back on the pedal

In the past few weeks I have suddenly rediscovered my love for sewing. I had discovered a new sewing pattern blog – pattern runway –  and I fell in love with this Easy Kimono Dress:

It is a very simple design – but if it worked out well I imagined replicating it in many different fabrics and colours for a fantastic work staple dress.

After work one day I headed to Spotlight for a bit of a fabric shop and discovered a beautiful khaki green flower type material which last weekend I managed to whip into this:

(excuse the weird foot thing – not sure what is going on there)

The pattern itself was really easy to follow, and I had it finished within a matter of hours.  I think next time I might go for a heavier fabric, as the Cotton Voile creases very easily – not the best for work. I am now taking a look back at all my other patterns that have been sitting unused – just need to find some good fabric and hopefully I will have some more home made creations soon.

long weekend plans

This weekend’s long weekend has crept up on me – I forgot it was coming. Even so, I have taken some of today’s lunch to think about what to do, what could I get accomplished (I like to have plans – even if they never eventuate).

Even thinking about these potential plans has led me to cross a few things off today – I have phoned the Red Cross to book in for a blood donation next week (#21 on my list), ordered some moisturizer from ebay (which I am in dire need of, my face feels like a desert) and submitted my application to the Pets Haven for some volunteer work (# 12).

My plans for the long weekend however contain:

1. Picking a sewing project from my numerous unmade patterns (#4)
2. Make home-made gnocchi (I have been told it is quite easy, and they’re freezable, so best to make in bulk – this will also help out #15)
3. Plan and start my DIY canvas art project (#6). I am heading to Doncaster on the weekend to check out Daiso – a 100 yen store (like $2 shop but japanese version) – so I will have to head to the Riot Art to get some supplies. (or maybe I should make my own juju hat)
4. Start a budget – yawn – but I think it is necessary. I believe I am spending a lot of my money on frivolous things, and would like to get control of it. I am sure there is a fancy Mac app I can download to make this easier.

Not sure if they’ll be anything else yet – I am sure I’ll get some socialising and a lot of eating in there somehow…do you have any plans for the long weekend yet?

so, I like things organised

Anyone who knows me knows I like things organised – it keeps me calm and my mind at peace to know that everything is in its place. One tool that often helps this organisation is spreadsheets. Case in point, after ordering a batch of patterns (see last post) I realised I have too many patterns and no fabric, or starting point. In comes my new spreadsheet:

The first tab lists out all the patterns I have bought and what fabric would be required.

The second includes a broad look at how much each fabric costs from differing online fabric stores. I find it quite hard to get interesting fabric in Australia, for a reasonable price – so I am going to try some American sites that ship overseas. Once the big price comparison is complete I will start looking for some fabric for the million projects I could start!

finished quilt!

the quilt is finally finished – after many hours of painstaking cutting, sewing and snipping. The original pattern was taken from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine earlier this year – and was a more a twist on a traditional quilt pattern, making it look more modern and less grandma.

I started a few weeks back with the cutting of the 588 squares (196 each of the feature fabric, backing fabric and cotton batting).

Once this was complete I needed to sew the three fabrics for one square together, diagonally across the square.

Then the quilt needed to be laid out exactly how I wanted to sew it together – it ended up taking over all of my living room.

After carefully piling them in the order they needed to be sewed I began the task of joining them together – sewing in straight lines was getting quite monotonous by now. Then once it looked like a fully formed quilt, I had to snip each of the exposed seams to give it a frayed look.

And then…finally…I had the finished quilt.

It is also reversible so I can switch it up if I want a different colour scheme.

It’s taken a good few weeks, but I am pretty proud of the results.

away quilting

sorry for the lack of posts – I have been busy most nights trying to complete my quilt before the Melbourne weather gets too warm to use it. I should have some completed photos today or tomorrow!

organising makes me happy

While being back in Perth last weekend my lovely mum purchased me the tools to allow me to start a new quilt. Because of this I decided it was a good time to reorganise the second room – now the sewing room. After a trip to Ikea and lugging the expedit upstairs – it’s all starting to come together.

The desk and chair will be replaced at some point – possibly with the Ikea desk spied in the catalogue.

After some fun with my new label maker – everything is in it’s place

The beginning of the quilt – I am only a 1/4 of the way through all the fabric that needs to be cut.

After reorganising the boxes in the expedit I realised that my spare bed manchester didn’t quite go (blue with stripes). Luckily for me Target is having 25% of manchester at the moment, so I scored an entire new look! All this bed needs is a new quilt!

Close-up of the new target cushions.

This room still has quite a bit of work before it’s finished – but it’s getting a lot closer – and a lot more sewing friendly.

so many possibilities

After feeling like I need to get back to sewing I decided to trawl sewingpatterns.com for some inspiration – the $2.99 butterick patterns didn’t hurt either! I ended up ordering the following:

I love the different variations with these skirts – I can see myself wearing any of these styles, and they would be perfect for work.

A-line and full skirts are always so flattering – again all of these would be perfect for work.

I love the dress and cropped jacket from this pattern.

I am a sucker for anything high-waisted – I love the jacket and pant combination.

High-wasited skirts – perfect for work once again. I love the detailing on the skirt on the right.

I find waistcoats smarten up most work outfits, so this pattern should come in handy.

Both dresses are the perfect shape for a work dress.

Now we just need to wait and see if any of these make themselves to the final product!