Ingrid's Sewing and Craft

Stay tuned

2009-11-18T22:56:00.002+11:00

I have a million and one things that I have done over the past few months to update, I just have to photograph them, maybe while were packing up the house to move in the next few weeks.

Stay tuned and I promise I will update this blog soon!!!!!

Been a busy weekend

2009-08-16T22:36:00.003+10:00

I have been sewing a bit recently but I'm just really slack at taking photos and posting them on here, but I was so thrilled with these cushions that I made this weekend that I just had to put them on here.

Made these two on Friday night

And these 3 this morning

I also made myself an apron this afternoon but will try and get a photo of that tomorrow.

2009-05-27T21:59:00.003+10:00

This is my early birthday present from MIL, she's been wanting to buy me one for ages now so when I found one on ebay the either day for a very reasonable price (brand new) I took her up on the offer.

I'm waiting for it to arrive now, should be tomorrow and when it does, this will be my first creation.

I have a another ball to attend late next month for hubby's work, the theme being "dead celebraties and rock stars" so I have decided to go as Audrey Hepburn from breakfast at Tiffany's, this was the closest pattern that I could find....... what do you think?

Hopefully it will turn out alright and I'll have some photos to put up.

Just an update

2009-05-04T16:14:00.004+10:00

I wore my new top out to dinner the other night so got my lovely SIL (she's so lovely cause she babysat so I COULD go out) to take a photo before I left

Connor got hold of my scissors the other day and decided to cut Izy's hair, the damage was not major, half of one pigtail and just a small chunk out of the other, but now she has a definate sticky up bit when I pull her hair up.

And now I'm working on a few pairs of pj's for Connor, he has grown a bit since last winter and now all his jarmies are too short, will pop photos in when they are finished.

I've caught the sewing bug again YAY!!!

2009-04-29T14:21:00.005+10:00

With the onset of the cold weather, the kids and I have been spending more time inside, so while the kids play inside games I have been able to get some more sewing done.

Sewing tally for this fortnight.

4 dresses for Izy

2 pairs of pants for Connor
2 pairs of pants for Izy
2 pairs of pj pants for Izy
1 pair of pj pants for connor

and shock horror...... a top for me!!!!

I haven't got a photo of my top yet, will add it as soon as I get one.

Izy's dresses

Connor's pants, this pair are greeny, brown and the other pair (not pictured) are black

Izy's pants, the other pair (again not pictured, are pink maple leaf camo print)

I still have to get pics of the pj's, but need to pick up some tops to applique first.

But not bad for 10 days of sewing I'd say.

A couple of things

2009-04-17T21:49:00.003+10:00

Starting with a couple of my most recent sewing projects.

A little dress for Izy, I bought this cordouroy last year and made some little pants, and had enough left over to make this sweet little A-line dress, I think it will look so cute with a little skivvy and a pair of tights.

I promised my SIL I would make her a bag ages ago and have have only just gotten around to it.

I have been sewing........ honestly!!!

2009-03-27T20:23:00.002+11:00

As soon as I can find the battery charger for the camera I will take some photos of what I have been doing and will post them up here.

I promise.

EBDSQ2 Received

2008-11-11T06:52:00.006+11:00

This little quilt arrived in the mail for Elizabeth weeks ago but I had to resist opening it until Friday, but it was well worth the wait. I'm in love with the colours and all the little stitching detail is just wonderful, oh and Elizabeth thinks its pretty special too lol!!!! Felton and Snowey all tucked in.
It goes really well with her Raggedy Edge quilt

New Babies and their presents

2008-11-03T22:44:00.003+11:00

Last week I went to Wagga to see a couple of new babies that were born in the previous weeks.

Before heading down there I finished off the quilt I had been making (well actually I had to finish sewing down the binding after I arrived)

And whipped up this little nappy wallet based on the "Trolley Monster" wallet that I bought earlier this year.

Christmas list

2008-11-03T22:27:00.002+11:00

No... not my christmas wish list.

In following Kylies lead I'm posting the list of the hand made items that i'm aspiring to get finished before christmas.

Pencil rolls
Felt food
Hopscotch Mat
Ballerina Bag
Fabric garage/ House x3
Felt board and characters
Aprons x4
Kids Aprons and teatowels x2

I'm sure there are a few more things but I cant for the life of me think what they are right now,

I'm also planning on making the kids a couple of pairs of summer pj's each, plus a couple of outfits suitable for Connor to wear to Kindy next year.

EBDSQ2 Sneak Peek

2008-11-03T19:08:00.002+11:00

My quilt is on it way to its new home, so I thought I'd post a couple of sneak peeks before the big reveal on the 7th.

While the cats away!!!!!

2008-07-13T13:21:00.005+10:00

With the boys away I've had a bit of spare time to get some sewing done.

Finished the squares for the couch quilt, now I need to choose the sashings, border and backing fabric.

A pair of pants for Izy that have been sitting on my sewing table for a month, I love the contrasting cotton on the hems and false fly.

And a new bag to take away with me next week, its not quite as big as I'd hoped and I don't normally like bags that cross over my body but I thought it would probably be best for keeping my hands free to control two kids in the airport.

I decided to do a bit of fancy stitching detail for something different. Its growing on me!!!!!

I turned 30 yesterday!!!!!

2008-07-06T20:29:00.005+10:00

And to celebrate this milestone I decided to have a party........ 1920's style.

Finding costumes for Aaron and myself was easy (I just went to the local costume shop and pulled a few pieces out of our wardrobe) but dressing the kids proved a little more difficult, so what is a sewing mumma to do???

Make her own of course!

My mum had some material left over from making my bridesmaids dresses a few years ago so I got her to send some down to make Izy's dress, added some frill and wah-la

My gorgeous little flapper

Her toddler waddle made the frills swish, too cute!

And finding a black long sleeve shirt for Connor proved impossible, luckily I stumbled upon a white pumpkin patch shirt at the op shop which I dyed black. Then I just sewed some white cotton onto the shirt to make it look like he was wearing suspenders. I think he looks quite dapper all dressed up. (the moustache wore off during the night though)

And speaking of dapper.... I think my hubby looks pretty spunky too.

I'm not sure about the hat, I think she looks more like a cow girl now

And just because I loved this photo of me and my girl

Izy's Birthday Party

2008-06-22T13:28:00.003+10:00

Izy's birthday was a couple of weekends ago now but it's taken me this long to find time to sit down at the computer and download the photos from her party, she had a great time and ended up covered in pink and yellow icing and dirt (great combination)

I was thrilled with how the cake turned out, and there was only about one piece left at the end so I guess everyone else liked it too

Including Izy, who thought it was wonderful to be able to walk around with a big piece of cake in her hand

My Baby Girl is turning 1

2008-06-07T01:51:00.003+10:00

I cant believe a year ago today my baby girl came into the world, I swear she was the most beautiful thing I have every seen in my life (not that I'm biased or anything) and I was smitten from the word go. How could I ever resist such an angelic face.

She is such a smiley happy little thing (most of the time) and at six months was happiest when she could be in her jumper and see everything that was going on.

And now at One she is confidently walking, well running actually, everywhere and getting into mischief (mostly lead by Connor but thats another story)

But still as beautiful as ever, Happy Birthday gorgeous girl, I love you so much.

Noah and his Friends

2008-06-04T11:49:00.003+10:00

This is the latest quilt I am working on, I saw it and absolutely loved it, It is going to take me a while cause it is all hand blanket stitched around the applique, but great to curl up with in front of the TV at night. When it is finished it will either be a wall hanging for Elizabeth's room, or a single bed cover if she is in a bed by that stage.

Funky Pants

2008-05-25T13:08:00.003+10:00

I made the kids some funky cord pants this week, so I thought I'd get some pics before we went out yesterday. Izy looks so grown up sitting on the swing unaided. I cant believe she turns 1 in just 2 weeks.

Kogler Look-alike Meter

2008-05-19T14:04:00.001+10:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

Kogler Look-alike Meter

2008-05-19T13:57:00.001+10:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

Beanie from Kylie

2008-05-19T10:49:00.002+10:00

Kylie has been making quite a few beanies recently and Connor and myself were a couple of the lucky recipients, I'm still yet to get a photo of mine on but here is a pic of the one she made for Connor, it is beautifully made and fits perfectly (Aaron couldn't believe at first that it wasn't store bought)

Thanks again Kylie.

Birthday Presents

2008-05-19T10:40:00.002+10:00

My niece turned 4 earlier this month and I had no idea what to give her (I haven't seen her since about October last year) so I thought dressups were the best way to go.

I made her a couple of these very simple no sew tutus (and bought some gorgeous little fairy wings to go with it) and also made her a couple of princess capes (which I forgot to get a photo of, and bought a little tiara to complete the outfit)

Hopefully I can get a pic of her all dressed up to pop on here at a later date.

Family Pics

2008-05-07T10:20:00.003+10:00

Completely unrelated to sewing but I picked these photos up yesterday and thought I would share them, they are the first family photos we have had done, I'm really happy with how they turned out.

A bit of sewing at last

2008-05-06T02:01:00.003+10:00

With the weather turning cold here after Anzac day I thought I had better get the kids PJ's that I cut out a few weeks ago finished, I still have one more top to applique for Connor and I'm slowly getting photos of all of them as the kids wear them, but here are a couple so you can get the general idea. (Connor has started pulling this scrunched up, eyes shut face everytime you tell him to smile at the camera now)

Also a gorgeous pic of Elizabeth walking, she walks more than she crawls now (after 3 weeks of practice) but amazingly as soon as I get the camera out she drops down and crawls to me so getting an action shot has been difficult (thats also an apology for the atrocious photos LOL)
And finally, a picture of the finished quilt I made for Breanna's Birthday (which was actually in January) It is only the second time I have attempted quilting (the first being a cot sized raggedy edge quilt) and being single bed size it was quite a challenge for me, but I'm happy with how it turned out (wonky seams and all) but more importantly, Breanna loves it and it was finished just in time for the cold weather to arrive.

Ingrid Means

2008-04-17T15:01:00.002+10:00

What Ingrid Means

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life.
You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone.
Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row.
You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace.
People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Milk bibs

2008-03-11T13:03:00.003+11:00

Miss Elizabeth is a very messy drinker when it comes to her bottle, I dont know whether she tries to drink it too fast or what but it ends up running out the sides of her mouth and all over her, generally soaking the top of whatever outfit she happens to have on.

So..... to combat this I made her some bibs, cotton on one side and plastic on the other with a middle of towelling to help soak it up, so far so good, it has kept her dry each time I have put one on her, I have made 5 all up, might have to make some more to keep up with her though.

Only 3 pictured here though as she is currently wearing one and the other one is in the wash.

Exploring new talents

2008-03-09T13:01:00.001+11:00

We went to a birthday party yesterday for a little friend of Connor's who turns 3 tomorrow, her mum works full time so asked me if I could make the cake for her. I like making the cakes for my kids birthdays so I thought, why not??? One Dora the Eplorer cake coming up.

I thought about using coloured mazipan but as it was a kids cake I wasn't sure they would like it so instead I covered the cake in icing to give it a sticky base and then traced out the Dora shape and used coloured sprinkles to fill it in and black writing icing gel to do the outline.

I think it turned out pretty good and Felicity's mum and dad were both very pleased with it.

Valentines swap

2008-03-09T12:44:00.001+11:00

I've been slack putting these pics up, This is what I received from the lovely Adds in the Valentines Day swap.

A beautiful handmade coaster to protect my bedside table when I curl up in bed with a coffee and my laptop (to surf blogs of course)

An applique quilting mag full of inspirational ideas and some gorgeous little fabric pieces.

Oh and a packet of ferero rocher which lasted about 10 minutes.... they were yummy!!!!!

Aprons for my little helpers

2008-02-14T21:46:00.001+11:00

Breanna took such a fancy to my apron (made for me by Liv in the kitchen swap) when we baked cucakes in the school holidays that I thought I would make her one as a present. Fortunately I had some matchinf fabric in my stash so I whipped one up in time to make another batch of cupcakes a few days later. And since I knew there would be tears and tantrums if Connor didn't have something special to wear I made him one too.

As you can see from Connors face they were a bit hit (or that could just be the thought of licking the beaters!)

Costumes

2008-01-21T21:28:00.000+11:00

Excuse the lolly in Connors mouth but they had just finished with the Pinata and this was about the only time he stood still all afternoon to have his photo taken (minus hat, sword and eye patch unfortunately)

Doesn't Izy just look adorable dressed up as piglet, she didn't really like the nose much but kept it on long enough to have her photo taken and make an entrance at the party.

And I went as a hippy/flower child, wearing a dress that my mum made for herself to wear for her 1st wedding anniversary in 1974 (before I was even born) Its full length with big bell sleeves that have bright pink inserts.

Hubby went as a hawaiin girl wearing a grass skirt and coconut shell bra (but I dont have a photo I can put on here!!!!)

WIP Wednesday & some finished projects

2008-01-17T13:53:00.000+11:00

I made this little reversable pinafore for Elizabeth a few weeks ago but didn't get a photo until recently, this is her bee dress, connor loves the little bees on the white material and makes a buzzing sound everytime she wears it. (and isn't she such a poser)

This is the pirate costume I am making for Connor to wear to a dress up birthday party this weekend, the plain tshirt and pants were bought from Big W and the hat and sword (not pictured) from the warehouse, I picked up the stripey material and the black material for the sash from the bargain bins at SL and had the vest pattern already in my stash from an op shop visit. I still have to make him an eye patch from felt that I got this morning but other than that I think its done, cant wait to see him dressed up in it.

And finally, the quilt I am working on for the birthday girl, I got the pattern from the February issue of Better Homes & Gardens, it is my first ever quilt (appart from the raggedy edge quilt I made for Elizabeths quilt last year in the sew along) and has been pretty straight forward up to this point, I have been getting some tips from the lovely ladies on the sewing thread at EB on sandwiching etc and now am up to the part where I have to mark it up for the actual quilting. I am hoping to have it finished by Sunday for the party but I guess that depends on how my machine quilting goes LOL.

A close up of the Butterfly applique.

Sorry for the dark photos but I can only lay it out at night after the kids have gone to bed or they start walking and crawling all over it.

Summer Fun

2008-01-08T21:55:00.000+11:00

Since I don't have anything sewing related to put on my blog this week I thought I would post a picture of my two beautiful babies (who are growing up so fast) Izy has started crawling and pulling herself up on things, and as of new years day she is now eating solids everyday (twice a day actually)

We have had a string of quite hot days here recently, which means you can almost guarentee that the icecream van will make an appearance at some stage. Connor loved eating the icecream bought from the man in the singing van. And.... surprisingly this was as messy as he got (I stripped him down just incase but I need not have worried)

Now that all the Christmas excitement is over and all the visitors have gone home (we really enjoyed having them here but I didn't have a chance to do any sewing) I'm looking forward to getting my sewjo back and getting some sewing and crafting done. Now I just have to decide what I want to make.

PJ's finished

2007-12-16T23:08:00.000+11:00

I finally got around to putting the applique on the singlet tops, so here is the complete outfit, sorry for the dodgy photo but Connor doesn't stand still for photos anymore, he launches himself at the camera everytime the flash pops up.

And I just thought I'd share this very cute photo. Connor was being all lovey towards Elizabeth and giving her lots of kisses and cuddles.

Christmas Swap Received

2007-12-13T22:09:00.000+11:00

After staring at my swap parcel for 4 days I was finally allowed to open it yesterday, I received oodles of lovelyness from the wonderful Corrie.

Included in my parcel was:

All these beautiful fabrics, spotty, fairy tales, xmas and some monkey (which will become appliques on tops or pants for my own little monkey I think) and an iron on bear motif.

Plus some yummy chocolates which I have kept hidden from DH and the kids (though Izy did discover them while I was taking this pic and decided to crawl up for a closer look)

Some gorgeous little quilted coasters.

And all these beautiful little novelty buttons (destined for lots of Izy's dresses)

Thank you Corrie, I love it all.

2007-12-08T12:44:00.000+11:00

My trainer cancelled yesterday due to illness so I was unexpectedly blessed with extra time for sewing yesterday on my Connor free day.

So I finally managed to whip up 3 pairs of PJ shorts for Connor, I bought this material a couple of weeks ago but couldn't find a pattern I liked, I settled on Simplicity pattern 4983 and am very happy with the result, I just have to pick up some singlets or little tshirts to applique for the tops now.

Elizabeths Christening

2007-11-21T20:28:00.000+11:00

I haven't had much of a chance to sew over the past week with family coming to stay (other than making up a couple of photo boards for xmas presents for a friends little boys) but now the house is all quiet and I have finally had a chance to get started on my xmas swap gift.

We decided to have Elizabeth christened while my inlaws were here (as they couldn't attend Connor's last year) so in leiu of sewing pictures I will show you some shots of my gorgeous girl all dressed up.

All of dressed up (Aaron doesn't normally have a moustache but hes supporting the whole Movember thing)

Its hard to get a decent photo of connor at the moment cause as soon as the flash pops up he grabs for the camera, but doesn't he look so cute in his checkered shirt and undershirt.

Only a little bit of sewing and lots of unpicking

2007-10-28T20:32:00.000+11:00

I did do a bit of sewing this week after a trip to the spotlight sale on Monday night, I am making a little block rug for a birthday present for a friends little boy who turns 2 in November, but thought it best I make a prototype for Connor as I hadn't made one before. As it turns out this was a good idea, after finishing it and threading the cord through I discovered that it didn't quite close up the way I wanted it to, so had to unpick the entire thing in order to put in extra buttonholes to thread the cord in and out of.

So now I have to start over, first to do the buttonholes and then put it back together, shouldn't take too long as it is a pretty simple project, will post a pic when its done (in the morning when I can get a better picture)

Connor's Birthday Party

2007-10-07T15:22:00.000+10:00

We had Connor's 2nd Birthday party today, and although there were quite a few no shows (I understand that people can' t make it but I wish they would have told me in advance, thanks to those that did!!!) we still had a great time.

Everyone loved the party bags I made, they were very simple but were a hit!

I love how this banner/ bunting turned out, I will now hang it in Connor's room (so much better than a paper or plastic banner that just gets thrown away)

I was happy with how the cake turned out too, I bought the cake topper off of ebay and just cover the cake with cream and piped some extra around the edges for effect. (the cake was mostly for the adults as I made cupcakes for the kids to have, much easier to hold than a piece of cake)

A finally a pic of my baby boy blowing out his candles, he's pretty good at it now (hes had a bit of practice now, we had to keep relighting the candles to get a good photo cause he's just too fast LOL)

I can only assume that Connor had a good time cause the party ended at 12, he was in bed by 12.15 and its now 3.30 and hes still asleep.... we must have really worn him out!

The Curtains

2007-10-05T15:14:00.000+10:00

I finally got a photo of the curtains, because they are stripes they don't photograph so well but you get the general idea.

A close up of the material so you can see the colours, I didn't want anything to babyish as I want them to last him a while.

And finally, the photo/note board that I made him a few weeks ago, decided to coordinate the curtains to this.

Some sewing at long last!!!

2007-09-30T13:02:00.000+10:00

I have finally had chance to do some sewing, nothing terribly exciting though, just some curtains for DS's room. Thought i'd better get them done before daylight saving starts.

Will blog a pic when he wakes up from his sleep (cause I haven't taken one yet!!!!)

Now to start a set for DD's room!!!

I'm also working on some decorations and gift bags for DS's birthday party next weekend.. Wiggles theme. I'm borrowing some ideas from the very talented ladies on the EB sewing thread.

Will take pics when I have done some more on them (mostly in the planning stage atm)

In the MOOD for cupcakes

2007-08-22T22:35:00.000+10:00

I made some cupcakes today for a friends birthday (practicing for Connor's birthday in October) using the recipe in Heids blog.

After icing them I decided they were a bit plain, I'm a bit lacking in the sprinkle department at the moment so I decided I would put faces on them instead. But not just smiley happy faces, I decided to make mood cupcakes, so you can now have a cupcake to match your mood, whether your happy, sad, confused or surprised there is a cupcake for you... (yes I am going insane, I think I need to get out more LOL.)

Connor felt a bit left out that I had made a dress for Izy and nothing for him recently, so he decided to share her dress instead. Over the top of his pyjamas naturally. I'm still yet to get a photo of her in it LOL.

Flash Back Fridays

2007-08-17T20:19:00.000+10:00

This weeks theme for FBF is a group photo, so I have taken mine from a couple of my birthday parties.

This is my 1st Birthday, mum made me an Elephant cake (sorry the photo is so dark)

Me at my 3rd Birthday party

Don't forget to check out the other friday flash backers by following the blog ring.

Quilt for a new baby boy

2007-08-12T11:59:00.000+10:00

One of my good friends had her baby on thursday (a week early) a little boy they named Hayden, weighing 8lb 14oz.

I wanted to give them something special that they didn't already have (2nd child) and found this lovely "Pooh Bear" panel at SL the other day. You cant see it in the photos but I stitched around all the characters, and Embroidered his name onto the front, and then found this lovely starry material for the backing.

I was hoping it would be a little more puffy where I sewed around the characters but as I had to use a cotton wadding (the whole thing is 100% cotton materials as her oldest suffers from excema and has been told this one probably will too) it didn't really puff up.

Overall I'm really happy with it and it was received with great appreciation, so I guess thats all that matters really.

Flash Back Fridays

2007-08-10T14:41:00.000+10:00

The theme of this weeks FBF is fancy dress, after looking through my album, I have found that the pickings are pretty slim for these photos, but I did manage to find a couple.

My appologies to my brother for yet another photo with him in it but it appears that he has managed to get his mug into about 90% of the photos in my album...

Does this count as fancy dress/dress up's??? either way its a mighty big cardi of my dad's that we have got on.

Playing dress up's at kindy with one of my friends,thats me in the purple number, (on the phone as usual)

Follow the FBF blog ring to check out some more flashers!!

WIP and a new craft

2007-08-08T13:42:00.000+10:00

Ahhhhh, finally I have gotten back behind my sewing machine, and doesn't it feel good to be doing something other than housework for once.

So.... while the kids were napping yesterday I made up this dress for Izy that I had cut out last week, I made it in the smallest size just to get an indication of what size she might be for summer (and it will definately be the next one up) still have to do buttons and button holes (or maybe snaps if I can find buttons to cover them up)

I have also been making a pair of matching panties to go underneath from the pattern that Sahra sent me, but they are too big so will need some modification.

On the weekend I went to the Wagga CraftAlive fair and picked up this Lace Dying kit.

From which I dyed this cute little motif.

I think it looks really cute sewn onto a plain white top for Izy.

Flash Back Fridays

2007-08-03T14:02:00.001+10:00

Well its Friday again so time for another Flashback into pre 1985.

Sometime in 1978, probably about September. Off to a birthday party with my brother (my very first party) and another shocking pair of overalls (sorry mum but they really are) and check out those stripey socks!!!!! this one is especially for Michelle (lucky for you his dress sense has improved over the years)

And one of me in my own interesting outfit (I guess it was the 70's) sometime late 1979.
To check out more Flasback Friday blogs follow the blog ring located on the right hand side of this page.

3rd Wedding Anniversary

2007-08-01T13:45:00.000+10:00

3 years ago today I married the love of my life. So I thought i'd pop some photos up to celebrate the day.

Flashback Fridays

2007-07-26T22:32:00.000+10:00

The rules are - you have to post a photo every Friday pre 1985, and you have to be in it!!!

This is a pic of me at 12 weeks and my older brother (about 2 1/2) in his snazzy overalls teamed with a skivvy and short sleeve jumper..... mother what were you thinking????

He is going to kill me if he happens to look in here LOL!

The finished quilt and a little friend

2007-07-25T12:47:00.000+10:00

The raggedy edge quilt is finished and has ragged up nicely on the ends, I love these colours and am in the process of creating other things in these colours to coordinate.

The first coordinating piece is a little friend for Izy, I call her Ellie and she matches the fabric on the back of her quilt. She is also my very first softy, and turned out pretty good for a first try.

Piles of pattern goodness

2007-07-25T12:35:00.000+10:00

I had the opportunity to do a bit of op shopping without Connor the other day and found basket upon basket of patterns that I had never discovered at one of my regular haunts. So naturally I went crazy and grabbed as many as would fit in the basket (I stopped counting at 40) an awesome selection of womens, toddlers and craft (and a few really cute older kids patterns that I just couldn't bare to leave behind)I also found this great book that has alot of tips on sewing toddlers clothes aswell as some stencils for applique.

Not to forget a few goodies for my swap partner.... hoping to get my parcel posted off in the next few days, depending on when Connor manages to shake the high temp and racking cough he has picked up from somewhere.

I couldn't resist putting this photo in, how am I ever going to be able to say no to this face???

WIP Wednesday

2007-07-18T13:52:00.000+10:00

I know its WIP Wednesday but DH has stolen my camera and taken it in to work to get one of his work mates to show him how to use it "properly" and I dont have any spare batteries in the house to put into my old camera so the photos will have to wait for now.

Raggedy edge quilt is finished and looking great (if I do say so myself) and as luck would have it, it turned out the perfect size for Izy's cot (which is lucky considering I never measured it)

Am now working on some coordinating items to make her room look "girly" (not that she actually sleeps in there atm)

Did some hemming for a friend last night (does that count as sewing) but thats it for me so far this week.

Hope I can put some photos on tomorrow.

Family Tradition

2007-07-15T14:34:00.000+10:00

I thought I would show you a picture of the recieving dress that we bought Elizabeth home in, it is the same one that my parents brought me home in 29 years ago, it was knitted for my mother by one of her Aunts, I was so thrilled to be able to carry on this tradition and hope that it will be carried on by my children in the future.

Crazy quilts and crazy cakes

2007-07-15T14:12:00.001+10:00

My quilt is all sewn up and snipped and is currently drying on the line after wash number one, its not looking overly raggedy at the moment but I guess it will after another wash, I took this photo before the first wash so I could compare, will add another photo after its finished.

I made this cake last night (for no particular reason) and am going to send some of it into work with hubby tomorrow, but after looking at it today I decided it was very boring and needed some brightening up.

Before

After

WIP Raggedy Edge Quilt and To Do List

2007-07-13T16:03:00.000+10:00

I have finished sewing all my diagonals YAY! and have sewn the squares into rows, now just have to sew all the rows together and then get snipping.

I'm loving the colour combinations in this and think I will continue this throughout her room (I still have plenty of material left)

To Do List:

Finish Raggedy Edge Quilt

Hand Towels for Kitchen (Novy's Pattern)

Overlock around covers for change mat

Softie for an expectant friend (pattern still to be decided)

Paper doll canvases for Elizabeths room

Another year older but just another day really

2007-07-06T22:18:00.000+10:00

I used to get so excited about my birthday when I was younger, it pretty much always coincided with The Show, the highlight of the Alice Springs social calender (along with the Camel Cup, sad I know, but thats another story) so I was always stoked to have a new outfit to wear to it and my birthday money to be able to spend on anything I wanted.... which funnily enough was generally something craft related (not much of a rides girl)

But as each year passes a little bit more of the excitment fades and is replaced with the reality of adulthood. Now I dont mean to whinge but when you spend most of the day alone (or in the company of a teething 21 month old and a hungry 4 week old) it really doesn't feel like anything special.

The high and low lights of my day:
4.00am Woke up to Connor crying
5.05am - Elizabeth wakes up wanting to be fed
6.30am - Wake up to the sound of Elizabeth vomiting in the bed beside me followed quickly by the disgusting feeling of it running down my back
7.00am - Connor wakes up... Lots of cuddles and kisses, we open my pressies. big ooohs and ahhhs over the lovely gifts I recieve. Even connor joined in with the oohs and ahhs.
10.30am - Arrive at shopping centre, no carparks to be found (forgot it was the first day of the toy sales) some rude women takes the carpark that I had been sitting waiting 2 mins to get into.
4.00pm - A good friend arrives with her son to keep me company for the afternoon/ evening
7.00pm - Aaron arrives home just as we are ordering dinner (fabulous surprise as I didn't expect him home until 10.30)
Midnight - Bedtime

Not the most exciting if birthdays but definately one of the longest I have had in a while.

So now its over and behind me, next year will be my 30th and I'm planning on having a party so at least thats something to look forward to!!!!

Also, during the course of the day I did recieve some lovely phone calls and text messages from my family and friends which did make me feel all warm and fuzzy and loved and for this I thank them all.

And thanks to Elizabeth throwing up on me in bed it will definately be a birthday I wont forget in a hurry.

I edited this post after rereading it the next morning and deciding it was incredibly depressing and negative and thats not the way I want to remember my birthday.

WIP - Raggedy Edge Quilt

2007-07-03T20:36:00.000+10:00

Front and back squares all cut out (YAY!) Still have to cut out wadding, rule lines across squares and pin it all together before we start on step two.

A rough layout of what I would like the quilt to look like at the end, Hopefully it should be cot sized.

A close up of the material I have chosen for the qulit, as well as the material for the back of the quilt.

Thank you Kylie

2007-06-27T21:16:00.000+10:00

This is the beautiful jumper that the lovely and very talented Kylie knitted for Elizabeth. She has worn it 4 times now and everytime we have received lovely comments about it.

And not to leave Connor out she also made both the kids special Tshirts.... Big Brother for Connor and little sis for Izy, which they wore on our trip to Canberra last weekend. (sorry its not the best pic but we couldn't get connor to sit still for it)

Thank you so much Kylie, they were wonderful gifts.

Welcome to the world little one...

2007-06-07T18:29:00.000+10:00

IT'S A GIRL

Mummy and Daughter

Little Princess

Elizabeth Charlotte Kogler

07.06.07

0259am

7 lb 15oz 3600grams

51cm

Just a few photos to show off Aaron and Ingrid's new little baby girl and little sister for Connor. She smells beautiful, her skin is so soft and her little face is just perfect. Top Job Mummy and Daddy!!

38+ Weeks and counting

2007-05-27T23:40:00.000+10:00

Hopefully this will be my last pregnancy post and the next one will have a photo of my new bundle of joy, I'm currently sitting here willing my contractions to start..... I'm so over it now!!!

A friend took these photos of me the other day, Connor has taken to blowing raspberries on my stomache every opportunity he gets and we finally managed to get a photo of him doing it.

37 Week update

2007-05-16T21:25:00.000+10:00

Just thought I'd pop on an updated photo of me taken tonight, with 3 weeks to go the nesting bug has definately set in and I have been concerntrating on getting my scrapbook for Connor mostly finished so I can start another one when this baby is born.

Plus the thought of getting down on the floor to cut out any material at the moment is not a welcome one.

Mothers Day Swap Pressie

2007-05-16T15:34:00.000+10:00

This is the lovely gifts I received from Joy, a pin cushion on a wristband and a handy little pouch to keep needles, a little pair of scissors and my unpicker. Thank you so much Joy.

Modelled by a very excited Connor.

Tagged

2007-05-15T15:50:00.000+10:00

Ok, I have been tagged by Kylie so here goes.

The rules are:
• Start with 7 random facts/habits about yourself, that others may not know!
• People who are tagged have to write their 7 things on their blog
• Then choose another 7 people to get tagged and list their names

So here they are...

1. I met my husband at a ballroom dancing class (and yes he's a pretty good dancer)

2. I spent 4 months in 2000 working at a Summer camp just outside of Los Angeles before moving to London for 18 months

3. I love Bacon and Pork but cannot stand the taste of ham on its own (yes I am strange)

4. I spent 11 years in Alice Springs and did all of my schooling there before moving to darwin to go to uni.

5. I have never seen "The sound of Music"

6. I sometimes eat cereal for dinner if I am home alone (when hubby works late) cause I hate cooking for one person.

7. I still have the receiving dress that my parents brought me home from hospital in and will bring my baby home in it if it is a girl. (otherwise we'll use hubbies, cause he still has his too)

OK, I tag..... Liv, Marie, Suzqld, Novy, Clair, Austys mum, Tigerfilly

Birthday Present for Kylie

2007-05-13T14:49:00.000+10:00

It was Kylies birthday this week and know how much knitting she does and how many sets of needles she has I decided the best present for her would be a knitters roll to keep all (or at least some) of her needles in.

As you can tell I am in love with this material, its just so bright and cheerful. I have used it for heaps of projects in the past few weeks.

Mothers Day Swap

2007-05-13T14:42:00.000+10:00

Now that Clair has received her parcel I can pop in a pick of what I made her.

It is a pin cushion with a little bag that attaches with a button to catch all those little threads that you cut off when sewing. I thought it was a really novel idea as I am always throwing mine on the floor cause I forget to grab my bin.

I hope she likes it and will get use out of it.

A Bag for Mothers Day

2007-05-13T14:37:00.000+10:00

After the sucess of my first bag I decided to make another one, this time for my Mother In Law for Mothers day & her birthday. This time a little more conservative with the fabric colours, but she loved it none the less.

Birthday Present for Londyn

2007-05-13T14:33:00.000+10:00

My Niece turned 3 yesterday and I made her a very cute Apron and some felt cupcakes for her present. I think they turned out wuite well (first time at making both) and by all accounts she loves them too!!!!

My first bag

2007-04-28T19:26:00.000+10:00

The present has arrived and been opened by the birthday girl so I can finally post a pic of the bag I made last week, I'm totally in love with this fabric (outside fabric given to me by the lovely Liv as part of the kitchen swap) It was a very simple pattern but has inspired me to make a few more and then maybe move onto some other designs..... like the beautiful Amy Butler bags!!!

Thrift Shop Fabric

2007-04-28T19:21:00.000+10:00

I picked up this fabric (a couple of sheets, some felt and some faux velvet) last week from a thrift shop, plan was to make some lounge pants out of the sheets (but they were a bit tight) so they have been moved to the WIP pile, the bag of felt should come in handy to make some soft cupcakes etc for my niece for her birthday and the brown velvety material will hopefully be used to transform Connor's toy box lid into a soft seat (when I eventually buy the foam)

P & P

2007-04-20T15:21:00.000+10:00

Its not the best photo, but I loved this dress my mum made me to go to a ball during my last pregnancy, I felt very pride and predjudice in it.

New fabric, WIP and maternity stuff

2007-04-13T13:44:00.000+10:00

I have been a busy girl but haven't had a chance to update my blog recently.

I finished a pair of overalls for Connor, they are so soft and look gorgeous on him (if I can catch him to put them on) this was my first attempt at using snap fasteners (what a pain they are) but they turned out ok.

I made these PJ's for myself out of some discounted stretch fabric I picked up at SL for $5 meter. they are just a standard pattern but i tried them on before doing the waistband and have fitted it around my expanding belly (32 weeks in this photo)

I have cut out this material to make another pair of PJ's, it was also picked up for a discounted price of $5 per meter.

I have no idea what I'm going to make with this material, but the lady in front of me was buying it and I couldn't resist, am getting quite a stash these days.

I bought this adorable flannette to make some fitted and flat sheets for the baby's cradle, am using a tetra bed mattress borrowed from kylie to fit the cradle but it is longer than a standard bassinet so have to make sheets to fit it.

I finally finished knitting this hug me tight, it was going to be a present for a friend originally but it looks a bit dodgy, still have to sew up the cuffs and will decide what to do with it after that (might just mark it up to experience)

I am about to try and make myself a cross over top in stripey stretch material (forgot the photo of this one) but as its not a maternity pattern I will have to make a few adjustments before putting it all together, hopefully will put the finished article on here soon (better hurry up or I wont have a chance to wear it before this baby comes)

Looks like I'm going to be a busy girl in the next few weeks trying to get this lot done.

Want to make this but cant find the material

2007-03-23T08:32:00.000+11:00

I found this great pattern but Spotlight dont seem to have anything that would be suitable to make it with.

New Sewing Cabinet

2007-03-20T17:42:00.000+11:00

I bought this cabinet off Ebay today, just have to work out how I'm going to get it here now!!! I'm sew excited (excuse the pun) will finally have somewhere to store all my stuff away from busy toddler fingers!!!!

Cord pants revised

2007-03-20T10:41:00.000+11:00

I made these cord pants back in February but wasn't overly happy with them. I have shortened them, redone the pockets and waistband and now they look great, and Connor can wear them this winter now instead of next.

Long pants for winter

2007-03-16T22:40:00.000+11:00

I made these long pants for Connor last night (at some ungodly hour) wanted them to look a little different so I gave them a feature pocket. He seemed to like them.... will update with a photo of him in them when I can get one.

Kitchen Swap

2007-03-13T12:20:00.000+11:00

1. What colours are you kitchen
A sort of Beigey cream with grey marble look benches. (very boring and neutral)

(Obviously this is what it looked like before we moved it, its a lot more cluttered now)

2. What is your favourite appliance
Probably my dishwasher, I really hate doing dishes by hand, especially bottles.

3. What do you love cooking most
I'm a big fan of muffins and cakes at the moment, anything morning tea-ish.

4. What item would you love the most from your swap partner
A pretty apron please, something adjustable to fit over my expanding belly!!!! (loving the brown/blue colour combinations at the moment)

2 yr old's Birthday present

2007-03-10T08:52:00.000+11:00

Were off to a birthday party for a little girl down the road today, so I have spent the last couple of days making this dress for her (it is adapted from the pattern I made my niece's dress from) It was a very simple dress to make, just time consuming with all the blanket stitching around the outside and on the flowers.

Hope she likes it!!!

Present for a new baby girl

2007-02-27T19:47:00.000+11:00

I used this gorgeous fabric to cut out some motif's to attach to singlets and rompers for a friend who has just had a little baby girl. Hand stitching them on gave the best results. I think they turned out quite good.

A dress for my Niece

2007-02-26T14:45:00.000+11:00

I made this dress for my niece from a pattern I got at the op shop, I think it turned out ok, hopefully it fits her as I didn't have any of her measurements.

First attempt at Applique

2007-02-17T14:27:00.000+11:00

Here is my first attempt at applique, a little wizard on connor's PJ top to match the pants I made last week. I think it turned out ok.

Thanks to Kylie for all the tips, made life so much easier.

On a roll

2007-02-13T21:22:00.000+11:00

I made these pants today, thought I'd try out my new machine, they were such a breeze to make on a machine that works properly.... I'm hooked!

This is a back view of the pants, aren't these the cutest little pockets.

The whole outfit. It looks so great on.

PJ's and other pants

2007-02-12T16:45:00.000+11:00

These are the pants I have made over the past 2 weekends. I love having an overlocker, it makes things so much easier and neater.

All of these were made on the old sewing machine as I only got my new one today.

Some very cute PJ pants

These are a fine corduroy with cargo pockets, its hard to tell from the photo

Old Machine / New Machines

2007-02-12T16:34:00.000+11:00

My new machines, thanks to my darling husband.

This is the machine I inherited from my Grandmother, its an Empisal.

Don't know exactly how old it is but guessing from the fact that the instruction book has gone practically see through from age and the fact that I never saw her use it I'd say at least 30 years old. And it's really heavy too!!