New Year's Resolution JULY

You may be forgiven for thinking it's Halloween already, but no, that's just another photo of me looking like I hate having my photo taken and trying to pretend it's not happening. I'm just staring off into my happy place,  forcing myself to forget there's a lens right in front of me, making me feel all self-conscious and all.

If you'll ignore my messy hair and uncomfortable pose, you may notice my dress which I made as my part of my new year's resolution project I'm working on for Fiskars.

I used the Kimono Sleeve dress pattern by Salme Patterns. I don't see it in their store anymore and I'm not sure why. Fear not, they have quite a few other dress patterns (and other pretty clothing items too). I have made several - the patterns are super simple and very comfortable.

To cheer up the dark navy blue satin I used, I decided to make a large anchor applique on the skirt. Not sure why I happened to chose an anchor at random (I'm not a sailor but I DO live by the beach) but I love it! I think I'm going to use this applique technique on more clothing from now on.

You can read the full article over at Fiskars here.

On a related note, I attended a quilting class with my mum last week and we learnt to applique and reverse applique (using a completely different method than the one I used for this dress). Attending a sewing class was such a brilliant thing to do - I need to do it more often. That would be nice.

#sp

Time to sew {tutorial}

 My kids love making stuff - everything that involves glue, glitter, card or thread and they are happy. I'm sure many children are the same way. I made them this sewing kit at the beginning of the summer vacation, with the hopes that they'd be happy to dig into it as and when. With all the things they need at their disposal, they're happy just sitting quietly for a little while and get busy. I like to take a step back from whatever they get up to, so that I don't influence or impede their creativity.

This was a project I was paid to come up with for the Fiskars website and you can read all about it by clicking here.

This afternoon my 8yr old wanted to make a shirt for his extremely well-loved, and grubby, Piglet. So I had him draw a picture of what he wanted the finished thing to look like, before we drafted a little pattern.

Only my son knows why Piglet has an extra leg hanging out from under his shirt...

This isn't the best photo of the finished shirt but I LOVE that my 8yr old is so pleased with himself AND he's sitting in a large cardboard box. He hand stitched the shirt (but in fact we are going to go back over it on the machine because the stitches are a bit too loose) and it actually fits Piglet perfectly.

Making a waterproof washbag {tutorial}

I have a tutorial up over at Spoonflower this week that shows you how to make a waterproof washbag - perfect for your summer vacations. This thing is BIG, so you can throw all your stuff in and it has a nice wipe-down surface. I used a vinyl fuse which I adhered to the outside of my canvas fabric. You could put vinyl fuse on both sides for extra waterproofedness.  

I cut my pattern pieces before ironing on the fuse. If you're going to do something like this, I recommend investing in a teflon coated machine foot, which is great at sliding over tacky surfaces like laminates and oilcloths.

Go on over to read the full tutorial on making your own. The link is here.

Please note that whilst this vinyl fuse is great and amazing for many craft projects, it is NOT foodsafe and it is not recommended that you use if for anything that will be used for food.

Summer purse {tutorial}

Oooh, I made this bag last year as a project for Fiskars but it's a great summertime bag and I thought I'd share it with you in case you're looking for one to make for yourself or as a gift. This bag is really roomy - I even manage to fit my laptop in it - but the best thing about it is that it's reversible.

You can buy wooden handles very reasonably in stores or online or even better re-use a pair from an old bag from the thrift store.

Using different fabrics would really change the look of this bag but I really like this bright Echino fabric that's perfect for the summer. You can read the full tutorial by clicking here.

*I am PAID by Fiskars to produce content for their website.

Today I have the great honor of taking part in the shorts on the line series hosted this week by the lovely Rachael at imagine gnats. Please go on over and take a look if you have the time. You will find a wealth of inspiration and ideas for sewing up shorts this summer from so many corners of the internet.

I made a cute pair of crabby shorts for my sometimes crabby  little one.

Cathedral Windows Cushion

My mum is an amazing quilter. She's always been crafty but in recent years she's really become great at sewing up quilts. We have one of her handmade treasures on our bed, as do my kids on each of theirs, as well as my three siblings, their families and almost every man and his dog... Anyway, I'm not a quilter but she has exposed me to influences that I would not ordinarily come across in my creative environment and I really LOVED a Cathedral Windows pattern she sewed into a cushion a while ago. 

I wanted to try one of my own - at least it's not a quilt that would take me 3 years to complete.

Hers was a little more 'traditional' in style, but I wanted to make mine bold and bright. I really wish I had the time, energy and patience to make a quilt like this - it's so beautiful. I wonder how well is washes as a quilt?

I feel like I need a little more practice on my points - my mum is way more precise than me - everything she has made is perfect whereas mine is always a little more thrown together.

Don't look too closely. It's pretty though.