December 6, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Craft, blue, embroidery, fabric, felt, gift, home made, kittens, love, recycle, refashion, sewing, thrifty, toy.1 comment so far
My newest newphew Sacha was welcomed into the world on the 23rd of November! A little brother for my niece Sofia to dote on.
I made this kitty soft toy for him a few months ago, in anticipation for his arrival. I finally posted it over to him in New Zealand last week, and his Grandma and Grandad took it over to him yesterday. I used a pattern from the lovely Meet Me at Mike’s book.
The face of the kitty in the pattern is quite different to what I ended up sewing. I think my kitty has more of a traditional cat’s face, I like this more.
The pattern didn’t include a tail, so I fashioned one for the Sacha’s kitty. I think every kitty needs a tail, don’t you?!
The main fabric of the kitty came from an enormous thrifted woolen skirt I discovered at a local Salvation Army charity store recently. The mushroom print on the belly is from a piece of heavy Japanese cotton from my stash.
(The stitching on the side of the belly looks a little rough because of my dodgy hand-finishing stitches. If I made this pattern again I’d use the tail opening as the turning-right-side-out seam to fix that problem).
Draft snake family November 27, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Craft, buttons, cosy, custom order, draft snake, fabric, felt, gift, home made, recycle, refashion, sewing, snake.add a comment
Miss Maree placed an order with me for four custom-designed draft snakes for Christmas. One for each of her brothers and their families, and one for her Mum.
Would you like to meet the family?
This is Florence!
Likes: Fairy floss, flourescent felt pens and flavoured fudge
Dislikes: Foul smells, figs and feral cats
And this is Herbert!
Likes: Hemingway, hummingbirds and hotdogs
Dislikes: Hermits, hunting and having to hurry
And this is Hunter!
Likes: haggling, habaneros and hula hoops
Dislikes: haggis, Halloween and housekeeping
And lastly, meet Cordelia!
Likes: Cordial, crumpets and cat naps
Dislikes: Car racing, cabbage and cellphones
Maree picked the family up last night. She said that if she didn’t already have lilith she’d have snake-envy for Florence!
Hazel the ruffled hedgehog November 8, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Craft, buttons, fabric, felt, gift, home made, love, recycle, refashion, sewing, thrifty, toy, vintage.1 comment so far
My little niece Sofia turns 2 next week, and I wanted to make her a special toy for her birthday.
I found this great tutorial for making a ruffled hedgehog on the lovely blog Matsutake. I’m pretty sure that Katie’s version is much more petite than Hazel, like handful size. But that’s ok, Hazel is more the size of an actual hedgehog, and I like that.
I made Hazel out of a great printed vintage polyester shirt that Mum gave to me a while back. It wasn’t the right style or shape for me, so i’m glad it’s been upcycled!
The purple and black ruffles are made from felt. They took ages to sew on, I didn’t want to have any issues with a little person being able to pull them off and choke on them.
Hazel is in the post and on the way to Sofia now, I think they’re going to make very fine friends indeed!
Green python soft toy November 3, 2009
Posted by Sarah in buttons, custom order, fabric, gift, home made, sewing, snake.1 comment so far
This giant 2 metre snake is heading to New Zealand, as a gift for someone’s 1 year old nephew.
For the moment he’s been making himself at home, hanging out at our place.
He’s been sitting on the back of our couch, keeping an eye on the kitchen, and occasionally slithering over the cushions to see whats happening outside.
My spec from the customer was that he wanted the snake big enough to fit around his nephew while he was sleeping, he wants him to wake up and get a fright. Hopefully this doens’t instill a lifelong fear of snakes in the little guy!
I’m really happy with how I got the tongue and face to look this time! Yuss!
And they lived happily ever after November 2, 2009
Posted by Sarah in embroidery, fabric, gift, home made, love, sewing, wedding.3 comments
Congratulations Mr and Mrs Stannard!
Here’s to your fairytale life together, happily ever after.
I hand embroidered these pillowcases as our wedding gift to the happy couple. I hope they like them!
Frocktober day 31 October 31, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Frocktober, Fundraising, clothes, dress, fabric, gift.add a comment
Today is my last day of my Frocktober challenge! I can’t believe that i’ve managed to wear a dress everyday for 31 days, or that I own 31 dresses. Eep!
We’re about to leave to go to our friends Candice and John’s wedding. We’re both really looking forward to it!
This dress was given to me by Joh’s mother Fianach about 8 years ago. It’s a lovely special occasion dress.
The sun and wind were really making these photos hard to take, hence the hilarious shot below.
Remember, if you would like to support the Australian Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation during the month of Frocktober you can. Click here to donate.
My registration number is 539381. (you can put the registration number in the final page of your paypal payment).
Frocktober day 26 October 26, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Frocktober, Fundraising, clothes, dining out, dress, fabric, flowers, gift, silk.3 comments
Today’s not just Frocktober day 26 – it’s also Joh’s birthday! Happy Birthday honey!! We met for a wonderful long lunch at the excellent Rockpool Bar and Grill.
Today’s beaufiful silk frock was a birthday gift from Joh several years ago. It came from Misery Boutique in Auckland, which has sadly now closed. It’s such a shame because her dresses were oh so lovely.
I love the shape of the sleeves, they’re just the sweetest.
Remember, if you would like to support the Australian Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation during the month of Frocktober you can. Click here to donate.
My registration number is 539381. (you can put the registration number in the final page of your paypal payment).
Bedside October 26, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Craft, My place and yours, art, blanket, clothes, cosy, crochet, fabric, flowers, gift, home made, kittens, knitting, markets, meme, scarf, sewing, silk, toy, vintage, wool.2 comments
Playing along with Pip from Meet me at Mikes. This weeks theme is bedside and was chosen by Pottymouthmama.
The shelf that holds all kinds of fun things:
The Narwhal toy I bought for Joh in San Francisco
The French kitty my beautiful friend Josephine made for my birthday this year
Assorted Plush Microbes, and a zombie kitty
The enormous blanket that took almost an entire year to knit
Assorted warm things, hand made and vintage
My collection of PJ’s and nighties
My friend Rosa-may drew this incredible picture of me, wearing the crochet scarf she made for me. I love it so much!
The set of drawers that my grandfather made for my mother, that I repainted blue as a teenager. I had been holding on to the lamp stand for years without a shade waiting for the perfect thing, then one day I found this at the Surry Hills Markets. It’s perfect in so many ways. I’m so glad I waited until I found something I really liked.
On the wall is the gorgeous print entitled ‘making friends’ from the artists APAK. I purchased it from the lovely Outre Gallery. A little gift for Joh a few years back. Just because I love him so.
Wisdom Tooth softie October 20, 2009
Posted by Sarah in book, fabric, felt, gift, home made, sewing, wool.2 comments
I made this little wisdom tooth softie April this year for my friend Lydia, who was having her wisdom teeth removed. Ouch!
I used light blue embroidery floss to make the eyes and mouth, complete with a set of healthy looking teeth.
Of course if you’re going to have a wisdom tooth you need to make him look wise. I looked around on the internet for photos of graduation caps, then made one for my tooth out of wool felt.
And I added a piece of wool to imitate the look of the tassel.
I found the idea in this lovely inspiring book. Yay!!
Frocktober day 20 October 20, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Frocktober, Fundraising, clothes, dress, fabric, gift.add a comment
Today’s Frocktober dress is a hand-me-down from my friend Jackie.
I’ve always been a little wary of these colours because of my pale skin, but Frocktober must go on! So, today i’ve paired it with black tights and a black singlet top underneath. It makes a huge difference to how it looks, and it’s really nice not feeling too pasty.
I love love love the pattern on this fabric! I think it’s going to be a regular summer time frock now.
Remember, if you would like to support the Australian Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation during the month of Frocktober you can. Click here to donate.
My registration number is 539381. (you can put the registration number in the final page of your paypal payment).
