Over The Top Originals

The old camera has gone AWOL. What is it with me and cameras this year?  A post without pictures is just …well….bland and boring in my world.

I will post anyway…just so that you can all see read that I have been busy creating. Not a lot to show for hours of sleepless nights. Two nights of unpicking until I had finally unpicked the entire garment, resewn…still not right and the balled up fabric is now banned to the corner … never to be played with again.

Never mind…these things happen…onto Plan B. A pattern I’d never tried before but looked easy enough. It was easy enough….only problem is the finished garment would fit a 12 yo ..not the 4-5yo size it was intended to be.

NOTE TO SELF: When you have a deadline that was 2 weeks ago do not try sewing from a pattern you have never used before.

Plan C. Back to an old favourite that I should have started with right at the beginning. Dare I make a few changes to alter the pattern.?  I’m totally over this particular project so figure I can’t do any worse than I had over the previous few days and slice into the fabric….beyond the point of no return. Luckily it went together easily and even fitted the reluctant model. Sigh of relief. Two 4am bed times and a whole day of sewing for one finished garment that should have taken a couple of hours at most.

Now to find that camera. I was looking back over by posts and am amazed at the lack of record keeping there actually is of my creative endeavours. In my mind I’d blogged about them all.

Not just any old phobia but one that is  just devastating to someone who lives, sleeps and breathes fabric. More so to one who has a stash of fabric that really needs to be tamed.. I had made a commitment to take part in a kids winter clothing swap. I had the pattern all drafted and ready to do……the fabric picked out and sitting in front of me every day….but for the life of me I just couldn’t get any further with it. Late last night (close to the bewitching hour) I took the bull by the horns scissors by the handle and decided it was now or never (and never wasn’t an option). That was when I had the realisation that my head just wouldn’t let me cut into the fabric. My hands grew clammy and my heart started palpitating. I really had to push and prod myself to make a few cuts. It wasn’t an easy task (cutting into the fabric) but it was so worth pushing through that inner turmoil to hear the whirrr of the machine and to achieve the end result. 

I have no idea when the bizarre phobia took a hold of me but one thing is for sure…it can not stay.  Fabric is my passion and I love nothing more than creating an original garment for one of the kids. Have decided that the only cure for this is to sew up a storm…force myself to cut and sew until once again wielding the scissors becomes like second nature. First in line is MissFinn who is wanting a toastie warm hoodie similar to the one she is modelling. This one is already on the courier, heading towards a new home.

I put a small wedding kit together for my aunt who by now will be sitting comfy in front of her tv waiting in anticipation for the wedding of the century. I’m just a little miffed with myself that I ran out of time to make a flag and cucumber sarnies to go with it.  A mini union jack bunting , a  cardboard crown incase she has a forgetful moment and needs reminding whose wedding it is and no royal wedding would be complete without a special wedding hat to wear….

Coloured Card from my friend Nicci from Buttons by Benji  As well as the cutest buttons ever she is now stocking high quality crafting card at very good prices.

Union Jack Printables from: http://www.freefunfings.com/bunting/pdf/great-britain.pdf  http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/pdfs/Union_Jack_printable.pdf   http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/pdfs/Union_Jack_ribbon.pdf

Crown from http://designeditor.typepad.com/design_editor/2011/04/free-royal-wedding-party-printables.html

Hat from my personal collection

Zel and Lula are still having fun with making up friendship bracelets from the templates and instructions here

http://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/how-to-make-friendship-bracelets.html

It occurred to me that some of you might like the link to the templates so you or your kids can make some up for yourself or for gifts.

I also thought that these would make a good gift for a girl ..maybe aged 8-12 years or even older . (Miss 18 has been having fun with these as well) Make up a few templates, add some coloured embroidery cotton (can be bought cheaply in emporium type shops), sew up a small WIP (Work In Progress) Bag and walaaaaaaaaaaa.

off to Christchurch. This week we made up a few parcels to send off to some of the kids who live in Christchurch. We thought they might need a little cheering up after having to endure a couple of major earthquakes and months of aftershocks.

I crocheted a few wee blankets for the toys I knitted a while back.

 Sneaky MissFinn swapped the blankets around so that she got to keep her favourite for her teddies. Here she is giving this wee guy one final love before he is parceled up and sent on his way to a new home.

On one of my late night surfing sessions I came a cross a gorgeous jacket. May have been Oilily……maybe not……I remember the price US$300+

On closer inspection I realised that MisssFinn had a hand-me-down sweater from Caj made of similar fabric. OK…it’s not a hooded zip up jacket but surely it is the next best thing.

A trip to our local emporium sells-everything shop to rummage through their haberdashery shelves  produced a bag of assorted trims.

About 20 minutes of sewing produced a ‘new’ girly sweater that would match any in the local high street.

Was hoping to get a shot of the sweater in action but the wee girl isn’t very co-operative this early in the morning.

I finally had the sewing machine out today.

One of my oldest friends (as in we have known each other forever) turned up on my door step with her gorgeous black woollen jacket that she had thought to place in the washing machine to freshen it up. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Sandee doesn’t sew, she doesn’t knit…and she doesn’t know not to throw your most favourite woollen jacket through a normal hot wash.

She turned up with some scrummy fur fabric (has to be very scrummy at $100/m) that I looked dubiously at. She was insistent that it would make great cuffs to lengthen the sleeves. One cuff later and I knew this was not a good idea. The only word I can find to describe it is hideous.

Plan B: Back to spotlight with me, the fabric obsessed friend in tow. We come away with some stretchy jersey type of fabric that I’m hoping will rescue the jacket from being forever banned to the dark recesses of the wardrobe.

Transformed Jacket:

New cuffs to lengthen the sleeves, shift a couple of buttons and enough fabric left to make a matching scarf …. lined with merino.

Just found this half written post  in my drafts: dated March 3rd

I haven’t posted since the Christchurch earthquake.  I am far away at the other end of the country.  I feel for my friends and all citizens of Christchurch and like everyone else I wanted to help in some way. If I had a dollar every time a friend said I wish I could go to help I’d now have a good pile of coins to donate. By a serious of coincidences (which in the big picture of the universe is probably no coincidence at all) I am heading down there for the weekend with a specific job to do.

I already had tickets booked since June last year. I was planning on an annual catch up with friends, a weekend of laughing, of crafting and of overindulging in good food. The event of the earthquake saw those plans being cancelled and me being left with tickets for a return flight with nowhere to go.

A week ago I woke in the morning with just such a strong calling to attend the First Light Flower Essence workshop in Auckland. I had no plans to attend as I’d attended the year before but the calling was so strong that I couldn’t ignore it. Over the weekend I heard that Disaster Relief essences were being made up in Christchurch. A few emails later and it is confirmed that I am indeed needed to help this weekend with the putting together of essences known as ‘quake mix’ by the Christchurch locals.

It has been a learning curve. It in one thing to say ‘I’d love to help’ ‘I’d go down if I could to help’ but quite another thing to actually go there and help when many people are fleeing the city and not wanting to be there. I have no personal experience with earthquakes and after shocks with having lived in a part of the country that is deemed very low risk. There is a feeling of guilt in that our life here goes on as normal while the people of Christchurch have been traumatised, lost loved ones and for many they are displaced and without a home.  I have had to push past my anxiety about the ‘what ifs’ , have found some courage and strength to head down there…….

I was sad that I didn’t get to catch up with any of my friends but I did meet some wonderful people, spent five days writing so many labels that now I am sure I could write them in my sleep and I learnt a lot about myself in the process.

Amid the devastation of the earthquake there was love, hope and an awesome energy amongst the people  I met that I just couldn’t put into words.

Imagine my surprise when I saw these trees wrapped in knitted and crocheted love.