Tutus and dinosaur tails!

This is what Lilly's birthday is going to be! The girls at the party with get a tutu, and the boys will get dinosaur tails! So I have made the tutu's:

Lilly's is from voile (it was on special at only $2/m, and I thought it would be nice and soft, but still have enough body). The others have stiff net (pink) underneath, with only the top layer being voile. The instructions I based this on is one from Clairebear's Tutu 2.0. I did only 3 layers for Lilly's, and only 3 cuts for the base (10cm) layer; and I didn't pleat the top layer, just the "zigzag over dental floss" gather.

And for the boys ... here is my trial tail ... RAAA!:

These are from Running With Scissors. Better get a wiggle on for these... the party is supposed to be on Sunday, and I have 5 tails to make, as well as all the organising for the party (last minute thing....).
Will hopefully post some photos of everyone's tutu's and tails after the party!

Reconstruction How To for Girls

The dress on the left was found at Mission Australia, new from Alley for $2, size XS. The one on the right was a random shirt that was way to big for me (size 16). Lilly likes twirly skirts and shirred dresses - I figued these could be put to good use!
First up, the dress to tutu skirt - easiest reconstruction ever!:

 

Basically the top was cut off, turned over, and elastic added. For a bit of girlyness I threaded some pink ribbon though the eyelet around the top, and added a few on the skirt too. Apparantly a good skirt for spinning jumping.

Secondly, the shirt top to dress - a few more steps involved, but still pretty easy:

The sleeves were cut off. There was elastic over the shoulder of the sleeve - I unpicked this and added it across the top row of elastic shirring on the front and back, as this seemed to be getting a little loose. I did some basic measurements on Lilly for her chest took the side seams in to brinkg it snug around her chest. A few more basic measurements to get a shape for under her arm. I used a strip of fabric (cut on the bias) from the sleeve and used this to bind the new edge under the arms (hidden on the inside). There was also a strip of shirring on the original sleeve - I took this off to created the shoulder straps. To be honest, this seems to be a bigger hit than the tutu skirt. I think this is going to be great for summer!

Internet Surfing

I love to surf the net. I wish there were more hours in the day to dedicate to surfing. But with 2 kids and a really messy house (to much of my stuff is spread around...), I can't wittle away that kind of time on the computer. Also, being an engineer, I am always looking for efficiency in everything I do. So when I am looking for something I very often do a google 'image' search. I love this! A picture is worth a thousand words, so this is information over-load in a very small period of time - efficiency at it's finest! My request to all bloggers out there - please give your photos a relevant name!

My latest find is Pinterest. Really liking this. You can link to photos that you like, and group them on different boards. You can check out other peoples "pins". While you're surfing you can pin pictures to your boards (added to your favourites, so really easy). Great reminder for all those things you want to make/cook/sew/buy/find/etc. Highly recommended.

ican@7 gallery, Port Kembla

ican@7 have a gallery/selling space at the Redpoint Artist Complex. There is a new show every month, with an opening on the 2nd Saturday of the month, from 2pm to 5pm. All the artist studios are open, and there are also some art markets held on the lawn. A great organic cafe has also recently opened on the corner. Each month some of the ican members hold a special day with different activities. In September it is a social craft day - see the flyer below.

Check out the ican@7 gallery - you never know what great things you're going to see!

Boys Cheese Cutter or Flat Hat

Here is my little man's new hat:

I know I'm a bit biased, being his mum, but isn't he the cutest?! Even when eating bits of grass!

Being a practical mum, the hat is of course adjustable (using the button hole elastic on the inside of hat band so the button is away from his head). This should last him a couple of years (it nearly fits his 4 year old sister!).

If I get some sewing time soon, you may see these at the ican@7 gallery, or in my madeit store.

Fabric Doll House

During one of my internet surfing sessions I came across this fabric doll house tutorial by "UK lass in US". Of course I can never do something exactly as someone else ... so here I have used an industrial felt (not sure exactly what you call it, but this is what it feels like) for the internal stiffener (the same that I use for my zippered handbags). This little house was given to Isla Rose who did seem to really appreciate it! (Thanks Isla's mum & dad for the lend of your trailer!).

The last photo is of Lilly modeling the doll house before we gave it to Isla.

Crochet Brooch Series

Here are the first dozen brooches ready to hang at the ICAN@7 gallery at the Repoint Artist Complex in Port Kembla. There are a mix of crochet cotton, acrylic & woollen yarn, old and new buttons & beads, some with a fine wire crocheted around the edge to give more structure. Each one has a brooch back (most are a 25mm back). To hang at the gallery I have mounted on fabric covered balsa wood squares (3" and 4" squares).