Sew Is Life

Well well…that was one hectic week, did Australia Day really just happen a not so long ago because it seems like light years away! I know the saying goes ‘time flies when you are having fun’….but really…cmon really does it?

I can’t really agree that I had much fun this week. Although the start of the week was pretty fantastic because I got to catch up with my bestie and watch the Perth Skyworks over the Swan River from the new BHP Billiton Building. However it was a busy busy day, as we spent a day in Mandurah for a family member’s birthday party. I was in the sun a lot so my arms are looking rather tan (which doesn’t occur very often).

Then Hubz had his 29th birthday the day after Australia Day…and it still freaks me out how we are both turning 29 this year. It’s just too insane to fathom. I don’t know why really, maybe because I met him in highschool and he will always be a dork to me…and will remain 17 forever in my eyes. Anyway…3 kids later, I’m still getting comments from my customers saying ‘I didn’t want to offend you by asking if those are your kids, because you look so young!’ and ‘What year of school are you in?’. 

As much I love the compliments about ‘how young I look’, I can’t help but feel they are taking a stab at my ‘naive and innocent’ character. Which I do tend to be quite often, I believe it is my natural childlike wonder that I hold onto. And having children kind of makes me feel that way too.

I have yet to touch my #sewingdares project. As I bought the wrong size zip and have to decide whether to cut the fabric down to size and risk the wastage or to go back to buy the correct zip. Either way I’m doomed! So when a sewinista is stuck, she gets stuck into another project…oops. This time it is a summer dress for Lil Miss S, she is attending a birthday party so I thought I might sew one out of some fabric she chose.

They are rainbow raindrops, isn’t it cute?

Hope you are all having a great start to the weekend :) 

Will be attending the Perth Blogs and PR event this Sunday at The Wembley, so I shall be back soon with an update on what went down.

E x

I have had fabric ideas flying through my mind all weekend for my #sewingdares challenge. Read the previous post to find out more about this ‘DARE’. And this is what I came up with, I couldn’t find any oil cloth in my current fabric library so I headed down to Spotlight and picked up this beige/white spotty number. The oil cloth will be perfect for the interior of the makeup bag, so spills and powders can be easily wiped away.

For the exterior I decided on a houndstooth tweed. I bought a plain black zip and now I am looking for a red ribbon…maybe a velvet one to finish it off. 

It’s very ‘London-esque’ inspired. If you have been following Sewislife for a while, you would probably know I’m very much a Cath Kidston fan, and this polka oil cloth reminds me of her bag designs.

I shall be back soon to share my step-by-step process of sewing this makeup bag. I can’t wait to get started and show you guys the end result!!

Wish me luck ;)

What would be your ideal small sewing project?

E x

I am currently stuck in a sewing/DIY rut…due to factors outside of this blog. But I promised myself in 2013 to not let stress get me down and I would put some time aside for my favourite hobby, sewing - it is the one thing that truely relaxes me because it’s when I am in my creative element :)

So I caught onto the bug that is #sewingdares on Twitter. It all started with Gillian at Crafting a Rainbow throwing the tagline out there and a whole heap of sewinistas in the Twitterverse heard! I actually caught on from Leila at Three Dresses Project and she has dished me the dare to sew a ‘make up bag/case’. 

I haven’t sewn one before, so it will be a new challenge! I love it! That is the purpose of #sewingdares. To have fun and not take things too seriously.

Care to join in?

If you are up for it, jump onto twitter and demand a dare by including the hashtag #sewingdares in your tweet and you will receive your next sewing mission from one of the girls or I’m happy to ‘dare you’ (you just have to let me know your level of sewing, and if you have a blog I can check it out and give you a challenge that you haven’t done before).

Head over here to see what all the fuss is about. The love of sewing is spreading worldwide!

My #Sewingdares challenge

A make up bag is the perfect dare, given I am such a beauty buff and into my skincare. Honestly I can never have too many cosmetic bags! Plus they are such cute gifts to give to a girlfriend.

Here are some ‘brainstorming’ drawings I did the other day to get me started (please forgive my scribbles, I used to study art in school but it’s pretty clear that I have lost ALL my drawing ability).

Next step, to fish through my fabric stash and pick out some favourites.

Which design do you think I should go with?

Too be continued :)

Enjoy your weekend All! 

E x

I’m wearing the hottest thing on the block! My little bub, Luna… in this beautiful podaegi that was custom made by Leila of Tiny Mouse Designs. Leila is also blogs at Three Dresses Project  and sews some pretty amazing stuff from scratch! I don’t know how she does it, she is a super talented lady with two kids and I believe it is all self-taught. Head over to her blog and Facebook Page to follow her sewing adventures! 

The art of baby wearing is becoming widely known and approved by child professionals. Baby wearing is a great way for mother and child to bond. Podaegi basically means ‘Baby carrier’ in Korean. The Koreans have used this method of carrying for centuries.

When I place Luna in the ‘pod’ she instantly calms down, having that skin to skin contact, feeling the warmness of my body and my heartbeat near by gives her comfort. 

She also looks around and socialises with me and other people who I interact with, being so high up and able to see eye-to-eye she engages in people’s body language and speech. 

It was tricky at first because Luna was so tiny I didn’t know how to strap her on. I was afraid she would fall out! Now that her neck muscles are stronger and she has more chubbiness I can sit her on my waist and wrap her much easier. But actually the podaegi is very safe when worn properly.

It is such a great baby carrier, so comfy and supports my back really well. I feel no pain whatsoever! Unlike previous expensive branded ones that I bought in the past…

Oh how nice it would be to be carried around like this, can I get one in an adult size? :)

Have you heard of the term ‘Podaegi’ before?

E x

This year I decided NO MATTER what…I’m going to enter the Tessuti Awards 2012. I am not sure I managed to muster up the motivation and strength to complete this sewing project, there were a few late nights, sore back and sore hands but I finished it!

This competition runs every year, by Tessuti Fabrics, a company based in Melbourne. They sell designer fabrics to the keen sewinista and each year they run competition with a specific theme, this year’s was ‘Spots & Stripes’ and it had to be a dress suitable for race wear. The 1st prize this year was $5000 to spend on a trip of the winner’s choice.

For me, it wasn’t about the money or winning in the end. I just wanted to prove to myself that I could sew a dress and wear it. In the past 2 years, since I started sewing I would only sew PJ pants and skirts for myself. The rest of the sewing projects were clothing for the kids, bags and homewares.

When I finished the project my inner sewinista was jumping for joy, throwing confetti into the air! It was such a great feeling to finally say I sewed a dress. However, I couldn’t take photos of me wearing the dress because I still had baby weight to lose. The photos I uploaded to the voting site were pretty crap, as the dress hung on a hanger behind my bathroom door…

So one beautiful, sunny day this week I decided to try the dress on again and it fits. Woot woot! And just when the competition has come to an end…*sigh*.Here they are anyway, Hubby helped me to take the photos in my parent’s backyard :) 

And did you notice it has a peplum! I love peplums…

What do you guys think? Would you wear something like this to the races?

E x

Besides sharing my beauty and fashion addiction on this blog, I also admit to having a problem with fabric. Yes, beautiful, uncut, soft and flowing fabric that in sense has been ‘untamed’ or not tampered with. A piece of fabric to me is like a DREAM…waiting to be moulded into a beautiful shape to fit a form such as the human physique. It is waiting to be transformed from something so basic to something very extraordinary! So here I am sharing my newest ‘fabric haul’ :)

My latest fabric buy comes from Tessuti Fabrics in Melbourne. I have bought fabric online before, but it is such a shame I am unable to touch the fabric when buying textiles this way. Tessuti made the experience easy by showing images online on how the fabric drapes and how large the pattern appears.

The main reason for me buying fabric from Tessuti is because they are currently running the annual Tessuti Awards, which is an international competition for sewing/fashion enthusiasts to work towards a brief. This year is all about Spring Racing fashion and the return of ‘Stripes and Spots’. Stripes and spots are my favourite pattern, it is so versatile and striking! 100% of the garment’s outer fabric must be made from Tessuti Fabrics. I was particularly inspired by Marc Jacobs recent Spring 2013 fashion show for New York Fashion week, he described his collection as “Very brutal, very sexy, very straightforward, no romance, no emotion, just real power and force and simplicity,”, undoubtedly resurrecting the Mod-era.

Photo courtesy of Dawn.com

Photo courtesy of Stylebakery.com

Here was what I bought from Tessuti, Ivory Yuki Small and Ivory Yuki Big. Both have a polka dot pattern, just one is bigger than the other.

You won’t believe how much this little package made me light up! :)

Such a sweet message from team Tessuti

My lovelies, how I love to work with you

The unveiling 

Come back to check on my progress and see how I transform this fabric into something wearable! This will be my first attempt at sewing a dress using a pattern…so I’m fretting just a little (OK A LOT!!) and the thought of inserting an invisible zipper gives me nightmares!! Only 4 days left to go to get in my entry…and I’m pulling my hair at the thought of it. I can’t wait to reveal the end result to you guys. Stay tuned ;)

So tell me…are you more of a spots or stripes person?

E x