metamorphasis

anyone by any chance remember a long-ago post about the fingerpainting one of my godsons did for my christmas wrapping last year? when i wrote earlier about free spoonflower swatches i promised to show what i ended up doing with it (if you don't know about spoonflower, it's a world of creative possibility you might really want to explore...you can choose designs others have uploaded, or you can make something really personal by uploading and using tools to play with your own, which are then printed onto a selection of fabrics).

so, here you go, the visual transformation of the painting i was given...from this:

to this...

to this.

(apologies for the last photo, taken on a really overcast day on some really grotty pavers)

love is all around you

with the year drawing to a close, presents sent off in all directions - and the mad rush before christmas finally over - it seems like a good time to catch up on recording some recent projects...

this is quilt/floor mat no 2 - a 'welcome to the world' present for the new little sister of my australian godson...made with love of a couple of different kinds, including amy butler's love collection of fabric (seem to be becoming a bit of a devotee...and especially drawn to her sunspots line from that collection).

(wasn't going to forget the closeup of some of the 4 metres plus of hand slipstitching this time!)

in persuit of perfection (yet another itty bitty dress!)

i feel like i'm finally starting to get a bit more of a handle on the itty bitty baby dress, honing the details (just made another almost identical to this to go with the bunting)...

...the last one i made i added a bit in to the straps on the pattern as i felt they were a bit too short to tie easily...

...and then this time i decided to taper the ends of the straps into points from the widest bit of the curve (really wasn't liking those small round ends to sew)...

...and i decided to stitch the bias to the front of the bodice first, followed by the skirt also to the front of the bodice (previously sewn to the bodice lining), then handstitched in the bodice lining instead. didn't take long at all and made for a much neater finish...

...also changed the seams to what i know as 'pajama seams' which look much better - and stronger...

...and i'm happy with how i'm doing the bottom hem now too.

baby bunting

another baby; another baby girl...that itty bitty dress pattern is getting one serious workout at the moment.

this time though i added something a little different to the mix, something i've been wanting to try for a while. i found myself inspired by kelly of vintage mum, modern child to finally have a play around with the idea - so there was also some matching celebratory baby-warming bunting (made from the matching damask and liberty-like fabric and bits of leftover doilies from other projects). a very free-form flowing kind of sewing...

bit too much with the dress? maybe. fun though!

itty bitty dress strikes again

molly also had an early christmas present sent over last week; the - by now - almost compulsory itty bitty dress. it was a slightly punchier/funkier version than normal, to counterbalance her soft and pretty quilt (and a slightly extended version to accommodate her lovely long legs).

drumroll please

here you go patient people (and not so patient people), will put you out of your misery now and show you what i have been building up to the last few days. i really can't believe this is actually finished - i think i'm still in shock! my first venture/adventure into the wonderful world of quilting...

made especially for a very precious little girl on the other side of the tasman, with so many blessings and hopes for a beautiful and joyous life sewn into it. i only wish i were able to deliver it in person and meet miss molly while she is still all new and teeny...i hope she can feel all the love in there.

the devil is in the detail

(studying the binding instructions - again)

(a beautifully mitred corner, if i do say so myself.
can't believe i forgot to take a close-up of the handstitched seam at the back of the binding - the whole 4 1/2 metres of it)



why not drag the suspense out a just a little more before the final reveal?

i was absolutely amazed at the amount of paraphernalia required - the walking foot, the quilters ruler and mat, the rotary cutter, the special threads. quilting pins, binding clips. not to mention selecting fabrics for the top ( i went with a couple of amy butler charm square packs from her daisy chain collection, picking out the patterns and colours i liked the best), for the sashing, the backing, the binding. and then the batting for the middle of the 'sandwich' (this one has organic cotton). for someone who has so much trouble making decisions at the best of times and is currently having trouble concentrating on more than one concept for more than a minute it was, to say the least, 'challenging'.

and then all the different bits of information and technique to absorb (bizarrely, the walking foot came with no instructions and required numerous googlings when i figured out it wasn't on correctly. while the binding clips - just like hairclips - came with a three step diagram on how to clip one onto the quilt). i would have been completely at sea without my consulting panel of 'quilting queens', who i pestered with constant and overanalytical questions about every possible detail. i'm so sure that they are just as glad as i am to know this first attempt is over!

and did i mention the issues with the sewing machines that led to a bit of a falling out between ellie and i? or the 40yr old ironing board which had to be updated when it was eventually found the be the culprit of the rust stains which appeared while ironing the sashing (these then also had to be replaced)? i really was beginning to understand why people choose to simply buy something already made...yet there is such satisfaction in seeing something come together and knowing you made it all with your own hands.

and wait until you (finally) see the finished product though - i think it was all worth it.

teaser

seems only right that i prolong the anticipation with this one...seeing as it took me literally months to make! so, here you go - a little black and white teaser before i finally unveil the finished product.

yet another cushion

did i ever mention that i have a bit of an addiction to cushions? just a slight one...i think i could happily live in a house that was pretty much furnished purely with them. this one was a belated birthday present for my grandmother - in blue, naturally. i'm sure it will fit right in to its new surroundings with every other hue of blue.

how cute is this?

somewhere approaching as cute as a newborn i think...excited to have the current baby boom among my friends starting with a couple of girls (as requested!) - a good excuse to sew some dresses and such. in fact i thought this was so cute i hung it on the bedroom wardrobe door the night it was finished, and ohhed and ahhed at its sweetness every time i caught a glimpse...

it's my normal imperfect style where i'm most impressed by the overall effect. this time though most of the inside even looked presentable. that's some soft cream damask that had been sitting in the cupboard for a decade or two on the inside. and the main fabric is another vintage purchase from my faithful friend ebay.

(i'm still taken with including these details on the selvedge - anyone know if they actually have a name?)

okay, baby-sized drumroll please: here it is!

it's a slightly bigger version of the previous 'itty bitty baby dress' i made - a free made by rae pattern. the last attempt was so small it barely fitted its owner (one of the most delicate specimens i have ever seen) just after she was born. this is the next size up - 1 to 3 months, plus a teeny bit more for insurance - and hopefully i'll get a bit of feedback on how it fits. definitely recommend erring on the larger side though if you're going to give it a try. now, i just need to ask the universe to kindly bring on a few sunny days again...

klimt reincarnate

once upon a time this klimt panel was a little singlet top - a lovely little (too little) singlet top, with nowhere to go and nothing to do. so it decided to make itself useful, morph into something entirely different, and head off on an adventure to find somebody more than a little special to love it again.

it enlisted the aid of some vintage velvet and destash velvet and backing friends, prettied itself up, stuffed itself silly and emerged a cushion (then tried out a few of the local chairs for size). before i knew what had happened it was out the door - traveling all incognito as a brown paper package tied up with string - and on its way across the country to a new home and a new life...


(post name inspiration from one of my favourite blogs - melanie's kimono reincarnate )

the start of something beautiful

'they' (of infinite and anonymous wisdom) say that you can't choose who you fall in love with. not sure if this generally extends to inanimate objects, but i can't even explain how head-over-heels in love i am with my new rotary cutter - after less than 24 hrs together. i don't think it will be long at all before i can't imagine life without it. and afraid i can't resist naming my new sidekick,
so...introducing ollie.

up for grabs

anyone need a pincushion? i'm still intimidated by the complexity of the whole quilting process (doesn't combine at all well with my pretty much nonexistent current concentration span and thinking abilities), so decided to begin with a babystep...found the tutorial and pattern - not that you really need one - in the round-about way i seem to find most things on here.

'i will make something for you' - no 2

my creation for alex (yes, the cushion craze continues). i found myself making something that reminded me of the day i met her - at a friends blessingway...there were sumptuous cushions scattered throughout a beautifully set up tent with sides billowing in the breeze...somehow the purple seemed right too.
(and i'm still enjoying this way of breathing new life into old doilies)

'i will make something for you' - no 1

a while ago i promised to show you the little details of this bag when it reached its new home. now that it is safely in kate's arms (literally, at times, i guess) here you are...
(i know i mentioned this before but i was quite taken by the writing on the selvedge - so decided to make a feature of it rather than hiding it)

this became the first of my 'i will make something for you' projects - an idea i read about on a friend's facebook page earlier in the year and instantly knew i wanted to be part of. simply put, it is a version of 'pay it forward' in which you promise to make something (anything) for the first five people who respond and agree to do the same: the ripple effect. a lot of people seemed to find this intimidating but it's not that scary - really! your gifts can reach the intended targets anytime in the year and be as small or big as you feel inclined. i think it's the most gorgeous idea, a lovely excuse to make new things... and such a feel-good buzz sending parcels of handmade things off into the world.

24 hr handbag

no, unfortunately, not a bag completed in the space of one day - instead one that took me somewhere approaching 24 hrs to complete. (it's not supposed to take 1 1/2 hrs to cut out a pattern...surely?)

this is another fantastic free pattern from rae hoekstra. the main material had been lurking in the cupboard for close to 20 years (and apparently has something to do with a food company which i can't quite work out); the lining fabric was a an ebay purchase from someone who was downsizing their collection; and the buttons were repurposed from something or other once upon a time and were also found sitting unloved in the cupboard. i think the only new things used were the magnetic clasp and the threads.

will show you all the little details when it's arrived at its new home...wherever that may be. (i want the person it goes to live with to have the pleasure of discovering those herself - think that's half the fun).

weekend finds

out window-shopping for a lovely little art deco apartment on the weekend and came across a little stall at the side of the road where a guy was selling off a great collection of haberdashery etc. couldn't resist some gorgeous shot silk i found in the $5 a metre bin, some vintage ecru lace and a printing block (saw the evidence of its handiwork and it looked stunning). also picked up a few beads and my mum found these fantastic felted ones.

mrs d's first married birthday present

deciding to hand-make a present for one of the most crafty people i know was perhaps not the brightest idea i've had...fraught with anxieties over my level of competence! the lovely sarah-may of a year of handmade presents is the birthday girl - and a seamstress extraordinaire (by my standards anyway).

these are cushions no. two and three that i have made - complete with infamous invisible zippers (tutorial found very serendipitously here at kirinote via flowerpress) - so, far from perfect. materials are all vintage with the exception of the blue and pink amy butler material in one of the sashes, the rest i found on ebay, as mentioned in a previous post. the second cushion is a multitasker with two removable options to jazz it up - a 'sash' and an 'obi'. makes it ever so easy to change looks...

(my witch's cat discovered the cushions when i'd popped them on the sofa to photograph - was looking very self-satisfied when i found him).