Little French Girl

The minute I saw this Paris Street Scene fabric on tuttifruiti's blog blog I was in love. I managed to find some at Kelani and have enjoyed planning and sewing this dress for Kate.

It is no secret I love dressing up my girls.

When we were travelling around France the girls always looked lovely, wearing skirts and pretty tops. I remember as we were walking through Paris one day, hearing a couple say ooh, les petite filles as they passed the by. It put a smile on my face.

The fabric reminded me of that wonderful trip. I thought the dress should be very simple, very 1950's, a classic sundress.




I used a pattern that my mum had used to sew me a dress when I was little, which felt nice to do. I love the shaping at the top and the binding breaks up the colour, just perfectly.



And, she absolutely loves it!



When I was posting these photos I remembered this dress that I made for Kate when my blog has just begun. How she has grown!

Beautiful Belle

One of my closest friends has two gorgeous kids. They are both older than mine (12 and 14 years) but have always been the most lovely friends to my children. I treasure our friendship with their whole family.

This week was Isabelle's grade six valedictory. After much searching for a dress that was just right for a twelve year old, and without any luck, Heather asked me if I could make it. Given that the design was so simple, I agreed. Heather chose the fabric, a beautiful beaded silk voile from the Cloth Shop in Ivanhoe (if you live in Melbourne and have never been to this shop, you MUST go). It was just perfect.


With much trepidation of my sewing and pattern alteration skills, and the help from another dear friend (Charlotte's mum), I began. I was very nervous throughout the dressmaking for three reasons: It was such beautiful fabric, I was sewing for someone else and my gorgeous girlfriend is a little, ahem, particular, shall we say!

But in the end it all turned out and Isabelle look like a Grecian beauty. I made a flower to match which was beaded with orange beads, subtle but pretty.

Doesn't she look beautiful.

3 Tops :: Part3

The last top. View D of the Simplicity pattern. Made from a beautiful viole that my girlfriend bought from a recycle fabric shop in Mornington, Victoria. It has a little silk in it and sits so beautifully.




I cut the sleeves in a little more than the original pattern and used the same piece front and back. I didn't hem the top as the fabric already had a lovely selvedge on it.


The top isn't as sheer as the photos show. I just loved the photos with the light shining through, it emphasises the pattern.

3 Tops :: Part 2

The second top.

I absolutley love this pattern! Simplicity 2586. I had to buy it online as it is not available in Australia. I have done quite a bit of tweaking in every version I have made (of course), but the base is good.


The pattern gives several options, but not one with straps. For this top, I just took a pencil and drew in a suitable line and then traced the pattern. The pattern also has a high neck on the back but I just used the same pattern piece for front and back. The other change I made is that I did not shape the body,instead I just cut it straight down.


It sits really well across the back and the front. It is such an easy to wear, pretty top. The cotton voile is from Lincraft! I loved it so much I went back and bought the rest of the roll and have since made a couple of nighties from it. The nighties are also very sweet and only took an hour each to make, start to finish. That's my type of sewing!

3 Tops::Part 1

So, as I said the other day, I have been doing a little sewing. I have made three tops, a couple of nighties and have another dress cut out. And almost all of it is for me! That certainly makes a change.



This is the first top which I sewed a month or so ago. I traced the pattern off another top, which I loved. It has a couple of simple but nice features: the wide neckline (almost a boat neck) and way the shoulder seams sits just over the shoulder, not centred. This is accentuated by the two different fabrics, both from Darn Cheap. The front is a lovely soft cotton sateen and the back is a knit. The colour in the photo below is a little more accurate.



All of the loose tops this season are very easy to sew and this one was no exception AND I actually wear it!

Bloom

New in the Ella and Kate range this season are some gorgeous flowers. Our Peonies are about 10cm across, a perfect size for little girls (and for mamas).

The girls and I have all been wearing them tucked in a side ponytail, beside a chignon or as a brooch on summer dresses and cardigans. They are a lovely accessory now that my girls are not wearing the other bows as much.



Don't forget, 20% off for all blog readers, just enter Bluebird at checkout.

Spring/Summer with Ella and Kate

www.ellaandkate.com.au

Well, I pulled my finger out and finally got my website updated. My brother, Alan, did such a great job of building the site two years ago and he made the whole process so easy to manage (well, as easy as a website can be).

Sometimes I wish I could use a professional photographer and have more design features put into the site but overall, I am pretty proud that it is all such a homegrown effort. And I do enjoy the photo shoots with my girls.

Steve, my tech support (and life support) has been working on a few changes to the site and I can now offer a discount at the Checkout.

So, until the end of November all orders from my blog are 20% off. Just type "Bluebird" into the discount code at the Checkout. And or course, feel free to spread the word.

Wearing Their Clothes

It has begun. Ella and I are now swapping clothes....well, I am wearing hers!



I bought this gorgeous furry piece for her wardrobe, though I have to admit, it has spent more time on my back than hers. (It is a little, cropped version on me and I can't quite do it up in the middle)



And this skirt; Kate's. Or at least it was meant to be. I bought the fabric with her in mind but when I got it home I couldn't resist making this for myself. I pulled out a favourite skirt of mine, traced the yoke and wing-ed it the rest of the way.



Needless to say it's 'dodgy brothers' inside. I could show you but that would undo all the lovely comments on Edwards' coat about my 'amazing attention to detail'. At least from the outside no-one can tell.



The fabric is from Darn Cheap, Glenhuntly at $10 for the skirt, it's a steal.

Modern Baby Quilt

Even though there are four children in my family there are only three grandchildren, my three. In August that will change when my brother has his first baby. We are all very excited about the new arrival.

As soon as my brother told me about their baby I started thinking about the quilt. All quilters must do the same. Afterall, baby quilts are one of the most rewarding types of quilts to make.


My brother and his wife live in a warehouse apartment in the city and have quite a modern style. I wanted the quilt to suit that style.


I bought most of the fabrics at Amitie's big sale and I must say it was hard to think amoungst all the chaos. A few weeks later I went back and bought more fabric, in a calmer environment where I could talk it through with those gorgeous girls there.

The design is very basic to keep the quilt looking simple and modern. I quilted it with stitch-in-a-ditch which I don't normally use as I am not accurate enough. Then I hand quilted the linen blocks. I was really happy with how that combination turned out as it was so much quicker to make than if I had of hand quilted the whole thing (a lesson I learnt from last time).


The other thing which I was very happy about this quilt was the basting spray I used. This was the first time I used the 505 Spray and Fix and it was so much better to work with that other sprays. It really held in place and it has washed out easily.

Here is it all wrapped up. I think quilts are such beautiful gifts that I prefer to give them wrapped in just a ribbon rather than paper.



I can't wait to wrap the new little bundle up in the quilt and hold him tight. I do love newborns!

Soldier Boy

Last winter Edward got so much wear out of this little jacket that I picked up from my local op shop.And so I decided to make another, slightly more older-boy version.



My favourite part of this little coat is the Japanese soldier fabric.



When I started to make the coat I wasn't too sure what I would use to line the hood but my friend Bec was making a quilt from the fabric and suggested I use it. It is perfect as it has almost all the colours that he wears; red, brown, blue, khaki and black.


I also love the little star buttons. I bought these from the Button Lady, at the Camberwell Markets, when I was pregnant with Kate (and convinced I was having a boy).


I adapted from this pattern from the Winter6/2008 Ottobre magazine.


I found it easy to trace the pattern but a little trickier to assemble.You do have to have reasonable dressmaking skills as the instructions are a little vague. I added the cuff and shoulder trims as I wanted the jacket to look a little less baby-ish.



I lined the jacket with a polar fleece and as it wasn't a particularly thick wool I also used flannelet. I used it almost as an interfacing in the body to create another layer and provide more warmth.

I am so pleased with the result. Often when I sew, I cut corners. I really tried to do a good job on this coat and pay attention to detail. I do love the beautiful buttonholes that my Bernina sews.

Embellishment

This month the Amitie VIP bloggers received a little challenge: To create something using the lovely array of ribbons they were sent. My selection was all very bright yellows. Which, I must admit daunted me a little.



But once I teamed them with black it all came together. I made the flower using this tutorial and I attached mine to a brooch back so that it could be pinned onto a wristlet band as such,



pinned to a black velvet headband or onto the little black jacket I am making Ella at the moment.



Amitie have some beautiful ribbons in stock right now. Go have a look at what others are doing with them.

Cheeky Monkey

We have a few of those in this house but this little one belongs to the youngest of them, most definately the cheekiest of my monkeys!



The result of a lovely day sewing. The FREE pattern is from Larissa on her blog mmmcrafts, a gorgeous blog I was very happy to find. The first time I saw her blog I knew I had to make the monkey (better known as Molly, if making a girl version).

Edward loves Cheeky Monkey, as you can see.



Believe it or not, it is the first 'softie' I have made. That's right, how could I have existed in the world of crafty blogs for two years now and not made a softie? I am itching now to make Kitty Cat, for my own Kitty.

Sometimes I think I am so clever

Sometimes I can think I am so clever. Remembering all sorts of little tips from Martha Stewart and the like.

Remembering that steamers make a great transporter of flans and pies for a picnic.



Remembering how my mum taught me to iron linens by wetting the whole cloth and then wrapping it up for an hour or so before ironing.


(beautiful tablecloth courtesy of my mum from her travels in Portugal)
Remembering that popping your baking trays in a low oven after washing them, dries them thorougly.

And then I just get too clever and try to dry out my favourite cake tin....and all of a sudden, feel like such a pill.

School Holidays, Mail Swaps and Free Postage

Today we are

:: Lazing about enjoying the first day of school holidays.

:: Creating lovely packages to send to our Mail Swap friends.



:: Filling the orders from my shop that are coming in from the little promotion (free postage on orders over $30, until 10th April).



:: About to walk to the post office to send our packages off.

Ahh, holidays!

The Season for Bows

There is a new kid on the Ella and Kate block. The Big Satin Bow. As a lover of all things bows I am appreciating the fashion for the big bows around this season.



Our new bow is a lovely soft floppy bow. A little more natural looking, like you just tied a ribbon in your hair. Nice for older girls, even mamas! I am quite smitten by this bow and if my hair were just a little bit longer I might try one myself, especially in black.



At the moment the colour range is limited to the basics but if it proves popular, it will be expanded maybe to include uniform colours as well.

So to celebrate the launch, a little giveaway. Leave a comment and I'll let Mr Random Number Generator choose another number.

Catching Butterflies

Well, cabbage moths really.





Not as romantic,




but far more practical.