posted on April 12, 2012, at 1:16 pm  You Sew Girl! Large Tote 01 The first time I used my YSG! Large Tote 01 was at our regular family lunch at my sister-in-law’s. One of my darling nieces couldn’t stop admiring it, and I just love her so much that I said, “Great, it’s yours! Just let me go home and empty it out, and I’ll give it to you next time I see you.” It was so worth it, just to see her face light up that way. She was just so crazy in love with it, I reckoned it should belong to her. She told me later on how everyone at work admired it, and how proudly she said to them, “My Aunty Helene made it.” Ach! So worth it. I adore her.
Anyway, so now I don’t have a nice-sized bag to haul all my stuff in, and what with my trip to Israel coming up at the end of May, and my new iPad and all, I really do need to make myself another one.
Every few days, I stand in front of my fabric cupboard and ponder. What fabric should I use for this bag? Then I take out some possible contenders, play with them a little. And then put them back in the cupboard. Nup. Not it yet. Hmm. Look online some more for inspiration. You know the routine, right?
Anyway, I finally today settled on my fabrics. I wanted something darkish. Something that wouldn’t show the dirt so much as I lug it around the globe. I’d crossed out the gorgeous Ink & Spindle fabric
 ink & spindle – acacia I’d bought (expressly for this project), mainly because I think it’s too gorgeous and has too many light-coloured areas, and I thought it might come back a bit shabby, and I’d never forgive myself. A two-week period is much to short a bag-life for such gorgeous fabric.
 kristen doran – winter nest Similarly, I dismissed the beautiful panel I’d bought from Kristen Doran. Again, expressly for this purpose. Again, too precious, and too light.
But I do really like this fabric. It fulfils all my criteria. It’s dark, so it won’t show the dirt so much. It’s cost-effective (compared to the organic pieces above). It’ll look really great, and I don’t have to spend more money on getting extra fabric to match for the main part of the bag, and the lining and all.
I do have a couple of decisions to make still. Like, which fabric will I use for the main part of the bag, and which for the panel on the flap? And which of the lighter fabrics will I use for which part of the lining, and pockets? Still, I reckon that’ll sort itself out pretty quickly. It might be as simple as which fabric I have enough of.
 beautiful, stylish, and very multi-purpose, David Walker’s Curious Nature fabrics I also have to decide on what features I want to include. So far, here’s my list:
- front flap in a contrast fabric
- key finder tab
- metal bag feet – I need to find them still, anyone have a source in Melbourne?
- adjustable strap for either across-body or shoulder wearage (is that even a word?)
- magnetic closure for the flap, possible with a mock belt buckle on top
- large zippered pocket on one side of the lining
- open divided pockets on the other side of the lining
- pocket on the front of the bag, under the flap, for easy access for my mobile phone
- zippered pocket on the outside back of the bag, just for extra things like my passport and tickets
OK, that’s about it for now I think. Should be good as a travel bag, don’t you think? Hopefully I can even fit a spare pair of undies and other essentials in there somewhere, just in case my plane gets delayed, or my luggage disappears for a bit.
So, what do you think? Sound good? Have I forgotten anything? Or mis-thought something? Would love to hear your thoughts.
posted on April 2, 2012, at 6:56 pm Well, he gave me an iPad for my birthday! Moshe was more excited about giving it to me than I was to receive it. And I was very excited to receive it! He got me one with the lot – 64gb, 4G ready, all juiced up, as he said. And see the little speakers and a neat attachment thingy that’s for getting my photos off my camera and onto my iPad? They’re from Gita. I was so spoilt this year.
 Gee, look who's on the screen! Yay! It's Austin! Took me all of 4.32 secs to load him up! The very next morning, we went out and bought one of those brilliant Apple concertina covers. After much deliberation and many trips up and down the escalators at Chadstone, I picked the red leather version. A portion of the proceeds from every red cover purchase goes to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa. So, done. It’s perfect. Slim, multi-functional (also serves to clean the screen beautifully), and well… it’s red.
However, it doesn’t cover the back, only the front screen. Hmmm. A problem. But no, not really, right? Here’s how I handled that issue…
 The front - it's that gorgeous piece of Ink & Spindle fabric I bought last year |
 Recognize the lining? That's right, it's from my Japanese Fans quilt! I love it! |
 And there's my iPad peeking out! It fits nicely even with the red Apple cover on, although I tend to leave it off when I pack it away |
 I was so annoyed that I didn't have a nice thickish roll of round elastic in my drawer, until I remembered that set of hair elastics I didn't like much! bingo! |
 And here's the back. How gorgeous is that fabric! You should feel it, so soft to the touch. Perfect! |
I padded it all out with beautiful bamboo batting, which gave it a really nice loftiness, without being too thick or bubbly. If you want to see more of the outer fabric, here’s a link. It’s Lara Cameron’s stunning Leuca in Red Orange & Stone. |
 I love the slimline design, fits easily and unobtrusively into my handbag. You wouldn't know it was there! Now, what did I give Moshe for his birthday? I’m glad you asked. You know we share our birthday, yes? Both on the same day, three years apart? Well, I managed to finish the top of the quilt I’m making for him. He liked it. I think. I think he was way more into how excited I was about my new iPad than he was into his quilt. I don’t have any good photos yet to show you of Moshe’s quilt, but I will soon.
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posted on March 14, 2012, at 4:02 pm No, it’s not a typo. It’s what my dressmaking life is about. I just keep collecting fabric, and finding patterns for them, or vice versa, but how many actual garments have I made in the last year? That would be a resounding… two. You thought I was going to say “none” didn’t you! But remember my little Liberty blouse? And then I made a pair of pants? I even made a basic block back in November last year. And since then??? Nothing. Nada. Rien. Gornisht. Nothing!
Wondered why at all? Well, possibly not. I’m sure you have other things going on in your life than thinking about why I’m not making clothes for myself. So that was a silly question of course.
However… Let me show you what my sewing table looks like today:
 a bit ridiculous, right? Hmmm. Can you see how many of the piles having clothing patterns on top of them? That would be… seven. And if you count the piles that have more than one garment planned for that pattern, there are in total ten projects piled up there. I’ll go through them for you…
First up, there are the two dresses I’m going to make for my upcoming trip to Israel. I figure they’ll be cool, and light, and will provide coverage when I’ll need it.
 the Navy and Pink Dress and the Rakuen Dress Next, there are the two tunics I want to make.
 the Loulouthi Tunic and the Plumbego (picked up this fabric for free) Tunic Now, there’s the Tamotsu Mitsi Blouse I’m going to make in this divine Liberty print:
 spectacular colour, isn't it? Next, there’s the beautiful things I want to make with the Parson Gray Curious Nature fabrics I bought from Hawthorne Threads:
 the Darkwater Skirt  a pretty Ocean Scarf, and a tunic from the Starcomb fabric, but not the one in this picture Then, there are the gorgeous Ink & Spindle fabrics for these garments…
 Ginkgo Skirt  and the Sencha Wrens Blouse Quite a few things. So what’s holding me up? What am I waiting, waiting, waiting for??? I’m waiting for my weight to drop before I even think of cutting into any of these magnificent fabrics!
 O. M. G. Am I crazy? I don’t know. Maybe. I just think about all the work that goes into making something, and I think about the fabrics that have won my heart, and when I consider thinking about how it all will look on me, I just can’t confront it, and I decide to wait so more, and I go hard at my diet that day, and possibly into the next day as well. And then, by the third day, it’s all over, and I’m back in the doldrums.
so, so, SO frustrating! And I know, it’s completely self-inflicted. It’s not that I’m uninformed, not knowledgeable, ignorant. I know what to do. I just don’t do it. And I blame things like being too tired, or too hot, or the 2-3 glasses of wine I had with dinner that made me throw all caution to the wind and order that dessert, or I blame my peri-menopausal hormones. I’m doing a fine job of maintaining my weight, so that’s good to know for later on. But I’m determined to get on top of this ridiculous, unhealthy, and frankly, embarrassing problem. Thought if I went public, it might help. So I’m cutting out the sugar, cutting out the wheat, keeping to the smaller meals. You know, a palm-sized helping of protein, 2 of salads and/or veggies, only 1/2 palm of rice or muesli, etc etc etc. And I’ll stick to the 1200 calories that My Fitness Pal (iPhone app) tells me I can eat. I’ll do the things I know to do, in order to get the results I want to get. I really do want to wear those lovelies!
Think I’ll go cut the fabric for the quilt I’m making for Moshe. The fabric arrived last week, and it’s absolutely delightful. It has such a soft hand, and it’s masculine without being boring. I think it’ll be a really beautiful quilt. Hope he’ll like it.
 divine, aren't they? well done, David Butler!!
posted on February 20, 2012, at 10:40 am I’ve been up since 4am. Couldn’t sleep. Not that I wasn’t tired. Just couldn’t get my head to chill out, and my brain to stop thinking about, among other things, these amazing fabrics, and what I’m going to make with them.
 Parson Gray | Curious Nature - Mineral The first time I laid eyes on these – when was that, last August? – I fell hard in love. I knew it would be the answer to all my what-fabric-can-I-use-to-make-a-quilt-for-Moshe conundrum. And now that they’re in the shops, I can finally get me some!
 Parson Gray | Curious Nature - Ocean It’ll also be the perfect solution to the problem of finding the right fabric for a couple of shirts I want to make for my darling. And it’s absolutely PERFECT for a couple of other amazing projects that are now inhabiting my workroom table project list.
These beautiful fabrics are the brainchild of David Butler – yeah, you know. He’s Amy’s husband. And now, he’s a major source of inspiration for me. If you haven’t seen the range yet, you JUST HAVE TO take a look at it. Curious Nature by Parson Gray is David’s magnificent, male-perfect fabric line. Ha! But not just for the guys! I’m making a few things for myself, too! I have to say though, I feel just a teensy bit guilty that I just want to copy everything on the Facebook site exactly, know what I mean? Do you think it is a little … er, what would you call that, … maybe uncool on my part? But hey, don’t they say that imitation the greatest form of flattery? Well, that’s fine by me. I just can’t get these designs out of my head.
So, with the gracious permission of David Butler himself to use his images, here are the things I just can’t wait to make…
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Here’s Amy Butler’s pattern that I’ve wanted to make now for a couple of years. It looks amazing in David Butler’s Curious Nature fabrics, doesn’t it!
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I don’t currently have a pattern for a tunic like this. however, I reckon I have a couple of patterns I could adapt.As for the scarf, it’s gorgeous. I’ll make that from 2 yards of fabric. I don’t know. I just can’t stop looking at these pictures! I’m really besotted with the fabrics! |
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| This is such a great bag! It’ll fit Moshe’s laptop when he’s travelling, as well as his reading glasses, his sunglasses, his iPhone, his keys, and any kind of other paraphernalia that normally ends up residing in my handbag. |
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| And last but certainly not least, here’s David’s amazing quilt pattern which you can download if you like, for free, from the Free Spirit Fabric website. Perfect for Moshe, no? The right colours, the right tones, and drop-dead gorgeous fabric! |
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