[Sarvi]

HOLD THE PHONES! I thought Spotlight was like JoAnns! They had TANA lawn, for $8/m? That’s lower than Shaukat, even. Is there something wrong with it? Are they damaged in some way? That sounds too good to be true — but if it’s not, I’m going to be here begging for courier services!

[Tamara]

I am just going to have to employ the services of mail order and be quick about it! I hate going into a store that is jumbled up to the point where you simply cant find, well, ANYTHING!

Sarvi they have lots of VIP specials on at the moment that is why I really wanted to get there. They are gearing up for stocktake which will happen soon too. Oh well, will see if they can put their money where their mouth is with the mail order service and if it proves to be right on the knocker then this is probably the way I will go from here on in.

20-30 bolts of Tana lawn! Half your luck! But then that is the major difference between the bigger stores and the piddly little ones like ours – you actually get stuff!

I have just spent the morning finishing off the rollerskate tunic and went to measure her again for elastic and realised she has grown a quarter of an inch in the bust within two weeks! How can that be?! The top isn’t tight but it isn’t spacious up top neither. I have decided I don’t like curves! Not coping very well with this at all! So I will probably be enlarging this pattern shortly just so it looks right.

Now it is onto working on a class picnic top of the same fabric, followed by a matching skirt and two sets of field trip pants amd t shirts for Tuesday night’s looking through powerful telescopic instruments exercise. I also want to sew up the already cut put Pinwheel tunic. I have a feeling it isnt going to fit but be a little snug so I won’t go and cut out others until I know for sure.

[Nicole]

I thought Tana lawn was Liberty? I am not completely sure,may have to google that.

Spotlight has a good range of Japanese lawn,see these http://www.flickr.com/photos/motherof5/7643207528/in/set-72157625440576471 ,they are fine but not Liberty quality.

Several of them look like Liberty knock offs.

[Justine J]

Yes, the Spotlight lawn is Japanese, and is quite lovely, but it is not (sadly) Liberty! It usually retails for 14.95/m, so like most of us, I try and stock up when it’s on sale too 🙂

[Tamara]

I don’t really mind the fact they aren’t Liberty but I do know the quality is ok but not Liberty quality. I just want some nice fabrics to sew with other than quilting cottons. Those of you nearer to the larger stores are so lucky to be able to see the prints in person. I will be happy with the mail order should it all work well. At least then I get to choose from more than one colour and one print of the items on sale.

I quickly made up the tunic bodice of the Pinwheel pattern I had cut out earlier in the week. I tried it on her but unfortunately I don’t think it fits the way it is supposed to. I’m also concerned about the length. I will enlarge it slightly to see if I get a better result. Sad to say this is the sign of the times and no more Oliver and s for miss 10!

[meleliza]

I wouldn’t say no to a liberty knock off at a fraction of the cost. After all, even half as nice as Liberty would still be lovely. The Japanese fabrics are usually really wonderful. I suppose being closer to Japan helps you get ahold of them. I’ve snooped on the spotlight we site – as well as paid attention to what our Australian friends post in the Flickr group – and it seems to me that spotlight is a fair bit higher in quality than Joann. It seems a little more along the lines of C&A in England. I suppose our American preference for fast and cheap reins in Joann. It’s funny, there’s one store on fabric row where I get my crepe de chine lining and occasionally other things. The owner there is obnoxious and practically complains when I come in looking for nice things that customers want cheap and no one else in the entire world wants anything nice, so he couldn’t possibly stock it. Of course, I don’t think his world has ever heard of the Internet or cleaning the store or getting some windows in the place. But whatever, that’s local color for you around here. Still, he has a point about the average American consumer. I have been discovering lots of etsy shops that sell from various parts of Asia directly.

Yes, thanks, the photo shoot went wells despite the young lady being very chilly! The dress fits really well, which concerned me after the second fitting. I had to let the belly out! And I hope she doesn’t grow too much more. I also had to make a sway back adjustment, which surprised me for an 8 year old. But it’s so much nicer on her than anything they could find in a store. I put one preview picture up on Flickr because I couldn’t wait to share with you all! But I’m waiting to really show it off until I get all the pics from the photographer.

Meanwhile, I’m nearly finished the Easter Birthday party dress. I’ll get that done this afternoon. Tomorrow, I’ll be busy cooking some corned beef and cabbage and baking some soda bread so there may not be any time for sewing.

[Robin]

I have sewn nothing this week, and I can tell by my somewhat less than my usual calm and supportive parenting techniques. ; ) My husband is in Adelaide for 10 days wandering nature reserves, watching cricket, eating cool food, spending time at the beach and doing other important things during his business trip. He turned up in the Country Bumpkin newsletter. So now I’m incredibly jealous and wondering what kinds of things he got to see and talk about.

We’re on the wet, I mean west coast of Canada. Today will be spent trudging through mud at the wet lands about 90 minutes from us with my dad and brother’s family. It’s been raining since last Saturday and doesn’t show signs of letting up. Sophie would like to wear her velveteen school photo dress. I think something a little less formal might work a little better.

Off to put the house back into some kind of order before we leave. I can hear Nani Iro fabric whispering to me from the sewing room. Will have to wait until tonight.

[needlewoman]

Dear Mel, congratulations on finishing the Communion frock!! A real labour of love, I’m sure. Glad the photo shoot went well, and the Easter dress is coming along. My Nana used to make corned beef, the proper way, and I loved it with cabbage and mashed potato. Do you make a white sauce? I still like corned beef, but the ready cooked stuff is often so salty. It’s finally getting cooler here, and I’m starting to think about cooking real food again. I haven’t done any sewing the last few days; rather I’ve finished tracing the Music class blouse for a size 6, and an After School for a Miss 2. Went to a local shop this morning, and spent more than an hour sorting thru their buttons – not a huge range but beats trying to do it in town – for the various outfits that I’ve cut out. Really hoping to get some real work done in the next week or so.

I noticed some lovely Japanese fabrics when I was last in Spotlight, but I’ve never found the Tana lawn everyone talks abt. The closest I got was in Cleggs (Melbourne) on special for $29 a metre. I’ve been seriously disappointed with Spotlight in the last year or so; while their range of fabric has expanded dramatically, the fabric quality, overall has declined. So much of it is coarsely woven, or has so much “sizing” in it, that you know it will be like a rag when it’s washed. It’s one of the reasons I’ve gravitated towards the Denise Schmidt, and Donna Wilder ranges when they are available. The quality is often much better but the costs are climbing. What used to be available for $12-14 a metre, is now $20. That’s rather a lot. But like everyone else, I keep an eye out for sales. It’s variety that’s the problem a lot of the time. I’m with Justsewit; nice stuff other than quilting cottons would be great. I suspect it’s a bit like colours/designs in seasonal fashion – sometimes you just have to wait/be lucky for the “right stuff” to turn up.

[Sarvi]

Awwww, man! I was trying not to get my hopes up, but I confess I did — I thought maybe there was a printing error or something. Yeah, Nicole is correct, Tana is not a generic name for all cotton lawns, it’s specifically Liberty. There are lots of nice non-Liberty options, but I wouldn’t want to trouble my Australian friends to go to the effort and expensive of posting a package for those. Both Alexander Henry and Robert Kaufman make awfully pretty ones that are a pleasure to sew, and you can get them at the usual places — Pink Chalk, fabric.com.

If any does find Tana for AUS$8/m, sing out! I’ll pay, beg, swap!

[Tamara]

Oh Robin! That was YOUR hubby?! Now I can put a (husband’s) face to a name! hope he got you some nice treasures! i always have to go to Country Bumpkin whenever I go to Adelaide – last time it was actually for Beating Around the Bush ( the time before the last one). Love to say hello to the ladies there and catch up on what they have been doing and of course buy some lovely things to tale home again.

Well, after doing all that pattern alteration, and a quickly muslin to see if it was enlarged enough, I have decided to put the Pinwheel aside for now – mainly because when I asked miss 10 to come and choose fabric, she ran and hid in her room! I just wanted her input!

So instead, and to try and pick my spirits up, I have decided to cut out a pair of field trip pants for N! At least then I will know that he will willingly choose the colour of drill and happily wear them!

[meleliza]

Easter dress worn to church this morning, even though it still needs a few hand stitches on the inside. 🙂 baby girl was very excited about it. Today, I’m working on the felt peep garland from Dana Made in between cooking.

Yes, my grandmother always made it too. Ive never had it with a white sauce. Do you mean bechemel? We usually serve with mustard or maybe a mustard sauce if I’m feeling fancy. I don’t know about the “proper” way. I mean, it’s really just boiled meat and veg. I don’t corn it myself, if that’s what you mean, I sorta have better things to do with my time. In the old days, the butcher would corn it. These days, you can buy it already brined and ready to cook. I have a Martha Stewart recipie from a few years ago for corning it yourself and if I had her staff, maybe I would too. 🙂 I will make some Irish soda bread, though. And Irish potato candy with the kids. Those are a unique to Philly treat that’s a little like buttercreams rolled in cinnamon so they look like tiny potatoes. It’s a strange kind of candy, and not at all actually Irish, but tasty.

[Robin]

Oh, I need to make the peep garland too. Thank you for the reminder! It looks pretty straight forward. How is it to construct?

[with love Heidi]

I probably have the wrong name, I’ve just gone “lawn” and added the wrong prefix. It’s just the regular spotlight lawn from japan, but very soft, I still haven’t bought any to sew with but one day I’ll make a 2+2, like you did for Tildy, Nicole. Here’s the link.

http://catalogues.spotlight.com.au/VIP_SEW/4673/Catalogue#/?page=1

Sorry to have put upt he wrong thing, but my brain has been a little strained this last week.

But I finally cut out my green cargo’s and I’m hoping that there will be enough to cut out a 12 firefly fromthe 3m as well, but we’ll see.

[Sarvi]

Oh, no worries, Heidi — I think I just had that little thrill, like when you think the old violin at a yard sale might be a long lost Strad!

[Mama_Knowles]

I am finished with the three oler boys Sketchbbok shirts so I think I will go ahead and start the two little’s today. Caspian will have smocked baby bubble for Easter, his first Easter. : ) Sarah will have smocked version of the Fairy tale dress. Both of theirs will be all white with the color in the smocking and piping. I am so excited and nervus about making these. Tamara has been helping me out so much so hopefully they will turn out nice. I have to get the fabric pleated but I want to make C’s bonnet and get all the piping made today too. I am hoping to get to make both coloars on both out fits as well.

After I finish these I will go back and make the older boys’ sketchbook pants. Maybe if times allows a dress for me too. The pattern and fabric have been calling my name and now I have lovely skirt kit calling even louder to me. ; )