Makey - Extrovert Introvert Quilt Top

Kia ora,

This year I am studying part time and for one of my assignments the tutor asked for a personal response to some of the material.

Well, that lead me on rather a journey and one of the things that has come from it is a series of quilts and mini-quilts, or at least they will be if I get them finished on time!

This quilt top is about the extroverts and the introverts and how both are powerful people types, both are beautiful and both are necessary.

The wild colours, which represent me - and many other extroverts all came from my stash, via off-casts of my dear friend Deb. Now that they are all mixed together I feel like I like them much more than I did individually.

What are you making right now?

love you more than a riot of colour xxx

Makey - Another Ivy

Howdy,

A while ago I made an Ivy pinafore in flamingo fabric which I adore. As part of my birthday gift this year my boys sent me to see the World of Wearable Arts in Wellington.

It was a beautiful weekend with some lovely friends and I wanted to make a dress for it, as you do.

I've had this fabric in my stash for a few years now - it started as a black and white print which I used fabric paints and hand stitching to embellish.

Since the event I've continued to wear it for day to day, because I believe in dressing up!

I think all the stitching over the 100 days project has really re-ignited a love for hand stitching in me.

The pattern is from an NZ designer called Jennifer Lauren, fabric and paints from stash, lining also from stash... which is good because I recently fell right off the buy no new fabric wagon.

love you more than fabric sale xxx

Makey - McCalls 7286 the Unicorn Version

Heya,

You may remember the whale top I made a while ago using the McCalls pattern 7286. I really liked the raglan sleeves and the general fit.

Then I came across some adorable unicorn fabric in spotlight one day and it somehow came home with me!

I decided to make a dress version, because really a stretch t-shirt style dress is just a nighty in disguise that's appropriate for day wear!

I adore this dress, it makes me all kinds of happy... I think there will be more!

love you more than a stretchy unicorn xxx

The cape!

Kia ora folks,

It would be easy to look at this blog and think I've entirely stopped being creative and I'm only reading books! Surprisingly I think this year has been one of my most creative so far. One of the reasons you haven't seen much is that a lot of it has been creative writing and I'm not sure how to share that aspect.

I've also lost our camera so I'm relying on someone else to take pics and that doesn't always coincide  with when I'm wearing something.

I shall endeavour to do a better job by y'all on this! :-)

A work colleague gave me a large fabric piece that was no longer needed at her place. Bounce has been wanting a cape/cloak for a while.

Things came together.

I adapted an adult cloak pattern, made the XS size and cut the best I could with the fabric I had.

He chose the disco button and he is wearing it all.the.time.

I'd call that a win for very little work. These are the days I feel like I'm mumming right.

(don't ask me that at dinner making and trying to do homework o'clock!)

love you more than fabric used before it even made it onto the shelves of the sewing room xxx

Creative Resolutions

Happy New Year Loverlies,

I love to start the new year with a good old chin wag with my sewing sister, who lives in my city - yay! We go through my, extensive(!), stash and talk about what projects might go with what.

I got all inspired after that and wrote myself a nice long list of creative projects I might sew this year. (I still haven't blogged all my other makes from 2016 yet). Then I tidied my sewing space and sorted a couple of shelves - such a good feeling.

In the meantime my sister (the same one, I have 2 very fabulous sisters) sent me an article about people making reusable bags.  I remembered I had bought a very long piece of mesh from someone in the local community, for the express purpose of making some produce bags to replace those awful ones you get on a roll at the supermarket.

Et voila - 12 reusable produce bags and a tick on my projects list!

However - resolutions was what this was supposed to be about. I'm not a super resolution maker but I like to try a challenge each year to give me a push. So these are the things I am aiming for in my creative, particularly sewing, life this year.

1. Use the stash - there is plenty of stash, it needs to be used.

2. Don't buy new - this will be hard. I'm totally ok with buying new thread if I don't have the right colour and I can't find it second hand. As for fabrics, my aim is to buy nothing brand new this year - I will buy second hand/ op shop fabric and always gratefully received off casts from others.

3. Wasters - reduce the waste coming from my sewing room. I already try pretty hard on this. I save all my empty cotton reels and give them to local pre-schools or 'Creative Junk'. I save small fabric scraps and pass these on to schools/early childhood for collage etc. This year I also plan to be much more disciplined with my sewing rubbish bin - all paper and card to be recycled. As well as this I am making a bag for tiny scraps, thread off cuts and overlocker tales, I plan to use these to fill any soft toys I make this year along with the stuffing. Hopefully this will mean there is a negligent rubbish impact.

4. Craft time - A friend and I are planning to spend a couple of hours a week listening to inspiring podcasts and making whatever we want to. The list is part of helping me to have something to work on every week. Specific time to craft every week makes me feel very excited.

So that's me... what creative resolutions are you brewing for 2017?

Love you more than a plastic free shop xxx

Celebrating

Hiya dear ones,

Some time ago I met a new blogger and a new transplant to NZ. She was in the mama phase, dipping her toe into the water of making, trying sewing out, making new friends, living in a new country, being brave ...

As she taught herself to sew she discovered that she loved paper piecing and designing patterns. She has slowly honed her craft, started to sell her patterns and build a community of people who love her and her work.

One of Juliet's amazing patterns.

Recently she announced that she is writing a book and has a contract - I just about popped with excitement when I heard that.

I'm so incredibly proud of Juliet.

I feel like the lesson of being her friend, and this journey she's been on is...
never stop being a learner, 
don't think if you don't have it worked out by now you never will, 
that it's too late, 
or that you have nothing left to discover about yourself and your creative talents

I can't wait to see her book and celebrate with her. But for today I am so thrilled to have met her through blogging and for the incredible inspiration she is to me.

love you more than the smell of a new book xxx

Madly Making

So my gorgeous fabric arrived on Thursday for the Offset Warehouse challenge. The fact that we had a flat inspection (flat needed to be tidy) on Friday meant I could only wash the fabric and stroke it, smell it and imagine the exotic locations where it was lovingly hand stamped.

Friday night and I am pinning and cutting pattern pieces and making piping.

Marvelling at pretty good lining up of the line that runs through the pattern.

Inserting boning (not actually difficult to do if you haven't done it before).

And ironing! Yes I hear you gasping in surprise too - but I want to impress Zoe, who picked me for her representative.

Hoping I make good progress tonight, we have visitors arriving tomorrow to stay and this dress must be finished and photographed and submitted before Wednesday next week.

Sending me all your accurate and fast sewing vibes please.

Love you more than a mad sewing rush xxxx

 

Make My Week - Functional

Today's makes are functional, not that much fun and a lot of 'ctional'.

Swimming bags were required and so I found some fabric at spotlight and made 2 bags - shoulder strap for easy carrying and to prevent ground dragging, drawstrings to stop underpants and other items falling into a puddle in the changing room.

The boys liked them and they are robust and do the job - the odd functional make also makes me feel good about the amount of selfish sewing I do!

I also threw this cushion cover together with some left over fabric from a special project I will show you soon and a fat quarter I bought over with us. 2 happy fabrics in an easy 10 minute project!

Other ladies crafting capably over here.

love you more than catching your undies before they land in a changing room wet spot xxx

Fun Things Happening for Creative Types

So I signed up for the international stitched postcard swap, here's a sneak peak of mine in process. I only saw this one the night it closed so it's a bit late for encouraging you to get involved but!

I have found 2 other things some of you might like.

Trimmings Competition: This is run by an Adelaide! fabric printing company who makes delicious and conscious fabrics (more about them another time) and has this cool competition for using scraps to make anything that takes your fancy. You buy a bag of their scraps and make something, and there are prizes!

image from their blog

Also this amazing fabric company in the UK whose fabrics are all ethical and diverse has a competition running as well across 5 blogs to pitch your idea and then each finalist gets sent the fabric to make their item for final judging. There are more details on this lovely blog as well as links to the others.

So what are you sewing at the moment?

I'm looking forward to the Australian Sewing Guild's stash busting fringe event coming up soon.... yes I am :o)

Love you more than inspiration everywhere xxxx

Make My Week - A Pillowcase

This is a Christmas present ticked off.

For a very cute little fellow we love and who loves anything machinery wise. I absolutely love this fabric - it's super boyish but not too typical or disney. I like the colours a lot and I think it will grow with him (he's currently 18mths).

A project started and finished in one evening. I've even top stitched the panel and added a proper gusset so the pillow doesn't try to make a getaway in the night.

Joining in with super crafty makers here

Love you more than a digger on the way to kindy xxxx 

(which are actually kind of normal for us but still very exciting if you don't live in Christchurch!)

Make My Week - in the centre

I love Christchurch. I feel especially fond of it as a city. Although I didn't grow up here I was born here and I feel like these last few years have been the right time for us to be here.

I made this necklace recently and I was thinking about selling it - along with some other necklaces I made (still no decision on those) but this one I decided to keep.

It's made from the front of one of the old bus route maps for the city - maps that probably no longer exist. I love how so many of the bus routes go through the cathedral.

I've set it slightly off centre - because for me, my heart falls to the east (where we used to live and still 'do church') and to the south where we now live. Also I know as a city we're a little out of kilter but I think the heart remains strong.

I love that the cathedral is right in the centre of the routes - it's a symbol for me of my turangawaewae (true standing place/home) - in the sense that all I am is centred in my faith - all other roads and pathways and journeys intersect with the cross. The literal cathedral is not the thing that matters it is the metaphor for my faith - the thing from which all of my identity, sense of purpose and love flow.

I'm so pleased with this necklace. I think I might have one more of the old bus routes left....maybe I'll make another to sell one day... who knows.... sometimes selling stuff just seems too much like a difficult process.

Ummm... if you are a chch blogger and not on the email list we'd love to see you tonight at The Make Cafe - anytime from 6.30pm - wear some lippy (unless you are a guy, but if you are a guy you are welcome and we won't judge if you wear lippy either!).

Did you enter my giveaway yesterday?

Joining in with delightful Leonie and other beautiful makers.

Love you more than a pretty symbol of hope xxx

Make My Week - Got the Blues

I know it's another vintage sheet ensemble.

This is the other cot-sized quilt I made from left over squares. This one is bakced with super soft organic French Terry (which I originally bought to make cloth nappies from).

Hand stitched again with embroidery floss and bound with strips of sheet.

All from stash :o)

I love these blues. Blue, blue and blue makes my heart happy.

See some creative variety over here

and some op-shoppy love

Love you more than a blue floral sheet in an op-shop xxx

B.M.W.B - Ultimately Easy Decorations

Oh the joy of using a bag of awful, ugly, kind-of-embarrassed-to-own them beads.

Take aforementioned beads, add cookie cutters, and 180 degrees in the oven, on baking paper and a tray for about 15-20 minutes.

I weighed up the likelihood of the beads spontaneously com-busting in the oven and killing us all with noxious gases and decided - what the heck, let's give it a go. The cheaper beads smelled a bit like crayons - the others were a bit whiffy but I ventilated well and sent the boys to play while they cooked so only I would die - I'm unselfish like that!

Pulling the cookie cutters off afterwards was mainly easy - some needed a little encouragement.

Get daddy to drill carefully, add string = cute, slightly pop-art style decorations for the tree. (Word to the wise sticking a toothpick in to make the hole while they are warm just means it sets in there.)

We will be making more of these for sure, provided the drilling part works...!

The Atlas commented they'd make great brooches too. The way the colours look on the back makes me very happy. They remind me a lot of Alex Fulton's style (which I am quite partial to!).

The sheep is my favourite but as Bounce made it I know I'll never get my mits on it for brooch making.

The boys are so thrilled and I loved that I saw the idea during the day, Bounce and I sorted beads and we made them after school together.

They are going to be so pleased to see their handy work hanging on the tree this year.

(did you enter my giveaway already?)

Becoming the Mama I want to be is about taking time to enjoy the journey of parenting, to honour it's value and to hopefully inspire and encourage each other. 

Simple. Achievable. Intentional: becoming the mama I want to be

Button code on the right if you want it

Love you more than a craft project that goes better than expected xxxx