Bradley's Life Lesson Number 4

A good man always knows that when your girlfriend picks you out a special outfit to wear...

...you just smile and go along with it.

(even if you're not 100% convinced)

A Weekend's Work

(if you can call it work when it's this much fun)

It's been pretty busy here in the lead-up to Christmas.

Amongst all the cooking and cleaning (mostly done by Paul), playing (mostly done by Bradley), and eating and drinking (mostly done by me), we've also been trying to finish off a few more custom orders in time for Christmas.

This weekend, it was a set of clothes for the lovely Zav.

I loved having the opportunity to work with crisp white linen and cotton (unfortunately a no-no in our house, where clothes get dirty just by us breathing on them!).  So beautiful and fresh for summer.

Of course, the bright colours didn't get forgotten.

And as always, lots of fun little details using buttons and trims..

How lucky am I, having the opportunity to spend my days creating like this?!

Bicycle Tyre Chic

Apparently it's quite fashion forward.

Pimp My Pillowcase

When I first got into sewing, I used to be oh-so-cautious about the fabric I used.

I'd carefully choose just enough for the particular project I was working on, and save any left-over for pockets, applique etc.  Most fabric came from chain-stores, and I would also search through op shops to find interesting old pillow cases and sheets and tablecloths to turn into lovely one-of-a-kind creations.

Designer fabric was just there to dream of.

Then one day, I was feeling a bit wild and crazy and I bought some really 'good' fabric.

And I discovered that fabric, like anything, can become an addiction.

Now, paying a little more to buy high quality fabric is not necessarily a bad thing. A lot of work goes into sewing your own clothes, and when you're selling them, you want them to be nice to wear, and you want them to last.

But there's also nothing like the joy that comes from turning a much loved but long-discarded piece of material into a beautiful new outfit.  It's creative, it's frugal, and the result is something you're not going to see on every second person walking down the street.

So thanks to this lovely Mama for recently providing me with an old pillow case to turn into a skirt for her daughter - and in doing so, reminding me of the beauty in vintage creations.

I hope you enjoy your new skirt as much as I've enjoyed making it for you x

My Creative (Learning) Space...

In My Creative Space this week, there is machinery.

New machinery.

New machinery with industrial type attachments and big long manuals.

So I've got a bit of learning ahead of me.

Aren't they pretty though?

For more creative spaces, head on over to Kootoyoo.

Sew Sew Sew

It was a busy weekend in the Henhouse.

I made this shirt for the winner of my giveaway..

And these pants for a lovely Mama friend of mine...

And some easy comfy pants for a sweet little girl...

And some tank tops and another spotty Bjarne as part of an order for a gorgeous little boy...

The reason for this sudden burst of productivity?  Well, let's just say that we've been doing a little rearranging, and I now have a huge studio to work in, as well as a couple of very lovely new machines.  I promise, there'll be photos very shortly. I just need to clean up a little bit after the weekend's sewing binge!