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.

Wardrobe Refashion

It's been a bit quiet on the blog lately, but I promise I have been busy sewing!

When we got back from overseas, I found myself sorting through some of my clothes that I haven't worn for a little while. I came across a few items that I decided to re-fashion rather than pass along to a secondhand shop.

My favourite so far is this one:

I bought this dress while on holidays a couple of years ago on the Central Coast of NSW, and loved it. I'd planned on teaming it with a pair of jeans (too short for my liking to wear as a dress), but it just didn't work. I could never bring myself to part with it, but didn't know what to do with it. So ...

I turned it into a skirt! All I did was to chop the top part (bust and above) off and add a waist band made out of stretch jersey fabric. I didn't even have to hem it, as I didn't even touch the bottom of the dress!

Easy, and cheap!

Spot of Colour Labels + My Hooded Tunic Top Design

Can you tell it's been busy in our house lately? I can't believe I actually finished all of my sewing projects before we head overseas tomorrow!

The first thing I am really excited about is that, a few weeks ago, Ash designed some clothing labels for me so that I can get cracking on making things and selling them on Etsy. I'd heard really good things about World Sale Label on Etsy, so I decided to order some labels through them. I bought the standard type (see the pic below) and also some folded over labels that can be sewn into a side seam. They arrived in the mail last Friday, just as I was finishing off some items for a friend of mine, so I just had to sew in a label. And I can't believe how great it looks, it really finishes it all off I reckon.

The second thing I'm a bit excited about - proud even - is the hooded tunic top that I've made. A few weeks ago, I made the rash decision that I would design and make a top for myself - probably not the smartest idea, when I had a list of projects to finish and an overseas trip just weeks away.

So I sketched out what I would like in a top, found a tank top in my wardrobe that fitted me well, and started drawing a design out on tracing paper from that. I'm not sure what my Mother in Law thought when I turned up that night to sewing class with my design and a couple of pictures off the internet as inspiration, but she helped me along those few weeks and now I have an awesome top to take overseas with me!

Here it is:

I actually didn't have quite enough black fabric for the hood, so I used some leftover red and used that for the tie as well. I'm so glad I did, I think it really makes it.

(P.S. Sorry about the pasty white skin - I'll try and remedy that in the next 6 weeks! Also, don't look at the messy bookshelf - I've run out of room!)

See you in a couple of months everyone :)

Another one for the guys ...

It was a great day for my husband when I discovered that our local Spotlight store had acquired good quality camouflage material. I bought a couple of metres for him, and I'm sure he's been waiting for his opportunity to get something made out of it.

That day came on Saturday. We were preparing for our overseas trip and I expressed my concern about Ash having to put his expensive tripod through with all of the other checked luggage, in case someone pinched it off the conveyor belt. So, Ash had the idea of making a bag for it - he still had webbing from his Backpack Cover that he made last year - and I agreed to make it for him.

I think he must have been to eager to wait for me to start making it, so the next thing I know he's cut out the material and he's all keen to sew it up, which he did! And he did a great job too! We'll have to see if it stands the test of time - and travel.