Last November, at craft camp...

More sewing I did ages ago but which has only just been 'grown into to'- it's much nicer to show you photos with Little Miss A modelling them.

This is another Ottobre pattern- from the 4/2011 edition, design number 6. There is a dress version as well.
It was really easy to sew up, not many pieces and some feature shirring around the neckline- I love shirring! 

I made these at Sewjourn last November- maybe next year I will show you what I made at Sewjourn in May!
I remember I didn't know if I was getting a niece or a nephew at that stage- now we have this lovely girl in our lives.  Also, with this pattern, I got to play with my friend's fun and fancy snap press gizmo to make nappy access easy along the inner leg seam. 

Oh- and on a totally different topic- if you have a good internet connection, and you take it for granted, please take a moment today to appreciate it, on my behalf! I love blogging and would love to do it more, but when I get to my computer, stuff around with our slow and inconsistent internet trying to upload photos...well, it causes me much frustration and grumpiness- which makes it not as fun as it could be! One day we might get broadband here...in the meantime, I suspect I will continue with my irregular updates!

Some sewing

After doing a quick flick through my most recent posts (and by recent, I am using the term rather broadly!) I realised that not enough of my sewing is making it onto here, and you may be forgiven for thinking I like the garden more than the craft room.
In December we were lucky enough to have this little one join our family. How fun to have a new niece to sew for.

I made her this top- I'd forgotten how little babies are and I was misguided in thinking it might fit her for Christmas...this is several months later. It's an Ottobre pattern which I have used before and really like...can't quite remember which issue (edited to add- it's 1/2009, design 7)- but if you want to know leave a comment and I will hunt it out.

And here's the quilt I made her. 

I had 'instructions' so was slightly nervous that it wouldn't be what was hoped for. 

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I also realised that I'd be a crap artist if I had to do commission pieces for a living!
Below is the back. Hmm, could've made an effort with the iron, couldn't I!

 The thing I like most about this quilt is the ruffle- I was playing with my new ruffler foot.

Project 5 and some little sewing

This little dress was started at Sewjourn, which feels like AGES age, it was finished shortly after but I haven't blogged about it because I wanted to wait till I met the recipient (Isabel), and gave it to her (well, her mother, really) before I blogged about it. Isobel flew over the Pacific for a few weeks in December, I met her briefly and had a cuddle- she's very lovely (I meant to ask her mum if I can put a photo of her up here, but haven't yet- I will edit this to add one once I have spoken to Nat).

I really enjoyed choosing the fabric for this little Oliver and S "Ice Cream Social Dress". When I was in America, I stayed with Natasha for a few days and she took me to Mood in New York (now there's a store to be awe struck and overwhelmed by, it was pretty amazing). Nat likes fabric. I know she likes orange, and I wanted to include some of me in it- so it was the apples in tangerine, and in green -funny that you can have apples in tangerine and lime, really, huh. How appropriate that the fabric range it comes from is called 'Farmers Market' (designed by Sandi Henderson). 
I asked Nat's sister, Amy what colours Nat likes and she said something like 'vintagey type hues'- or that's what I took it as. So the floral and the pocket fabric completed the fabric choosing- and I forget what range either of those are from.
The other thing I made for little Izzy is project 5 from the Tanya and Nicole project- I didn't take a photo of it- oops. but Nikki did, it's over here. Nikki was generous with her interfacing knowledge- and it was SO GOOD to see her get her hands onto it and fold, bend, squash etc to see how the different interfacings responded (cause I like that inexact, it depends how it feels kind of style).  That was where I first made up a bit of a swatch pack for my different interfacings...and a new appreciation took hold (yep, I want to be the interfacing apprentice!).
So, there's a few older sewing projects...crafting with the girls on Saturday night so hopefully I will get something done and remember that sewing is my hobby and I love it...me and sewing have both been on holidays at this house- and not together!
I am back to work tomorrow, I have had such a nice break, relaxed, restorative. Ahhhh. 


Crochet update: thanks to those of you who pointed me towards the left handed crochet tutes on youtube- I was listening to one and my girl said- "Are you actually watching that video about how to crochet?", "Yep", she said "but you already know how to crochet" (she's seen my chain stitch- bless her!), I said "kind of, but I don't actually know alot, there's alot to learn" and she replied "you don't need to know everything, you know"