Sneak Peak

Wow one packet of fabric arrived from the Fabric Shack on Friday. That was quick. Just 5 days. Nicer than the 6 weeks I waited for my fabric from FQS just before Christmas or the month it took to arrive from Melbourne. I was just on my way out to door to Spotlight to take advantage of their spend $100 get $40 off voucher when I noticed the packet sitting on the letterbox (for all to see - thanks Mr postman!). I ripped into it and was delighted to discover that of the 3 fabrics in the packet, one of them was for the Kids Clothing Sewing Swap on EB. YAY. So, now I have all my fabric and my patterns are cut and ready to go. Just need to wash and dry the fabric and get sewing!


(oh and I'll post a pic of the other fabrics that arrived with this later on. Haven't actually taken one yet).

YAY for deliveries!

I have recieved some very exciting things in the post over the last 24 hours.

1. my third package from FQS - 4 weeks after the first 2 arrived and nearly 6 weeks after I ordered it.
2. some new shoes for the girls that I had ordered from Preschoolians. There'd been a bit of a drama with my order (without boring you with the details I just want to make it clear that Preschoolians have been FANTASTIC the whole way - love 'em!) so it'd been a bit of a wait. I was very excited to receive them.
3. My new camera. Happy dance!!!!! (that arrived at 8:30am this morning - when I commented on how early he was the poor delivery guy told me someone shut his hand in their front door yesterday and broke his finger. It was all bandaged up but I could see the dried blood leaking from under the bandage and his finger was heading off in an odd direction from about 1/3 of the way up. He said he's off to the hospital this afternoon to have it set. Can't believe he was still working. OUCH!)

Also, according to the tracking website for UPS my pram should be here today. Oh my, I will be beside myself if it really does turn up. Scared it won't as I have to go out tomorrow and Monday so chances are I will miss it and I don't think I can bare waiting until Tuesday knowing it's in the country. The first one of these prams I ordered (the one that got pinched) they initially tried to deliver on a Friday, 5 mins before I arrived home and so I had to live the weekend through waiting for it. Please can I not have to endure such an horrendous experience the second time around?!!!!! (especially given this time I have no pram at all whereas last time I still had my side by side run-of-the-mill twin pram). - ***UPDATE*** Oh crap, the tracking website is now telling me it's due for delivery on Monday (and given I'll be out means Tuesday - don't even know who the local carrier is so can't call them to tell them). Why, oh why could they not have updated with that when they updated with the "in transit - on time for delivery" (which I had been advised previously was estimated for today)? My expectations were all built up and now they've been just been shot down. I realise this is nothing to do with sewing. Just venting. Between that and finding out that something I have spent hours and hours and freakin' hours on at work is a pile of poo because I was given incorrect data from my team mates and I'm feeling all lousy and dejected. Bring on wine o'clock, I say!

So, with camera in hand, it's time for some photos.

This is what arrived in my belated and final FQS delivery yesterday. The left hand 2 are flannel so will likely become PJs next winter (or PJ tops at least because I think there may not be enough for a full set but I'll get some plain flannel for the pants or something). The right 2 items are the ones I have been waiting on so impatiently. The top right is the backing fabric for my table runner (with which I now have a date this weekend) and the bottom right is for the second dress I want to make at my sewing course. Of course I ordered another 1.5 yards of the backing fabric so that is now on it's way from Fabric Shack. It can bide for another project. It's got a Christmas vibe but is not necessarily limited to just Christmas so it can be used for something else or maybe I just hang onto it and use it for little outfits for the girls next year. I had also ordered more of a different fabric from Fabric Shack for the second dress at the sewing course. So, once that arrives I will have 2 fabrics to choose from. Interestingly they were the first 2 I wanted but there wasn't enough of of one of them at FQS so I ordered and received the other one and started making the dress. So, now I have to choose the second dress from both of my first preferences. Oh the challenges life brings!


Here is what I picked up on sale from Hanc**k's when they had their free shipping offer. This is the stuff that arrived last week. This pic is the yardage. I got 1 yard of each.

And this pic is a fat quarter bundle of batiks that I picked up because they were pretty and cheap.


And now onto the update from my sewing course. This is what I have made so far. Looking at it like this it doesn't look much for 3 weeks of 2hr sessions. Bottom left is the top of one of the girls' Christmas dresses. Middle is the almost completed PJ top and top right is the fabric for the second set of PJs. Once I've finished my TR I might start doing some of this stuff at home. If I can find time, of course, between babies and housework and working etc.

Think I'll leave it there for now.

Bye!

Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwls!

Mum used to do this thing with us when we were kids that her mum used to do with her when she was little. You sit opposite each other with the very top of your foreheads touching. Then she'd roll her forehead down so the bottom of your faces come together and say, "owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwls" as she was doing it. Because of course your eyes look all big and close together and funny at such close quarters.

Anyway, I wasn't able to continue the dress I started last week at this week's sewing course lesson. I found the pattern a little unclear as to what exactly you need to cut out. The teacher at the course, my mum, and my stepmother (both of whom sew) also found it a little confusing. So, I cut out what I thought was right only to have a later epiphany and realise what it was the pattern was trying to tell us. At this point I also realised that whilst I still had plenty of fabric left, due to the way I'd cut out the other pieces I could not get the remaining peices from my fabric in the dimensions in which it's needed. So, I've ordered another 1/2 yard with my FS order and will put it aside for now.

Means I needed a new project. I purchased this cute owl fabric in my original FQS order. It was end of roll for them so I could ony get 1/2 yard. When I originally ordered they also had a white version but that was all gone by the time my order was cut. I've decided to make some PJs from this and then I'll find some kind of more plain fabric in a coordinating colour (probably just at spotlight) and make the second pair from that. I'll give it a little mix-n-match by doing the pocket on the owl pair from the other fabric and vice versa. The pattern I purchased is long sleeves and pants but I'm doing these for summer so have cut down to short sleeves and shorts. I quite literally had just enough in 1 yard - 1 meter would have been a more comfortable amount. I had to pin and cut one piece, then butt the next piece up exactly to the edge I'd just cut. Not a mm to spare. Will be slightly less finnicky with the second pair as purchasing in Aus, I'll get it in metres. That extra 9cm will make all the difference. Got it all cut out this week. Next week I'll start sewing. This is my chance to learn how to do button holes. In the meantime, need to go buy myself some buttons. Here's a little piccie of the fabric.

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

Still no third package from the Fat Quarter Shop (henceforth known as FQS because I'm sick of typing it in full). Nor have I seen the stuff from Hanc**k's AND now I have a new fabric order to add to the list of things I am waiting for. I re-ordered the backing fabric for my Christmas Table Runner (TR) swap since it's in the missing package from FQS. I ordered it from the Fabric Shack (FS) as they had a half price delivery deal (cost me all of $2.50) and it was cheaper there. I have heard from a few others on the EB web forums that they've ordered fabric from the US that has taken a month or more to arrive. We are jointly concluding that Aus customs may have had a minor meltdown with everyone taking advantage of the current state of the AUD and doing so much shopping online from the US. It has instilled in me a little hope that maybe, just maybe that third FQS package will arrive and in so doing made me feel impatiently cranky every day that it doesn't. Boo to that!

I'm also still waiting on my new camera and iPhone from my insurance claim along with a new pram (that was in the back of the car). Oh, and some new sandels for the girls. They found our car, by the way. The rotters (for want of a better word) who stole it took it for a joy ride through the bush (it's a 4WD). It was found dumped in the rather up-a-beaten-track carpark of a hardware store that sells to tradies. It was covered in mud and scratched down the entire length of each side from trees they didn't bother steering clear of, has a few dings in it, stinks of cigarette smoke (they kindly ashed all over the drivers door), has been so thoroughly cleaned of all it's contents I am surprised they didn't vacuum it for me, and is devoid of number plates. Currently with the insurance mob getting all fixed up.

Hopefully I will take delivery of the camera and/or iPhone this week (when I spoke to the case manager chick on Friday she'd received quotes for them and was going to authorise them so I can get my stuff) and then I can share some picks of where I am up to with my current creations including what I'm doing at my sewing course, the TR swap, and a few other bits and bobs. Might even have some fabric arrivals to share with you too by then.

But for now, off to internet research/shop for some new car seats for the girls for when we get the car back.

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.

EB Christmas Table Runner Swap

This is the culprit. The culprit for my sewing course and for this blog (well, one of the chicks I encountered there is the culprit for the blog - yep, I'm looking at you LilFrankie). I've never done any quilting before and never really been interested but it caught my eye in the recent posts section and I thought, "why the hell not?". So I started surfing the net for pics of Christmas Table runners, which revived the idea of doing a sewing course. A lovely, lovely friend with whom I used to work and I had looked into it once before. We were hoping to find one close to our work place and do it together. She is fantastic at sewing and incredibly creative. She has encouraged and inspired me to have a go (indeed, I should name her as a co-culprit). She feeds me patterns from Russian pattern mags that she buys and translates the instructions for me. The dress that I have mostly finished is one of those patterns and the maternity outfits I made are from another (same pattern just made one as a top and one as a dress), and I have a number of patterns for kids stuff that she's given me. Oh, and then there is the whole box of fabric that she picked up at the markets when I was pregnant. It's all sitting there waiting for me to morph it into something else.


But I digress, what I wanted to write about was the fabric and the basic pattern I have chosen for my table runner. The fabric I have ordered today from The Fat Quarter Shop

The fabric is going to be Toasty Glitzmas by Robert Kaufman


And the inspiration for the design of my table runner is coming from here: http://www.pleasant-home.com/2010/07/another-table-runner.html

I hope I can do this.