I'm back!

I cannot believe I have been absent from blogland for 2 months! It started with a crazy schedule at work to a trip to the UK where I picked up a nasty virus it has taken me weeks to cure. I have however got some exciting stuff to share with you!

Ta-da! A brand-new, handmade cutting table! My FIL is a whiz with making stuff and I asked him to make me a table to specifications for my new sewing room. He added a second shelf below where my overlocker and some other essentials are neatly stored. I had to go buy another large self-healing cutting mat and my long steel ruler is finally being put to good use on top of this table.

Just love it and it works wonderfully for me. No more sitting on the carpet to cut out fabric.

The latest issue (#47 Summer 2010) of the quarterly Bernina Inspiration magazine was just the inspiration I needed to christen my new cutting table.

This purple top is made from jersey stretch fabric and is super-easy to make. Just 2 pattern pieces and some elastic makes for a fast sew. I did not however like the off-the-shoulder look that much, so I played around and modified the pattern a bit.

This is the end-result. Two pattern pieces, front and back, all-in-one. I modified the neck and sleeves and it fits perfectly now. Here are a few tops I have now made with this pattern.

The first one is made from a silk-jersey. Not the easiest fabric to work with, but well worth the extra effort. Love the bright colours! I wanted to try my hand at sewing the neck with elastic thread, using the shirring method, and it was a breeze.

The second is just a standard stretch jersey fabric with lots of stretch in orange and brown. I am wearing this top today for the first time and love it. Also shirred around the neck with elastic thread.

The other reason for my absence is this - my brand-new kindle. I got this for my birthday from my DH recently and have been a frequent visitor on Amazon to purchase books. This is such a fun gadget to own!

I have loads more to share, but will be back soon for that. Right now I have a cup of tea and will be visiting your blogs to say hello and see what you have been up to the last 2 months!

Crochet Bags

The crochet bag "factory" is certainly still open here with production going full steam ahead! I finished my Multi-colored spike bag and started a new crochet bag last night! (We will forget about the 10 or 20 WIP's all over the room for now!)

Just need to cut out the lining, iron on the interfacing and sew it. Love how this bag came out. I changed my mind about the handles at the last moment and I am really pleased how this looks. A nice, sturdy bag with lots of room allowing for lots of pockets in the lining.

On Monday I popped into Arthur Bales, my favorite fabric and yarn store, to replace my crochet hook. I snapped it in half whilst crocheting the Multi-colored Spike bag above! They sell these sets of 3 plastic crochet hooks in 4mm, 5mm and 6mm sizes in one pack. Just love these hooks. I left with enough cotton yarn to make a pink top and the fleece fabric above. They were busy unpacking a new shipment as I walked past...Bad...All these gorgeous colors and soft, warm fabric for Winter, which has officially arrived in South Africa this past weekend.

My Burda Style magazine just arrived in the shops a few days ago and this flared coat caught my eye immediately. When I saw the cerise pink houndstooth fleece fabric, I knew I must make this coat! The matching plain pink fleece was in my stash from last Winter and a perfect match too! I see BIG buttons and a large collar. Now I just need to put my crochet bags down a bit so I can trace and cut the pattern from the magazine and start sewing!

Here is a sneek peek at the bag I am working on now. Started last night...

Been shopping in the USA!

It took me two days to finish packing to return from the USA. I was so scared some of my precious stash would be lost in transit. I had a few minutes of pure panic standing next to the carousel waiting for my large pink suitcase to appear, and finally, it did! I had a great time shopping for stash in Chicago and I am so thankful to my dear friend Juanita for patiently taking me out on two nights to shop at Jo-ann's, Michael's and two local yarn shops. So, I will be sharing my new stash over a few blog posts coming up.

The first shop I always visit when arriving is Hobby Lobby. Above is a picture of some of the yummy cotton fabric I found this year. I cannot wait to start making some bags! The top three prints are all from Brother Sister Design company. The bottom pink and brown print is my favorite and was just $2 a yard! Not sure of the designer of this one.

I also bought these fabulous jersey knit fabrics. Lots of tops coming soon.

A selection of fat quarters I found unable to resist. I can see some stunning bags already!

I was very disappointed with the yarn selection at Hobby Lobby though. Most of the yarn they stock is acrylic and novelty yarns. I only purchased the two skeins above. The brown is from Lion's Wool and is called Fishermen's Wool, a whopping 465 yards on one skein! The pink is from Red Heart, a 100% acrylic but I loved the colour.

The magazine section at Hobby Lobby was very disappointing this year. I only purchased the Crochet Today magazine there. The other two magazines I found at Barnes & Noble.

This is all I purchased at Michael's, a lovely pink needle case for my knitting needles. My friend Juanita had these amazing discount coupons for Jo-ann's and Michael's and I saved so much money using them! I think she got them from the newspaper. Thanks Juanita!

In my next post I will share my experience of visiting a Jo-ann's superstore for the first time as well as visiting two amazing local yarn shops!

Jersey Knit Tops

I promised to take pictures and share the 5 jersey knit tops I made last weekend. I did sort out my camera batteries, but last night I had to put my new tops in the wash to prepare for my trip to Chicago. I am leaving today! And I am not nearly ready yet. I did manager to take pics of two of the tops though. Above is the first one, made from a lovely silk jersey fabric. It slides across your skin, really nice fabric. Crappy picture, but the pattern is a bright yellow and black on a white background.

This is the pattern I used. I did modify the pattern though. I cut the neckline higher and added plain three quarter sleeves instead of the ruffled sleeve. The first top I made, I did make with the ruffled insert in the neckline. Very nice.

The pattern can be found in this issue of the Bernina Inspiration magazine, Spring 2008. This is by far the easiest pattern I have ever used. Just three pattern pieces, excluding the neckline band, and you are done. I made another 4 (yes 4!) of these tops last night. (Whilst I was supposed to be packing my suitcase, I was sewing!) I have now made 8 tops from this pattern. You know me, if I like a pattern, I make a lot of it!

I did make two of these tops too. I forget now the name of the pattern, but I purchased this pattern online from http://www.sewingpatterns.com/. This one is a plain white top and very comfortable. The back has a high V shape too. I just love the look of using my new twin needles! The tops look store-bought with this finishing.

I also decided to quickly line the crocheted cap I recently made with fleece. This makes the cap so nice and warm, perfect for windy Chicago weather.

Lastly, I quickly lined this crocheted bag I recently made with bright yellow fabric from one of my favorite designer, Me and My Sister Studio.

Here it is, all finished. Done in quite a hurry, so not the greatest job! I love this little bag and hoped to still quickly crochet a purple bag in this style to take with me on the trip, but time ran out.

And that is my last post until I get back from my trip. Hope you all have a great weekend. I am looking forward tio shopping at Jo-ann and Hobby Lobby this weekend!

Sewing Magazine inspiration

I received copies of some of my favorite sewing magazines this week. Nothing like some fresh, new sewing ideas! On the left is the new copy of the quarterly Bernina magazine. An inexpensive magazine that has full-size patterns for a variety of projects from clothing to household items and quite often, handbags. This issue has some lovely winter dresses inside. The one on the cover is my favorite.

Here is another dress inside the magazine. Often patterns featured in this magazine has machine embroidery detail which is not really my taste.

On the right of the first pic is the January 2010 copy of my absolute favorite Burda WOF magazine. I have been waiting excitedly for this issue as there are some stunning winter-white dresses in. Just look at this shirt-dress above. I must find some nice white fabric now.

This dress is first on my list! Isn't this beautiful? It is made with viscose, except the sleeves and insert on the bust is from jersey knit. Of course, I am planning to make the whole dress from jersey knit. I just need to find a thicker, good quality fabric.

My other favorite sewing magazine is the UK published Sew Hip. I have bought every copy since it launched in November 2008 and now subscribe to it. The magazine has a great mix of projects in, from quilts, pillows and clothing to bags, toys and features on new products, books and fabric. This month there is a full-size pattern in for this fabulous dress on the cover.

And this fabulous bag, among many other lovely projects.

I also spent some time selecting fabric for a new bag I want to make. I found this fabulous free bag pattern last night. I don't normally like small handbags, but I love bags made from fat quarters! This bag, the Simple Party Clutch, found here http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=4419 is just so fabulous for a night out or lunch with a girlfriend. It is made with only two fat quarters! The designer is Elizabeth from http://www.ohfransson.com/. I have made some of her designs before and love her patterns. I plan to make a few of these cute bags for family and friends and then maybe I will enlarge the pattern and make a bigger handbag for myself.

Here is a picture of the Simple Party Clutch, from the Sewmamasew website. (Hope they don't mind.) Isn't it cute? The bag has several layers of iron-on interfacing to give it structure. I hope to make at least one this weekend and will share pics next week. Hope you all have a great, crafty weekend!

Getting ready for the weekend...

Last night I started getting things ready for my planned "sewing weekend". I selected fabrics, looked for suitable patterns and then traced off some of the patterns I plan to use from my Burda magazines. Tonight I will start cutting out and maybe even sew a bit. I might even finally use my serger!

The threading on my serger scares me spitless. Since I bought an older second-hand model, I do not have the user manual. Searching on the internet has not been successful either. Must get over this now.

I hope to show some nice creations on Monday. Maybe even a fabric bag or two as well. Lova's bag looks awesome...

Mid-week projects

This has been a lazy crafting week. I did however manage to crochet this little bag with the pretty pink yarn I purchased last weekend. This yarn is really fabulous. It has about three different shades of pink and a little bit of green in it. I saw a picture of a lovely crochet bag and tried to copy it by using a pattern I had, changed my mind halfway through and ended up using design elements from three different patterns! I really like the little pleats at the top. Easier to do than it looks.

I inserted the O-rings at the top, planning to use a pink belt I had, but it just did not look good. I then crocheted a handle and fastened it with buttons. Really cute bag.

The August issue of Burda World of Fashion finally arrived yesterday! This issue has some lovely french designs in that I am dying to try.

I am looking forward to a crafty weekend making more clothes for the Build Your Wardrobe challenge and I want to start a crochet felted bag as well. Hope you have a good weekend!

Sew Simple Inspiration!

I ordered a few magazines from Sewing District in November last year and after a bit of a battle, the magazines finally arrived yesterday! I am so thrilled as there are several projects in the Sew Simple No. 11 magazine that I have been dying to try out.

You mentioned "skirt pattern" and I am right there! This from someone who a year ago, owned one dress and two skirts! Now I own far more skirts than pants. Love these ideas for a skirt with 3 variations on a frill. Funny, this style skirt has been in my mind for a while now, I just have not done it yet.

This is another style I have had in my mind for a while now. It is sort of like an overdress or tunic that you can wear over knit tops. I had a tweed dress like this with lovely buckle detail on the shoulders, but it is MIA. I have some lovely dark grey stable knit fabric that would be perfect for this style dress. I started last night to look at my patterns to see if I can use parts of other patterns to draft a pattern for this dress. I have some lovely plum and pink tweed fabric that I bought for a skirt that would also look good in this style...

This issue also focus on fleece, how to sew with fleece and an owl softie pattern as well as a lovely scarve pattern is provided. I have plenty of fleece in marvelous bright colours that will come in useful soon.

I originally purchased this issue of Sew News because I thought this office set was adorable! I have subscribed to Sew News since then and I find the articles very useful even if there aren't many projects inside.

I went on a book-buying spree recently...Last week I ordered Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing, Betz White's Sewing Green and Wendy Mullin's Sew U Homestretch. It will only arrive next week but all these books had rave reviews all over blogland so I am sure I will enjoy them. Of course this week I ordered a few more books...

Still doing research on how to use my new serger. Time has been a bit limited lately but I hope to start on a small project this weekend.

On another note, I am fast nearing my 100th post on this blog so I have been thinking about a give-away. I have some lovely traditional African fabric in my stash and maybe some local craft magazines to add to that. This will happen in the next week so keep watching!

Favourite Sewing Magazines

Subscribing to sewing magazines from overseas are horrendously expensive so I have to be very selective which ones I buy. Our local bookstores do not stock ANY sewing magazines, but many quilting magazines. So I was over the moon to discover a special in December on a subscription for the US magazine Sew News. I have ordered a few single magazines before and loved the projects in Sew News and the special issues of Sew Simple.

So imagine my delight when my first issue arrives and it features a handbag special! Bag ideas galore. From changing patterns to ideas on interesting handbag hardware to patterns to make bags. It also features a lovely heart pincushion...

It also shows you how to make a cushion, scarve, belt and fabric jewelry. Then there are product reviews, book reviews and loads of articles offering sewing advice and tips. A great read!

My best sewing magazine however is the recently launched UK magazine, Sew Hip! I love the projects and the book reviews are great. I have several projects from these magazines on my to-do-list. The subscription is extremely expensive so I am currently buying single magazines from the Publisher every month.

I would love to get my hands on other sewing magazines such as the UK's Sewingworldmagazine and a few others from the US. It is impossible to purchase single copies of these magazines so I will have to do without. Bummer!