Stitch 2 Stitch

Since I started sewing around February last year, I’ve been hearing SO much about this ever sought after issue of Otto 01/08 from almost everyone that I know in the sewing world. It’s a Spring issue and out of the 4 season of patterns that Otto comes out with, I love the summer and spring issues that best because honestly, we don’t really need the sort of winter wear that is worn in Netherlands and all those really cold Europe countries.

Anyway, this issue has been out of print due to totally being sold out for a long time….at least 2 years but it’s been so sought after and I reckon the requests must have been overwhelming that Ottobre finally decided to reprint a limited number of this issue and yours truly grabbed one as soon as I could!!

I actually find the designs in there cute and although some of them are repeats, I don’t really mind it. A lot of them are girls wear which is good and the sizes go up into the teens. Thank goodness there is no specific style to make it look vintage in 10 yrs time! *lol* These are basic designs which I personally think is the evergreen kind.

So this is the prized issue…someone on ebay actually sold this for AU55 I think. So they certainly got their money’s worth and if in the future I feel that I don’t want this anymore, I reckon there will be sewers out there who are willing to pay that much or even more if they really want it!

But for now, it is my precioussssssssssssssss. (ala Gollum)

I think I’ve gone totally insane. ^^

Recently, my fav craft shop CM had a very tempting sale and I REALLY fell for it!! I went absolutely bonkers getting some Euro patterns which the girls in the forum always talk about. The more I talk about the more I think I’m bound for the madhouse sooner than later! *lol* I’ll let the pix speak for themselves.

These are Farbenmix patterns. I reckon they are a German company.

I bought the Isabelle and Lore pattern, both of which are 2 piece combo. Must be the kiasu-ness in me that I wanted to get the most for the price I was paying coz these aren’t exactly cheap BUT the sizes do go up a fair bit so, it’s not too bad.

These are called Mamu Designs and they are German as well.

With these patterns, I also chose something that I could make the most out of. I bought Imke which is basically for me, Sabrina for the girls (and the even have designs for boys in there too) as well as the Ulla which comes in sizes for both women and girls. This I thought was excellent coz I could make matching wear for the girls and I.

Most of these patterns have a variety of variations that you can play with and that’s what I like about it. They can be made to suit the season which is excellent since we in a country which can experience 4 seasons in a day! *lol*

I guess that’s enough showing off for one day. Now if only I had TIME on my side…… >.<

Looks like we’re ready for the pool!

I sewed this in size 80 although technically she can still fit a 76 but somehow, it seemed a little tight for her. Hence, after I’ve washed it I’ll be making this a giveaway on my blog. Stay tuned!

I’m glad I got about 1.5m of this fabric coz I will need to make it a size bigger (86). Just waiting for my clear elastic from CM shop.

I like how this one turned out very much! I’m also glad that it goes up a fair bit in size too. This is a size 98.

My girls in matching swimwear.

TFL!

I hardly sew up a 3 piece suit for the girls but I thought I make an exception this time because I find this fabric to be a really sweet color and definitely not your usual pink for girls. Although their wardrobe hardly has any pink in them, what I see outside is more than enough to make me NOT sew any pink things for them. Of course occasionally I’d sew something up in pink for them coz like it or not, it IS a girl color. *shudder*

Anyway, this 3 piece suit is for KR and I think in general it turned out alright.

The latest pieces to complete the set : A sunhat and Herninna pants.

This is the sweet Alicia dress which I had been dying to make but just couldn’t settle on the fabric unless I saw this one at SL! I just knew it would be the perfect match and I’m really happy with this. Might sew one up for Arianna too.

We had our nuchal scan today which is to help identify the risk of Down Syndrome. Being 32 this year, the chances are 1:382 so that’s above 300 which mean the chances are slim. With the nuchal scan alone, the result is about 80% chance of identifying the risk but with the additional blood test, it is 90%. We did both and should be getting our results on Monday.

But from the scan, doc said that the chance is rather slim which is good news. I am currently 12weeks 5days and these were the scans we got today.

We had lots of profile images but this was by far the best shot.

Then half way through, Pickles suddenly turned and looked at us! It was creepy. *lol*

Seen here looking at us and I felt as if we intruded on its privacy! *lol* It’s like as if its saying, “Hahah, caught you spying on me!!”.

Anyway, its too early to find out the gender just yet so we are waiting for my 19/20 weeks scan which will take place in Malaysia. I just hope I am able to find someone who is more reliable than the doc who took KR’s scan. For such a detailed scan which should have taken at LEAST 20minutes, I imagine my shock when it merely took him 5 minutes and all he told me was, ‘Everything is ok’. I was so pissed at that point but more embarrassed to report back to my doc here in Sydney. So paisey!!

So this time around, I’ll head over to a specialist and hope that they can do a better job. One can buy hope la.

In Sydney, hats are somewhat a must-have in any child’s wardrobe especially during summer as summer can be really cruel. It’s stinking hot and dry too. But even on cooler days, the suns rays can still do damage to bub’s skin hence I thought that it would be a good idea to start practising my sunhat sewing skills.

KR is seen here modeling Arianna’s hat. This is the second hat I put on her and I think she’s had enough of the camera flashing at her. *lol* This hat was sewn to match Arianna’s China Grass Dress.

This is KR’s hat and as this was the first hat I put on her, she was still amused! *lol* I sewed this hat to match her Alicia dress and pants. (to be blogged) Both hats are made from cotton.

While they are quite easy to sew up, I must be doing something not quite right as they aren’t as nice as I expected them to be. I might try out another pattern from Otto…if only I could find the time to search through my ever-growing stash!!! >.<

TFL!

In my attempt to get back on the horse, I’ve begun sewing some flannel PJs for Arianna because of the cold weather. So far I’ve completed 3 pairs and I think it will do for now.

This is just one of them, I have another 2 pairs which I have not photographed yet.

The other garment I was sewing was meant to be for my bestfriend’s baby. She is due on 22/9 which happens to be my birthday! And whaddaya know, yours truly is due 25/10! *lol* We’re about 1 month apart. Rest assured that we did not plan this at all! O, yes….in case I didnt mention this before, we are expecting bub #3 who we’ve nicknamed Nibbles. Yes, here we go….round 3. And hopefully, it’s a boy this time and I can have a reason to stop reproducing!!!

Anyway, I made her this romper form knit but like every other project you make, when it’s for someone, something always goes wrong.

While it looks perfectly fine on the outside, it’s a bloody warzone on the inside and when I told DH about it, he thought it looked fine for someone who didn’t know about sewing.

He is partly right about that as she’s not into sewing at all and would most likely not notice the flaws but for me personally, I couldnt give it to her without feeling guilty and have the conscience hanging over me because the fact that I could have done better. Hence, this will be for Nibbles….after all, girls can wear blue.

TFL…

Yay!!! After finally deliberating about getting a new domain name and trying to settle on something that I can actually live it, I’ve finally settled and bought a new domain.

Say hello to ‘Stitch 2 Stitch’! While Stitch By Stitch is still here, it would be a good idea to update your reader, etc. because it wont be updated there. I am in the midst of getting it to point to this new domain instead.

So if its your first time here at S2S, please come and say ‘Hello’!

A big big thank you to this little lady here for coming up with the tute! I love my Onbuhimu so much that I fee like making another one!!

It took me a long time before I finally started it but I’m so glad I stuck through it all. The hardest bit was cutting up the fabric coz lots of pieces were long and thin. And having no space wide/big enough, I was doing Twister moves on the floor cutting out the pieces! I can honestly tell you that I moved muscles I never knew I had doing this. lol But once the pieces were done, it was just a matter of piecing them together.

Note to self : get the jeans needle so that I dont need to fear that the needle might break. There were many bits that are a little bit thick to sew through but I think it came out alright.

Arianna is 32mths and sits quite snuggly here. I’m sure I can carry her for long periods of time without feeling tired and even with the bump later on, I think it would not be a problem at all.

Seen here carrying KR who is 11 months now – note that bub should be tied closer so you know from this that she should be closer to my back and not be able to lean back this much. (See top pix)

I used drill that I bought off eBay from my fav seller. It does the job perfectly and I got my rings from slingrings.com. It’s simple to sew and so worth it! Why spend hundreds when you can sew your own?