christmas tree skirt

I made a skirt for the Christmas tree. I found this cute fabric at Spotlight, 1m. I used an old flannel cot sheet to have on the underside. I laid the fabric down in half and traced corners with a large dinner plate. Then I cut a split down the middle and sewed either side to wrap around the tree base. It looks really nice! When the Christmas fabric goes on sale I will get some more and make a few more things for next year. This is the first year we've had a proper tree - we are pretty excited!

another birdie sling bag

this was another birdie sling (amy butler) bag - the inside is that lovely batik fabric i found at the spring fair. this one is full size, with a few personal adjustments - i like the colors. i love fabric!!!

Summer handbag

This is the latest bag I have made. I think it may be my favorite to date! It has a zipper pocket inside which I must say was so easy to do. I am no longer afraid of sewing zippers!

I made it in class to make sure I did it correctly but it is a very simple pattern to follow. There is a bigger version as well which I will do next. The buttons are vintage from an op shop - so lucky I had 4. I would like to keep this one but it is a Christmas present.

antique bed stool finished

This is the antique foot/bed stool I found at a Salvos - I finally got around to re-upholstering the top. I started to remove the original one but the padding was so deteriorated that I couldn't remove it without it becoming a health hazard! It was seriously so messy and made me sneeze profusely. So I made the top piece and then fit it over the original top. It looks lovely.

We got the fabric on special at spotlight for $8/m but it was buy one metre get one free! I love when that happens!!!

Quincy's new mat

We looked at the pet shop the other day for a new mat/bed for Quincy and almost passed out with how expensive they were. Then I came across our hardly ever used port-a-cot mattress and had an idea......

I folded it over and then stitched it in a few places using a big, fat embroidery needle. I then made a cover for it using the great fabric I got from a school's Spring Fair. I lined it with one of the kid's old flannel, cot sheets. I put some velcro on the side so that I can wash it. Quincy doesn't love it yet, it smells too clean I think! I was so proud of myself I even managed to match up the lines! It looks much nicer than the old, very well worn mat he had.

first set of xmas decorations

The kids were sick last week so we did a lot of baking and assorted projects. These are cut out of wool felt and then decorated with glitter glue. Can't wait for the tree!!!

Mr. Spider

I had to make something for Jack too..... so I made Mr. Spider off the cuff, used a dinner plate to trace an outline for his body, and a smaller bowl for his head. Jack named him - Jo! He is made from wool felt.

lulu AND lola

I began this project for my friend Rachel who just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Of course, when my daughter saw the picture of it she needed one 2. So, I made 2 of them at the same time. It was an interesting process. I always find the faces take the longest as I want to make them look as nice as possible. They both turned out to look very sweet. The purple dolly's facial features have been stitched on with my machine so it is as safe as possible for bubs.

The pattern and inspiration is from the book; More Softies (Penguin Books) - this is the Maisy doll.

Ebi Sushi phone case

I like this one! A great lover of sushi, I saw something similar and I had to give it a try. This is the prototype - so it's not perfect but will get better with time - I like it for now!

It's made with wool felt and has a fleece lining.

Oishii ne???

$7 Spring Fair Find

We went to a Spring Fair at what will be Jack's new school and I was happy to find a table selling fabric people had donated to the school. I got some great stuff, probably well over 30m of fabric in total for a mere $7!! I was pleased! The kids got some great books too for 50cents. This fabric will be great as lining on bags or for some of the millions of projects I have in my head! Finding the time to do them all is the real dilemma.......

mushroom bag

I saw a bag similiar to this on Etsy and thought I would give it a try. The picture is made from wool felt. The bag is made from a black jersey I bought at a garage sale ages ago - the lady gave me about 6m of it for $1!! The pink is a retro acrylic blend that my friend Rosemary gave me along with some other fabrics she had for her nieces - apparently it had been sitting in her garage for years so I was fortunate enough to inherit a lot of assorted fabrics. They have been great for practicing.

So how many bags does one need? There is no true answer to that question!! I am making so many as I dream of a day of making a whole lot of them and having my own stall at a market - so trying to find out which type is sellable and cost effective hmmmmmm.......

Like the idea of a picture on the bag but will try my hand at some robots, space ships, butterflies, etc... any other suggestions??? Maybe a rainbow, a monkey.....

Jack's new blanket

My sewing teacher had this fabric at her house when I went for class last month - I couldn't go past it for Jack as he loves dinosaurs (me too!). It is hard to find cool fabric for boys. So this was my first attempt at a blanket, it has a nice light weight pellon inside.

Next time I will be a little more creative and perhaps try some patchwork but I didn't want to cut up the patterns on this fabric. This is his summer blanket .

Tessa's Blanket

This is a blanket I made for Tessa using the inside of her old Dora sofa. It was one of those little flip out sofas - the inside piece was in perfect condition so I made a blanket with it, it's light weight perfect for summer - the kids like to have a small blanket on them at night.

I used my sewing teacher's embroidery machine for her name. She loves it so I'm happy!

bed footstool

another amazing salvos find (i splashed out a bit with this one i paid $30) - an antique bed footstool! it has a stamp on the bottom from a well know adelaide furniture maker from the 60's. it is in excellent condition with the exception of the fabric. we will sand it, stain it and reupholster it- this is our new project - stay tuned.......

another pouch

I made this so that I could put all my purse things in it - so when I want to use another bag I can just use this to transfer everything. It makes life a lot easier - as I am one of those people who likes to change my bag at least once or twice a week!

HONEY

This is Honey, as the kids have named her - I was looking for a coat rack and can you believe I came across her at the wee Salvos here in Mawson Lakes? she was being used to display things and the gentleman at the shop agreed to sell her to me for $10! I was so stoked - she is now a part of the family!

At some stage we will get around to re-painting her or at least touching up but she is pretty darn perfect the way she is.

desk chair

we picked this dining chair from a Salvos for $5 - Garrick sanded it down, I stained it, made a cover for it and bought a cushion for it - i was going to make one but came across this cushion at spotlight on special! too easy!

my amazing Horner sewing table

My friend from my sewing class, Rosemary got this for me from her sister-in-law. It is incredible! I can easily stow away all my sewing things including my machine which slides up. I just have to flip the top piece over and I have a huge amount of space to get my sew on! I love it!

pouch

I made this pouch with leftover material from the chair we refurbished. I didn't know how to sew in zippers at the time hence the button. I like it but will try to make another, bigger one in the winter with a zip. I love this fabric!

a tablecloth reborn!

I found this lovely retro tablecloth at a local Salvos - it was about 4m and I paid $2 - BARGAIN!

I started off with a pattern but misplaced a piece of it so made this off the cuff - it turned out alright and it is a nice bag to take to the beach. I am really into yellow and bright colors at the moment.

Maria's bag (finally)

This is from the Amy Butler sling bag pattern, only with modified straps and a zipper!! With help from my fantastic sewing teacher i managed to get a zipper on. When summer finally arrives please come soon - this will be a great bag!

Sure hope she likes it.

Capelet

I am back! After a tonsilectomy and a few other bouts of illness I am finally back, in great health and sewing! Sooooo happy! This is a pattern I bought ages ago and managed to get the fabric I wanted on sale at Spotlight. The buttons were almost as much as the fabric!

Stay tuned - a few more bags and skirts on the way once I get some experience sewing zippers....

the chair near completion

so here it is, after hours of sanding and then a little more after the stain/varnish was added and then bubbled!!! the cushions still need to be secured to the frame but this is a sneak peek before it is completely done. it was a great project!