Monday, July 31

new (old) machine

i was lucky enough to me given a beautiful old Singer machine recently. it's a 99k model, electric. i finally had the chance to sit down with it and have a proper look and play. i discovered the manual in the box too, so threading it was a breeze (i think that without the manual it would have been confusing and involved swearing!)

i made a little smock for Ivy. the fabric is from Ikea a few years ago, i didn't have enough in one big piece so i pieced it together in stripes. the whole thing is made on the Singer apart from the buttonholes. i had to bring out the modern machine for those!


i signed myself up to become wardrobe refashionista thismorning! i'm pretty excited.

Sunday, July 30

happy G day



who would have thought that lolly teeth make such beautiful roses?



this is my dear gerard's (G) birthday cake. never mind that it's almost two months late. it has pretty roses. and it's pink. he loves it!

Tuesday, July 25

fangs and 'towboy dirts'





see those fangs? they are causing quite a number of sleepless hours at the moment. ivy is growing teeth left, right and center and those top ones are enormous. ouch.

i did manage to do a bit of sewing over the weekend.


it's a cowboy shirt for a grumpy cowboy. it's made from a sheet we bought at the op shop and the beautiful buttons are from the huge Buttonmania vintage button sale last month.

Thursday, July 13

heart of glass

i made mention of my slight obsession with printed glasses. today i have a photo for you. just the one, i don't want to frighten you off.

i have eight of these ones. nice shape yes? i was lucky enough to find four together at an op shop for twenty cents. i was rather pleased. they have a lovely round shape that sits in your hand just so.....i could go on and on.

ever since i was a teenager and first moved out of home i have been buying printed glasses from op shops. it used to be easy to find all the old vegemite and honey jar glasses for 5 cents but now it's increasingly rare. the old ladies in the op shops have become pretty ruthless with some of their pricing! but that hasn't stopped me buying, oh no. it seems i have a sickness. i simply cannot leave a pretty glass in the shop, it has to come home with me to crowd in amongst all the others!

in fact, the only glasses in my house that are plain are beer and wine glasses, and i don't like to use those. i'm such a glass snob. i have my husband pretty well trained, he doesn't bat an eyelid at any new additions to the family, in fact he thought it was pretty great when i discovered that i could support my habit through ebay! (i think he may have the notion that we could cash them all in for a retirement fund, i think he's dreaming with that one) but they make me so happy.

Tuesday, July 11

blankety blanks

the food colouring works. i dyed some pieces of blanket lastnight. the method is slightly flawed though. it wasn't until the third go that i managed to get an even colour throughout the piece. my first couple of attempts came out with a mottled, uneven look. not unuseable but not ideal either. but i have loads more blankie to get it right with. i am going to try out the dylon dye next.

the yellow at the top of the pile is the original colour and you can see the unevenness of the pink and black pieces. i will perfect it, i must!

Monday, July 10

oh christmas tree


so it was a fairly ordinary monday today apart from the appearance of the "christmas tree" on our dining room table........

we also went to the op shop thisafternoon. i was looking for a woolen blanket to do a bit of this with. i looked around and didn't find any but i did find a lovely glass* to match the one i bought from there last week along with a couple of skivvies for finn to wear to school. after i had paid i noticed the pile of new donations right near the front door and what do you suppose was sitting on top? uhuh, two pale yellow woolen blankets, yay. the lady gave them to me for $2 because they had a couple of moth holes. moth holes? pffft!

i have been thinking about whether i could dye them with food colouring the way i dye woolen yarn. i think i could. i figure if i soak the blanket in vinegar and then boil it on the stove in water with the colouring in it i might just get away with it.

and what will i do with my wooly goodness you ask? i am going to make ivy a dolly for her first birthday next month. well, i will attempt to, i haven't made a dolly before. we shall see!

*remind me to tell you about my extensive (read: obsessively large) printed glass collection next time we chat, i'll bring photos!

Tuesday, July 4

she sewed something! not by the seashore.

hello blog! let me tell you of my recent sewing adventures.......

after weeks of wincing and apologising to myself every time i looked at my sewing machine i finally had the chance to use the old dear. yay! i miss her when i don't have a chance to sew. one day i will have a studio of my own where i can leave the machine out all the time. one day when i am an old lady. but one day nonetheless!

i had the opportunity to sew not one but two entire garments, can you believe it? no, nor can i!
this one, the first, is a little jacket for Ivy. it is an old McCalls pattern i bought when Finn was a wee babe. i have made it in several incarnations but i must say this is my favourite. i added lining to the whole jacket to make it nice and snug.

cute huh? the body is some red corduroy i had hanging around, i didn't have enough cord for the whole lot so the sleeves and hood are denim from a pair of my old pants. the body and sleeves are lined with some nice warm pink flannelette and the hood is lined with some beautiful craft fabric i ordered from the internets. those are some funny little mouse ears you can see on the top there too! pink lace, red ricrac (i am a ricrac lover) and cute green vintage buttons complete the deal. and she looks super cute in it!


and then yesterday i sewed myself a blouse. it's a pattern from the women's issue of Ottobre magazine. i altered it somewhat (of course!) the pattern is actually a wrap top but i wanted button and the original also had a proper collar up the top but i left that off and decided to fold the lapels up so my boobs don't hang out (they have a dreadful habit of doing that you know). so it's gone from being an average blouse to a bit of a 60s mod number. makes me feel slightly less suburban housewife than the original would have. but i am not kidding myself here, i don't look cute in my new clothes the way the babe looks cute in hers!