Retro Minty

I was lucky enough to win a 'Debbie's birthday dress' pattern from Suz at sewpony.  I made one for Minty last night and (for once!) she loves it!

The dress is made with an old vintage sheet I had in my stash. I added a doily collar, partly because I was too lazy to construct a proper fabric one and partly because I was attempting to appeal to Minty's doily fetish (see this previous post).  The button is a sweet little vintage yellow button I picked up at a market when we were in Japan.

The shape of this dress really gives me a Sally Draper vibe so I made Minty a 'Sally-esque' matching headband.  Now I just need to train her up to mix the grown ups G and Ts and we'll be in business! Honestly I think I went a bit too far with the retro styling and the outfit would have benefitted from a bit of reigning in!  Next time I make this pattern I'll probably opt for a more modern fabric to give the vintage shape a bit more edge.

I made a size 4 even though Minty is five and a half, since she is very narrow around the chest.  Since the style is pretty generous in the bodice area this size is fine and even still has room for layering.  Next time I'll probably add a bit of length though, since the size 4 is a bit of a micro-mini on her!

The pattern was quick to sew up and had very clear instructions.  I'm sure I'll be making a few more Debbie dresses for Minty's summer wardrobe!  Thanks Suz!

In which I stick a doily on it...

I made Mint a bubble skirt out of some thrifted (vintage?) fabric.  She loved the fabric but something about the bubble shape offended her aesthetic sensibility.  Lately she's been really butting heads with me about what she will and won't wear.  It's extremely frustrating, since almost all her clothes have recently been deemed unacceptable.  I was on the verge of donating this skirt to the op shop when, as a last ditch attempt at pleasing her, I decided to sew a doily on one of her (most hated grey) shirts.  Suddenly the entire outfit had newfound appeal.  If only all dislike could be solved so easily… Don't like this pumpkin soup?  Don't worry I'll stir a doily through it… Don't want to brush your teeth?  Hang on a minute, I'll just wrap your tooth brush in a doily… Julia Gillard?  Just stick a doily on her.

A rabbit companion...

Here is a little bunny I sewed for a very special little baby girl.  I've been meaning to send her something for some time now but this year seems to have spun by in a blur.  So here is Mabel Rose.  Her introduction letter reads as follows:

Dear Dot,

My name is Mabel Rose.  I love reading Jane Austen novels and drinking restorative cups of camomile tea.  I also enjoy walks in the garden on sunny mornings.  My favourite flower is lavender.  I have a passion for astronomy and love mapping the stars.  As I currently find myself in need of a companion I was hoping I could join you for future adventures.

Yours Sincerely,

Mabel Rose.

I hope she is much loved.

The bunny pattern is from Fiona Dalton's book Hop Skip Jump.  She is made with thrifted plaid suiting, liberty print ears and scarf from some spotty goodness I picked up in Japan.

In which there is fresh bread and a false start...

Today has been rather frustrating.  I finally chose and ordered a tile for the kid's bathroom, only to have the tile shop ring back shortly afterwards to tell me the tile I had chosen is discontinued and out of stock.  So back to the drawing board.  I think I'm going to have to go to Melbourne since I've exhausted all my local tile options.

These are a few random shots from last week…  

I've been baking our bread using a recipe from the River Cottage Family Cook Book.  This book is fast becoming a new favourite of mine and not just because Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall is my celebrity cooking crush!  (He makes me want to wander about the English countryside in hand knits and bake rustic style tarts with home grown strawberries!)  

I've bought some new fabric and a new Japanese pattern book.  I'm feeling a little guilty since I haven't really had time to touch my sewing machine for a few weeks.  Hopefully motivation and inspiration will strike soon.

And a random shot of Minty enjoying one of the last icy-poles of the season!

In which there is lots of ice-cream and a last minute gift...

I've been taking a bit of a blog break to try and make the most of the summer weather with the kids.  We've had family and friends visiting and we've been swimming at the beach almost every day (sometimes twice a day).  

This weekend we've had a couple of birthday parties.  The first was a party for a little friend who turned one.  I have to admit to being completely disorganised coming up with a gift.  I ended up whipping up this little bird toy an hour before the party!  The pattern is from Fiona Dalton's book 'Hop Skip Jump'.  I used linen and some pretty Amy Butler fabric I had in my stash.  I popped a bell inside to make it into a rattle and I think the tail feathers will be perfect for a teething one-year-old to gnaw on!

Today we went to a fantastic family barbecue.  The kids spent the day jumping on the trampoline and hopping in and out of the inflatable paddling pool (repurposed birthing pool!!), while we enjoyed ourselves sipping fruit cocktails on the deck.  As my contribution to the festivities I made six different ice-creams and sorbets and set up a little ice-cream buffet.  The flavours were plum ice-cream (made with home grown blood plums), fleur de lait (a Parisian glace meaning 'flower of milk'), chocolate-coconut sorbet, chocolate-raspberry ice-cream, watermelon sorbetto (with chocolate chips instead of pips) and banana sorbet.  The 'fleur de lait' seemed to be the most popular flavour of the day.  I had so much fun putting it all together, I wish I had the capital to open my own little gelateria on the coast somewhere!  But in the mean time I might just have an ice-cream party for Minty's fourth birthday in a few weeks time!!

In which we tell the children white lies on 'snow day'...

I just wanted to share a few quick sewing projects from this week.  The first is a reversible baby bib I whipped up as a last minute gift for a friend.  The fabric is from Joelle Hoverson's cake rock beach line.  I just love the seaweed prints and brown tones - perfect for a little baby boy!

The second project was a super quick pair of mittens for Turi.  Earlier this week we took the kids to a 'snow day' on Churchill Island, and on the morning of the big event I realised I didn't have anything to keep Turi's hands warm.  Luckily I remembered there is a very easy pattern for mittens in Leisl Gibson's Little Things to Sew.  I used an old worn out fleece baby blanket for fabric and threw these together in an hour.  Sadly when we actually got to 'snow day' it was a bit of a bust.  It was bucketing down rain, and the line to get to the very small patch of snow was about an hour long.  Rather than pay $22 so that we could subject ourselves to this ordeal we just put the kids back in the car and went home.  

It's a good thing the kids are still so young (and gullible) because had they been a bit older I think there may have been a major protest at having to miss out.  Instead, the Mr and I engaged in an overly enthusiastic charade on the way back to the car, saying things like, 'Wasn't that so exciting?' and, 'Snow day was so much fun!'.  Since the kids really had no expectation of what 'snow day' would entail they were relatively content at having only viewed the snow through a fence 100 meters away.  Minty was slightly suspicious but in the end found it hard to repudiate our enthusiasm.  I do feel a little guilty but I think we'll just have to take them to the real snow next year!!

Minty all rugged up for snow day (bottom two photos taken by the Mr)

In which everyone wants a liberty pillow...

I got a chance to do a spot of sewing this weekend and made this sweet little baby oobee sleep set.  I was lucky enough to win the pattern from Leslie over at onegirl designs.  In case you can't see from the pictures, the little oobee has it's own quilt, pillow and drawstring bag to carry it all in.

These would make fantastic presents for the little people in your life.  It's the kind of thing you can easily whip up as a last minute gift for a kid's birthday party or during that pre-Christmas sewing crunch.  

Leslie also sent me one of her fabric packs which includes all the specialty fabric you need like the hemp/cotton fleece for the oobee body.  It is seriously snuggly!  I made the quilt with some of the precious fabric I brought back from Japan, the bag is Amy Butler and the pillow is made from a scrap of liberty (because every oobee deserves a little luxury!)

Minty has been having great fun tucking her oobee into bed.  I suspect I should have made two, as Turi is smitten.  He keeps trying to steal the pillow to snuggle his head on, and seems oblivious to the fact it is miniature sized.  I can't say I blame him, I want a liberty pillow too!

Thanks Leslie!!

When I die I hope heaven is in Fabric Street...

One of the main reasons I've always wanted to go to Tokyo is to check out the amazing fabric shops.  I wasn't disappointed.  I'm not sure why, but sewing seems to be a lot more popular there.  There is a place called 'Fabric Street' in 'Fabric Town' where the whole street is filled with just about every kind of fabric shop you could imagine.  It's in Nippori which is about a half hour train ride from Tokyo Station.  My favourite shop in Nippori was called Tomato.  It was massive - I'm talking multiple buildings, each several stories high.  I think it's kind of like our spotlight… except awesome and with stuff you'd actually want to buy.  People were crowding out the front waiting for Tomato to open (though maybe this has something to do with the fact that shops in Japan open pretty late at 10am).  When it finally did open the store was abuzz with shoppers.  I was struck by how many trendy looking young men there were (both working and shopping) - it would appear that sewing isn't so divided on gender lines in Japan.

I also went fabric shopping in Shibuya at a shop called Marunan.  It is a pretty awesome shop and right in the heart of Shibuya (across the road from the train station) which is a big entertainment and shopping district.  It's multi storey (about 6 levels if I remember correctly) - with lots of fabric treasure to be found.  I found some gems in their clearance bins for some pretty awesome prices.

I really wanted to go to Okadaya in Shinjuku, as I've heard it is amazing, but the Mr. really wasn't up for enduring another fabric shopping trip.  It will have to wait for next time!

Fabric Street Fabric Town in Nippori

Here are some of the treasures I brought home with me… (keep in mind I was on a tight budget seeing as we are about to build our house - it was VERY hard to be restrained!!)

I seemed to buy heaps of purple on this trip which is odd since I normally hate purple - the fabric on the left in a double gauze and the other two are mid-weight linen blends.
Left: top two prints are double gauze and the rest are cotton - Minty just LOVES the dogs! Right: I had to get myself some Nani Iro fabric while I was in Japan - this will have to be saved up for a special summery project I think!


This was the only Heather Ross I managed to find - about $4 for a meter - bargain!!

Thrift week...

Here is a little wrap up of my thrift finds for the week…

a terribly tarnished candelabra - so wonderfully over the top it will make an almost ironic addition to our table- can't wait to whip this out at christmas

some fun chinese side plates (I was planning to hide these from the Mr as he does not appreciate my penchant for old crockery!!)

tweed fabric for little winter trousers for Turi and maybe another librarian skirt for the Mint (50 cents)

pillowcases to be made into little skirts and tops (80 cents each)

and some kids books with records - these were free with the amazing op shop jumper I shared with you on Monday

Pop over here to see more thrift finds.