A little embellishment

Take one nice but a little bit boring baby skivvy. Add some previously featured leaf fabric, some stuffing and a bit of outline sewing and look what you get.

This "brooch" has been in my head for quite some time (it is sewn on, not like a real brooch, so its safe for little ones) and I was very impressed with how it turned out. It compliments the purple nicely and goes rather well with a little pair of baby jeans.

In fact I like it so much I have been thinking about doing one for myself. But then what if I want to wear it at the same time the baby is wearing it? Or what if someone sees the baby wearing it then a week later they see it on me too? I don't know that I'm into the mother-daughter same outfit thing. I do rather like it though...

making use of baby free time

A visit to Ironside studios in Kensington on the weekend was very inspiring to see the collection of artists and creative folk getting out there and doing their thing. Favourites were Spin Spin Handmade and Buttons by Heather (although we didn't get to meet Heather). Was also lovely to get out of the house (baby free!) for a short while and catch up with Nic from Yardage.

To make a long story short, I got a last minute babysitter today (thanks Monica!) which meant I was able to visit the dentist on my own. So as I was out and about baby free (and the dentist didn't really feel like much of a treat), I quickly popped next door to Spotlight. Oops. They are having a big markdown on quilting fabrics, so I ended up picking up a few, down to $5 and $6 per metre each. How could I resist? Summer baby dresses here I come! I'm thinking the Oliver + S popover sundress from my Sew Hip magazine as a starter.... and maybe I'll check out my Ottobre mags for more inspiration.

I've also entered the giveaway by A Little Red Ribbon. She makes cute things from vintage fabrics and her little coin purse giveaway is gorgeous! I hope I am lucky enough to win.

my creative space

My creative space = pure relaxation. Putting my feet up catching up on some magazine reads with the Murray in the background. Plus our dog, Max, who had an absolute ball being out in nature.

I am cheating and putting in my creative space pics from last week as we were away camping so there was no blogging for me (not even mobile reception most of the time). There was plenty of this type of action though, lazing around looking at the trees, playing with the baby, going for long leisurely walks, eating great food. We experimented lots with campfire cooking, including Bill Granger's delicious blueberry breakfast scones (cooked by my sister who joined us for the first weekend). Yum!!

There wasn't too much crafting that went on, although I did visit a great fabric store, The Material Girls, in Yarrawonga where I spoiled myself a little. They had an amazing range of patterned flannelette fabrics which I hadn't seen before. Something to remember for next winter. I also managed to do some creative thinking and get some ideas down on paper. For more creative space fun, visit Kootoyoo.

Summer shorts

Spring has sprung and Summer is just around the corner. We got back from our camping trip (had a lov-ely time and there will be more on my creative space tomorrow...). For now, I got inspired yesterday and finally finished off the round of summer shorts I have been making for my little'n. I set a goal for myself to make the entire summer wardrobe for my 1 year old this year, apart from a few pieces I already have (so the majority of) . I haven't made the pledge publicly (although I think now I just have...?) as I didn't want to disappoint myself too much if I don't achieve it, but now I feel I am very much on the way.
I have made up 5 pairs of summer shorts/pants to go with t-shirts or under dresses. The pattern was made up from a cute little pair I saw in the shops and I refashioned an existing pattern I already had. I am also quite pleased to say that I also made them with stash fabrics and I only needed a couple of matching cottons bought to complete them.

I am really happy with them and now just need to hope that they actually fit for summer. At the moment they stay on, but hang around the knees whereas should be under her bum, so hopefully she will just grow longer and not too much around the waist. The denim ones (these are my fav) had a little cuff with tie ends added which makes them extra cute I think.

I thought I would either make matching tops/dresses or embellish plain t-shirts and things to match.

a reverse print

Today was a cleaning house and packing for camping day. After packing my selection of clothes (all casual) I was a bit bored with my options, and my hands were tingling to get stuck into something a bit more exciting. So I grabbed an old grey hoodie that has been out of favour for a while and jazzed it up a little.

The in progress shot:

Didn't think to take before photos. Suffice to say it looked the same except without the black print. I used a lace paper stencil I picked up a while ago from a scrapbooking shop. I sprayed adhesive on the back, stuck it on the front (zipper closed) and painted away. So when the lace paper was pulled away, the print comes to life. I like the way the print is together when zipped up and separated when open. And now I have a half decent hoodie to wear on our trip!

Next posts will be in a week or so. Hopefully I will have some nice ones from camping.

my creative space

Is pink.
This is my first ever attempt at a quilt, well actually more of a patchwork quilt I believe. This is the centrepiece and the rest of the quilt will be built around it. Behind you see all the long strips already cut and sewn together ready to start sewing.

The colours are pink, red, grey, black, white and a sprinkling of teal. I was inspired by this quilt made by Onegirl using similar colours. It is very pink (not something I would have thought I would have chosen, but there it is). For my little 9 month old baby girl, when shes gets into a big bed - I've given myself plenty of time. I have hand embroidered a tree pattern adapted from an Ottobre design. The fabrics are probably a bit too busy so the embroidery doesn't really stand out, however I suppose that it will one of those surprises when you look closely, rather than jumping out at you immediately.

The quilt pattern was one adapted from a Better Homes & Gardens issue back in February I think, but I changed the dimensions and things. As such I have absolutely no idea if I have cut enough or WAY too many strips for a single quilt. I was given a rotary cutter and cutting mat by father in law's wife Robyn (thanks Robyn!) and it has completely changed my world. I have a feeling I may have cut WAY too many strips as the cutting was just so much fun...

I forgot to add this to my to do list last post. Expect more updates on this quilt as I get to the fun part. Putting it together. I've no idea how it is going to turn out, I really hope it looks good and not just awful pink.

For more creative spaces, visit Kootoyoo. I finally worked out how to add the My Creative Space badge to my site (thanks for the tip Yardage Girl), so now it sits proudly over to the right.