Using Men's Business Shirts

Anyone who knows me knows that I collect fabric. Well a long time ago I realised that a man's business shirt has a lot of fabric in it and so I started collecting 100% cotton or linen ones. I have made many things from french inspired cushion covers to aprons.

This time I made a nightie. This is a pattern that I use a lot as it is simple, comfy and reasonably decent if someone knocks on the door. The bias binding that I posted about the other day was for specifically for this.

the shirts - total cost $3

I needed a new nightie and got inspired when Miriam posted about her dress made from two different men's shirts. So behind the machine I whipped this up just in time to take to Rarotonga. The pink shirt was a bit more see through than I realised at first, so it is completely lined with the pink check shirt.

The labels.

Just for a bit of fun I put all the labels from the shirts onto the back of the skirt.

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The morning after....

Got back from doing this.....

I even managed to do it!!

In wonderful Rarotonga to...... 

Doing this at 5.30am!!! (internal timeclock a bit out of sinc) at home. Brrrrr -3.8 C this morning. Fire pumping as hard to deal with after a week at 26 C!!

Making Bias Binding

I used this pink Gingham shirt from the Op Shop to cut up and make bias binding. It did mean that I needed quite a lot of seams but sewing properly on the diagonal it was all good.

So I unpicked the shirt and darts, ironed and cut 1 3/4 inch strips. Then I put it through my bias binding tool and ended up with the roll above. I am using it to make detail on a nighty. I love love bias binding, be it plain or funky you can use it for so much. It made me want to make heaps as it is quick, satisfying and fun.

The tool did cost me about $14 but I have well and truly got my monies worth. 

Linking up to these places.

Lucky me - I won again

On Friday, before flying out on Monday, these arrived in the mail. I won. Fantastic!!! For $10 a year I subscribe to an online newsletter run by NZ Gardener called Get Growing.

Over the last two years I have won

• These magazines
• a trug and fertilizer for the garden
• two tickets to the Ellerslie Flower Show
• A magazine (a yearly garden type calendar)

It makes me feel like a really lucky person winning things. No matter how big or small.

My own design - airline cabin bag

Well that is what I meant it to be. But it is HUGE. I followed all the airline guidelines for cabin bags and finished it measures correctly, but what airline will let me use it I don't know. I do have more left over furnishing materials to make a smaller one (what a surprise - more material - me!!!).

One side

But I am thrilled with this and the finish. I get frustrated with box type bags when you undo the zip it is sometimes hard to pack or retrieve items. So I made this with a square bottom but sides that open completely. Then, once the bag is packed, using the clips and D rings - hey voila - it turns into a square shape that is easy to take.

The other side

I straight line quilted this and bound inside seams with bias binding as french seaming them was just too bulky. The straps and the clips are all from belts bought at second hand shops but the most expensive things were the zip and bag feet which are brand new.

Inside

So we are off to Rarotonga but this is just too big so am not taking it. Hmmm. Number two will be happening pretty soon I think.

All clipped and ready for travel

I link to these places though some will be in a couple of weeks when we come back from holiday.

smart bag feet.

Just in time for winter

Well this is a first. The hat is finished just as we are heading into winter!! Normally my knitting gets finished well into spring, as I only seem to knit in the winter.

On our recent trip to Mt Cook Eli used Aaron's Alpaca hat the whole time. So on the way home we stopped at the Alpaca store at Geraldine and bought a kit. For only $16 the kit included all 100% Alpaca wool and the pattern.

I have just been to visit my Dad who is recovering from an Operation and so had time to sit and knit and finish this up. When I got home last night I gave it to Eli who immediate wore it. Great.

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Un Baguette..

et un cafe au lait. (I want to go and sit in a cafe in Paris!!)

But now with our new coffee machine and this recipe I can create it all in our home.

Ahhh, yummy. For Mother's Day the boys gave me a book / magazine on how the tricks to making amazing bread at home. A NZ Life and Leisure publication. So yesterday I started the Baguette recipe and today it finished and baked in time for the kids coming home from school. Oh so yum!!!!!

Now they say as one of the main points that bread may be tempting to eat hot with butter but it is best to leave it for at least 4 hours to let the proteins etc settle. I don't think so!!!!!

The crust was chewing and amazing and it was so easy to make - 2 minutes of kneading otherwise just lots of sitting around. Fabulous. Definitely making this again.

Mum, I want to sew....

5.30pm, dinner was in the oven and I had half an hour to get a bit of my sewing done when Eli came in and said that. Well what could I do but assist.

Although the photo is not too good, on the left is the initial drawing

So I asked him what he wanted. He was very specific.

• I want to have my own pillowcase
• I want my name and a drawing on it
• I only want it to be the stitching (darn - here I was thinking we could just do some iron on applique)

So he drew the picture, we cut a strip of white cotton, he traced the picture on and then.....I taught him how to use the freehand darning foot on my machine to do the black embroidery to create his design.

relaxing with his pillow after dinner.

Once that was done (yes I burnt the carrots to the bottom of the pan because I had forgotten about dinner - thank goodness for frozen veges!!) Eli sewed the structure of the pillowcase, zig zagged all the seams and then ironed it. Viola - One pillowcase.

I am so proud of him. Only 8 and using the freehand sewing feet. But more so that he knew exactly what he wanted and was able to execute it.

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yummmm, Bagels and smoked salmon

yes - with cream cheese and fresh lime to squeeze. That is how my boys do breakfast in bed on Mother's Day.

my breakfast arriving in style.

A little gem

With the ever changing scenery in Christchurch it always pays to stop and look at new cafe's. Today I was driving and spotted this cafe. It was so gorgeously done - so many flowers in tubs that I thought it did floristry too. 

It is called Lemon Tree Cafe and is at 324 St Asaph Street, Christchurch. It is a really feminine, take the girls out place. The muffin was delicious but the coffee only passable. They had a huge range of tea though so next time I think that is what I would do.

The lady's running it were very friendly and cheerful but not intrusive. So thought that others looking for a girly fix might want to know about it. They have only been open since February this year.
The Press did a wee write up too.

So thought that others looking for a girly fix might want to know about it. They have only been open since February this year.

The toilet was so pretty that I just had to put in a photo of that too. I loved the old Singer Sewing Machine being used as a wash stand. No paper towels or blow dryers here. There were individual toweling cloths for you to dry your hands on and then lovely rose hand cream to use after if you wanted.

This is all just my opinion and is definitely not a sponsored post!!

Nearly there

Yay another quilt for charity completed. The goal of one quilt per child at Hope Homes Orphanage is getting closer.

This quilt was started by Jeanette at church a long way back when we all started quilting for charity. Before the earthquakes and before the storms. So Jeanette finished three of the rows and had sewn a lot of other blocks together. She used all donated material and just mixed up what came into her hand. I finished putting all the blocks in rows, sewed the rows together and then quilted and bound it.

I started the quilting on Thursday night, finished it on Friday night and bound it tonight. I tried a completely different quilting pattern to anything I have done before. I follow a blog by an amazing machine quilter Amy and she has been doing monthly challenges. This quilt pattern was last months (I chickened out on the last quilt and just put flowers) and I am thrilled to have done this as an all over pattern. My quilting is not good enough to worry about stitch length or regularity, I struggled to keep it all the same and even, but with practice things will get better.

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