Wink Designs

The reading corner

This play mat or "reading mat" has been playing host to gatherings of kiddies, soft toys, dolls and books in a corner of Miss Wink's bedroom for some time.  Here it is in its WIP stages.

It was going to be donated for a kindergarten fundraiser but that didn't quite pan out so we kept it here at home.

Having never made a quilt and having no real idea how to photograph one properly I've just left it scrunched up hoping that you get the general idea.  You can also see some bookmarks that Cee Cee made by lining up fabric scraps and sewing them to bookmark sized pieces of felt.

I added some plain and contrast strips to the main zoo animals panel and quilted it with both straight and wavy lines.  I also used Rita of "Red Pepper Quilts" unbound quilt tutorial as a guide - quick and easy. 

Kids Clothes Week Challenge (Days 3 & 4)

There was a big surge of activity yesterday when I managed to finish a blouse from the pattern that I mentioned in my last post.  I've been fiddling around with this one since last winter and really want to get it finalised.

Am counting this one as yet another muslin though as it's still not quite right - the neckline has too much gape (as you can see in the second photo).

I changed the pattern this time around to make a separate yoke with a gathered piece attached.  

The fabric is a tiny floral which, while very pretty in real life, doesn't pack much of a punch in the photos.

            

Still, even with all the reservations, I'm glad of the progress made and what a glorious autumn day to be out taking some photos in the garden.

Kids Clothes Week Challenge (Days 1 & 2)

OK folks.  I have a plan and there has been some work but not much to show as yet.  With a teacher-free day on Monday and a public holiday on Wednesday (and therefore less child-free time than usual) we'll be pushing it to accomplish anything major.

So.....my plan is modest.  To make inroads into a variation of this tunic top/blouse from last year with some lovely Liberty from the stash.

I will leave you with some pictures I took a long time ago (but never blogged) of an unfinished blouse made to this pattern.  This one has a little tie at the neckline and is made from some lovely soft, silky cotton I bought in Japan.

Not sure why I took the shot below (maybe to congratulate myself for making the bias?) but it shows you the fabric in a bit more detail:

Good luck to all you other KCWC-ers out there! Hope you are into the thick of it....

Kids Clothes Week Challenge April 2012

Have you signed up for KCWC over at elsie marley?  Every week is kids clothes week around here but joining a sew-a-long definitely creates an added incentive!

                    

Not only will I be participating but Wink Designs (known as "winkhandmade" on etsy) is also sponsoring this month.  Here's my little ad below which you can check out along with the other sponsors in the elsie marley sidebar.

                      

As a special offer enter code KCWC1 in the shop at checkout for a 20% discount on all patterns (valid until 30 April).

Sign up here if you haven't already and start revving those machines!

New find: Megan Nielsen patterns

One of the casualties of my self-imposed working bee over the past few months has been my blog reading schedule.  Less blog reading equals less discovering of new links to fabulous things in the internet and crafty world.

One bit of fabulous-ness I did manage to find (new to me, although maybe not to you) is the amazing work of Megan Nielsen.  Megan is a young Aussie living in the US and has launched a pattern line based on a selection of favourites from her readymade designs.

Because 2012 is suppposed to be "The Year" of making clothes for myself, I ordered a couple of Megan's patterns just over a week ago. As you can see they arrived super-quickly from the US.

The packaging is divine and I love that the patterns have instruction booklets rather than the huge, awkward instruction sheets that tend to come with paper patterns.

I'm getting stuck into the "Darling Ranges Dress" already (I"ve made a muslin of the bodice in some of the chambray you can see in the first shot) and can't wait to try the "Banksia Top" as well.

I didn't know at the time of ordering but was happy to find out via her blog that Megan is organising a "Darling Ranges" sew-a-long over March/April.  We'll be away for some of the time but I'll finish and post mine when we get back later in April.

                      

Meanwhile, here is Megan's Pinterest page where you can see examples of Darling Ranges Dresses and lots of other inspiration.

Butterfly Breeze Dress in "Little Folks" voile

Here are some more pictures of the Butterfly Breeze pattern in one of the larger sizes as the dress with ruffle option.

The dress pictured in this post had the body of the dress made in cotton and the sleeves/ruffle in voile - this time the entire garment is in voile, which gives the dress a lovely floaty effect.

The 25% discount offer to blog readers ends this Friday (and the shop will be closed for 10 days following as we're going away).  So grab a pattern this week and enter "Butterfly1" at checkout for the discount to apply.  In fact, I'm feeling generous this lovely Monday, so enter the code on any dress or skirt pattern(s) in the shop and the discount will apply! 

        

Happy sewing!

A tunic top for me

I made this top a little while back (in "summer"!) but haven't had a chance to post it.  I was aiming for a basic loose-fitting tunic design with a (modified) bat-wing look.  

I didn't use a pattern but simply cut 2 rectangles of fabric and took it from there with some shaping for the shoulders and v-neckline. I added a drawstring belt by using a large bias maker to make the casing and a smaller one to make the drawstring.

          

I knew that to get the effect I wanted I needed a silky, drapey fabric.  Enter this fabulous rayon/cotton mix from Tessuti.  It was exactly the right thing for the job.  I don't think a heavier cotton would have worked as well.

I'm quite happy with this little number and hope to make some more based on this style.  (I think it would work equally well lengthened to a dress.)

Take care and hope you are having a happy week! Marina xx

Simplicity 2599 top & ruffle skirt

I posted a while ago about the patterns I was using to sew things for myself this summer. Here are some pictures of the Simplicity 2599 top and the ruffle skirt.

                     

As you can see, I made the top without the ruffles or neckline detail that come as an option with the pattern.  I think the gorgeous Nani Iro gauze print speaks for itself and needs no further embellishment.

The skirt is made in a Kaffe Fassett shot cotton.  It's my own design and is based on the ruffle skirt for girls pattern.  Instead of three tiers, it has an extended a-line piece with two ruffles at the hem.

OK, now if only the weather gods would roll out the hot days so we can actually wear our summer clothes....?!

Saturday afternoon, garden games....

Here are the girls enjoying a sunny Saturday afternoon in the garden, skipping and having egg & spoon races.  It seems the hot weather has arrived just when the holidays are at a close....

Miss Wink is insisting on dresses only at the moment and, if possible, in her preferred colour of pink.  So I'm going through the stash to see what's lurking in there that fits the brief.  Not a lot, I'm afraid.  This Heather Bailey print got the thumbs up, though.

Cee Cee is wearing a ruffle skirt made to this pattern.  I hemmed the ruffles instead of leaving the edges raw as I think it suits the fabric better.

And if the dress is not enough, you can always finish off the outfit with some hot pink sandals....

Cap sleeved dress

A little design that's on the back burner is this cap sleeved top/dress.  The pattern needs a bit of tweaking but this one in a lovely dot print by Brandon Mably (partner of Kaffe Fassett) is cute enough to get a showing:

Of course, there's nothing like a spot of twirling on a sunny summer afternoon.