Sewing. Motherhood. Domestic Engineering.

Got my first sewing machine for Christmas from my Mum and Dad. Super excited about it because I've always enjoyed sewing since high school home-ec classes and doing a little bit of costume making at home, and have a few things to do that require a sewing machine. Elna Elina 21 has got all the basic stitches and settings that I'll need and comes with a zipper and button foot. Had a flick through the menu with Bede and did a practice of all the stitches to see what they looked like and also to test the tension. Very please with the machine and I'm about to start a proper project on it, Free Frilly Apron Pattern , which can be followed from this link . Got extra bobbins that fit this machine from Ebay . They were super cheap ($6.80 for 25) and came in a bobbin case which was great. And you can get the same ones in rainbow colours which was really cool.

Total cost of project materials: $00.00 - Pattern $19.09 - Fabrics $02.68 - Thread $02.99 - Buttons $24.76 - TOTAL Very reasonable cost, I did get a little bit extra of one of the materials and the buttons aren't required but this project can still be made cheaper by using offcuts of material from home or discounted fabrics (some of mine were - stock take sale) and there are slightly cheaper threads available but Mum, who is a veteran sewer, recommended and swears by Gütermann.

Found these awesome text symbols that I wanted to share with everyone. This is a snap shot of just a few of the main ones but there is heaps more on the website. While on the website, F Symbols , all you need to do is copy the symbol you want and paste it where you need it. Tip: copy all the ones you would ever use into a word document and save it on your desktop to access frequently :)

I found a link to this free Spotlight project, Frilly Apron , through Tipnut (along with 39 other free apron patterns) and have subsequently found heaps of free projects on the Spotlight website . Since I got a new sewing machine for Christmas I wanted to do a project that was going to test a few skills and give me something that I can use so this apron seems appropriate.  Seeing as I am just starting this project I will do a series of post and have links at the top and bottom and then if I have time I'll turn them into a singular post. The first thing to note about this project is that the pattern isn't a 'pattern' in the traditional sense as it doesn't have print outs with the shapes to cut, you have to measure the shapes yourself but  not to worry they are all simple squares and rectangles. It also provides you with exactly how much material to get to minimise wastage. The suggested materials are from a range called Fly Away but I just picked all my ...

Him and Her is a British sitcom that follows the lives of Steve and Becky in Steve's dirty little flat. Him and Her has just finished airing their third series with a Christmas special on 23rd December 2012. The main characters (above, from right to left) are Dan, Shelly, Steve, Becky, Laura and Paul. Dan is the always in your flat, rather annoying, and VERY weird neighbour. Shelly is Laura's best friend and the object of Dan's affections, very quite, slightly naive, questionably dressed but always very lovely. Steve, the main character, lives in the flat, loves a free beer and is a bit of a tight ass but never the less probably the most normal of the lot. Becky much like Steve doesn't mind a beer nor a bit of mess and is pretty laid back about most things. Laura is without a doubt the biggest bitch ever and thinks that her unborn child likes the bubbles from champagne. Paul is pretty useless, completely controlled by his fiance Laura and is secretly gay. We onl...

I've been a Robbie Williams fan since I was a young teenager. What I like most about him is that he sings almost every genre and does them all really well. His latest CD, Take the Crown, is no exception to Robbie's incredible musical talent. I give this CD 5/5! Don't give 5/5 to many things but this CD is really catchy and easy to follow. I'm also a fan of the video clips too. Definitely worth buying and I look forward to some more Robbie in the future. Screen capture of the video clip "Candy"

At a work Christmas party one of my lovely friends made gingerbread reindeer. As I was eating one I made the revelation that they are in fact gingerbread men but turned upside down and iced to look like reindeers. I thought this was truly amazing and clever so did some googling on the 'gingerbread man conversion' and found these creative characters on Sydney Christmas Bucket List . The best conversions I have seen - each reindeer has a different expression (see left) on his face and the icing quality (skill) is very high. I had a go at making some a few days ago, the first few were hit and miss but after a few tweaks started to get better quality products. Will definitely try again next year but until then I will just look at these cute little fellas :) Happy gingerbreading :D