Slack Blogger

I have been a really slack blogger.

There is so much going on in my life at the moment.

Our home renovations and extentions are going really well. My husband is such a clever man and he has been working really hard to get things done, but this means I have the 4 kids constantly and my sewing stuff has been packed away until the house is more livable.

I turned 30 last week - wow, I am growing up.

I have also been dealing with some personal issues, that I might discuss here when I feel ready.

Anyway - my main purpose was to come on here and say I am still around just unable to sew or blog much for a bit.

Bunting - Finished!

Its taken me months to finally finish this bunting, and weeks to get around to blogging about it, lol.

I struggled to get a nice shot of it (this room is tiny) but DD likes it and I think it looks nice. She doesn't actually sleep in her room at the moment as she prefers to sleep in with the boys but hey one day she will appreciate having her own space ;) and even more so if it is pretty.

Library Bag

My daughter is starting Kindergarten next week!

Firstly I can't believe she is 5 already and secondly I can't believe I will have 2 of my 4 children at school this year!

So anyway the reason for the post is that I finally dusted off my sewing machine (been so busy with school holidays and 4 kids at home) and quickly sewed up a library bag for her. I still need to buy a cord as the ribbon probably wont stand up to use too well, but she is very happy with it.

It is so funny that given the choice of all my fabrics she picked some spotlight fabric that my mum bought me for about $2 a metre.

Size 2 Shorts - Light Weight Denim with Tree

I made DS#3 (21mths) some more shorts today. I was clearing my sewing area, which has been taken over by our dining furniture during our renovations, and decided to make something. I used some soft denim that I bought at spotlight a few weeks ago and a tree from some IKEA fabric I bought in April.

front

The tree has been pinked around the edges and zig zaged, no bonding stuff was used though so I hope it doesn't fray. I decided to use the white thread to outline the darker green area to bring it out a bit more.

back

They fit DS#3 really well and he will be wearing them tomorrow, with a green shirt, when we go to see my family for our Pre-Christmas lunch.

A Skirt for my Daughter - Amy Butler Midwest Modern Fabric

I thought I would give drafting a pattern for a skirt a go, I took all my daughters measurements and came up with this skirt.

It fits her really well, and best of all, she likes it!! So of course she wore it straight away and I didnt get a photo. I think that that next time I will change the waist section by adding a *little* more in width, just to allow for a bit more growth.

My gathering leaves a lot to be desired on this one......I have read that using the walking foot can stop the gathers from shifting so I may give that a go next time.

I will write a little "how I did it" post with the next one I make.

Thanks for reading.

Finshed Scrap Bunting and Gracie Top Alterations

I decided to use some white drill I had here to bind the scrap bunting that I made.

I think it turned out cute and seems I wasn't sure what to use it for I added it to the gift I was giving to a friends daughter.

I also had to fix up the Gracie Top I made for her so I could drop it over today. I ended up cutting the straps, turning and topstitching and then added some orange resin snaps at the back. I really hope it fits!

I also used a little swing tag with "made by hayley" written on it.

Bunting - Getting started.

I am making my daughter some bunting for Christmas. I thought it would add some colour and fun to her room.

I decided on 25cm triangles, for no other reason than that I thought they would make a good size, lol. I made the pattern from a piece of paper (top right of the photo) and got cutting. I used my new CHEAP rotary cutter and not so cheap cutting mat.

(please excuse washed out flash photo)

After cutting the triangles (stack top left of photo) I was left with a few half triangles. I figured I would use those for my first try at making the bunting. So I matched them up, sewed them into larger triangles and then sewed two together (they are patterned front and back).

I only had enough for 5 double sided flags but despite my worries about it looking a bit too much, it actually looks OK (I think). I am not sure what I am going to use these five for as they are a little smaller than the others that I will be using (because of the centre seam). I still have to make some bias binding or buy some ribbon.....not sure wat I want to do yet.

I am planning to applique my daughters name on a few of the triangles, I am thinking that if I cut some denim and then applique with the Amy Butler fabric her name will stand out more. I think that will make it more personal and special for her.

I have a few days with 4 kids and no hubbie so I am not sure how much I will get done this weekend, but I plan on trying.