it's hard to walk in a dress it's not easy...

I realised it had been aaages since I had done any proper sewing, so I decided to make two dress in two days, I realise now that I can sew quickly and that I am just being incredibly lazy, once I manage to move my notice board from my sewing table (one of 6 sewing machine currently sat on dining room table)I should be sewing like a demon!!!

PS check out my Seattle/Portland inspired twee bastard dress, excitement for my forthcoming adventures.

tickets booked thank you capital one!

purrfect pancakes!

we made mini cat pancakes!!!

Pencil skirt.....

calling all those who purchased Sugar Paper #3, as promised here are the instructions to craft yr self a pencil skirt....

once you have made yr pattern, pick yr fabric and decide what length you want the pencil skirt.

FRONT PIECE:

1-lay down the fabric, fold over the width of yr front pattern piece. lay the pattern on top with the centre front line laying on the fold. pin to fabric, cut around the pattern, making sure not to cut down the centre front line. cut the length of fabric the desired length plus 3cm. cut (from around 5 inches from the bottom) a slight curve, going in around an inch and a half near the hem. cut around 1cm from the pattern.

BACK PIECE:

2- Fold over the fabric just a little wider than your back pattern piece. lay the pattern on top with the centre back line laying 2cm away from the fold. Pin to the fabric and cut around as before (including the curve near the hem) only this time cut down the middle centre back line so you have 2 back pattern pieces.

3- over sew all the edges of the skirt.

4-using the pattern pieces mark the darts onto the underside of the skirt pieces. stitch in darts with a straight line.

5- pin the two back pieces together down the centre seam line. mark 9 inches from the top and 4 inches from the bottom. stitch a straight line from the 9 inch mark to the 4 inch mark around 1 inch/2cm in. press the seam.

6- stitch down the underside of one side of the 4 inch split at the bottom of the skirt. this will aid you when walking in yr skirt!!

7- pin the sip to the opening of the centre seam on the skirt back. stitch in.

8- pin the side seams of the skirt together, stitch with a straight line around 1 inch/2cm in. press seams flat.

9- turn over the top of the skirt half an inch and stitch with a straight line.

10- turn up the bottom hem an inch and stitch with a straight line. press and there you have a pencil skirt!

we kinda got into an exhibition!

yes we did! if you head over to the Turnpike Gallery http://www.wlct.org/arts/turnpike/exhibit.htm in Leigh you will be terated to an ace exhibtion about UK DIY craft, you will get to see Sugar Paper ~2 hung on the zine wall, whoop whoop! You will also get to see Handmade Nation docu, which is ace, even if just to see wht the Buy Olympia 'offices' look like!!

sugar paper 3!!

at least, we finished sugar paper 3 and it looks like this^^.

the back cover is the best bit, and wasn't made by us, but my friend Alison, it's an ace B-movie style 3D picture!it's got cool stuff inside too, knitting, dress making, crocheting, recipes and a J17 style quiz, 'how twee are you'!!!

go here:

http://www.sugarpaper.bigcartel.com/

ps this counts as 1 of my 12 zines this year, woo!

stop drivin thru my heart

it seems, after the elastic band incident (newsflash!!: the elastic band was 'natural' coloured, seeing as I only have green, red and blue ones, it didn't come from me!) I have been trying to prove my baking credentials. I made these gingerbread hearts for Soup Kitchen for valentines. sweet!

edible fruits...

Yes, I know fruit is already edible but check out these marzipan strawberries I made. I've been making cakes for Soup Kitchen in Manchester and apparently the other day someone found an elastic band in some battenberg I made. I am dumbstruck! firstly of all the things there is in my house, elastic bands isn't one of them and secondly in all the (14ish) years I have been baking I have never found anything in my cakes, not even a hair, surprisingly. I am at a loss to ho it got there, but seeing as they had to refund the dude (whom I think put it in there to realise he didn't like marzipan so wanted another cake) I thought i should fancy up the next batch of cakes I make. so voila marzipan strawberries to go on top of pink strawberry and white chocolate cup cakes, sans elastic bands!

Needles n bits....

I finally got my collection of knitting needles organised!

They have been sitting around in a bag in a jumbled mess for ages now and when I had a big clearout of the 'workroom' i decided they needed a bit more TLC so i made a proper home for them. After a good rummage through my fabrics i found a big piece of teacup-printed fabric, woo! One long phone conversation with my mum about the workings of a knitting needle roll some careful measuring and not so careful sewing later...voila...a new home for all those needles n bits!

They're now all laid out in size order n everything. I would highly reccomend the making of one of these to anyone who knits. I loved making this so much in fact there might even be a how to in the next sugar paper.

Kandy