Duo of dotty dresses

This morning I finished a pair of dresses for my nieces - their mum informed me that they like to dress the same, so here's hoping!  Anyway girls, I hope that you like them.  My boys chose the spotty material for you and the schoolboy loves the feel of the ribbon.

The Threadbare Trouser Project

I have a handbag that I love - just the right size (well nearly, if it were a smidge bigger I could get an A5 notepad into it and that'd be great), right number of pockets, the strap goes diagonally over my shoulder so it doesn't fall off and I can use both my hands - I have vowed to keep it forever.  The problem is that my 'made in china' bag wasn't made to be kept forever.  The lining has fallen apart, and doesn't seem to be fixable - oh the tragedy!

Strangely enough the answer came in a work expo and a pair of threadbare trousers...

At the expo I was given a bag of handouts.  The handouts were so-so (most went straight in the recycling), and the bag's handle was annoyingly short, but the design was bliss!  One pattern piece, cut it out twice, sew it together, and you a nifty handbag that you could resize a little and use for the beach / a nappy bag.  Make it out of a pair of suit trousers and you have the makings of the world's best bag - slightly bigger than my old bag, button up pockets inside for things you need to keep safe, a zipper across the top, and even a separate pocket to keep the mobile/car keys within easy reach.

I added the dragonflies along the way (the material has a red line through it), CR didn't make them that way as standard!

I was so impressed by the way the bag worked out that I made one for the female relative I have in this year's Kris Kringle (here's hoping she likes it).  I've finished it, and am very happy with the finished product!  (I've another pair of threadbare pants now though, so the project may make a reappearance).

First cab off the rank

The first item to bear the 'Fred & Cissy' tag was a mug-rug for my son's teacher.  Our prep class have watched caterpillars hatch, grow, form a chrysalis and finally transform into Orchard Butterflies.  I think that the teacher's been at least as excited by the process as the kids, particularly with the first butterfly coming out of its chrysalis on Friday, so I thought that a 'very hungry caterpillar' would make a suitable end of year present - I hope you enjoy it Mrs K, and don't forget it's machine washable!

Fred & Cissy

Fred and Cissy (actually Alfred & Gertrude) were my dad's maternal grandparents.  To the best of my knowledge they died before I was born, but I have the letters that Fred wrote to his sweetheart on the boat across from England in 1912-13.  He came to Australia ahead of her to find work and get settled before she made the trip and then they were married.  Dad also has a poem that his grandfather wrote (or appropriated) for their golden wedding anniversary so many years later and he was evidently as smitten then as he was on the boat across.  Since I inherited the letters from my Grandma I've been fascinated with them, charmed by their love for one another and aware of the sense of humour they must have had (one of the few photos dad has of them has Cissy and another lady on either side of Fred.  They're holding flowers and he's holding a vegetable (cabbage I think - need to dig the photo out) with a grin on his face!

Anyway, I decided that I'd label some of my craft stuff, and I've decided to honour them in the process.  I hope that if you receive anything with a Fred & Cissy label it'll give you a smile to match Fred's in that photo!