress!! x a million!

It feels sooo fancy. I cant wait for someone to have a wedding because I know what I'm wearing!!

This dress contained a few 'firsts' for me. First time Ive hand stitched a hem. First fabric covered button (not hard) and first time doing Hong Kong seams!!

I'm so proud of it! I feel like I'm wearing something from a super expensive designer boutique!

I'm definitely going to use this pattern again. I also want to eliminate the skirt and make a kimono top!

Jessica

Desmond Backpack: :

There's a new bag in-town. A handsome, stylish, and completely practical bag. His name is Desmond!

If you haven't seen Taylor Tailor's new backpack popping up allover the place, then head yourself on over to his site here.

As my dear husband has now started is university degree (mech engineering), he was in obvious need of a bag. A backpack to be precise.

So I hunted through online patterns to find the right bag for my man. And Voila! And new bag was born.

 

A thousand apologies for the off-focus photo. He was holding a squirmy Little Miss S, who was more than ready to go to bed, so it was hard to get a good shot of the bag (and of course I couldn't wait till she was asleep).

But anyway, you get the idea. This bag is FANTASTIC! and not only does it look great, it holds heaps, has loaads to reinforcing in all the right places, and is really comfortable to wear. Seriously, I want one!

To begin with I was a little worried that it wouldn't be big enough, but I decided to just go with it after reading some other reviews on other blogs. I'm so glad I didn't change the size, as its perfect.

The material was Kaufmann Linen in Indigo, which I picked up for a steal on ebay. I lined the bag with the same fabric, as sometimes the innards can be seen peeking though the roll top (if its not rolled properly), and I think its nice to have the same fabric.

Mr Handsome has already been using this bag (which is why its a little crumpled) and he gives it two thumbs up!
It holds a surprising large amount, and he says its nice and comfortable on his shoulders.

Pattern Alterations:
This pattern is made exactly to the instructions, with a few small exceptions. I put some nice cushy quilting batting (iron-on) in the straps to make them nice and soft, and I lined the lining fabric with medium weight interfacing.

I didn't want to go too-heavy a interfacing, because I wanted to avoid a really stiff, but I did want it to hold a little bit of its shape.

I do want to order some otter wax sometime in the future to make this bag water proof as well. Ill update if and when I do that. 

I also ordered all of the hardware from Taylor Tailor, and its top notch. I'm really happy with the quality. Its probably the best I have ever used!

And that's it! I know this bag is going to get plenty of use, and with the amount of reinforcing I did, its going to last a very loooong time!

Jessica

One For Me : :

I have decided a few things of late.

The first being that I'm going to participate in the "Splendid Sampler".  If you haven't heard of it, I'd highly recommend a look.

I love that its slow place, and I'm also enjoying the surprise.

Instead of picking specific fabric for this quilt, I'm just going to use what takes my fancy at the time. No theme, colour scheme, or anything! (I'm not even going to use all quilting cotton!)

My fabric scraps are also going to be my first port-of-call when looking for fabric.

Ive actually found that I have memories associated with my fabric scraps. Weird right?  I remember what I made from them, and some of things that were going on while I was using that fabric.

While the dresses, bags and other things that I made may have long since worn out (or been donated or gifted), I still remember those things with the scraps that I've collected.

So this quilt is purely for me. For fun. To make a quilt that may or may not be pretty, but will incorporate those memories.

Im putting no limitations on myself. I simply will select the fabric that takes my fancy for the day, and make the block.




So for the first block, it was these fabrics. The toadstools was from a backpack I made Little Miss I when she started 3 year old kinder. The blue/gray dots, and mustard solid where I dress I made her when I was pattern testing for "sewing in no mans land", and the red polka dot a left over from two baby quilts I've made, one for my sister, and one for my sister in law.

So all those memories have now been captured in this block.




I'll share my progress on this quilt with updates through out the year. Im interested to see where it takes me.

The second thing I have decided is that I'm no longer going to feel like I 'have to' sew things for others, esspecially when I dont want to.

Ive made so so many things for family and friends. Quilts for babies, bags, costumes, mending, big quilts, you name it, I've most likely sewn it and given it away. 

Some times I enjoy it, most often not so much. So this year, Im not doing it anymore. If someone has a baby, and I dont want to, or have the time to make a quilt, Im not going to feel like i have to.
I can be completely ok with buying baby stuff for gifts, same as everyone else.

Im also not doing anyones mending (seriously, I hate doing my own), nor any other type of sewing that i dont want to.

This has kind of come around because Ive been so busy making things for everyone else that I never even made Little Miss S a baby quilt, and she is turning one next week.

So hears to a year when I only use MY hobby, for things that I want to use it for!!

Jessica

Penguin Backpack : :

Little Mr I started 3 year old kindergarten this week! (seriously will you *please* stop growing!) So, obviously, he needed a backpack to commemorate the occasion!

I own the book "Oliver + S Little things to sew", and if you have read my blog at all, you would probably have noticed I have a slight, ahem, obsession, LOVE for anything Oliver + S!

So it was a no-brainer for me to use the backpack pattern found in this book!
Now, just so you know I'm not completely bias, I have made kids backpacks before, and while those patterns where OK, this one is great!!

Whenever I sew with Oliver + S, I follow the instructions to the tee, because I'm always bound to learn something.For this pattern it was the zipper insertion method! I wasn't entirely sure what I was meant to be doing, but I just follow the pattern and it always turns out great!

Internal Dialog: "why would i want to do that? It looks like your adding a whole load more steps onto something that should be easy liesl!!

Then it clicks why I had to do all those seemingly annoying steps, Que me calling my husband over "come and look at how amazing my sewing is!!"

 

How cute are those penguins?! 

After I finished the outside of the bag, I noticed it was quite floppy. I wanted the bag to hold its shape, and it did cross my mind to put some heavy weight interfacing in it to really stiffen it up, but I decided to go for more of a softer feel and put in some fusible fleece interfacing instead. 

It helps it hold its shape, but also keeps that lovely soft feel as well, which I love.

 

 Other changes I made to the pattern: I make some black pipping and added it on all the seams of the backpack except on the straps. I think it just gives the back a bit more definition, especially as I was using the same fabric for the whole bag.  (I also just love pipping on a bag and will add it whenever I can!)

I added two rows of top stitching along the zipper as you can see above (pattern calls for one). Don't really have a reason for that change, other than it took my fancy at the time!

And lastly, I also obviously omitted turning the backpack into a penguin (the pattern adds beaks and wings etc to make a penguin backpack). I really wanted to just let the fabric shine without all the extra embellishments, so I simply skipped over the bits I didn't want and just used the basic backpack pattern.

The insides are from lotta jansdotter, I didn't want it to be too busy in there, so I picked a lovely basic fabric. There is also a small pocket inside. Its quite small. I'm not quite sure what its there for, but I added it anyway as I'd already cut it out.

So there you have it! Mr I has been carrying it around on his back constantly since I finished it! The teacher tried to get him to put it in the locker when we got to kinder,  he wasn't too impressed with that, and did so reluctantly! I guess there's no better compliment he could give me really.

Just for an update, because its been 5 ish months since I last blogged. Lots of things have been going on, I didn't plan on having a long break, but life just happens I guess. Mr handsome has got accepted into University studying Mechanical Engineering and starts in 16 days!! We're really excited about that, but also a bit nervous! Its a 4 year degree and while I know were in for the hard slog, I just feel so excited and blessed that he has this amazing opportunity.

The twins, miss E and miss I are back at school as of last week. We had a lovely summer holiday with them, and even managed to get away to Eden for 10 days camping. (Its a beautiful part of Australia right on gorgeous beaches if you ever get the chance to go!)

AND Little miss S, (who is turning 1 later on in the month), started crawling today!! Shes been up on her knees rocking and trying to crawl for a week or two now, but she saw my embroidery thread box, and crawled to it!!  (girl after my own heart!)

I have loads of projects to catch up on, so keep an eye out for them!!

Jessica

Last Day Of School : :

Today was Miss E and Miss I's last day of term 3. Their teacher is sadly going on long service leave for the 4th term (sad for us, happy for her no doubt!).

I wanted to make her something just to show how much we appreciate all the effort she has gone to in helping our girls. But at the same time I also wanted it to be quick as I only decided this last night :)

I decided on the tote bag from Lisa Liam's 'The Bag Making Bible'. It came together rather fast. I cut it out last night (while watching the Bachelor *shame*) and sewed it up while Little Miss S had her nap in the morning.

All of the fabrics I used were left overs from other bags that I have made. SCORE!

It really was a difficult thing to photograph, and in this case I don't think the photos do it justice.

 

The brown thick outer fabric is an upholstery fabric I picked up from spotlight about 3 years ago. The lining is a cotton also from spotlight. The black polka dot canvas was left overs from another bag. Sorry, cant remember where I picked that up from?

 

The teacher loved it. I hope she gets lots of use out of it. It was really enjoyable to make, I think because it was just so quick. Nothing like a instant results. 

Jessica

Jamming With A Jelly Roll : :

My sister has just recently had her 3rd baby!! She now has 1 girl and 2 boys. So of course I made her a quilt as a present.  (I honestly feel like I write that that line at least once a month!)

Ive been hoarding a jelly roll of Sweet water 'Pure' since Mr Z was born (he just turned 3). If you remember I actually used the same fabric for his baby quilt!

Because it reminds me so much of Little Mr Z when he was a bubba, Ive been really reluctant to use it......but since its for my new nephew, I decided I could part with it. (Well, half of it. The other half I have stashed back away in my cupboard with every intention of keeping it forever)

I wanted a really quick sew, so I decided to use the 'Jelly Roll Jam II" pattern from The Fat Quarter Shop. Check out the youtube tutorial here.

So in between making fun of the American accents on the tutorial (ha ha you should hear my husband) and going to my brothers wedding, this quilt came together so so quickly.




I love it sooo much!! (can i just point out the blossoms on that tree? YAY! SPRING!!)

Out of all the quilts I have ever made, this quilt is the most well made. It is dead square. For some reason my quilts are never 100% square. But this one is.
Also all of my seams are perfect! (if I do say so myself).
I finally figured out why its so important to press seams in opposite directions so the seams 'nest' together! (slow learner)





The back I managed to scrounge out of the backing left-overs from the triangle quilt I made recently.
It took a while to cut all the trimmings into usable strips but I'm so glad I did. Its much better for the bank, and its a great scrap-buster!




To quilt it I decided just to use straight lines. I love it so much!! Its adds so much lovely texture!!
Another score with this quilt is that there are absolutely NO puckers on the back!! YES!! I think I may finally figured out how not to get puckers!! (we'll see how I go with the next quilt!)



The binding is a lovely linen look cotton that I picked up from my local craft store.

I love this quilt so much!! I've really noticed how much Ive improved at sewing when I look at this quilt...and especially when I compare it so some of my earlier ones.

Well, I'm going to chuck it in the mail today and it will soon be keeping a baby warm in sunny Cairns where my sister lives.  (or maybe it will be used as a floor quilt!! Ha ha its rather hot in Cairns!)

Jessica

WIP: Feather Blocks

At my brothers wedding, my sister gave me some fabric to make Little Miss S a baby quilt. It was a Moda Honey Bun (for those who don't know what that is its like the baby version of a jelly roll, at 1.5 inches). I've never quilted with a Honey Bun before, to be honest, I'd never even seen one! Apparently they don't make many.

At first I really didn't know what to do with it? The strips are quite small. I thought of using a Jelly roll pattern, and making it miniature with my honey bun, but it didn't really appeal.

I finally settled on doing something I've been wanting to do for a while....make a quilt without a pattern!! (well almost without a pattern ha ha)

I saw on pinterest some lovely feather blocks, and there was a free pattern online!! Score! So, following the pattern, i sewed my strips together then cut out my feathers.

For the stems I used some kaufman linen that I had left over from the nappy bag I made for myself earlier this year.

 

I then gathered up some different white-ish low volume backgrounds to use. (see the bottom fabric? thats cotton and steel!! It really lives up to all the hype!)

I've cut enough for 5 feather blocks...they will be my start and I'm just going to keep adding to the quilt until it feels done! '
I'm thinking some tiny half square triangles...maybe even a few arrow blocks too.
I don't really have a plan. I'm just going to wing it!! I've wanted to do this type of quilting for ages! But its so hard to figure out where to start. I think I just over-think my quilts, but this time, I'm just going to go for it.

Hope it turns out OK!

Jessica

Sorry, I cant remember the line of fabric...I know I kept the tag from the roll somewhere. Ill probably stumble across it soon, then I'll let you know. Its cute though isn't it?

Triangle Wedding Quilt : :

Last week one of my younger brothers (I have three!) got married!! It was such a lovely day! .....and it was also the first time we have employed the services of a 'proper' babysitter (a lovely girl from church), so it was extra fun to have some kid-free time!
(well almost kid free time! Little Miss S came to the reception as I'm still feeding her, but she slept 80% of the time *BLISS*)

So to welcome a new sister-in-law into the family, and to celebrate their wedding day I made them a quilt!
I really deliberated over which fabrics I should use, as I'm not 100% acquainted with what type of things my new SIL likes yet.
I decided to play it safe and go with something a little 'toned down'.





I raided my stash, which is happily coming into more manageable levels (and by that I mean actually fitting in my fabric cupboard!), and came up with 'glimma' by Lotta Jansdotter. I've been hoarding this fabric for a loooong time, and its the kind of fabric that could really go with any kind of decor.

I wanted this quilt to be a quick sew (well as quick as a queen-sized quilt can be) so I grabbed my trusty 12inch equal-lateral triangle ruler and started cutting out triangles.

 

It didn't take me all that long to cut, only about 3-4 hours I would guess?
Once I had my layout down pat, I started sewing. Lots of lovely straight sewing. It really was a very quick sew.

The hardest part of this quilt was definitely the quilting.
The thought *did* cross my mind as I was sewing it all together that perhaps I should do quilt-as-you-go to make it easier to feed through my machine. For some reason I dismissed that thought and joined the whole quilt top together.
BIG mistake!!

Its sooo hard to quilt a quilt of this magnitude on my little Bernina 400QE.
The quilting took me about quadripple the amount of time I thought it would, and even then I didn't quilt it the way I was imagining it in my head.

But never mind. Its quilted now. Ill just remember this for next time...(maybe....I'm a chronic slow learner when it comes to making things easier for myself!)



Jessica

Note: for those interested, the backing is by Riley Blake, called Pirate Matey (its another old line that I've been hoarding!)

The Nappy Bag NOT from heaven: :

This bag was definitely not from heaven (I'll leave it up to you to figure out where its from).  Although I must say the finished result is pretty heavenly!

One of my good friends is having a baby this October. She is also a sewer (seamstress?) and so of course she is churning out lots of goodies in anticipation of number 5 (!).
Everything I decided to make for her, she's already making! Seriously! My first thought was a quilt (no surprises there) but I think she is currently onto quilt number five at the moment. Then I thought a stool...yup she's made one of those too, and the list goes on.

So I thought I was getting out of it easy when I volunteered to put her nappy bag together.

I was wrong!

This sucker was sooo thick I broke at least 6 needles!! Yes, yes, some of you may question my needle choice, they were just universal needles...and maybe a few quilting needles (What? I was getting desperate!), but the craft store isn't open Mondays, and well, today being Monday....you see my problem?

Anyway, lets look at some photos

 

The fabric is all from fabric.com, and is mostly Cotton and steel. The outer, horse fabric is canvas, with some fake leather accents on the bottom and in the middle of the ruffle. My friend picked the pattern, and to be honest I'm not 100% sold on the ruffle and I was tempted to leave it off, but I reminded myself that its not my bag and put it on there.

Its probably one of the things she loves most about the pattern :)

It has loads of storage, as every good nappy bag should.

I added the blue pipping around the lid.

 (See that baby block? That's me styling! Yeah! I'm doing it!)...that's me being sarcastic if you couldn't tell.
When I was cutting the bag I really stewed over pattern placement, especially on the lid. I knew I wanted a whole horse on the lid, but didn't want it to be smack-bang in the centre. I could've fit two horses on the lid but it looked silly, so after lots of internal debating, I settled on one horse off-centre.

I also *tried* to match up the pattern on the lid with the front of the bag, but it didn't turn out too well, so lets just pretend that I didn't and it just happened like that.

The last step in the pattern was to top stitch all around the top of the bag. I tried...I really did, but I came to the conclusion that its physically impossible without an industrial sewing machine, so I unpicked my poor, poor effort and left it.  (I don't think I'll mention that to my friend either).

The pattern is called 'The Lola Bea Diaper Bag', Im *pretty* sure it came from Etsy. Check it out if you like it.
You may notice that I omitted the strap and went for a pre-made leather strap from a previous bag. The side ring-holders (don't know what they're called!) were made by me and my ingenious brain! (and therefore are not part of the original pattern.)

Its always hard to sew for a fellow sewer, as they can pick mistakes, but all in all I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

Next time though...I think I'll just stick to quilts :)

Jessica

Oliver + S Garden Party Dress : :

Ever since I made Miss I a new Sunday dress, Miss E has been pestering me for hers.  Usually they ask for the same dress.
I often will make them the same dress but in different fabric...or same fabric but different colour. But I decided to make Miss E a different dress this time around.

I settled on the Oliver + S Garden Party Dress. This is a sweet little dress with a shirred front bodice.
Lets just get right into photos shall we?

I sewed a straight size 7 for Miss E who is 6 (as they are quite tall), however looking at the photos, I think I could have sewed a smaller size as she is quite slender. But never mind. Who ever complained about room to grow?? (that will teach me for not measuring!!)

I changed the pattern up a little by having a different fabric for the bodice. I had this oriental-fan fabric (skirt) in my stash, but I didn't have enough. (Its Tilda for those who want to know). So I went back to the store to buy some more, but alas they had run out. So I matched it with the small floral print (also Tilda) and used it for the bodice. It ended up being a bit more work for me as the front pattern piece is one piece with the bands overlaid on top, but it wasn't too difficult.

I actually love it even more with the contrasting bodice.
This pattern would be so much fun to use for a really fancy dress. I love how Oliver + S Patterns are so easy to customise...and I honestly feel like I learn something every time I sew with one!! It feels like I'm taking dress-making courses!

I also loved the button closure. I have never made a thread chain loop, and I really like how delicate it looks, while also being very functional!! I can see myself using this for other things as well, not just button closures. 

 

Needless to say Miss E loved it. I told her she looks very pretty in it, which she followed up quickly with a "I know".

Jessica

Baby Boy Quilt : :

You remember how I posted that I made 3 baby girl quilts here?

One for my friend, one for my sister-in-law and one for my neighbour?  Well, I had given two out (to my friend and SIL), and still had the last one to give to my neighbour. I hadn't actually met her baby yet, but I wrapped it up and sent hubby over there to give it to her.

The whole reason I thought she'd had a girl was because Mr handsome told me that he'd seen her with a pink-coloured blanket. Anyway, as your probably guessing by now, when he gave it to her he found out that she'd actually had a boy!!

She said she loved it sooo much though that she was happy to keep it. She even came over to thank me, and tell me how beautiful it was.

I however was frantically whipping up a quilt for a boy so I could swap it with her.

Honestly, I finished this quilt in RECORD time!! My friend had actually given me the top sewn together to make myself a baby quilt for Little Miss S....but to be honest, I knew I wasn't going to use it for her as to me its more "boy", and I already have a lovely quilt planned for her!
I had to unstitch and resew some of it to make it more of the shape I wanted, then pin and quilt it to the back. I flipped over the back, which is a lovely soft minky, and used it for the binding as well.

 

I think it turned out really cute!

If she loved the first quilt, she a.d.o.r.e.d this one!!

Jessica

P.S. sorry about the photos! They were super quick snaps taken on my living room floor before I rushed out the door!

Sew Bossy..or should I say "Sew lazy!!" : :

Ok ok!! So I'm incredibly lazy!! This 'sew bossy' project has been on my to-do list for such a long time!!
For those of you who don't know what it is, have a quick read of my previous posts here, and here and to see what Mary sent me, check it out here.  *ahem* please ignore the dates (2013!!...yep this has been looooong overdue!)

But in my defence, I DID finish this project about 5 months ago and I just haven't got around to blogging about it yet.

This was such a fun project. It was sooooo fun shopping for Mary, and seeing her make what I picked into a really cute little cape for her daughter! You can read about what I sent her right here at her blog.

What was even more fun was receiving her lovely package in the mail!! Honestly...if anyone wants to do this with me....I'm totally up for it!! Just leave me a comment or send me an email :)

So, as you may have already read in one for the above links, we decided to swap Oliver + S patterns because we both love them, and seriously, you just cant go wrong with any of them!

Mary sent me the Art Museum vest and trouser pattern!! I was so excited that she picked that pattern! (I may or may not have hinted a little in our emails that I really liked it ha ha)

So here is what I made....

I made the vest and trousers, so please ignore the slightly wrinkled plaid shirt and lovely neon green socks for the moment.  

It was also really had to get decent photos as my 'model' (Mr Z) was very uncooperative! He just wanted to get back to playing with his new helicopter (that you can see in the photos!).

I LOVE the material that Mary choose for the vest. Its sooo classy! I loved it so much that instead of using the material she sent for the back of the vest I decided to use it for the whole exterior. 

Mr Z loves the pants!! I just realised I didn't get a really good shot of my lovely welt pockets on the pants, but they are there, trust me. ....and they look fab! (if I do say so myself)

If you don't believe me...just check out the welt pockets I did on the vest...which i did manage to photograph!

 

Cute! These pockets usually hold a matchbox car each for during church. Mr Z is really loving pockets lately, and I usually find all-sorts of "treasures" when I'm washing his clothes!

The back has a lovely belt with button detail. This pattern is the real deal. You could seriously make a professional-looking suit from this for you little man (and for a fraction of the cost!)

I definitely want to use this pattern again! I already have two more projects lined up for it. I love the lovely soft material Mary chose for the pants (sorry I didn't get a better shot of it). Mr Z for some reason is getting really picky about his pants lately. He wont wear jeans, or anything that isn't comfortable...so mostly he wears track pants everyday. I'm glad that getting these on him isn't a struggle.

However when Mr Z out grows these I want to try making the pants with something a little more stiffer, perhaps some blended wool? I think it would really help the pants to look like suit pants, and give them that crisp suit-pant look.

Thanks Mary again for so much fun. I really appreciate everything you sent me and your lovely letter! I really enjoyed sewing this!


Jessica

3 Moda Giddy Mini Quilts (+ tutorial) : :

There are so many of my friends and family who are having babies at the moment! Really! There must be something in the water.....or maybe they all took one look at Little Miss S and got clucky *wink*

Anyway...because there are so many babies that have either just been born, or are currently cooking, I've decided to make them smaller gifts. (I just did a quick count and there are 6 babies!!)

3 of the 6 bubs are girls, and I had a moda "giddy' jelly roll sitting in my cupboard just calling out to be used.

I wasn't ready to commit to cot quilts for each of them (not because I don't love making them, I just really don't have the time...and if I'm being honest, the motivation), but I decided a smaller pram/bassinet quilt would be perfect, especially since its sooooo cold at the moment here in Australia.

I wanted to keep it simple. No triangles or flying geese...just strips. So I opened my jelly roll (am I the only one who loves opening a new jelly roll?) and selected a good range of colours.....really no need to over think this part....just reach and grab.
When I had a good handful of strips I cut them in half...again no need to measure, I just eye-balled it...and started sewing the strips together into runs of 4. I just kept grabbing more strips and adding them in as needed.
Then once I had a smallish pile of 4 strips sewn together, I cut them into 2 1/2 inch strips. (I didn't take any photos...but its not that hard to imagine)

After that I just sewed all the strips together and voila! Baby quilt!
I continued this until I had 3 quilt tops.

Then it was a simple matter of pinning to the wadding, quilting the top (just 1/4 inch from every seam), then I pinned it to the back and just run down a seam every 5 inches or so.

These were the first quilts that I have backed with fleece. They turned out so soft and warm, but not too heavy like minky can be. I think its the perfect back for newborns.
I ran out on the last one however to I threw in a strip of tilda farbic in the middle. It still turned out cute.
I then used left over jelly roll for my binding. 

Two of these quilts have already been gifted and are currently keeping a couple of baby girls warm. This one will be going to its new home tonight.

If your looking for a quick make...I can definitely recommend. They were quick and easy...but look fab!

Jessica

Oh, I should add they measure roughly 32 1/2 inches by 24 1/2 inches for those interested.

Oliver + S Library Dress : :

It's been a while since I made Little Miss I a new dress, and her dresses seem to be rapidly shrinking in the wash...or is she really growing that fast?

I decided to make her an Oliver + S Library Dress. I know I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again....but I LOVE Oliver + S patterns. They are the best!! The whole time I was sewing this dress I was thinking "I'm such a good sewer!" "look at this, its amazing"...yup sewing with Oliver + S is definitely a confidence booster because their patterns create such professional results!! (You can see my other Oliver + S makes here, here, here, here, here and here)





I had stashed away some lovely Tilda fabric that my local craft store stocks. Its so pretty and feminine. I used it for the main part of the dress, the waist band was just another random fabric that I found.




I made version B with the long sleeves (because we are currently in the depths of an Australia winder (ie. its cold with the sun shining!), and I omitted the pipping option because I wanted a 'classier' dress......and because, lets face it, piping is extra work, and I'm lazy :)

I didn't realise it until Little Miss I put it on, but it kinda reminds me of a kimono? Ha ha, I'm sure that is what its meant to look like, and I'm just a bit slow on the uptake.
I'd love to get some authentic Japanese fabric to use for this pattern.....or maybe even some quirky, fun Japanese fabric...hmmmm, decisions, decisions.



 I love that sleeve detail!

The only thing I changed from the pattern, was I used more buttons than the pattern stated. I only did that because I didn't have any 1/2 inch buttons on hand, and Little Miss I picked out these lovely little pink buttons with the silver detail.

Little Miss I and I spend about 5 mins trying to figure out what the picture on the buttons was? I thought it was someone riding a horse, and if you turn it around, Little Miss I thought it was someone stabbing something!? I decided a man riding a horse was the safer bet, so that's the way I sewed them!



I decided to position them a little more close together, and continue all the way to the bottom of the dress. It reminded me of a wedding dress with all those small buttons.





Little Miss I is 6, but I made a size 8, only for the length. I wanted it to be below her knee...I have a real thing about wearing clothes below the knee.


When I make it again, I will definitely make it in a smaller size, because all my kiddos are quite slender, and just use a size 8 back lining, and lengthen the skirt pieces to get the length I need to satisfy my prude-ness. More is definitely more in regards to clothing :)

I'm so so happy with how it turned out. Its so cute, and to say Little Miss I loves it is a huge understatement!!

Now I have to make another dress for Little Miss E, because her clothes seem to be shrinking too......that's one of the things about having twins....I need double of everything!! I'm thinking of maybe making a Garden Party Dress for her??

Jessica