A Sunday on the beach

Yesterday we went to the beach on Lantau Island. Our little daughter was totally excited about bathing in the waves. She really is a little surfer girl! It felt like being in Bali rather than being in the big city. In the evening wild cattle came down to the beach. It was a very funny sight. They are actually not that wild. They like being patted... So we had it all yesterday, beach, wildlife and barnyard holidays!

Burda Style Patterns

I got started on my Burda Style projects. I have made three tops so far. But the original patterns were not really great. The orange top had a problem with the neckline. It was impossible to get a rounded neckline. So I had to make it straight instead. But then it worked quite well. The other two tops are made from the same pattern which was quite baggy so I have also changed it slightly to make it a bit slimmer. And for the purple top I also added a ruffles like line in the front which turned out quite nicely. But if you consider that those patterns were marked as 'easy and ideal for beginners'...
Here is the link to the Burda Style magazine: http://www.burdastyle.com/ You can find patterns for free and also for buying under the PATTERNS section in the directory.

Bottle/Cupholder for stroller

I have looked for cupholders for my stroller for quite a while now but without success. So finally I decided to make one. Especially now that I found this great PVC coated fabric at IKEA. Here is the pattern if you want to make one too.
Print the two patternpieces on A4 paper, cut them out and stick them together at the numbers using sticky tape. Then cut the pattern 4 times from fabric. Sew 2 pieces together (inside facing out) leaving a gap open. Turn them so that the coated side is facing outside. Do the same with the other two pieces. Now you can sew the two douple layered pieces together (see pictures above). Add velcro or a snap in order to fix it to the stroller.

Keychains or Toysaver

I just made these simple keychains/toysavers from ribbon and clips. Just sew the ends of the ribbon together so it gives a loop and then move the seam in the middle of the loop and stitch both layers of ribbon together and decorate the seam with whatever you have e.g. cute buttons, crochet flowers, sew-ons etc... Then sling one end around the key ring or toy and pull the other end through the hole at the end of the loop. The end with the clip can be used for fixing it to the stroller or whereever you want to make it stay.

Letterland

This little project was inspired by Lotta Jansdotter. These soft handmade letters can be found in her book 'Simple sewing for Baby'. You can make whatever words you like. Use whatever fabric you like. They are not only great toys for babies and toddlers but also make great deco objects. You can also vary the size of the letters or choose different fabric for each letter. The options are endless... Just let your creativity flow!

Pimp up my shirt

I have just added some simple decoration to plain T-shirts and dresses. It's a very simple project. Just cut some flowers, animals or other interesting patterns out of fabric (my fabrics were purchased from IKEA). And then use some interfacing or very lightweight fabric as backing from the inside of the shirt and stitch (applique) the deco to the shirt. Done! Takes about 15 min and gives really great results...

I want to make...

this...

http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/062011-twill-v-neck-dress

         this...

http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/062011-top-with-cut-out-pattern

                and this....

http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/062011-high-waisted-trousers

                            and a few more pieces from the recent Burda Style magazine.

But I don't know when it will happen. Work and family keep me busy and then I try to squeeze in a couple of work outs too. Somehow I am always running short on time since I had my baby. Is that the same for you too?

Dyeing Experiments

On our last trip to Sydney I had seen these gorgeous tea towels coming in all those vibrant colours. They were made out of the same material as baby muslin cloth. But they came with an interesting price tag which finally led to this little dyeing project. I have just turned my plain white muslin cloths (which my daughter doesn't use anymore) into vibrant tea towels by help of our washing machine and some fabric dyeing powder that a lovely friend sent from Germany (as I couldn't find anything like that in Hong Kong). In Germany you can buy it in every big supermarket. Maybe the Germans are more into DIY?
Oh and do you remember the little owl cushion I made last year? It's now orange and I have added a bit of embroidery. Totally different, isn't it? In the mood for your own little dyeing project now?

Sew Mama sew!

A collage of what I have recently sewn for my little girl. I still have more plans and on Flickr I find so much inspiration for even more cute clothes... Interested? Have a look here:
Baby Children and Toddlers - Sewn Clothing - Handmade and Cute

Construction Site

In Hong Kong there is always construction work going on. This one here is at the land claiming site in Central right at the harbour. We will get a kind of promenade. We'll see how that will turn out. What I love about the photos is the whole atmosphere. The dark and foggy sky and all that metal work and then the baby blue crane against it. I just took them with my mobile one day and was surprised how nice they turned out.