~The Liebster Award~

Bethany from over at Lil' Bit & Nan was awarded the Liebster Award by Jill from Laugh, But Not Loudly,

and then Bethany decided that I would be one of the next recipients of the Liebster Award.

I am very excited and flattered that Bethany decided to pass this award onto me.

As acknowledged by Bethany, I keep this blog mainly as a way to keep track of my sewing progress

and also as a way to improve my sewing thanks to suggestions from fellow sewing blogists.

Bethany makes some very lovely garments both for herself and her daughter.

Thank you Bethany for passing the Liebster Award onto me!

The purpose of the Liebster Award is to spotlight the talents of lesser known bloggers and their work.

As the recipiant of the Liebster Award there are certain rules I must follow to pass the award along.

The Rules:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog
2. Link back to the blogger who presented the award to you
3. Copy and paste the blog award on your blog
4. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed (see my choices below)
5. Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment at their blog.


So without further adiu I present my choices for the Liebster Award!


1. Suzy Bee Sews - I love the garments that Suzy makes. They are things that can easily be worn regularly. Lots of cake with enough frosting to keep things fun. Plus, she is a fellow purple lover.


2. Becky & The Beanstalk - This woman can bake & sew! Do yourself a favour and try out some of her recipes! I have one word for them! DIVINE!!!


3. Presser Foot Propaganda - Cute, classy & fun. I love seeing what garments will pop up next on this fab blog. I especially love the re-fashions that Forrest does - keep 'em coming!


4. Meg The Grand - Meg's blog was one of the first I came across when I started sewing and the first I started folowing. This red head has some serious style & talent. I recommend you check her blog out.


5. S'Agapo - This blog is not sewing related, but it is of great interest to me as the author Babybluez is blogging about her journey from "yes" to "I do", and I am on my own "yes" to "I do" journey.
"I think every bride has a type of dress for her and me personally, I am a big dress kind of girl... I figure it is the one time I can get away with it, so why not?? I also loooveee a massive train!" - This is me to a tee!


Congrats ladies!
xox

Here's to Happy Surprises!

Yes, I know it's been a while since I posted,

but this time I have a better reason than just being just plain lazy, but more on that later.

Do you remember a while back I said I'd ordered a whole lot of Colette Patterns, including the three new patterns:

Hazel, Lily & Iris. Well they finally arrived.

I also ordered 2 patterns from the Megan Nielsen range which arrived on the same day - Yay!

The Banksia Top & the Darling Ranges Dress.

There are some very cute versions of these patterns that I have come across on the world wide web

and I decided I had to try them for myself.

This is the Banksia Top (but as a dress) made by Andrea B of the blog Four Square Walls.

And here is one of my favourite versions of the Darling Ranges Dress by the super talented

Mary from Idle Fancy.

Here's what I'm thinking for my Banksia Top:

And for my Darling Ranges Dress either the cheerful stripes or the blue plaid.

Most likely the blue plaid as I will be able to wear it with black tights and boots in winter,

if I make it in the bright stripe material I will have to wait till spring/summer to wear it. 

How cute are the envelopes the Megan Nielson patterns come in?

The envelopes have a velcro closure so you can keep the pattern booklet and pattern sheets all together.

So you want to know my good reason for my lack of posting...?

Well I have been super busy organising our Engagement Party!

Yep! You heard right.

My boyfriend of 4+ years got down on one knee and popped the big question.

And I promptly burst into tears!

(But I did remember to say "yes" in between my happy tears). 

So the boyfriend is now the fiance!

We are both extremely happy and you can imagine how busy I have been trying to organise our

Engagement Party for the end of June.

That is the reason for my lack of posting - A damn good one if I do say so myself.

I do have some new garments to show you, but I have to get them photographed first.

I did have both the Circle Skirt & Pink Challenge done & dusted in time for their respective Sew Weekly due dates,

but I didn't get around to photographing them so I didn't submit them.

I will get onto that soon - I promise...

Sew Weekly Challenge - Childhood: The "Snuggly Jumper" Dress

Woo! On a roll this week. I actually got a Sew Weekly Challenge in prior to the week beginning.

Having a week off from work is clearly good for my sewing productivity!

This weeks theme on the Sew Weekly was to take inspiration from a photo of ourselves as a kid.

I had my garment(s) 90% done (something involving polka-dots, I wore a lot of polka-dots when I was a kid) when I came across some star printed fleece material in Spotlight and it instantly had me thinking about the fleecy "trackie-dacks" that

Mum used to make my brothers and I when we were kids.

There was this one jumper & track-suit pants set that Mum made me that has really stuck in my mind. The main colour was red but the material used kind of looked like a patch work quilt. I still have them packed away in a box somewhere.

Unfortunately I couldn't even find a photo of my crazy trackie-dacks.

I did however come across this photo. Mum made the Scottie PJ's I'm wearing in this photo.

My brothers & I (Ages 7 & 4) with the Grandparents.

Anyways.... Back to this weeks garment - my ultimate snuggly "jumper-dress".

I love, love, love it!!!

Sooooo warm & comfy, did I mention warm???

This is the Lola pattern by Victory Patterns.

I came across Victory Patterns a little while ago but it took me a while to make my first purchase as there are not many

reviews or photos of completed Victory Patterns out there in the world wide web.

I love the way the Lola went together and I am kicking myself that I haven't tried Victory Patterns until now.

But maybe I've just been waiting for some inspiration.

When I first saw the material I used for my Lola I thought of my fleecy "trackies" mum used to make me.

My next thought was that this would be perfect for a Lola.

So home I went and into the washing machine went my fleece.

I purchased, printed and stuck together my Lola Pattern.

(Yep, they are downloadable so you can start working on them straight away).

The next day I started tracing, cutting, sewing and it all went together so easily that I had my

 Lola done, dusted and was wearing it within 3 hours of making the first cut into my material.

Gotta love it when a pattern surprises you in a good way.

I had no idea what to expect from Victory Patterns when I started my Lola and I am so very happy with the end result

and can't wait to try more patterns from Victory Patterns line.

If you haven't come across Victory Patterns yet, get on over there and check them out!

I'll leave you with a photo of out two smiling "beasties" Chief & Chubbz.

Walking on the beach clearly makes them happy.

Sew Weekly Challenge - Location: The "Home Among the Roses" Skirt

So a few months ago I fell in lust with a stretch sateen fabric at Spotlight. I know - How pretty!!!

I didn't buy any at the time as it was over $25 per meter and I didn't know what I'd make from it.

So I'm sure you can imagine my excitement when I find a strapless dress at one of my local Op Shops

that was the exact same print but with a black background!

I wanted to snatch it from the rack and yell "mine!" - But I restrained myself. Barley...

(I'd already taken apart the side seams when I remembered I hadn't taken a photo of the original dress - Oops!)

My initial plan was to take it in and add straps to it (strapless dresses and I don’t really get along).

In the end I decided I loved the print too much for this to be a dress that I would only wear

once-in-a-while so instead it became a skirt that I will wear much more often.

I removed the bodice and used parts of that as well as the existing front waist band to create a new waist band for the skirt. I didn't use a pattern, instead I kind of followed the tutorial on the Coletterie Blog for adding a waistband to the Meringue Skirt.

For this weeks Sew Weekly Challenge Theme: City Inspiration we were instructed to use a "use a location for your inspiration".

Well I decided instead of using a City as my location inspiration I used a place that is very important to me.

In fact it is the most important location in my life – Home.

When I think of roses I think of home. I think that the whole family feels this way.

I know one of my younger brothers certainly does. He has a tattoo of 5 roses to represent our family.

He designed the tattoo himself and used images of roses from our garden, one rose to represent each member of our family.

If I really had to attach this skirt to a City I could say my fair city of Melbourne is the inspiration,

the annual Melbourne Flower & Garden Show was on recently.

Or maybe Portland, Oregon in the USA could have been my inspiration as a google search recently informed me that it is often known as "The City of Roses" for it's many rose gardens.

(On a side note - I would love to visit there!)

All of these photos were taken at home in Mum & Dad's pretty rose gardens.

Unfortunately as it is now Autumn here you don't get to see the roses in all their glory,

however they are still very beautiful.

 Mum & Dad have over 100 different roses and are constantly out in the garden to keep them looking beautiful.

Unfortunately while I was running to and from the camera getting these photos, my skirt got caught on one of the roses and it tore a hole in the hem at the back so it will need to have the hem shortened to repair the damage before I wear it again. (*damn*)

At least it will be a quick & easy fix!

P.S. A month-or-so after I found the original white rose fabric I back to Spotlight and found that it was on sale (YAY!)

so bought 3 or 4 meters of it. Now I just have to find the right dress pattern!

Something swishy with a full skirt I think - Any suggestions???

Colette Patterns Shopping Spree!!!

Exciting news!

Sarai the owner and designer of Colette Patterns released 3 new patterns yesterday!

If you haven't already guessed I am a huge fan of Colette Patterns.

Their patterns are oh-so easy to follow and the garments are simple to construct.

The instructions come in these cute as bound booklets with the patterns safely kept in a pocket at the back.

So seeing as I am such a fan of Colette Patterns, it should come as no surprise that I've already purchased the three new patterns, as well as a couple of their older patterns that I don't yet own.

Here is a quick look at the three new patterns:

~IRIS~

I think I will go nautical with these shorts, navy with red buttons.

Got to love a great pair of shorts!

~HAZEL~

Seeing as we are heading into winter here in Australia, I think I may have to make my

first Hazel in a heavier fabric and pair it with some tights.

Because I am NOT waiting till Spring/Summer to wear this!

I love the look below, so I'm thinking black & white stripes, with black tights, my little red boots and a cardi or bolero some sort...

Yeah, I like the sound of that!

Hmmmm... Might even try somehow adding sleeves.

~LILY~

I look at this dress and I think "Hello Sailor!"

It def has a nautical vibe to it, especially with the blue and white combo below.

Simple lines that emphasise feminine curves - I think I will somehow incorporate some lace into my Lily.

So there you have it!

The three new and exciting Colette Patterns.

(Which you can purchase here.)

You want to know what else is new???

These three beauties can be purchased in a digital format so you can print them at home and start on them straight away!

How cool is that!?!

It's a great idea, but I love the Colette Pattern Booklets so I'm waiting for mine to arrive via snail-mail.

I also purchased "Lady Grey" & "Cinnamon".

Now to find the perfect material for my Lady Grey - But in what colour???

I already have a short blue trench coat, as well as a longer red one.

A black coat will go with anything, but do I want to make a plain black coat?

Should I make a happy & bright coloured Lady Grey?

Or a black one that I know will be easier to incorporate into my wardrobe?

I guess I could make the lining a beautiful bright colour to give it a bit of pop...

What do you think?

Naughty (Lazy) Me...

I'd like to apologise for my lack of posts over the past month...

I have made several pieces, and participated in 4 Sew Weekly Challenges that I just haven't photographed!

I know... Lazy me!

I've been on night shift the past week so that's basically been a write-off for both sewing and photographing,

but the last three weeks of March, no excuses...

I will get onto photographing my garments (hopefully) next week and get to posting about them (and contributing to the Sew Weekly).

Have you ever had weeks when you just can't be bothered getting in front of the camera???

These are a Few of my Favourite (Pretty) Things...

So I mentioned in my previous post that the boyfriend and I spent a week up in Mildura for a little R & R.

While wandering around we came across a shop called Rose Harvest, and I fell in love!

The majority of their stock is either antique one of a kind pieces or items that are made to look like pre-loved antique pieces, with a little bit of this and that thrown in to create a beautiful and sometimes quirky selection of stock to choose from.

Seriously this shop had so many beautiful things in it.

From quirky little paperweights, to antique and rustic furniture, quilted bedding, gorgeous glass wear...
Oh I could go on and on!

Here are a few photos of some of my favourite things from Rose Harvest:

I wanted to take all three of these cuties home with me!

Really, really love the motivational wall art...

And the coloured bottles, the numbered drawers and the candle holders too!

  

I wish I had bought these... (*sigh*)

Hear no Evil. See no Evil. Speak no Evil.

More of those cute painted bottles,

and I adore the chairs and the clock!

More motivational artwork, just on a smaller scale.

We took this little guy home with us.

As well as a bit of "indulgence" which will one day hang in our kitchen...

Love in many languages.

Really like the welcome sign and the doves too.

Bright things make me happy!

Great idea for shelving.

There is just something about hourglasses that I love...