All Things Mum

Howdy there. I realised that I have everything for school except library bags for the kids. Last year I bought some small Disney un-inspired bags which aren't going to do the job this year. So, I spent the last two days wondering and agonising over library bags/totes. Finally, I settled upon the Purl Bee 20 minute tote , except that as I was cutting, I decided that I wanted to line the totes. So it ended being the 40 minute tote, which was probably more like the 50 minute tote as I wrestled with my overlocker. I already had the 1 inch herringbone webbing in my stash as well (just enough for all three bags). I vaguely recall buying them from ebay.                                                  In fact, as I finished each bag they got progressively a little smaller in size. This is going backwards but I made Michael's bag last. I had this Japanese fabr...

Hello everybody! I actually sewed something up for myself yesterday. This literally took me one day! Yes, I make simple sewing sound like it was a huge task but some times it is when you have four kids, plus husband, to take care of. But I digress, the other day I was at Big W and they had a clearance of these Avella brand knit shirts. They were only $3.50 so I grabbed the biggest size in this navy and white stripe knowing that one day I would make something from it. I spent yesterday afternoon cutting it out using a singlet top that I wear to work as a pattern. I basically cut and eye-balled it all. I zoomed it through the  overlocker (even being too lazy to change the white thread) and only needed to finish the binding on the neckline and back bottom hem. I kept the front hem. Good thinking 99! I kept going after the kids were home from school (disregarding the fact that I still have dinner to prepare). I didn't have enough of the knit for the binding though so I ended...

It's Spring down here in Australia but it feels like summer. The weather can be quite hot one day, cooler at night, and mild the next day. You just can't tell. I think I can put away the winter jackets though. Normally with a change in the seasons I pack away clothes that will not be worn often and are just taking up valuable space in the cupboards. I also discover  what is missing for the kids. It turns out that my eldest girl has hardly any shorts or skirts for the warm weather. I decided to buy a few shorts but for me the pricing of $20 is rather insane. I decided to buy the Kid Shorts pattern by Dana of MADE . It was a measly $6 which I should have bought ages ago. It's terrific because the sizing starts from 12months to 10 years!!! WOW. I knew I had to do make something nice with this sage coloured polka dot fabric I bought from the local fabric store. I cut out the size 8 as my daughter needs a bit more room (and I don't have any problems with her ea...

The pattern that I won arrived from the States yesterday. I was even more excited once I checked up on Flickr already made tops and decided to make a muslin since it would probably require tweaking. Ladies on-line had raved about it including Amanda Soule . I traced out the pieces onto a cheap roll of interfacing I bought from Spotlight. This is a size 12 (the largest available to me) in a white cotton and finished by lunch. It would have been faster had I not been cleaning up this mess. She loves zinc cream. Fortunately for me it comes off easily using baby wipes and having timber flooring is a must. My 5year old who helped me clean is a blessing. God I loved her as she cleaned up the floor. Where were we? Oh yeah. The top. It turns out the size 12 just fits. I need a bit more bust room and at the back. The sleeves were ok as well but I'm not a big fan of an elasticised neckline. It reminds me of an art smock. I will have to make it a bit roomier and p...

Well Spring has made a late entrance around these parts of Sydney. This weather has been crazy I tell you. It's been cold, rainy and sunny all in one day! We have been feeling the heat so much so today that I really wanted to make this wrap dress that I've been talking about forever. I've used the pattern before for my maternity top. It's not finished yet. I have only put the bodice together and skirt. I wanted to see if I could make a simple dress, omitting the top panel. I don't think it's working out.  The bodice JUST fits. I'm holding it together in the pic above. After some reading the fabric you're meant to use is anything stretchy like knits. However, I had this lovely synthetic thing I picked up when Spotlight had their 30% off storewide. I think it really suits me and drapes over my bumpy pokey bits. It's rather low cut too, lucky I am wearing a singlet underneath. I am suppose to put facings on the edges rather than folding the...

image from my camera Happy Mothers Day to all you wonderful mummies out there! My morning started with a kiss from hubby before he left for work. Not long after the kids woke up and we had breakfast. I got them ready for church. As I finished dressing I went into the kitchen to find my eldest (4.5yr old girl) apologising for spilling the beetroot container! She had stained her white fancy dress and some of the floor with beetroot juice. I had left the container on the bench but I did recall having a lid on it. She apologised, saying she was trying to help me clean. God Bless her. I rinsed her dress and popped it into the dryer so she could still wear it out. She gave me the present (a little pink led torch) from her preschool stall along with some other items made at school. I had tears in my eyes. It was my first official present made by her and I was full of emotion. We hung them up on the wall in fron tof my sewing table. Church was good and I didn't even worry when my younges...

Yesterday I took to the sewing machine. I let the kids run wild (they actually weren't that bad) while my littlest slept. I was thinking about thrifting some big mens shirts but I tried that the other day and it just didn't work out. So I went through my stash and found this lovely knit I got from Spotlight a while ago which was waiting for me to make up my mind and cut it up. I had a metre of it and I remember it was on sale. I'm not really into red/coral colours but once I tried it on I really love it on me. You can't see the white detail properly but it really adds a great detail to it and doesn't have any over-powering coral colour. What I really wanted was to make a top that I could still wear post-natal, therefore breastfeeding friendly. I chose Simplicity's New Look 6697 because it's perfect for knits and I figured I could wing it on the belly and back piece. I will end up making a Spring dress later on. I used the bodice pieces (view C) for this and...

I love walking into my bathroom and seeing these roses from our front garden. Father in law had pruned them a while ago and now they are coming back so beautifully. They were just from Bunnings and I think I picked a good variety. There's an exquisite yellow one with red along the edges. It's actually fallen over in the vase but I have since taped it back up. It also has the sweetest perfume. So there I am with my almost 33wk belly and counting down the weeks. Soon I hope to count down days and pull out the winter gear for this baby. I've never had a winter baby before so it will definately be one of my many challenges. I still can't believe I am carrying a baby again and everyone says they forget I am pregnant. I guess they are use to me just getting through each day as though it were a breeze. Truly, I tell you, it is not. I'm better at planning though so when some of the kids are asleep (esp. the youngest) I can pull out the mop and clean my kitchen ...

After reading the post on MADE about super simple skirts for little girls I knew it was something I could do in the short amount of time I had available. I even found this remnant in my stash from the baby quilt I made last year. The primary colours were just perfect and I feel so happy when I see it. So I took to work on my rectangular piece. I used the full width of the material which was 112cm and chopped the length to 60cms. I even dragged out the iron and ironed my seams! Wowzah! Here she is the next morning adorning it for preschool. It does look slightly long but that's fine, she will wear it through Autumn and still fit into it 6mths from now (our summer). I love that it will go with just about any colour top as well. I think post baby I will even make one for myself!

* Please bear with me as I learn to use my new camera. It arrived yesterday and I haven't got use to the settings yet. You will see that the pictures look different and the brighter ones haven't captured the exact colour of this denim bag. The top picture is how the bag actually looks. It's a beautiful dark denim with white embroidered flowers. I had this skirt around for so many years. It was an A-line skirt given to me from one of my sisters and I have lost interest in wearing it, esp. since it is way too small for my waist. The other night in the midst of my pregnancy insomnia I thought "why don't I use the material for something else?" So today I placed a tote bag template just under the waist and cut it out. I then decided to be extremely clever and used a pocket from a pair of jeans (which I will never get into unless some miracle brings me back to a size 8 in the near future) as a mobile phone holder inside the bag. Since it was already lined I used my ...

I am so excited that I am following and joining in the fun this month. Dana of MADE and Rae of Made by Rae are Celebrating the Boy this month with lots of great giveaways, tutorials and guest blogs all about boys. Last night I printed out the pattern for the Basic Pants and today I thoroughly enjoyed sewing it. I must say this free pattern is by far the best pattern for boys pants that I have come across. The construction really comes along so easily using Dana's method of sewing the front pieces at the crotch and back pieces at the crotch, then placing them right sides together and sewing the rest. They fit my 3yr old son really well. You may like to add a bit more room in the crotch if they wear a nappy and add a bit more width to the waist. I made enlarged the pattern for Little Miss 4 and I think it turned out really well. This is a beautiful birdy voile I picked up in the remnant section at Spotlight and was just enough to make her a pair of pants with some scraps le...