Victoria Ruffled Clutch (and a pattern sale or two!)

I love to make gifts. I wish a were a little more organised and could do it more often. I really should write down friends birthdays so I can plan and make things for them. I tend to leave things to the last minute though and end up having to buy something.

I made these two clutched for two of my Sisters in law. I totally fell in love with them and didn’t want to give them away. I think I will be ordering some more fabric to make another for myself!

  

The pattern is the Victoria Clutch by I think Sew. The are having a sale at the moment…50% off all patterns! I bought up big yesterday!

The fabric is a linen blend I purchased off an Esty store called Unique Shiny and it comes from South Korea. This was the second time I had purchased from this store and both times it has come well packed and really quickly too. Lots of gorgeous stuff in her store so be sure to check it out.

While we are on the topic of sales sewingpatterns.com is having a sale on Simplicity patterns, they are only 99c each! Postage is a killer but for 10 patterns I paid $3.70 each including postage which is pretty good!

Happy Christmas!

I hope you have all had a wonderful day with friends and family! We have and now everyone in my house is fast asleep. I should be too but I do enjoy the quiet!

Vintage FQ Giveaway winner!

And the winner is…..comment 133!(via random.org)

Steph said...

I can't get enough of vintage fabrics! Thanks for the giveaway!

Thanks Steph I will be in contact and will get your prize in the post soon!

Give Away! - CLOSED

This giveaway is now closed
The winner is comment 133

Steph said...

I can't get enough of vintage fabrics! Thanks for the giveaway! 

I totally forgot about giveaway day! I think I was a little preoccupied with those scarves! Anyway, better late than never I say.
I have these 7 vintage FQ’s in blues and greens to give away. They are mostly cut from sheets I think and would look gorgeous incorporated into a quilt or bag or even as a feature on a little girls dress.

How to enter

• All you need to do is leave a comment, simple as that!
  
• I am willing to ship internationally
  
• Please leave your email address if it isn’t already linked to your profile.
  
• Entries will close 12 midday EDST on Saturday 17th Dec (this is equal to 5pm 16th Dec PST as per Sew Mama Sew guidelines)

I will email the winner by Sunday, you will have 3 days to get back to me and then I will draw another so make sure you check your emails!

Don't forget to head over to Sew Mama Sew and enter some of the other giveaways too!

EXTREME KNITTING!

So you know that list I made? Well I haven’t done anything off it! I don’t know what gets into me but I think I am just ultra good at procrastinating! Seeing a gorgeous scarf a fellow Raveler had made for her daughters teacher I was inspired to do the same. This was a week ago…and no it wasn’t just 1 scarf, it was THREE! Elsa has two gorgeous assistants in the class and I wanted to make one for each of them too.

My lovely friend Jess came to my rescue and made one of them for me which was wonderful as I wouldn’t have got a third done in time. The other two were up to me to make. I finished the first on Monday, hmmm that is 2 days until school finishes..could I do it? Not one to walk away from a challenge I was up late on Monday casting on the 3rd scarf. Tuesday my house…well lets just say than not a lot got done. Elsa was very good at telling the other girls that I was busy knitting for her teachers so I got quite a bit done but I didn’t actually cast off until this afternoon at 1:00pm!! I had to leave to pick Elsa up at 2:00pm! It NEEDED blocking. The lace wasn’t open at all and it would curl up and twist! So I washed it in hot water and put it in the washing machine for a good spin then i pinned it out under the heat pump(turned right up!) and got out the hairdryer! I am happy to say that an hour later it was dry and wrapped!

CLEARANCE SALE!

Some of you might know that I run a little business on the side selling pettiskirts and sometimes some other little girls clothes. Tonight from 8pm EDST I will be having a clearance sale! We are moving house and I don’t want to take it all with me. Some items will be 50% off so there will be plenty of bargains to be had to head on over to Princess Boo and pick up something for Christmas for your little girl.

Giveaway Day!

Sew, Mama, Sew! Is hosting a giveaway day on Dec 12th. If you want to join in then head over and read all the details and be sure to call back here on the 12th to see what I am going to giveaway!

She’s making a list…

…she’s checking it twice

Ok so I am not Santa but I tell you what, a few of those helpers would be lovely this time of year.

This year I am making quite a few of my gifts. I am afraid a few of them won’t be able to be shared here until after they are given as the recipients might see them!

I can however share my list of what I plan to make for my girls. They are too young to read my blog!

The older two are getting Australian Girl Dolls for their main gift. They arrived yesterday and they are SO gorgeous! My husband thinks I bought them for myself and just maybe there is a little bit of truth to that. I know if we had a son he would be buying toys for himself too!

The dolls need clothes and so do my girls so I plan a few matching outfits! I have ordered this pattern and both of the older girls will be getting this dress with a matching one for the dolls.

Source: modkidboutique.com via Meika on Pinterest

Source: modkidboutique.com via Meika on Pinterest

I love the circle skirt for how easy it is to make and how gorgeous the finished product is and my girls love how they twirl so I have matching skirts planned for them too. I am hoping to be able to make an Eden singlet to match as well.

Eve will also be getting a dress and some clothes for her teddy. They won’t be matching but at 22 months I am sure it won’t be an issue. I have chosen the Ice Cream Dress by Oliver + S for her. I have ordered fabric in 4 different plain colours and plan to make hers like view B with a different colour for each strip.

I hope to be able to fit in a Milo and a Rainbow dress or two for the dolls as well…I will see how I go I think as I have to knit a shawl and sew a few other gifts as well!

I do so love surprises!

Don’t you just love getting a surprise parcel in the mail. It really doesn’t happen that often but it is so so exciting when it does. I have a lovely friend who lives in the UK and occasionally she will send me something, like just before my brothers wedding when I was heavily pregnant with Eve and I couldn’t find anything to wear she sent me a gorgeous dress and it was just perfect! She is pretty special!

Anyway, back to my surprise that turned up yesterday. I participated in a knitting accessories swap on Ravelry and yesterday I received my parcel! I actually thought that it was just my order I had placed with Red Riding Hood yarns as my swap partner happened to be the lovely Hannah who dyes the most gorgeous yarn. But when opening my parcel I discovered and extra one full of gorgeousness!

There was chocolate too, but that is already gone.

Thanks Hannah I totally love it!

Oh and the gorgeous little skeins of yarn match the petite set that I ordered off her…how thoughtful is that.

A little pre-Christmas challenge!

I really am not a big junk food eater but at this time of the year it can sneak in a little so to combat that I am giving myself a little challenge. I found this on Pinterest and I will actually be doing it until Christmas Eve. I hope to loose a little and hopefully these habits will stick over the Christmas period and I won’t gain!

Source: weheartit.com via Bec on Pinterest

Three Stitches

My brave little Isla split her head open on Tuesday night. She was meant to be sleeping but was jumping on the bed. I heard a bang and a scream and when I went in there was blood everywhere! I scooped her up and looked at her head to find a very deep split. Josef was out side doing the lawns so I ran outside and yelled at him to get an ambulance. He freaked when he saw me running towards him with a child covered in blood and ran inside and rang them. We then rang my mum to look after the other 2 girls so we could both go with her.

The ambulance took 45mins(another reason to move closer to the city!) but the bleeding had stopped by then. She was assessed and it was decided that she would go in our car and they would follow us.

When we got there we got a bed pretty quickly (about 10:30) and Isla went off to sleep but we didn’t get seen properly until 3:30 and it was decided that stitches were needed as it was too deep(full thickness).

She had to be wrapped and held down and it was pretty distressing for all of us. But my brave little girl now has 3 stitches in her head. We didn’t get home until 4:45 and Eve woke at 7:30 for the day so not much sleep was had.

Ditty Bag

I am a pattern collector (and pinner!). I have a rather large box of sewing patterns and most of them have never been used. I do get them out from time to time while I am browsing fabric shops online to match fabric to patterns but so many times I never actually get to sewing them…a bit sad really. Maybe if I spent less time on Pinterest, Ravelry and Facebook I would get more done!

One of those patterns that I had pinned a while ago was the Ditty Bag. It is acute little top zippered pouch with a hanging loop. Perfect for storing knitting accessories! So when I signed up for a knitting accessory swap on Ravelry I knew I had to make one for my partner!

Although I own a few Keyka Lou patterns this was the first I have actually sewn(see I told you I was a pattern collector!) and i found the photos and directions very easy to follow. I could make it without having to think too much.

 

This is now on it’s way to my swapee! I hope she likes it!

I now want one for all my bits and pieces but with my huge list of things to make for Christmas I think it will have to wait until after Christmas!

I made it for ME!

I am so super excited that I finally made something for myself! After sewing that dress for my 30th and having it actually fit me I was all inspired to sew for myself again. It did take me a while to actually get around to it though. Talking to my SIL I discovered that she too wanted to make herself some skirts for the summer and we had another friend who was interested too so we got together last week for a skirt sewing evening. To be honest only one of use got much sewing done and it wasn’t me! I did get my pattern drafted and my SIL made good progress on one of the gifts she is making for my girls for Christmas so it was a productive evening anyway. The next morning everything was still out so I decided to get stuck into it even though I had all 3 kids around. It only took a couple of hours so I was pretty pleased.

 

The skirt is a combination of the circle skirt from MADE and this tutorial changing it into a wrap skirt. I had to cut two semi circles(donuts) as my fabric wasn’t wide enough and if I make another(which I am pretty certain that I will) I will change how I put it together as how I like to tie it the seam sits right at the front. It doesn’t really matter as you can’t see it very well anyway.

You can tie the ties in a bow as above or leave them in a knot. I like both looks.

I see a few more of these being made for both myself and the girls!

Now what to sew next?

ps Taking good photos of yourself is HARD!

12. The letter ‘c’

9. Spring

 

8. Happiness

(and a little bit of cheekiness too!)

Miss a few…7. Love

A Crochet Tiara

I tend to make grand plans and then stress when it doesn’t happen the way I had planned. I had planned to make rainbow tutu’s and crochet tiaras for all the little girls at Elsa's party last weekend. I only ordered the supplies 4 weeks before hand and they didn’t arrive in time. I think this is probably a good thing as I would have been horrible to live with if I was trying to get 10 tiaras and 10 tutus made in less than a week as well as all the other birthday things!

Anyway, I decided to make one up for the girls anyway. I had seen a few patterns about. A cute one for $5 and free ones that I didn’t care for much. Since I can get a gorgeous garment pattern for $5 I had a hard time considering paying for a pattern for a tiara so I made one up With a little help from my crocheting sister in law!

 

I will write this up sometime…I am not very experienced in crochet patterns so I will need to call on my SIL to help I think.

A Happy Rainbow Birthday!

Today was full of fun and rainbows. My little Elsa is 5 and it seems like only yesterday that I was holding a new baby in my arms with no idea what I was in for.

Just a few snaps of the day…this exhausted mummy is too tired for any more words!

   

5 years ago…

I was in hospital waiting. Waiting for the medical staff to tell me when I would actually be induced, waiting for my mum to arrive, waiting for a baby!

Today I am getting ready for a rainbow party for a very assertive 5 year old! Pinterest has been a great source of inspiration for this and here are a few things I have planned…

Source: brandyscrafts.blogspot.com via Meika on Pinterest

Source: littlelovely.typepad.com via Meika on Pinterest

Source: designmom.com via Meika on Pinterest

Source: littlelovely.typepad.com via Meika on Pinterest

Better get off the computer...lots of rainbowing to do!

5. Shallow Depth of Field

4. Black and White

A Proud Mummy Moment!

Today my two oldest girls had their very first dance concert.

We started the day realising that my husband had left the dance bag at the dance studio after yesterdays lesson and needless to say I was a little (ok a LOT) stressed when I realised that they had no shoes! I managed to sort it out and they were at the theatre when we arrived!

Once we got there and I got their make up on it was all ok and they danced so well I was very proud. 3 and 4 year olds might not have the best technique or do all the right steps but they certainly are entertaining and totally gorgeous!

   

  This last photo is shocking but it is the only one I have of them as Mrs Potato Head!

3. A bad habit

For Bec…

Today I had an awesome time at the Hobart Botanical Gardens with my good friend Bec. Today is her birthday and we headed off with 7 kids between us, hoping for good weather…and we got it! We had chocolate cake and a yummy healthy salad (to balance out that chocolate cake!) and lots of fun and silliness in the sun! 

 

 

I also made her a camera strap cover. For anyone who knows Bec they know that she LOVES to take photos so I thought something pretty for her camera would be a good gift for her. In true Meika style I left it to the last minute to make it and was up pretty late last night finishing it off.

 

I used this pattern from Etsy.

I also made her a birthday cake using this recipe…it was delicious! I ate too much!