Fabrictastic!

Well it has been some time, 22 days in fact. I took a little unplanned break from the wonderful blog land and have discovered this may be the first of many to come. You see, we are about to embark on the huge task of building a house- owner builder style. It has been 3 years of planning and we are now getting down to the business end of things which requires a big level of commitment on our part. I've decided that rather than drive myself crazy trying to keep up with all the things I love to dabble in, I have to except that there is only one of me and I can only do what I can do! I'll still be creating things along the way and working towards ticking off my Twenty Elevens, only at a more leisurely pace.
There's nothing like a spot of fabric shopping to get you back into the swing of things and that's exactly what I have just done. I was rummaging through a fabric store and to my surprise I stumbled across a roll of this beautiful Black & White Step by Step fabric. I originally purchased this fabric online and could only get hold of 3 fat quarters at the time, imagine my delight when I came to the realisation that I could buy more and at about the quarter of the price. Oh how I love a bargain and how such a little surprise can make my day!

Scrappy Zip Up Pouch

Hallelujah, I have been sewing! For a while now I have been thinking about all the scrap bits of fabric I end up with, after cutting out my cushion creations. I have been saving them up, as they are just too lovely to throw away and I think I have come up with the perfect way to use them....
I messed about with my scraps and created a ruffely pleaty thing. A simple little zip up pouch tut, some plain cotton and felt and Wollah! Yes, looks like I still haven't shaken that thing I have for the delightful colour combo, a little black, white, grey and yolk yellow.

A Cushioning I Go!

Now that I have stopped procrastinating about zipper techniques, my cushion creations are starting to come along nicely. It's amazing how once you clear your mind and get focused, how much easier it is to move forward. My plan is to sew quite a few cushions in a range of fun and quirky fabric combos and test out the waters by trying to sell them at our local market where all things must be handmade. I've finally started to get stuck into some different fabrics which is exciting, I am playing with a mix of materials from linens to heavy textured cottons. I am a sucker for textured things and I'm discovering the beauty of working with different sorts of fabrics, not to mention the joy in seeing the finished product. I've got lot's of sewing to get done over the next couple of weeks as I am planning to gift quite a few cushions during the festive season, here's a peak of one of my latest creations....

Red polka with a splash of nautical on neutral

Practise Makes Perfect

Slowly but surely, with a few frustrating moments and naughty words along the way, I am getting the hang of sewing the perfect cushion cover! 

The first cushion I sewed seemed rather easy (check it out here), but since taking sewing lessons and discovering that a well made cushion should only have one visible seam over the zipper, the bar has been raised and things have gotten a little trickier. I have to say being the fuss pot I am, that I'm not over the moon with my latest cushion creations, I love the quirky fabric and overall look but there is still some room for improvement around the whole zipper seam area. They say practise makes perfect and I intend to keep sewing my little heart out until then....

Red & Pink - sometimes so wrong, this instance so right!

This one's a gift for a friends nursery - yes, she's having a girl.

I'll get this zipper technique mastered one day - hopefully soon!

Bubbly Duck

Thought I'd squeeze in a quick post, before dashing out to dinner for a well overdue catch up with some of our old time friends. I'm very much looking forward to a glass of bubbly after a whirlwind week at work, not to mention the red duck curry with lychees Saam Saii has on their menu. Now don't screw your nose up, I know duck and lychees... but it is really good. By the way, I hadn't intended this blog to be about food but as it has "Feast" in the name and food ranks very highly as one of my loves and this is my blog, I figure why not!

So to my point, yes I have done it again. I have sewed my second cushion and there were definitely a few improvements this time round, particularly when it came to sewing in the zipper. I'm am still struggling a little when it comes to getting the seams in the correct places, to make sure my cushion is the right size for the insert. I figure this comes with practise and what better way to practise than with some help from a pro. I have booked into a local sewing class and my first lesson is next week. Apparently I get to make what ever I want, so I think project number one will be to master a cushion! If there's anyone reading this and your giving some thing new a go, drop me a line, I'd love to know!

Love these little guys - courtesy of Alexander Henry

Pretty happy with this zipper

Charcoals a nice contrast

Big Day Out

My design work has taken over my crafty side the past couple of days, hence the delayed post about my big Saturday out exploring homewares, furniture and fabric stores as well as the magnificent Magnolia Square.

I had my first ever visit to Patchwork on Central Park and it was like visiting a lolly shop, so many colours and patterns to choose from. We also stopped at Preview International Fashion Fabrics and had a chat to Paul who imports a beautiful range, his wools & linens are worth noting. Of course, I couldn't resist my fabric fetish and picked up few new bits for my collection, snaps below.

Magnolia Square. For anyone who hasn't been, all I can say is you must go. If you happen to visit the Melbourne market and the lady is there with her home made lime curd and mini meringues, make sure you stop by for a sample, it's a taste sensation not to be missed! I ended up with a big pile of cards as there were many talented designers and craft makers with great products to buy and inspire.

There were some surprise shops we stumbled across in our tracks and two that particularly took my fancy:
- Image Paperie, a fine paper supplier with some stunning hand made papers from around the world and the service to create hand made lamp shades from your chosen paper, at a reasonable price might I add.
- Fenton & Fenton - a vibrant and modern homewares store with a bohemian edge, ohh there where lots of things I wanted to take home.

And big thank you is in order to my dear friend Mel who so kindly chauffeured us around on our Big Day Out!

Red polka with splash of nautical

I love a little typography

Great texture

Wool with sweet detailed edging - I have some ideas for this!

Great to see a few hand made business cards at Magnolia Square 

Novice Conquers Cushion

First of all I have to say "Thankyou Melbourne for finally turning on some glorious weather", I was beginning to wonder if it was going to be a cold winter forever! This weekend has been busy and full of lots of things I love; a beautiful dinner enjoyed with my husband & friends at my fav Vietnamese restaurant Indochine, a day out with one of my besties exploring some great homewares & fabric shops and visit to a beautiful market. I will post more about my big day out later, but right now I have some very exciting news!

Yes exciting news alright, I have made my very first cushion. I know that to a seasoned sewer this is probably a very simple task, but to a novice like my self this is a serious feat. After one practise run, armed with some of my recently purchased fabric, my sewing machine and with the help of a great tutorial from Mildly Crafty (I could not have done it with out this tutorial), I have created my first ever home made cushion with a zipper. And the zipper is a big deal because until a few weeks ago I didn't even realise you had to use a special zipper foot let alone sew a cushion with a zipper. So it goes without saying that I have taken a couple of snaps to showcase my cushion masterpiece and I am one very happy and inspired sewer!

Light Bulb Moment!

A couple of months ago I was simply a Graphic Designer doing my thing. That was until I had this crazy light bulb moment....

I was reading the Home section of the Saturday Herald Sun and stumbled across a cushion made out of a coffee sack that really caught my eye. It was that moment I realised my fetish or some people may call it obsession with colours and patterns, it dawned on me that I could put my creative skills into action and make some of my own crafty creations to enjoy. (Although I would have to learn to sew, but that's OK because I already have the sewing machine and it's been on my to do list anyway!)
So after many hours googling on my MAC and driving my husband crazy, I have discovered this wonderful world of fabric designers and talented crafty people. I have purchased my first mixed bundle of quirky fabrics from Felix Loves Fabric (pics below), I have bookmarked my cushion tutorials and I am ready to sew.

I figured what better way to document my crafty journey than with my own blog, so here I am giving it a go!

Green Bird Chirp - Robert Kaufman

Black & White Step by Step - Alexander Henry

Red Letter Day - Lizzy House

Blue Retro Rocket Scientist