Swimwear - not so scary

These are not for me - though it would be nice to fit into them . My oldest dd asked me to make her a pair of swimmers and as I have not made anything for her yet I thought I had better give it a go though the thought of sewing lycra had me worried. Anyhow, seems my fears were unfounded as these swimmers came together quite easily - most of the sewing was done on the overlocker and finished off on the sewing machine (which was somewhat painful as my machine appears to have an aversion for knit fabric and elastic - the bobbin thread was knotting with the top thread and pulling through the front of the fabric if I sewed any faster than at crawl speed)

The pattern is McCalls 8813 - I would use it again as there are three different style tops and 2 different style pants. This is a size 10, though I'm not sure what the entire size range is.

No modelling shot of this one - dd refused (which is fair enough - she usually wears her swimmers under a tank top and board shorts) though dd 9 did offer to,lol.

Ballerina pillow

Cross stitch was one of my first sewing loves - I've been doing them for years but do not have many to show as it takes me an incredibly long time to actually finish anything. Once I actually have it finished I then can't decide what to actually do with it.

It took me around a year to finish this - the first 80% taking around a month and it was then put aside and done in dribs and drabs until I finally finished it last week. I orginally intended to frame it and put it up in the younger girls room but Bel asked if I could make it into a pillow for her and so this is the finished result - not too bad if I say so myself.

Farbenmix Feliz

I love how this dress has turned out - it's a great pattern, fairly straight forward (well, with the online instructions anyhow - the photo tutorial was a godsend as I doubt it would have been quite as easy or turned out quite as well.)

The dress is made up out of cotton poplin(?) from Spotlight as I didn't want to cut into any "good" fabric until I knew how it would turn out (aka: botched job)

This would have to be the longest it has taken me to put a dress together - I blame it on all those ruffles at the back as I did not have a ruffling foot and did them by hand. They really were not that hard to do but it was not my favorite part. As there were no instructions for the ruffles included with the pattern I think I may have positioned them incorrectly (they are different from in the photo tute) but I still love how it looks anyhow.

As I'm new to blogging I still have yet to work out how to put my photos and text in the order that I want them.

Sewing Machine Meme

What better way to start off a blog about sewing than with this meme from Sew Mama Sew.

What brand and model do you have?
I have a very basic Brother Star 110
How long have you had it?
I think that it is about six years since I bought this machine new.
How much does that machine cost (approximately)?
It was $499 Australian
What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?
I'll try to sew anything that takes my interest. Right now that includes clothes for my children, bags, cushions, rugs and I have bought a walking foot for it so that I can try quilting.
How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?
I'm sewing heaps more now than I used to so the machine is getting a lot more wear and tear than in the first few years that I owned it. It could probably use a good service at the moment as it has been a few years since the last one - if only there was someone close by to do the job!
Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?
I have a love/hate relationship with my machine. When it works well I love it and when it dosen't I am not very happy with it. I'm not sure if this is due to the fact that the machine is quite basic and only has 21 stitches and hates shirring - or if the problems are due to user error.
What features does your machine have that work well for you?
Hmmm.....well, while I would love it to have a lot more different stitch options it does the job I need it to do, it is very straight forward to use and has a drop in bobbin and needle threader which is brilliant.
Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?
Shirring - I have yet to find out a way to get it to work.
Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!
Nothing that would make it interesting.
Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?
It is a good basic machine for beginners but anyone wanting to do more advanced sewing should look for a different model
What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?
Having a machine that has functions related to the majority of what you sew. Good price and reliability of after sales service.
Do you have a dream machine?
At the moment it would be a Bernina with the option of an embroidery module.