Pinking Shears

are my new best friend!


Ever since I discovered I could sharpen them by cutting a little tin-foil, my mothers old trusty pinking shears have become a necessary accessory I rhymed! ;) in my sewing room. To say that I love them, would be an understatement. They cut down on so much of the time I used to spend edging bibs. Now I don't have to snip corners, either! A god send!!!

Postscript
Hey Marion, and anyone else interested... Tin foil is actually aluminum foil, we just haven't quit calling it tin foil here in NZ! LOL!

Remember to enter the draw to win Amanda Blake Soule's book - the creative family here on my blog.

new bibs...

Some new bibs made on my new machine... There's a tutorial for them available here. I am loving the applique stitch and all the wee fancy stitches. Makes them look just that little bit more special.

The other thing I'm loving is how nice it is to use a machine that's not forever breaking down on you. So much less frustrating!

D.

gift | baby bibs

My good friend Joanna had a sweet little girl 3 weeks ago, and today we got to meet her! What a sweetie she is!!!
Here are a couple of new bibs that I whipped up for little Selah! Notice the fabric is the same as the pj's I made for Bree! I had a fair amount left from the metre I bought to make them, so I expect I'll be using more of it in some up coming projects - waste not, want not! ;)

my first craft market experience...

So, I promised that I'd post about this last week, but life got on top of me and my husband totaled his work car, so... here we are, and I think I can finally share some about what it was all like and share a few photographs along the way!

The day started out cold, it couldn't decide whether to be sunny or not, but at least it wasn't raining (or snowing! - it snowed the next Saturday!!!).

I packed bib's, dishcloths, oven gloves and cards in my suitcase and ended up selling $41 worth of things (mainly bib's and a few oven gloves!).

It was so much fun and I LOVED getting feedback from people on their thoughts on my crafts. And now I have the money to open up my etsy store - so keep an eye on the blog for more news on that front.

pile of bibs

A pile of bibs waiting to be finished, 15 in all. I am going to be really busy this week getting things ready for my trip to Christchurch. One week to go!!!! :D

new baby arrives...

One of my favourite people gave birth this morning to a new sweet daughter... One day early and with a head of beautiful dark hair, Averie Mae is truly gorgeous. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo to share with you, but I do have a photo of the little gift I gave. Three bibs, one knitted and two using the pattern that's available on the sidebar.

I was so happy to be able to visit Mum & Bub at birthcare only 8 hours after she was born, especially since I missed the baby shower on Sunday afternoon. I am so tired of feeling sick and having sick children, especially since I had great plans of making lots of things to take with me to Christchurch. :(

POSTSCRIPT;

me and averie mae - photo courtesy Averie's Dad

WIP; knitting zombies & a easy bib

Work in progress; 5 little zombies in various stages of being done!

I knitted this cool, very easy bib when I was a little tired of zombies eating my brains! ;)

Tutorial; Make a bib

Bear with me as this is my first "photo" tutorial... As such, it's also photo intensive, so may take a bit to upload!

Make a bib
Materials Required:
For one bib;
33cm x 28cm Printed Cotton
33cm x 28cm Toweling
33cm x 28cm Flannel or Similar
Cotton
Velcro

Instructions:
1. Make a pattern or use one from the internet - chickpea sewing studio has a good one. Mine is longer than hers, and you can adjust the pattern to suit what you want. I based mine on a bib I was given when my girls were small. (Thanks Anita!)
2. Lay your pattern out on your chosen cotton fabric, pin & cut out.
3. Lay your pattern out on your chosen toweling fabric, pin & cut out.
4. Lay your pattern out on your chosen backing fabric, pin & cut out. (only took a pic of cutting - :) )
5. Make heaps at a time - I made 10 bibs this time! You can make it like a factory line.
6. At this point you could zig-zag the edges, but as the edges get clipped later there isn't much need.

7. Layer the fabric like this;

First the toweling
then the printed cotton (face up)
last, place the backing fabric on the top (face down)

8. Pin together and sew, leaving a gap on the side so you can pull the bib right way out!
9. Carefully, trim away the edges leaving a small edge. This makes the bib sit nicely when you pull it through!
10. Pull the bib through the gap you left at stage 8. Use a chopstick or something similar to get the neck to look right.
11. Iron the bib.
12. Top-stitch the edges so that the bib sits nicely. You can use a fancy stitch if you like.
13. Sew Velcro on so that neck can open and shut easily.
14. You have a great little bib!!
That wasn't so hard, was it?! If you want any help, just make a comment below.

I think you could easily make these bibs reversible, or to spice one up appliqué something on it. My sister would be able to do a great freezer stencil on them too!

thing a day; four

made a bib tutorial - to be posted later on today...

KAL Day 2 (Monthly Dishcloths)

Gorgeous Harrison and his Mum!

No, I didn't say George Harrison!!! Hehehe!
Here is the cute recipient of my work last week, and his mother's work the week before! ;)
Look at that beautiful head of red hair, just like his Mum! :)

And, yes, I did get to have a wee hold!!! He is oh, so adorable! Makes you feel just a little clucky inside! :D Liz & Scott, what an extra special bundle of joy you have there! Well Done!

Harrison's present

I was wondering how I could pull Harrison's gift together - how could it be packaged?! When, I had a lightbulb moment - a drawstring bag, that could carry dirty nappies when Liz was out and about! So here are Harry's gifts in all their glory...

the bag

I am pleased with how the bag turned out, I sewed across the corners to make a squared bottom, and used some cool american crafts ribbon to match the cute fish I appliqued onto the front.

the gifts
(booties, fish & bibs)

the complete package!

Bibs

These bib's are part of a gift for my friend's new baby... They turned out better than the last time. I used chickpea's pattern, but instead of just printed fabric and flannel, I added some toweling to the middle to make it more absorbent!

Pretty good for a very cute little boy!

bib; boy's train

I made my first little bib today, and it made me wish I could sew a little better. Either that or it's my sewing machine! I'm thinking it needs to go in and get a service. The tension is funny. At least I managed to get this bib done before it totally went to custard! I like how it turned out - I got the pattern here.

My first ever snap, I was going to sew velcro on, but that was when the sewing machine decided to die...