A Rather Productive Day....

This quilt top only took an hour and five minutes to cut out and put together.

It's not perfect but that's the nature of my quilting.  Superfast and none of the seams meet up.

This one is for my little hubba bubba.

I also made Monet a pair of pants.  I didn't use a pattern.  I just drew on the material with a pen....

And surprise, surprise.....

They fit pretty perfectly!

Paisley asked for a skirt of course.  I made this a little larger than needed so it fits her for longer.

Boy I hate sewing ruffles.

In other news, I won this book in a giveaway on Miss Posie Patchworks Blog.

Signed by the author, Tania McCartney.
This has replaced Belle and Boo as the current favourite bedtime book.

I think I might go and sew some bunting whilst dinner is cooking.

Some Gorgeous Amy Butler Fabrics Are Heading My Way

I have been a little bit quiet on the Blog front these last weeks.

Life, however, has not been so quiet.

My Mum has been in hospital,

 My husband has been working every day because they are short-staffed,

I have been madly cleaning so we can put the house on the market this summer.

I have decided not to do any more markets at this stage.

The relief was overwhelming once I made this decision.

They take me away from my family too much.

and because tween girls are such a small segment of the population

I am not reaching them effectively at markets.

I would have to spend hundreds of dollars on fabric

and countless hours sewing

just to stock a stall

and may have only one or two sales!

Just not worth it.

It was fun though.

I still have my etsy store

and will continue to sew bikinis for this

at my leisure.

I have ordered some Amy Butler fabrics online from this Etsy store.

This fabric is to be made into sizes 0-4 bikinis

Part of a wholesale order going to

Little Indigo, an oline store for children.

This is to make bikinis for my etsy store.

This is also to make bikinis for my etsy store.

If you would like a bikini in a girls size 0-12

made from the above fabrics

let me know and I can make a custom listing for you

in the size you desire.

Until this fabric arrives I have plans to make

a baby quilt

some bunting

a paper crane mobile

some summer skirts, dresses and shorts for my girls.

This is my new baby nephew Jayden
Isn't he just scrumptious
I hope you can all see the photo
And Sara, I hope you don't mind
I pinched it of Facebook.

I Made Myself A Bikini

It's okay, don't panic!  There will be no photos of me in my bikini!

But I did it..... I fixed my sewing machine and bit the bullet...I made my self a bikini!

I even wore it to the beach this afternoon.  It's been a few years since this tummy has seen the sun and boy did it feel good.

Let's set the record straight, I am not small.  I have had three children and each time I find new lumps and bumps where there were none before.  I am somewhat comfortable in a size 16.  I am not entirely happy with being this size but I am not going to miss out on a whole summer because I ate too much chocolate over winter.

I just wanted something to wear around home.... Something that I could throw a kaftan over and feel a bit funky and fresh.  So this morning I set to measuring and cutting..... sewing and snipping.... unpicking and recutting.... and sewing some more....  Until....

I tried on the bottoms and was so happy that I needed a top to match.  I was trying to channel Grace Kelly in High Society, even though I cannot remember what she was wearing.  The top looks good but needs a little more work to be comfortably worn all day.

When I showed my husband the finished product he was like WOW!  It is quite surprising how flattering they are.  I don't look like other girls on the beach but I felt like a bit of a fifties pin-up girl in my new bikini.  My new vintage cotton bikini looks better than all the lycra one-pieces and tankinis I have bought over the years.  Well I think so anyway, and so does my husband, and well, the rest of them can go jump.  I am over the moon.

A little bit of summer sun and a splash of fake tan and if you want to find me I'll be at the beach.

So stop worrying how you look to other people and wear what makes you happy.  The happiness will shine through and you'll be better off for it.  Enjoy what you've got and if you don't have enough money for one of those suck-it-all-in pairs of bathers that is the must-have this summer, do what I did and make your own!

This is the fabric I used for my swimsuit.  The one picture above is a girls 10, mine is a ladies 16.  I also added a tie in the middle of the bust for some added shape.  I made the back of my top tie with strings rather than the chunky knot that is on the kids bathers.  Less tan lines that way.

Bring On Summer! I am ready......

I Have Joined a Bookclub

I have joined a bookclub.

My sewing machine broke while I was attempting to turn a painters sheet and a hula hoop into a change room for my market stall.

I have been a little bored and haven't happened accross a good book for a while.

So when a friend of a friend started an online bookclub I jumped at the chance.

We read 'The Great Gatsby"

I have read this before, in highschool, but it never really grabbed me.

It's a quick and easy read.

I am interested to see what the other bookclub members have to say about it.

I am not quite sure what Mr Fitzgerald was trying to get at.

Perhaps "don't be fooled, there are no happy endings" or perhaps this was his version of a happy ending.

Why do they make highschool students read this book?

I might have to read what Wikipedia has to say on the matter.

Have you read 'The Great Gatsby"

What do you think F Scott Fitzgerald was trying to say to everyone?