Not a lot going on in the sewing room over the last couple of weeks, just a few things for CWA - made a few emergency pack bags and closed up some breast cushions which had been filled at the last craft day.

The last thing I completed was the International Doll for CWA.  This year's country of study is Iceland, so this is my interpretation of the Icelandic costume known as the Peysuföt,  It was worn by many women as their normal everyday wear during the 18th and 19th century.  Even in the early part of the 20th century it was still being worn by some older women.

At night I've been working on knitting a teddy bear using the small round loom.  I've completed one, and almost done another one, but not completely happy with my pattern so far - all trial and error.  Maybe while I'm away I'll do some more and get one fit for photographing.

I've been preoccupied with getting ready to head off on our "big trip".  Keep watching in a few weeks for details of where we've been and what we've seen.

Next week we leave for Melbourne, have a few days with our daughter and her family - see The Boo again - then head off up through the centre, taking in the Oodnadatta Track and Old Ghan Track to Alice Springs, then north-west towards Broome and down through WA.

HOW DO YOU MAKE PJ's FOR A RHINO??

Because Emmylou got to do sewing, the Dinoboy wanted to sew as well and Bruff needed pyjamas.  But his idea of sewing is telling Grandma what he wants, choosing fabric, buttons etc, watching for a few minutes, then running off to do something else while I finish the job.

A week or so ago he announced "Bruff needs pyjamas".  So that was this weekend's job.  He decided on a blue and white theme.  I settled on making a "doggy coat" style of garment, however he wanted arm holes in it and buttons on the front, so I made two over-sized button hole type openings for the front legs to go through.

It's a very quick construct - one strip of fabric, overlocked (serged in American) all around the edge with two buttons on the front.  All very rough but he's happy with the end result.

SEWING LESSONS

This weekend the grandchildren are having a sleep-over and of course this means sewing for Emmylou (aged 9).  She said she wanted to make a cushion with one side plain and the other side patchwork stripes, so we went up and raided my scraps and this is what we came up with:

First off she drew a grid picture of what she wanted, then I worked out the measurements (10" x 10" finished) and explained how to measure the fabric with seam allowances etc.  She enjoyed this as she loves maths and quickly understood how I arrived at the measurements we needed to cut.

She learned how to use a rotary cutter to cut the strips (with a very nervous Grandma watching little fingers), then joined them up with a 1/4" seam.  After pressing the seams we put some iron-on Pelon on the back to make it easier for her to handle and discussed quilting options.  She decided to go with a decorative stitch down the centre of each stripe using an embroidery cam in the machine.  We trialled several cams to decide which one she liked best and came up with a curly wave pattern.  I started her off on the centre one, then she did all the rest herself, changing colours for the top thread to coordinate with the fabrics.

When the top was finished we cut a square and attached to the back, turned it and filled it with stuffing.  Then she learned slip hemming to close the opening so it all looked lovely and neat.

CWA PROJECT

As Handicraft Officer for my CWA branch, I have selected this as our group project for next year's competition.  The specification is for a quilted wall hanging no bigger than 12" x 16" and must be worked on by at least 4 members of the branch.  I found a pattern of suitable size (12" x 14") called "Oopsie Daisies" in a magazine.

My input has been to source the fabrics, cut them to size, trace out the embroidery pattern and iron on the applique elements.  Now it's ready to pass on to someone else who will do the embroidery. A third person will join up the fabrics to make the top, then pass it on to someone else to do the quilting, put on the back and finishing off.

The outermost border is the yellow print (white daisies & blue butterflies), then a blue border around and between the 2 embroidered panels with brown hanging tabs and back.

I've included blue and yellow butterfly buttons for the hanging tabs because I can't decide which will look best.  Blue matches the butterflies on the yellow daisy fabric, but the yellow looks nice against the brown fabric they will be stitched to.  I think I'll leave that decision to the person doing the finishing off.