being two weeks old.
The beautiful hat is all the way from Chicago, the home of Heidi. Thank you! - such a gorgeous buttery colour and the perfect fit for Grace's little head. (I think I recognise the pattern - I have looked at it a few times but now I've actually seen it knitted up I just have to try one myself. Looks like that crochet blanket will take just a little longer....)
And another photo just because....
I find myself looking for any way to distract myself in these last few weeks (or possibly days) of pregnancy.
So of course, when I saw the tutorial for this patchwork ball, I started one immediately. ( Many thanks to Lil Birdie for the how to and photos.)
Now what's next?......
(Two weeks to go)
One more task ticked off the list.
Even though I'll most likely be half asleep most of the time I'm sitting in it, I'm sure that some part of my brain will appreciate the amazing pattern.
Soon to be covered in this long hoarded piece of barkcloth...
Better get a move on or else I'll spend an awful amount of time sitting in a very bright orange chair.
because my two girls really needed another soft toy....
just in time for Easter.
details: pure wool blanketing, vintage linen and embroidery.
I can't remember if I ever showed you what I did with these small trees...
Made them into a 'useful' pin for pinning on....well ,things and stuff!
I'm thinking some of these might find their ways into a few Christmas stockings this year.
In the meantime, I'll be away from my computer fro a week or so- back soon, hopefully with batteries recharged and some newly completed projects to show.
Late on the evening before we flew off to Queensland for my cousin's wedding,I went over in my mind all of the things I had packed.....sunscreen, swimming costumes, knitting project, wedding dress....oh, oops.....that would be the carefully wrapped parcel still sitting on the bench at the foot of the bed, not packed.I swear I slept holding onto the bag containing The Dress and didn't let go until I handed it over to the bride to be at the Goldcoast Airport the next morning. It took me all week to finish the handsewing, right down to 9am on the morning of the wedding when I put the final stitches on to hold the straps in place. In between times, I altered the girls dresses and made their flower crowns. Must confess, I love a hot glue gun. And making flower crowns.Now that's something I would do again.
The weather obliged by being perfect, the bride looked radiant, nobody fainted and Charlotte gave us all a bit of a fright by tumbling down a small flight of stairs out by the pool during the pre wedding shoot.
And finally, I was able to breathe a great sigh of relief as the bride floated down the beach boardwalk in The Dress. Here's to the bride!
until the big day! The dress is almost finished, after a minor,ok ,MAJOR drama last night. I discovered as I was attaching the chiffon overskirt to the underskirt and lining, that I had sewed one of the front panels in the wrong place. Yes, that would be the chiffon overskirt that had to be all french seamed. This meant that I had to undo 4 seams and resew them. 4 french seams. In chiffon. So there I was, trying hard to stay calm while I contemplated the idea of unpicking and resewing the newly trimmed 4mm seams.
Oh, and for anyone who hasn't sewed with chiffon before- Don't. It frays. Dreadfully.
I had to have a cup of tea ,a really bad for me biscuit and then a piece or two of restorative chocolate before I could even look at the unpicker let alone use it. So after 3 hours of work my net progress forward on the dress was nil. (Actually I had gone backwards but let's not dwell on that).
Anyway, that was last night. Tonight the dress is complete with chiffon overskirt and floaty drapey bit at the front.
And really, it looks lovely.
Only really, I can hardly bring myself to look at it.
Hence the picture of sea holly because that I can look at.
( Don't worry bride -to- be Emma, if you are reading this. Wedding dresses that I make always have this effect on me!)
While I was busy unpicking, cursing and resewing I was practicing my response to the following question.
" Will you make me a wedding dress? "
" Of course I will. As long as it's in calico and looks a lot like an apron."
Reminder to self: I DO NOT do wedding dresses.
So off to Queensland, bright and early Saturday morning. With the dress.
I promise that there will be a picture of it when I get back.( Just as long as I don't have to look at it!)
almost.
It's not quite finished due to a major change in design on day one but it's almost there. Enough that I will be able to sleep soundly tonight, hopefully minus the dreams of being chased by an enormous mountain of white tulle and satin.
Cousin Emma arrived on Friday lunchtime and before she even had time to put down her bag I had her draped in a big piece of calico. I had actually made a toile last time she was here but all week I have been thinking that the bodice needed to be changed.Quite drastically.
So it was back to square one on Friday, leaving me with a little less than three days to fit, pattern make, cut and sew the Dress. Just a little bit of pressure.
Pattern making is not my greatest strength or my passion - actually I quite loathe it! So Friday and the early hours of Saturday morning were grueling to say the least. By Saturday afternoon it was all fitted and ready to cut out.Naturally enough the fabric was not your easy going stable kind of stuff- no, this was slippery soft satin faced crepe.And it was ivory so there was the added danger of dirt and little grubby fingers to contend with.
Sunday, 1pm the dress was almost done with the exception of hems and hand finishing. Final try on by the bride( who needed to be on her way by 6.30pm).
Problem.
I could sense that Emma was not perfectly happy with the dress.But why? The new bodice fitted perfectly and looked just beautiful, the dress hung well and didn't pull over the hips or thighs.
Hmmm, after a bit of prodding , the answer. Emma just didn't feel that the satin finish of the dress was very flattering on her.Even though it was fitting well, she just wasn't at ease with the 'shiny-ness' of the fabric.
Rather big problem, that.
There was no way that I could have sent her home unhappy about the dress, and absolutely no chance that I could have sat through the wedding knowing that Emma was not 100% satisfied with The Dress. That I had made.
Inspiration or perhaps desperation stepped in- the original dress was to have a chiffon drapey kind of bit around the waist and falling to the floor down one side of the dress.
A bit of pinning and next thing you know, one happy looking Emma in a satin dress with full chiffon overlay. No more 'shiny-ness' , just soft floaty, bridey looking dress. Add in a flowing chiffon drape, from the bust, completed with a vintage diamante buckle (found in a box of estate jewelry I bought at an auction) and you have one bride -to-be who is perfectly happy with her dress.
And you have me , in a relieved little puddle on the floor.
So, one dress almost completed in the three days - just the overlay and drape to make and attach (I won't think to much about the fact that the overdress will have to be all french seamed....)
Hand hemming and the like can wait until the week before the wedding ,so that doesn't count.
Oh and I am officially semi -retired from the bridal dress business after this one. (This is number 8 or 9.)
Surely I have at least twenty or so years before either of my girls will be in the market for one.
Maybe I can convince them to elope.....
there was a young girl who like to make odd looking, rather wobbly soft toys with very large heads.
Or very large heads with no bodies.....
Now, her Aunty was a hoarder of the most excellent kind and kept the toys that the girl made for her cousins, even after their arms had fallen off or they were minus a few whiskers.
and naturally,they all lived happily ever after....
( these toys must be at least 25 years old! Almost vintage!)
