More Cleverness

Here are some more creations from my students ..... Anissa finished her formal dress - this dress will be traveling back to Belgium for a wedding .... it's a gorgeous blue / green / purple silk taffeta ...
It was a challenging project for a relatively new sewist, but Anissa endured to the very end ...

The pattern is McCalls 5382. Great work Anissa!

Next we have Jo and her completed Swing Bag from the Sewing Basics 2 class ....

Embellished with delightful butterflies ...

Lined in hot pink with a pretty pocket

Fabulous work Jo!

Clever Girls!

Here are some finished products from my students ..... I am so proud of their interpretations and ability to complete great articles ... here is Di's Swing Bag from my Sewing Basics 2 class ... She used a mossy green corduroy, appliqued a dragonfly to the front flap - and she actually did another little dragonfly on the inside pocket that I failed to photograph ...

She also stitched on a lovely cotton doiley ... and piped the curved edge .... it is fully lined and she even added cotton lace along the shoulder strap - this bag is feast of luscious textures and thoughtful colour combos! Well Done Di!!!!!

And here is Sheryl's Mod Bag .... it looks great in this grey toned curtain / upholstery fabric ...

Complete with belt and buckle ...

And a zippered gusset ...

Here is the pattern ...

Sheryl has industriously completed two of these now, and the third is just awaiting a buckle . ..
This is another upholstery fabric - it has great body and suits this bag to a "T".

Here's the inside zippered pocket ...

Fantastic work girls! Stay tuned .... cleverness is catching on! Don't forget, if you live in the Newcastle / Central Coast region of NSW - you can buy Nicole M Bag Patterns from me - you don't have to do a class - just contact me and pop in!

Who sewed this?

Annalise sewed this! This is the result of her 2nd lesson - a Sewing Basics 2 bag.

With floral lining and a touch of applique ....

She is now the proud creator of a very cool bag ...

Sorry about the lack of focus .... and next we have Nicole's monumental quillow for her neice ...

This is the pillow that the quilt folds into - all hand embroidered with love .... Nicole was an absolute beginner at the start of this year - she is now sewing with confidence and creating some fab projects ....

This is the quilt - fabric range is "Hello Betty" by Chloe's Closet (MODA) - she used a Layer Cake - nice and easy - she also added some piped contrasting strips to break up the pattern a little ..

Here's Nicole (on the left) and Anissa (Happy Birthday!)- yes! the quilt works! It's soft and cuddly!

Now, for some of my sewing .... here is a very very very big cushion -

You can see that it is the KING of cushions up next to those weedy ones .....

Fabric - IKEA ....

This is a birthday pressie for my 17 year old neice ..... Happy Birthday Miss B!

Cushion Insert from Goldies ..... BOUND to be BOUNCIER!

You may already be aware that I dabble in dyeing ... this time I had a go at the opposite - removing the dye - bleaching some denim. The tub on the left has a bleach solution - just your laundry liquid bleach .... you put the fabric in and wait for it to bleach to the degree you want .... then the tub on the right is a neutralising solution - something like an enzyme based laundry soaker - eg. Sards Wonder Soaker or Napisan - read the label - it should say "Do not use with Bleach" - so you place the bleached fabric in that solution to stop the bleaching process - otherwise you'll be left with holes ... leave it for 10 minutes and wash.

The black and white stripey fabric is some interlock scraps that I used as "ties" for the denim - by the way - the striped fabric did not bleach - not one bit - the power of polyester!!!

You can see some of the denim losing colour ... and here is the finished product ...

the effect was quite random - because I bleached such a bit piece at once - smaller bits may be able to be done more controlled if that's the effect you want ...

And here is a bag I made from the bleached denim - another gift for my 17 year old neice ...

It's a Squared Swing Bag - pattern designed by my clever school colleague - it's our new Year 8 Textiles bag - the other one had a curved gusset - it was a tad difficult for beginners so, this one is easier....

I used Vilene S520 as a hard base ...

Tie dyed fabric for the lining - of course!

Now, as I was uploading these photos ready to blog ... I found the following photos ..... my 12 year old Sweet Pea cut off her jeans to make shorts - it's just funny that she thought she needed to photograph the process ...... a future blogger???

Here's the BEFORE ...

And now for the CUT ... right where mum chalked a line ....

And the result! Easy!

Finally, it was Father's Day today - Happy Father's Day Shaun! Here's a portrait by Sweet Pea!

Who Needs A Vacation?

Looks like Betty does!.. but before Betty leaves us, here's a brief round up from my clever students ...

Nicole made a great Swing Bag in Sewing Basics 2 ...

Denim and Betty Boop doin the do .....

Here is Cherin's BEFORE ...

And AFTER!

Chop off the hem, put a few pleats in the base - seam it up, make a strap ... and it's UPCYCLING at it's best ... lovely soft leather ......

She's certainly a Kool Kat!

Now ..... the Scottish lassies came back for a Beginners Bag from NicoleM's range ... here is Anne's super glam Day Bag ...

Just marvel at that posh lining!

And here is Alison's super fab Beach Bag .... strictly speaking this is not a Beginners bag, but Alison IS very gifted!

Complete with Purse Feet of course ....

It's a great print - well done Girls!

Speaking of holidays, the NSW school holidays are soon upon us .... why not come along to one of my workshops? Not just for kids .... check out the timetable on my website ......

Fresh and Fun

Busy, busy , busy - lots of sewing going on around here ..... Sewing Basics 1 Class - here are a couple of fresh new recruits .... this is Liz' drawstring backpack in elegant blue with an iris print applique .....

And the photo doesn't do this green bag justice - it is actually a pistachio green with the lovely French speech bubble .... great work Brooke!

Speaking of fresh ...... today's Sewing Basics 2 class was fun with some Scottish lasses ... the lovely and very clever Ann and Alison ....

Here is Ann's bag - bright and vibrant striped corduroy......

And Alison's bag is a cool and floral hip little number ...... great work girls!

Equally clever and lovely (though camera shy) is Nicole ..... she made a bag in lightweight denim with a lovely floral lining ...

This Swing Bag was designed by one of my wonderfully talented colleagues (who lets me know when I take too long a break from blogging!!!!!), our Yr 8 students make this bag as well!

And a little Coin Purse using Nicole M's pattern in some Tula Pink fabric ....

Well done Nicole!
All in all, a productive sewing morning ... what better way to spend a rainy miserable sport cancelled Saturday morning?