November Challenge Complete!

This Months 12 Months 12 Challenges November Challenge from Carolyn over at My Favourite was to create something Christmassy.
November Challenge completed! but only just scraping in in time!!

This afternoon I took a break from the Feliz dresses and stitched up a little something for my husband.
Apparently I NEVER make him anything, so now he can't say that anymore..but really..how hard is it to make stuff for guys in general anyway!
I had hidden away in my stash for a couple of years, a Christmas stocking panel that was in the remnants bin at Spotlight for months on end, and I finally took it home for $2.
I added the extra white length at the top from the extra fabric around it on the panel so that I could chain stitch his name on it. It's the first time I've done any chain stitch on anything! so I'm glad it worked out. I also created a facing for the top section and a hangy loop from the fabric remaining from the panel after I cut the two prints out.

Garry loves it! but now I have to find heaps of stuff to fill it, it's enormous!
So pop on over to My Favourite and check out what the others doing the 12 challenges have made this month.

Hooks, Eyes, Ruffles and Refashioning!

It's just after lunch, and I thought I would pop in to post about what I am working on today. I've really been moaning a lot about the fact that I dropped the ball on the 12 in 12 challenges. I had such high hopes for being able to complete them all but life intervened.


So I have been working hard today to get back into the challenges. The October challenge is something refashioned (visit an op-shop and create something new). What a challenge!
When I lived in other towns, I shopped at op-shops a lot, I loved them! but here our local op-shops are actually quite awful. Theres no great finds, theres nothing interesting and everything is priced quite expensively, considering. The same things that haven't sold since we moved here 7 years ago, are still in the same places they were each time I go in. I understand they help and support a lot of families before the items left over end up in the store. I understand they don't put out the funky 60's-80's gear anymore, they put out recent,  real clothes to help real people - I get it, but it makes the stores boring!
So, last week I went on in and I tried my best to find something I would love. I wandered, I looked, I umm'd and ahh'd and squinted and pulled faces, and looked some more.
And then I spotted this sml ladies shirt out the corner of my eye, this colour! and a ruffle!

So, I had two ideas in mind, I had thought I wanted to make a bag out of it, but then my little niece spotted it's colour and she wanted me to make something for her out of it. So she wins! Cute trumps a bag! The absolute worst part about it is this:

It's held together all along the front with Hooks and Eyes galore!!!!
So, thank god for audio only podcasts so I can listen, while my eyes are busy while I am unpicking...and unpicking...

.....and unpicking!

I really wasn't going to post those pics, as it shows how messy my sewing space is. But since Hilary over at Quilary posted pics of her space I felt I really should show you I am not neat, I never have a tidy, clean, picture-book sewing room, but at the moment it is particularly feral, with more things coming into my little place recently than will ever leave and a couple of piles of things precariously balanced against another to hold them all upright. So far no major collapse, no avalanche, but it nears...I can feel it.

Will post an edit/update on the shirt/dress... later today with some luck!
Edit: I'm baaaack! and it's finished!

I used a triangle of white ribbing to close up the expose that was the neckline. For summer, the long sleeves were removed and a little frilled cap was put on instead. Where the hook and eyes were all down the front, I sewed it together completely, as it fits over her head instead.

October challenge complete!

What you don't do to your thumb if you want to sew and/or keep your thumb

Wow, look what happens when you step back for just a moment, a month goes by with only one blog post that whole time!
There has been a crazy amount of actual working going on. But, now I have 2 weeks of holidays to recover! (and clean my house) I've been lucky enough to pick up a part-time contract for the whole of next term, which is lovely. I'll be teaching food tech to three year 7 classes and filling up the rest of each day with casual classes when and if they are available.

About a week ago now, I bashed/crushed/twisted my thumb unceremoniously between the big bolt that holds the sewing needle in the machine and the sewing machine bed. Theres no way to explain how I did this...all I can do is show & tell why you should not do this if you want to continue to own a thumb.

It started swelling straight away, but it seemed like such a minor cut. I took a photo to laugh t myself about look what happens when I try to sew tired...joke son me well and truly now!
By mid week it didn't look small or minor, it was gooey and sooooo painful even a small bump or touch made me cry, it was also burning hot and oozy, it started to pain, and spreading a raised lump a deep red colour under the skin from the cut all the way down to the knuckle joint. By Friday I could not stand to move my thumb, cover it with anything, (no bandage, tape, rubber gloves, nothing) and the pain and dark red burning was spreading into the palm of my hand. I can't show you, those photos would have been too gross and gooey and even if I had the thought of mind to take any, (I was too busy weeping at the time of dressing changes) they'd probably end up in some hall of goo or manky file on the internet -I've seen the toe files people!! LOL
Now that I am on the Antibiotics and let's just delicately say, my thumb has been slightly skinned and mostly de-gooed by the Dr. I can show you what it looks like today. It looks really good :)

See that darker patch of skin reaching toward my knuckle? Luckily it's receding fast, because thats the infection and it's hot and burning and damage causing! Today my thumb only hurts if I bump it or if I'm doing too  much with it. - Let me tell you, I had no idea how much I use my thumb until now! Typing is particularly bad, turning things like jars or taps even worse! The most sad is my scissors, I bought brand new Mundial shiny sharp "good" scissors right before this happened, the very night this happened, and I haven't been able to use them since!

For this months and last months FOSAL items I get a big fat FAIL stamp on. The little May cross-stitch still did not get finished, It was a purple stocking.

I didn't even get time to choose one to start for June, and here it is, July already. :(

I did complete my 12 sewing challenges in 12 months June item, (Something self designed or self drafted) and I even photographed it with days to spare, and then I promptly put the camera down and forgot to blog or flickr them. BAH! So I guess that's a Fail too! It did take me almost 3 weeks to sew. 15 minutes here, an hour there. Some time grabbed before dinner, after dinner, while I could still stay awake and before I made my thumb not so opposable.

I made...an apron. I had no pattern, I used my measuring tape to measure me, then estimated some extra room for gathering, around the uh, bust area. Then I drew it up onto some brown paper taped together. (It was like brown paper dress-ups!) I ended up stitching the gathers into the brown paper, then taking around half the gathering out of the bust region, re-fitted it and then, finally got to cut out some material! My rotary cutter and I went to town! I cut 2 strips for the waistband  (the 2 waistband pieces sandwich together trapping the top of the apron between one edge and the skirt of the apron between the bottom edge) and each tie is two really long pieces stitched together on 3 sides to form a tube when turned out.  The open end of one tie pokes inside the left and the other into the right edge of the waistband sandwich and is stitched in. I made wide binding for around the neck straps and edging on the top of the apron.
I stitched around the edges of the waistband, straps and ties with the dark blue thread to finish it off.

The top and bottom edge of the top part of the apron is gathered, or rather ruffled using my ruffler foot. It gives the "boobage" area a better fitting rounded shape rather than what a flat apron always does on me, which always seems to "tent" in the middle.

The floral fabric is vintage from my Mum's cupboard It's a very heavy, thick cotton. I've been in love with it for a very long time, she gave it to me a couple of years ago, I just didn't know what to sew from it. It's too floral for pants. Too heavy for shirts. I don't wear skirts. I just didn't know what to do besides look at it lovingly! The plain blue fabric is 100% cotton bought from Spotlight last year, it was bought for something else, but I can't remember what!
I may still take up the skirt because it's a tad long.
During the past few weeks I made a cake, from a packet..I know..Oh the horror! But it did taste good!

In other news, I have not been keeping up with my finish 2 projects before starting another. I plan to rectify that this week if my sewing room ever goes back to useable.
I'd been having back problems after sewing for even short bursts. I tried lot's of different chairs and stools but really I've found the Horn sewing table too low for me and a I keep hunching over to use my machine. So, I will be using my enormous table to sew from and cut out on. (It was destined for Dad's shed but never made it there) my horn sewing table is going to keep being used mainly for my overlocker and my old sewing machine and so, today this is what my poor sewing room looks like.

The poor Horn feels unloved. We tried to think of ways to lift the horn up a bit, but there just isn't any is there? It has a fold/pull out section to make it a T shape with draws etc so no matter what we thought of, we couldn't work out how to keep it functional.

So we decided instead to use my poor old table (which would have had to have it's legs repaired in order to be used anyway). The poor old wobbly thing! But now it has been re-legged completely to make it taller. Here it is in progress, with the table top upside down underneath it, because we have no space to move around it otherwise ;)

The legs may be stained sometime in the future, but for now they will stay as they are and we'll see how it goes.
Just before pulling apart the sewing room, I stitched up the free bag kit that came with a magazine called Homestyle sewing. I didn't make it fancy or make a flower or anything, I just made it and it fits magazines perfectly to take on holidays with us tomorrow to the beach.

Have a lovely rest of today, I've just realised I've been typing this post for a week! Finally I got to hit Publish on this post!

A Busy Busy Busy Busy Week

OMG! I meant to post something every night for the past week..where oh where did all those days go you may ask!
Well I worked everyday this past week and by the time I got home all I wanted to do was sleep! And sleep I did, from about 8:30 right through til the alarm next morning. I was exhausted! Where did my youthful energy go, where did that girl who went out late every night, all those crazy late night bars clubs and all night parties, how often did she see the dawn, shoes in hand...she's 33 now and...asleep by 8:30, just awake long enough to watch Masterchef on the telly...Even on Friday night I did'nt even make the end of Masterchef Masterclass! Asleep on the lounge, crochet in hand! ...boy oh boy how we change through life.
So...here is what I finished this week...I can't remember what day it was...but it was a day ending in y.
For the 12 in 12 challenge, Mays item was something with an enclosed zip.
Taadaa! the KF Everything Wallet completed!

I changed it a bit in order to line the inside of the zipper pocket.

If I were to make it again, I would make it with the correct sized zip, instead of just the smaller one I had in the draw...

I know it's not made for an iPhone, but if I made it again... I'd make it wider and adjust the velcro bit so it would close properly once full of all my cards and my iPhone, and money...

And I'm an idiot, I spent hours choosing the positions of each pocket on the fabric to cut out cool bits of patterns on the fabric to show on the edge of each card pocket...and then promptly realised once finished, that you see none of them beneath the cards..hehehehe.

Still, I love it and it's cute...and the lovely Coles checkout operator made lovely comments about it - Usecase user testing successful:)

Also at some point I think last week even, I finished off my husbands scarf, but I'm not sure If I told anyone or showed it once it was actually finished! So, here it is...modelled by a reluctant, don't-talk-about-me-on-your-blog-husband. ;)

I had to finish this one hat I started about 15 times, unpulled, changed a bit, unpulled, made a mistake, threw it in a bag, found a much better pattern...unpulled and re-used the unpulled yarn, but finally I got it right and finished it! And it was really really simple as it turns out!  I used the Art of crochet, Teresas pattern Little Darling Toddler-Youth Crochet Shell cap. I could only get one ball of this yarn, I really loved it, I wanted it for me, but I can't really make anything much for me out of one ball, I really liked it and couldn't leave it in the shop, my niece loved it because it has pink in it ;) So now she has a crochet shell cap.

Last night I started crocheting a beanie during a run of 24 episodes we were trying to catch up on, I didn't really know what I was doing with it when I started it, and really I should have been finishing off all the other projects I have on the go...but I finished it so quickly I made another one too...no patterns just a crochet hook (4mm) and pink and white and pale pink and pink left over bits of wool. I experimented with them a lot, I made them ear-flappy hats, like I had as a kid. they should fit the twins nicely, if my sister isn't too embarrassed to put them on them! I think they are cute, but I understand that not everyone likes what I like and I'm ok with that. I just say to her each time, if she can't use it give it to someone who can.

On the first one I made the pom-pom old style using two disks of cardboard, seriously painful and annoying when it fell apart while tying it up, second one I made this morning using a Spotlight pom-pom maker, a much easier process not involving cutting out cardboard:) Pom Pom makers:

I also got to use my new Birch split ring stitch markers, I know, not gorgeous beaded glittery jewelled lovelies that I've seen around the net, but they do the job and they don't get heavy or snag the wool:)

And now, to talk about the new crochet project I am starting...
These lovelies came from Bendigo Wool :

And I'm trying hard to make lil hexies...I love love love the little hexies from Attic24's lovely hexagon-howto.

Here are some of the practice ones I did, full of mistakes and perhaps I shouldn't put the two browns next to each other, but none-the-less, once I get the technique down, they will look great and I hope will make a lovely warm blankie for our brown, brown lounge.
I havent yet started anything for my May ornament for the FOSAL...oops.

Baby it's cold outside!

Baby it's cold outside! I've been singing this song in my head in a never ending loop all weekend. I have no idea why, I think it's a good lifetime ago when I last even actually heard that song. And thanks to you tube I found out it's not actually sung by who I thought it was all this time!

Baby It's Cold Outside

Christine | MySpace Video

Anyway, we stayed inside all weekend near a heater and I sang that in my head! Husband is feeling sniffly after a week of putting up with me feeling sniffly so I baked a cake for my husband (I had to have a chance to bake wearing my new apron!) and because he almost never gets cakes or biscuits in our house, he really loved the idea.

Please note that in order to eat the cake we had to also have tea, proper tea apparently, in a pot. Which we did! and it was lovely, but by this stage getting later and later after dinner, I rushed to ice it. However, I maybe should have allowed the cake to cool for just a bit longer, as you clearly see the cakes top layer sliding off and hurtling towards my Home economics assignment from year 7. (1989) Yes my friends, cross stitch and flower embroidery on gingham. And just to prove the usefulness over the years of cross stitch on gingham, my mum uncovered this deep within her cupboards complete with a piece of school book paper pinned and stapled to the corner and written in pencil, my name, yr 7, 1989 assignment 1. With a big red A in a circle and the teachers signature, on the back once unfolded, some maths homework ripped out of my book.  I was apparently much better at cross stitching gingham than I was at maths as I am now horrified and embarrassed by my lack of yr 7 algebra skills found on the other side written like a dogs breakfast and would now like to humbly apologise to all my teachers.

The important thing to remember is, I made a great cake! It was a lemon delicious sponge type cake with lemon and coconut icing. And we all consumed enough sugar to give us all diabetes and keep us awake for hours!
Sunday was also suitably lovely, we began the day with my husband making pancakes!

Maybe I should bake him a cake more often if I get pancakes in return!

As for sewing, I ventured into the sewing room for a few hours over the weekend, just long enough to cut out all the pieces for the my next project, the KF everything Wallet.

It has an enclosed zip in it for my May item for the 12 in 12 sewing challenge. I'm using the leftover pieces of fabric from the Apron I made for Fabiola at Little Cooties for the The Great Apron Swap.

Gorgeously buttery delicious apron to bake in

I've been participating in the Great Apron swap over at Red Gingham:

In the post this afternoon, arrived the package I knew, once opened, would make me squeal with delight!

And it did!

SQUEEEEAAAL!!

Thankyou Thankyou! Fabiola! A gorgeously buttery delicious apron to bake in, I LOVE it! and it makes me think of the smell of vanilla and baking and cupcakes with gorgeous icing. I put it on and swished around the lounge room for a while giggling.

I've made an apron for the fabulous Fabiola over at Little Cooties. She gave me a lovely choice of fabric and showed a sneak preview of the finished apron on her blog. Now that the apron I made for her is finished and in the mail on it's way to her, I'll post a little pic sneak-preview teaser. I hope you LOVE it Fabiola and that the apron gets to you soon.

Once Fabiola gets it I will post full photos of the apron I made for her.

And now, onto my Unfinished Objects. I finished one UFO today from my list of UFO's following the project plan I'm following, set out by MadebyK. Theres nothing special about these trackie dacks, Mum gave me the fabric and I cut them out while he was here in January and then they just sat there in the UFO basket. Today, I contemplated cutting out some contrasting print and making sections or patches, pockets and the elastic casing out of the print, but then I remembered why they were sitting there all this time...and why they are UFO's. I didn't make them fancy pants or cool they are just blue and fluffy warm for my nephew to play in over winter and they are finished.

Tonight or Tomorrow I need to finish another UFO in order to begin my next project, (I need to finish two UFO's first before I take on any new project)

My next project is the May item for the 12 in 12 sewing challenge, an enclosed zip. I want to make the KF everything Wallet which has a zip in it. I'm quite scared about making this correctly, so I want to get it started this week to give me plenty of time to work it out when it goes horribly wrong. ;)

April came and went!

Well April disappeared last night, but I did get quite a lot done this week!

On Wednesday I finished my April challenge, for the 12 months 12 Sewing challenges challenge.
Aprils challenge was something lined! Lined...Lined I said..and weeped..and had flashbacks to High school, when we were to make a lined bag for sunglasses...I sewed through my finger on the sewing machine, thread all the way through the nail and out the other side of the finger, along with the needle. We had to unscrew the needle from the machine, cut the thread and then have it removed from my finger. Then...when it all got turned out the right way, I realised the lining was sewed on the wrong way and the seams were visible instead of hidden. I fixed it up, after more tears and unpicking, and the teacher passed my job anyway, I think only because of the physical injury involved! LOL
This time around for the Challenge, I did not trust myself, and instead...I followed about 3 different tutorials for lined bags on the internet...they were pretty dreadful. They all seemed promising at the start, got halfway through and the train left the tracks. I didn't realise they left visible unfinished seams on the insides of the bags...to me that isn't lined, not properly anyway.

This was the outer fabric...I LOVED this fabric for years, I saw it in my mums cupboard and eyed it off every time we were working on something else, and then she gave me a bag full of scrap fabric one day, and in it was this! She had at one stage cut a jacket from it, but I never saw her wear it, and I don't know where it went! The left over fabric she gave me had the jacket pieces shapes cut out of it, hehehe.

Anyway, back to the Challenge...So after the 3 previous disaster bags, (I wont show you them, it's too traumatic) ;) I began yet another search for a tutorial and found Robyn's blog over at Additional Jesus. Finally, and I say finally, because I then had to re-cut the bag again (for the 4th time) luckily I had enough left over fabric or I would have been weeping!!
At this point I will show you my progress photos, more progress than I ever made with all the other tutorials...THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Additional Jesus!

I know, I know, it looks like the bag version of Frankensteins monster doesn't it!?

And then it got stuck and I got scared.

But then it just popped on out and at this point I got so excited that it worked - that I squealed!

And then I squealed some more!

It even has a handle!

And now my knitting has a lovely home:) And I am in bag LOOOOOVE.

I started and finished my April FOSAL entry last night:

I finished it just after midnight, so technically it didn't get finished until May 1st, but..gee..it was still April somewhere in the world right!?