Where am I?

Hmm.. where do I start?? I've been around. Not doing much.. well, yes I have been doing much but I can't, for the life of me, think of what I have been doing! I know it involves no sewing (Boo Hoo!!!) and no other creativeness (unless you call coming up with interesting meals to cook each night 'creativeness'!!)..

DD has completely dropped her day sleeps. That's when I used to sew/get creative. I would have 3 hours of peace to just potter around with my machine. But alas, that is to be no more.. by the end of the day playing, entertaining, cleaning etc etc.. I am far too tired to start on any projects and I am lucky to see past 9pm (lately it's been 8:30pm). I just about collapse into bed and sleep fitfully until morning just to start the whole routine all over again *sigh*.

I have put up a pair of pants in my shop that I made awhile ago. I did intend for DD to wear them but she had a growth spurt before that day to come around (typical LOL!)

Oh how I long to be able to sit and sew for hours.. that is just a distant memory for me.

Ooooh, but I did get some bargains at a car boot sale the other day. A lady had some patterns in a box and I asked her how much for 4 of them and she said, "nothing!" Cool! 4 patterns for free!!!

Oh yeah, we also went to Carrara Markets and I found the most amazing stall.. It had buttons, BUTTONS, BUTTONS!!! Oh how I love buttons. I remember sitting in my Nan's sewing rooms sorting through her button jar, which I later 'inherited'. It had a smell to it. Not offensive but an 'old' kind of smell.. I used to love opening the jar and just inhaling the sweet, plasticy(?) scent.. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh... Ooops, off track.. markets, that's right.. there were millions of them. They were in little containers according to colour/size/style etc.. and there was also a HUGE plastic tub FULL of buttons!! I stuck my hand in through the middle of the tub just to be sure the buttons weren't just stuck all around the inside of the tub to make it look like it was full LOL!! I could have easily spend an hour there. Unfortunately, the rest of the family don't share my love of buttons so we moved right along..

That is just about it for me. I am staying up way past my bedtime tonight! It's after nine and I am still not a pumpkin!! Better head off to dreamland now and get prepared for yet another day.. Pop in and say hello.. it brightens my day when I get a new comment :)

Funky Flower Pants!!!

I love this fabric. It is a lightweight drill (I think).. I love the colours and flowers.. I love the style of the pants.. When I made them they were the perfect fit. I was waiting for the cooler weather to hit so she could get to wear them. Finally when she gets the opportunity to wear them I find that she has had a growth spurt and they are now too short!!! NOOOOOOO!!!! I will most likely put them up for sale in my shop soon..



(no, she wasn't in trouble in this photo LOL.. she was either not co-operating or playing hide and seek!!)

Chocolate and Strawberry.

Time for me to do a catch up post. I have made a few things but keep forgetting to blog about them (tsk tsk!!) Here is a cross over top that I made. I think a few of my sewing friends have made it too. I have had the pattern for ages but couldn't find the fabric that was just right for it.. anyway, I eventually found this gorgeous fabric and whipped up this top the following evening. It was so quick to make. The binding gets a little fiddly but once you get started it's easy to finish up. I LOVE pink and brown (can't ever say no to pink!!).. I call it 'chocolate and strawberry' colours LOL..

I have no idea why she was posing like this.. LOL!!


Again, no idea why she flaps her arms about when the camera comes out LOL..


Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and well wishes about Emily's arm. She is fine now. Plaster came off on Friday and she is madly flapping her arms around so I don't think there is any permanent damage..

My poor baby has a 'fling' on her arm!!!

My baby has an injury! :(... Poor little princess has a strained elbow muscle. She will have the plaster on for a few days. It is mainly to make her a bit more comfortable because when she moves it it hurts.



So, that is what's been happening here.. Not much sewing happening.. A certain 2.5yr old has dropped her day sleeps now so I only get to sew at night and lately I haven't had the energy to do that.. I've got heaps I want to do but no time to do it.. Better sign off now..

Girls weekend away...

I have just been on a girls weekend away. It was so much fun. The location and good friends makes for a perfect time!! I must admit, staying up until 4:30 in the morning and getting up at 7:30am does not do great things for me for the rest of the week... I made these bags to give to each of my friends to take home as a memento of our weekend together. It was tedious but fun to make them. I had a bit of a production line happening LOL. The girls loved them! I would love to make one for myself but I don't think I could face making another for awhile LOL.. Everyone else made or bought something to add to our 'goodie bag'.. I will take a photo of what I received and post it later... These are the bags I made..



On the weekend away our friends parents took us on a champagne cruise on their yacht. It was absolutely gorgeous! The weather was perfect! Here is a photo that I took whilst out on the yacht.. Not the best pic but I like it anyway!

It's swap time!!!

Today I received my pincushion swap parcel from the lovely Michelle/Toffle. Inside was a gorgeous teapot pincushion, a mug carrier bag and a box of tea!

Thank you so much Michelle!!!






And here is what the lovely teapot pincushion will replace...


LOL!! Although it is quite horrid to look at it has some sentimental value to me. It was my late Grandmother's pincushion. I don't think I could ever get rid of it but I do think it is about due for retirement.

Now that Joy/Jgal has received her swap from me I will post the photos here...

Teacup pincushion, Ladybug pincushion, Ring pincushion, Sewing machine pincushion, Wheat and lavender heat bag and a box of Lindt chocolates!..


Sewing machine pincushion. I am quite happy with this pincushion as I drafted it myself (not all that hard to do though LOL!!). After a few failed attempts I finally came up with a way to make it work. I haven't seen anything like it around before (probably is but in my sheltered little world I have not seen one LOL!) I am always trying to put pins into my pincushion as I am sewing but it feels like I am chasing it across my table because it slips/falls over etc so this way I can just pin them on this as I am sewing!


Teacup & saucer pin cushion.


Ladybug pin cushion.


Ring pincushion.

I'm on an 'uploading' roll!!!

Here are the cord pants that I made the other day. I decided that I didn't want to put elastic all the way around as I usually do so I did a flat front instead. Of course I only decided this AFTER I had sewn the legs together so I didn't make allowances for that and they turned out too big around the waist. I put in a pleat on each leg which bought them in just enough.. they look great on.. Simple but more 'dressy' than my usual style.. I will make more of these I think..

FRONT


BACK


Here is the crocheted jacket that I made awhile ago.. I got around to getting some toggles and putting them on. I love it!! In the process of making another...

Tracksuit pants..

I have been sewing.. I'm just really slack at uploading pics! Here is a pair of trackpants that I made using a piece of fleece that I picked up at an op shop ages ago. I forgot I had it actually.



I also made a pair of cord pants. I love how they turned out. No pics just yet.. Will try to get that done in the next couple of days..

Winter PJ's.

Here is a pair of PJ's that I have been working on. The colour isn't coming out right on the photo but it is a hot pink flannelette with white spots . I got all tricky and added some white trim to the cuffs and collar. I think it finishes it off nicely! There are a few flaws (nothing major) but still fully usable so I will put them in my shop at a reduced price. I'm very happy with how they turned out and I will be making some for Emily in her size.. You can see them for sale here



Close up of cuff.

Jacket, pants and a girly girl room!!!

Thanks for all your lovely comments! I am very happy to be back sewing again.. I've got some pics to show you. Firstly, the 'bunny rug pants'.. They are nothing special.. just basic pants with two legs LOL.. I've only got a photo of one pair, the other pair is currently being worn by Emily and I don't think she'd appreciate me waking her up right now to take a pic ;)

'BUNNY RUG PANTS'


And just because I think these are so sweet, here is a close up of the print on it..


Here is another project that I have been working on. It is not quite finished yet. Still have to put some buttons (probably toggles) on it. I love it so much. It is a crocheted jacket (der, as if you couldn't tell it was a jacket!!).. I have never crocheted anything other than a square blanket before this!


It is so warm and snuggly.. I had lots of fun making this.. I will get another photo of it all finished and show you what it looks like when it is on. SOOOOOOOO CUTE!!!


I have also been crocheting some beanies. Nothing overly spectacular.. No pics.. I am not happy with any of them at the moment so I have shoved them down the bottom of my knitting bag *blush*..

It has been a busy couple of weeks for us. We painted Emily's bedroom. Now it looks very girlie!! Once she is out of her cot and we get rid of the changetable etc we can start getting her some better furniture.

Here is her room.. of course, when you get your room painted you MUST jump up and down in it, squealing and saying, "Oooh, tippy!!" 'Tippy' means 'pretty' (of course!!).. And you MUST get ANYONE who is within arms reach of you to "come on... tippy.. look.. tippy!!" and we must follow and look at the 'tippy' room once again..


I am in love with green and pink at the moment. I have grand plans of having all white wood furniture for her. After having 2 boys I am loving having lots of PINK everywhere!!

Well, that's about it from me for tonight. I've got a few more projects on the go (I feel like the queen of multi-tasking these days!).. just some winter pj's..

Please don't forget to leave a comment if you stop by.. Happy blogging (or blobbing as I call it! :p)...

Just some bits'n'pieces...

Just thought I'd pop in some pics of some things that I have made.. These are some PJ pants that I made from some 'Dora' satin that I had left over from making a pillowcase. They are not really crooked on the leg, she is just standing wonky!! I also made some more pants out of some old flannelette bunny rugs.. I was going through her drawers cleaning out what fits etc and I couldn't bear to just get rid of them. They feel so snuggly and warm. I will get some pics and post them soon.





This is a cute little reversible tunic top that I made from a vintage pattern. I didn't read the instructions properly so it didn't turn out too well.. You can just see the other fabric underneath. I think it was a 'challenge' fabric awhile ago.. It has been sitting in my stash for ages.. Oh yeah, I made the capri's she is wearing too.. I made them sometime last year.. They are really good for the hot weather up here!!

I love it!!

I love it, I really, really love it!!! This was my first time sewing polar fleece. I must admit, I was a little scared (big wuss I am!) but it was so easy to work with. Not too easy to unpick when you make a mistake though LOL.. I used a pattern that I found at an op shop the other day for 50c! When I got home I opened the pattern to find that the previous 'owner' had enlarged and traced off patterns in the next 4 or so sizes (pattern went from 4-7) so I definitely got a bargain there! I even put pockets on it!

Love this top!!

This is a new outfit I made using a vintage pattern. I love the style of this top. It was difficult because there were a few terms that I didn't understand but I persevered and I'm glad I did because it is quite sweet. Lots of 'firsts' in this top for me. I've never done a collar, or thread & loop, and I had never done the type of pleats that are used on this..









Close up of the pleats..


I'm going to list them it in my shop. I really want to make another one. This time in Emily's colour and perhaps a bit smaller because it is just a little bit too big.

I'm back!

Did ya miss me?? I haven't posted in here in AGES!!

The move went well.. No missing boxes and nothing was broken. Kids have all settled into school well. Mum and Dad have been up here for a little holiday and gone back again (I miss them!! I hope they can move up here soon!)

I have been trying to get back into my sewing but the weather has just been far too hot for me to even think about sewing, most days I was hard pressed trying to think what my name is LOL!! Thankfully it has cooled down a bit now.. I polished off the machines and made this outfit. I am trying to build up some stock for my shop. I have another one almost finished. I'll put that up as soon as it's done..

TOP AND PANTS
This is a lovely light cotton with a feint butterfly print in it. It's so light and cool!. The outfit was fun to make. I enjoy making things I have never tried before. This one was difficult to get thread to match.. Luckily I found some in the end.


So, that is it from me for now.. short and sweet (describes me perfectly!)..

A handsome man & a Thomas fan!!!

I have been sewing, I just couldn't tell you what I had been working on because it was a KK present for this handsome young man.. I had been wanting to make a boys outfit for a long time but I couldn't get motivated until I found out that I had Declan for my KK.. I saw these pants on someones blog awhile ago (sorry, I can't remember who!) and I thought I'd give it a go.. Changed the style a bit though (no tabs on the side..)



Knowing that Declan is Thomas the Tank Engine's number one fan I couldn't resist putting this embroidered Thomas applique onto it. It is an iron-on transfer but I handstitched a blanket stitch around it. It finished it off nicely I think!

The sleeves have a small 'tab' on them too with a wooden button holding them down, the fabric matches the checked fabric on the pants.


A special thank you to the talented Lisa Barnes for the photography.

So that's what I've been doing amongst a whole lot of orders.. I didn't get a chance to make Emily her birthday outfit (her b'day is on Sunday 17th Dec) or Christmas outfit.. I will probably have to pack all my sewing stuff up soon ready to put on the truck in about 3 weeks..

Things are hectic around here!! Packing, cleaning, parties, goodbyes :( Birthdays, Christmas.. And it doesn't stop there either, it just starts back up again in the new year.. Oh well, I can't say that my life is boring!!

Ok, I'm off.. Hopefully I'll get back on here before I leave..

It's ok!! I'm still here...

This entry is just for Helen(minigrey) since she is complaining that I haven't updated in agggggges!! :p LOL...

That's it!! Byeeeeeeee!!!

LOL, just kidding.. so much has been going on that I haven't really had time to pop in and chat. I've been doing a fair bit of sewing but it has all been orders that I have had and there is nothing new that I haven't shown you all before. I have opened the LollieLollie shop but now that moving day is getting closer and closer I am thinking that I will have to close up for a few weeks until I can get myself all sorted at the new house.. What a fun job that's going to be!!

We are having a garage sale here this weekend so I have things EVERYWHERE!! No bit of flooring is to be seen at the moment. It is covered in crockery, toys, furniture, saucepans, frypans, cutlery, glassware, kitchenware, craft pieces, folkart pieces that I have painted, bikes, scooters etc... etc.. Anyone want anything?? I even managed to go through my fabric stash and took out 3 pieces to try and sell LOL!! How generous am I???!!??! I kept looking at all the different pieces of fabric and thinking, 'Hmm, I oculd make something out of that.. Hmmm.. That will come in handy' LOL.. I have been pretty ruthless with everything else though so I forgive myself for not throwing out more material :p (and also the fact that I have a HUGE walk-in wardrobe in the new house means that I will have lots of room for fabric.. that's true isn't it?? I'll just keep telling myself that!)

So, that's about it from me.. not much sewing talk but you get that... I'll be off for now..

LollieLollie Shop is open!!

Here it is!! LollieLollie Shop. Still working on it in between cleaning and clearing etc for the move. I need to get some time to make more stock but I am just so busy with orders and the move and Christmas and Birthdays (phew!!) I don't think I'll get any done before the new year :( hopefully once it all settles down here I can get stuck into it..

A Sensational Softie!

I was so excited today because I received my softie. I had to contain myself at the post office because I wanted to see it then and there but I took a deep breath and drove all the way home without opening it.

What a lovely surprise I got when I opened it and saw this...






I'm sorry, the photos don't do her justice AT ALL!! She is absolutely beautiful. She looks so professionally made. Double top stitching around the bill and feet and she is so plump and cuddly. THANK YOU so much Dani (daniL). I (we) love it so much.

I have loved doing this swap. It was fun. I can't wait until the next one (well, the next one that I will have time to participate in!) Thank you so much Ingrid for organising it :D

'Shishie' and Emily

We had a lovely morning meeting up with Keropi (Julie) and her gorgeous DD Ashie :) Thanks so much, it was fun!! I can't wait to catch up again!

Emily trying to hug Ashie!


Ashie trying NOT to have her photo taken! LOL!

Our Family..

I meant to come in here the other day to update this but I didn't have time. A few weeks ago we got some family photos done by a lovely photographer Lisa Barnes(www.lisabarnes.com.au) She made us feel so comfortable and relaxed and I think that it really shows in our photos which you can see here and here.

Tip of the day #78

Never let your husband take your daughter around the shop while you have a look around. She may very well come back looking like this...







Taken with my mobile phone so not the best quality. Dh found a wig on a mannequin and put it on Emily. It looked so funny.. I was laughing so hard when I saw her, even the ladies that run the shop were laughing. As soon as I got the camera out she was saying "cheeeeeeeese" LOL. That is her 'cheeeese' grin... What a show off LOL.

I also picked up some bargains from here (St Vinnies). I got another Sheridan sheet. I didn't know it was Sheridan until I got it home and washed it. Some buttons, a Roxy tshirt for myself and some near new tshirts and singlet tops for Emily. I'm happy with my purchases from there.. THANKS JULIE (Keropi) for letting me know where it was..

HOT, HOT, HOT here today.. I wouldn't be surprised if it hit 40deg. There is a lovely cool breeze now though.. I love when hot days end with cool breezes.

I will try to get some pics up in the next couple of days..

Twirlin' and a Whirlin'

Ever tried to get a nearly 2yr old to stand still? (I am sure you have) It is nearly IMPOSSIBLE!! So, this is the best I could get of her wearing her new twirly skirt that I made last week. I wasn't fussed on the fabric but it is kind of growing on me now. I really like the style of this skirt, I have grand plans for it in the future LOL.. (gee, sounds impressive but it isn't really LOL!)

Curls and my girls..

Just thought I'd share a photo of my beautiful girls (Goddaughter and Emily). Emily just LOVES Victoria-Rose (GD) and follows her around everywhere. I'm going to miss her so much when we go :(

My Girls!!!


And for those that have met my daughter... they know that she had no hair for FOREVER!!! Well, the last couple of weeks strange things have been happening.. CURLS have 'popped out' all over her head!! It is the cutest thing LOL.. All together now.. "AWWWWWWWWW"...