All Things Fairy

Last month I was pretty excited to receive some gorgeous spandex fabric samples in the mail to sew up and photograph from Kristie Boo! designs.

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 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 Boo Designs Gallery Dress - in knit!

I've been testing fabulous girls dress sewing pattern this past week or so called The Gallery Dress by Boo! Designs. It's basically a mod shift dress with a whole heap of fantastic options. I have been after a good simple shift dress pattern for so long and I am pretty sure this is my favourite Boo pattern ever, which is a massive call because I really like Boo patterns.

The Little MIss Sweetie Pie in knit

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a compulsive hoarder of knits (and rayon). I do try to keep it under control and be strict with myself, and not allow myself to buy more until I've run the stash down, but I finally ordered some Eurpoean knits this year and oh dear…..it is soooo hard not to buy them! Not to mention all those Art Gallery knits. Swoon! Anyway, I know there is a whole world of quilting cotton only ladies who sew beautiful clothes, but I do think if you limit yourself to only quilting cottons that you are really missing out. That said, many of my favourite girls patterns are sized and designed for quilting weight cottons, so I do understand it. Occasionally a pattern comes along though that as far as I am concerned, deserves a little more of a going over than just making them up in quilting cotton.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Maggie Misses Dress by Violette Field Threads

Whew! School is finally back and I feel like I can spend a little more time sewing and blogging again. Today I'm sharing a review on Violette Field Threads latest women's pattern release - the Maggie Misses Dress. Here's the cover pic of the dress on their beautiful model.

Oliver and S

It is slow going on the blog around here at the moment. I have been unmotivated to blog and have been taking a little break, and Kate has been trekking around Tasmania with the family on a holiday I can't wait to see lots and lots of pictures of!

Anyway, I sort of lost my sewing mojo there for a while after all that market sewing I did and all that stuff that didn't sell. It was very discouraging, so I just wanted to take a break for a while. And then there was all that Christmas sewing to do for family, friends etc. Anyway I've finally sat down this week and done a little sewing for both myself and Zoe and it's made me remember why I love to sew! It's been really quite nice to just sew for us. I've got quite a few projects to share with you over the next few weeks.

Vogue 1257

Well now that Spring is finally here, it seems a bit silly to be blogging about a winter dress. But I am a slack blogger and don't blog about even a quarter of the things I sew. This dress I really liked though, so I wanted to make sure I quickly put it on the blog. Once again - I take a really bad picture. I hate having my photo taken and always look stuff and awkward. 

This dress is Vogue 1257. It said on the front that it was easy, and I have to admit I was skeptical. I was pleasantly surprised though, I found it really straightforward and relatively quick, but I have sewn lots and lots of dresses with knit in my time.

Zip It

Make it Perfect Patterns released this little beauty last week

Basic Tees into Pretty Dresses

We have been having such beautiful summery weather in Sydney lately that it seems a little silly to be sharing this post with you. I wish it could last forever, but I know come some point in April/May, the weather is going to turn quickly and before I know it, it will be the dreaded months of winter (no guesses as to which season I prefer). I have had a few birthday pressies to make this week and with the impending weather change ahead, I made some dresses for the cooler months.

Simplicity 2949

I've indulged in a bit of selfish sewing of late and made myself a new dress. Naturally it is jersey - I much prefer wearing dresses with some sort of stretch in them during the daytime. It is so much easier to deal with all the bending and stretching invovled in a day with young children. Anyway, here is the dress.

The Mission Maxi

I have a confession to make. I am a selfish sewer. I like to sew mainly for myself. I think I am addicted to sewing dresses. I have way too many sewing patterns and way too much fabric sitting in the stash waiting to be sewn

The main reason I learnt to sew was because I was sick of looking in the shops for clothes that would actually fit me. I think there is a massive gap in the market. Which mother in her 30's running around after kids all day wants to do it in a miniskirt where there would be an embarrassing flash of all things under the miniskirt at least twice a minute with all the squatting down and getting up you have to do with little kiddos? I am also a firm believer that not all cleavage is good cleavage - many necklines out there are way too low for my liking. I found that when I actually found something that fit me, it was either super short, or way too low, or if I found something that was appropriate, it cost way too much and I didn't really even like it. And so my obsession with sewing dresses began.

Of all the dresses out there, I think I like the maxi dress the most. It is so practical - you can dress it up easily, dress it down with some casual shoes. And on the days when you just haven't had time to address the hairy legs, or that fake tan is looking a little blotchy, it is perfect for hiding a world of sins. To say that I have been on the hunt for a great maxi dress pattern would be an understatement. And then I came across this little beauty.