Tiny terrarium set

Apologies for the absence! I have been extremely busy and also quite unwell. I am having some minor surgery in July which might help. All has been explained on my other blog here.

But the main reason I am posting today is to share a little project I recently completed! It’s certainly not sewing related and it is barely even ‘crafty’ but its definitely creative I made a tiny terarrium teapot set! I spotted the cutest tea pot stand in the BigW Mother’s Day catalogue and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. Take a look!

Bits and pieces

Tillandsia (air plant) in teapot and front left jar

Fly traps in front right jar, sedum in back left, succulent in back right

Isn’t it cute! The succulent, sedum and the fly trap may not cope well in the jars due to lack of drainage so I’m monitoring them closely. The air plants will be totally fine. I think the teapot is a little cluttered so might remove some of the rocks and add more sand. This is my first green thumbed thing since a huge heat wave killed my only ever herb garden in Sydney in 2009 so I am hoping the teapot fares better

In other news, I bought a new chair and would love to crochet a blanket for it. I might buy some wool and print off some instructions and make a project of it over the two weeks I will have off to recover from surgery.

Any simple crochet instruction sites I could look at? I did a little bit of crochet many years ago but will have to relearn

Refashion, redesign, restart

I am acutely aware that there are likely more posts on this blog about my sewing space and tools than actual sewing posts. And the fact is, not much sewing has been done since before Christmas. But things are back to normal now. I have a new desk, a perfect space, and I plugged in the sewing machine again!

And instead of just admiring my sewing equipment, I used it last weekend!

I started with a refashion / mending job that has been sitting in my wardrobe for 3-4 years. This dress looks perfectly fine, even if a bit more ‘in’ 4 years ago. But it hides a dark and embarrassing secret. That strong and powerful zipper? Completely useless and likely to slide open in the middle of Melbourne Casino. Luckily I was wearing a jacket.

(sorry for the poor pics)

Considering the size of the zip, and my lack of patience for zippers, I decided not to replace it. Instead, I unpicked and removed the zip, closed the gap up to the top of the thick elastic waist of the dress, closed the raw edge of the soft top of the dress, and then fitted some buttons and loops!

It took a few goes to get the loops the right length but I am very happy with the end result. Sorry there are no pics of the dress on me. I didn’t want to harass the boyfriend, busy writing his final year project. But rest assured it looks cute on…all these years later!

Confidence boosted, I then tackled my first project in months, a simple library bag for my cousins daughter Mia. I made this up as I went, no pattern needed!

 This is my first ever attempt at applique, which is rather wonky, and the corduroy fabric stretched on the corner of the pocket, but over all I was very happy. My sewjo is back!

My sewing room / study is also now at optimum perfection, because boyfriend and I visited Sydney this weekend, first seeing the Royal Easter Show (huge and amazing) and then trying Ikea for the first time! After a full day of walking the show, Ikea the next day was painful, however I had planned ahead thoroughly online and therefore we were in and out in 3 hours, not even having to pay for parking. I picked up a new cube (expedit) shelf and desk as well as drawer and display shelf inserts for the cubes. All for under $400! I did look at the desk chairs but none were as comfy as mine. Mine is a gross green colour so I have decided to attempt to recover it sometime soon All I need now is a lamp, and I may return to Ikea later and replace my brown skinny display shelves with narrow expedit ones. We’ll see

In final news, I bounced on over to the hairdressers and got myself a fringe (bangs).

Change is exciting! xo

New home, new tools, new start.

Well, it has certainly been a while!

Boyfriend and I were thrown into a sudden move. It was all our own doing of course, but it was sudden in that I had gotten the dates mixed up and we were able to move to a better rental in Feb, as opposed to April as I had originally thought. And then The. Perfect. House. was found and we got it!

This of course resulted in chaos, but in the midst of said chaos I managed to score a bargain, as previously mentioned in a post in early Feb. I have been keeping an eye out for a while for a Horn cutting table, on Gumtree, ebay etc. I had been using the dining table to cut which was too low and brutal on my back. I knew that a brand new Horn table is around $800. I was expecting to pay $400 secondhand. Most of them are too far away for me to pick up too…it seems there are MANY sewers in Victoria, not as many in NSW? Then a beautiful one popped up on ebay, bundled with a mannequin no less, and I mustered all my sniping skills to chase it down. I swooped in with seconds to spare and lay down a $300 bid (which was all I could afford with the pending move). I waited the final 30 seconds on tenterhooks, watching the frantic bids from competing buyers as the price ticked up. It was at $90 when I bid and reached $202.50 in the closing seconds. I got it, and at a BARGAIN price! The table itself was worth about $400, and I got it for $200 with a bonus mannequin! I haven’t been more thrilled since my very first ebay purchase, an out of print boxed set of the Tomorrow Series by John Marsden. My brother and I drove to Lithgow to pick the items up, a three hour drive away, squishing them into my trooper little hatchback.

This is my baby in all its glory, its even the same colour as my machine cabinet

I tried to upload a pic of it all opened up in the seller’s garage but it isn’t working. Just know that it opens up HUGE and I am glad it is on wheels because I will need to relocate it to the dining room whenever I fully extend it

The neck of the mannequin had come apart (but was unbroken) and for those who have never tried to put one back together it was, to be blunt, a bitch! But I did it, and it is now as good as new

And considering the crazy circumstances, that’s all the sewing news I have for you. The costume party I mentioned in a previous post was postponed due to torrential rain, which was just was well as it was the weekend after we moved and I hadn’t even started putting it together. I have all the stuff there so it will definitely happen…I’m just not sure when and can’t share because it’s still a surprise. In other costume news though, I am hoping to afford to go to Supernova for the first time this year, and possible will attempt to make a Cloberella costume.

Other than that I have to make my stepdad’s curtains (still…terrible daughter) and get back to my true desire: dressmaking. I want to start with three thorough wearable muslins: Lily by Colette, Macaron by Colette and Simplicity 2217: Amazing fit dress.

I am going to have to do the sensible thing and start by plugging in my sewing machine for the first time in months and making a simple library bag for my cousin’s little girl. She deserves it, and I need to start with something simple and easy to achieve a result with!

My new sewing space in my new home. I’m in love!

Hiatus…to end soon!

Hi everyone,

I am on a mini hiatus as we have been thrown into a somewhat sudden but very worthwhile house move. I will post all about it soon and promise to be back to regular blogging following that.

Take care!
Dani xo

Fresh start in the New Year

I convinced the boyfriend to give me exclusive use of the study, meaning he can take over (and minimalise to his tastes) the dining/living room. A temporary measure until we find a new (larger) rental in the next couple of months, but heaven no less!

Welcome to my writing/sewing room!

Christmas Gifts (and some reflections, just for you)

Phew! This year gone, and this last few months, have been hectic!

I just checked and it has been almost a year since I started this little blog. It’s been a great year! My sewing hobby has enjoyed the highs and lows that come with being a side hobby, often taking a back seat to my day job, my volunteer work with emergency services, boyfriend and family time, climbing and house work. Add to that starting two other blogs and trying to find time to write, and I am amazed I found time to sew at all.

But I did find time! I also saw progress, and achieved goals, despite falling short on others. I learned so much, including saying no to myself and others, and I have refined my goals for the new year.

All in all, it is happy times over here at Cotton Handy, so in the next week I will announce my very first blog prize, in celebration of my pending anniversary…hoorah!

In the meantime, to finally give you all some sewing to look at (it’s been too long, hasn’t it?!), below are some pictures of all the sewing goodies I gave as gifts this Christmas. On the one hand it was alot of work and I’m not sure I want to commit myself to do it again this year, on the other hand it was SO nice seeing everyone’s excited reactions… so I may well do it again anyway, planning nice and early

Let’s take a look!

These bow clutches were made for the teen girls. Tutorial by elm street life.

This nifty hanger is for the teen boy. It will hold wallet/keys/phone on the back of his bedroom door, never to be forgotten again! Boys are so hard to make for so I was very excited to find this on Design Sponge.

This owl softie has a misshapen bum…but bubbas don’t notice such things! Thanks to Simple Serendipities.

These Matchbox car rolls were a huge hit with the little boys, fabrics matched to their age. I used two tutorials for these, thanks to Jamily Creations and homemade by Jill! The straps look a little bit long, but that’s because each roll only had one car in the ‘garages’, once filled they should be perfect!

When I spotted this fabric I had to use it for the young men. My brother, T, got a sketch book and my cousin, D, got a notebook My boyfriend has also requested a Kindle cover! I actually made these up as I went, but had some experience from my previous foray into notebook covers.

A kitty purse for a little lady. I also made this up as I went!

This lanyard/pen holder is pretty neat. I made it for a teacher, but then bought him something perfect, so it was redirected to someone who works in patient transport. I also think I’ll be making one for myself! Found on The 36th Avenue.

Nap kits for a migraine suffering mum and a busy, busy dad/grandad. They were well received, Facebook pics of the next day headache recovery were great! I have made these before so all the tutorial links can be found here. These were also progress moments for me. My top stitches still aren’t perfect but round 2 with these was so much easier than I expected!

Face masks. The people these were made for received another purchased gift from my man, so a full nap kit was not necessary. However as they were flying to Canada Christmas morning, I thought they would like these. What I wasn’t anticipating was sheer excitement! Apparently Mr Blue had desperately wanted one for the flight but forgot to buy. He was thrilled to bits

These heat packs were a staple gift. Two long ones were given to my Aunt and Cousin and a bundle of different shapes were for my Mum, who suffers frequent migraines and some arthritis. I got a HUGE 20kg bag of wheat for $18 from the pet store. I had been so stumped on how to buy wheat so I was very excited by that tip. If bugs haven’t moved in while I was away for the break, I’ll make some more just because, including several for me These are simple and very well liked. I now make heat packs as I go, either measuring off my own or drawing up a rough pattern (such as the purple neck one, or the red knee ones), however there are tutorials all over the internet, I think I first used this one from Warehouse Fabrics Inc.

And finally, some muscle soaks. Though not technically sewing I had a bunch of old pasta jars to use and wanted to experiment with mod-podging fabric. These were mostly gifted with a heatpack. There are recipes all over the net and I sort of made my own up. I used sea salt, epsom salts, glyerol (gycerine) and food dye, all bought from the supermarket or pharmacy. The jars have fabric mod podged where the label used to be and the lids are spray painted. I didn’t use baking soda as apparently that can result in exploding jars. I also did not add essential oil due to the headache prone (me amongst them), but you can add some to the recipe or just straight to the bath. I’m thinking of trying peppermint

Well, that’s Christmas done for the year! Whilst it took some time and commitment, it was so worth it for the reactions and the joy and the learning. And whilst I didn’t do it to save money, I am pretty sure I did…bonus!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas and New Year break. Mine was both busy and restful, sunny and stormy. I still have a few more days off and am looking forward to some maintenance sewing and a little project planning.

I’d love to hear how your break went…and be sure to stay tuned for that anniversary prize post!

Dani xo

Colette arrivals, swatches too, and Cotton Handy gets an upgrade!

Hello everyone!

Things have been uber, uber busy! But things are also settling down I am absolutely dying for the holiday break so I can enjoy a week or so just relaxing and maybe doing some sewing and writing. It never quite works out that way does it…but a girl can dream!

In the news, my Colette bundle birthday pressie arrived, and shortly after so did my swatches:

Colette Sewing Handbook, Macaron and Lily patterns, and swatches from fabric.com

The photo is a bit dark but on the left we have navy and cream for the Lily, and on the right we have mustard yellow and dark grey for the Macaron. I will hopefully be able to order the fabrics in a couple of weeks and make these come January. Very exciting stuff! There are also several lovely patterns included in the handbook which I may well try from fabric on hand over the Christmas break

In other news, you will probably have noticed that Cotton Handy has had a make over! I have three blogs and I decided to put more effort into all of them, making them over and giving them a cohesive theme. The other blogs can be found by clicking the following links:

Can you spot the common element?

Cotton Handy also now has a Facebook page and I would be delighted if you could head on over and like it

https://www.facebook.com/cottonhandyblog

That’s about all for the moment but going forward I am aiming to post alot more and really build the Cotton Handy community. I’m looking forward to sharing lots more with you soon!

xo

Colette on the way!

I haven’t been posting much. It’s a combination of a genuinely busy life, not doing much sewing, and most of the sewing being done having the status of ‘top secret Christmas presents’.

However, good news on the Colette front! Following on from my last post in which I outlined my planned dress makes, my wonderful mum agreed to buy me Lily and Macaron AND The Colette Sewing Handbook. Then Haby Goddess announced a pre-Christmas sale including all Colette! This was such an exciting moment

Mum, continuing in her wonderfulness, told me to take advantage of the sale even though my birthday is still a month away. Colette bundle is on the way! Can’t wait!

As for other sewing, there is mostly secret Christmas magic coming up but there will still be things to post about, and since we are coming to a year since I bought my first sewing machine of my own and started this hobby I am hoping to post a ‘lessons learned and plans for the future’ type post. Maybe I should even have my first giveaway!

Lusting after Colette

We are coming into spring here in Australia which has sent me lusting after Colette patterns. I am yet to even make the Sorbetto, their free pattern that has taken the internet by storm. However I know that some of their patterns are just perfect for me. I love the modern vintage style and am told they are very good for beginners like me. So I now have two Colette dresses planned! I haven’t even bought the patterns yet, let alone any fabric, and none of that will happen for a few weeks, however I am already very set on the colour and fabric type I am hoping to use, with the intent is that these will be great for work and also for family lunches etc.

First up, a Macaron, with grey as the main skirt/bust colour and mustard yellow as the contrasting upper bodice/waistband colour. Hopefully in a linen or linen blend.

Sourced Colettepatterns.com

Second will be a Lily, also in linen or linen blend, with navy as the main colour and cream as the contrast.

Sourced Colettepatterns.com

The worst part is the waiting is it not?

*sigh*

Vintage “so ugly it’s cute”

Today was a fun day. I went to the local “Wallsend Winter Carnivale”, a long running street fair through the main thorough-fair of the next suburb over. I have been going for years, but this year I was in the parade as a NSW State Emergency Service volunteer…yay! This is me with my Mum:

Following the marching and the handing out of pamphlets and the smiling at excited kiddies, I stomped up and down the street in my big boots and did some serious shopping.And that’s when I found this:

For $3 I just couldn’t leave it there, though I certainly had mixed feelings about it. I absolutely hate orangey, 70s, wallpaperish, upholsteryish, florals. Yuck! I have always, always avoided such colours and designs. But this little piece was so clearly vintage (though I’m not certain from what era), and so “sewing history”, that I had to have it. It is now growing on me so I am wondering how I can work with it to make it my very own. I’d like to keep in fairly original so I am thinking I will just give it a good clean and make a little insert/divider for it. I don’t have a sewing box because no matter how cute the ones in store are I just can’t bring myself to pay $50 for essentially the same thing as this, made from less quality materials.

So welcome to my sewing world, little “so ugly it’s cute” box

 

PS: Anyone who can give me an idea of whether this is 60s, 70s or 80s, or even a possible manufacturer, will receive much love