Selfish Sewing Week for the time poor

This week I had high hopes for sewing myself some Wintery clothes... So far my count stands at 2. 

 I made this very simple Washi dress out of cotton lawn I got for $2.99m. I used a contrasting black and white japanese lawn as visible bias and decided to make it without any linings etc so it was a very quick sew.

 I have some gorgeous Cloud 9 organic cotton picked out to make myself a long sleeve Washi dress to wear in Winter to work. Cannot wait to see how it comes together.

After coming across some Cloud 9 fabric for only $9.99 at Spotlight I HAD to get a whole lot. Mostly I sew to sell and only use clearance fabrics and the like for me. I decided to spoil myself this week though and make myself some baggy, comfy, silky soft organic lounge pants.

Thanks for reading! Hopefully this weekend I finish my Winter Washi dress and Alder skirt I am pattern testing for Imagine Gnats.

Instagram Quilt

Today I finished up a project I have had in the works for a while; The Instagram Quilt!

To make this quilt I edited together screen shots of my instagram photos into a big patchwork grid on Photoshop:

Then I uploaded the files* to Spoonflower and worked out how they would fit on a yard:

*I made 2 separate grid files with different photos

I then waited very patiently (a few months) for my fabric order to arrive. I was thrilled with how most of the squares showed up. I purchased a few metres of cotton batting and 3m of dark blue cotton lawn for the backing. After sewing my 2 separate yards together and ironing the seam flat I ended up with a quilt the size of a king single bed. Not as wide as I would like but will do the job.

I would say to make a baby blanket only order 1yard or to make a queen size you could order 3 different yards and place one at the top and one at the bottom and cut the other in half lengthwise and run it up one of the sides to get the extra width. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Yes my dog Geo loves a good photo shoot. 

Lua Sleep Sack pattern tour

I have been looking forward to trying out this pattern by An from Straight Grain since she first mentioned it many months ago. It has been such a joy and privilege testing this sleep sack pattern. My partner did not really understand my jumping up and down about it either. 

It is no surprise that I love this pattern especially given I have finished 2, started 3 more and have a 6th cut out to sew as well. With all of the babies expected this year and things starting to cool down here in Australia - this is the perfect pattern. 

I had hoped to include some photos of my new niece Amelia in her sleep sack but she has been unwell. Please accept this very sweet (5 days old) photograph of her as a runner up prize.***photos of sleep sack in use now available (pictured at 6 weeks old). 

(For those here for the baby photos, more at the bottom)

Basically this pattern was a breeze to sew up. The instructions are very clear with a number of illustrations to help out. Printing and piecing together the pattern was so easy and paper efficient - the bottom section of the pattern can be used for both the front and back pieces. 

The only tricky part of the pattern (besides choosing the fabrics, of course) is installing the zipper. This is walked through though very gently and was not hard to do. There are some great tips throughout - I certainly learned a few things. 

This pattern is very adaptable and could easily be made with just two layers of woven for a summer weight sleep sack or 2 layers of jersey. I ran out of batting and desperately wanted to make another so I just used fleece as an inner lining for 1 -  not as gorgeously natural and breathable as cotton but definitely warm and might work okay for those on a budget. 

You should definitely get this either for your babies or for baby showers. Thank you for the opportunity An!

As promised some more baby photos:

My Philippines adventure

 I have just returned home from time in the Philippines. My partner and I travelled for over 20 hours to get to there and in that time we stopped over at Changi Airport, Singapore. There was lots to do and we had a nice time (even though we were beyond sore and tired). We also got $80 in free Changi Vouchers - Thank you Changi!

First view of the Philippines

 How to start a coconut tree. 

 Another travelling washi top.

 5 of us fit onto/into this to ride cross country up a mountain. My most authentic Philippines experience.

 After this cutie got over the fact I was white, I was not so scary. 

 There are no blue skies in the Philippines. 

 Jeepneys are everywhere.

 We visited Hundred Islands.

 And found Nemo. 

 This puppy came everywhere with us.

 Ocean Adventure, Subic

 Incredible African Acrobats.

Fishy seal kisses. 

 On our way home we stopped at Changi in Singapore again and got fish spas. 

The only thing more beautiful then watching the sun set from an airplane is watching the moon and the stars from above the clouds.