Monday, September 26, 2011

Since June?! Really?

I got an email from the shop where I have my designs on consignment suggesting suppliers might like to think about spring/summer stock because it's about to be cruise ship season. Good idea I thought, and got sewing. After completing a dress and getting out my tally list I discovered that it was the first garment I've made since JUNE! (And there was only one that month). I guess my winter apathy is worse than I thought! Anyway I've been sewing up a storm for a couple of weeks and yesterday delivered all of these to Little Chalmers.


Well, this one was all done but for the buttons for probably about a year. I was terrified of mangling a buttonhole on the satin and ruining the whole thing. Naturally once I got started the Greist (buttonholer) behaved perfectly, as always, and everything is fine. I feel like an idiot for worrying. Nothing new there.


Fairies. I actually designed the fairies myself by manipulating croquis and wings. I really like them, so I hope some little girl sees them and begs her Mum to buy the fairy dress. (I originally made this design for Isabella to try out the back fastening and V front and back. She's been wearing that dress for almost a year and it's been great, so I'll call that trial a success!)



This is New Zealand. Silver ferns are pretty much mandatory.


Butterflies.


I really like the colour combo and spot applique on this dress. The idea for that came to me when I was lying in bed one night and I was terrified that I'd forget it by morning! Obviously, I didn't. The butterflies in the dress above are the same tecnique, but I think it's less successful with the gingham. I'll do it again though!

Now I have all that out of the way I really should get on with one of the seventy squintillion projects in various stages of planning for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Just crafty type stuff.

My real-life friends have been giving me increasingly pointed reminders lately that I haven't updated my blog for a very long time. Basically because I haven't got anything to show - I hate winter and find my motivation to sew always vanishes. I also invariably put on a few kgs over winter and don't want to sew for myself when I'm fat. I always lose the extra in summer, and then want to sew. The fact that I live in the same boring clothes because I'm not motivated to make new ones doesn't really help my enthusiasm for life either. Maybe I should make my winter clothes in summer?

Anyway, what I do like to do in winter is craft sewing. I like to claim that my English heritage is what makes me so enamoured of winter Christmases, but I think it's actually because just about all the movies and tv programmes which feature Christmas are set in the northern hemisphere! I've been meaning to make a new advent calendar for years, and this is the year I start. So far it looks like this:

Based on a design from a Homespun magazine, with houses and sleigh from a variety of Homespun and Handmade magazines. Most of the applique is done, but there will be a lot of embellishment added! I like Christmas to look festive.

I've also started another project in my quest to have as much of a handmade Christmas as possible. I absolutely L.O.V.E.D this project by the inimitable Jodie of Ric Rac. Having a teenage son in a band myself, it just cried out to be made. Following this brilliant tutorial on Dolls and Daydreams (which I linked to before, but didn't credit, for which I apologise. Thank you Sarah!) I printed this photo of Cayden's head onto fabric.

That was the third attempt. I had a lot of problems getting the fabric to feed through the printer due to it rolling at the sides, and after a couple of paper jams which had me fearing each time that I'd stuffed my printer I did get it printed, only to have this happen when I put it into the vinegar to set:
And that happened twice - I thought I hadn't given it long enough to dry before the vinegar soak so left it overnight the second time, but got the same result. Then I wondered if it had printed in colour even though it looks black and white, and when I checked it in photoshop that was indeed the case, so I changed it to greyscale and this time it worked! A small amount of ink did shed when I put it in the vinegar, but it was only a tiny bit and the photo is fine. Can't wait to make a teeny tiny Cayden. Hopefully he thinks it's funny.

This last photo is for J, who set me the homework of sewing the button on this cardigan for Isabella a couple of craft nights ago. Just to prove I DID do it! Isabella loves her cardigan and chooses to wear it at every opportunity.
She really is the happiest child in the world.