Alexandria Peg Trousers

I've looked at the Alexandria Peg Trousers pattern several times in the past and each time I have dismissed them as something that was never going to look good on me, but after a disastrous day trying to make Burda 6770 I took another look at them. 

I don't even have a picture of the Burda pants to show you, I got rid of them after trying to make them wearable - they were huge and taking them in wasn't working, it really wasn't worth altering the pattern when there are so many loose fitting pants patterns around.

So I figured the Alexandria Peg trousers couldn't be any worse on me. I bought, printed, cut and sewed them in a few hours and they are pretty near perfect. I was between 2 sizes so I cut the smaller one. The only alteration was shortening the pattern about 2.5" before I cut them out. I used some rayon I bought at Spotlight. I am quite impressed with the selection of rayon there at the moment, I must get some more.

I love the pockets and pleats and everything fit together perfectly. I am wearing them now and they are so comfortable, they are going to be great in summer with t-shirts and they are perfect now with low cut boots and longer tops and cardis.

If you are looking for elastic waist pants I highly recommend this pattern. 

Sew Gentle Era

There is so much to love about living in Bridgetown. It is a lovely town surrounded by hills, forest and a river. It is not a big town, but there are great shops with everything you need, excellent coffee and my favourite thing - a quilt and sewing shop! 

Sew Gentle Era is on the main street and is owned by the lovely Anne. It doesn't only have nice fabrics, but seems to have everything else I need including threads, elastic, buttons, zips, glue for EPP and even clover binding clips. It is rare that I can't find what I need in there.

They also stock my favourite pre-cut - jelly rolls and have copies of my book Strip Savvy.

There's even a nice selection of yarn.

Olive loves coming too as there is a little kids table and some toys to keep her busy.
There aren't many towns in WA that still have a quilt or craft shop so I feel very lucky that Bridgetown does. If you are anywhere in the area it is well worth a visit to Sew Gentle Era and to all the other great little shops in town.

Chillax Pants and another Kwik Sew 3801

Most days it's still very much winter here, but we have had a few glimpses of spring so I thought I would start on some warm weather clothes for the girls. First up is a pair of Chillax pants from Tadah patterns. These were nice and easy to sew and they had great instructions, but I think these were just a little too puffy for Milly so these might go to someone else and I might use the Happy Pants pattern from Peach Patterns for the next pair I make. 

I have worn and worn my Kwik Sew 3801 top I made a few weeks ago so when I spotted this wool/rayon mix in Textile Traders I grabbed some for another one. This fabric is a little stretchier and thinner than the one I used for the last one and it is quite large. I made a medium and I could have gone down a size and it would still be pretty big. It is extremely comfortable. I'm not sure how many tops like this I need, but I won't rule out making another one.

Jutland Pants

And now for something I never thought I would be doing, sewing with nylon. Chris is a big fan of quick dry hiking style pants so a while ago I searched for suitable fabric and discovered taslan at fabric.com. It was fairly inexpensive so I bought a few yards. Next I had to find a pattern, I went with the Jutland Pants from Thread Theory.

As the fabric wasn't expensive I didn't bother with a muslin. He was kind of between 2 sizes so I went for the bigger one knowing I could add a bit of elastic in the sides of the waistband like his RTW ones (which I did do in the end as they were too big).

I added the hem and knee reinforcement pieces and the cargo pockets.  Taslan does not keep the crease when you press it so it was a little tricky to get straight edges and perfect corners. I was surprised how easy this was to sew though and I quite enjoyed making these.

The instructions for these were great, there was enough detail, diagrams when needed and some great tips. After sewing these and the Finlayson Sweater I wouldn't hesitate to pick another of their patterns to sew. 

Thanks to Soozs who pointed me in the direction of Rockywoods who have an amazing range of outdoor fabrics.

Eva's Quilt

Designed by Eva using Ornabo blocks.

Sewn by me using Alison Glass Handcrafted and my favourite ever background fabric - Sketch from Timeless Treasures.

I used Circle Savvy Creative Grids ruler to cut the quarter circle blocks. This is a great ruler which cuts many sizes of full, half and quarter circles.

Yes I pin my curves, I've tried doing it without, but it always ends in disaster.

Little piles ready to sew.

I'm looking forward to see what she designs next.

New Look 6301 #2

I love the New Look 6301 I made in April so I made another one. This time I made the straight skirt version which I think I prefer. The fabric is from Textile Traders from their last 40% off sale, the girls thought it would be perfect for me as it matches my hair.

After struggling with my overlocker for this last year I bought a new one a few weeks ago and sewing knits is so much easier and enjoyable. I'll try and get a review of it done soon.

I said this last time, but I will say it again, this is a great pattern and I highly recommend it!

Gillian Wrap Dress.

I love my Jenna Cardi I made earlier this year so it was inevitable that I was going to make the Gillian wrap dress. I had some fabric ready to cut out the dress, but decided I really needed something different to my usual t-shirts to wear with jeans so I decided to make a top. I used some nice soft stretch fabric I bought recently from Textile Traders. 

I read the instructions before I started and the instructions for the band made absolutely no sense, I re-read them and then read every review I could and they basically said 'don't think too much, just follow the instructions'. This is definitely the best advice and it is a really clever way of making the hole for the tie to go through.

I love this top, I love the yokes at the front and back (and how the gathers mean I didn't have to do a fba), the ties are the perfect length, the wrap sits nicely and it fits perfectly. I'm sure I'll be making a dress soon.

Days for Girls

I first heard about Days for Girls from Cath and immediately wondered how I could get involved. It is such a brilliant idea. So when the local Community Centre decided to take it on as a long term project I was in. 

Some wonderful people got it all organised and got donations of supplies and a few weeks ago we spent 3 mornings sewing and we managed to make quite a few kits.

Such a simple idea that can make such a difference. 

Steam Punk Quilt Top

I've finished my Steam Punk quilt top!

I have really enjoyed every part of making this quilt. The templates from Amitie were easy to use and the curves were easy to machine sew. I even enjoyed hand appliquéing the circles. 

 It took me a while to choose a sashing and I eventually went with this black and white cross fabric. I thought about cutting the fabric so the crosses were exactly in the middle of each sashing piece for about two seconds and decided that I didn't have the patience so the crosses are a little higgledy piggledy.

In the perfect world I would hand quilt it, but I know that will never get done so I just have to decide how to machine quilt it.