Anita Bag? I Think Sew!

I was so excited to be chosen as a pattern tester for the gorgeous Anita Bag by ithinksew. Here is my version:

I chose a heavy weight fabric from my local fabric store that suits my current favourite wardrobe combination and complimented it with a plain quilter's cotton for the lining. I was lucky enough to find the lilac coloured handles in another local sewing supplies store that set this bag off just perfectly. I chose the zippered pouch option for the internal pocket and used the main fabric as the pocket lining. This is a quite a large bag, the biggest I've made in fact - it measures 42cm wide by 34cm high. It is perfect for trips out with my 3 year old daughter Cheriese, as it is big enough to hold a spare outfit, wipes for sticky hands, both our drink bottles, reusable shopping bags, purse, keys, phone, notebook and even a light cardigan or two! The pattern is very easy to follow with each step explained in detail with lots of photos to show you the way. The curved gusset and pointed shape of the sides are slightly more fiddly then a bag with a flat shape, but still manageable for a beginner willing to take a little extra time.

My only problem now is trying to decide what pattern I want to buy for myself next, I'm thinking one of the adorable clutch patterns would suit me to a T!

Natalie

xx

Queensland Flood Appeal Auction Total

I have to start this post of with a huge THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who has participated in this Flood Appeal, whether you bid on an item, entered a raffle, donated an item or shared the link on your blog, facebook or email - and especially to Toni from Make it Perfect for organising this! Without any of you we wouldn't have raised such an amazing total, I had to re-read it several times when I first saw it..... without further ado the grand total raised..........

Outstanding!
Nataliexx

Queensland Flood Appeal Auction Winners

Congratulations to my two lucky winners! Belinda was the highest bidder with $65 for the dress and the necklace set has also been won with a highest bid of $65! I have sent out an email to you both, thank you for being so generous and I hope you love your items.

Toni has just put up the master raffle list here. These are running until Wednesday at midday so there are still plenty of chances for us all to win something even if we were outbid on the auctions.

I can' wait to see what the grand total raised will be.

Natalie

xx

Queensland Flood Appeal Auction #2

Here is my second item up for auction:

I made this dress loosely following the Handmade Dress Miss Lilly pattern, except that I changed the sleeve and the skirt bottom. I would say it would be a size 3-4, Cheriese will be turning 3 in April this year and usually wears a size 3. This dress would fit her for a couple of years yet I would think. The fabric is a gorgeous quilters cotton that I purchased from Spotlight and I have been saving it for something special. This will be a hard dress to part with as I just adore it, but I'm sure it will go to a loving home! This dress is brand new, it has only been worn for these photos.

How this auction works:
1. Bidding will start at $20 (Australian).
2. You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address. Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.
3. Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4. This auction is open to everyone, I will pay for all postage costs.
5. The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.
6. At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address). The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email. Once proof of payment has been received, I will post this dress to you.
7. Thankyou for participating and happy bidding!

Good luck!

Natalie

xx

QLD Food Appeal Auction #1

Here is my first item up for auction:

Necklace and earring set handmade by me. I have used white glass pearls, czech faceted glass rondelles and all components are bali silver. The necklace is a choker length, but I am happy to lengthen it if the successful bidder would prefer something a bit longer.

How this auction works:
1. Bidding will start at $20 (Australian).
2. You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address. Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.
3. Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4. This auction is open to everyone, I will pay for all postage costs.
5. The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.
6. At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address). The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email. Once proof of payment has been received, I will post this set to you.
7. Thankyou for participating and happy bidding!

Over the next few days I will be adding some more items - at least one of them will be a raffle so that everyone has an equal chance to win something.

Don't forget to check Toni's blog on Monday for the full list of bloggers who are participating in these auctions - I hope I'm able to be a successful bidder myself!

Natalie

xx

The best reason to get back to blogging

I've been meaning to get back to my blog for a long time now, I didn't intend to take such a long break but family life as been busy and I haven't set aside time for editing photos and updating my blog. Today is the best day to set aside some time to get back to blogging: 75% of Queensland is currently affected by flooding - streets are under water, crops destroyed, homes lost, people are missing and there have been deaths. This is just devastating. I sat in tears yesterday watching videos and photos of this horrific event and then again hearing and seeing it on the news last night. I felt a sudden sense of helplessness and then grabbed my laptop on started searching online knowing that the craft community would band together to do all that they could do to help.

I first noticed Toni's blog from Make it Perfect is co-ordinating a list of bloggers that will be auctioning off items. You can read all about it here.

I will also be taking part in this, so please check back on my blog later today. I will be running several different auctions, some jewellery will be going up first and I'll see what else I can come up with. All of the money raised at these auctions will go directly to the Queensland Government Flood Relief Appeal.

Please pass this on to your families and friends.

Natalie

xx

Across the Story Bridge....

I love Book Week. It takes me back to when I was younger and dressing up in something that my mum had made for either myself or my sister and getting to parade around with all the other excited children. The costume I most remember was a colonial dress that my mum originally made for my older sister, I couldn't wait to grow taller so that I too could one day wear that special dress for my own book week character. I know there are some traditions that have gotten lost along the years, but I'm very thankful that Book Week hasn't been one of them.


This year's theme was "Across the Story Bridge" which was interpreted as being any story book character. Jai showed how similar he is to his big brother and wanted to dress up as Rascal from Paul Jennings "Rascal the Dragon" series. This is the same character Jordan chose for his own very first book week years ago. I followed a basic Burda pattern for the pull on pants and my trusty Burda hooded top pattern for the top (the one I used for Jordan's last top blogged here). I sewed the spikes down the centre of the hood and also in the seam I added into the middle of the back pattern. The tail is a separate piece which I attached to a belt I made so that he could take it off if he wanted too (but he didn't). The wings are also removable, they attach to a button in the middle of the back and then have an elastic wrist band. Seeing Jai love this costume so much was the best reward for all the time I spent sewing it - he barely took it off after the days that followed.


Jordan took a bit longer to decide who to go as, I think it's harder for the older ones as they don't want to choose a character that is seen as being 'babyish'. Around a week before the big event, I walked into Jordan's room to see him reading Roald Dahl's book "The Twits" and I mentioned that Mr Twit could be a good option (Jordan had previously rejected my earlier suggestions of 'Captain Underpants' or David from "The Fire Within") Jordan thankfully thought this was a good idea so off to the op shop we went in search of a suit and then I bought the wig from Spotlight and made the beard from wool and some off cuts of the wig as it was originally too long.

I got off quite lightly for Jordan's costume, the only sewing was attaching the elastic to the felt base for the beard and some hand sewing to hem up the pants!

Here is Jordan's very first book week in the Rascal dress up I made for him. Gosh, that was so long ago now, I didn't even own a sewing machine. I bought the top and pants (I remember orange being quite the "In" colour back then). The tail is all hand sewn and I ended up buying fairy wings and spray painting them and adding the spikes down the middle. Interesting to see how far I've come in 5 years!

Hee hee, he was quite the poser back then!

Natalie
xx