Queensland Flood Appeal Auction

Im holding an auction for the Queensland Flood Appeal and I thought what better thing to offer up than my first ladies wrap dress.  Im new to this auction thing but dont want to hold back just because I dont know what to do. Yet. Some people are starting on Monday morning but im ready to go so...

 Its starts now!

The dress is a size ten but as usual with my clothing it is a roomy fit so could fit 10-12.

Plus keep in mind its an adjustable wrap style.

The length goes to just below the knee on average height.

I think this would suit most ages too.



So that I didnt miss anything out ive just copied this from Toni's page over at Make It Perfect.

How this auction works:


1. Bidding will start at $20 (Australian).

2. You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address. Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.

3. Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.

4. This auction is open to everyone, however $25 will be charged for International addresses. Postage is FREE for Australian residents.

5. The auction begins NOW and will END at 9am on Monday 24th January 2011.

6. At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address). The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email. Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your dress to you.

7. Thankyou for participating and happy bidding! !

I hope I havent left out any details but welcome any questions you might have

 regarding the dress or the auction.



number two wrap dress

Well, now im just showing off.

I just love these so much I cant help myself.

I wish id done them last year when you all suggested it.

Im going to learn to listen more attentively.

The first order I took for these was at the market and the lady said not to place the doiley on the hip so ive put it lower down the leg and sliced it so you have a line not something round.

I listened to her and im glad because she knew what she was talking about.

A nice leafy trim on this one.

Really hoping these are as flattering on as I see in my minds eye. Ive tried so hard to tweak the pattern to suit a lot of shapes.

Well soon see once I get some feedback.

Ive already recieved another order via facebook so here goes some more sewing.

My studio is looking crazyfied.

the first ladies wrap

This is the VERY FIRST ladies wrap dress and im so excited for..... well, for me.

I couldnt picture how the fine gingham, in pink of all colours, was going to look and whether I was going to feel like it was 'me' and worthy of putting in The Textured Leaf shop or not.

Well... I LOVE IT!

Ive used the more graphic shaped doileys so they arent too twee. And while were on the subject of english things, the black and white gingham one im finishing next looks so classicly English and I just so happen to love that one too.

No, a circular doiley wouldnt have looked as stylised I think.

The brown coffeeish edging 'dirties' up the pink nicely. I actually asked my sons opinion on edging and we both agreed this one. Ive never asked him before but after our fantastic short making morning the other week hes a bit more interested in what im doing in my studio these days.

I love slicing into the doileys so theyll sew into the seam as I can cut out any holes that may hinder me from using them for other kidswear designs.

Im off to finish the black and white now!

Have you ever heard me so excited before?

Im almost bouncy.

the after

A couple of weeks ago I did a 'before' post on Mali's room as mum and I were shifting her into her new big girls bed to make room for the new baby. It was wise to do this way before she noticed any other changes taking place so as not to have too many at once.

Zjahlii cleaned while I did other things,

like watching Mali playing

and messing up the room in general

We managed to set up the bed but it took all day as we got it for free and the slats were missing,

so we had to cut more. Dad had the tools at work so we had to wait. Here is Mali's quilt in its new home.

The toy box was a roadside find too! This is as far as we got on the day.

Id love to surprise Zjah soon with new curtains made from vintage tablecloths (dont worry she doesnt read my blog so wont find out).

Not much of an 'after' yet, but nice for me to look back on and see the progress.

I know well get more done next visit.

Ill post some wrap dresses this afternoon as im still sewing.

Back to the machine...

its finished

This morning ive finished the custom order quilt for Jo. If I knew how close I was to finishing it I would have kept going last night. Yesterday the quilting seemed to go on forever, but when I got up and started again this morning all of a sudden it was done within the space of ten minutes! So ive sewn the binding on and here we are staring at the finished item. Im going to find it hard to say goodbye and

I hadnt given it a name because I knew id be parting with it. But now I think ill simply call it Jo's quilt.

Ive been across to Narioka this morning and have seen that Julie has done the true version of a postage stamp quilt so im a bit lost as to what these type of quilts are called again?

Im going to have to find out, or does anyone know?

The squares are 12 x 12 cm in the raw.

I like the fact that there is no blacks or browns like there is in mine. It has a much prettier palette.

As I was sewing I wanted to capture as much of the process of this one as I could plus I discovered while I was stitching along that there are so many fabrics that ive used for dresses and clothes from

Little Tree Kids. So I guess this is a true Little Tree Kids quilt which is a nice thought.

There are a couple of random patches I found in my stash,

splices of vibrant green silk alongside oriental toile that had to be widened with craft print

to meet the size square I needed,

blue bemsilk leading into the fabric I used the other day to make my summer tunic,

followed with pumpkiny orange bemsilk and some Little Tree Kids summer range fabrics all in the mix!

Im sad to see the end of this quilt so theres only one thing to do isnt there?

I must distract myself with another one.

Yes, thats what ill do.

Right after ive made those wrap dresses youve all been waiting to see.

I may even have something to show you before the end of today. Stay tuned.

today im

Today im at the kitchen table working on the custom order quilt. I hope to finish it by tonight but to be truthful

 im really tired already.

Ive had a big weekend after a decent week of sewing and pattern making.

We went out on the boat fishing on the weekend and im really sunburnt to top it all off.

My girlfriend Concetta made her own dress for the wedding too.

We discussed the pro's and con's of last minute sewing. She told me that she had been getting her husband to chew off the threads sticking out of the seams on her straps that had been annoying her all day,

 and that she couldnt because of her lipstick.

She was still trying to pick them off during the speeches in which

I was very embarrassed to have a mention because I had worked on the beading of the brides dress.

This was the existing embellishment with a few more droplets and pearls

to even it up as a lot had fallen off.

It was a vintage dress bought at an op-shop but it suited the bride so well she just had to have it.

 

Dont forget to click the side button to enter my giveaway as its still running.

I think I should set the date for the end of January.

I think I can manage to come up with something by then.

a friday wedding

Im off to a friday wedding in the first of many wrap dresses. I finished the patterns for these late yesterday and decided to make myself one for the wedding today as a sample.

Im happy with how it fits.

little tree kids summer showcase

I was going to compile a list today of sorts, sorry Kate with the lists again, to link to my sewing endeavours for the year. As a kind of re-cap and a 'sort out' but it was too hard so I ended up in Picasa doing a couple of these collages. Poor trade off, I know.
I dont know about anyone else but I find Picasa album negotiation really complex. And you dont get a grid up unless you narrow down to 9. If there is another way to do it, well... I dont know it yet.

I was quickly blog surfing yesterday and saw a creative calendar somewhere. That may be the way to go  this year for me. You colour in the squares on the days you make something and its a nice, colourful art piece at the end of the year. Plus, soooo visually easy to spot when you do your thing on a weekly basis.

 I dont remember where I was, dont you hate that?, but if you see one could you let me know.

Is this the first time youve read about these or have you heard of these before?

summer clothes for me

(I tried to capture them 'on'. Good shot of the kitchen bench colour though.)

Im supposed to be out of the house by now, but I couldnt resist quickly posting these summer clothes ive made this morning for me. They are just for around the house, but since I spent yesterday in Mr TL's pyjamas I thought it was time.

A smock from a voile print and

 

some pyjama pants from a broderie anglaise polka dot.

Is anyone else out there sewing yet?

I happen to know this creative guru has got her mojo on for the new year.

I want to make one of her amazing quilts!

weekend

On New Years Day I shared a market stall at Red Hill with Eleesa from DorothyBills.

It looked scrumptious and to quote Eleesa, 'Juicy!'

The Mr came too and was in full support mode again, bringing me a piping hot cup of chai as soon as the  coffee vendors were up and running. Thanks honey!

He also surprised me with a bunch of my favourite coloured rosebuds. Nice!

I fixed my tree that had broken. I had help from some lovely friends who happen to be freshly back from living in amsterdam and they had nothing better to do but to hang with me for the afternoon and help me pack the van and do last minute things, so I was able to hang my baby slippers from it on the day.

Thanks Berlinda and Coen, you guys are ace. They visited us on the day too and brought an entourage of supporters with them. It was a buzzy day.

Well, I have some news...

These wrap dresses in sizes 7 and 8 are new in the shop.

I adore the effect the coffee coloured laces have on the darker backgrounds.

And so did quite a few other ladies. This is what ill be making this week. Yep. Ladies wrap dresses!

Ill try to do about ten so no-one misses out.

My funny/odd story from this lesson is that when I went to look at another stallholders kids clothes I felt what you all have been trying to tell me about my offerings. I wanted them in my size too!

I have orders for six at the moment so there'll hopefully be a few left over....

This market was my Best. Ever. Im still coming to terms with the finer details. I have almost sold out of eskimo jackets (theres only one left), so that has spurred me

 on to make another lot soon. I can only manage to complete five at a time and prefer to do just one size, as they are a 22 step process and have 17 pieces to them.

I still need to do the patterns for most sizings so bear with me if you are waiting on one.

Yes,

 they will be in ladies sizes too!