Handbag Pouch Tutorial

I spent yesterday playing with some Grandmother's Flower Garden Laminate from Quilt Fabric Delights. The bottom of my handbag is a bit of a mess, lots of pens and pencils floating around and I can never find the lip gloss when I need it. The laminate was perfect to make a little pouch to put all those things in.

First of all I ironed it on the wrong side to remove the creases. I ironed it on a medium heat quite gently and the creases disappeared.
I cut a piece 15 inches long and 5 inches wide.
I ironed under about 1 cm (I am not sure why as I don't think it will fray much). I used a rajah cloth so I would not melt the fabric. Grab a zip. It doesn't matter what size as they will all be too big and will need to be shortened. Because pinning wil leave holes in the fabric. I used some hair clips to keep it in place.

Sew on the zip to each end.

Turn inside out and pin the sides. I pinned very close to the edge so any pin marks would end up in the seam and not be seen. Open the zip so you can turn it back the right way at the end. Sew the seams. I sewed over the zip a couple of times.

I used pinking shears to finish the seams and cut off the end of the zip.

Turn in the right way. Poke out the corners carefully. I added some ribbon to the zip to make it easier to open. Now my bag is a little tidier.

This fabric is much easier to sew than I thought. It is lovely and soft and I think I will be getting some more to make little raincoats for next winter.

Dachshunds, Skirts and Christmas

There has been some dachshund making this week. They were the first thing to go at Upmarket.
So I have put a few up in the shop.

We spent the morning at the local show. Lots of sheep, ducks, ice-cream and face painting. I can hear the fire works now, but the girls are all tucked up in bed after our first Christmas Party outing for the year last night.
How is it Christmas already?? I am among what I think is a very small group of people who are not really in love with Christmas and everything that goes along with it. So I am taking some deep breaths and preparing myself for four weeks of Christmas talk from two very excited four year olds who are in love with it.
Here is a picture of the girls this morning. I finally finished the skirt for Grace (to match Amelia's) out of Rosalie Quinlans gorgeous fabric from Quilt Fabric Delights.

Hats

The hats I took to Upmarket went pretty quickly. So I am slowly making some more and adding them to my madeit shop. (Which makes much more sense for summer things than putting them on Etsy which is in full winter mode right now).

This and That

Good mail today - the latest MixTape. Being read by two little friends. There was a third but Milly claimed him for herself and there was a pink hippo but Grace claimed her.

A little knitting. The start of a Boheme for Evie.

Some wonderful fabric. It is Natura by Alexander Henry I bought here. It is a really nice fabric, a different base cloth. I'm not sure what to compare it with, but I think it would be great for skirts. Base cloths is not something I see discussed that much. I see yarn bases discussed a lot but not quilting fabrics which I find a bit strange as they can vary so much in their feel and drape. I would say the Natura is kind of 'rustic'. I am sure there is a better word, but I can't think of it. The base colour is a natural colour, not a white, and it has areally nice feel. I had planned on making toys, but now I have it I am thinking clothes (yes for me - I love it) or maybe bags.

Yarn

Finally got around to taking some pictures of what I have been dyeing this month. There is some sock, some BFL sock and some 50%silk/50%wool.

All of them will be here soon.

Calendar

How can you go wrong with some Scandanavian design and Letterpress?
A calendar to hang in my new kitchen from Sycamore Street Press.

Upmarket

I'm hoping the craziness of the last week has gone and I am hoping this one is a lot calmer. Everything was going according to plan and then on Thursday Rolf the dog disappeared during the thunderstorm. So there has been lots of searching. We had no luck until yesterday when the ranger brought him home.

So all the last minute jobs I had for Upmarket didn't get done, but it didn't seem to matter and I had a great day yesterday. Thanks and hi to everyone who came to have a chat. It was nice to meet you all. In the chaos I didn't pack a camera and have no photos to share some good bits from the weekend:

Driving to Perth and back by myself so I could play my music as loud as I want and sing as loud as I want.

Holding a most gorgeous newborn baby called Eli.

Three little girls quite excited to see me arrive home.

This dress pattern. I have made two for Amelia and Grace this month and I see some more in my future. Maybe one for Eva in some Rouenneries by French General.