Pattern Tester: Cambie dress.

A while ago I was lucky enough to be selected as a pattern tester for Tasia's Cambie dress. Weeks of rain and cold prevented me taking photos of the finished dress at the time. Then more recently, I had heart surgery to fix a problem with my 'electronics', so that delayed things even further!!!

I'm back on track now and finally have photos of my version of Tasia's wonderful dress pattern up on my new blog Buckingham Road.

So why don't you come on over and join me at Buckingham Road to see the photos of my Cambie dress and to keep up with my latest creations.

Sam xox

Crescent skirt pattern ordered.

That's right everyone! Tasia from Sewaholic has released her second pattern, the Crescent Skirt. This is the second original pattern designed by this clever lady, and it looks promising. The skirt pattern features three different views, piping detail, a innovative zipper insertion method, and pockets! I have already pre-ordered my copy of the pattern and I can't wait for it to arrive. Tasia is running a sew-along, beginning April 18, but seeing how quickly I sewed up the Pendrell Blouse, I have a funny feeling I may have this pattern finished before the sew-along begins!

You might think I am a little silly to be buying a skirt pattern as the southern hemisphere moves towards winter, but you see, our winters in Sydney are often warm enough to wear a skirt like this and tights... maybe only one month of the year is too cold for this.

I hope you're all having a fantastic week! We had a very wet weekend which resulted in some flooding a few hours south of Sydney. My poor vegetable garden was pooling with water - I thought my zucchini plants were going to float away. In an effort to cope with the terrible weather and the fact that I was couped up inside all weekend, I spent Sunday sewing a blouse using a Burda Style pattern. I am looking forward to showing you all some photos :-)

Thanks also for your lovely comments about my grandparents golden wedding anniversary. We celebrated the weekend before last with a big party at my Uncle and Aunty's home. 50 years is a very long time to be married - quite a milestone when you read the divorce rates of today. Nan and Pop are a fantastic couple who compliment each other perfectly. I am super lucky to have them as mine, and even more lucky to be able to be there to celebrate such a special milestone with them. Here are a couple of pics...

~ I even got to wear my newly made dress. ~

~ Cutting the cake ~

When Jamie and I became engaged, Nan gave me a cake knife as a gift, a knife that was given to her as a wedding gift. Jamie and I used that knife to cut our wedding cake. Last weekend, Nan and Pop used that knife to cut their cake... 50 years after the knife was given to them. I hope Jamie and I are able to do the same with that knife in 48 years time...

~ And what was inside that masterpiece you ask? Why chocolate and cream of course. ~

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway to celebrate reaching 100 followers. And following the celebration theme of this post, I have to add that this is my 200th blog post! Woohoo!

Sam xox

Pendrell blouse #2.

My third finished item during our Sewing Triathlon was another Pendrell Blouse. I had already made a Pendrell blouse (View A) in a Liberty cotton so this time I wanted to try a fabric a little trickier! I found this fabric for only $5 per meter at my local fabric store. It is a poly-something and is very lightweight.

Here is my latest Pendrell Blouse - View B.

And the inside...

Sorry there are no photos of the blouse actually on, Jamie is away and I just couldn't manage to get a good one with the camera on 'timer'.

Pluses:

- I was really pleased with how I managed sewing such light weight fabric. I do not usually sew with delicate fabric, so I was pleased with how this turned out.

- I modified the sleeves on this blouse. I only used the larger sleeve for View B and decided not to gather it but sew it on just folded over into the shoulder seam. I think that the ruffle would have been too busy for this fabric.

Minuses:

- I hate man made fibers, so wearing this is super itchy and not good to wear in hot weather.

- As much as I am happy with the end product, I am unsure I will ever actually wear this top. It is too itchy to wear in warm weather, and too sheer for the cold. Shame.

Sam xox

My Pendrell blouse was featured by Tasia.

I'm so excited! The Pendrell blouse I made last week was featured by Tasia on her blog Sewaholic (you can see it here)! It was such a nice surprise to see my photos on her blog. I am so thrilled Tasia likes it :-)

The Pendrell blouse pattern was honestly very easy to sew and fits beautifully. I can't wait to see what the next pattern is that Tasia publishes.

For anyone who has found me via Tasia's blog post, welcome! Feel free to have a look around my blog and if you want to say 'hi'. I'm very excited to meet new sewers/lovers of sewing.

Sam xox