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Showing posts from October, 2013

KCW 10/13 - Day 1 and 2: Angelina Ballerina Tiered Skirt

This Kids Clothes Week is going to be a super boring effort from me.  I am aiming to do mostly sewing for the school fair, so there will be many versions of the same few items... Today and yesterday I started production lining some simple 3 tiered skirts from some Angelina Ballerina fabric I have had for yonks. I have cut out enough for four skirts - sizes 2, 3, 4 and 5.  I nearly reconsidered the smaller sizes but I checked if Issy (aged a very grown up six) still liked Angelina and she said "yeah not really".  A little piece of me died inside :) A larger piece of me nearly karked it when I experienced the ultimate panic of my 0 foot for my Bernina being missing.  MUCH frantic searching and swearing ensured. Where's Wally? It had fallen kind of down the side of the foot case to make me look stupid for looking everywhere else. These skirts are pretty simple.  I serged the strips together, plus top and bottom of the top and bottom tier.  Then gathered eac

Things I don't like but everyone else seems to...#1 Liberty

Welcome to my new series "Things I don't like but everyone else seems to...".  As a nice person (I believe), I wasn't sure if I should write this series.  Then I realised I was taking it all far too seriously and as long as I remember Wheaton's Law (Don't be a Dick) I will be fine :) SO - on to the series.  Note there will likely be few or no pictures in these posts - they are just me wittering. Things I don't like but everyone else seems to #1 is a biggie.  It's liberty fabric. I can hear the collective in-drawing of breath and shaking of heads.  It's obviously a failing in my taste as everyone else raves about it, but I just don't get it.  I like some of the prints (mostly if they are small scale and colours I am drawn to) but mostly they seem outdated or too busy or just too floral.  Classic liberty for me is just meh. I don't hate it, but I don't understand the serious love there is out there for it. Phew!  That wasn't s

Sew Sweetness Park West Bag - or my most growned up-ist bag ever!

I recently had the chance to pattern test the Park West bag from Sew Sweetness (coming soon!) Like all of Sara's bag patterns this one is well designed and a great looking result.  Her bag patterns have been raising my standards and techniques with each one I get to test, and this one was no exception. I decided to step it up a notch in this one and take the gamble on making it mostly (for the exterior) out of leather!  I have always wanted to work with leather and am well aware that two of my machines (1927 Singer and Bernina 1130) would have no issues sewing it.  I wanted to replace my main black "work handbag" as it is looking tired and the clasp doesn't shut anymore.  So naturally I went into Country Leather in Elizabeth street and found an amazing, soft, printed leather in brown tones...no black bag for me this time! Beautiful Singer sews beautiful leather... Both my machines did super well with the leather and other fabrics and here is the result.  I