Beautiful bamboo

I have never sewn with it myself, nor owned a garment made from it, but I hear bamboo is a wonderful fabric for clothing, feels great against the skin and is cool to wear in warm climates.

I stumbled across a listing for a store that sells fabrics and goods made from bamboo and while it looked very interesting I understood it was an online only store which was not ideal.

http://www.bamboofabricstore.com.au/

I don't know about you but I am hesitant to purchase fabrics unfamiliar to me without actually feeling them to see how soft, heavy etc. they are. A quick question left on their Facebook page corrected my misconception and affirmed that they did indeed have a store where in-person shopping was welcomed.

The best news? The store is literally a few kilometres from home.

I am looking forward to, once the kids are back at school and I can browse in peace, spending a little time browsing the shelves and taking the opportunity to feel the fabrics and get an understanding of what the choices are and what they are best suited to. I am hoping to find a soft fabric suitable for t-shirts for my youngest and possibly also for myself but who knows what treasures I will find.

The pics are from the store and show some of their hemp fabric, bamboo linen and knits.

It's here

The parcel of sewing goodies I ordered a few weeks back has finally arrived. It took a lot longer than I anticipated for delivery but apparently there was a reason ...

There was a post-Christmas back log that took a while to clear but there was no indication of this on the website. It is a shame they didn't notify customers of this delay before the checkout process and not later when the customer goes searching for answers. Never mind, I have learned my lesson and I won't make that mistake again.

These fabrics are nothing fancy nor expensive but they are perfect for an 8 year old boy who likes comfortable clothing, with drills for the pants and cottons for the shirts.

I have not yet decided on the colour to go with these and make up the third set. I will need to buy more fabric for that set of shorts and shirt, as well as for the three t-shirts to go with these, but I can do that later when little man has decided what colour he wants.

For now I hope to get these fabrics pre-treated today so I can get started in earnest tomorrow. The weather forecasters are not being nice and have forecast an anticipated high of 37c (with a feel of 40c). If it gets that warm we can expect a slight delay!

Just do it ...

I have finally decided that I am going to dust off the sewing machine and join in the SWAP on Stitchers Guild. At this point in time I am aiming for at least one finished 3 piece set and will see where it goes from there, hopefully I will get them all done but if not that'll be ok.

I will be sewing for EJ however I am not deciding now which patterns I will use right now. I have the Topkids magazines and some basic patterns but don't have the fabrics yet (some of them are ordered and on their way) so a final decision will depend on what they feel like when they get here.

The fabrics I intend to use will be mainly drills and cottons as they are the most practical for an 8yo boy. I may do a lightweight linen (or similar) shirt but will need to find suitable fabric.

Keeping fingers crossed I can get this done as it might give me enough confidence to try a swap for myself next time round.

Update: I have taken over the dining table and have made a start. I have cut out the patterns I need for a shirt, a t-shirt and shorts although they will need some adjustments before I begin cutting the fabric as EJ needs a L for his height but only a S-M for his width.

I am stopping now however as the pain in my shoulders is making it impossible to do any more today. It has become apparent that I will need to break down the tasks into manageable chunks or the auto-immune disease will get the better of me and I don't want that to happen.

So that's all for today ...

They are here

The Topkids magazines arrived in the post today and considering they came from WA (the other side of the country) that was quite a surprise.

There are no stunning patterns that have immediately attracted my attention but there are quite a few that have definite possibilities. It looks like we have shorts, shirts, pants and even pyjamas covered for youngest son, which is great, but there are no t-shirt patterns. I might have to resurrect one of my old Knitwit patterns to cover that.

All in all I am happy with the few dollars spent and am now on the lookout for some tracing paper/interfacing so I can get started.

Topkids

Does anyone remember Topkids magazines?

They were an Aussie publication (similar to Burda or Ottobre) for kids and usually had 30 or more patterns per issue.

I had a lot of these magazines when my three older kids were small and made a lot of their clothes from them. Once they grew (and before I had ds#4) I thought I would no longer need them and gave most of them away, very foolish I know. Somewhere I have a few of my favourites stored away but at the moment their exact location is unknown.

Yesterday I was trawling through ebay looking for something else and low and behold I came across a listing for some issues that I never had. $20 later and three magazines are heading in my direction from the other side of the country.

Youngest son is 8 this week and is still in the "I love what you make me" phase so I can't wait to get my hands on these and see what possibilities they hold.

Hopefully they will not only have basic patterns but if I could find something a little unusual as well that would be great. Sometimes the big 4 patterns for boys are just a tad boring!

To SWAP or not to SWAP

        

I would love to participate in this years SWAP over at the Stitchers Guild Forum but I doubt I will have the time with the kids on summer holidays for the rest of the month and me starting back at university shortly after that and having a bit of pre-reading to do.

 

However, should I somehow find the time, I would probably do a swap for EJ who is turning 8 next week and growing like a weed. It would take him through the rest of summer, into autumn (which is still very mild here) and even winter with the addition of another pair of pants and a lightweight hoodie and it would look something like this ...

Set 1 - black shorts, red t-shirt or tank, black & white check s/sleeve shirt
Set 2 - red shorts, white t-shirt or tank, black & white striped s/sleeve shirt
Set 3 - back & white check shorts, black t-shirt or tank, white s/sleeve shirt
Wild card 1 - pair of jeans (probably purchased) or long pants
Wild card 2 - lightweight jacket or l/sleeve shirt

Not sure about the red (he already has a lot) but I could swap that out for almost any other colour and it would still work.

 

 

New intentions

While I was toying with the idea of joining in the swap, even made a preliminary plan, I just don't have the time to do it. The kids are on summer holidays, the house needs decluttering (that is a constant battle) and redecorating, we are fostering a husky (so now we have two) and before too long I will be back to studying for my degree.

There are just not enough hours in the day to do everything. So, while not doing a swap, I have decided there are some sewing related goals I need to set for the coming year. I have lost a little weight with hopefully more to follow and I don't have any TNT's that fit.

My needs are simple as I am a sahm/student with four boys who spends all her time in casual clothing. I have no issue buying crop pants and jeans that fit, thank goodness as I live in them, but tops are another issue. Being a D cup means most tank tops and t-shirts pull and point to where you least want extra attention.

In light of that, this year will be about getting back to the basics and developing some new TNT patterns. I don't need anything fancy just the basics will do fine - a tank or camisole, a shell top, t-shirt, button up shirt and perhaps a lightweight jacket. It might not seem like a big goal to many but for me (in light of time constraints) will be a challenge.

Have you set any sewing related goals this year? If so please share ...