Sew It Sarah

Moved to a new blog

2009-09-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

I have started a new blog about my life etc and thought I may as well put my sewing on that blog too to keep everything together.

It's http://splishsplashdesigns.blogspot.com/

Quilting you say?

2009-08-29T03:44:00.000-07:00

Well.. seems I can quilt! A friend phoned me to say that the local church was holding a 4 week workshop on patchwork for beginners AND the cost was only $25 including materials. Why not!? I've wanted to make quilts for the boys and this was the perfect way to see if I could do it.

So far, I have been to 2 lessons and I've finished the top of the quilt. For the first week, I was the only one who turned up! Bit embarrassing at first, but it was kinda cool having a private lesson.

Have now go so many ideas to make my boys a quilt each. Just need to choose the materials... the hardest task!

Knitted blanket for my baby

2009-08-11T04:46:00.001-07:00

I got bitten by the knitting bug!! LOVE it! Have been knitting every night after the kids are in bed and it's so relaxing. Have knitted this blanket for my baby and it's now on his little cradle keeping him warm at night :)

Have wool. Made scarf.

2009-07-20T03:29:00.000-07:00

Sooooo, I've been wanting to do some sewing lately, but my sewing machine table is under a mountain of laundry that is waiting to be folded. It's our only table and I just couldn't be bothered clearing it off, so instead I decided I'd do some knitting!

Here's my first attempt at knitting a scarf for my 2 year old boy. Have finished, but couldn't remember how to cast off! Have googled and found some video instructions so will give it a go.

Stay tuned for pics of the scarf on my litle model :)

Downtown boy

2009-07-17T22:15:00.001-07:00

This is a new pattern by Make it Perfect and I can't wait to give it a go. I want to make one for my 2 year old out of a plain fabric with a funky fabric for the inside of the hood.

Another project to add to my loooong list!

New fabric for boys!!!

2009-07-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

I have been searching for lovely fabric for boys for AGES and have come across this new line by David Walker called Oh Boy!

Love it!!! I am picturing cute pants, motifs on white tshirts, wall art, cushion covers, blankets etc etc. Think I'll have to get some while I get creative in my head :)

Very happy

New pattern

2009-04-17T17:17:00.000-07:00

I bought this new Amy Butler bag pattern. It's the birdie sling and bigger than the Frenchy bags I have been making. Just wanted to try something new! I have one more Frenchy bag to make for a friend for her birthday and then I'm going to tackle the birdie sling. Can't wait!

yet another bag!

2009-04-17T17:13:00.001-07:00

I made this one for my SIL. It's the first one that I gave away and I was kinda nervous giving it away as I thought I could see mistakes :) She didn't think so and said she loved it! It's another Amy Butler frenchy bag

Amy Butler Frenchy Bag in Amy Butler fabric!!!

2008-12-30T21:30:00.000-08:00

I have finally finished my Amy Butler Frenchy Bag in Amy Butler fabric and I love it!! I used interfacing this time (didn't with the first attempt) and it makes SUCH a huge difference! It's a proper bag :) Woo Hoo!!!

"Emily" - First attempt at a rag doll

2008-12-08T18:45:00.000-08:00

This is my first attempt at a soft doll. I found the pattern online and roughly copied it. I just wanted to do the legs, arms and body to see how I would go. A properly finished one will have hair and a face! I'm actually pretty happy with the result. And have called her Emily!

The pants in action

2008-11-28T11:53:00.001-08:00

Here they are on my model! I LOVE these pants and am so happy with the way they turned out.

Good thing the clothes basket distracted him so I could get a pic :)

He looks pretty happy with the pants on, huh! Here he is driving around on his little bike.

Army / crocodile pants

2008-11-26T01:45:00.000-08:00

I made yet another pair of pants for J today. They are just so easy and so quick that I'm addicted! I'm trying to get them a bit better each time. An overlocker would REALLY help to make the inside sems a lot neater. Oh well, until then I will just keep on going.

This fabric is really cute :) It's army print, but they are little crocodiles. Found it on the children's fabric table at Spotlight the other day and thought they'd look cute as little pants :)

Blue pjs

2008-11-18T23:09:00.001-08:00

Third attempt at little pants and they fit perfectly! Woot! They look great. The legs are the perfect width and the waist fits really well.

He has now worn them for 2 days in a row (including the daytime) as I'm loving watching him run around in pants I made! (And of course underneath the pants he is wearing nappies I made him :) )

Brown spotty pants

2008-11-18T23:06:00.000-08:00

My second attempt at pants for my son. Oh I love them! They are so funky. But, they are too small :cry: The legs were fine, but I took them in all the way round and made the waist too small. Such a shame. I have more of this fabric so might give it another go if there is enough.

Wide leg children's pants

2008-11-18T23:03:00.000-08:00

I found a free pattern for very simple children's pants online and thought I'd give it a go. It was so easy! The first pair I made are posted here. The legs are a bit wide, but they look pretty groovy and hippyish on my little boy! Next ones will be thinner leg, but these are still pretty cool :)

Headband

2008-11-18T23:01:00.000-08:00

A lovely girl from a forum I visit sent me a headband that she made and it is so nice! Thought I could give it a go too. This is my first attempt. Happy with it, but it can definitely be improved. I made it as a gift and the person I gave it to has worn it and says she likes it. Woot!

The fabric is really gorgeous too. The person I made it for loves her pink so I selected this fabric from the pink fabrics at the local fabric store.

Cotton outside

2008-11-18T22:58:00.000-08:00

Oh my! Oh MY! I LOVE this nappy. I saw on a forum that another girl was using cotton on the outside of her nappy. So I bought this gorgeous fabric (Michael Miller) and made this gorgeous nappy. It is soooo lovely.
BUT, the nappy doesn't really work too well :( It wicked!! Nooooo. It has PUL on the inside so dunno what was going on. Such a shame as it is beautiful *sigh*

Red doggy nappy

2008-11-18T22:56:00.001-08:00

Made this AIO honeyboy nappy with dog flannelette and red microfleece. Very happy with the outcome!

Army nappy

2008-11-18T22:46:00.000-08:00

Bought this fantastic blue army minky online and love it! Just used plain blue flannelette on the inside (and the inside really is a bit messy for my liking) but I do like the end product. Very cute on too

It's been aaaaagggggeeees

2008-11-18T22:44:00.000-08:00

Gosh, I haven't been in here in yonks! I had a dry patch where I didn't do much sewing, but lately I have been biten by the bug and have been sewing up a storm :)

Ohhhh, a new layout!

2008-06-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

So, I was googling and thought I'd see if I could find a different look for my blog as it was boring me....
Found some ol' site and was going through pages and pages of templates that really didn't do it for me. Then I came across this little birdie one and thought "yeah, that's it!" I'm loving the brown, the vintage style print on the brown background and think the little birdie is kinda cute too :)
There you do, new blog look for Sarah! (I will admit it took a while to figure out how to actually put the template on my blog, but that's all in the past now!! hahaha!)

Got the Softies Book!!!

2008-06-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

So my library finally got the Softies book in and it's in my hot little hand!
I think the librarian found my excitement strange, but then she had a look at the book and I think she was secretly excited too!

There are so many cute little softies in there and I'm going to try one out very very soon.

Watch this space....

My cross stitch

2008-06-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

Thought I should add some pics of my cross stitch. It's a birth announcement that I started sewing when I was still pregnant with Jack... who is now 15 months old! It's soooo close to being done, that I'm getting excited and have been trying to sew some most evenings after dinner.

There's still a bit more to do on the bear part - the angel's hair and some outlines, but it's so close...... Then under the moon I'm going to add Jack's name and birthdate. The moon needs a face and then it'll be ready to frame and pop on the wall in Jack's room. Yay!

Finished Amy Butler Frenchy bag

2008-06-08T01:48:00.000-07:00

I just realised I didn't add the final pics of my Amy Butler Frenchy bag when I finished it months ago. I have still only made the one, even though I have fabric to make another!

Inside... yes, that's right, I DID use lining!

Army pants!!!

2008-06-08T01:34:00.000-07:00

Oh!!! How could I forget to add this! I made myself a pair of pants. I used army print fabric from Spotlight and made 3/4 pants. They need some improving, but I'm happy with my first attempt.

I haven't got a pic. Will have to take one the next time I wear them.

I wear them around the house and have worn them to Coles, but they aren't really worthy of going out to a "proper" public place yet :)

Yeah, that's right, I made furnishings!

2008-06-08T01:16:00.001-07:00

The "naked" door.......

The door with my curtain on it!!!! I LOVE this fabric and went to 3 Spotlight stores trying to find it!! I saw it one day and didn't buy it and then was kicking myself. Thank goodness we managed to eventually find it.

Here's a long shot of the loungeroom showing the (fabulous) curtain and the matching cushion cover on the lounge. The cushion cover definitely needs some work, but it was my first one and I'm pretty happy with it :)

Piggies and Trains

2008-06-08T01:01:00.000-07:00

I made 2 AIO nappies using a Honeyboy pattern. They ended up pretty good!! I need to improve on the tabs at the front, but I'm still happy with them.

The pink one is plain pink micro fleece and the inside is pigs flannel. I made it for my niece Norah, who went about christening it the first time she wore it!! haha.

The blue one is navy spotty minky on the outside and train flannel on the inside. It's a great fit on my little model :)

I've got some more fabric to make more nappies, including some cool blue army print fleece for the outside of a nappy. How cool Jack will look in that!

Wow, it actually looks GOOD!!!

2008-01-06T00:33:00.000-08:00

I'm impressed! I started my Amy Butler Frenchy shoulder bag and it is looking GREAT! I bought the pattern online from America and it came as a pack with some fabric as well. I also bought some other fabric from the same site (http://fatquartershop.com/) as it was on sale. I used the cheaper fabric first to see how I would go and then I'm going to use the good fabric.

Totally inspired!

2008-01-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

I googled the pattern number that I'm waiting on (Simplicity 4589) and there were heaps of pics of finished tops on various flicker accounts. They all look so great and I can't wait to do mine!

I have ordered the pattern from a UK site and it has been shipped. Couldn't be bothered waiting longer for Spotlight to order it in.

Combat!

2008-01-01T21:15:00.000-08:00

I went to Spotlight on New Year's Eve and guess what??? I got one of my patterns! It's the one with the pants as well as the tops and little jacket. So, thought to myself that I would give making some pants a go.....

I bought myself some funky combat / army cotton print and was ready to go! Since I'm quite a novice sewer (quite? I AM a novice!!!) I asked my mum to come around and help out. As we cut out the pattern pieces I could feel my excitement growing!!!!! We then cut out the material and started to SEW.....

We managed to get the legs all done and still have to do the elastic waist and the hem.

The were pretty simple, so I can see myself making pyjamas, house pants and going out pants.

Will post pics later once they are finished.

Waiting for patterns

2007-12-29T23:30:00.001-08:00

I have in my hot little hand some lovely fabrics to make tops and I'm itching to make something! I ordered 2 patterns from Spotlight over 6 weeks ago and they STILL don't have them in!!
Sick of waiting, I phoned a different Spotlight and found they have one of the patterns there! I'm off to that store tomorrow to pick it up.
I have found the other pattern online. True, it's in the UK, but what the hell, I want that pattern.

I did some searching on flicker and found some great tops others had made with these patterns, so now I'm even MORE motivated to try them out.

Kinda a bag

2007-12-29T23:26:00.000-08:00

I used my funky red lips fabric to try a bag... I found a free, simple tote bag on the 'net and attempted my first bag. I did find it ok to do, but have hit a stump in the road... My sewing machine can't sew the last parts of my bag because the fabric is too thick!!! I added interfacing and probably didn't need to as it made it really thick.

So, will attempt it again without the interfacing.

Solar system!

2007-12-29T23:23:00.000-08:00

Loving this cute little nappy I made. It's green with planets and aliens and is super cute!

First thing's first

2007-12-29T22:42:00.000-08:00

My first attempt at sewing was a nappy.....

When I was pregnant with my 10 month old son, I decided I wanted to use cloth nappies. My main motivations were to save money, and to have softer fabrics against his skin.

Once he turned a few months old, I was ready to start him in cloth. I started with fitted terry towelling nappies and then discovered modern cloth nappies. Oh My!!! I love these nappies!! My favourites are AIOs (all in ones). I purchased a few second hand ones and then I had my mother buy me some new ones for my 30th birthday (gee, how priorities change once kids come along!).

The only problem was the upfront expense. I thought that I could make them for myself for a fraction of the cost. I'm a member on a few forums and one of them was having a nappy making day near by. I jumped at the chance. Remembering I was / am a CRAP sewer, I didn't really know what to expect.

Imagine my surprise when I watched and learned and realised, "hey, I CAN do this!" I made one that day and have since made 4 more. Each time they are getting better. My son wears a combination of bought ones and home made ones and they all do a damn good job!

Spotlight SALE!!!

2007-12-29T22:26:00.000-08:00

20% off storewide...... yeeeha!!!!!! I went to a different Spotlight and purchased some lovely fabrics.
The top 3 are quilting fabrics, but I intend to make them into bags. The one on the right is hard to see, but it is red lips. I thought it was pretty funky and a great fabric to practise on.
The bottom 2 are to be used for tops. I'm not sure what the fabric is, but it's like silky boxer shorts. Maybe similar to satin?? It will flow nicely over my post-baby tummy!

Starting my blog!

2007-12-29T22:16:00.000-08:00

Welly well well! I'm here, I'm queer, let's have some beer!! hahahaha... ok, so I'm not queer and I don't drink beer, but I'm here.

I am a newbie sewer. I don't include the crappy sewing in high school. I wasn't paying attention and I definitely didn't have the patience to really learn anything. A crappy jumper and a pair of boxer shorts later, I didn't really know any more about a sewing machine.

Fast forward to 2007. I'm now 30, mature (*cough, cough*) and ready to create and make things. My mother in law had an old sewing machine she was no longer using, so it's been passed down the generation to me. I'm very excited to have it!

I'm ready to create stuff and want to keep track of it all here on my blog. Hopefully it gets better and better as I go along!!! That's the plan anyway......