Finished for Mirabel!

I finished my fourth softie for Mirabel, today!
Four was the magic number I committed myself to, so I'm feeling pretty happy to have made it.
This is another go at the Blinking Flights pattern, of course. Something masculine, to go with the very femme florals of the last softie. Plus, I had visions of using the supercool green and white stripes from my frilly hat in a bug.

I lurve this guy's pink mohawk and his cool older brother air (okay, so I'm guessing, being the eldest in my family!). His little smirk looks very laid-back and relaxed, to my mind. (And how awesome is his embroidered nose ring?)

Blue Hippo Sublime

I can safely say I feel I'm really getting the hang of this hippo pattern (finally!), though each new incarnation makes me feel even sorrier for the hippos that came before. I'm noticing less tendency to sew folds into their faces, and their bottoms are becoming plumper and more rounded (which, let's face it, is what you want in a hippo behind. Skinny derrieres are Just Not Hippo!). As my first hippo bum was weirdly creased and folded (and I even left off the tail by accident) I hope the other adults with whom I share my home will forgive the fact that I waxed lyrical over my latest hippo behind and don't think I'm too weird for very long.
Best of all, I was able to whip up the latest hippo in a few hours, over a single Friday evening. Yep, us parents of toddlers know how to party!

Bug Softie

I've been a bit slack with the blogging lately, and that's partially because I've been a bit slack with the sewing. To break my sewing drought I decided I needed to add to the Softies I would be sending away for Mirabel (because one is pathetic) and I wanted to do something fun, that wouldn't break my brain. So I picked up the Blinking Flights bug pattern and some scraps of bright, cheerful fabric. It only took me two nights to whip up this island bug.
(Why are my creations always just that bit wonky? Let's pretend, and say it was their Creatrix deliberately imbuing them with some of herself, shall we?)

I'm not really a pattern follower, more what I call "A Hack and Slash Seamster", but the pattern plus knowing what the end result should look like made this a super easy softie to make. I didn't trim the seams round the curve of the head, as advised, and I think it shows, unfortunately, and the antennae were actually quite tricky, because they're so slim and require quite a precise control of your machine. But otherwise, this was a really easy, FUN pattern to make (and I felt very inspired by the bright colours and fabrics used by their original creator).

I'm now also kind of in love with the main, flower print fabric I used, and want to make myself a clothing item from it - and I think I've found the perfect pattern.

Softies

This unnamed hippo is the second I've made from this Two Little Banshees pattern. Her sister's name is Bubbles, and she is a lot wonkier. Luckily, I was always the sort of kid who appreciated the 'imperfect' stuffed toys in shops more than their perfectly balanced siblings!

Unnamed Hippo is not going to be staying with me, though. I'm hoping that she, and a few friends, will be headed off to Melbourne come early November, for the Softies for Mirabel charity collection this year.
I've never actually completed a softie before and once I've mastered this pattern, I'm hoping to try my hand at a few more, so I've been scouring the internet for ideas and tutes. There are so many out there!

This little girl with beret and capelet is super sweet, for instance. But there's also this little felt dolly or their weird contemporary if I'm not in a "sweet" mood.

If I wanted to stick with the animal theme, there's also heaps of options, like a Pointy Kitty, Blinking Flights Bug (designed by a local from my city!) or some of these Beautiful birds. I think I want to have a go at that last one for myself, to put on a twig to decorate my house. But that will come later.

The Winner Is...

Isn't life grand?
You plan something, set up a timeline, count down the days...then find yourself with a case of food poisoning, and when you're better, an overwhelming list of Stuff To Do, much of it "catch up" from when you were ill!

So sorry to those who eneterd my recent Spring Equinox giveaway! To try to get back onto our regularly scheduled program, the winner is actually...

Number 6, according to random.org.



Trish Goodfield, the tiny pink tote is yours!

Thankyou to the few, the proud, who entered. I'm hoping to run more freebie giveaways in the future, so please feel free to check back.

Tiny Tote Free to Good Home

Spring is sprung
The grass is ris
I wonder where
The birdies is?

Going by the calendar acknowledging the equinoxes and such, Spring actually started back in early August. Because professional calendar makers just can't wrap their heads around things not following their calendars exactly, they've tricked us all into believing the season began yesterday.

So in honour of these calendar makers, the fact my birthday is a month away, and the coming Spring Equinox, here's a giveaway!

This cute little bag was one of my earliest attempts to actually complete a project. It's a little taller than A5, but about that length, with enough depth to fit a large womens' wallet, a notebook, some lipbalm, and a pen with room to spare (I know, I stuffed it with everything I usually carry to check it was big enough, when making it).

The outside is a very soft apricot-pink brushed cotton that feels almost like suede. It's all fabric, so folds down very small, and it's lined with vintage flower print cotton, too.

The flowers are acrylic felt and are actually a badge that can be removed and worn, or attached to another bag.

To win this tiny tote, please leave a comment and some way of getting in touch with you - email or a blog. For an extra entry, link to this post and tell me about it!

Entries close on the 20th September, and will be drawn on the Spring Equinox.

Happy Mother's Day!

This is my first Mother's Day ever. My baby boy just squeaked by the date, last year.
So what goodies did I receive for this special day? I got a nasty cold. That's pretty much it.

My Mum will be receiving mail with something OTHER than cold germs though (lucky thing).

Last time I was visiting, I noticed her using a very faded Coca-Cola pot-holder for her hot things. Since being ill has left me somewhat short on time, I wanted a fairly quick and easy project I could whip up for her, and this was perfect. The inside stuffing is a couple of layers of old towels - my MiL gave me a whole bag of them a year ago, and I am slowly making my way through them!
The outside is two different pieces of fabric, scraps from some of the major projects I've been working on lately (more on those in a few weeks). I found the wooden spoon with colander holes for noodles at the local ALDI (Mum loves making pasta dishes), and we're done.

Returning to Cards

Cardmaking is an old favourite of mine, in the list of crafty activities. Not as intimidating as full-on scrapbooking, portable and as simple or involved as you like, I really love making cards for my friends and relatives.
So it was really nice to find myself at a cardmaking workshop last weekend, led by Kellie, who's a demonstrator for Stampin' Up!. It was a tiny party of four (not including my baby son), and we had a lovely afternoon.

It was actually the first time I've ever been to an "official", pay-for-materials-provided-get-given-a-card-recipe style of Card Party. All my prior cardmaking get-togethers have been informal You-raid-my-stash-I'll-raid-yours type of thing. It was cool to learn a few new techniques, get some new ideas and 'professional' tips (and have access to the tools that make the difference sometimes). Even if I did veer "off-recipe" and use the materials provided in my own way, a few times.


The quality of my photographs for these cards is sadly lacking.
I'd figured out the best place and time of day for optimum lighting, at our last house. I knew the gymnastic routines required to get the necessary angles for Best Photographic Record versions. And I didn't have a small, newly-mobile child acting as a distraction.

So apologies - I will continue to experiment with my location, angles and lighting, to try to find the best case scenario for this home.

Pink & Yellow Prefold Nappies

I have just this very minute finished ironing some prefolds that I have made for friends who are expecting.



I've never used them, nor seen one in person, so after googling and examining a bunch of different tutorials I dove in.

I pulled out some of the flannel sitting around in my stash, which just happened to be pink and yellow (that being what was on sale). Found some REALLY cute cotton print that matched the colours. Pulled out some old towels donated to me by my MIL, and acquired a couple of microfiber car towels (that 'pull' the moisture away) for the padded panel.
Baby-To-Be has no determined gender, so hopefully I won't get too much guff about the pink if it ends up threatening to shrivel baby's penis by its abstract femininity or somesuch.



I have no idea if what I've ended up with are newborn or toddler size, I cannot draw a straight line to save my life, and that has sadly translated into sewing. So they're somewhat wonky (for that authentic "handmade!" look), very adorable and delicious, my first prefolds!
Now to find some instructions on how to fold them, to include a printout of for the Parents-To-Be.

Maternity Dress for Breastfeeding

Sometime between Christmas and now I decided that I really need more comfortable, cool nursing clothes. Digging through a pile of "mending" this month I discovered a skirt I picked up at an opshop before I ever fell pregnant. It was a lush red and pink size 8 ankle-length piece with an extra panel, to make it appear the fitted shape was actually a wraparound skirt.
Inspired, I pulled it apart and discovered that when turned to a flat panel, it actually fit me. So I went out and bought myself a singlet top in a similar colour. An hour or two later I had this little number.
It's cute, sassy and super easy - and it's modest and breastfeeding friendly!