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not pink

October 3, 2009 By corrie 16 Comments

now pink is one of my favourite colours (and its no secret!!!) but one mummy asked me to make up a dress in navy blue…..I had nothing in my store or stash and couldn’t find anything online…..but sometimes Spotlight surprises you and I found this beauty in the quilting section…wow, a very soft 100% cotton perfect for a little girls dress.

and while I was departing from pink for a day I found some cute red trim perfect on a singlet with a big yo yo! I can definitely see tillie wearing this with some cute bloomers this summer…….

Filed Under: dress, sewing, store

fruits ‘n’ florals

October 2, 2009 By corrie 23 Comments

Sweet strawberry fabric makes for a sweet dress…..I made a dent in the pile with 6 sold at playgroup yesterday and one lady who offered me ‘constructive feedback’ (her words) that they were too expensive….I think $30 was more than reasonable and she couldn’t put down a little heather bailey number so don’t think the problem was my pricing!!!!

and our first roses are here…we just haven’t made it to planting them yet so they are blooming in pots on the balcony and the smell is just gorgeous!

you can’t beat a David Austin rose can you??? This little one is called a Mary Rose and is surprisingly easy to care for. Keira insists on stopping and smelling them everytime she walks up and down the stairs

what am I saying….so does mummy!

and a big thank you to everyone who has stopped by my sale, lots of bolts have been emptied but there are still lots of lovely fabrics at amazing prices!!!!

Filed Under: fabric, gardening, store

my hair has grown!

October 1, 2009 By corrie 7 Comments

woohoo! my hair has finally grown out of its short style…..I took the advice of a playgroup mummy and refused to have my hair cut for most of this year (colour yes cut no) and it has worked! Last night was the first time in a long time that I let my lovely hairdresser trim my hair….

mind you it will never look this lovely and straight till my next appointment but at least its grown! I will seriously reconsider cutting all my hair off again!

Filed Under: everything else

long weekend sale…or PANIC SALE!

October 1, 2009 By corrie 6 Comments

oh my goodness, has it happened to you, you are sitting there doing something random, everything is going along nicely and then all of a sudden you remember something and PANIC!!!!!!!! Its October, I have 4 huge fabric invoices to pay this month!!!!!yikes! 60 bolts of fabric still to come and pay for! how could I forget, who else did I think would pick up the bill!

So panic is your best friend, I’ve slashed the prices on all fabrics in my store and I mean slash….I’ve even reduced prices on all far far away, japanese linens, everything! Prices start at $15.95 a metre including postage in australia!

So it starts now until monday night! oh my goodness, lets empty some bolts before then…..please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Filed Under: sale, store

blogtoberbest begins with beautiful dresses

October 1, 2009 By corrie 16 Comments

yes today is the first day of blogtoberfest and since I try to blog daily its great to be a part of it! I have a giveaway or two planned for the month as well so stay tuned…….anyway here are a few dresses that I finished recently

don’t you love it when you find great fabric combinations from your stash….this joel dewberry has been sitting nicely folded and untouched for 2 years so it was great to see it all made up……perfect for girls who aren’t too girly!

and since my first market isn’t till december its nice to have a bit of time up my sleeve to play around with things and think about what to make….because I do make things, I’m more than just a pretty face that sells fabric…he he he

Filed Under: everything else

stash finds

September 30, 2009 By corrie Leave a Comment

don’t you just love it when you hunt through your stash and find some great colour combinations……like these flowers and stripes

or joel dewberry and big spots…I wasn’t quite sure what to do with this fabric and its been sitting around for a good 2 years now so I’m loving the dress….

and one of my favourites, can I part with it…. Amy Butler Belle….oh the colours! These are just a few of the dresses that I’ll be taking in for my playgroup mummies (some of the nicest mummies around) and for markets….

Its a time thing around here, lots of ideas, lots of things I want to make, lots of children to look after!!!!

Filed Under: fabric, markets, store

another knitted tee

September 29, 2009 By corrie 22 Comments

when I find a pattern I love I tend to go overboard and make it again, straight away, before I do anything else! So here is my second knitted tee…bendigo cotton, 3.75mm needles for the top and changing to 4.00mm after the sleeves.

I also tweaked the pattern by CO 86 stitches and when its time for sleeves do 4 x 43 stitches instead of 40 for the smallest size! This is a great fit for miss keira who is a size 3/4 and the colour is perfect! Plus with bendigo’s prices being as great as they are you just can’t go wrong, can you????

I also whipped up a quick pink skirt in Far Far Away….we’re doing well with stock of everything EXCEPT Princess & the pea blue which is now only available in packs as I’m down to 1metre and also purple unicorn is running a little low!

STOP PRESS I LOVE THIS PATTERN SO MUCH I’VE GONE AND PAID SOME MONEY TO THE NICE LADY WHO MADE THE PATTERN SO I CAN MAKE IT MYSELF……SO WATCH THIS SPACE, IF YOU DON’T KNIT YOU’LL BE ABLE TO BUY THEM! WOOHOO!

Filed Under: bendigo, knitting

moo

September 28, 2009 By corrie 4 Comments

cute moo cards……I was running very low on my last lot so ordered some new ones!! I love how you can choose from any designer to match your style….and that would have to be cute

And a callout to all Sydney ladies….our Sunday Craft Day is coming soon, all details here ….we’d love to have you!

Filed Under: store, the craft room

24 hour knitted tee

September 26, 2009 By corrie 15 Comments

You have just got to love a project you can knit up and finish in 24 hours without too much effort. This little cap sleeved tee was a breeze to knit, mine is a slim line version and I think we could go up a size actually.

but keira loves it…not that you can tell by her face. We had just finished with some serious hair detangling before church and I was not her favourite person when I asked her to do some modelling.

Pattern is here and whipped up in Bendigo’s 8ply cotton (colour is inferno)…..I’m going to start it in a pink today and try the next size up too. Bendigo’s cotton really needs a smaller needle than recommended so I used a 3.75mm knit picks (now called knit pro according to the packet) 40cm circular.

oh and this pattern is perfect for a beginner as you knit in one piece and just cast on, cast off, simple 1×1 rib and all knit rows for the rest! too easy!

Filed Under: bendigo, knitting

simple smocking stickers…a giveaway

September 24, 2009 By corrie 45 Comments

I’m too generous sometimes aren’t I!!! I just love sharing the love and have a new gadget to show you all…smocking stickers out of Japan. I’ve been eyeing these off in my japanese craft magazines but hadn’t found them in the shops so whats a girl to do but stock it in her own shop!

You simply stick the stickers over the area you want to smock and you follow the numbers! How easy is that. Bring your needle up and down at each number, when you’re done you remove the stickers and you’ve smocked!!!! Each pack contains 2 sheets of 5-10 rows of stickers and I’m imagining sweet dresses, tunic tops, little purses, bags…..oh I could keep going.

I’m also waiting for yo-yo makers to be back in stock, should be in a fortnight buy I did manage to get some heart shaped ones….

WINNERS ARE GRINNERS………..CONGRATULATIONS TO COMMENT 10 meikaRandom Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

10 Timestamp: 2009-09-28 02:29:40 UTC

Filed Under: giveaway, store

Rosalie Quinlan Love

September 23, 2009 By corrie 4 Comments

While we wait excitedly for the new Rosalie Quinlan fabric range to arrive at my store, I’m happy to say we now have Rosalie’s new book in stock

This new book is just gorgeous and I can’t wait to sit down and read it some more….16 projects, 52 pages of cuteness, a little bit country, a little bit retro

ranging from the small present…I see some serious jam making and stitching before Christmas going on at Casa Retro

and cute pin cushions to some lovely quilts

best of all there is lots of Grandmothers Flower Garden love going on! Well done Rosalie, you’re such a clever lady and you’re so darn nice too!

Filed Under: everything else, sewing

CWA Banana Cake Recipe

September 23, 2009 By corrie 10 Comments

mmmmm bunkering down yesterday out of the dust storm meant that I had some time up my sleeve to bake. CWA recipes are great because they use basic ingredients that you already have in your cupboard, nothing fancy here. I do draw the line at their mock chicken sandwiches….grated cheese and mayo, not sure they would fool anyone in this house. Anyway, we tried out their banana cake as muffins and were not disappointed!

3 mashed bananas
2 Tbsp butter or marg
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups SR flour
1 egg beaten
2 Tbsp milk

cream butter and sugar, add egg and combine, then bananas, sifted flour and milk. Combine after each addition and we poured into muffin tins and baked for 25 minutes in a 180 oven but you can bake in a cake tin for about 40 minutes.

and here is the leftover shirt just to prove those cute shorts came from a daddy shirt!

Filed Under: baking, recipe, refashioning

dirty sky and daddy’s shirt shorts

September 22, 2009 By corrie 12 Comments

catchy, no??? well the sky is very dirty this morning and for the allergy and asthma sufferers of the house it spells a day indoors….

But last night I turned one of retro daddy’s nice work shirts (he only buys them from london but has a tendency to put holes in the elbows) into some cute shorts, well they turned out as pants but daddy shirt shorts sounds cuter! It was only as I was cutting them that I realised I would get a pocket on the back too, nifty., can you see it????

They are more pyjama/home pants but since Finn totally trashed one of his lovely Country road pairs at a party at the park (and the second time he wore them) they are just what he needed! To make your own, I took a simple shorts/pants pattern (ottobre is always a good source), a man’s long sleeve shirt and cut the pant backs from the shirt fronts and the pant fronts from the shirt back, sew it all up and you’re done!!!

watch out retro daddy, I might sabotage some of your nicer shirts after this initial success…..oh and of course I left a few toast crumbs from breakfast on the floor and a big smudge on my camera there for effect! Just to give the impression we live in the real world, ha ha !

Filed Under: refashioning, sewing

yo-yo addict…

September 19, 2009 By corrie 16 Comments

Yes, my name is corrie and I’m a clover yo-yo maker addict….’hi corrie’ you’re all supposed to say now! Its true, I am addicted to those little plastic yo-yo makers that come from japan in all shapes and sizes

so much so that I’ll be stocking them in my shop soon so that I can satisfy my addiction, the latest japanese magazines tell me that there is a butterfly one coming, oh heaven help me!

today I’m adding them to headbands…..they take a little longer than the regular yo-yo’s but are just perfect!

Filed Under: fabric, sewing, store

brotherly love

September 17, 2009 By corrie 12 Comments

yesterday we welcomed a new little brother to the family…..an overlocker!!!!!!!!! pretty cute, no? I like that I can pick up the phone, order it and have it here the same day without leaving home!!!! nice service, nice prices so its win win and I can have nice neat seams and easy nappies! I was really taken with the easy threading which is oh so important in overlocker land and an instructional dvd, sigh if only everything in life came with that dvd…..

and since it feels like the middle of summer here in sydney at the moment, I whipped up a quick skirt to potter around the house in. Nothing fancy, won’t win me a spot on project runway but its cute, comfy, light, quick and cost me next to nothing!

I think I’ll whip up another one today a wee bit smaller!

Filed Under: sewing machine