Sorry, more pics of me and my moon tan legs!

 I had to put that title, as I even I didn't know how white my legs were until I saw these! Can you tell I don't sun bake? At least I have a low chance of skin cancer on my legs teehee

My goal for this year (not a resolution, just a little goal) is to make more of my work wardrobe. I mainly wear pants and tee shirts, in winter with cardigans, and of course the skirts I made. But I wanted much more handmade work clothes that bought! So this post is to show off my three tee shirts I made, and the pants I am now living in!

These are the fabrics "Santa" put under the tree from Rathdowne Fabrics (well, actually, I did, and they weren't wrapped and I paid for them. Thanks anyway, Santa!) They were all different weights which made it interesting! I didn't end doing a production line because of that, but they were still pretty quick.

This is the pattern.... again!

This is a slightly 'slinky' fabric, ie I think it has a fair bit of polyester in it. Little Miss told me it was swimsuit fabric, but definitely not like the bathers I made her! I was worried the higher amount of polyester would make it a bit smelly at the end of a sweaty day, but I wore it to work all day and it's fine! And very comfortable. I left the waistband cuff at the bottom for this one, and love the sleeve cuffs, they are just so comfortable! Oh, and the fabric was quite cheap as it was a remnant.

 

The 2nd one is a thick cotton Lycra, about $10 a metre, I may have gotten a metre and a half, I cant remember. This fabric is the bomb! So spongy and comfy, and even on the hot day Monday I was cooool as a cucumber! The other reason these fit so well is I've lost a bit of weight and went down a size on the tee, so they fit a lot better I've realised!

  

And finally a black on- much batter than the one here, the fabric in the last one was too thin and had holes in the armpits from the needle along the seam. This is a touch thinner than the white cotton Lycra, still soft and lovely though. I left the waistband off this one (got lazy by the end) and used the twin needle for the hem; if it's not as comfy when wearing, I'll add the waistband back on.

Lookit that fit! My next job is new shorts, I'm sick of the sight and the wearing of these ones! But they were op shopped for a few dollars and have lasted a few years, so I shouldn't complain!

Tips for sewing with Lycra? Overlocker! (or serger). The top shiny fabric I still sewed the seams on the machine then overlocked with 4 threads; knowing how the last one got holes and the wear and tear I hope to get out of these, I didn't think I could reinforce the seams enough! And practice. We all fear something before we try it, then it's lots of practice, and being prepared to chuck out the fails!  I expect many more fails as I learn all about sewing stretch fabric!

Oh, a stretch needle too is great.

I also ran up some new pants from this pattern (which was half price at the last Spotlight sale = $2.50) and some of the ex-curtain fabric I was gifted from my daughters school (don't think I blogged that- I was told to 'take what I want' and ended up with about 10mts! It was going in the bin after all....)

They are The. Best. Pants! Elastic waisted, so no stressing your fly is undone all day! Yes, I have entered the 'stretch oant' stage of my life I think...letting it all hang out!

Outfit one TICK

 

 I've been on a bit of a bathers run- (or swimmers/cossies/togs or whatever you call them! So many different names according to what State you come from it seems!) I've made some before, and Little Miss loves them, especially the Rashie top I made her. A shop bought Rashie top lasted 1 term of swimming, it stretched and was ruined by the chlorine despite me rinsing them straight away and washing as soon as we got home, so the better quality Lycra from Rathdowne Fabrics (from Zimmerman and other designer houses) will hopefully last a bit longer! And a LOT cheaper!

Pants from this pattern (well worth the pattern price  all that time ago!)

 and tops from this pattern

 I pulled out the twin needle for the hems- lovely!

I added the neckband on the tops this time, for extra protection. And it may reduce the neckline stretching a bit. (last t-shirt I made here)

 She can mix and match to her hearts content!

 Oh, and a little extra to keep the hair out of the face and goggles. A Lycra 'scrunchie'!

Look out for a lollie clad kid at a beach near you!

Single Girl Style....

Well, I may well be calling 2012 the Year of The Single Girl Quilt. I think it may have taken me that long!

This time a year ago in this space I unveiled a finished quilt, and surprisingly so I'm doing it again! And they are both for meeeeeeee!

I don't even know when I started it, A Long Long Time Ago though. The piecing of the rings coincided with a Buffy The Vampire Slayer marathon, I remember that! And I started hand quilting about 6mths ago. It wasn't the most portable project, and has taken up too much room on my couch for the whole time! I've been bugging my Instagram mates with it for yonks, and they have actually kept me going the whole way- I did feel like giving up a few times, packing it away for the UFO pile...nah, too stubborn! So I gave myself the deadline on New Years Eve 2012 (about a week ago I set that one) and I did it- with about 2 hours to spare!

The binding was a tough choice- and it wasn't. I'd been assuming I'd do a scrappy vintage sheet binding, keeping with the rest of the fabrics (all vintage sheets sourced from op shops or friends. Beige Homespun from Lincraft). But I remembered a binding I'd seen on a blog that at the time I went 'ping'- that is it! And the Spotlight sale was on too haha. 

Once I'd finished I realised the significance of using a DS Quilts Spotlight fabric on a Single Girl Quilt!

I retired to the bedroom yesterday to hand stitch the binding- after hand quilting it, it was the least I could do!

By the end I have fully embraced the thimble- the Clover adjustable one was on the left hand for the quilting, the right for the binding.

 

Company followed me- she enjoyed laying on it during the making, she seems desperate to get a snuggle now it's done!

It was washed (finally! 6mths on the couch with a cat laying on it left it a bit whiffy) and hung out overnight- so this sight met me when I got up late morning.

 Hang on, you didn't quite see how big it is? (king size if you're wondering. In for a penny, in for a pound!)

 A daylight shot- no filters! Check out that binding- perfect, non?

 

and the size on the bed! Oh, the backing was obviously pieced from 4 vintage sheets- had the kiddo's help on that one!

  One way...

Or the other.

 The vintage sheet doona cover has a friend :)

 

Even folded back it looks great- the hand quilting (pattern supplied with the pattern) just makes it for me!

It called and called today, but I was very good at resisting the nap- going to look forward to bed tonight!

PS Hopeless at  finding links tonight- any questions just ask!

Pinterest not required....

So yesterday became "The Great Room Reno" of 2012 in our house. I was getting a bit sick of these sights...

 before

 during

I knew the layout that would probably work the best, and after a spontaneous trip to Typo during their post Christmas sale I got some inspiration (hence not needing Pinterest, which I wish I had time for, but am kinda glad I dont at the same time!)

It was cleaned to within an inch of its life- who knew those sheer curtains weren't grey?

 This cute little frame (with no hooks on the back- grrr!) was pretty easy to make- I had to stick it up with Command adhesive strips so crossing my fingers they all hold!

 here are the fixin's if you're interested....

  and the wall decals were redcued to $5 each, so some little messages were added.

 great button clock by Brianna

  

and a clever place for all the tacky posters hehe

 So overall I'm pretty happy with it. A few finishing touches such as recovering the pink notice board (her brief was 'no pink' in the room!) and teaching her to keep the desk tidy! I think seeing it from the door might be a good reminder? Fingers crossed....

 

Oh, and my knitted bunting has been rejected! I think she was humoring me there, it was really my taste :) But as I dont have anywhere else to put it, I thought a giveaway was needed- so if this floats your boat, leave a comment saying you're interested and i'll draw a winner? I'm no good as setting time frames (well, sticking to them anyway) so a week or two?

 A bit of redecorating to bring in the New Year is good fun!

Xmas sewing

So it wasn't a big frenzy of sewing this year, I had a few little things to make, and could easily do them over the Xmas break. The things for me, of course, have all had to wait though :(

I had a Kris Kringle (or Secret Santa) gift to make for my work Xmas party- which I left at home on the night, so my boss ended up getting it, she being the one who handed them all out and got the last one! I based it on this tutorial- really fun and a great scrap buster! Suffice to say my boss was pretty happy with it! (phew!)

 I wanted to make my sister something, and ended up making 2 of them so she could pick the fabric she wanted! I bought this pattern when they had a sale recently, a pdf download, and used my new fave spray glue with it (told you I was obsessed!) The yellow leather wasn't the best choice, a bit too stiff, but the soft blue one was lovely.

 I'll try and get a pic of the back one that she chose next time I see her!

Oh, Henry got some Christmas pants to wear on Christmas Day- they are a 0-3mth size and fit him perfectly in the leg at 2weeks of age! Uh-oh....

This was what "Santa" brought me for Xmas...

Now to stop making things for everyone else and spend some time on me...maybe.

Oh, a sneak peek at Henry's mobile I put together on Boxing Day! I think there will be much better pics when it's up and against the white wall (nudge nudge to the B.I.L to hang it!)

I'll do a 'proper' post then (I've been 'Gramming it a bit, I'm 'becsibbi' over there if you want to find me).

Flat Cap

I kept forgetting to blog this one, and Carmel reminded me today! Cam made one too, and a few others I don't think have blogged it yet.

It's available as a instant download, which I've found is a great quick way to get a pattern! No trawling the shops/ordering online and waiting for postage. 

This took me a few hours, mainly fabric choice being the hardest decision, of course! Not having made one of these hats before, or worn one really, I went with a medium/heavy denim- in hindsight, not the best fabric! It all worked fine- eventually! But I love how it turned out, so worth persisting with a heavier fabric. Just throw on your walking foot and use a denim needle.

This pattern also uses my fave new obsession- this stuff is the bomb! I've used the Birch brand one before, and it was really smelly and sticky- this is the opposite. I even basted all of Henry's quilt with it- inside! Amazing stuff.

Anyway, back to the hat! 

  

She's such a better looking model than me!

The lining was a repurposed shirt from the stash. A bit of poly/cotton/rayon-ey stuff, worked perfectly.

 Thanks for the challenge and all the tips I learnt with this one, Nikki!