2010 - A year of handmade presents

Another day... A load more sheets

2011-03-17T03:14:00.001-07:00

This is it I hope! The last of the marathon sewing days. Today I made 2 sets of flannelette cot sheets plus a travel cot sheet and sheet for the pram... Now I'm all sheeted out! All for $20, with loads of leftover flannelette.

A close-up of the quilt

2011-03-16T02:43:00.001-07:00

As requested by Kae, here's a closeup of the baby quilt Lyn made us for Christmas. Isn't it gorgeous?!

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More more more cot sheets!

2011-03-16T02:32:00.000-07:00

I am currently reading "Baby Love" by Robin Barker and she note that you need about 8 fitted cot sheets. Or at least that's what I remember.. (pregnancy brain?) It seems a bit excessive but with only 3 sheet sets, I'm way off. So I bought a bargain bin 300 percale cotton dotty king flat sheet and cut it up to make 2 cot sheet sets. Easy as!

Tomorrow.. I may brave cutting up the flannelet sheet I bought - a whole king size set for $20 (which is way cheaper than buying the fabric and sadly... much better quality!)

Cot sheets galore!

2011-03-09T23:26:00.000-08:00

I'm now on maternity leave and I thought I'd make the most of a grey day to make some cot sheets. We have a stokke oval shaped cot so the sheets are a little bit trickier than a rectangular cot to make. I've fallen in love with polka dots and babushka dolls so I spurged at a patchwork shop on these lovely patterns. The bottom sheets are solid pattern fitter sheets and the top are just edged with the pattern on block ecru cotton. I hope you like it. If you want the how-to-make instructions, just let me know!

Bunting for the nursery

2011-03-09T22:49:00.000-08:00

Please excuse the large gap in time between posts. I've been a little lax in keeping this blog updated. My mother-in-law made us a beautiful patchwork quit for our baby cot so I felt inspired to use the left-over scraps of fabric and make bunting. I think it gives the nursery a festive air. Gosh, I hope the little munchkin can sleep in there!

How to make your own bunting?
Its super easy to make, I made a triangle pattern in cardboard to trace, then I just used double side iron on binding and bound two thicknesses of fabric together (so from any side you look at it, its still right-side-out!) and then used pinking shears to cut out triangles of fabric. Then I just used home-made bias binding at the tops to sew it all together (leaving a couple of inches between flags). I hope you like it.

Handmade birthday extravaganza

2010-05-02T03:59:00.001-07:00

I was very fortunate on my birthday to get given two amazing handmade gifts; a set of gorgeous cushions and a cushion sash from Kae and a lovely set of sewing caddy with drawstring bag, pin cushion and scissor and needle purse from Lyn. Here they both are. Thank-you so much!!

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Ermintrude's purse

2010-04-21T05:49:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Emma Z. with a clutch purse made from heavy Florence Broadhurst print cotton lined in khaki linen (bamboo quilting) and grosgrain ribbon detail with vintage recycled button decoration. I hope you like it!

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Juliette's clutch purse

2010-04-17T14:55:00.000-07:00

Juliette's clutch purse in linen with inset grosgrain ribbon and japanese linen print lining. Matching coin purse inside. Pattern made from scratch using devine inspiration and illustrator.

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Sophie's fairy wings

2010-04-04T22:08:00.001-07:00

My little neice needed some fairy wings to match her fairy skirt Em made her. Here she is wearing them on Easter Sunday during her very first Easter egg hunt! I made it out of foam and silk lining which I hand painted with acrylics (if you can afford it, I recommend fabric dye instead but it was too expensive for me!).

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Tree stump door stop

2010-04-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the big gap between posts. Here's my latest creation- a twist on the earlier log door stop- a vertical tree stump door stop in cord and felt. Stuffed with pebbles (from our wedding) and fabric scraps. Fingers crossed they like it!

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Babushka doll purse - the back

2010-02-21T00:07:00.001-08:00

P2210003, originally uploaded by sarah-may.

Here you can see the back view - with the zipper. PS. I'll be giving it to Kristen on Tuesday so shhh! till then.

Babushka doll purse for Kristen

2010-02-21T00:06:00.001-08:00

P2210005, originally uploaded by sarah-may.

Kristen and I both love Russian nesting dolls. Kristen gave us a set of Babushka measuring cups for the kitchen for our wedding. It was her birthday last week and I felt inspired to carry on the babushka tradition and made her a little felt purse. I drew the illustration on the computer, printed it out and used it as a pattern. The eyes and cheeks are created with Copic markers but the rest is layered felt. I was aiming for a less traditional doll but it came out super traditional, oh well! Next time, maybe a glam metal doll? I hope she likes it!

Final punk themed sling

2010-02-18T02:46:00.001-08:00

For Joe, this one is Ramones themed and is my surprise favourite! I stitched a Ramones badge onto the pocket (love the almost baby talk similarilty) and the fabric is dark charcoal with black skull and crossbones and black contrast back. This is a real don't mess with me or my baby punk-rock sling!! Btw, we used a bag of oranges in these shots as we have no bubba to use in these photos!

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Marimekko themed slings

2010-02-18T02:40:00.001-08:00

I've always loved the bold patterns of Marimekko fabric but could never afford it! I found this amazing pattern at tessuti in the city, still expensive but not a patch on the real-deal! Lined in red cotton with matching pocket, can be worn either side out. I made two of these in two different sizes for Al and Pru.

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The footy themed sling

2010-02-18T02:35:00.001-08:00

For Mark, the AFL enthusiast. In his team colour of red. (swans of course!) I added padding on the shoulders and hips for comfort and tapered the sling at shoulders. I also added a lined pocket for emergency nappies or toys and added a d loop for the dummy, toy attachments. I hope he likes it!

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A weekend of baby slings

2010-02-18T02:31:00.001-08:00

I'm currently experiencing a baby boom in my friendship circle. Luckily, I mastered the baby sling or papoose last year for my brother in law, when I bought one for my sister and he mentioned whilst it fit her well it was much too small for him to wear, so I created a pattern to fit him perfectly. This also sparked my husband's brilliant plan to create 2 slings per baby, one for the Mum and one for the Dad, custom fit of course! Sadly, I was the pleb on my own design project as he proudly art directed both boy's slings, choosing themes and surpervising fabric choices. They turned out amazingly well, and here they follow....

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Cute chocolate from Krispian

2010-02-07T18:25:00.001-08:00

Wouldn't this brighten up your day too?

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Lisa's purse

2010-02-03T12:15:00.000-08:00

This was a present I whipped up for Lisa. It features some gorgeous cotton print from Japan (gosh they have such pretty fabric there) and orange cotton I recycled from ebay purchase of vintage fabric in the UK a long, long time ago. The cute buttons were recycled from a mixed bag my sister bought me from "The button guy in Maroochydore". Imagine if all you sold was buttons? Nice huh? And the whole thing is quilted on bamboo batting with a velcro closure. Got to love the orange polka-dot bias binding!

Someone's else's hand-made cheating present

2010-02-03T12:11:00.000-08:00

Ok, Ok, I said I'd hand-make everything - but someone else handmade this one. Its a gorgeous kimono print bib and baby wrap by Sallymac bought at the Young Blood Designers Market at the Powerhouse museum. Its so darn cute I couldn't resist!

P and J with log!

2010-02-03T12:05:00.000-08:00

Here's the proud recipients of Door log! Present 1 = success!

The Ghost of presents past - Kae's sweater

2010-02-01T22:40:00.001-08:00

This was a sweater (bolero style) that made for Kae for Christmas. I customized it with Alanna Hill style decoration; velvet ribbon, crystals and bead-work on the buttons. Without the Alanna Hill price tag! Great for sweaters that are a bit boring. Years ago I embroidered an old sweater from Vinnies with gold thread to jazz it up when I couldn't afford a new one. Thanks for the photos Kae!

Pear pin cushions

2010-01-19T15:17:00.001-08:00

This is a supplementary present for my Mum. I was recently chatting to her and she mentioned that she can't find her pin cushion (I suspect foul play by the envious needles!) so i decided to make her one.

Mum's bag - finished!

2010-01-19T15:07:00.000-08:00

At last, I finished Mum's bag! It's Japanese 100% cotton print outer with grosgrain ribbons, inside is lined with purple cotton drill. I added a hand-made brooch to the top corner to give it a bit more sparkle. I hope she likes it!

Present 2 - Mum's bag in progress

2010-01-14T03:25:00.001-08:00

This is a progress shot of a reversible beach bag I'm sewing for Mum's birthday from Japanese print and purple cotton drill. I hope she likes it?!

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New fabric!

2010-01-14T03:20:00.001-08:00

I was walking past tessuti fabrics in the city today and was drawn in by the shiny, red "on sale" sign. The sale was sadly, only 10-20% off but the fabrics were gorgeous! A bit expensive, but worth it. Here's a few peeks at my spoils....

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Log close-up

2010-01-05T18:39:00.001-08:00

logo-closeup2, originally uploaded by sarah-may.

Here's a close up showing the snail and the leaves and the free-arm sewing stitching "bark" effect.

Draught-stopper Log

2010-01-05T18:36:00.001-08:00

log, originally uploaded by sarah-may.

Friends Pru and Joe have recently bought a new house in Leichhardt. In honor of this stupendous occasion, I have crafted a brown cord log shaped draught/door-stopper complete with felt leaves, lichen and snail. We sacrificed Liam's old cords to a good cause. I hope they like it! (pattern from Sewing Green)

A New Year's Resolution

2010-01-03T16:02:00.000-08:00

I think as a well-heeled country, we have too much stuff. So much stuff that we don't know what to do with it so we build bigger houses with more rooms to put our stuff in. All that stuff uses up our precious resources. So I decided to give the planet a rest. Late last year, I had the idea to to reduce my spending on consumer goods and try to hand-make or recycle gifts for a year. I like to call it "slow gifting". Instead of buying something, I would take the time to make each person something special and unique for themselves. I got given a great book from Kae for Christmas to kick start my year of hand-made or recycled gifts; Sewing Green. Thanks Kae! Stay tuned for the results of the first craft project... One branch door-stop in brown cord made from Liam's old jeans. Who knows, it could all end in tears as friends and family beg me not to make another badly knitted scarf and to return to store-bought gifts, but it should be a fun journey.