Heaven is...

Sewing a gorgeous quilt (my first non-charm pack one!) whilst listening to good Kiwi tunes and sipping a cold beer. And also admiring the fantastic drawers my husband got me for Christmas.





Happy. X Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

My first skirt

Look out Dorothy Perkins... There's a new label in town... (with two items on the rack now!)

I've just finished my first skirt (Butterick B5466) and compared to the dress I made in the previous post it was easy-peasy! I'm very pleased I managed to follow all the pattern instructions and remember how to do darts and the likes without the watchful eye of my sewing tutor.

As you can see by my special modelling skills below I've decided to accessorise my new skirt with thermal leggings, hiking socks and slippers. (Anyone would think it was cold in Scotland!)

This sewing palava is truly addictive.

Classy

SUCH a good look!

My very first dress!

I'm so proud... I've just finished making my very first dress and am quite pleased with the results. Thanks to my night classes for the past 9 weeks I've learned the basics on dressmaking and loved every minute of it. The result is below:

Chuffed to bits

My son thinks I should accessorise with sneakers

The zip on the back looks like it was done by an amateur but I'll probably cover it up with a cardigan or the likes. I'm incredibly proud of my efforts and can't wait to make something else! This was a Burda 7798 pattern, and I'd definitely recommend it for a beginner!

Another felt animal

I've spent the last two evenings avoiding all the rubbish on tv and making this wee toy instead. I got the inspiration from a link in Pinterest (addicted much!!!) and thought it would make a lovely gift for a new baby in Hong Kong, and would finally give me the opportunity to dive into the stash of wonderful ribbons my Mum bought with her when she visited in summer.

Roar!

I'm definitely going to attempt more of these!


Posted from my iPhone

Everyone needs a beer companion

Rascal - beer companion

I made this little guy last night for a friend. I was having a terrible time trying to bind the quilt in the last post that I gave up and decided to make something fun instead. I've named him Rascal... he looked after my beer and we chatted about life.

Shame I have to give him up for adoption.

Baby quilt #3 - nearly done

In a post a few months ago I was having a 'fabric dilemma'. I was a little stuck on this project because I didn't really like the fabric combination all together (it was a Moda charm pack and my first attempt at 'Disappearing Nines') and kept putting the project off.

After much scratching of the head I decided what the vibrant patterns needed was to be broken up with plain white material, to make it a little easier on the eye. So, my third baby quilt is nearly done (need to sew the binding and I'm going to attempt to machine bind it this time, seeing as my hand sewing is crap!)

Feast your eyes on the recovered project below:

The front

Thank goodness for the white!

Oooh... look at the fancy stripe!

Wish me luck on the binding (arghhhh)

My sewing night classes are brilliant and I'm learning loads. I did my first ever 'darts' last week (pretty badly, but still!) I'll take some photos this week when it starts looking more like a dress. 

I LOVE SEWING!

Dressmaking fabric success

On Sunday I made a very exciting trip to Mandors in Edinburgh to hunt down a dress pattern and some fabric for my first dressmaking project. The shops is lovely and the staff are incredibly helpful. My tutor from class works there during the week so I mentioned I was taking her class and that I needed all the help I could get - and they (being Lucy) were brilliant.  I'm very glad I spent a lot of time researching what patterns I like on the internet, and pinning photos to my Pinterest board. I ended up buying this one:

Burda 7798 - pale blonde hair optional.

I think the style will suit me and it looks like a good beginners project. So the next task was hunting down some fabric - which turned out to be mega easy as I fell in love with this straight away (I've been wanting a navy and white polka dress for ages!) 

Tomorrow night we learn how to pin the pattern to the fabric and cut it all out. I haven't been this excited (and nervous) about a project in donkeys years! 

The added bonus for me on Sunday was having a good look through Mandor's craft fabrics downstairs. I still need to do a small quilt for my brother-in-law and fiance but ended up buying this for Logan instead: 

Logan's going to have the coolest bedding!

I think it's a Robert Kaufman range (need to get better at my fabric knowledge) and I'm hoping to make him a duvet cover as we're wanting him to get out of his baby sleeping bags for winter. 

It's quite sad how excited I am about making all these lovely things!