Never say never

Silk/Flannel blankets were one of the first items that I ever made for sale. I guess it's sort of fitting they are the last things I've made for customers. I'm not saying that I'm never going to sew for others, but I'm definitely having a break. How long? I don't know.

I've always made two different styles of blanket. One is low water immersion dyed (LWI) This style isn't as visually striking as the tie dyed rainbow mandalas, but it's very lush. I use a sand wash silk for these blankets which is softer and suits the pastel mottled colours.



Then there is the bright, bold rainbow mandalas. The mandalas are dyed on a 12mm silk habutae.

Winter woolies

This all started because I bought Will a couple of merino tops from Eureka a couple of years ago, and he's outgrown them. One top was a ribbed merino knit and the other was ahoodie.

The top on the left is the new one and the one on the right is Will's old one. Excuse the look of the top. It had been worn two days in a row which is always a good sign here!

I used the Sewing Clothes Kids Love Imke pattern. I used my overlocker for all of the seams and my coverstitch for all of the hems. With the hood I turned the hem back 2cm instead of folding it over twice as per the pattern instructions.

Here's Miss Moo modeling her top. Yet again this is after she'd worn the top the day before.

If the top seems a bit roomy on her, this is intentional. I sized up for both of the kids to get as much wear as possible.

Now I'm thinking I want something for me out of merino jersey.

Surry Hills Shopping

Every so often I go out shopping with a friend of mine. We usually have an agenda like checking out some new places or hunting down something. My friend wanted to see some interior design/homewares shops in Surry Hills.

I wanted to go to The Fabric Store. I'd been wanting some merino knit to make some tops for the kids. Will had a couple of tops from Eureka which were really great, but I didn't want to pay NZ$80 for a hoodie that I could easily sew myself. The Fabric Store's website says they stock merino wool knits, and they do! There weren't all colours of the rainbow, but there was a nice assortment of colours. They were $28-$36/m which I thought was reasonable.

The stripe knit was only $10/m. It's a cotton/spandex.

Now what pattern do I use? Farbenmix Imke or do I look through all of my Ottobre Design magazines?

Since we were in Surry Hills, I took the opportunity to pop into Chef's Warehouse.

I think I see some baking in my future. Probably something chocolaty!

Does she really need it?

Yes, Moo does need another rainbow top. She's outgrowing her rainbow sleeve Antonia top, and I didn't like the rainbow sleeve Zoe top. So after my success with the C*Z*M Mareena top, I thought I'd use the Mareen pattern for Moo.

Excuse the dirt at the hem. She wore the top to school before I had a chance to photograph it.
The kids always like photos of them together. Will looks like he's about to bite Moo on the neck.

Mother's Day

This morning I rolled out of bed and popped cinnamon rolls into the oven. I had prepared them the night before. Col made coffee, and we lounged around in the morning.

Then I reminded the family about my present. Yes, I buy my presents. I bought the glass bowl for my mixer. Never mind that I own 3 stainless bowls for my Kitchen Aid, one of which is engraved with my name (thanks Mom!).


This afternoon we did some gardening. I pruned my lemon, we weeded underneath the lemon and lime trees. I fed the trees and then we put down mulch.


We then planted some herbs in the planters out front and hacked back the umbrella plant.

BEFORE

AFTER


Thyme and Rosemary


Parsley, Coriander and Chives


And while I was out front, I snapped a photo of our solar panels. Cool, eh?


I made dinner too. I'd prefer to eat at home where we can be relaxed. I cooked a yummy Gundooee rib cutlet which we ate with truffled mash, roast beetroot and pumpkin, and of course, a nice red wine, Tamburlaine 2003 Syrah to be exact.

The love is gone

It is, and it's weird because I've nurtured this love. Perhaps I've made myself believe it was there or perhaps I've had a dose of reality. I don't know. But what I do know is that I have lost the love of sewing for others. I know the catalyst for this feeling. It's the new job. The new job is wonderful. I had no idea how much I missed that sort of stimulation, and to add to that to feel wanted and to be remunerated for my experience and knowledge. So if you ask me how I feel about my "new" job, I love it. I think that is where the love went. It moved on.

But at the same time I don't want to let go, but I can't see myself actively pursuing or even accepting sewing & dyeing work because if I do it means that I can't sew for me and the family. In the past I used to feel guilty when I'd take time out to make Mollie or Will something because I should be working on something else. As I sit here and type this I can see the Hilco poplin that has been sitting on a chair for 6 months that is intended for a Manhattan dress. It's been patiently waiting. Waiting too long. What else is on the chair? Some really cute fabric from Ikea that I bought to make myself a skirt. The cut out pajama pants for me that need to be sewn. The Leni and Roberta patterns that I traced out at SIT for Moo. So much has been pushed aside. It's making me wonder what else around the house has been getting pushed aside.

Nothing really changes nothing about the blog because it has never really been about business. It's about what I make, and that isn't going to stop. In fact I hope that I can make more fun and wonderful stuff because I like making crazy colourful clothing. I can spend the time to mull over designs and I can use my European fabrics with freedom because I won't have to consider how much they add to the final cost. It's good.

Speaking of fun and colourful, I made these two hoodies recently.

Pattern: Farbenmix Quiala
Fabric: Hand dyed cotton/spandex French terry
Embroideries: Florafox by Luzia Pimpinella (available at Huups.de)



Pattern: Farbenmix Imke (old paper pattern, not SCKL)
Fabric: Hand dyed cotton/spandex French terry
Embroidery: Florafox



Just an interesting fact, doing the embroideries for these two tops took 4 hours.

What is this world coming to?

Two posts in one day? Nope, that's not what I'm talking about. Today I picked up the newest Sookie Stackhouse book in Kmart. The official release date of this book is May 3, and I have it here in Australia before that date.

And the Aussie dollar hit $1.10 today. I still can't believe that the Aussie dollar is worth more than the American dollar.

Tonight's Dinner

I've had a hankering for lasagna for a while. I tried this recipe a few years ago, and I really like it. It reminds me of my cousin's lasagna (yes, you Melissa!). I don't add all the veggies, and I also do what the reviews say and make twice the sauce.


This is my first blog photo with my new camera. Not a perfect shot, but I also didn't take the time to set it up. I've finally bought myself a compact camera which I am going to carry around with me. I'm hoping to be able to take photos of places I go, so that I can share more.