Liffey Falls and UFO's

No...not the flying saucer kind but big piles of unfinished sewing objects cluttering up my sewing room! My big goal is to clear the clutter this year and I started with my sewing room....it looked like a bomb hit for a day or two but now it's vey zen, ordered and peaceful :P BUT it's left me with a pile of UFO's that I really must finished (or else the girls won't fit them anymore!)

Here's a couple I finished this week...

Ottobre 1/2008 "Garden Blouse" made from a super soft textured cotton woven with the sweetest strawberry print. I tried to find another blouse to sew for church and this one was just too cute. It has little pin tucks and the collar has a bias binding around the neckline which gives it a special touch I think. I lengthened the top (I find this is the case with almost all the Otto tops) and made it short sleeved. I did lengthen the pin tucks about an inch or so and somehow messed up on the front pieces and had to add an extra strip to be folded over as the facing. It was supposed to be just a folded over facing but I must have cut it wrong? All up though it was easy to sew and looks real sweet on.

The skirt is a "Hertta" from Ottobre 1/2009. Well, actually it started out as that and then I added an extra tier and left off the pockets and the shortened the top tier and did do a seperate waistband. Hmmm....so it was inspired by the Hertta but looks nothing like it. I had some vintage braid in browns and greens that was just the right length and then topped it off with some white cotton lace at the hem.

Second UFO is something that has been lurking in my sewing bag for months, since last winter actually. Good thing I cut the next size up out! I gave up on it firstly because I cut of the pieces wrong and then didn't have enough fabric to cut another and had to get some from Sydney....then I just couldn't figure the sleeves out. It's the reversible jacket from Ottobre 4/2007. Made from baby cord and cotton print inside. Only the body is padded as I didn't want the sleeves to be to bulky. I also left of the frills on the hood and front facings because it's for the older girls. The pockets didn't work out at first until I just started over and did it my way. Same kind of look though. Again it doesn't have buttons yet but I'm thinking wooden toggles might look smart. What do you think?

Lastly here a few pics of our adventures at Liffey Falls on the weekend. The girls adored finding the hidey holes along the way and it was such a beautiful day to be in amongst such giant and majestic trees. It was *ahem* a bit more a challenge than I remembered but then again I'm rather unfit. Poor baby had just about had enough by the end we were glad to get back to the top. What a magical place we live in though, I'm looking forward to exploring our fun little island when the girls are a bit older and tolerate longer car rides :P

Ottobre 6/2009 "Sunday Blouse"

I was rather spoilt last year with a combined birthday and Christmas present of a new sewing machine (Brother Innovis 600) and I've been saving this pattern to be my first big project on it. The fabric was a steal at $2 a metre and is lovely and soft with a gorgeous raised weave. It's always impossible to find smart looking tops for the girls to wear to church and when I saw this one in my latest Ottobre I was thrilled! I dragged the girls out of bed tonight once I'd almost finished it to try it on.....they weren't asleep yet :P Becky was quite taken with it and decided it looked like a grown up girls top :) It was a fairly easy pattern to sew too, the collar is the hardest bit but I had done the same style on an Ottobre jacket recently so it just took a bit of remembering and going slow. The gathered sleeves were a little fiddly too but they look so sweet sewn up. New Sunday blouse for $1 and 1 1/2 hrs of my time, bargain! Just have to find the perfect buttons now......

 

Do you like my hair?

The older two disappeared with the hair ties box and Becky appeared a few minutes later sporting a rather stylish hair do. Hannah always seems to have had enough of the game when it comes to her turn to have her hair done though....convenient :P

Holidaying with the folks

We've spent a lovely week enjoying a visit from my parents and younger brother who came all the way from the big island above us to spend Christmas together. Our girls were thrilled to have them come and we've had a great time doing the tourist thing. The weather was gorgeous so we decided to brave the beach......the waters not quite warm enough for swimming though :P

We also found the most magical place to pick our own strawberries and raspberries....I've never seen such enormous strawberries and the smell, oh boy! Everytime the breeze blew you would get a gorgeous strawberry scent floating past, yum!! Thanks for coming to visit Grandma and Grandpa and bringing our fun uncle and brother too! It was such a treat to have you...miss you lots already!

(Hope you took those real estate brochures to read on the boat!)