Please Sir, I want some more....

I've put a lot of work into something, using this fabric... and I need a teensy bit more of it. It's MAMBO by Wyndham fabrics, which is a few years old.

Anyone have any idea where I might find some?

Mother's Day Special

In Australia, Mother's Day is the second Sunday in May. We wanted to get this offer out to you in time for you to make something special for your mother. If you're in another country and it's not nearly Mother's Day, we won't hold that against you if you want to take advantage of the offer.

We're offering a FREE FRAME with every one of the following kits - that means you get TWO frames with every kit and that means savings of up to $12.40.

The Barrel Purse is a cute little purse that you can hold in the palm of your hand.... but is surprisingly roomy. You will receive a FREE 90mm frame with every Barrel Purse Kit purchase.

The simple square purse frame kits are a great place to start if you've never made a framed purse before.... and with two frames to play with, you've nothing to lose if one of them is a "learning" experience.

The 75mm, 90mm, 150mm and 200mm purses are all included in this offer - an extra frame thrown in for nix.


A handmade case for glasses or sunglasses is a great gift.... and each Spec Case Kit will include a free 75mm frame. You can make one for yourself as well!

The 200mm Chunky purse makes a great clutch purse or a roomy make-up purse. With your spare 200mm Chunky frame you can make one for each purpose!!

The Poppet is a very cute little wristlet or make-up purse, and is the perfect "next step" for anyone who has already tried the basic square framed purse styles. It fits the 150mm frame and you'll get an extra one free with every kit.

And the Puff purse is super-sweet. You'll receive a free 100mm curved antique brass frame with every kit.

If you were thinking of trying something new, making a gift or sharing the sewing love with your mother....or WHATEVER the reason.... you have just over a week to take us up on the offer.

We'll be closed over the Easter break this weekend (Friday until Monday) so we're giving you a few extra days to get in on the deal. We'll be closing the offer next Thursday (8th April) at 5pm.

If you already have enough kits but are looking for some cheap frames*, we're discontinuing the Black Nickel Square purse frames. They're on sale at 30% off until cleared.

*The black nickel frames look lovely, but there may be minor flaws on the plating (although most of them are fine). They make excellent OFM ("only for me") practise purses.

How to spot a 40-something blogger

Beyond caring what strangers might think (and always thinking of the next blog post), they can be seen in crowded boarding gate lounges at airports, trying to capture the dishevelled state of an outfit that looked reasonably elegant at the beginning of the day. (Note to self: wear more georgette and less linen).

Just to record the moment, they will occasionally photograph worn out shoes and swollen, blistered feet. It tells a story, ya know?

Poetry in a Kodak Easyshare moment.... (see? I even put in a link... I must be a blogger).

Then there's the photo of the bag that tells a lot about the difference in the climate between Melbourne and Sydney. (Yes, the Beach Bag can hold an overcoat, and can be carried around on a hot humid day in another city... a hilly city... in heels).

So anyway.... that's 40-something blog-talk for saying that I had a Day Of Very Important Meetings all over Sydney early this year. Contracts are now signed by all parties, so I guess the worst-kept-secret in blogland is no longer a secret.

So... I'd better get back to work.

A welcome surprise!

The business of bag hardware supplies is a tricky business, indeed. Sometimes you can search for a product for years and be told that it can't be done ...and then one day, when you least expect it (read: when you've ordered something completely different) it arrives, and is LOVELY. That day was yesterday.

We now have 38mm square edged rings in antique brass, and they're in the shop. (The light was terribly for photos today so we have to make do with this pic til the sun shines again).

We're wondering what happened to our order for 32mm antique brass flat rings, but we're really not too cross that it was botched.

My Creative Space

Is all smoke and mirrors....

Or.... all about straddling a tripod while trying to sew delicate things and photograph them in super-macro. (Luckily I'm used to sewing around a wriggling child, so the tripod was more managable than it looks).

A bit of my creative space followed me out into the real world today. Look what I wore all the way down the street, to the Post Office and to a few shops on Sydney Rd..... only noticing it when I was nearly back to the studio.

I mean, I love my Dear Fii wrist pincushion.... but I'm not sure it was the appropriate accessory for the khaki and black art-bitch ensemble I was wearing today.

What I SHOULD have taken down the street was a swatch of fabric to help me choose a colour for the 51cm zip I needed. This was what I bought.

For a sneaky peek into other creative spaces, trip on over to Kirsty's.

Collaborative Works

Art and design are family pastimes in our house. The wee girl can't escape being involved.

Above left - The man of the house's portrait of the wee artist as a 2-year-old (with handprints by the 2-year-old artist).

Above right - an Ikea lamp and a string balloon (that the wee one made last November) hastily put together yesterday in a collaborative mother-daughter (ahem) interior design exercise.

The initial plan for the string balloon was to turn it into a bowl for Xmas decorations, sweets or something. But it turned out that we were NOT allowed to cut it up, so we've had a "decoration" kicking about the house since then. For some reason, she agreed to the lamp idea yesterday.

...

Her new lamp isn't exactly pretty, but at least we're no longer tripping over the "decoration" on the loungeroom floor.

Another new toy

Lots of testing of settings. Quite a lot of seeing just how close I can go with SUPER-MACRO.......

I can pretty-much rest the camera lens on whatever it is that I'm photographing.

The man of the house seems to think I've gone a bit silly with buying gadgetry lately, but there's actually method in my rampant consumerism. It's all about the big worst-kept-secret-in-blogland sewing project, and the new camera is making things SOOOOO much better.

...

If you're one of the eight people in the world not privvy to the worst-kept-secret project, I'll show you what I'm up to soon.... or just ask someone else.

Flickr Friday

Frame clutch
Originally uploaded by ruby-jo

I love this version of the Chunky purse frame purse.

Really, truly love it.

Really truly wish I'd thought of the bow detail myself.

You can read about this one on the Ruby-Jo blog.

I'm so inspired by the wonderful things people do with my simple patterns, and really appreciate you sharing your photos on my Flickr group. Check out the other folks in the pool here.

...and have a lovely weekend.

Awl... or nothing at awl...

I've had that song in my head all evening.

Anyone who's been to a class with me in the last year or so would know what a HUGE fan I am of this little tool. It really is the BEST thing for holding down tricky bits of fabric (strap ends, binding etc) while you're working close to the sewing machine needle.

You may have seen it in various tutorials I've posted on this blog.... here, here and here. It's great for poking holes in things, too.

And my flat Australian tongue has problems differentiating between AWL and ALL....

Anyway - we now have them in the shop. For $2.40 you can have the sharp, pointy finger you always wanted. Or perhaps you didn't know that you needed one...? Believe me, you do.

For $2.40 you can't really go wrong. Throw one in the shopping basket with your next order and you, too, may be singing like Mr Sinatra.

PS. Have you ever noticed that we Aussies are a bit mixed up with our W's and R's ? We don't say them where they should be - AWL , CAR etc, but say them where they DON'T exist - DRAWRING, SAWRING, "vodkar and tonic". It was pointed out to me once and now I can't stop noticing it....

My Creative Space

Is like a slasher movie for fabrics and interfacings. You never know which one is going to get the chop next. (Neither do I).

I'm in a bit of a cutting frenzy... which is my version of "think music". As I plan and cut each design, I'm mapping out the weeks ahead, processing thoughts and feelings and generally letting my brain freewheel for a while.

I'm looking forward to having a good look through these beautiful books that arrived today.... and then having a bit of a sewing frenzy.

Kirsty's hosting My Creative Space over at her blog. Pop over and see who else is sharing a slice of their world.

You were warned...

I told you I"d be waxing-lyrical, didn't I? (Think yourself lucky you're not one of those poor ear-bashed folks in my studio...). The way I'm banging on about all it can do, anyone would think that I'd never had a new sewing machine before.

The truth is, this is the first EVER brand-new machine I've owned, and my first electronic sewing machine. I'm a bit gadget-struck and excited.

But mostly, I'm glad I went the extra expense to get the Aurora 440 for a number of reasons, and mostly it's not for the 180-odd pre-programmed stitches.

#1 reason was the motor.... Ah, the motor. Of course, there's a fancy name for the type of motor (that I've forgotten) but I just listened to it and felt it pull any thickness of fabric through with ease. Anyone could tell you that I'm not usually a huge fan of domestic machines, but this one handles like an industrial (if slower, as domestic machines are by nature). It has serious oomph - and the difference between the Aurora 440 and smaller machines means a lot when you're sewing lots of bulky, awkward shapes.

#2 The machine bed has LOTS more room. Managing bulky bags around a smaller machine can be difficult but this one is nice and roomy.

#3 Automatic needle-up and needle-down... but wait... with a foot-controlled option to change its position when you need to. If it's set for needle-up and you need to pivot on a seam, you just kick back on the foot pedal and the needle goes down. Or vise-versa. LOVING that one. Combined with the knee-lift on the presser-foot, it means you don't have to take your hands off your work.

#4 The knee lift, the walking foot, the BSR (stitch regulator) unit and lots of dinky gadgets in a cute little wardrobe box came standard with the machine (they're extra with other models).

#5 Automatic buttonhole, automatic buttonhole, automatic buttonhole..... I'm in love.

#6 Three types of automatic back-tack or lockstitch. Again - loving that I don't have to take my hands off my work and I can vary the backtack according to the work I'm doing.

#7 Automatic blind hemming with a special blind-hemming foot. With all my other mechanical machines, I've never been able to do the perfect blind hem. This one takes all the guesswork out of it. No more hand-sewn hems for me. (I can spend telly-evenings making more hair ties).

#8 A sliding seam guide that travels the width of the machine bed. Topstitching heaven, and not a Post-it note in sight.

#9 Ok - I admit it - I love pressing those buttons.

#10 Loving that the wee girl is loving it, too. I spent most of the Saturday before last with her on my lap at the machine. She had the style-card with all the stitches, chose the design she wanted to see and then pressed the appropriate buttons (it's educational too!). After several hours of calico embellishment, she brought out every t-shirt she owned and we embellished the hems. It's another step in the right direction for my plans to completely indoctrinate the poor unsuspecting child....

Edited to add:
#11 ELEVEN needle positions at the touch of a button. Being able to shift the needle position is one of my favourite features on my old Berninas, and here it is with more positions and a whizzy button control. It means you can use the presser foot as a seam, edgestitch or topstitching guide and sew exactly where you want to - adjusting by degrees if necessary.


The wee girl proudly took her calico to Show & Tell at kinder and told the class that she "sewed it on Mummy's fancy-schmantzy sewing machine". Amused the teachers no end.

Nothing to be afraid of, folks...

It's just a bit of bias binding.

It's useful stuff for making false hems (especially on heavy fabrics and curved hemlines)....


...doing cute details on twirly skirts for small girls.... or big girls, for that matter. (My usual model had better things to do today. This one is equally headless but a little more compliant).


Bias binding is excellent for binding seams on tricky shaped bags and purses (which means that you can fully line the tricky shaped bag or purse). It's a design feature, to boot.

And you can make quick bibs, pot holders and even mini-oven mitts in no time at all.

This one was a request from the smallest cook in the house. (I'm a bit nervous that it might actually be used to carry something hot, so it comes with a list of rules.... luckily, our cook follows rules... mostly).

So anyway..... I tend to be a bit evangelical about bias tape makers. I was surprised to read that some people buy them and don't try them out. Or some people don't know how to get the most out of them. I've shown this before, but I'll add a bit more detail this time. Complete demystification.

How to use your bias tape maker...

1. To calculate how wide to cut the strip, I double the finished width of the bias tape and then take off a millimetre or two (eg. For an 18mm bias tape maker I cut 35mm wide bias strips). I use my metric quilting ruler and work in millimetres. I'm very sorry - I have absolutely no idea how that works in inches.

The quilting ruler has a bias line (to line up with the selvedge or straight grain) and then a metric grid to measure the width and length of the piece you're cutting. Super-duper quick and accurate.

2. If you need to join two pieces, align them so that they are right sides up and the pointed ends lock in to one another, as shown below.

(It's also a good idea to press your fabric before you start..... I seem to have skipped that step here).

3. With the right sides of fabric facing, match the two strips together along the short edges. Cross the pointed ends with an overlap of about 6mm (anywhere around a quarter of an inch will do the trick).

4. The crossover point of the seam allowances will form right angles on both sides of the tape. Backtack and seam from one crossover point to the other.

5. Press the seam allowances OPEN and then trim them down to about 2.5mm. Trim the ends of the seam allowances to points, as shown below.

6. Cut the end of the tape to a point and thread it through the bias tape maker (cutting it to a point makes it thread more easily).

7. As the point peeps through the end of the bias tape maker, put your iron straight onto it! Hold the little handle and pull the bias tape maker gently with one hand while you follow close behind with the iron in the other hand. Steam works a treat here.

Slow motion replay...Use the pressure of the iron to hold the tape in place while you pull the bias tape maker a centimetre or two. Then move the iron up to the very end of the bias tape maker. Joosh it with steam. Pull another centimetre on the bias tape maker and then move the iron up to the bias tape maker.... that sort of thing...).

You will now have beautiful bias binding.

7. When you sew the bias tape to the edge of your fabric, lay the tape right side down on the underside of the edge you're binding. Sew along the crease on the bias tape.

8. Trim the seam allowances so the bias binding will be able to fold easily over the edge and sit on top of the stitches (seen in red, below) on the other side.

9. Press the bias tape into place over the stitch line, and then topstitch it about 1mm from the edge.

I hope that takes a bit of the mystery out of it and encourages you to go forth and bind everything you can. Like I do. Honestly, I really do.

If you have a bias tape maker and haven't used it, please try it. It really will open up a whole new world of possibilities for sewing all sorts of things. If you haven't got one, we have a special going at the moment that might be right up your alley. The patterns that are on sale with the bias tape makers also include a few more tricks (like a clever way of finishing a bound edge with an undetectable join).

I took more photos of the twirly denim skirt detail being constructed but this post is already too image heavy. Does it warrant a quick tutorial or can you get the idea from the photo (at the top of this post)?

I'd also love to hear from anyone who LOVES their bias tape maker. I'm feeling a bit lonely and geeky here right now. The only people who commented on my last post about them were the non-users.... Please tell me I'm not alone (I accept the fact that I'm a geek... it's just the no-mates-Mallalieu tag that irks me).

Question time

Question mark made of puzzle pieces
Originally uploaded by Horia Varlan

We've finally organised an FAQ page for the website. It answers (strangely enough) all the questions we find ourselves answering a lot.

So we now have...

• an ordering information page (updated tonight)
• an about the patterns page
• a tips and tutorials page (to answer your sewing questions) and
• a Frequently Asked Questions page.

If you can think of anything I need to add to any of these, please let me know!

SERIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT -
We're having a bit of an issue with our emails being rejected by some servers. Apparently we look a bit like spam (especially to COMCAST and HOTMAIL addresses).

If you ever email us and never hear back, please check your junk mail filter, add us to your "allowed" list and email us again. If you have an alternative email address, perhaps you could send us an email from that. You can read more about it on the FAQ page...

Spreading the joy.... sharing the love...

This time, it's all about bias tape makers. I love them. I think everyone should have one.


They help you to make super-cute hats with coordinating binding and ribbon.


I also think the Tulip Dress looks super-cute with a Kids Hat.

And self-cover buttons look adorable on the Tulip Dress too.

I've worked out that a bit of a discount is encouragement for people to try something new.....

So for the next two weeks I've added some special combinations of these products to the shop. When you buy a bundle you get 20% off the normal price.

I think that's a good deal... don't you?