Odds & sods... including more on pattern Pyramid

I have not done much in my sewing studio lately but have sewn two more little Nicole Mallaileu zippered purses.  The patterns are now available as downloads and I would recommend them as they give great detail on the sewing of these purses.

I have threaded a ribbon onto the zip pull of one and I like that idea as it makes it easier to find the zip pull.  One of these is going to be a gift and I think I will keep one for myself as they are very useful little bags.  All the fabric has come from stash and the zips have been purchased at op shops or the bargain bin at a local fabric store... so not much cost involved.

In my last post about the pattern pyramid I said I would add a pattern to the parcel and this is the pattern I have chosen as I have two of them and it is multi-sized so great for anyone who would like to use it. 

So if you would like to be part of the pattern pyramid fun you have until the end of the 30th November to leave a comment on this post.   I am happy to send this to anywhere so don't be shy!

Back soon (hopefully) with my Big 0 Birthday dress.... Ciao! 

Pattern Pyramid Giveaway!

I have been lucky enough to be part of the Pattern Pyramid that is going around sewing blogland.  I won my parcel from Funnygrrl at Falling Through Your Clothes.  The parcel finally turned up - it must have been on the really slow boat, but it is finally here, so now I can host my own giveaway!

This is the parcel that turned up, including a beautiful card from Funnygrrl.

And these are the individual patterns in the parcel...

A Simplicity jumper or top - cute 1970's styling that still does have the embroidery transfer in the pattern.

Very Easy Vogue - I think a '90's pattern (could be wrong) - cute tucks at the sleeve heads.

Vogue doll pattern, which looks like it contains some cut out pieces in skin-tone fabric - ready to go...

and finally Sew News top - set of dolman sleeved blouses.

The rules of the giveaway are:

Anyone, anywhere can enter by leaving a comment on this post by the end of November 30th but you must have an active blog.

I will randomly select one winner, and post them the collection of patterns along with hand woven labels  to be sewn into anything made from one of these patterns (these didn't arrive with the parcel so won't be part of this giveaway).The winner will then pick one pattern to keep for themselves, then host their own giveaway. They will randomly select a winner, post the remaining patterns to Person A.Person A will pick a pattern for themselves, host their own giveaway and post the remaining patterns to the winner, Person B. Person B will do the same and so on until there is a last pattern winner.For more information, including details of the charity supported by the very generous donor of the patterns, please see Karen’s post and the code for the Pattern Pyramid button.

I am not letting on at this stage as to which pattern I will keep.  Do you know me well enough to hazard a guess in your comment? Plus I am thinking I may add one extra pattern (yet to be chosen).

OK - best of luck everyone, I hope we can keep the fun moving around the sewing world!

Tangerine Chic

I have finished some crochet to show you - the pattern is City Chic designed by Jenny King.  For those who are on Ravelry.com, you can find the project details here.

As usual, with JK Designs, I found that my item is much smaller than the ones pictured in the pattern.  Jenny King crochets very, very loosely so please take this into account if you are making her patterns up.  However, saying all that, I am not disappointed and still love my little poncho.  It was perfect to wear on a cool, showery day and kept me comfortable.

I like the buttons that hold it together on one shoulder - they add a nice touch.

You may be wondering what is the purple haze in the background of these shots.  The pictures are taken on my back deck overlooking the Jacaranda tree in the back yard.  I think I fell in love with this house as I wanted the tree! 

After the rain, purple flowers blanket everything below the tree...

My blogging is slow at the moment as I am not making heaps of clothes at the moment.  I have got into a scrap quilt project and it is consuming my sewing time at the moment.  

Ciao...

Another bag... Vogue 8527

I have got into this bag making thing lately and wanted to show you my latest bag. It is from Vogue 8527.  This pattern has had great reviews and I think it is now OOP but if you have this one in your stash, you must make it up!

I made View D (the yellow one on the pattern cover).  I was making this bag to wear to an industry awards night and wanted it to go with my chocolate brown dress.  I bought some silk dupion (I think?) in a stone colour.  After reading some reviews and seeing how others had made their versions, I decided to use some left-over Nappa leather (from my obi belt) as the looped handle and the decorative strips on the front of the bag.  

I used quilted calico as the sew-in interfacing for the main body of the bag and silk organza as the interfacing for the facings, so it wouldn't be too bulky.  For the inside lining I used some left-over silk charmeuse from the lining of this jacket.  The lining is a bit too slippery and light weight and I would interface with a light weight fusible interfacing it if I was to use it again as a lining in a bag.  I also managed to put the lining in the wrong way so the pockets are on the front 'wall' of the bag instead of the back one.  Lucky I was making it for me, I can live with it (more than I could live with the thought of unpicking it).

This is how the outfit looked on the night (excuse the blurry i-phone photo).

I was really happy with this bag and felt very comfortable with it on the night.  I love this pattern and would recommend it highly.  I can see more bags in my future! ...Ciao for now!