Wednesday 21 September 2011

Of camera bags and hoodies.....

This week, I FINALLY finished the camera bag I've been working on for MONTHS. Literally.
The first draft can be seen here...and this one is a LONG way from that! There's been drawings, and calculations, and yes, I'll admit it - some swearing lol!
But it's finally done. It's by no means perfect, being only the second thing I've ever sewn with oilcloth (steep learning curve isn't the half of it lol!), but I love it, and as it's for me, that's all that matters. I was so close to giving up on it and throwing it in the bin a few times, and I'm so glad I didn't! I finally have a bag I can get ALL my stuff in - my lenses, macro tubes, filters, manual (ha ha!) and of course my camera!
So here it is. Blood, Sweat and Tears.....but I did it.





I've also made my first girly Imke this week....not quite as exciting as the camera bag, but I love it and I'm really pleased with how it came together. It's made from fleece, with an applique that I upcycled from a girls RTW tshirt, and binding made from an old adult tshirt of mine that matched the colour perfectly!
I also added a long custom 'curly' hood with a pom pom.
Please excuse the 'model'......poor boy ha ha!



 So there you have it. Not much sewing, I grant you, but I'm happy!

Thanks for looking
Lisa
xxx

Thursday 15 September 2011

Oddly shaped balls.....

Well, if you're a rugby fan, like me, you can not have failed to notice that the Rugby World Cup is under way in New Zealand!
Now this is very exciting for me...I've been a fan since I don't know when, and now my little dude is getting into it too, which makes me a very happy Mummy indeed! It's not surprising though, really - last World Cup, he was in here - I gave birth one month and one day after this was taken ha ha! 

 He's been walking round the flat ordering 'Crouch! Touch! Pause! ENGAGE!', and was shouting 'Come ON England!' and 'Go Johnny!' - he makes me very proud lol!
So yesterday morning, I decided he needed an England shirt of his own.  
So I found a picture of the England Rose (not hard - it's my wallpaper on my pc!), and traced it onto paper with pencil. I made sure I did the lines quite dark, as I then turned it upside down onto the back of some fusible interfacing, and using the schoolkids trick, rubbed all over the back with the end of a pencil so the design was transferred to the back of the interfacing. This way, the applique pieces would form the image the right way round.
I then cut them all out, and then ironed them onto the jersey scraps, and cut them out. Then Istuck them onto the shirt with washable glue stick to hold them in place - there were too many pieces that pins weren't practical.
Please excuse this photo as it was taken with my phone cam lol! You can see the traced image on the left..this is all the pieces glued onto the shirt.
Then the last thing to do was to stitch them on....I handstitched it all as I think it would have been too fiddly for my machine skills!

And here's the little guy in his new shirt....he seems to like it!
Thanks for looking...and 
COME ON ENGLAND!!!!
Lisa
xxxx

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Impulse sewing....

I really do love my Sewing Clothes Kids Love book.
I got up this morning, and wanted to sew something, so out it came, and I decided on the Avalon Jacket.
Now, you all know I don't have a girl to sew for, but I see it as all good practice on sewing techniques and pattern construction...I love the way all those random looking pieces of fabric suddenly all come together and become something!
So, another day of sewing for sewing's sake...and why not? 
I used decor weight fabrics, and they seem to work really well for a jacket...and the ribbon on the back actually matches a lot better than it looks in the photo lol!
So here it is!

Front...
 Back...
 And a quick shot of the ribbon detail!
Thanks for looking, and happy sewing, if sewing is what you're doing!
Lisa
xxx

Saturday 3 September 2011

I don't normally blog competitions....

but I really want to win one of these amazing Kidzsacks from The Little Green Paintbox...amazing eco-friendly and child friendly products from right here in the UK! 

(image from Little Green Paint Box)
If you'd like to enter to win it too, just visit PoppySparkles blog and find out how! 
(Or don't...then I stand more chance lol!)

Thanks for looking, and good luck if you enter!
Lisa
xxx

Thursday 1 September 2011

Superman, Custom Feliz, and a sneaky peek!

Hi all!
Thought I'd show you my latest creations....
Russ had this tshirt for ages, and loved it, but it got a little tight for him lol! So I rescued it from the trash, and turned it into a shirt for Jamie.
Jamie decided he needed to do some of his 'posing' shots.....

Then I made this Feliz today...it's a little different to the usual style I make. It has no overdress, no frills, but it does have the sash ties still, with grosgrain ribbon straps and a giant applique flower. I love the way this turned out!

and finally....a sneaky peek at the oilcloth camera bag I'm working on...it's going ok so far lol!

Thanks for looking!
Lisa
xxx

Getting an early start...

Well for some reason, (and trust me, this NEVER happens!), I'm making an early start on things for that most dreaded of C-words... CHRI...