Sewing and knitting are Just Dandy

Fat Quarterly recently featured the gorgeous Josephine Kimberling fabric line Just Dandy. I fell in love with the prints and how they worked together in Josephine's sample childrens clothes. A sneaky order of half a dozen prints from US based retailer Fabricworm turned up quick as a wink (which made me ask the question - why does it take SO LONG for books from Amazon to get to Australia?!). Next thing I was sewing with these beauties!

For Mia I made another Twirly Girl Skirt using a pdf pattern by Pink Chickadee Patterns. I'd previously made this one for Lily. It's a SUPER easy, super quick and cheap (AUD$6) pattern, sized from 2-12. The elastic waist means each skirt gives years of wear.





I'm going to pretend I'm Nina Proudman in my favourite tv show Offspring while wearing my Classic Vest from the beautifully produced book "Make It Perfect - 21 easy patterns for sewing women's and children's clothes".


Written by Tasmanian mum and pattern designer Toni Coward, I think the book has the clearest instructions I have ever followed. I also love the fabrics she has used in her book. Check out Toni's blog (follow the links to purchase her book) and Flickr group.





Four dear friends and I are currently doing an introductory knitting course at Tangled Yarns, aka Knitters Heaven!!! Surrounded by lush colours and gorgeous inspiration, with hot drinks and cakes on hand, we've been guided by our teacher Derrin to learn the art of knitting including different stitches, how to increase and decrease and all about different wools. The best bit has been the chance to sit and chat! This lovely pic of us is on Tangled Yarns Facebook page:



This cowl is my first creation in beautiful Noro Taiyo yarn, a blend of cotton, silk, nylon and wool. After I tried it on, the colours were telling me it belonged to a dear friend of mine, so it is now with it's rightful owner!