Beginning... well, sort of!

So, sewing class started Monday night. Only it didn't. Rocked up to find everyone standing outside the classroom, which was full of tressle tables, drop sheets, paint tins, rollers, brushes, etc. Seems someone decided to organise to have the room re-painted and didn't stop to think that meant we couldn't use it. So, instead we had a quick chat outside the room. Introduced ourselves, showed each other the patterns we'd chosen, asked the teacher a few questions to make sure we were all ready for next week, and left.

My final cushion cover and tutorial is going to have to wait a bit. Got broken into in the early hours of Sun morning and the lovely people who so nicely welcomed themselves into my home decided to generously help themselves to both my iPhone and my DSLR (among other things - including my car!) so I can't take the accompanying photographs. Sorting the insurance stuff out and will do it when I've got replacements. In the meantime my girls keep doing cute things I'd so LOVE to get on camera but can't. Trying not to get all bitter and twisted about the whole thing.

My third package of fabric never did arrive. The tracking information I have (which is only while the packages were in the US) shows that it was scanned through US customs to leave there a couple of hours after the 2 packages that I already received. Didn't think it would get to me over a week later. Think I'd better email the Fat Quarter Shop and let them know. Maybe they can track it down somehow.

And lastly, I am now waiting on some more packages of fabric. I took advantage of the Hanc**k's free shipping promotion. I could get quite addicted to filling my house with pretty fabric.

Another Day, Another Package

Don't you just hate it when you're stark naked in your bedroom deciding what to wear for the day and a delivery man knocks on your front door? Yikes! Threw the PJs back on (which isn't how I usually like to answer my front door but hey, better than naked) and ran to collect my next bundle of fabrics from him. Seems they've decided to drip feed them to me as only the second package arrived today. Another one tomorrow I guess. Lovely, aren't they?!



Oh, and here's a shot of my new cushions for the lounge. I have just one green one left to make. I have decided I'm gonna do it as a tutorial. Feel like a bit of a fraud given I'm not really a master sempstress or anything and it's probably not done correctly from a technical perspective but I did make the pattern up myself just by looking at some other cushions we had and it is REALLY easy so can't hurt to share. Maybe someone else can make use of it. Anyway, I'll sew the last one when I've time to also sit and photograph and take notes along the way.

And last but not least, Hanc**k's of Paducah are running a free shipping promotion. Just posting that in case anyone does stumble upon my blog and would like to take advantage of it.

Ooh Ooh Ooh - A Delivery

YAAAAAAY! Instalment 1 of my fabrics has just arrived. According to the Fat Quarter Shop's shipping notification there was 3 packages sent and I have just received 1. It contains my fat quarter bundle for the EB Christmas Table Runner Swap, fabric for one of the dresses I plan to make at the sewing course, and 1/2 yard of the other fabric I had wanted to use for the other dress but they only had 1/2 yard left so I picked something else but got that 1/2 yard anyway because it's pretty. You can never have too much 'pretty'.

Loose Ends

I got the sewing machine out last week. It's been a while. I had a few little unfinished projects hanging around that I wanted to get sorted.

Firstly, some Modern Cloth Nappies (MCNs). I sewed these for my girls nearly a year ago when they needed a bigger size (my mum and stepmother sewed the first batch when the girls were tiny) but I'd run out of thread to finish the casings on the elastic for the last 4 of them. I had enough to get by and just never quite got back to it. So, finally I got some new thread (except that when I got home I found out I already had some more and it'd been sitting there the whole time - ooops) and finished those casings. Tada...

(I've fabric for another 4, 2 of which are promised to my lovely, lovely friend, so I'll get moving on those soon too.)

These nappies are pocket nappies (in that they have a outer waterproof layer, an inner water resistant/stay dry layer and and opening between these at the back so you can stuff some absorbant fabric in there). Some of my inserts are a getting a little threadbare so I picked up some cheap offcuts of bamboo fleece from Green Beans Australia (http://www.gbau.com.au/ - if you buy the offcuts by the kg rather than by the metre you save around 70-80%) and have so far sewed about 8 new ones. I've enough fabric for another 4 or 5. They are pretty crude, just 2 rectangles zigzaged together around the edge because I don't have an overlocker. These are then folded in thirds and into the nappies they go. Their role in life is to collect wee and poo-juice so I figure "pretty" is not something that they need to be.

I had reupholstered our dining chairs a few weeks back as the final touch on a project to overhaul our dining setting and sideboard (my brother in law took care of the timber work for me and what a fantastic job he did). The furniture is about 70 years old and belonged to my grandparents who bought it second hand along with their first house (where they then lived for the next 50+ years). We were given it when they relocated to be closer (next door) to my dad as they got older and needed the day to day assistance. It was still in it's original state (although not original condition) and sorely in need of a facelift. I had some of the frabric I used for the chairs left over and my husband asked me to make a throw type thing for the back of the lounge and I wanted to do some more cushion covers. So I made the thing for the back of the lounge + 3 cushion covers. I also went to Spotlight and purchased some other fabric for a few more cushions in different colours to inject a bit of "happy" to the colour scheme. I'm not quite finished those cushions yet so will share a photo of them once done. But for now I will leave you with a pic of the chairs.

Sewing/Dressmaking Course

So, I've enrolled myself in a dressmaking/basic sewing course at the local community college. It starts Monday 18th Oct and runs for 8x Monday nights.

I need to front up with my sewing machine, basic supplies, and a pattern + fabric for what I want to sew. Have decided I'll make some dresses for my girls for Christmas Day. I considered using Christmas fabric but don't want to make something they'll only wear for 1 day, then I thought maybe Christmas "inspired" fabric, but finally just settled on something that I liked the look of. It's currently winging its way from the US so I'll post a sneak peak when it arrives.

The pattern I selected is from The Handmade Dress and is called Miss Lily. Very sweet. Someone told me the pleats on it are a tad tricky so maybe not try it without some practice at pleats but I figured that a sewing course is probably the best time to try to learn something new - I mean, there'll be someone there to help me, right? Hopefully.

I think we've created a monster

I am finding myself constantly thinking about fabrics, thinking about things I can sew with fabrics, surfing the net looking at fabrics, and exploring sewing blogs all over the place. I even dreamt about surfing the net looking at fabrics last night.

Oh dear. (or as my 16 mth olds say, "oh de")