Sew, I've Been Thinking ...

These shorts are made from a Kwik Sew jeans pattern KS3504 . I've made this pattern before so I know it fits. This time I've made shorts, so I just cut the pattern off. When DH gets home I'll get him to try them on so I can where to hem them. This is lovely chocolate brown denim from Gorgeous Fabrics and you will see full length jeans in the same fabric later on in the SWAP. I topstitched in the gold I used to make yesterdays shirt because it seemed to match. What I forgot to photograph is the pockets and fly shield which are in the same fabric as yesterdays shirt also. There was no design on the pockets so I made one up. I'm sure he'll find something about these pants he doesn't like ... he always does. I'm rather pleased, though. I even used my second machine today. I had one loaded with the twin needle and topstitch thread and the other with the sewing up thread. It worked well, but I think I'll have to leave a pin holder and clippers at ea...

I started on DH's SWAP yesterday and was off to a rollicking start with a wadder. This is KS3250 in some crappy fabric that has been lurking in my stash for many years. I'm not even going to hem it. The sack like shape of the shirt makes him look fat and short. I refuse to make this style again. This shirt is awful. I had better luck today with this shirt. It's the TNT shirt pattern which started its life as BWOF 03-2009-132. I chopped the sleeves down and made them short as well as leaving off the collar and just using the stand. It's a quilting cotton that sewed up wonderfully. Buttons and thread from stash. A men's shirt somehow doesn't sit right on a female dress form. Last up today I made this shirt for a colleague who leaves this week. She has admired a dress I made in the same fabric. I didn't have enough to make a dress so I made the fabric into a pattern that she has also admired. It's my favourite KS blouse at the moment and of course I can...

Wishing everyone a safe and happy christmas and a wonderful 2010

Here's some more of my christmas gift sewing. This is a small clutch from a free pattern I downloaded from the Kwik Sew website this afternoon. It's so easy and quick to make. It goes with this bag which I made up in a hurry to fit these handles and hoped it would work out. It's not great, but it's OK. This is very hard to press curtain fabric. This is a halter top made from a Kwik Sew pattern I've had for a long time. Can't remember the number. This is all made from leftovers. This is a slightly larger version of the same Kwik Sew clutch. I should've photographed the inside as it's lined with a really nice red satin. This vintage pattern just happens to perfectly fit my brother-in-law, he of the unfortunate crotch placement fame. So I made this vest for him. This is the only gift that is actually a request. He wanted a yellow vest, so he got a yellow vest. The piece of fantastic wool cost me 50c at the op shop about 5 years ago, the dark grey...

The completed dress. A pair of pants I made for DH - I'm very pleased with the pockets. It's his TNT pants pattern developed from a Kwik Sew front with slant pockets, a morphed BWOF back and BWOF slim legs. This is the inside of the waistband using a technique shown by Martyn Smith in Australian Stitches. It is a RTW method made easy for home sewing and makes a really wonderfully firm and neat waistband. I also made the pocket bags from the same fabric. This is the first of many christmas gifts. A bag from a McCalls pattern which I don't have to hand to tell you the number. The pattern is for quilted fabric but I used canvas interfaced with a very stiff fusible. I'm still trying to get the wretched chalk marks off! This is the interior with a cute, loud lining I had leftover from a dress from many years ago. Another christmas bag, one again made from the free Hot Patterns Sumatra bag. I will never make this again - trying to jam those *&%^# handles into my sewing m...

I have been sewing and I did make my dress - only just. I am so frantically busy and quite close to a nervous breakdown. Until I get it together to photograph what I've made (and there's a lot) I will show you the pictures of my staff Christmas party last weekend. As I mentioned last post, we took the Magic Bus to the Gold Coast races. Here is the first picture of the day, when everyone still looked tidy. Here is me in the middle with all the girls. This is the only shot I have of my dress at present and at this distance you can barely see the pink in it. In fact, it looks like a rather insipid brown. Here is all the boy staff. There were nine people who couldn't make it, so we were only a small group this day. Yes, we do have more female dentists than male. We've got a great team here and since this picture was taken I've employed another three staff this week. Here's a shot enroute. Just below the people in this picture is a large esky full of champagne th...

This is version one This is version two Can you see the difference? If you can, which do you prefer? It's going to become this dress. I know it's hard to tell from a photo and your monitor may show a very different colour. The fabric is silk chiffon that I bought about 7 years ago purely because I love the colours. At that time I never actually thought I would sew in chiffon, so I never expected to actually use this fabric. Faced with my staff christmas function, which is a visit to the races at the Gold Coast, travelling on this bus from Mullumbimby (yes I live in the hippy capital of Australia), I knew I needed a bright new dress to wear. The pink is a dark crimson and the green a deep olive. Here is the lining used in the first shot This is the lining used in the second shot. I'm unsure which I prefer and I'm unsure about accessories. I have found a good match for the pink , but I think maybe I'm a little old to dress like a lolly. I've seen a few olive shoe...