There is a story about this Jule top. It was supposed to be all velour like the top in a previous post, but I ran out of velour. I was in a huge panic as this top was for an order (thankfully for a friend). Coincidentally I had been eyeing my La Zagala pink poplin as a match for this velour. I've had it for ages, and like all Euro fabric, it takes me a while to decide to cut it. It's like I have to know it's going to be worthwhile or I won't go near it with a cutter. In the end I was so happy with the result. You can see the back here.
I also made another Jule top in purple velour with Ottobre "Jump" pants to go with it. Now I just need to post it to New Zealand.
Last night instead of sewing I made a cake. It was the easiest cake, and it was delish and beautiful. It was the Tropical Crush Cake from Belinda Jeffery's Mix and Bake. I made it in two layers and used the icing with the recipe. Even the kids ate some of it. We went on a play date today. This friend of Moo's live out at Galston which is NW Sydney. They live on a large block of land and have views over the valley. It is so nice and tranquil there albeit cold at the moment. On the way home I stopped at a roadside stall and bought some potatoes. I had no potatoes at home, but was making a beef casserole for dinner which just has to be served with mashed potatoes. Galston has lots of small farms, so you find lots of roadside stalls. In spring/summer there are always strawberries out there. YUM!
We had a birthday to celebrate. It was for a little girl that we've known since she was born. I was inspired to make this skirt by a top that she already has. I used Farbenmix's Insa pattern, and the fabric was cotton poplin that I had machine dyed. On each panel of the overskirt I appliqued hearts. In some of the hearts I've sewn a button and at the top of the the ruching I've also sewn a tiny bow button. I really love the Insa pattern. It has lots of room for embellishment, but is so nice just simply done.
I made the Farbenmix Jule top for Mollie back in April, and her teacher asked me to make one for her niece. She finally gave me the measurements on Friday and casually mentioned that she was going to Tasmania to see her family on Monday. Well, me being me saw this as a challenge. You know like uni days when I procrastinated until the last second, but this time it wasn't really me procrastinating, it was just pushing to see how fast I could get myself to do it.
This always has drawbacks doesn't it? I had to spend time pondering which size to make because of course the measurements I was given were between the two sizes, but based on the numbers I knew the larger size would swim on the little girl. Then I wanted to make a pair of pants from the extra fabric, so I had to find a pattern which meant looking through my Ottobre magazines. I thankfully found a perfect pair quickly (01/04 #16). But then the devil is in the detail isn't it? In my rush I traced the pants and then found I had forgotten to put the markings for the ribbon. When I went back to put the markings on the pattern, I grabbed the wrong piece. So after midnight on Friday as I'm sewing up these pants I realise that I've sewn ribbon on the the back right pants leg NOT the left front pants leg! ARGH! In the end I decided that it's too hard to unpick the ribbon and I sew a second piece onto the left front leg. At 2am I gave up and went to bed. In the morning I woke up and finished the waistband and hem on the pants.
So here it is...
I've been a neglectful blogger. I've been crafting, but haven't really finished some of the things to take photos of just yet. For now I will share today's work.
Today I had a lovely craft day with my friend, E. She was dyeing some baby clothes. I dyed some silk and flannel pieces to make some blankets. I also dyed a set of rainbow singlets for a friend's son.
The silks and the backing flannels
This ruffled skirt thing started because of my friend Amanda. She made several super cute ruffled skirts for her daughter. She used the tute over at Grand Revival Design.
So this afternoon Mollie and I picked out some fabrics from the stash. Initially Mollie wanted to use a red batik with some other fabric that it didn't coordinate with. I eventually convinced her of this other combination. The decorative bits on the white fabric were like that when I bought it. Please don't think I went sewing Euro ruffles and cut out flower shapes onto the fabric. 
I basically followed the tute. I added a tiny bit to the length and width of the bands because the author said the skirt fit her 5/6 year old which Mollie is, but Moo is taller than average. I used a rolled hem on the bottom of the ruffles. I couldn't help myself and topstitched the seams between the band and the ruffle layer. AND I used my ruffler foot to attach the ruffles to the bands. Because of this I didn't use the length calculations for the ruffle pieces. It's too hard to adjust the ruffler to gather a certain amount.
Here's Mollie modeling...
It's a great little skirt that takes very little time.
I participated in the chocolate swap over at Crafty Mamas. Check out what I received...
The lovely Peta sent it to me. Thank you!
