Lots of Class Picnics

I recently made six Oliver + S Class Picnic Blouses, five for Christmas presents for my nieces and one for K that I blogged about here.

They are a great top pattern and I'm sure the girls will all enjoy them - though I'm not sure I pleased all with the colours!  I used Lisette cottons that I had purchased at Spotlight - super fabric to sew with.  :-)

So the gifted ones are numbers 68 to 72 in my O+S count

Number 68 for a seven year old niece (worn on my K):

Number 69 for a five year old niece:

Number 70 for a four year old niece:

Number 71 for a three year old niece: 

Number 72 for a two year old niece:

I'm hoping that sometime in the next year I can see all six girls together with their class picnic blouses... and maybe we could have a picnic!

Swimming Bag

I suddenly had the great idea that K didn't have her own swimming bag - and I could make one for her a Christmas gift from us.  Not from Santa - she had already seen the fabric I had chosen from my stash!

I'd bought this fabric about three years ago from Bolt of Cloth in Christchurch but it had sat unused as it really didn't appeal as just fabric - it looks much better as a bag!

I found a great set of blog posts by 'Sarah Jane Sews' and copied her measurements and slightly adapted the corners to suit my needs.  I also made a small pocket for the inside - it is lined in the same waterproof fabric as the inner - so that K can put small change, a note or card in there, and it will be safer than on the outside.  I also made my own cord from double fold pink homespun cut grainwise (not bias).

A great project as all the supplies came from my stash.

Ssshhhhh!  Don't tell  - K doesn't know about this yet!

A Pencil Roll

I've made a few of these before but this was the first time I documented my finished effort.  They have been very popular as presents so this was made as a gift for a niece's birthday.

I heavily adapted a pattern from Joelle Hoverson's 'Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts'.  Instead of a variety of fabrics I just used one with a stripe.  I also made a velcro tag rather than a tie, easier for five-year-olds to put together.  The pencils are good quality Faber-Castell triangular ones, just right for young fingers.

K and her matching owls

I made this Oliver + S Class Picnic Blouse for K recently with fabric I had used before.

Last Christmas I used the same owl fabric with a contrasting yellow to make an Oliver + S Ice Cream dress for a niece.  It was number 31, seen here.

Last summer I also made a shortened version of Oliver + S Field Trip Cargo pants for K using the leftover yellow and owl print.  I love the front pockets in these!  They were number 49 in my O+S count, here.  K really liked the owl print so I managed to track some extra down at Spotlight to make the blouse.

 

I adore the Class Picnic Blouse pattern and am getting very quick at making it.  K enjoys wearing it - and as a mum I like how it covers most of her neck/shoulder area from the sun.

This is number 67 in my O+S count.  :-)

I reached a plateau in my Christmas sewing by completing my final birthday gift and some festive presents for family in the North Island.  These were posted off yesterday.... along with a tree decoration and some hand-me-downs for the younger niece.

A Little Hat

I caught up with a school friend recently who is expecting her first child.  I wanted a quick and easy gift so chose a knitting pattern I had been keen to use - Just Jussi's 'Aviatrix' baby hat.

It was a fantastic pattern to knit - I used a double knit (8ply) in a possum/wool mix that I had bought at Milton's wool mill shop in April.  It was a 300g hank and I paid only $8 for it!  I made this hat in size 6 months and it took about 35g of wool.

I have been sewing away on my Christmas list and had this gorgeous pile of fabric this afternoon:

I'm not saying which pattern, but an experienced O+S sewer would recognise the layout!  Two in size 4, three in size 5 (one for K) and one in size seven.  Most of the fabric is from the Lisette range at Spotlight that I mentioned here.

Gift for a Niece

One of my nieces has a birthday soon so K and I made her a flower purse.  It's very pink and very girly so I'm sure she'll love it.

Just the sort of thing that can be used for play and for taking on real shopping trips!

The pattern is a free one on the Ottobre magazine's website.  The direct link for the pdf is here.  I recommend the pattern as it was easy to follow and quick to complete - the only thing was that all the measurements are in metric so you have to convert back to imperial if you are like me and need to use your patchwork rulers.

A Little Pouch

After working away in the garden and making presents for male family members I decided I wanted to make something pretty - so I had a go making one of Noodlehead's Open Wide Zippered Pouches.

I made the medium size using a print from 'Sew Stitchy' by Aneela Hoey and various matching pink homespun cottons.  The outside is made using a 'quilt as you go' method on to batting and canvas.  This did make the sewing of the pouch tricky because of the thickness involved - but it all worked well and I am super happy with the result!  The pattern is fantastic - for the first time making I wondered how it was all going to work but the pattern repays that trust with a very clever design.  I can see why this is such a popular tutorial in the blog-sphere.

I made it as a Christmas gift - but somehow my knitting has used it as a new home - and well it was easy enough to make I might have to sew up some more!

Oliver + S Items 41 - 60

I've been super busy in the garden... lots to do in spring!

And I have made a good start on Xmas gifts - but of course I can't share most of those until after the big day!

So I thought I'd better finish of my list of Oliver and S sewing.

See previous posts here and here.

41. Pop-over Sundress in Cape Ann pink dahlias.
42. Pop-over sundress for 4 year old niece
43. Pop-over sundress for gift - here
44. LTTS Bear Carrier in pinks - here
45. Another LTTS hat in chambray and pink (Cape Ann - remnants of #58)
46. Sleepover PJs in light pink with broderie anglais trim - here
47. Sleepover PJ pants in green and blue - here
48. Badminton skort as skirt in fine red/white stripe
49. Field trip cargo pants as shorts - yellow
    
50. Field Trip raglan in striped merino - here
51. Field Trip raglan in white knit
52. Field Trip raglan in cream merino - here
53. as above - I made two!
54. Field Trip raglan in blue - here (as above)
55. Hopscotch top in white - here (as above)
56. Fairy Tale dress in blue - here
57. Sunday Brunch skirt in denim
    
58. Family Reunion dress in Cape Ann fabric - one of my favourites
    
59. Roller Skate dress in pinks
    
60. Roller Skate dress with flowers - here

I have also cut out a LTTS apron, another hat and have plans to use one pattern for Xmas presents.  Plus many other plans!

Something Old and Something New

I have three sewing machines and an overlocker - all of which work. 

My first machine was a Globe Cub I got pre-loved for my fifteenth birthday.  It was a gem and I sewed many miles on it.  Then when I got into patchwork and realised that any form of quilting was impossible on it (no walking foot, no lowering of feed dogs) I purchased a Bernette 65.  It does a good applique stitch but I can't really think of many other ways to praise it.  A year after that my Nan passed away and I was lucky enough to get her Bernina 930 - an awesome machine!  It's a really solid machine and great for both clothes sewing and quilting.  I think of my Nan every time I use it and I'm sure she's pleased it is so well loved.  I also have a Bernette 004D overlocker (serger) which I am assured is as good as a Bernina.  I'd be lost without it too.

But.. recently I've been wanting a machine for purely decorative purposes so have been browsing our local auction website.  Last week I won a vintage Singer sewing machine for the great price of $1.50 (one dollar fifty - this font is hard to read).  I don't think they made much money out of me as I noticed that it was first listed for $75.  It doesn't have a powercord or a foot pedal but does appear to work by turning the handwheel.  It is in 'good' condition but I'll try to clean it up a bit.  For a first attempt at buying a vintage machine I'm happy.  I've googled it to find that it was made in February 1932 in Clydebank, Scotland.

Dear H asks if I'm going to sell any of my machines - but no - I'll keep the Cub for K and the Bernette is a back up for my Bernina. 

Onto the new - I've been sewing in knits and the only thing I've completely finished and am happy to share are these gorgeous undies for K.

They are from the pattern 'that*darn*kat Children's Undies' that have appeared in numerous blogs.  I like how you can use any knit fabric for the main and match it with a cotton lycra for the bands.  The fabric I used was a small piece of Hilco (I think) interlock that feels really nice.  Next time I'll lower the front slightly but K is very happy with them so I am too!

The fabric reminds me that we've eaten two strawberries from the garden and see many more starting to turn red!  Yum!

A Flower for Jewellery

I've had my eye on the Straight Stitch Society Forget-me-not Jewelry Pouch sewing pattern for a while and I finally made it for a family member who is having a birthday soon.

 It was super easy and looks really fantastic!

I made it in three pinks from the 'Sew Stitchy' range by Aneela Hoey for Moda and love how they make it look.

I didn't have a great look at the photos that went with the pattern and somehow I thought that the petals were inside the pouch - I just didn't realise there were two versions in the pattern.  The petals are gorgeous but the pouch would still look great in a vibrant fabrics without them.  I think I'll try it like that next time - it would make a great quick gift - and use less fabric and fiddling to cut them out.

My Favourite Craft Book

I've always loved books and I've always loved craft - and now it is easier than ever to indulge both with the amazing array of craft books that are readily available.

Here are some of my favourites...

Today I saw that Craft Buds were having a 'Craft Book Month' and had a competition to submit an item you had made in 2013 from a favourite craft book. 

So, despite it being the last day for entries I would like to share my favourite book...

 
This book is fantastic because it is a delight to use and I have made many things from it - probably more than any other book I own.  I've made several bucket hats, a cape, a hood and a backpack.  I've also cut out a painting apron and have promised to make a puppet theatre for K's Playcentre.  Oh, and I have definite plans to make the tutu, explorer vest and the mittens.  Everyone I show the book too loves it as well - it garnered many 'oohhs' and 'ahhhs' among some friends recently.

But today I can share the bear carrier from it that I made for my daughter K earlier this year...  Except today it is being used as a lion carrier... it still works well.

This pattern (like all Oliver + S) is fantastic to follow and actually great fun to sew.  The bear carrier gets used frequently in our house and would also make a great (and not too fabric hungry = not expensive) gift.

Note:  the skirt K is wearing is the O+S Swingset Skirt made in a light denim with pink ric-rac.  I only lined the waistband and it is a very popular skirt with K!

I love seeing all the other craft books that people have shared projects from and it shows we all have very similar tastes in good books - we just make our creations from them slightly differently.

Spring Sewing

K and I have started thinking about new clothes for the warmer seasons.  She wants dresses - and I want colour.  Here are some of our early plans:

A pair of Colette 'Clover' pants for myself in a 'greywacke' cotton with a slight amount of lycra.

A Colette 'Jasmine' blouse in this cotton/lycra 'coolio' fabric that I got for $5/metre.  Yeah!  I got these patterns from 'pinkchalkfabrics.com' when they had a 20% sale and their postage for patterns is also very reasonable.

 A selection of Lisette cottons from Spotlight for Christmas gifts for little nieces.  Love the colours!

An orange reproduction quilting-weight fabric with tiny bows - I'll make a dress for K - but I'm not sure which one yet.  Either the badminton outfit as a dress, or the croquet dress.  What do you think?

And I have to make another Ice-cream dress - this time using the pink ice-lolly print from the Lisette range and a contrast colour.  I've already made this pattern six times - but it is such a lovely summer outfit.

Some gorgeous bamboo/cotton knit to make a slip for myself and singlets/slips for K.

For a loose blouse/shirt for myself.

And I have this silk with a green base that I purchased from 'The Fabric Store' in Dunedin when it was 'Global Fabrics'.  This chain of New Zealand fabric shops has spread to Australia and I see they are opening in Los Angeles soon.  Lucky them!  I'm looking forward to the re-opening of their Christchurch store sometime soon - it has been closed since the February 2011 earthquake.

I am lucky living near Christchurch and having access to some good fabric shops - my current favourite is Harald's in Birmingham drive - a very old-school retailer with great service.  I've picked up some great bargains there.  

Clothing fabric in New Zealand is reasonable - I can usually get good quality cotton - knit or otherwise for about half the price (or less) per metre than I would pay for quilting fabric.  I would never sew garments with quilting fabric I've paid the usual $28/metre for... it's just uneconomic.  Spotlight always has bargains - and a good selection - but I've got my best deals from shops that have random rolls of fabric.  You have to look through the 'trash' to find the treasure.

Little Red Bag

I have a small bag in which I keep a knitting project - usually some socks - the bag is only about 20cm high.  This bag goes with me lots of places because you never know when you will end up waiting - and knitting is great for small time slots.

Then I decided that I needed another one for small stitching projects.  

 It even has small inside pockets to hold thread etc.  It is big enough to hold a small embroidery hoop as well.

The cord is too thick so I need to replace it sometime soon.  But I am very pleased with my little red bag and am getting better at designing items to match a need/size.

Currently I am working on a red handbag that has a stitchery panel on it.  Just the project to keep in my little red bag!

Woolly Cuddles

I've switched my sewing machines over to ball point needles so am busy churning out knit garments.  I've found that if I use four threads on my overlocker for most of my seaming I get a good result.  For topstitching I use my sewing machine with a twin ball-point needle - it gives a finish like a coverstitch machine when worked over the overlocked edge.

I made these PJs from a merino blend - K has problems taking them off in the morning - so they must be good.  The top is Oliver + S 'Field Trip' raglan tee.  Super easy to make - much easier than having a shoulder seam and fitted sleeves.  The pants are from 'Growing Up Sew Liberated' by Meg McElwee - they are the 'Sleeping Johns'.  I made both in size 5, so a bit big yet.

 Yes - she really does love her teddy bear - but he's not for sale!

To continue the woolly theme we both went out to help H the other day sorting sheep and I took my camera to snap a pick of K with her homespun jersey's original owner.  In case it is not obvious - the jersey came from the black sheep poking her head up behind K.

The jersey has been made from a heavily adapted Debbie Bliss pattern - I'm still new enough to spinning that I can't spin to a required wpi (wraps per inch) yet.  I have to swatch and work out stitch numbers from there.  This jersey was made a year ago - but you can see that I'm going to have to start thinking about the next size up.  Luckily I've got one and a bit black fleeces from this ewe in my possession.