A Sofilantjes Summer - Down Under Blog Tour

It's Spring here in Sydney, and today is an exciting day for a couple of reasons. The first is that my boys are back at school today after end of term holidays (yay - I may actually get some sewing done this week), and the second is that today I am the second blog stop on the Sofilantjes Down Under Blog Tour.

The Aura Bolero from Sofilantjes

 Hi, I am determined to blog a bit more often than I have been of late and show you a few of the things I've been sewing. First up is the newly released Aura Bolero from Sofilantjes Patterns.

The Sunkissed Kaftan by Pattern Emporium

Hello everyone, I am the last stop on the Pattern Emporium Blog tour today. I've been a big supporter of Pattern Emporium for a number of years now and really rate the patterns highly. Over that time the pattern designer Kate has become one of my sewing BFFs and it's been so exciting to see what a fantastic job the real bloggers (and I say real because I really am only an occasional blogger....something I'd love to fix but at the moment, life is just too hectic) have done on this blog tour.

One Thimble Edition 8 - The Butterfly Blouse

Hello, it's that time of the year again when 3 more months have passed and a new edition of One Thimble Ezine is released. For those not familiar with One Thimble, it is a quarterly ezine full of interesting patterns, articles and tutorials, and some exclusive coupons. It is well worth the price. I have all the editions so far and have learnt so much from them. It is complied by a little lady that I have an awful lot of respect and admiration for - Jen Kennedy, who is also the pattern designer of some of my most favourite ever patterns - Ainslee Fox Boutique Patterns. Please do take time to pop on over to the One Thimble Website and have a browse.

Dive into Swimwear with Boo! Designs

Those of you that follow my Facebook page will know that I enjoy making swimmers and this week I'm joining a bunch of other bloggers to talk about sewing swimwear. Today I'm participating in a blog tour all about swimwear. There are tons of great prizes and giveaways, and it is all being run by Nicole from Coles Corner and Creations to coincide with the northern hemisphere summer and the release of her fabulous new swimwear pattern. I get so jealous of the northern hemisphere at this time every single year. The world cannot spin fast enough for me during the winter months. Anyway, pop on over and have a look and follow along, its going to be a great week.

One Thimble Edition 7!!!!!

I'm so excited to be a part of the One Thimble Blog Tour for Edition 7 of the ezine, which is released today!!! I haven't seen the whole edition yet, but I know it will be full of fabulous articles and the patterns look great. Today I'm sharing with you my thoughts on the Alyss Dress by Ainslee Fox Boutique Patterns, and also the Jukebox Duet Pattern from FLOSStyle. I really like them both and they are completely different sews, so here are my opinions on the two of them. I'm going to start with the Alyss dress.

The Archie Tailored Shirt

I'm jumping on the blogging tour for One Thimble ezine today. I have been a follower of One Thimble right from the beginning. I am a big fan of Jen Kennedy's - the brains and talent behind One Thimble and Ainslee Fox Boutique Patterns.  I look forward to each new One Thimble ezine release - not only is it full of wonderful pattern, many of which I would probably not know about without One Thimble, but I have learnt so much from the brilliant articles.

A Boo Swimwear Summer

Ahhhh Summer. It's a beautiful thing. My favourite season of the year hands down. It's full of sunshine and laughter, freckled noses and ice cream eating, long daylight hours and backyard cricket when dad comes home from work, BBQs and friends, summer showers and brilliant thunderstorms, shorts and sundresses, havianas and bare feet. There are so many wonderful things about summer, and woven through all of them is swimming! In Australia, swimming is part of our culture. Pools are full of kids learning how to swim freestyle and backstroke, and it's amazing how many "old friends" that you didn't hear from all winter start calling when the weather warms up and you have a pool in your backyard…

The Adele Dress from Violette Field Threads

I have had this little dress to share for a good couple of months, and it seems highly appropriate that I share it this week.

Festival Skirt

Last week the latest edition of  One Thimble e-zine was released and this skirt by Toni of Make it Perfect quickly caught my eye. It's called the 'Festival Skirt' and was a really quick sew, especially for someone like me who isn't exactly speedy on the clothing patterns.

The Little Miss Sweetie Pie Dress

I'm back catching up on blog posts. More things are slowly being added to our page as we move across to this site. I've still got quite a few patterns to catch you up on, but for todays one, I just wanted to say that I love little girls dresses. Not the ones you necessarily see in the shops, but the ones you find when you are a sewer. Dresses that really suit girls, and allow them to look like girls, and not little versions of what teenagers wear. Here's my new fav...

The Skippy Dress

Woo Hoo. It has been ages since I've been in blogland, but Kate and I are back, on our new site. You will find some things still missing and being moved across and added, but it is time to start blogging again because I have so many projects that I don't even know where to begin.

First up though, I absolutely must get this dress blogged about. Its the Skippy dress by Make It Perfect. I actually patterned tested this one ages ago when it was first released in One Thimble Ezine back in May as the Daisy Chain Dress. Toni rereleased this pattern three months later on her own website and changed the name to the Skippy dress. So for those of you with the Daisy Chain Dress, it is the same dress.

The Firefly by Boo Designs

I've got an absolute ripper of a party dress that I'm reviewing today. It's from Boo Designs and it was recently released in the 4th and latest addition of One Thimble Magazine. Here's the cover picture. Isn't it adorable? I love it! Just the right amount of frills, a gathered skirt, the perfect length sash and all those delightful square shapes and angles to work with. I was fortunate enough to pattern test for this one. I have to say it was the most inspiring and intimidating pattern testing group I have been part of. There are so many wonderful versions of this dress to check out from the testing group. I'm not quite sure where they have been posted at the moment, but definitely join the Boo Designs Pattern Club on facebook to see all the cute versions of this people are sewing here.

Joey

Hi all, I was planning on waiting until we had moved out blog over to blogger to post this - which is why my blogs posts have been so minimal of late, but I have a few great patterns that I wanted to review - starting with this one.

Zoe's Winter Coat

I've been very slack about blogging lately and I finally got around to taking some pictures of Zoe in her winter coat. I actually finished this little coat a month or so ago, but haven't had my camera handy when she's worn it until the other day.

The Perfect Kaftan

I'm excited to be a part of the Make It Perfect Perfect Pattern Parade today. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I have alot of Make it Perfect Patterns and I love them. They are simple, easy to sew and most of all, allow you to create wearable clothes. I also love that Toni has patterns suitable for women, girls and boys.
Anyway here in Sydney, we are in the middle of winter. I loathe winter. So when Toni asked which pattern I was planning on sewing, I naturally started dreaming of warmer weather and our upcoming trip to Fiji and went with the Shearwater Kaftan.

BOO Design Your Own Overalls. A Pattern Review

It is high time I wrote a Pattern review about a BOO pattern. For those of you who have never ever purchased and sewn a BOO pattern, you are really missing out. Boo Designs is the brilliant company of Kristie Gilbert and you should really take the time to visit her webpage. http://www.boodesigns.com.au.

One Thimble Edition 3

Hi! I hope you are excited about tomorrow's big release of the One Thimble Ezine Magazine, Edition 3. And if you don't have any idea what I am talking about, you should really get your head out of the sand and head on over http://www.onethimble.com.au to find out more.

One Thimble is a fantastic resource for sewers, both beginner and advanced. It is packed full of great patterns, helpful sewing tips, interesting articles, and great advice for those who are interested in selling their homemade products. I had a sneak peak of this addition and it is amazing Here's what is included:

Sewing patterns for - women, girls, boys and babies. And we are not talking silly little patterns that you won't use. We are talking some serously awesome patterns. I tested a couple of them and they are some of my favourite patterns ever.

Make it Perfect Essential Shorts

I have been really slack getting a pattern review up on the blog for this pattern. No reason other than things keep getting in the way. With the kids back at school, I am determined to get this blog post done. Anyway, I regularly test for my friend Toni from Make it Perfect Patterns. This one is a little beauty.

Avery Dress

Hello lovely blog visitors. I have so many sewing projects to blog about that it is ridiculous....who knows if I will actually get around to them all, but I am determined to get some of them up here. So today I am going to share with you a pattern that I bought a couple of months ago and absolutely LOVE! It's the Avery dress by Modkid patterns. I have been a modkid fan for years, I love the interesting patters and all the lovely bright fabrics. The Avery grabbed me straight away. It is a drop waisted dress with buttons down the front and a peter pan collar. There are a few different variations to this pattern and it has fast become one of my all time favourites.