Fabulous frocks!

I have a serious penchant for the 1950's. I seriously see myself, in the near future, wearing fifties-style dresses a good 3 - 4 days of the week.

So in that style, last weekend I finished this frock to wear to the Adelaide Cup Races. It was so much fun dressing up.... although a couple of blokes with a few drinks under their belts commented I looked a bit like royalty. They're just not used to seeing girls dressed nicely and not showing every inch of skin possible! All I can say is that young girls (18 - mid 20's) really don't have much of a clue as to how to dress nicely at the races. It's all about showing everything to the world and not leaving much to the imagination.

Anyhoo I digress. Sorry about the blurry shot - when I handed the camera over to Mr Silly Gilly, I had left it on a crazy setting! At least the bottom half of the dress and my shoes are in focus!

It's a bit hard to see in this photo but there are lovely big box pleats in the skirt and some gorgeous neckline details too.

Happy New Year!!

♥♥Happy New Year to all my lovely Silly Gilly blog readers!!♥♥

This xmas/new year holidays the Silly Gilly family has spent many a day attending numerous birthday parties, enjoying delicious bbqs and having nanna naps. It's been divine. Totally relaxing. And I've had the wonderful opportunity to sew just because. Not for Silly Gilly (even though I'm itching to get back into that sort of sewing) but gift sewing and family sewing.

Here's a headscarf I created this week for a 6th birthday gift. I got my poppet to model it for the archives before we gifted it to our friend. The pattern was adapted from Sandi Henderson's Ruffled Head Scarf pattern from her book Sewing Bits & Pieces. I love that book! So many quick projects to enjoy! And her blog, Portabellopixie, is such a fun read.

And to prove that it's always a bit silly at the Silly Gilly house.....

Projects on the go

Silly Gilly is on a Xmas break for a couple of weeks. All of a sudden I have all this time to sew for my daughter and I!!

The first two of the fabrics for my daughter's Tea Party Skirt have arrived! Just love this pattern by Pink Fig.

I was lucky enough recently to score over a continuous metre of Flea Market Fancy tile print. So I am teaming it with another FMF floral print and am now on the hunt for a suitable coordinate spot/stripe for the pleats/handle/lining. I hear Hettie's Patch have a sale on starting Wednesday so I might pop there child-free and hunt for the right fabric.

Around The Block 2

I have spent a lovely bit of time lately sewing some blocks for Around The Block 2, a block swap I signed up for this year. Here's a few that I have finished this week.

We Have A Winner!

I recently announced the opening of my new online fabric store Sew Vintage. To celebrate I offered free fabric to anyone who commented on which was their favourite print from the store.

We held an official draw here at Silly Gilly with our gorgeous game show girl in her new chefs hat (more on that later).

Congratulations Diana, please email me with your snail mail address and I will pop some Transit fabric in the mail for you!!

As for the dashing chef hat my game show girl is sporting above, this week I received an order to make 6 chef hats and aprons for a local business. It was super fun making these and poppet got one too when I did the test run of the new pattern. Here's the hats waiting to be delivered today.

More fabric arriving from the US today. Lots of new retro children's prints to be popped in the store tonight! How exciting!

Around the Block 2 - Jewelled Squares

I have completed my first block for Around the Block 2. It is a block of blocks called Jewelled squares and boy they were fun to do!

This block is for Helen. She sent me all the fabrics and I had the fun of pairing them to make pleasing little blocks to put together. So much fun! Looking forward to sharing with you the blocks of mine that I recieve from the other members of the swap.

Ticking things off the list...

A loooong time ago I attended a craft weekend away and began a project created by Melly & Me. It was a bag featuring some stitchery. I'm not a big stitchery nut so the gorgeous project kept being popped back into the WIP basket. This weekend I was determined to finish it. I think it might be a new knitting project bag!

Next in my radar might be some darning and mending items that may very well be outgrown by my daughter if I don't tackle them now.

And a secret squirrel project of my very own is in the works. I can say that it involves a new website for me!! More to come when it's all set up. I can see lots of late nights ahead working hard into the wee hours!

The Silly Gilly version of Kyoko

Last year at Inspired Stitches, I dreamt up a plan to make my daughter a new dress. Only now 11 months later has that dress finally been completed! Just in time for the Kindy Art Show this evening.

The pattern I used is Kyoko - Modkid by Patty Young. The pattern includes another version for a short sleeved top. I made the size 6 for my very tall 4 year old and it is a smidge too big for her. The design is roomy to begin with but never mind, I don't mind clothes that are too big. It just means that you can get more wear out of them! Poppet loves the new dress. I can see it teamed with leggings or jeans for cooler weather too. I love the japanese theme to this dress. It even has an obi that you tie around their waist to bring in the fullness of the dress! So cute!!

Fabrics used are 70's Rainbow Garden by Prints Charming (floral with white background), Andalucia Tiny Dots by Michael Miller (white with tiny polka dots) and Good Folks AH21 - Cathedral Peony by Anna Maria Horner for Free Spirit Fabrics (2 tone pink).

Do you have this pattern? Butterick 4875 Vintage

I'm crazily thinking I can fit in making a new dress for New Years Eve this year. Yep. Four days away. So I get practical and decide to use a pattern I already have. Found a lovely vintage one in the stash. Um and ah about it but be practical. Use something you already have. Butterick 4875.

Open the packet up and DANG! Only the second sheet of instructions are there and of course I'm making the first view, View A!! All the instructions I have instruct you to refer to the instructions for View A. Which I don't have. Dang.

If you have this pattern, regardless of the size, would you be so kind as to contact me? In the next day or so? I would be more than happy to pay you handsomely or send you something handmade for a scanned copy of page 1 and 2 of the instructions!!

Where did the week go?

I've been busy immersed in life and loss and love this last week. Managed to fit craft in amongst the lot too.

Skirt made with Bali fabric finished, albeit not ironed, but loved completely by the poppet.

Dress made for poppet's baby, who is enjoying a renewed sense of life this week as poppet has reached the age of playing mummy with her baby. Until now baby has been an on again, off again toy but now she is a permanent fixture by poppet's side. I used a pattern from a book titled Dolls Clothes and was able to finish it in an hour. The fabric is a lovely 40's repro from Spotlight teamed with thrifted ric-rac and bias trim. There are now requests for nappies, nighties, handbags.... baby is going to be better dressed than me!

Spritz biscuits made for spur of the moment Sunday afternoon nibbling. I loved just a few too many.... I made them using my vintage Sawa 2000 cookie press and it's amazing how quickly you can press out a tray full of festive fancies!

In love with my first ever finished crochet project. I started on this project whilst over in Sydney recuperating from my first egg pick up as part of my egg donor process. I'm really super happy with the result and would highly recommend the pattern as an achievable pattern for a beginner crocheter. Although next time I'll match the thread used for stitching the frame to the lining fabric!

Loss of a one in four chance this week as my egg recipient discovered this month is not their month. Dang. My question this week, at a time when the focus is on giving, receiving and consumerism.... is why couldn't one opportunity for a gal like me who wanted to give a gift to a lovely couple like them work? I just wanted to give a gift and have it be successful. Hopefully I have given them a gift of hope. Hope that there is a backup plan, called Gillian, and that if they want to go again, I'm their gal. Hope that there are people out there who are willing to do something completely for the only reason that it would change another person's world. Maybe next time....

Skirts Ahoy!

A couple of months ago I spied what I think to be one of my most loveliest op shops finds of the year. A beautiful 1950's or 1960's little girl's dress in near perfect condition. No fading, no rips or marks. A beautiful crisp cotton dress hand made by some loving mother or grandmother over 50 years ago. I thought it might be too big but trying it on this weekend, we found that this gorgeous dress fits perfectly. It's going to be the special Xmas day dress and to give it that authentic 1950's look, we've popped the poppet's mummy-made tutu underneath for that full skirted appeal. I think the dress looks much better foofed out like that and the little girls skirts were made to wear with a petticoat in those days.

Now that my markets are finished for the year, I'm on a mission to make the poppet some skirts and dresses as she's growing faster than a beanstalk! I picked up some coordinating apple and worm fabrics from Spotlight and whipped up this number Friday night with the help of this tutorial. Such an easy pattern and completed in 2 hours. Never mind the poppet's sullen look... she was cracking up laughing two seconds later! I also whipped up another skirt in lovely fabric from Bali and once it's ironed, I'll snap some photos.

Saturday morning found me finishing the Xmas gift shopping and I spied these little beauties going out at clearance for $1.50 each!! They are destined for a little crochet coin purse in rainbow stripes. I'm taking them with me to Sydney next week so hopefully I will have some progress to show when I'm back.

It's been so lovely to set aside the Silly Gilly sewing this weekend and work on some projects for us. Even though I love sewing for Silly Gilly, there's a different feel you get when sewing and crafting for yourself isn't there!?

Sunny Saturday

How about this for a spring fancy kind of skirt? Made with inspiration from Lara and a tutorial by Moda Bake Shop, this skirt has been one of the most quick, easy and satisfying projects I've done in a while. I've used a pack of charm squares called Snippets by American Jane for Moda and teamed it with a lovely clear blue polka dot from Spotlight. Like Lara, I'm so happy there's very little pink in this skirt. I love pink myself but my poppet looks so lovely in blues and yellows, it's a challenge to get her to wear more of it.

And if you had a smell-o-rama computer screen, you would be able to smell the divine wafts of garlic, rosemary and lamb roast that is slow cooking right now in the oven. I'm following a Jamie Oliver recipe for Incredible Roasted Shoulder of Lamb. To accompany it, some roast veggies and for afters.... banana caramel pie. I thought it looked so good, cooling on the bench in the afternoon light, that I had to share. It will be slathered with cream later... yum.

Baking of all sorts

I'm a self confessed bake-a-holic. I love baking. I also love eating the baked goods a little too much but that's another blog post.

Here's a few cakes I've done recently, both for my husband's work colleagues and for a neighbour's 8 year old son. The snake cake was a joint collaboration with my crafty friend Kate.

Vanilla triple layer cake with strawberry cake middle layer. Layered inside with cream cheese icing and strawberry jam. Covered with cream cheese icing and strawberries.

Chocolate cake with chocolate marbled icing, covered with chocolate ganache and toasted slivered almonds.

I've also been delving into the Moda Bake Shop, thanks to a link by Thornberry. Lara made her daughter the most gorgeous skirt which I promptly decided that I would make a very similar copy for my daughter. It's all but finished, just waiting for the little poppet to wake up so I can measure the elastic for the waist. Here's a sneak peek, from late last night.

Can I keep her mum?? Pleeeease?

Another vintage sewing machine followed me home this week. I think this is starting to get out of hand...

I give them loving homes. I care for them, I dust and protect them, I use them so they feel they have a purpose in life. What else could one do for a lonely, neglected vintage sewing machine??

Here is the new addition to the vintage sewing machine family. A Singer model 190. But the bizarre thing is that I can't find any reference to that model Singer anywhere on the net! Can anyone help me out here? Do you own a Singer 190 or know someone who does? She didn't come with any instruction manuals or attachments, what you see is what you get. She is a zig zag machine. That's all I know. She works and looks pretty. Bonus.

I have also finished a lap top cover for a good friend who has waited very patiently for her order to be filled. Customer choice of fabrics and I must say I love the combo of fabrics. The colours go so well together! This bag is much like my library bags but with a zipper. I sourced this gorgeous fabric from the ever gorgeous and helpful Sarah at Quilt Fabric Delights. Outer fabric is Garden Party by Free Spirit and the lining is Kokka Animal Faces Pink Red Blue on Cream.

I'm in love with Ottobre

I've recently discovered the joys of sewing with Ottobre patterns, thanks to a Brown Owl crafty pal who brought along her copies for us to enjoy. I was swayed by the pretty pictures and groovy patterns for children's clothing... so I bought my first copy - Autumn 2009.

As my little poppet is rapidly becoming one very fast growing bean pole, I chose to make these pants a little larger so they might fit her for longer than a month. They are the Tulip Corduroy Pants - quite quick to sew but with such lovely little details. The pin tucks on the back pockets, the adjustable waistband inside, the slightly gathered faced front pockets. I've used vintage floral pillowcase material for the inside pocket flaps and inside waistband... but alas the kidlet got too wriggly for photos of that. To just get these photos I had to bribe with a choc chip cookie!

Not the easiest of patterns as the instructions are a little on the brief side. I wouldn't recommend these patterns for beginner sewers but if you know your way around a sewing machine and have made other dressmaking patterns before, you'll be right.

Treading lightly

I have this idea in my head and I have some deliciously soft leather scraps.

Baby shoes. Buttery soft, easy to slip on and off baby shoes.

I am trying to make them myself without referring to a pattern. Good one Gillian!! Lots of trials in the works in both cotton and leather. I've not sewn with leather before and it's an interesting material with which to work. It stretches, it's not forgiving in the unpicking department and you can even iron it!!

Back to the sketch pad with this one as I just can't ease in the fullness around the front. And I think I will cover that elastic with a casing... perhaps bias binding?? But golly it's fun working with something so tiny!

Calling for 3 test sewers....

I am in the final throes of writing the pattern up for The Gingerbread House. I understand my written instructions but will other crafty peeps???

So if you are able to sew one of these little houses up and give me feedback on how well you understood my instructions by Wednesday 29th July, then let me know in the comments below. I will be sending out kits to three sewers.

If you get lost in the woods....

you had better hope you come across this little house.

Made from gingerbread, lollipops, cupcakes and candy flowers, this little house should provide more than enough sustenance until your rescuers arrive!

Featuring a little roof which can be easily removed by young fingers, this little gingerbread house is for imaginative play, carrying precious treasures or even storing secret messages!

I am over the moon that my secret project is now finished. Thanks go to Mr Silly Gilly for some initial ideas and Ms Ric-Rac for your help along the way.

So what do you think? Is this something you could see yourself making? Do you think your kidlets would play with it?

Edited to add: Okay so perhaps this is my roundabout way of saying..... here is a new design I have created that I am thinking of releasing as a pattern. What do you think? Should I go ahead and write it up???

Stop Me Now!!!

I am in one of those flit-between-a-million-projects kinds of moods this week so I thought I might share with you some of what's on my list. In the process, maybe I might manage to focus myself onto something for more than an hour!

Appliqued panels for new library/tote bags.

An Enid Gilchrist winter dressing gown pattern all ready for winter when Adelaide decides it's not summer any more.

A 1977 smock-style top already cut and ready to sew in the lovely snuggly floral cord that you see in the background. I'm making the version that is in green on the envelope.

More flower brooches coming together using some of my friend Heidi's delicious hand dyed wool felt.


And more things on the boil too... knitting my poppet a castle bag and accompanying princess, dragon, king, jester, queen finger puppets.... more stock for the market in two weeks.... machine quilting my poppet's quilt that my MIL very generously basted for me as I couldn't bear to think about it.... repairing Magoo/Sour Cream after a rather unfortunate swing-around-the-room-by-the-monkey-arm incident.... 50+ wet bags.... little handmade gifts for poppet's cousin....
I think I'll stop the list there, even though there's more to add. It's likely I'll self-combust if I keep listing it all!

I was very fortunate last week to win a beautiful handcrafted ring from Chocolate and Steel. Here it is on my hand model. Me. Ever tried to take a photo with your left hand whilst holding out your right? It's a tricky thing. And I never realised how 'liney' my hands are! I like them though, they look nothing like that on a day to day basis... got to love macro. Just don't use it on your hands! Thankyou Christine... your work is amazing and the ring fits perfectly!

Now off to try to ignore the housework just a smidge longer so that I might get a little more done of my list!