New Shoes

My mother held these hostage until I set up the webcam. She wanted to see her grandchildren. Gosh, some grandparents are so demanding. I wanted my shoes. She got her way although it did take us months to do something simple like set up Skype.  Not always as easy as you might think because we're a Linux household.

These shoes are from the Project Red artist series. This pair was designed by Amy Ruppel. I'm so happy to have them here now.

Today is my grandmother's birthday. I wish she was still around to see her namesake, but then again Mollie wouldn't have been called Mollie if my grandmother was alive. It's a weird Eastern European Jewish thing. You don't name people after living relatives.

I'm a nail biter

I can tell that I am really stressed because my nails are becoming nonexistent.  The house stuff is coming along.  Getting the floorboards polished is going to be a huge endeavour.  It's the one big hurdle that we have.  I'm trying to coordinate a few different things around here to happen.

Anyway, blah, blah, blah.  I have sewn a few things that I want to share.  They are for the Crafty Mamas Congo Cart.  I'm not sure if I am even supposed to be talking about it.  I'll definitely let you know when it launches.

A couple of Imke tops from hand dyed cotton/spandex French terry.  This is the 'old' Imke pattern, not the regraded one in SCKL.  The girl version has Luzia Pimpinella's Peace & Love embroideries.  Enjoy the Love Bus here because I don't think you'll see it again for a while.    The boy version is embellished with Jolijou's Little Devil embroideries.

Front

Back

Sleeves

An Apple Lore set. Embroidery by Luzia Pimpinella - Flotti Frutti

A Strawberry Lore top with SommerLiebe skirt. Embroidery by Luzia Pimpinella - Flotti Frutti

Getting there

Here are a couple of sneaky peeks of my kitchen. Countertop and sink still have to be put in, but we are getting there!

My pantry...I don't know if you can understand what bliss this will be for me. My food stuff was stored in our tiny kitchen and in our old laundry. Now everything will be in one room with super cool huge drawers that pull out. Although I have to admit that in the bottom drawer will go all my Tupperware. No more crouching down and digging through the cupboard. Hurray!

Lucky 13

First up I have to admit that I have in my possession Sewing Clothes Kids Love.  I've had it for a week now.

The only reason that I haven't posted about it is because I haven't had time to sit down and gush in writing. The book is a visual feast. The patterns are fabulous and Nancy's advice is super. Really if you want to know how I sew, buy the book.

Mollie's pick is the Brooklyn Shrug. I had to giggle. I think she choose that because she doesn't have anything like it, plus she likes the look of it. Or perhaps she thinks the dress is part of the package?

I'd really like to make the Manhattan Special Occasion Dress. Every so often I like to make something that has a bit more detail and is just 'special'. Unfortunately I think I'll have to wait a few months until I can tackle it. (yes, because of this darn renovation - next post has some exciting piccies though!)

And my skirt and top are on page 13. I've been married 13 years. We just celebrated our anniversary this week.

Thank you so much to Nancy for including my skirt and top in her beautiful book. I am so honoured to be part of something so wonderful.

The book is excellent value with 10 great patterns. If you've been reading my blog for a while. you know I am fan of Imke. I've also enjoyed making Insa, Dortje and Feliz in the past. I'm really looking forward to making the Brooklyn pieces, the Silver Lake Windbreaker and Manhattan Dress. If are you are a lover of Farbenmix, you will want to have this book. If you've been thinking about trying out a Farbenmix pattern then you should seriously consider buying this book.

Back in the land of the living

I'd been bitten. Bitten by the reading bug. I have to admit that I don't read books all that often because I find that I get consumed by the story and then all I want to do is read. It started with the recommendation of True Blood from my Crafty Mamas. So I bought and watched Seasons 1 & 2. I like an interesting story and to be honest I'm a goth on the inside, so I'm totally cool with the whole vampire/supernatural genre. After watching True Blood I ordered the Sookie Stackhouse books upon which the series is based. Currently there are 9 books. I've now read them all. I was supposed to wait for the plasterers to start because I can't sew while they are doing that type of work, but I started reading, and I couldn't stop.

So now I need to play a bit of catchup. In the first week of February I went to The Craft Room meet for the Hills/Norwest area. I thought it would be good to get outside of my usual craft circles. It was a fabulous and diverse group of women. If you look at the pictures in my link, you will see the back of me. I didn't actually spend that much time chatting because I was cutting out an outfit that was going to be a baby gift which I will share with you now since it's gone to its home.

All the pieces are from the Farbenmix Zwergenverpackung. The top is Hilco's pink rayure knit. The dress is Robert Kaufman Cool Cords in an apple print. The leggings are cotton/spandex knit.

It's been really rainy and wet, so I haven't managed to take photos of the other things I've made lately.

And the house, it still incomplete. I'm completely over it. I really hope we see some major happenings here in the next couple of weeks. My mother arrives at the end of March. The house just has to be finished by then!

Self absorbed

I've been sewing and not sharing. Partially because I've made a couple of journal covers for some friends, so it's like same, but different. I've also made a couple of Imke tops. I have a few pictures of the 'girl' top, but I've neglected to take photos of the 'boy' top. I have had all the best of intentions to get the kids to model, but it's been a big week here as school has started for the year. No time in the mornings for distractions and in the afternoon I have super tired kids.

I've also been writing.  I wrote some tips for sewing with knits. They are over on Carolyn's blog. She's hosting the 12 months, 12 sewing Challenges. February's Challenge is Sewing with Knits. If you are visiting me from Carolyn's blog, feel free to leave me a comment or send me email if you want any assistance!

For Suzanne

For Lynda

Lynda is a photographer, so she asked me to find a camera for her journal cover. I wish Lynda lived closer, so I could swap with her for some photos of my creations. Brissie is just a bit too far.

Here's a sneaky peeky at the girly Imke...