Sewing with my son

I sewed for the first time with my son today. He was so patient and so willing, not bad for a guy who turns 4 this Saturday. He wanted to make a pillow for his teddy for teddy's birthday (on saturday too).

We chose the fabric out of my stash. He found a piece of cardboard that was just the right size. (this happened to be cardboard out of a flat fat from spotlight!!) We measured the material to see if would fit, drew a line around the cardboard then cut along the line. As this was I think the first time he had cut material it was a bit difficult so we did it together. I was planning on pinning the two pieces of fabric together but he grabbed the needle and thread and proceeded to start tacking. There was no knot on the end which confused him at first but we sorted that out. He thought it was a good idea that I finish that part though!!

We chose the thread to match the material and I showed him how I thread the machine. He was very quick at picking it up but I guess he does watch me. I showed him how to guide the material through while I peddled. It was then his job to lift the foot and turn the material. He was so proud of himself. We then turned the pillow and he stuffed it, testing as he went to see if teddy's head was going to be comfortable. I sewed it up and put a dimple in the middle. Now we have to rap it and wait till saturday to give it to teddy.

I don't think this will be the last of sewing together :-)

Coffee cuffs

Coffee cuffs
Originally uploaded by MandyMade

I made some more coffee cuffs to take to the Stitches and Craft show, one for me and the other for my crafty friend who came with me.
I got some cool comments which was really nice.
Now that I have been able to test them out properly I can now re design them slightly so they fit a take away cup better.

Stitches and craft show

I went to the Melbourne Stitches and Craft show yesterday and had so much fun. It pored with rain all day (a great site to see even though we ended up a bit soggy).

I got to do a make and take at the Sew and Sew craft bar. I made a pin cushion by hand with a covered button attached. Ended up a bit wonky but it was fun.

I met some fantastic ladies Cathy and Louise from Audrey and Maude, Jhoanna Monte Aranez from One Red Robin, Lara Cameron from Ink and Spindle, Rosalie and Melanie from Melly and Me, Nicole Mallalieu, just to name a few. (see blog and web lists). It was great chatting with them and finding out how local they are which I think makes it extra special.

It was definitely different and better from previous years with lots of space and plenty to do.

I saw the documentary Handmade Nation which is a must see for any crafty person. I was familiar with a lot of the people in the film as they have appeared in the American magazine Craft: (I have the first year)

I had the opportunity to attend a lecture from the girls from Melly and Me which really helped. I wasn't sure how much I would get out of it but the hints they gave are really going to help my future softie making.

I'm even going to finally hopefully start to make a bag. I have a really cool pattern now from Nicole Mallalieu and some fabric from Lara Cameron, all I need to do now is muster up some time....

I needed to be there for 2 days I think to do all of the classes and studios that I wanted. I was exhausted when I left though after one day.

Thank you to a great crafty friend that also came with me :-)

A pile of platypus

Gifts for friends kids
Originally uploaded by MandyMade

Ok so I wanted to show off all 8!!

Gifts for friends kids

Gifts for friends kids
Originally uploaded by MandyMade

I found this pattern in Homespun. I love making Kate Hendersons designs so naturally I had to make this one too. I made 4 of the large and 4 of the small to give as gifts to friends kids.

They were very easy to make and as a production line goes, fast to make. All the materials I used were from my stash. For photos of all of the platypus go to my flickr.

Pippa, Polly and Penny: design by Kate Henderson from 'Australian Homespun Vol 10.1. Handmade by MandyMade

Pressy for James

Pressy for James
Originally uploaded by MandyMade

I made this little dog for a friends sons 1st birthday. It was really easy to make and didn't take too long. I had a bit of an issue at one point with the instructions, I got confused as to where to put the ears before sewing the gusset on, maybe I was just tired!! Anyway I ignored what it said and just went with how I've done that sort of thing in the past, and it worked, so there you go.

elsie the little dog: design by Kate Henderson from 'more softies' Penguin Books. Handmade by MandyMade

Christmas Birds

Christmas Birds
Originally uploaded by MandyMade

I Made 6 of these birds to give as Christmas presents. I found the pattern in Homespun 9.9 Designed by Lara Cameron.

I experimented a bit with the seam allowance which resulted in each bird being a bit different and unique.

I also used them as a table setting. See my other photos on flickr for more pics.

New Look

I'm trying to give this blog a new look so I downloaded this template. I'm going to try and edit it a bit so its more mine, see how i go. I'm bothered with the i'l Primo and i'l Secondo bits, so i'm going to try and attempt to remove those. Otherwise i'm quite happy with it. :-)