Aprons, Aprons, Aprons ....

AND AN APRON!

For the Junior "Master Chef"

I have been busy making beautiful aprons. These aprons are for the stylish and funky cook who doesn't want to forgo GLAM for the perfect meal!

ME MADE MAY '12

           'I, Kate of mixedbagofthreads sign up as a  participant of 

 I endeavor to wear one item of clothing or accessory that has been made by me, refashioned or upstyled each day for the duration of May 2012'

With only repeats on work days 'cos it will have to be jewellery or totes with the Corporate Wardrobe. Weekly Blog posts. 

 

I love this challenge. I haven't participated before so it's a great op to get stuff out of the wardrobe and the to do box and wear it.

I love a challenge but haven't done one like this before. It"s a good op to see what I've got, what I need and  define my style.

To join me the link to sign up is below.  and please leave a comment on my Blog with a link to yours as I'd love to see other people's take on this challenge.   

http://sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/me-made-may-12-join-me.html

       
 Ha, ha I had to have tea and brownies while I contemplated this challenge. We love brownies, they make us all happy!

If you want some baking inspiration and would like to view some edible art, check out http://mybuttoncake.blogspot.com.au/

New Things

So exciting my Pinking Shears and Invisible Zip Foot arrived today. I sourced these from the always fabulous Sew Gorgeous. Check out the store on Sew Gorgeous' Face Book page.

Mind you I don't know how to use the new foot but that is a minor issue. I can do the invisible zip but the specific foot will make it sew much easier.

Yes I have recently purchased an overlocker so why the Pinking Shears? I will use the shears where I want to eliminate the bulk around a seam or in places that I won't overlock or zig zag, e.g the facing where it turns in on a neckline.

On the subject of my  overlocker I had huge sucess yesterday when I re threaded the "Lower Looper!"  I tried the easy way by knotting the next thread to follow on and feed itself through, but -of- course- it-broke. From there I had to read the manuel and with time and patience VOILA, back in business. Ha, ha the colour coding helped too.

This is a beautiful succulent from my garden. These gorgeous plants can be grown from a leaf, just stick a leaf in the ground and they keep growing and propegating without much care at all. They make me happy.

Resurrection

EASTER, Easter, Easter. Our Easter break has been glorious. the south east Queensland weather divine and the chocolate abundant!

We started the Easter break with a Pot Luck neighborhood dinner. Residents of the street all converged at one house bringing a pot to share. It was great to catch up with the neighbors that we know, chat to the ones we usually just share a wave with and meet new ones.

Good Friday we did our regular "Hubert Good Friday" thing. We have done this for about t four years now. We drive to St Lucia and take a leisurely walk across the Schonnell bridge that spans the Brisbane river from St Lucia to Dutton Park. Late in the afternoon it's a lovely thing to do, then we do the "loaves and the fishes" thing with dinner from  Assault and Battery.

Yesterday we went up to Coolum Beach. We had lunch on the headland where it was pretty windy,  it calm down by the water. The water was unexpectedly warm though there were lots of rips about.
  My sewing has had a resurrection albeit with a win and a loss.  I have never sewn with Linen  before and I am now a convert. It's a lovely fabric that is easy to sew with and to wear it is divine. It would be a perfect choice for summer clothes and layering for the winter will work fine.Layering is what you need in our climate anyway.

The only drawback that I have with Linen is ironing it. I hate ironing and I am bad at it and as a consequence I don't do it. Linen however has to be ironed but doesn't stay ironed for very long. Oh well, I'll have to view to view it as "fashionably crushed."

This pattern came from a Japanese book called "Simple Modern Sewing."  The patterns need some minor tweaking size and fit wise but that's not hard when it's not a  fitted garment.

The loss came from the Colette "Clover" pants pattern that I attempted. Everyone knows pants are hard and fitted pants with a side zip are even harder.  The pattern got me in though and gave me false hope because it said "BEGINNER!" Ha, beginner with more experience than me that's for sure.

Oh they came together alright and the fit was OK, but how fitted do you go? The zip was the big problem and honestly it just all got too hard. The Colette pants have been relegated to the "one day" pile "one day"  when I feeling brave enough and patient enough to give them another go.

Out of the Box

My beautiful, vibrant "look at me"me  orchids are flowering, the weather is cooler and Easter is just around the corner.

I finally have my Janome Over Locker out of the box. It sat in the box for 3 weeks and from what I have heard from other over locker owners,. that is not uncommon. I have read the instructions and watched the DVD twice but I am not looking forward to the rethreading of it.

Oh, I have used it and it's fabulous it gives that "finished" look which is what I want. Ha, ha, it will just like riding a bike or driving a manual car - when I have had the practice that is.

My sewing nook is nestled in the "front room" I have lots of natural light and a beautiful garden vista. I don't have much storage space and the cutting table and iron are in another room.  No matter, it all works and that means that my sewing machine and overlocker stay out and set up, if they get put away well who knows when they will see light of day next?

I have 10 days off work over Easter and sewing will a happening thing. I have a pile of "to do" but no fabric as yet.  I am off to see "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" movie with my friend Sharron tomorrow combined with a stop at The Fabric Shop in New Farm. It will be a fun and productive day.  

Facing my fears - the Zip

ZIPS freak me out! I have made a lot of cushions over the past 12 months but I have never felt confident inserting the dreaded zip. I want my creations to look "finished" so I decided it's time to confront my fears.

SEW, to take the zip by the teeth as it were, I did a fabulous cushion class with Tammy at Piece Together in Wooloongabba, Brisbane.

This was a great class to do. Whilst I have made cushions before I hadn't put the zip across the back, I just put it in a side seam. Now I think the zip across the back is better. I picked up lots of tips and tricks and  as you can see in the photos I have been practicing at home with, dare I say it - minimal unpicking..

You can never have enough cushions!

Checkout this huge egg! We get 5 or 6 eggs per day usually the smaller size.
I'm sure Madonna laid this HUGE egg as she always does things in a big way. It had 2 yolks in it and if we had a Rooster it would be twins I am told. We have had several "double yolker"  eggs which you rarely see in commercial eggs anymore.

 

Found CoCo curled up in Liam's cupboard on a rainy day last week. I wish I could cat nap in a comfy, cozy spot whenever I felt like it. 

End of Summer

Summer is almost gone,  cooler mornings, evenings and glorious 30 deg days with low humidity.  Apart from the odd modification, the odd hem and a few repairs, there hasn't been much action on the sewing front. No reason just disorganized and "almost teenage children" to taxi around most weekends.

I think I will plan for  A Sewing Resurrection over the Easter break.

These gorgeous "Sexy Pink" Heliconias are from our garden. The weather is slightly cooler so a good time to plant some more veges.

The hens love their day release time and are happy roaming around the garden. We are getting 6 eggs most days. This is a big saving on my grocery bill as we used to buy 2 to 3 doz eggs each week.

I am on a frugal drive right now, cutting down on wasted expenditure though I must stress frugal without being :cheap 

I'll let you know how it goes....