[mle bb]

needlewoman I would love to see your dress but the link is not working!

[Mama_Knowles]

Congrats on the baby boy round the world girl! Little baby boys are so fun to sew for. 🙂

Right now I am almost done with costume #2 for my 6 year old son. He is going as the newer green nija from ninjogo. I am using the sleep over pj pattern for this, it was made for this costume! I have put so much time into this one that it feels as though I will never be done.

[Tamara]

It feels that ways sometimes doesn’t it? A project that seemingly takes forever and that you are so glad to finish when you do – and possily draw the line at doing another just like it straight away.

This week has had me flat out at work tying up loose ends but they have gone and extended me again by a possible 2 more days. That means sewing in the evening only tomorrow which will be great because dh is off at our nephew’s high school graduation and I am home with the kids (long story on the babysitter) and so I will get to muster up some creative energy and sew to my heart’s content tomorrow night whilst the family is either sleeping or having a posh dinner elsewhere!

What I am sewing will be a choice of what is in the pile but at the moment I am cutting out class picnic shorts in every colour of drill that I have (pretty colours that is) and tops to hopefully go with more than one pair of shorts.

This time next week I will be officially a stay at home mum again and quite frankly I am very much looking forward to it!

[with love Heidi]

How frustrating justsewit to think that your finished, or nearly finished and find that you still have another few days to go!

I am making another hula hoop skirt, this time in size 16 (yes I enlarged the pattern twice) in a plain purple poplin on one side and a black lace on the other. The black lace looks fantastic over the purple. I am finishing the flounce in black bias tape to hide all the edges and so I don’t have to turn the seam out. I have sewn all the bias tape together, now to fold and apply it.

[Masha Richart]

Can’t wait to see the skirt, Heidi! Sounds very chic. I finished my first three diapers (they are definitely a little wonky and two of them somehow turned out bigger than newborn sized, however the appliques on the back are so cute I don’t care) and my quilted table runner (so fun to sew!) Now I’m cutting out the Playdate pattern again in the 18-24 month size for my daughter, and the Sunday Brunch jacket for my niece.

[cybele727]

My house went to the dumps while I worked on the fairy tale so I promised hubby I’d take a break and clean up a bit! But, all I do is think about my next project, and can’t motivate myself to pick up all the kids toys, plus both vacuums are broken. I have bad vacuum karma.

I break them every time I touch them. Seriously. We have gone from denial, through, anger, to humor. No one wants me to vacuum anymore. It costs too much.

[Tamara]

With love Heidi there have been elements of frustration all the way through but being extended yet again isn’t really one of them. This is a job where it isn’t just me that is going, the whole lot of us are but I would not have passed it up because it is in the neighbours paddock and a once Ian lifetime opportunity to be a part of the rail upgrade through my are which helps both our industry and the mines. The bit that has been frustrating has been the distinct segments within the office from staff who are part of the joint venture companies and the lack of communication between the three. I have never worked in a situation like this before where three different companies are working on a project so things that I have learned whilst on the job have been interesting to say the least and I can take from it and learn not to do that when in a management situation or working with others at another stage. It hasn’t been ridiculously unpleasant but it has been uncomfortable at times because of it. I didn’t get a job description of what my role would be so I have been the odd jobs person in the office which also has been frustrating as there seems to be this assumption that respect in the job isn’t paid to me but they expect it from me, in terms of sharing equipment etc hugely frustrating when you have to scan bookshelves full of files before archiving and the photo copier is burned out due to lack of maintainence. I keep saying not long now and I won’t have to deal with it. After not working for others for some 12 years it has been one of my better workplace experiences so there are a lot of positives I can take away also.

I’m just looking forward to being at home and doing what I had intended to do all year and that is to give the house a good and thorough going through and sewing of course.

In terms of the vacuum cleaner Cybele, everyone in my house except my son seems to be allergic to vacuuming! I don’t mind it – it’s far better than dishes!

I’m really glad to know that the hula hoop skirt can be enlarged that far. It is a great pattern. The class picnic shorts are waiting for me though so they really need to be cut out and put in their colour coded pile. It is getting warmer and warmer and most definitely shorts weather.

[with love Heidi]

The hula hoop skirt can definitely be enlarged that far and probably up another couple of sizes before it becomes an issue. I have enlarged a partial circle wrap skirt before from a doll and child’s size right up to fitting me. I think circle skirts are easier to enlarge because the angles from the centre point of the circle stay the same irrespective of how large it gets:). This pattern is particular easy (in my opinion to enlarge) as there are only two pattern pieces and the yoke is a plain rectangle!! I think I took pictures of what I did to enlarge it, so I can post these if they would be helpful to anyone.

Good to hear that most of the job was good justsewit, wouldn’t it be great if there was no office politics?!

Cybele, I like the idea of no one expecting me to vacuum, as it’s my least favourite job! I hate the noise it makes, I would much rather do the dishes or the laundry, laundry is good as the time in the machine and in the dryer/on line gives you lots of time to sew while ‘doing the laundry’. 🙂 Except that our machine is leaking!

[Nicole]

My single ‘puffy’ shirt has become 4 possibly 6 ‘puffy’ shirts.

At 3.5 m of cloth per shirt,they should be fun sewing(snorts)!

[needlewoman]

I am so sorry, mle bb; I’m very new to posting. The correct link is http://www.flickr.com/photos/87355413@N02/. Thank you for your interest, and I hope you will try again. As it happens, I received a favourable review from the grandmother of the recipient today, and I hope to see a photo of the kid in the frock, eventually. Tonight, I did all necessary to the Music Box pattern in order to make a size 8 (lengthened to size 12) and a size 6 (lengthened to size 8-10). I’m really looking forward to cutting these out from some lovely fabric that I had in my stash for two red-heads (and when I say red, I mean red!)

Mother of 5; why has a single shirt become 6? Did you ‘volunteer’ to make for Romeo’s clan? Cybele, I sympathise with your vacuum hex; I’ve gone thru 3 irons in the last 18mths! Luckily, the warranty ensured I could re-purchase without too much extra expense but it doesn’t compensate for the hassle factor of returning broken iron, and getting new one. The latest one I paid a little extra for, and hope it will last a lot longer. Maybe I just struck a bad run because despite using my iron lots, they usually last pretty well.

[Jennifer1568]

Needlewoman- the dress is darling. Your photos inspire me to make one for my daughter. I like the black cord and the pink trim.

[cybele727]

Needlewoman:

I too had the iron hex. If it plugs in and has to do with house work, I seem to break it by mere touch! Coincidence or Karma? I call myself Magneto. It also happens with PCs, but not Macs too!

I went through an iron every year. Then about 3 years ago, I “wasted” my money on a Rowenta. Damn those are expensive. But the lady assured me that she had the same Rowenta iron from when she first got married 35 years ago. I was skeptical, but desperate for an iron that didn’t leak, didn’t have a scummy plate after one use, didn’t burn my clothes, and worked.

Now, I have had this baby for 3 years, and 1) it still looks new; 2) I don’t mind using it as I find myself ironing more, since I iron the clothes I have made. The store bought can look wrinkled! and 3) it has paid for itself by lasting 3 years, and it will continue to work beautifully.

Sometimes, you really do get what you pay for, and the premium, isn’t just profit… Kind of like O and S patterns. You get your money’s worth!

🙂

[meleliza]

Well, I’m still up to my eyeballs in Halloween costumes and sewing through a bad cold. Baby girl loved her tiny O and S doll wardrobe, and is busy dressing them while I work. Peter Pan tunic finished, jake tunic nearly done, then I need hats and shoes and belts for them. I made a muslin of my fairy tale dress/ Tinkerbell costume. The 2t fits her perfectly, but allows very little room for growth. I’m considering what to do about that, if anything. What concerns me more is the enourmous storm heading up the East Coast threatening to cancel all festivities! I, I mean the kids, will be so disappointed!

[Tamara]

I have piles of fabric on the table again that I sorted out last night. I put them in groups according to how they match with nine solid colours and each have three prints each to themselves or sharing (which I prefer)

Today I was planning to be up before everyone to go start but N is up coughing and sneezing and I am hoping it is nothing more than a summer cold or hayfever as his desk neighbour at school has come down with none other than Measles! Immunised or not you can still get it apparently so besides sewing, I’m watching for other symptoms that would warrant him having it.

I have visions of Badminton dresses and tops to go with these solids but not all of them will be in this category. Perhaps the heat is playing with my head? – it’s only October still and we are heading for 40 degrees C!

[Jennifer1568]

I am upset because next week in Virginia we are headed to 40 degrees F! 40 degrees C is really hot!