new machine

yippy, I am getting a new to me sewing machine... its a Pfaff creative 1471, identical to my Mum's, its very exciting, and hopefully it will arrive tomorrow. Its got some neat features like dual feed which means that both the top and bottom layers of fabric thread through at the same pace, so no more puckered seams, yippy.

Its also got needle down which will be useful for sewing long seams and corners as I will not have to manually put the needle into the fabric to pivot for corners. I am really excited about having a computerised machine too, it will be neat to challenge my skills a bit more.

so yay for new machines and yay to lovely parents who are helping me to purchase it.

D

making like mad

I have spent the last two days sewing.... and the end is in sight, I have three slings nearly completed with a fourth not much behind it.... yay.

I am really nervous about it and hope that I have chosen nice colour combination's. I have added a pic above so any comments would be great. All four slings are made from easy wearing fabrics, they are all either cotton or linen mixes. The first one is orange stripe lining and a retro floral and spot cotton, the second is navy spot with magenta ribbon and rings with a denim coloured lining, the third is blue linen and a contrasting stripe lining with grey ribbon, and the fourth is green and cream linen stripe with a chocolate lining and green ribbon

love D

creating is good.....

I have been on a sewing buzz for the last two weeks, I have made 4 baby slings, 2 dresses for me, some skinny jeans for the girls, a merino top for Ben and one the same for the wee boy.... I also have three skirts cut out as well....

I am really enjoying sewing and have been using fabric out of my stash which is great. I especially am liking sewing merino, its a delicious fabric to work with, it has natural stretch, and its just so easy to sew.

I am planning on challenging myself soon, I have seen some hot pink wool fabric and I could see it making a beautiful knee length coat, so I have decided that I want to get some and try to make a tailored coat, it will mean learning some new skills which will be really good for me.

Its really nice that the girls like that I make them clothes, I remember loving it when Mum and Grandma made us new clothes, we used to get a couple of complete outfits each season which was very exciting. I aren't quite up to that level yet but its nice to be able to make them clothes, and for less than I could buy them. for example I paid $18 for 1.8m of denim, out of that I got a skirt for K and I, a pair of skinny jeans for K and a pair for N, not bad really, 4 items for $18 plus the time it takes me to sew them.

So I am enjoying the value of sewing for our family and the enjoyment of getting compliments on what I make.

D

Black bow designs

I have started creating things for other people, I am unsure whether I want to go far with this and am trying to work out the tax implications of having my own wee business making baby slings and other baby/mummy related stuff.

I have made two baby slings this week, and the new owners love them, one is a ring sling the other a pouch sling, both were relatively easy to make and I enjoyed it, I also made a new ring one for Miss N and I to use, we love it.

I also made myself a dress that is breastfeeding friendly, I absolutely love it, its warm (merino) and stylish and I can easily and discreetly feed our wee girl wearing it.

So what do I do, continue with this and set up a wee business that's all legitimate, or do the under the table thing and hope that I don't get caught, I am leaning towards keeping all my receipts and running a receipt book and keeping 20% of my income aside for tax purposes just in case.

D

making stuff again....

a week ago I unsuccessfully tried to sew... I have noticed when I aren't 100% that my sewing ability goes out the window, as it did that time, but today I have modified what I was trying to do and it worked, yay, now just to make a few modifications and I can make some more for others... I have made an apron type dress with a cowl neck and halter straps, its got a fishtail sort of effect from the centre back, I made it out of an old sari so its quite funky, I just have to find my red belt to go around the middle and its all good. :)

I will post a pic tonight when Bens home so that it shows more accurately what I have made.

thoughts for the day

I have come up with a really cool design for a top/dress, cant wait to get to make one, but it will wait until I have got the kids rooms sorted out, O's is nearly done and the girls shouldnt take too long, its just putting the toys in the toybox etc.

We have been busy sorting out stuff today. Our base to our bed smelled a bit musty so we have covered it in baking soda and left it outside for the day/night. We are getting a new mattress tomorrow which will be really cool, its got latex both sides and pocket springs so should give us a much better sleep than what we are currently getting. I think the bed is one of the reasons why I dont want to go to bed very early, its just really uncomfortable and I hate it.

K has been awesome with her biking, she went over to the park with Ben today and he ended up coming back to get his bike so he could ride with her. I took her on the road for the first time, we biked to get a newspaper, braved one set of lights, and on the way home she got up to 14kph which is rather good for 5yrs on a 16 inch bike.

Lil O has started pointing at things and saying look, its very cute and its a nice way to know what hes seeing thats interesting to him. L is settling back down which is great, she spent most of yesterday with her godmum and M, she didnt want to come home at all.

Am thinking about going to church in the morning. We need to go 20 times during the school year for K to qualify for one of her Girls brigade badges so I had better start making it part of our routine again.

I had a good talk with my Mum today, shes begun reading my ramblings which is quite cool as her and Dad can keep up to date with my mood etc and I feel like I am able to be more honest with them about it, instead of trying to make everything sound great etc.

D

Worn out, but going to stay up and watch tv

Its project runway tonight and I find it quite good to watch, its neat seeing what they come up with each challenge and how they use fabrics etc... my dilemma tonight is whether to watch that or what Gok Wan's how to look good naked.... I think I know how to look good naked, its called artistic use of ones bed sheets :).....

So I will watch Project runway and see if I can get inspired to do some sewing, that after I sort things out for my parents arriving on Thursday next week. I want to make clothing that has a slightly sassy edge on it... thanks E for the new word of the week :) its great.

Whether its through use of fabrics or cut or design, it should be a bit of a challenge for me, I also want to make a couple of apron type dresses/tops that can be thrown over tights or trousers and a top to dress up an outift.

So I am hoping that I will get a small chance to play a bit this weekend....

In other very exciting news K rode home from school to our friends without trainer wheels and after two blocks we were running to keep up with her. I am so proud of her, shes just beaming tonight about it. She also thinks she has a wiggly tooth.... I arent 100% sure if it is or not so we shall see....

I have friends lol

I have had a lovely week, I have spent a couple of days with a new friend of mine and her two wee kiddies, its been really nice having someone to talk to who is similar, and has kiddies the same age as my two youngest. so thanks Clare you are so lovely... I feel similar about another friend who I feel i have connected more with lately.

I have also made a couple of pieces of clothing and yesterday made baby slings for O and Clares wee fella, Nice red ones with black with white dots on the reverse, they are so funky....

I have also dropped my meds dosage to just a holding dose of 20mg, which is really nice, my anxiety is up a wee bit but I am working on lowering that.

And shock horror I have tidied my two living areas this morning and vaccuumed... so am feeling pretty good, next up is attacking the pile of washing.

Ben is away for the weekend doing a landmark forum. I dont know what I think of it, but it means I am home alone till monday morning which will be a huge test for me on how I cope with the kids etc. i also have planned to help with campaigning tomorrow morning, and have girls brigade parade at church for K on sunday morning, so enough to keep us busy.

D

more sewing finished

I have very few RED clothes so needed something to wear this morning campaigning with Iain, so last night I found some red linen in my fabric box and made a very simple red dress, which is going to be great for summer too....

today I made two wee dresses for the girls, they are blue with butterflies and white poplin underskirts with lace around the hems, they look so cute on them.

I havent decided what to make next but am considering some tops for Ben or some wee shorts for O. And possibly some wee dresses for school and kindy for the girls

Its nice to actually be making clothes and for once I arent making mistakes with them, yay.

more finished, more to do

I got one skirt nearly completed when I realised its a bit small, so made a different one out of the same fabric for me, Rebecca inherits the one I have nearly finished.

I also got some red poplin to put under a black floral skirt I am making and some white poplin and broderie anglasie lace for some wee dresses I am going to finish for miss 3 and miss 5, so tonight I am going to do a quick tidy of the mess I have made so far and then continue being creative.

3 garments completed

yay, I have finished a dress for me, and some shorts for the girls, yippy. I had dramas last week with my sewing machine so didnt manage to get anything done, but I got my old machine out and yesterday set about finishing my dress and the shorts I had started.

Today I am going to make a skirt I have cut out, and finish the neckline on a tshirt I have re cut to make look better on me and my bust lol. So more sewing of pink... then I am planning making two wee dresses for the girls, then some shorts for the wee fella, I also want to make a couple of shrug tops for summer and some for the girls too to wear over dresses etc. not for warmth more to give some protection from the sun if it ever shine decently.

so yay for actually finishing something. D

creativity escaped....

had a really tiring day with the kids so havent done any sewing at all, a bit disappointed really but theres not much I could do about it really, lil man has both ears infected so is on antibiotics, and both the girls have colds so it really shouldnt surprise me that I didnt achieve anything at all.

I am hoping that I will get some time to do something tomorrow morning if ben takes the girls to the market to get veges etc, I really want to get something finished, but have been hindered too by the fact I have lost my pink thread that I need, I bought some more yesterday then stupidly left it on my machine when I took it to get fixed. So will change to blue lol, have got a t hsirt that needs its neckline redone, and two wee dresses for the girls to sew.

Have been reading kiwi craft blogs which are really neat, give good ideas for making things, like doilly t shirts and funky tea towel bags etc... there is so much happening out there its really cool to see.

D

feeling creative

I have been sewing... yay, I love the feeling of creating something for the kids or I to wear. I bought some fabric yesterday at spotlight and arthur toyes and some patterns.

Today I cut some out, bike pants for the girls, and a skirt for me, I also have a dress on the go and another skirt I want to make.

I have been using the clothes swap, and reading some of the members blogs, some of their craft work is awesome which inspired me to get moving again and do some sewing. but my sewing machine died this afternoon, not a huge electrical death or anything, it jammed when I was trying to sew some elastic into a skirt, so its off being fixed, thankfully we never got rid of our old one so its back out for use tomorrow.

I find when my mood is down that my creativity escapes, thankfully at the moment, I am in a good frame of mind so sewing is working :).

A friend is going to lend me denise lestrange corbetts biography to read, will be cool to see how her depression interacts with her creativity.

anyway sitting here typing isnt getting anything productive done, I need to sleep too cos the wee fella is sick and between the three kids we were woken 5 times last night.

ahh the joys of parenting, but its worth it when they smile.