Stitch - Stitch - Stitch

This is nearly finished now and is complete with some very cute embroidery to go with this appliqué. 

I hope to finish off the gorgeous item tomorrow with its final finishing touches and get a pic up for you all to see!!

The Hottie Challenge

A delivery not from the postie was dropped on my doorstep this afternoon.

Ms Curly Pops herself dropped this off for the hottie challenge which has been organised by open drawer to raise money for Margaret Pratt Foundation (research for heart and lung transplants).

For more info on the hottie challenge, pop over to one of these websites...

Curly Pops

Open Drawer

P.S. now cam knows how messy my front yard is **how embarassing!!**

posted from Bloggeroid

Lazy Day

Today I have lots of things I should be doing but I can't be bothered. I would much prefer to laze around watching tv, surf the net, cuddle my kids and drink hot drinks...




Miss 6yo is proactive enough to be doing her homework. I've done 2 loads of washing and I am sitting looking at fabric from across the room.










I'm also starting to read Martha Stewart's book called "The Martha Rules" I figure I can learn a lot from her!

So maybe I'm not so lazy for not sewing or doing my book work!

posted from Bloggeroid

A Few Sizes Smaller Means...

A DESPERATE NEED FOR NEW CLOTHES!!

As I mentioned the other day, I have been on a diet since November. I didn't tell anyone about going on a diet, I just decided it was time to lose weight.

I have always been overweight. I had serious spinal surgery at the age of 12 so I wasn't really allowed to do sport as a teenager, and the love of chocolate, lollies and cake along with lack of exercise made me very overweight. When I was 16, I decided to lose weight and lost 30kg on the weight watchers program. Over the next few years, due to changing my lifestyle, I then lost another 10kg but when I had my son a couple of years ago, I put a lot of weight on.

So long story short, after seeing a photo of myself in November I made the decision that I didn't want to be as big as I had been when I was a teenager and made the decision to lose the weight once and for all. I was imparting a very unhealthy lifestyle on my kids, and although I was going to the gym I was eating a lot of the wrong foods and had put on 10kg last year.

I did some research on healthy eating and looked at some popular diets and also spoke to my health care professionals and decided that I would go on the CSIRO diet as it seemed to be something that would work for me as I need rules. If I am told I can have chocolate sometimes, I will make that sometimes every few days...

I have since lost close to 20kg and have a couple of kg to go and I feel great. But there is one thing that I am lacking at the moment... CLOTHES!!!!! All of my clothes are a size 16 and I am now a size 10 - 12 so I have been searching for patterns to sew and clothes to buy that I might enjoy wearing and that will look good on me. I have lived most of my life in jeans and t-shirts but now I feel like embracing my lovely feminine body and wearing dresses and even skirts!!

I am thinking of using this tutorial that I found last night... and maybe even making a few more of these...

What is your favorite girly, wintery patterns for this year? I am thinking things I can wear with my tights and either flats, boots or heels :)

p.s. I recommend speaking to your doctor if you are considering a weightloss expedition like I did xo

Mothers Day

Today, as I mentioned yesterday, I am being lazy and enjoying my beautiful kids.

I got to sleep in until midday!! 

I never sleep in, and when I do I am usually up by 9, but I am so refreshed and grateful that I got a lovely rest. In fact I am still in my pyjamas.

I got presents as well which was nice.

So when I rose from my beauty sleep, I received 2 beautiful cards made by the kids while I was sleeping and a few little things that Miss 6yo got me from the mothers day stall at school.

I have also made muffins.

I was sitting on twitter earlier and there was the mention of baking and I thought... mmm cold, rainy, horrible day. I can either sit here underneath the heater vent or make muffins and stand next to the oven for a bit, making muffins with the kids won. They are a bit extra brown as mummy was distracted. They have just gotten out of the oven now and I am currently deciding whether I will eat one as I have been on a diet since November. Surely Mothers Day is a day to eat a muffin right??

Now I am just sitting down to eat my muffin, watch Harry Potter movies with the kids, and attempt to stay in my PJs for the rest of the day. Hope your Mothers Day is wonderful.

Amy xo

This Weekend...

This weekend is going to be a lazy one with Mothers Day being tomorrow, I intend to spend the day playing silly games with my babies and relaxing with them. This is if they play along, I did mention to Miss 6yo that I wanted breakfast in bed, and she promptly looked at me with a screwed up face and said; 

"Mummy... why would you want to eat breakfast in your bed??!!??!!"...

My answer...

"I'm not sure sweetheart, but make sure you talk to daddy about it, make sure theres pancakes"

Not sure if that conversation has taken place yet, but she is very excited by Mothers Day this year, she has been to the mothers day stall at school and has come home with something that has been hiding underneath her pillow since Wednesday. I'm sure that whatever it is, it is squished... but apparently this is the only place in the house that I don't look.

Anyway, so today I am spending my time sorting through instructions for Calisthenics costumes for the little miss and also for one of the other girls who I am sewing for this year. I have no markets this month, so I am spending my spare time this weekend and maybe some time during the week making costumes.

The first that I have almost completed is a chicken. It is going to be absolutely gorgeous when it is finished, and I cannot wait to see the stage full of cute fluffy chickens doing their item.

I wont show the whole costume until later in the year when the girls have been to a competition as I don't like to reveal before then. It's not completed yet though as I have run out of those lovely feathers and there are more parts to the costume that I haven't even pulled out to attempt to assemble yet.

When I read the instructions for this outfit I was excited about making it, when I saw the photos of a completed outfit I was excited about contributing and then I sat down to make it and thought... 

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO?!?!"

I will say that once I sat down to just do it, I've actually really enjoyed making it. It is very basic stitching of gathered tiers and best of all there is no lycra involved AT ALL. 

I will mention that I have enjoyed the gathering stitch on my overlocker for this costume, as there is a lot of ruffles to make those feathers all fluffy! I will possibly have to go through and cut off all of the overlocker threads yet, I'm unsure as to whether you can see them when the outfit is completed, on the child and you are standing a fair way away. 

I must remember to use my gathering stitch more often now that I have figured out how it works because I am dreaming of lots of gorgeous fluffy things.

I am also spending some time making a Hippo costume for Miss 6yo to wear for one of the other items they do. I have a pattern this year, which is a step up from that alien I had to make last year which really did make me cry numerous times.

I am a big fan of being organised, so I am sitting with my sewing journal, the pattern instructions and the picture I am working from, and writing myself a good, comprehensive set of instructions from start to finish. 

I have written the jumpsuit instructions so far and will get onto the hood instructions soon. once I have a good look at the hood I have to copy from another hippo outfit that belongs to a girl from a different class that she used years ago. Then it will be on to the tracing and adjusting of patterns and the fun part... sewing!!

What are you up to this weekend? I hope that whatever it is, it is putting a smile on your face.

Updates...

A little update on what's been going on around WeePantz H.Q. lately. 

I have been very busy sewing nappies for the stocking that I had on the website the other day. (of which there is still stacks of stock left **hint hint**). 

I've made a bit of this...

and this...

And have added a few more basics colors to the regular range.

 I've been spending alot of time being mummy, making lots of coffee at my "other job" and also doing HEAPS of markets. Although the May market scene for me will be quiet as I'm going to suss out some new markets that I might like to attend for the coming months, and also work on building up my stock levels and attempting to increase my website sales and focus on stocking up some of my wholesalers.

It's also "that time" of the year again with loads of calisthenics costumes to make for the little miss and I am helping out a couple of the other mums this year with their costumes as well (I'm hoping to do a sneaky peek on some of the stuff I'm up to with that later).

So head on over to the site, and give me a reason to keep sewing nappies and bibs and get yourself some gorgeous WeePantz Products to put on your bub. 

If you have any questions about my products, or simply about cloth nappies in general, drop me a line here.