tiny happy

paper and glue

I made another of those recycled tote bags for my shop update this week- mostly because I found that green and grey vintage fabric, and couldn't resist sewing with it at once!

In other news, we're in week one of school holidays, and Tom is away on a work trip. The kids and I thought it the perfect time for some messy art activities (I kind of miss those, since they've started school and kindergarten- although I wonder if perhaps I enjoy them more than they do) so we tried papier mache today. So much fun- and really no excuse not to do it anytime- there are always newspapers lying around here and flour and water paste is easy to make. I was spurred on to try making these bowls with the kids after receiving my copy of Soulemama's book Handmade Home a few weeks ago- so many great ideas in there. I like mixing together things like homemade glue so much more than real cooking.

Our bowls are drying outside on the porch now, proudly displayed to anyone who may walk by on the street.

cross-stitch cameo

I was lucky enough to receive yet another parcel in the post, filled with beautiful old laces, ribbons and small pieces of fabric. Also that great little cross-stiched cameo portrait on linen above. This parcel came from the generous Kate, who lives in the Adirondack Mountains of New York state. (She is a wonderful re-purposer of textiles into items for children and babies.)

Of course I couldn't wait to get working with some of the things she sent and my first idea (well, actually, it was Keira's idea) was to make a 'dancing skirt' for a small friend of ours who had a birthday on the weekend. I set out sewing lengths of Kate's vintage lace and ribbon to some sheer cotton fabric and then made it into a simple skirt with lots of width for twirling around. I attached another layer underneath, sewn from pink dotted cotton. Hopefully it will be the sort of item in the dress-up box that will be quick and fun to pull on over ordinary clothes for an impromptu dance session.

I really love the blackwork (crossstitched) pieces sent by Kate, and made them into these Scandinavian-inspired needlecases. The linen-covered buttons used to belong to a Norwegian friend's mother- they were originally used for fastening crisp white bedding (homemade duvet covers!)

vintage swiss

I bought this old, very fine silk scarf from an antique store a while back. Mostly because I completely fell in love with its print: botanical illustrations of Swiss native flowers on a pale pink, cream and green background. But the scarf itself had lots of stains on it and a couple of holes and rips. So over the weekend I decided to cut it up and make some new things out if it: some small coin purses (I attached a lightweight interfacing to the back of the silk to give it structure and hopefully protect from furthur holes) and some little brooches from the scraps. To make those, I appliqued some small pieces of silk to discs of wool felt and then added a brooch pin on the back. I'm happy to have prolonged the life of the silk for a bit longer.

maybe-liberty dress

I scored a decent length of beautiful cotton lawn fabric recently, second-hand. I'm pretty sure it's Liberty lawn, but I'm not 100% sure. Anyway, since there was such a long piece I thought it would be a good chance to make a dress from it: I've always longed for such a highly-patterned foliage-type dress for summer.

I used my own pattern for this one, it's just a very simple loose-fitting design with a bit of shaping, and small pleats/pintucks at the neckline. The edges are finished with hand-sewn bias binding that ended up being much narrower than I thought once finished- but I quite like the fine effect of it. It's a good dress for wearing over things-I like wearing it over a longer, plainer dress, or over jeans. Still too cold here to go without the merino wool top, sadly.

Whenever I post pictures of clothes I've made, there are always comments asking me to show what it looks like on- so this time I actually worked out how to use the self-timer function on my camera. But clearly, I have a lot to learn about this method of taking pictures- all the results were rather blurred!

Hope you have a great weekend ahead.

minty

I've spent this morning printing a new set of stationery with my gocco machine- inspired by the mint in our vegetable patch. I made a simple drawing of some mint sprigs, then printed them on white and brown card.

It's such an abundant plant and I love its scent- sometimes I keep a sprig in a little glass bottle in the kitchen, and add pick mint leaves to add to our evening salad. Minty fresh.

treasures

I made some embroidered things for my shop update today- a couple of new needlebooks and this brooch that features brightly coloured wildflowers on black felt. I am feeling so impatient about our garden at the moment- wishing all the flowers and vegetables would hurry up and grow! I can't wait for the summertime.

Last night my parents went for dinner at my great-uncle's home, and this morning Mum brought me a stack of old fabrics from his linen cupboard. I don't think I've ever been given such pieces from a family member before- only from other peoples' families! So there was something quite special about being given these. There were quite a few old tableclothes, including a huge, brightly-coloured map of Australia printed onto linen. The little linen coasters were embroidered by my great-aunt Mary, who was Italian. I love them.

recycled

I can't seem to keep my fabric shelves tidy these days (or any days, really) and it doesn't help that I just can't throw anything away because it could be used for its fabric. I really love new, designer fabrics but my favourite is making something from recycled materials- that brings satisfaction and that lovely slightly-worn look, and of course the joy of saving something from the landfill.

With these thoughts in mind, I made these new bags this week, and all of the fabrics I used for them are recycled. The bags themselves are quite roomy and simple, with a pocket inside and interfacing for a bit of structure. But in a former life they were an ill-fitting skirt, a top that didn't quite work out, a bedroom curtain, a pair of trousers, and a vintage wool suit.

sleepy moreporks

I've been thinking about making some moreporks for a while now, and finding my old book about NZ birds was a good prompt. A morepork is a small owl native to NZ- (Maori name ruru), so called because its call sounds like it wants more pork. I used to hear them from my bed as a child but I've not heard any morepork calls since living in town. They're beautiful little owls- especially when chicks! (see here and scroll down for a picture of the babies.)

My sewn morepork are not at all anatomically correct or even similar- they're just little fabric owls with patchwork wings and embroidered sleepy eyes. I filled them with carded wool from a nearby farm. Goodnight, little morepork.

mystery laces

Dear Person-in-Australia who sent me the little parcel of antique laces. Some of them are handmade. Thank you so much for thinking of me, across the Tasman Sea. You didn't send your name or a note. So I'm hoping you look at my blog sometimes, and will see this post. I suppose that's how you know i like old bits and pieces like linen and lace. I promise to give them a good home and find a use for them.

And I hope you all have great weekend- it looks to be a sunny and busy one here. See you next week.

blue dress

 

 

This is my new spring dress- I sewed it from some blue checked cotton that reminds me slightly of my high school uniform, but I'm trying not to think about that too much.

The pattern is the 'Socialite Dress' by Anna Maria Horner, and I got it from here. I've totally fallen in love with this design- it's fairly easy to sew up, and would work in lots of different prints and fabrics, I think. I can wear it in this cool weather with tights and a cardigan, or over jeans. And i'm sure it'll be a great thing to have in the wardrobe for summer as well.

And the best thing of all is that it has nice big side pockets. This pattern comes highly recommended by me.