[mcholley1]

I like the sound of pique even better!

I also have a piece of plaid double faced gauze. I want to use it but keep avoiding the hassle of getting it straight.

We have houseguests and I’m in the middle of prep for a course I’m teaching starting next week. I’ll be checking Flickr and sewing vicariously through you lovely ladies this week. 🙂

[Mama_Knowles]

That is great Tamara! At least now you have a back up pattern. : )

Yippy yay Nicole! Sounds like you got a bunch of things done. Her Puppet show sounds ever so lovely. I am hoping to get a least two made for Sarah for Spring and summer this year here.

Well I finished up all the quilt piecing. I made my quilt “sandwich” and was able to get all the quilting done yesterday. It’s looking rather good I think. Today I will attach all binding pieces together and sew them onto the quilt. The back of them are all hand stitching so it should be quite evening of sewing for me. So I am almost completely done!!

[meleliza]

I think I’ve decided on rose pink Kaufman Essex linen for the Easter jackets. I think I’ll making the new Lisette one for me and one for her. I ordered a vintage pattern from Etsy, but the seller is unresponsive. If that doesn’t work out, I think I’ll just modify the Sunday Brunch pattern. I really want a one piece swing coat, but if I start with Sunday Brunch shoulders and sleeves, the rest will be easy to draft. And I think I might line it for her. Gosh that’s going to be a lot of pink.

I did snap a quick and dirty phone pic of my traveler tunic. It’s on flickr.

[Tamara]

Yes isn’t it Sharon! It means that should I need to somewhere down the track, have a replacement and the pattern is out of print, then there is no need to panic!

I am sincerely looking forward to getting sewing again. I think it has been somewhere around the three week mark and I am having serious withdrawal. It won’t be long now though. Apparently the air conditioning unit will be fitted either this afternoon or tomorrow (most likely tomorrow) and I am still yet to paint and get that great huge wardrobe in (plus the contents) – oh and the floor (forgot about that).

So hopefully next week?…… My to do list is growing larger than the sewing list at present.

In the meantime I am enjoying popping in to have a look and read up on what you lovely ladies are up to.

[Mama_Knowles]

I bet you are sure excited Tamara! I am for you. : )

[Tamara]

Oh yes I am for sure! But it is such exhausting work getting it all into place and THAT I am not excited about. But you have to have progress to reach a result so this is exactly it.

I have been told I HAVE to wear a plain dress for Friday’s event (World day of prayer) but do you think I have a plain dress out of the great pile of clothes I do have? Nuh ah! So it looks like I am going to have to perform miracles and make that diplomat after all. And to boot, it is going to be hot again Friday so I have been assured it would be “cooler” to wear a dress.

Tomorrow’s agenda: get up before the rooster crows and paint sealing coat in sewing room, get kids sorted for school, sew one dress etc etc. where are the sewing fairies when I need them?

[with love Heidi]

Why dose it need to be a plain dress?

Enjoy the sewing!

[Tamara]

I’m not really sure but apparently I am representing “city girls” because I also need my ipad or laptop. Sounds ultra mysterious. I need to make the diplomat anyway and it can be out of the pink or navy linen I bought especially for it. And then I can also have it for mum’s party on Saturday. I will have to go down to the cottage to make it though which is going to be tricky as the ironing board and iron is up here.

[bren5kids]

Three weeks, Tamara! I would be having serious withdrawal symptoms too!

We are planning to move a couple states away when school lets out this spring. While I am looking forward to moving I am dreading the actual packing and moving, you have my sympathies.

Do you mean “plain” as in solid-colored, or plain in style? Sounds interesting.

~Brenda

[Tamara]

I think they mean plain as in solid but the Diplomat is a simple style so it will cover both bases.

I think moving several states away would be better than moving just up the track by 300m. That way you would be all packed up and not do this fangled method of bit by bit moving as it seems to be here. We have had issues with the fil and not getting his things out and then issues with our daughter who would rather be back in the tiny cottage. She is in need of her things around her and I get that. I just had another talk with a teacher today regarding my son’s behaviour at school and the message did not go through the school grapevine well that my kids are up in the air because we moved! He shows the stress at school whilst Imogen shows stress at home. I have asked both teachers to please be patient and support them as they get settled in. I really wanted to move during the summer school holidays because my kids do not adjust to change superbly AT ALL! But then it wasn’t just us to move it was fil also and he was busy with his new life and new wife (need I say more).

I *think* it has been three weeks or I might have lost count. It has been so long and I am itching to get back to it. I was wanting to indulge today but we have been expecting the tradies to come and fit the air con and so have been busy painting what will be the sewing room in preparation for it. Maybe tomorrow I will actually get to sew because I only have tomorrow to do it.

All I can suggest Bren5kids is that you start now and then by the time spring turns up you will be all set. It certainly isn’t easy no matter the distance. Oh and make sure your older kiddies get to pitch in – none of this setting up the telly first thing business, you’d never get them to help if that was the case. Treat it like an all hands on deck situation and that way it doesn’t all fall into your lap. Goodness knows this is the perfect way to teach the kids the value of hard work.

So I have just been informed the office is next on the list to be packed and moved. That is the other half of the old sewing nook. It also means that it looks like there will be no sewing done today!

[bren5kids]

Yes, I agree that moving several states away is probably easier than moving bit by bit just down the lane. I know I should start packing seldom-used things right now, I have started cleaning out some cupboards to make it easier when the time comes. Both my parents and my husband’s parents have said they’ll come help move, but I shiver at the thought of my mother-in-law seeing my dirty corners and general disarray hidden behind closed cupboard and closet doors. She is the worlds most meticulous housekeeper ever, I would cheerfully eat off her kitchen floor, probably even her bathroom floor!

Has anybody ever tried the Titchy Threads skinny jeans pattern for kids? I just completed the free size 2T for my 18 mo. old and am pleasantly surprised and pleased. They turned out really nice and fit well. I don’t normally like skinny jeans at all, but the smaller sizes in this pattern are cut more roomy to allow for diapers and ease of movement.

I also taped and cut the 12-18 mo. size nature walk pullover today. I was going to cut it all out of solid navy blue sweatshirt fleece, but after seeing Hiedi’s color-blocked one I think I will look for another color to add. I’m planning to use my embroidery machine to do an applique on the front too.

~Brenda

[Tamara]

Oh forget about the parents in law! I only had my fil to contend with and that was really more than I could take, seeing as it was him we had to wait for to get the act together after all. He had the gaul to announce my children had too many toys and that we should give them away and then argued with me when I protested! We will get rid of the toys when we decide seeing as we are their parents. Some parents like to take over and I am unfortunate enough to have both sets exactly like that! So I would recommend doing as much as you can to avoid any uncomfortable confrontations with the slip of the tongue from the parents if I were you.

As for titchy threads, I have never heard of them.

I went and splurged on some Ottobre design magazines just for the sake of it. I purchased the latest and two previous of the kids versions plus the two most recent of the women’s edition. I think that should being me up to date and I really should think about a subscription but that is for later.

I am about to head down to the cottage to cut out and start sewing this diplomat dress. I have two and a half hours before the kids are off the bus so it should give me some time enough to get started and a fair way through. I need to finish it asap so the more I get done this afternoon the better.

[with love Heidi]

When we moved we had all the nieces and nephews helping from the 2 year old up to the 9 year olds!

[Tamara]

And rightly so. It teaches them skills. Unfortunately, the tv was set up here, the kids found out and were immediately up here morphing themselves into couch potatoes. So many things went askew I will not bore you with the details but by the end of next week we will be full immersed into living in this new place and the move can officially become a thing of the past. Phew!

We have white paint on the sewing room walls – bit shonky in some places but hey, surely we can get better with the next coat. This means that very possibly I can do some flooring tomorrow night.

I have washed the pink linen and its currently drying. But I have discovered the zipper I bought for it was the wrong length so I promptly located the navy linen and that is now in the wash. I have to cut and sew this dress tonight whilst the last coat of paint is being applied to the walls (no I won’t be doing them both thankfully). I am hoping it won’t take ages. Will read the instructions again while getting dinner together just so I can remember what I am doing. Its been a while…

[with love Heidi]

Hope it goes really well Tamara!

I’ve just started tracing a jacket from the latest women’s Ottrobe I got this week! It’s the grey one on the right of the picture. It’s made from sweatshirt fleece so I’m hoping it’s very comfortable 🙂