Scented Sachets

The other day we attended a 70th Birthday Party and so I decided to try out something I'd seen a little while ago on Quilting in the Rain's Blog called "Ravioli Sachets".

The best thing about doing this was that I had everything I needed right there in my sewing room. The fabric was from my (very overflowing) scraps tub; the ribbon was leftover from another project; and the pot pourri and scented oils were from a project I was going to do a year or two ago, that just didn't happen!

Each sachet was a different scent: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Orange and Grapefruit. They made my sewing room smell very "pretty".

Personalised Child's Library Bag on Etsy

A couple of weeks ago, a good friend of mine had her Little Man start Kindergarten. So she approached me about making him a bag that he could use for their library visits.

Being a Librarian, and also keen to make things, I jumped at the chance! The other great thing is that the Kindergarten Teacher had suggested I make up a flyer in case any other Mum's were interested in having one made for their child as well.

Well, after having a bit of a think about what would look really cute, and also be practical for the many Library visits, I came up with this:

What do you think?

Tyson had requested "Blue with spots" and also to have the Dinosaur (as you'll see from the picture below, we took the liberty of changing Dudley the Dinosaur to Blue for this special occasion).

Dudley the Dinosaur is one of Ash's creations from a year or two ago that I've been busting to use, and this seemed like the best way to introduce them. So let me introduce you to Dudley's friends - Florence, Geoffrey, Katie and Harry. Harry the Horse is only 1 week old, but has been accepted very kindly into the group by the rest of the animal bunch.

Aren't they just so cute?!

I have added this to my items on Etsy, so if you're reading this and thinking "Oh my, I wish I could have one!" then this is your golden opportunity. Just click on my Etsy link, or go straight to Personalised Library Bag by Spot of Colour.

By the way, Tyson was delighted with his new bag and I believe he will be using it today at Kinder.

A million and one projects

A slight exaggeration, perhaps.

In true "me" style, since getting back into my sewing projects for the new year I have managed to build up a massive list of projects, so I now have a heap in progress and heaps more sitting waiting to go. So, if you're patient just for a little bit longer, you will be able to find out what they've been!

Recently though, I celebrated my 31st birthday and was lucky enough to get some birthday money from both my parents, and my husband's parents. So I bought myself an overlocker - a Janome Ezy Lock 304D (which I still need to learn how to use, but I'm looking forward to using it!), and I also bought these two patterns which I've been eyeing off for a little while now:

Anna Maria Horner's Study Hall Skirt Pattern

I'm thinking of using my Amy Butler Love fabric, and matching plain burgundy for the contrast fabric.

Amy Butler's Mini Dress, Tunic and Top Pattern

I'm unsure whether to do a top, or longer version of the Tunic dress. (To be honest, I'm also unsure now if maybe I should use the Amy Butler fabric for this instead ... ?)

Check back in with me hopefully next week to see what else I've been up to!

A few more skirts + Pencil Roll

Wow, where has this past couple of months gone? I've been busy making things, but just haven't had the time to blog about it. So here's what's been keeping me busy (some of it anyway!):

::Pencil Roll::

First, I made one of my nephews a pencil roll. He loves colouring in, but didn't think he'd be overly excited about it - it was more a practical present that I knew my Sister would like. But he loved it!

The Fabric was leftover from my Travel Wallet that I made earlier in the year, it's from the All Stars range from Riley Blake.

::Skirts::

Also, I've been making some more skirts, ready for summer:

1. Simple Jersey Knit Skirt

This is just another of my favourite easy skirt patterns, using some funky jersey knit that I picked up on sale earlier in the year.

2. Cabriolet Wrap-Over Skirt

This was a free pattern from Fabric.com, and I thought it would be a nice and quick project. I was wrong! It's a quite easy skirt to make (though the instructions weren't the best), but so time consuming. Then, when I'd finished it, I tried it on and it didn't look right at all. It initially had very long ties on it and they made the skirt look a bit bulky, so I decided to chop them off and added velcro to fasten, and it actually works very well. I think the thing that motivated me the most to make this skirt work, is that I used Anna Maria Horner Voile Fabric - from the Little Folks range - and it is gorgeous!

3. Jersey Knit Circle Skirt

I've been wanting to try a Circle skirt for a while now, so I thought I'd give it a go with some other jersey fabric I got on sale earlier in the year (from The Fabric Store in Brunswick, Melbourne). I used icandy handmade's tutorial which worked really well. You may notice I added a ruffle at the bottom of the skirt - that was actually accidental (but I really like it, so a good accident!). My husband had been helping me with working out the radius, circumference, etc - all those things that confuse me a little - but I forgot to check he had the right length, and it was only when it was all cut out that I realised it was too short. So hubby had the idea of the ruffle, and I like it.

See you all in the New Year!

I'm on Etsy!

I'm a bit excited, because I now have an Etsy shop and some cute skirts for sale on it!

It's been something I've been considering for a little while, and I've got lots more ideas for the future that I'm currently sorting out. Hopefully you'll see some of them at the beginning of the year, if not before.

Thanks to the two cute little princesses who helped to model my skirts, and to their Mum's for letting their little girls get dressed up for the camera. And a massive thanks to my husband Ash for the wonderful photos, and of course my wonderful shop logo!

I'll add a link to my Etsy shop on my Blog page, but you can check it out here: Spot of Colour

My New Cutting Bench & Sister's Market

My Cutting Bench

For a little while now, I've been wanting a cutting bench instead of having to lean over the dining room table. I'd taken some measurements a while ago and jotted down what would work, but I just couldn't find anything that would work. Well, yesterday Ash made me one! I'm very happy with it, and if fits nicely in my sewing room (with my storage drawers sitting underneath it). Can't wait to try it out.

Sister's Market

While the rest of Melbourne was avidly watching the AFL Grand Final last Saturday, I decided it'd be much more fun to check out the Sister's Market at Brunswick Town Hall. It was the first time I'd been, and I loved it! Here's a few of my favourite stalls from the day:

Missmouse  - The *cutest* kids knitted bamboo hats!

Elise Hurst  - Elise is an Author and Illustrator. I bought the lovely book My boots in season  and Ash loved her Illustrations and we will definitely be ordering some of her prints in the future.

Cottage Nerd  - I bought the Babushka Doll Skirt and adore it. It fits perfectly, and is so comfortable - and looks great!

Obi-Inspired Hot & Cold Pack

A little while ago, I purchased the book One Metre Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins.

I was flicking through it again the other day, and came across the "Obi-Inspired Hot & Cold Pack", and decided to give it a go. I'd been having a bit of an achey back (due to cutting out lots of fabric on a low table!) so it sounded perfect.

The instructions were really easy to follow, and it was such an easy project. I really enjoyed making it! You can use either wheat or rice in the Pack, so I used rice (always plenty of rice in our house) and it worked well.

The hot & cold pack is stored in a pocket which can be then tied around the waist, or to any other part of the body, that needs a bit of relief. It can be put in the freezer for a cold pack, or in the microwave for a couple of minutes for a heat pack.

The thing I love so much about this book, is knowing that all you need is one metre of fabric. In fact, with this project, it could be used with large scraps coordinated together.

The fabric I used was just from my local Spotlight store.