shabby-diva

2006-03-25T02:49:00.000-08:00

Finally, finally I can post some pics of my lovely lovely chicken quilt for Jackie. I finished it off this afternoon and gave it to her tonight. I hope she loves it, I miss having it around with it's cute wonky seams and uneven quilting stitches!

2006-03-14T01:59:00.000-08:00

The Alternative Health Podcast that Kath and Chrish have been working on is finally available to listen to here. The banner uses a pattern based on the lotus flower. On the sewing front, I've decided the peasant skirt was a flop and I'll recycle it for another project. I've got a few other things on the go, including Jen's quilt and Jackie's birthday present and another little baby rug for Conan... none of which I want to post a picture of yet since it'll spoil the surprise. They'll come to a close in the coming weeks though and i'll have something to show.

2006-02-20T02:52:00.000-08:00

Peasant Skirt. I've decided to journel my clothing-sewing explorations, so this is the early part of the journey. I'm not too happy with this one, i think maybe a sheerer fabric, and a single fabric-pattern per teir might have yielded a better result.

This was made by cutting 15cm wide strips of fabric and sewing them all together to form one strip. Then cut them to 7 teirs of 1m, 1.3m, 1.6m, 1.9m, 2.2m, 2.5m, 2.8m lengths. I lay them all out on the floor from shortest at the top and did any cutting and re-sewing needed to keep the fabrics random. Then I gathered the top edge of one teir at a time (starting with the 2nd tier) and overlocked it to the teir above. This took too long. The overlocker knife decided not to cut cleanly. I just wanted to be done. Peasants clearly have much more patience than me.

The final stage is of course to overlock the back seam (make it a tube) and put elastic in the waist.

What I do like about this skirt a lot is that it tends to sit away from my skin which is great in the hot weather - no other piece of clothing i own does this!

2006-02-20T02:49:00.000-08:00

Warning - this is not a toy. i had to laugh - do you think anyone has told the teddy?
This kit was a present for Em, who's getting a bit interested in sewing.

2006-02-16T21:30:00.000-08:00

Kids Pants - Sewing Pattern! i'm no sewing expert, but i've been making my kids elastic-waisted pants for years, and they love them. The first pair I made Em were muslin ones to protect her from mosquitoes in Bali when she was two. They had a more tapered leg so that while they were too long the excess length just gathered around her ankles until she grew into them. We've also done some printed corduroy ones, black wedding ones and quite a few pairs of pyjama ones.

Anyway, this is a very basic pattern, and can be made smaller or larger by varying the crotch-length, distance to the fold, and the crotch to hem length. I usually just compare to a current pair of pants. The leg can be made wider or narrower, just try to ensure the inside leg seam at the hemline is vertical for a enough distance so that the pants are easier to hem.

Construction: There are two pieces. Fold each piece right-sides together and sew inside leg seam of each. Finish raw edges. Turn 1 leg right side out. Place this leg inside the other leg so that right sides are together and the crotch seams line up. This seam is the crotch from waist-back to waist-front. You way want to sew this with two rows of stitching for extra strength. Turn pants inside out. Finish the waist ready to thread elastic or drawstring. Hem the bottoms.

If there's anyone lurking out there with helpful suggestions or links to other clothing patterns, please comment!

2006-02-14T22:41:00.000-08:00

Words.

Found this on a blog-meandering adventure (http://craftingscriptorium.blogspot.com/)

"Whenever we find ourselves ensnared in negative behaviour, [Patanjali] suggests, we should increase the amount of time, thought, and energy we direct toward positive behavior," "We do not need to enter a showdown with our self-destructive behavior, nor can we deny its existence. We must simply come to know it, and move on. We learn to focus wholeheartedly on positive behavior," "As soon as I began to direct my energy and attention to a new [path], the old one fell away."
(from Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison)

And also this one (who's link I can't find again, but there was a lovely picture of a labrador - so sorry!)

"God, please help me to be the person my dog thinks I am"

2006-02-12T19:30:00.000-08:00

Jen & I made these jamie pants... they were going to be a present for Finn, but when we went looking for a top to go with them we found a great set of skeleton-theme summer pj's, and decided to keep the home-mades for Alex (who loves them). Thanks to Netty for finding this great fabric.

2006-02-12T19:28:00.000-08:00

I got to play with my gorgeous sister all weekend and it was the best fun - making paper, singing, playing card games, sewing and singing, singing, singing! The pics are of the paper-making part, which went for quite a few hours. Emma was dying to try out our Paper Recycling kit, which we picked up at the local charity shop for $4 during the week. We've been quite into the op-shopping of late, looking for fabric remnants but coming out with all sorts of things. And Alex always manages to get something for free.

2006-02-05T20:30:00.000-08:00

i can't describe the joy of creating these things for Emmy. They took an hour each. And they fit beautifully.
Thank you to Jackie and Margie for the 'how to' on stretch necklines.

2006-01-29T11:30:00.000-08:00

Birdy nesting in computer hardware...as Mrs Yama makes a podcast debut..

(which can be found here)

2006-01-28T22:07:00.000-08:00

My Big News! I feel like the princess in Shrek!

2006-01-28T10:16:00.000-08:00

Lizzie's Quilt. I just found out Liz's baby who is due in 18 weeks or so has kidney problems. I'm not sure how serious this is, but i think if i make a really bright happy quilt for her, it will all turn out ok. The kids are giving it their blessing.

2006-01-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

Experiment complete! With mitred corners, and some hand quilting. Well, it's very ugly but the dog loves sitting on it! And it washed up well in the machine with no colour problems or bits coming loose, so this augers well for future projects.

2006-01-28T09:58:00.000-08:00

Story and sketches for Isobel. Isobel has to go find her wishing stone when the Mischief Fairy uses magic to make her cross. Happy birthday Issy!

2006-01-27T09:48:00.000-08:00

Product illustration - McPherson's have some very nice cooking tools in the Eterna range.

2006-01-24T10:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Chrishy!

2006-01-19T10:03:00.000-08:00

In Progress - pieced columns and curves and some freestyle machine quilting. 20mm Polyester batting split to half thickness. Picked up some very cheap batting and fabric pieces at Reverse Garbage.

2006-01-16T12:45:00.000-08:00

Quilt for Pengy.
My entrance to the exciting world of quilt-making! Some great inspiration to be found at angry chicken, and Denyse Schmidt. This quilt is for Emma's Penguin and Snowy to sleep with. We are also in the process of making Pengy some clothes.

2006-01-08T10:35:00.000-08:00

"SEA" submission for Illustration Friday.

2005-12-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday - Blue.
As a kid being blue was sitting sadly on the back steps 'til the dog came with a nudge to get patted.

2005-12-07T09:14:00.000-08:00

Zoe Gets Clipped.
I took Zoe to get her first clip the other day. Well, her first with us, anyhow. Her coat was so long and tufty, just beautiful, like a shag-pile rug. I love brushing her. But it was starting to tangle and get matted, especially since we'd taken her swimming in the surf, and those knots are like FELT - impossible to untangle.
The Clipper Lady was very nice offering to do us after school hours which she preferred not to do as her three year old was with her then, and he gets a bit restless. So the five of us and Zoe crammed into this little room where Clipper Lady had pinned to the wall a full fleece she'd taken from a matted maltese. Conversation turned to her recent seperation as she shaved Zoe down to her chicken-bone legs, and I made paper aeroplanes with the 2 preschoolers.
I have since learned that Zoe is not the only dog who comes home from the hairdresser with a different personality. So hi to all the dog-lovers out there with freshly trimmed, irritable & hyperactive muts!

2005-11-24T22:30:00.000-08:00

Illustration Friday - Free
This little doodle is about having a free moment to lie about in your favourite spot and daydream about a buffet of possible creative activities. Cheers to everyone with the time, energy, and focus to actually complete something!

2005-11-21T21:31:00.000-08:00

Monkey Suit
Alex wanted to go to Martin's party as a monkey, but right 'til the end of the week I was threatening not to let him go unless he was good. So finally I made the costume on Saturday morning before the party, from fabric that was once going to be a lounge cover, and some calico offcuts. We were both pretty happy with the result. In the first half-hour at the party a vigorous jump on the trampoline ripped the crotch open and we borrowed a pair of yellow shorts to wear over the top, which looked pretty special.

2005-10-05T02:39:00.000-07:00

2005-02-05T03:01:00.000-08:00