Finders Keepers market aprons {exclaim}

Last weekend was spent at the Finders Keepers market in Melbourne, helping out my friend Nic with her awesome Yardage Design stall there. We had a great time, and the market was amazing - so many inspirational people!

In the sewing department, I made some market aprons for us to wear over the weekend, made from some of Nic's gorgeous fabrics.

They were whipped up late on the Friday night before the weekend (nothing like a bit of last minute sewing - yes, I was the type to sit up all night before my assignments were due at high school).

They are a short apron with a set of three contrasting pockets across the front for various market necessities, the middle pocket had a zipper so we could run around doing cartwheels without stuff falling out - although we didn't actually test this feature...

The fabrics used were the brand new {exclaim} fabric and the swizzle fabric (the blue one). Check out Nic's blog and shop if you like the fabrics. Also check out Nic's blog for the obligatory photo of us in action wearing the aprons. The fabric is lovely to sew, which is why they were so quick. Most of my sewing lately has been with knits and stretch - so the linen was a welcome reprieve; it ironed nicely and stayed put and didn't move all about the place whilst trying to sew - very nice indeed.

I also got these gorgeous pears, made from Nic's fabric (not my own handiwork, made by Brenda) which look lovely sitting happily on the mantelpiece.

The market was fantastic, however I managed to get away without splurging too much, a cute handprinted tee for the newborn's summer wardrobe and some hand printed stretch fabric (oops, back on the stretch fabric bandwagon - a stickler for punishment), which hopefully you will see soon, made into something cute.

Stitches and Craft Show, Sew it Together, bold stripes and a green sheep...

Its been an eventful week and a bit. I'll try to keep the words short and keep you entertained with a few crafty pics.

Firstly it was the Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show last weekend. I was lucky enough to be helping out Nic at Yardage Design at her stall in the incubator section. It was loads of fun and it was great to see and talk to so many other crafters. The buzz was great.To show off Nic's gorgeous fabrics, I made myself a skirt of red linen, with a panel of the Yardage swizzle fabric which I wore when helping her out. It is a pretty easy pattern, cut on the bias, with a back seam (to give it a nice shape) and the feature panel added off centre front, and top stitched in linen cotton. I changed the waistline and added a 25cm stretch fabric tube, so it could sit comfortably over a growing baby belly. Here's a close up of Nic's lovely feature fabric!
Whilst I was at the show, I also picked up a few things myself, some great Hilco fabrics from EarthGirl fabrics (now on my Internet favourites list!), for making some Ottobre patterns. And this tea towel:
Which leads me to my next topic. Mother's day was lovely and we had a picnic with the extended family and then dinner with my family and sisters. I gave my Mum this Yardage tea towel, which she loved, and my little 17 month old spent all afternoon pointing at it chanting peeeeaaaar - one of her favourite words at the moment.

I also made up a green sheep brooch from granddaughter to Nanna, which is from one of her favourite books. It is green wool felt bought from the Show, stuffed and sewn together with blanket stitch, and embroidered to make the sheep features with some rather wayward legs sticking out. Both Nanna and granddaughter loved it though.
Finally last night was the Sew It Together dinner in Melbourne. Unfortunately I was not able to attend the day's crafting session, but have put next year's Sydney dates in the diary! The dinner was lovely though, and I had a great time meeting so many other talented and inspiring crafters and bloggers, so many that I already knew in blogland, but have now met in person.

Although I don't have picks from the night, I do have some pics of the leggings I wore which I had made a few weeks before (thanks to an Ottobre pattern lent to me by Mary of Perle 8's. I'll have to chase her down to get the pattern issue and post it later). I've been making lots of leggings for my little one, but finally made a big sized pair for me! Made from red/purple/black stripe cotton elastane (I love the fabric!), they were extremely simple to make and turned out well. I was very happy with them and have worn them a lot.
They were even a maternity pattern, so have a high waistline to go over a 7 month pregnant belly! (Sorry if I freak anyone out with the pic below, but I love the high waistline - it is super comfy. I also imagine bold stripes don't do much for the figure but...)
So that's it from me. Phew. That was great to get off my chest, although I'm sure I've forgotten heaps. It's been a while since my last post, but there is plenty more stashed away to bring to light on Pippi Creates. I just have to stop crashing at 8.30 at night so I can actually find some time to do things...

Edited to add: The leggings pattern was No.16 from 2/2008 of Ottobre Woman, they came as maternity and non maternity options. Thanks Mary.