Citing artistic differences... Well, actually we all seem to be moving to posting to our own blogs. To follow your favourite, check out:

• DJ Bebe at http://djbebe.blogspot.com/ and also Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=59351)
• Betty Sue at http://machenmachen.wordpress.com
• Sponky at http://gingerjellysnakes.blogspot.com/

  ¶ 8:11 PM 0 comments

  Felt bags experiment One of the girls at work had a cute little felt bag from Kookai or some other store starting with K?. All the seams were on the outside and it was basically square so I thought it would be easy enough and I would get a cute little carry bag to haul my stuff between buildings.

It's basically easy peasy to make - two rectangles 30cm x 35cm, 10cm wide + handles. You can fit all the pieces in with 70cm of 90cm wide felt, but I would recommend buying 1.1m as I had to join to make the sides/bottom. I think it would sit better if this was all one piece.

I also think the felt on the original was much better quality - I had to feel all the felt at spotlight and these two where the thickest I could find but not as good as the original. For a fancy present, would be worth splurging on some good felt.

Mine is the brown, featuring ribbon from Miss Alson, and the caramel/pink one is for a girl at work.

I will let you know how they perform!
  ¶ 12:30 PM 2 comments

  Funky Red Maternity Shirt I am rather enjoying how easy it is to make maternity shirts - a big sack with some strings on it. This one is made from Burda 8376 , modified as this is a stretch satin rather than a knit as the pattern recommends. It does photograph rather shiny but is cool in person. The string is harvested from scraps from the bridesmaid dress.

You can see the back and a better view of the print here.
  ¶ 12:16 PM 0 comments

  Sponky: Catchup

I have been exceedingly slack about posting anything at the moment, I am going to blame pregnancy-related tiredness, as opposed to blog-malaise or anything else more sinister.

I have actually done quite a bit of sewing since DJBebe’s wedding that hasn’t been posted, so here’s a big list:

• Winter shirts in red and silver. This is a modified version of a stretch pattern but works very well (get lots of compliments on any shirts made of this pattern) and there is plenty of room to have more tummy!
• Tummy Warmers to extend the life of my existing shirts and to also cover the gap betwen my shirt and my pants. The ones shown here are some I am making (on commission) for another pregnant lady at work.
• A maternity shirt. It's HUGE. And probably more for summer.
• A baby's dress (6 months) for ANOTHER girl at work who is due in about 6 weeks. This was made using DJBebe's baby book as the pattern source (Front and back). It turned out quite well. With matching bloomers (oh so cute)!

Also on the go are: Shoulder bags made from felt, to tote stuff between buildings at work, two more maternity shirts, pants alterations for some old jeans to insert a tummy panel and (eventually) the next quilt.

  ¶ 10:27 AM 0 comments

  MS BLock Pleased to report I have completed my weekend homework of an MS block (Thanks for the tip, Miss Alison).

You can see the details of the charity quilt here
  ¶ 12:21 PM 0 comments

  Jammies! With a burst of energy, I got through my backlog from the Giant Fabric Warehouse and made myself 2 pairs of summer pj's and Paul a new pair of boxers (this time out of really soft cotton, in an attempt to wean him off silk ones!). Nice to have these out of the way.
  ¶ 8:00 PM 0 comments

  Open letter to crafty bloggers Just beceause it's December, it's not a time to lose your mind and make nothing but completely useless crap only applicable to one day of the year. Now, go make something other than ornaments.  ¶ 11:33 AM 1 comments

  Giant Fabric Warehouse Stash So, the combination of heat on the weekends, an excessive amount of family organised events (Cirque Du Solei, Pirates of Penzance, Fawlty Towers dinner) and work running late into the evening have put a dint in my crafty output.

But thought I would show you some of the material I got at the Giant Fabric Warehouse in South Tweed (Fantazia Fabricland, if you need to know, on Machinery Drive). It truly was a enormous warehouse of cheap lots and fabric that stores don't want - and quite good quilting and sewing material, all for 20 to 50% lower than stores e.g. quilting material was $8 to $10 a metre. Also lots of weird stuff - peracle sheeting by the metre, more colours of bra elastic than I would have thought possible, moutains of crappy platstic novelty buttons. But after some searching (and coming away thoroughly dusty) I go tthis selection for some summer Pj's. Dots are for boxers for Paul, and the two sets of blues will be made into shorty PJs.

Worth the drive if you are looking for some filler fabrics or just want to have an interesting day out. Open Sunday mornings too, but they run on NSW time, so call in advance to find the opening hours. I would recommend a strong coffee, bathroom stop and a sugar donut before entering, to keep up your bargin hunting stamina.
  ¶ 8:58 PM 0 comments