lion and pig and cat and rabbit

For a blog writer, I guess I don't really read heaps and heaps of blogs myself. There are those - like Whole Larder Love, Milkwood, the Forager's Year, and the Witch's Kitchen - which I read every day. Then there are my friends' blogs - like Feather and Nest and Happy Earth - which I read every now and then to see what's happening in their world. Then there are others which I like to save up for times when I need an extra-special injection of inspiration, or for when I'm feeling a bit down in the dumps and need a boost - a reminder that there are beautiful and wonderful things being created in the world by exceptionally talented people. While She Naps and Fog and Swell fall into this category, and I think the reason that I find them both so extra-special is because they're both crafters who work in three dimensions. Yes, I know - clothes are (hopefully) three-dimensional, so technically I also craft this way - but there is just something totally awe-inspiring about what these 2 ladies do, especially when they work together. 

A totally amazing and beautiful crab, borne of 2 clever ladies craftily inspiring one another

Makes me want to embark upon a collaborative craft project with someone!!!

One day recently while I was having a particularly crappy day at work, I lunched at my desk just so I could have a little pick-me-up fix from my favourite 2 pick-me-up blogs, and I stumbled upon a pattern on While She Naps for a topsy turvy doll. I'd never seen one before, and thought it was super-cute and maybe a good project for the kids for christmas, so I bought the pattern. Abby, the maker of the pattern, was super nice and helpful!

I've never really made any softies before, other than a stuffed rocket-ship, the odd owl-shaped cushion and occasional sock bunny which, let's face it, isn't exactly super-challenging. I suppose I was intimidated by all the small bits, all the turning inside out and stuffing and embroidering of features. And I was scared of the third dimension. But Abby's pattern was extremely well-written and well-photographed, so I felt OK. It felt like something I should be able to do, and I was up for the challenge. I even thought I was capable of altering the pattern so that the dolls were animals, rather than girls, seeing as our little kids are so very in love with all creatures great and small. I did simplify things a bit - obviously, I made them have ears instead of hair (the animals - pig, lion, cat and bunny - were decided on because I thought these were all animals I could characterise just by making different ears and facial features, so I could still use Abby's basic head shape), and I left off the opposable thumbs in preference for 'paws'. I also didn't stuff the arms because I just could not get my head around how to stuff those teeny tiny arms. It was Christmas eve, after all...

Lion and cat cavorting in the artichokes...

Become bunny and pig (yes - the pig has a 3 little pigs print frock on. Couldn't help myself)

It was an interesting challenge for me. Working on something like this forces you to focus on the detail, and following a pattern for something you're unfamiliar with (something I am very unaccustomed to) forces you to take it slow, step by step, and think about what you're doing in a careful way. Anyone who knows me will know that none of these things come easily to me. But sometimes it's nice to do things that don't come easy. And it's rewarding too.

The new loft - a perfect home for softies new and old

And when our bubbas woke up on Christmas morning and climbed down the ladder out of their brand-new sleeping loft, it was extra-lovely to see their little faces as they happily topsy-turvied their lion/pig and bunny/cat. I even feel like I could do it again!

So thanks Abby, for writing a pattern that was challenging for my dimension-phobic self, but ultimately not too traumatic, and thanks for inspiring me with your blog. 

And thanks kiddies for loving your dolls, and asking for them as you're falling asleep. It makes it all worthwhile.

Oski, loving his lion and Olive's rocket ship

The story of a bespoke P&E

The last couple of days have seen me busily attending to a custom order for a lovely repeat P&E customer. Before I go on, can I just say that repeat customers give me the warm and fuzzies. As if it's not flattering enough that someone wants to buy the things you make, some people like to buy them again! And in Yolanda's case, AGAIN! So thanks. It feels good, and it's fun for me, and you like wearing my clothes, so seems like no losers in this situation.

While I was sewing, I was actually organised enough to take some pictures of my progress, so that I could assemble a bit of a photo essay showing what exactly goes into me making a custom piece for my sweet ol' clients.

Yolanda's order came through Georgie Love, so I first got the heads up from Sal. I then emailed Yolanda direct, to confirm what she wanted: 2 dresses, a wrap 'n go, and a skirt like the black deadwood-inspired one I made a few weeks ago. Okie dokie. Yolanda's dealt with me before, and knows I'm generally trustworthy and fairly familiar with what she's into, so was happy to give me pretty free reign on this order. Super fun times!

Firstly, I set Florence to exactly Yolanda's measurements.

Olive likes to help me with this - I think, after me, she's Florance's biggest fan.

It's my favourite time of year right now, and the days have been spectacular, so I've been working with Florence on our super-lovely verandah. Lucky me, I know...

Yolanda had ordered a dress, so I had a look through my collection of vintage patterns to see if I had anything suitable.

I ended up picking out a 50s pattern with a V neck (one of Yolanda's requests), which I then modified to include an A line skirt (another request). Easy peasy. Now for the fabric. I recently acquired a pretty spesh tablecloth, made from some kind of wacky giant flower print. Actually, it's not really that wacky I guess. Unusual, yes, but very very beautiful. This one for the dress.

Other specs included 'birds, leaves, earthy tones', so I picked out some of them too. Once I have my fabric collected, and I make sure I have enough (especially problematic for dresses as they use up quite large pieces, which are not always easy to come by when you're working with vintage finds) I start to cut out.

When I'm working with a pattern, and I have to say right here that this is a minority of cases as I generally find them good for inspiration but over-complicated to actually use, I use the above method for holding the paper in place. Borrowed from my lovely, talented and inspirational friend Nicole, this method involves the use of cans of food (and jars of sewing oddments) instead of pins, which can and do damage fabric and paper patterns, especially if you're using them over and over.

Now, because my patterns are of various sizes, a fair amount of adjustment goes into making them fit my client exactly. This is where I get serious with my pins, held safely and handily in my trusty wrist-holster-pin-cushion. Yee har! I pin the garment together on Florence, so it fits snugly in all the right places, and hangs just so. I really like this bit, as it's the first time I get to see how the garment is actually going to look.

After she's pinned, I sew it all together on the trusty Combi DX and voila! Frockage complete.

I have to admit I was a little bit pleased with myself when I tried this dress on Florence, and kind of wished I'd made it for myself. It's hot. And matches my kids' bucket and toy truck perfectly. Just what you've always wanted, right?

The second dress featured a square neck, as per Yolanda's request, and is made using a cute little pattern I made a few years ago. It's bias cut, for flattering snug-fitting-ness, and has a little tie belt. If you look here you can see another one I made a few months ago. The style also works well without the belt when you're pregnant, as Pearl found out the summer before Oscar was born.

I'm usually a huge fan of scoop necks (just because I like them for myself and am such an egomaniac I assume that means everyone else likes them too) so was slightly apprehensive about making this one with a square neck, but once Florence had it on, I realised it was right. And cute!

The skirts are also nice, though, given my pleased-ness about the frocks, a little less exciting somehow. I believe that the wrap n' go from fancy crepe-like wool blend in a lovely rusty red, with vintage kind of oriental (bamboo??) bird print pockets is suitably autumnal.

And last but not least, the ruffly Deadwood-inspired pleated black skirt.

And I actually took a photo of the ruffle this time!

Wrap-and-Go!

Op shops are cool, right? And the best bit of the op shop is the sewing section, right? And even when there's nothing really that good (like wooden spools of thread or bags of bias binding) in the sewing section there's pretty much ALWAYS at least a few sewing patterns, right? Can you resist these gems? I, for one, cannot. And as a result, and in spite of the fact that I rarely sew from a pattern, I have a massive collection of them, which I peruse with surprising regularity and usually have a few on display in my craft nook.

Last weekend's wedding dress consultation gave me a reason to get all my patterns out, and I was reminded of, and inspired to make one of my favourite skirts: the Wrap-and-Go.

As you can see, the Wrap-and-Go Skirt is a very fetching '70s number, which is awesome for several reasons, not least of all the fact that it wraps at the back and has MASSIVE

pockets. Since I purchased this pattern around 2 years ago I've made quite a few of these skirts, and I inevitably fall in love with them. I guess there's just something irresistable about them (I think it has something to do with the name...)