My week in the sewing room

Everybody loves a surprise, a pleasant surprise that is.   

Last week the Hawthorne Threads Newsletter arrived via email and as I scanned down the images of beautiful fabrics, I was stunned to see one of my dresses featured.  What a delightful surprise, particularly as it was such a gloomy, rainy day outside.

My fabric stash has been growing alarmingly, much of it set aside for custom orders, but all too many yardages suitable for one-of-a-kind dresses.  I had enough of a particular fabric which I knew would make a perfect sailor dress.

By coincidence I came across this pattern by Tie Dye Diva Patterns.  In the past I have tested down-loadable PDF patterns and some have left a lot to be desired - confusing instructions, poorly photographed and generally difficult to follow.

However, this pattern was a joy to work with - precise instructions and clear images.  

Some time back I bought this gorgeous voile fabric from Hawthorne Threads and was happy to simply look and admire, not wanting to cut into it.

Finally common sense kicked in and I realised it was time to let go.  There was enough to make a dress in size 4 and it's available here.

Image by ImageInCafe

As soon as I saw this fabric I knew exactly the style of dress would suit it perfectly.  Even in sunny Queensland it was becoming a little chilly, so I hurried off the dress to Sandrine of Image In Cafe, hoping that this adorable little model wouldn't freeze to death during the photo session.  She didn't and it's available here.

But it hasn't all been about dresses.  With so many scraps taking over my sewing room, the timing was perfect for the call-out from my quilting group to make some blocks for the quilts we are planning to give to a local women's refuge.  We now have enough quilt tops for several beds and the next step will be to get them quilted and on their way.

And now back to the machine to put finishing touches to a couple of dresses which will soon be on their way to be photographed.

At least it takes the mind off winter.

What's in a name?

There are so many fabrics available to us today that making a choice can be quite daunting.  There I was a couple of weeks back trawling through a local fabric store when a particular fabric caught my eye.  I picked up the bolt and looked at the selvage.  What I saw took me by complete surprise.

Our first-born's name is Marianne Elizabeth and I had assumed that the combination of these two names would have been unique.  Apparently not so.  There is another.  It was meant to be and I snapped up several metres.

It was such a pretty, soft colour that I knew it was perfect for a little toddler's party dress.

My friend Sandrine of Image In Cafe lives in the warmer climate of Queensland's Gold Coast, so I sent the dress up to her to be photographed.

I received the images today and all I could say was Oooooo!  I am so happy with them.

It's available in sizes 1 to 5 and can be found here or here.  And the name of the dress?

Marianne, of course.

It's a small world

How fortunate are we today to have the world at our fingertips.

A little while back I was contacted by an American designer who sells her patterns on line.  She made some flattering noises in my direction and asked if I would be interested in making up some designs from her patterns which I could sell in my Etsy shop, with a link back to her own shop.  Always a sucker for complimentary remarks, of course I agreed.

The patterns arrived in PDF format and in no time I was well into the task at hand.

It was early autumn and I knew that I would have to get the finished garments down to talented Melbourne photographer Yvette of Kees and Me Photography before the poor little models froze to death.

I also sent one dress to lovely Queensland stylist Sandrine of Image In Cafe, knowing that the weather would be warmer and therefore a little kinder to the model.

The latest completed dress was mailed to California where talented child photographer Sara of Boutique Baby Photography advised that she had a rare opening for a photography shoot.

So from America I received PDF patterns thanks to the magical mysteries of the internet.  The dresses were made in Sydney, mailed to Melbourne and Brisbane here in Australia and to California to be photographed and finally put up for sale through Etsy, with its headquarters in New York.

Amazing.

All these garments can be purchased through my Etsy and MadeIt shops.  I know, I know, blatant self promotion.  I have no shame.