Done! Done! Done!

Well after a couple of weeks of stressful novice sewing I completed my bridesmaid dresses for my sister's wedding. One for me and one for my little niece. It all started a few weeks ago with a load of avocado and baby pink satin and one pattern that did not have any of my favourite pattern words such as "kwik-sew" - "easy" -"1-hour"...

A lot of pattern cutting, burrowed brows and trying to remember how to construct a garment with outers, inners, interfacing, lining ...

It took a lot of pins to get all the gathering even ...

Inexperience and basically a lot of "no-bloody-idea" moments resulted in a load of handstitching (eg I was told 2 days after finishing that I should have used a ball-point needle!!!) ...

But finally they were finished and we all had a great day celebrating Rosie and Josh's nupitals in Christchurch this weekend. Official photos are still to come out but in the meantime here's Charlie looking such a cutie-pie:

And my dress which I am amazed and pleased with myself at how well-fitted I got the bodice eventually (and which I forgot to photograph before a day of wedding chaos and baby slobber, so it's looking a bit rough folks):

So that is my foray into the life of a seamstress - I'm feeling a bit more upbeat about sewing now and will even attempt to plough though that pile of sewing on the desk. But for now - HIP HIP HOORAY - it's back to knitting folks and the small matter of a bag swap and christmas decoration swap!

My Precious ....

... super, secret sewing project is nearly finished .... phew! ... have met some of my sewing arch-nemesis's (zippers & gathers) along the way but am happy to report I have conquered them and have one final sewing-mountain (circular hem) to defeat and then glory will be mine!!

...allllll mine!! phoar-ha-ha-ha!

Moustache Envy

Happy Movember NZ!

(photo from Sanitarium, who are donating 15c from every jar sale to the Movember Foundation raising funds for Prostrate Cancer and Depression research for men)


Aren't we mad - I mean 'taches went out when Freddie Mercury died - but NZ, always the entrepreneurs, compete and celebrate the hairy fashion statement.



It was Lily's 1st birthday on the weekend so I made her some cupcakes and couldn't resist a little mo action myself!

Thanks goodness I made a few extra too - they sure are helping with my secret squirrel, confusing, sewing project ...

Treasures from the Study Tidy-up

While tidying up my study last week I caught up on my SNB calendar - and lookie here, NZ organic Treliske yarn was in there on 29 Sept! This is really lovely and soft - I knitted a baby blanket for my cousin's bubb with it last year.

And I came across this bit of recycled knitting - using 25mm needles it was tough work and I gave up pretty quickly. Basically you cut old tshirts up into thin strips so they look like rubberbands; then loop the bands together and knit. I think it would make great bathmats but for now this little swatch became PJ's new sunbed (not that she looks very appreciative for it!).

And I caught up on my latest World Sweet World mag - have subscribed for the next 4 issues too as I love the DIY/Craft mix. Check out the cool pants bag!

Have a good weekend all - I am embarking on a top secret, damn difficult sewing project to be revealed in 2 weeks!!

mmm ...Oatmeal!

Wow, feels like months since I actually finished knitting something but here is a FO: big fat cushions, knitted on 25mm needles with The Wool Company's spun sliver in Oatmeal.

There are a few problems with this yarn which means leaves me a bit ho-hum about the project:

a) it's full of paddock extras like gorse, scotch thistle & bark
b) no matter how much essential oil I spray on it - they still smell like sheep-poo!
c) it's very fluffy and matts leaving the fabric looking a worn quickly.

I ended up choosing the wooden side of the buttons instead of the dark brown ... and adding a braid around the edge to tidy it up - looks heaps better and I like it. Looks like I have got the knitting mojo back - in part from freshening up by learning new stitch patterns but also by tidying up my study (you were right Granny G!).