Wow it’s been a while…

So much has happened in the last two years, where do I begin?

Firstly, the quilt for R and M was finished, posted and is now being used by their cat. As all good quilts should be. The dress got to the point where the skirt needed to be attached to the bodice. Then it got put into a box because I moved to the UK!!!!

 

Now I’m back from the UK and have been reunited with my mothers sewing machine. Mine is in a lock up somewhere. We’ve been back in the country for just over two week and there is already a new project in the works. More about that at a later date. Let’s just say that by the end of this I WILL be the ruffle queen!

 

In the mean time, here are a few snippets of what I have done in the mean time….

Quilt top finished!

Today I woke up and did not feel great at all. So the decision was made to stay home in the hopes that a rest day would help me recover and be back at work sooner. I also don’t like infecting my colleagues. Where I work it is considered most uncool to infect everyone else.

This meant there was some time to do some sewing! When my friends R and M got married in 2013, their wedding present was going to be something to throw over the couch. Last Australia Day I finally started it. Using a selection of blues with a red and yellow thrown in for pop value and this pattern fro Quiltville. The result can be seen below.

Now to decide on the border, back and binding!

It’s taken 18 months but I’m on the way!

New projects

Over the summer break I started two new projects. One was a quilt and the other was a dress. There are many projects lurking in my brain but these two came about due to my aims this year.

Firstly, I should really make those wedding presents for the friends who got married over a year ago… Luckily the second anniversary is cotton!

Secondly, I hate shopping for pants. They never fit right and if they do then I don’t like them.

So I had a trawl through Spotlight. The one near me isn’t great however they were having a 3 patterns for $10 sale. I came out with these three.

3 patterns for $10 woo!

There are a selection of dresses and a pair of fitted pants. Yes. You read it. Fitted pants for a plus sized lady. In these patterns I’m a size 24 but in the shop I’m closer to an 18-20. Butterick haven’t changed their sizing in many years so the sizing is old school… I don’t have an issue with that, they just need to do more things in the bigger sizes.

My first project is a dress. Specifically this dress.

First dress project

In this fabric.

love at first sight

There have been a few trials along the way. Tension is a new and exciting thing. I’m used to working with cotton so getting this to not pucker was trial and error until I asked the internet. Turns out that when I overlock I need to pull the fabric through and when it’s a straight stitch seam, just let the machine take it.

Whilst completing this dress I have learned many things. Some of them are:

• Tension is important.
• Mismatched thread isn’t always a bad thing.
• The seam ripper is your friend
• Sewing in a straight line is hard!
• Undersewing makes your finished product look extra schmancy

I’ve just finished unpicking the entire skirt so once that is reattached I just need to add the elastic in the waist, hem and finish the shoulders. Then it’s time to give it a test run at work!

Sewing time!

New beginnings

All great things started as an idea. All poor things also started as an idea. Years ago I joined the blogging world as a food blogger and Daring Baker. I learnt new techniques and made some new friends. In the last few years I seemed to have lost my passion for baking. It’s still there and whilst I still indulge every now and then, I have other interests that I wish to pursue. 

 

Growing up, I learnt how to embroider, sew, crochet and knit. I wasn’t until 4 years ago when my godson was born that I felt the urge to learn how to quilt. There are several quilts out there already with my name on it. Unfortunately I did not document the creation processes at the time. Here I wish to document the fun I have with fabric as I create, explore and be inspired by others.