Worst Raffle Prize Ever!

It was my son's school concert and barbeque the other day. We had a great time and all the kids (all 46 of them) performed so well. What made it even better is that I won 2 raffle prizes and I had only bought 3 tickets. One was a "Camp Rock" stationary set and the other was a "Mighty Mender"...a little mending sewing machine. I was so excited to get home so I could open my mighty mending prize, and I was thinking it would make a great beginners sewing machine for my kids. Anyway.... so we open the thing and you won't believe it... but ALL of the accessories are missing, the whole lot... the attachment to put your thread on...and...there isn't even a bloomin' bobbin case... NOTHING! I mean, how do you sew without a freakin' bobbin? Obviously some bright spark mother thought it would be a good way to get rid of her junk, so she freely offered it as a raffle donation.

the machine is question

Come 27 January.... I shall be taking the not-so-mighty mender back to the school.. I'm going to plonk it down at the school steps and leave a big note saying.."Please take back your junk!" No... I probably won't.. I never have the guts to do these things! Maybe that can be one of my "New Years" lifestyle changes....BE MORE FIRM!

So I thought I'd ask...what very ridiculous or crazy thing have you received as a gift or a prize?

I feel like I've just come out of a battlefield...

A friend and myself have organised a baby shower for another "about to pop" friend.. and on this fine Tuesday, I decided that I wanted to do something special for her, and so had the idea to make her a nappy bag. I have come to realise that I am a bit of a last minute person and always think I can get the job done, no matter how big. Unfortunately it doesn't always work that way and a lot of the time I fail hopelessly! I feel like I've been on a battlefield today... I can hardly remember today. I have pin pricks all over my fingers and there are millions of tiny bits of cotton lying all over the floor from doing loads and loads of unpicking! I even paid my 6 year old son $5 to clean the house - desperation if ever there was! Anyway.. I can proudly say that I have finished the nappy bag and after the war with it today.. it actually turned out alright. Hooray!

The nappy bag

Anyway..I'm off to have a long bath now, to rid my mind of pins and cotton and wrongly cut fabric and elastic that didn't want to work with me etc etc etc......

Goodnight!

xox

A blog I like....

My very good friend, Kim, has just started a blog. Take a look..... she's already put up a felt Christmas tree decoration she's made! I think it's seriously gorgeous!

Somebody likes the fabric......

...and that somebody is Bec! Congrats Bec, you are the winner of my horrid fabric giveaway. Please email me your details so I can get it off to you! Can't wait to see what you do with it. Enjoy!

I'm giving away some horrid fabric!

I was browsing an opshop the other day and came across what I think, is some very hidious fabric.... and then I bought it! What made me do this you may ask? Well.. I just thought that maybe somebody, anybody, might just like it! So here it is.. in all it's ugliness......

Who wants it?

When I first grabbed it, it looked like terry towelling through the plastic bag, but when I opened it at home, I discovered it was good ol' corduroy!

So, this awful piece of fabric has now become my giveaway. Mention in a comment what you would do with it.. and I'll pick the best one. If nobody has any use for it, I'll be dumping it! I can't stand the sight of it anymore!

Oh yes, it measures approximately 100cm x 30cm

and while you're at it.. take a look at this fab "girls dress patterns" giveaway!

Cheers, Raewyn

xox

Kreativ Blogger Award - I got one! Yay!

Wowzer... I just got a Kreativ Blogger award from Narelle! Thank you so much Narelle! Have a look at her great blog here! xox

There are 7 rules to keep this award growing:

1) Copy the award picture and post on your blog - ✓

2) Thank the person who gave it to you and link to their blog - ✓

3) Write 7 things about yourself we don't know:

1.I've been living in Australia for 1 year now -and loving it!

2.I was a pre-school teacher for 10 years.

3.I have a panic disorder and suffer from horrible panic attacks - nasty I tell you!

4.I hate cooking but looove eating!

5.I'm addicted to buying fabric - even though I might never use it!

6. I can speak Afrikaans.

7.I can put my whole fist in my mouth - not pretty, I know!

4) Choose 7 other bloggers to pass the award to - ✓

5) Link to those 7 other bloggers - ✓

In no particular order:

Mummushka's Bushkies

zippyzippy

retromummy

spin spin handmade

thula thula

tractorgirl

Bianca Jae Makes Stuff

6) Notify your 7 bloggers - ✓

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

table tents... a smashing idea!

Don't you think this is the most smashing idea ever? I don't know why nobody thought of this idea ages ago... but nobody did, until these people did. I made this one for my kids the other day. I know it still needs some major work done on it, but thought I'd share the idea anyway. Thinking of jazzing it up with flowers and butterflies... and then my son wants a duck pond with fish and frogs and ducks frolicking in it - so that's the plan!

The kids love it! Only problem is... I sew on this table.. so it's causing me major grief! I'll have to make up a roster... giving us all a bit of table time!

Have a happy weekend everybody! xox

My First Tutorial Ever!!

I'm sitting here with a crazy little grin on my face because I am sooo excited to be doing my first little tutorial. I hope somebody out there thinks it's nice and might actually try it! I've made quite a few of these cushions and they really do make a great gift or keepsake!

Here goes....

Yesterday I was browsing in an op shop and found a few checked shirts that are great for making cushions. The best part about using a shirt is that if you use the buttoned part of the shirt for the cushion backing... then you don't have the mission of making the back close properly or neatly because it's already done for you!

1. Get yourself a shirt and chop it the width you want your cushion to be. Don't forget to leave some seam allowance, a 1cm will do!

It should look like this now...

2. Cut yourself 2 rectangles from the shirt. They need to be the same width as the backing.... and then cut yourself a big rectangle of plain cotton fabric to applique on. (mine's very creased, I know!)

I'm not giving measurements because you should just make it the size you want. It's rather eezy peezy once you've got the rectangle backing... Just measure off that. As long as you have your 1cm seam allowance, you should be fine!

3. Sew the the 3 rectangles to make up the front of the cushion. If you don't think the front and back of your cushion are the same size, just lie them right sides facing each other and trim where it needs to be trimmed.

4. I've done some applique on my cushion using felt and embroidery floss and embroidered a few stars onto it and added a few buttons.... There is so much you can do... Below are other examples of what you could do on your cushion!

5. Pin the back and front of cushion right sides facing each other, buttons must be facing in ..... then sew around the cushion, using a 1cm seam allowance. Turn it the right way round and there you have it! I've sewn a topstitch around the whole cushion (0.5cm from the edge) ... it just looks nice but it's not necessary!

Here are another 2 ideas for cushions.....

I made this cushion for my son by using one of his 'favourite but too small' t's for the middle panel of the cushion. You could use a part of a dress, blankie... whatever. It makes a super keepsake!

Another idea is embroidering a picture your child has drawn like I have done here. If you don't know how to embroider but want to learn, here is a great site!

Soooo... that's that then! Hope the tutorial was okay! Please leave any comments or criticism. I would love to hear from you! Raewyn xox

My burpclothes were a hit! Yay!

burpcloth and onesie

The baby shower was great! I made the same gift for both ladies, but with different appliques on them. One with fish and the other with a bird on it. I took photos of the fish one but forgot to take of the bird one. They turned out really well, and everyone thought the gifts were really nice, so I'll definitely be making some to put in my madeit shop. I'm thinking of doing a tute on them as well.. maybe some time next week! Really enjoying my sewing these days... just a pain that I don't have my own room/space to sew in. Can't wait for our house to be built, so I can have a room of my own and don't have to clean up the dining room table for meal times!

Oh the joys of parenthood!

Still nothing to show on my little blog...

Both of my kids decided that it would be a great time to get sick! One darling with a nasty cold and the other darling with some horrible bowel infection called mesenteric adenitis. Poor things, hope they both get better very soon...

Anyway, I have 2 baby showers coming up and I promised a friend I would make her child a little tag blankie, which I have actually made and will post a pic of it as soon as it has dried. Baby shower prezzies - not done yet! Still deciding what to do.. so many ideas, so little time!

I thought I'd start putting pics on of other things I have sewn..... so today... I shall put a pic of the quilt I made for my brand new (actually not-so-brand-new 4 month old) niece in South Africa. xox

WELCOME TO ILOVESTITCHES

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog

I've started this blog to... well... just to try keep up with the times! I look at so many blogs and think to myself, "hey, I want to do that"! And so here I am.. blogging!!

So.. the reason I'm doing this blog is actually to try and kick start my little home business called ilovestitches. I'm just starting out and have a shop @ www.madeit.com.au/ilovestitches. I originally started out doing machine embroidery about 2 years ago, but my embroidery machine got damaged on our move from South Africa to Australia...which is a long, sad story that I will bore you with one day when I have nothing else to write here, and so the machine is now sitting at the techinician - unfixable! Amazingly, there is some good that has come out of it, that being, I have started doing much more sewing and I'm even doing some hand embroidery (beginner phase). And now my brain is in a mush because of all the ideas swarming around in this little head of mine!

I better get to work, so I can actually have something to put on this blog!

Raewyn