Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Well so much for the pile….

My plan to get stuck into my pile of sewing has had to be put on the back burner…….. first day back at school and we parents were reminded that junior school is having a Book Week, and what goes hand in hand with Book Week…… a dress up day and parade! So i have now spent the week planning and finding all the bits and pieces needed to create a princess costume. Thankfully i still had some netting and lots of other fancy fabrics laying around, and have managed to get most of it sorted……well i should say I know what I’m doing I just haven’t done it all yet…..I’ve got till Friday ;) My best buy for it though was a pair of gold ballet slipper type shoes to go with it…they were only $4.99, gotta love the end of season sales! I will post a picture of it once it is all finished.

The weather isn’t the nicest here at the moment, not surprising it being Autumn and all… so I’m posting a sunny picture because…well just because I can!april 2007 026

You can’t beat Mount Maunganui on a sunny day!

Monday, April 27, 2009

School is back

The School Holidays are over, and the routine can resume! Now I wonder how long it will take me to make the ‘to do’ pile disappear……hmmm! So far today I have done an hours sewing and have almost finished 4 pairs of kids trousers for a friend…just got to get the elastic in. The weather is definitely becoming more wintery, with heaps of rain and very muggy, but it does make the sea more interesting to look at.

I have just purchased a child sized tailors dummy which is going to make some things so much easier and be a lot of fun! I can’t wait for it to arrive as I have been after one for ages!

…….suppose i had better get back to the pile…!

Friday, April 24, 2009

Poppy Day….

 

I am feeling a bit gutted, today is Poppy Day and the weather is not vey nice for walking up the street to support all the Returned Soldiers. This april 2007 052will probably be one of the first Poppy Days I have missed. Hopefully the weather fines up enough to at least let us go on our annual ANZAC Day picnic at Anzac Bay, Bowentown. It is a very pretty spot!

 

 

At least the holidays are almost over, and the kids will be back at school on Monday. It will be good to be able to finish a lot of projects that were started before the holidays. The pile seems to have grown though, as various bits of mending and requests for new clothes are added to it……maybe i can convince my little Fashion Diva, that she only needs a couple of pairs of trousers and not a completely new wardrobe for the winter!

Another advantage of the kids going back to school will be going out for a peaceful coffee with friends!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Time to get out support worth while groups….

And the first group I would advocate is this one: ‘A Mothers Plight..’ a group set up in remembrance of a special little boy who died to soon. There has now being a trust set up in his name, and what they are then hoping to do is provide gift packs to parents whose kids end up in PICU (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit), at Starship Hospital, NZ. If you wish to support her by providing products for these packs you can contact her through the link above.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Another day in Paradise

Yes that is very cliché, but with the lovely view from my lounge it really cruise ship 2008 002 does feel like paradise. This picture was taken over the summer when the cruise ships come gliding into port! It is definitely and awe inspiring sight to see these massive ships pull into the dock! As summer turns to Autumn the cruise ships are replaced by refrigerator ships to take the export kiwifruit crops around the world!

Ok now on to the clothing!!

Most of my pants and skirts are made with elasticised waists, I do this because my older daughter has disabilities and has trouble with zips and buttons, and sometimes its just nice if she can pull something on herself without too much fuss..!

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< This skirt was made for a friends 5th Birthday. Both pieces of fabric had strawberries on it, but were contrasts of each other.

 

 

 

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This skirt is a Sz 4/5 and is a hounds tooth type jersey fabric. It comes with an attached broach that can be worn any where on the skirt etc……………………………………………………>

 

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< Close up of the Broach

 

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< This is Pinafore has a zip up the back and elastic fro straps. The skirt part is recycled polished cotton.

 

 

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This skirt was made from recycled fabrics and a large button! It would be about a  girls Sz 14……………………………………….>

 

 

 

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< This one is a Sz 5/6 Baby doll type top. It is made from a nice rayon type fabric that i found at the Op Shop!!

 

 

 

Ok I had better go….. one kid wants on the computer and i need to supervise the other two picking up feijoa’s

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

And just bcause i can……

Here is my second post of the day… lol i really better watch out or I’ll be spending more time blogging and in networking forums rather than being creative and designing more clothes.!!

Right this time i will show case some of my knitwear i have done. so here they are:

Shrugs:  I have long sleeved ones , short sleeved ones .little lizzies 003 Ones made from cotton, from bamboo and from Acrylic.

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<This one is Bamboo

This one is Acrylic>

 

 

 

 

little lizzies 006< this one is a mix of Cotton and Acrylic new 051

 

 

 

 

     

This one is 100% cotton …………………..>

cruise ship 2008 002In addition to Shrugs, I’ve also made Capelets (or Caplets depending on how you want spell it). These come out almost completely different each time as the way in which i shape them depends on how big/wide they knitted up. 

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They all of either a button or crocheted flower etc on them as a fixed closure – they just slip on over the head like a poncho,  but not quite as long.

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Most will fit more than age group, but the way in which they sit will be different.

< this one is on a 4yr old herecruise ship 2008 024

 

 

 

And here it is on a 6yr old……………>

 

 

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< This one is my daughters favourite one for going out to the shops in.jan2009 028

 

 

 

 

This one she wanted made because she likes the colour green ……………………….>

If you haven’t guessed yet she is my Fashion Diva!

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< This would be one of my longer ones and I would almost call it a poncho…almost!

 

 

 

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This one of only a handful that i have made that would fit a baby or a doll…………………………………….>

 

Ok last but not least Headbands are the other item i have knitted heaps of…so I’ll just post a couple of pictures that i like:

little lizzies 016little lizzies 020

Ok i think that will do for today…no doubt hubby will be home soon with groceries to put away……..and there is probably some knitting or sewing with my name on it, just waiting for me to remember that it is there!

More Pictures ……

 

While the sky is grey outside and the kids are happily watching a movie and I’ll take the chance to post up some more pictures of stuff i have made.

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This is one of the Xmas Pinafores I’ve started to make, because some times you want something a little bit festive!

This one has little snowmen on it and i have also various 001got a green one with xmas trees on them. They are a size 3, but also look really good with leggings or over jeans as they get a bit shorter! 

Festive type dress’ are evolving out of a family tradition with my kids where i make my daughters a new outfit for xmas each year, so I have begun making them to sell at the markets little lizzies 040as well… hopefully by the time the markets come round again i will have quite a few to choose from!

This particular style would have to be my favourite over the past year and  I have made it in other fabricslittle lizzies 033 as well, with and without sleeves. These two dress’ are a size 4, but i have also made it in a size 6 and size 8. what i liked about this style was how versatile it was, suiting almost any type of fabric or pattern… though the bolder patterns work out real well.

Ok one more picture and then i probably should go get back to work ( and the kids)! This picture is one of my favourite experiments with knitting and it just looked so good my daughter, but it was so little lizzies 074 simple to do. It was made with Bamboo Yarns and felt so incredibly soft, that i went on a little quest to source more bamboo yarns…. and yes i found more yarns in lots of different colours and have begun trying out other ideas and patterns with them!  I called this my Asymmetrical Poncho, because of the way its put together and would most kids from about 2 – 4 yrs old, with they way it sat changing as they grew…. but seeing most people like it this way, I’m going to have to play around with the pattern a bit more!

 

P.S I’m a feed back junkie and love to get comments on my stuff!!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Introducing Little Lizzies – Fashion with a twist!

 

jan2009 038 Little Lizzies is about providing kids clothing that is unique, practical and most of all fun. We like to use recycled and vintage fabrics as much as possible, but also source new fabrics if something particularly funky catches our eye!little lizzies 036

The upside of using recycled and vintage fabrics as much as possible is not just about being a green business, but also the ability to create very limited runs any particular style in any particular size. We also use recycled and vintage buttons, lace and wool. Everything for us is about visual and textural appeal – the funkier the fabric looks the more we want to use it! We love to use bamboo yarns as this is soo soft!!

At the moment we are working on a girls range in sizes 2- 6yrs, but hope little lizzies 074to extend this up to 12 yrs. we are also aware that people are wanting more funky boys wear and hope to provide this as well – we just need to source some funky vintage fabrics for boys first! We are also working on accessories to go with all our stuff, such as broaches, shrugs, headbands, capelets, ponchos and anything else we can think of!