.Things I'm Crushing...CHEVRON.

Not sure where this crush started - I think the grey/white doona cover below may have had something to do with it.  I'm going to follow Bec's Quilt 101 tutorials and create my own for the bed.  We've been thinking about our new house, I want to include some chevron somewhere...Love love love the zig-zag...

 

 

 

 

You like?

(All image sources - and more chevron images - can be found on my Chevron Pinterest Board.)

.BIG Downtown Boy.

Just in time to beat that winter chill, you can now sew a Downtown Boy jacket or two for the bigger boys in your life!  Yep, that's right...Downtown Boy is now avaliable in sizes 6 - 10 years!

I know that many of you have been hanging out for a big version of this pattern and hope that you have just as much fun sewing this cosy jacket for your older boys too.

The pattern specifies using Pellon as the layer of warmth in the jacket, but I've enjoyed using quilt wadding lately.  You could also easily leave out the pellon/wadding and include a fleece lining too if you wanted to.

When I first designed the jacket, I thought that the sleeve pocket was a trendy detail to include...my siblings thought it was a great joke when they pointed out to me that sleeve pockets are used to carry cigarette boxes in!  Haha, I think our little boys will enjoy using the pocket for collecting shells and rocks ;)

Remember, the original Downtown Boy pattern remains the same, but will now be called LITTLE Downtown Boy - including sizes 6 months-5 years.


The new pattern, BIG Downtown Boy is EXACTLY the same design, only the size range for this pattern is 6-10 years.

You can find out fabric requirements for Big Downtown Boy on my website.  If you have a store and want to stock this or any other Make It Perfect pattern, contact Creative Abundance to place an order.

If you would like to purchase a copy of Big Downtown Boy for yourself, they should be popping up in retail stores very soon.  Ask your favourite store to get one in for you!


I'm giving away a copy of Big Downtown Boy to one lucky reader - leave a comment on this post to be in the running!
(Giveaway will close Tuesday 14th June and winner will be drawn via a random number generator)

.June Cool Shops! Vegie Smugglers.

I know that you are going to LOVE this week's Cool Shop - Vegie Smugglers...

 

Wendy Blume is the extremely talented author of Vegie Smugglers - a self-published cookbook aimed toward busy families who still want to eat a healthy, balanced diet.  Like most Aussie Mums, Wendy found it a daily struggle in the kitchen trying to come up with healthy meals that would satisfy her two fussy eaters.  Out of her desperation - and I'm sure after hearing many other Mothers complaining about the same problem - Vegie Smugglers was born.

Not only did Wendy come up with 60 + delicious recipes to feed your family, she was also  responsible for the photography and graphic design of this beautifully presented book.  What a clever Mum!  Vegie Smugglers is bright and colourful, filled with gorgeous mouth-watering photographs - in this case, self-published does not mean tacky.  The book is top quality.  

I own a heap of cookbooks, but for the majority of them there are only a handful of recipes that I might actually cook.  When I first received a copy of Vegie Smugglers I flicked through it and gave pretty much every recipe the "thumbs up" - not just for me, but I also thought that I could coax my children into trying most of them too.  (In our house, the "trying" part is always the hardest, once they've had a taste usually they like it!)

Vegie Smugglers is broken up into convenient sections from quick dinner fixes to freezable meals to sweet treats.  

The introduction of the book includes handy information about the nutritional components of vegetables (see picture below) and essential kitchen tools and skills.

I love the thoughtful details that Wendy has incorporated into her book - a "Rate It" and "Comments" section for you to jot down your thoughts or perhaps variations for next time.  She also includes a "For the Adults" variation for each recipe - a simple extra addition to make the meal a little more special for the adults you are feeding.  I have friends who cook two dinners a night - one for the kids and one for the parents, a waste of time and energy to me, so it's good to have recipes on hand that will please everyone.

 In short, this book gets the big tick of approval from me!  We have tried a few recipes so far (although none of them have been photographed because I never seem to have time to pull out the camera during that busy evening meal time!) and they have all been delicious.  Next up, I'm looking foward to trying the Beetroot Tzatziki - it looks delicious and I have some fresh beetroot waiting to be used up.  Vegie Smugglers retails at $24.95 and can be purchased here.  (Word on the street is that Vegie Smugglers 2 is in the making - go Wendy!)

Wendy is genrously giving one lucky Make It Perfect reader a chance to win a free copy of Vegie Smugglers!  Simply "like" Vegie Smugglers on Facebook and leave a comment on this post.  
(Winner will be randomly chosen on Sunday 12th June.)

Important Vegie Smugglers Links:

Website/Blog

Online Store

Facebook

.Conversations with a sewer's son.

Date:  Tuesday 7th June 2011

Time:  6pm

Details:  After a shower, Oscar (5 years old) usually wears board shorts to bed, 6 degrees celsius outside

MUM:  Oscar, I think you should wear a pair of pyjama pants tonight.  It's super freezing.  Way too cold for shorts.
OSCAR:  I'll think about it.
MUM:  Just wear pants, you'll be toasty and warm.
OSCAR:  Okay then.
(Mum gets Oscar a pair of Slumber Party Jammies)
OSCAR:  Not Make It Perfect, Mum!
MUM:  Why not?  What's wrong with Make It Perfect?
OSCAR:  I don't really like your fabric choice.  I'll wear shorts.

The dreaded day my children start to tell me they don't like my sewing.

.Thermomix Cooking - Raspberry Friands.

I had never made friands before, but I had some egg whites left over from another recipe that I needed to use and they looked quick and yummy.  And they were!  I've always bought pre-ground almond meal (ground almonds) but last time I was buying some I noticed that the price difference between ground and whole almonds is huge!  Now that I have my Thermomix, I only buy whole almonds and just ground them as I need them.

Raspberry Friands

30g almonds
125g butter
100g sugar
75g self-raising flour
45g coconut
4 egg whites
100g raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Place almonds into TM bowl (if you are using raw sugar, add to bowl also).  Grind on speed 10 for 10 seconds.  Remove from bowl and set aside.
Place butter into TM bowl.  Melt on 80 degrees, speed 2 for 1 minute.
Add almonds, sugar, flour, coconut and egg whites to bowl.  Combine for 30 seconds on interval speed.
Spoon mixture into greased friand (or muffin) tins.  Press raspberries into the top of each friand.
Bake in 200 degree celsius oven for about 15 minutes or until cooked through.

.Pinwheels for the kiddos.

Back in the day, before I was consumed with my sewing hobby, I dabbled a bit in scrapbooking.  I remember looking at double sided papers back then and thinking to myself that it was such a silly idea, because you would only see one side of the paper in a scrapbook layout anyway.  My thoughts about double-sided paper have since subsided, now I think they rock.

Presenting last night's work of art - Pinwheel Canvas... 

 

Double-sided paper was awesome because it meant that I didn't have to worry about sticking two single-sided pieces together, making for a very quick and easy Saturday night craft :)

It was fun.  I bought a massive canvas last year, wanting to make an art display similar to this for a blank wall in the kids bedroom.  I still love the idea and want to do it sometime, but pinwheels have been calling my name for quite awhile now and after being inspired by Sam's Butterfly Canvas I could picture a bright and colour pinwheel wall art being made in a similar way.

I really love how it turned out, even more so the next morning (things always look/seem better the next day, don't they?!) and it will definitley inject a bright punch of colour into their bedroom.

A few specifications for people who want to make something similar themselves...

Making pinwheels is really, really easy - just google for a tutorial if you aren't sure.  If you use double-sided paper, it is much faster.  You can stick two pieces of printed paper back to back using some glue or spray adhesive if you want to though.

I cut my squares for the pinwheels at 11cm x 11cm.  My canvas size was 90cm x 60cm.  I made 28 pinwheels.

I used a random selection of brads from my old scrapbooking supplies for the center of each pinwheel then arranged them on the canvas and stuck them down with a hot glue gun.  (Make sure they are in the correct position before sticking them down, it is really hard to pull them off once the glue is set and makes a mess of your canvas...ask me how I know...)

In hindsight, I'm wondering if it may have looked better if all of the pinwheels were sitting in random directions rather than all uniformly lined up like mine are - I did pull a couple off and play around with the direction but it lifted the white coating off the canvas and was going to be very messy so I stopped (- now you know how I know...)

Anyway, I'm loving it and it was a nice change from the crazy sewing of samples that I have been making of late to take to the Craft and Quilt Fair in Sydney.  I think making a similar canvas using all the one colour or even all of the one paper would look striking too - how many pinwheel canvases can one house have?!

P.S. The market in Ulverstone on Friday night was great - such an impressive turn out, lovely to meet lots of new faces and although I was there with Citrus Pop, it was fun to talk sewing for a lot of the night too!

.Local Market.

  A heads up for the Northern Tassie folk out there...

My lovely friend Aimee from Greentree Goods let me know of a handmade market being held tomorrow (Friday) night in Ulverstone.

I made a last minute decision to take my Citrus Pop products along and set up a stall, so if you are looking for something fun to fill your evening with, come along and have a look - markets are fun, I wish there were more around here :)

(P.S. Because I don't have to worry about selling fees, most of my products will be selling for cheaper than they are online!)

.The stash grows + interseted in being a Cool Shop?.

Oh dear, I have to confess the stash/shop is growing.  Remember just a few months ago I posted pics of my fabric cupboard?  Well, I'm happy/sad to say that there is no free space anymore.  Totally chock-a-block full.  I really need to start sewing more and buying less!

Which is really difficult when there are so many lovely ranges coming out over the next month or so.  My favourite at the moment is Joel Dewberry's "Aviary 2".  I love everything about Joel Dewberry and his cute wife, Laurie.  To make matters worse, he has just previewed his new range "Heirloom" at Quilt Market in Salt Lake City and it is really pretty...

I've just finished making a Versatile Wrap out of the mustard bird fabric...beautiful for winter.

I'm not much of a purple lover, but it seems to be growing on me and I love it mixed with aqua below.

 Also made a Wrap out of the black damask below:

When I was in Melbourne last week I popped into Textile Offcuts in Lilydale while I was waiting for Jaron to finish some work (thanks for the referral Karen!) I wish I had some specific projects in mind as I find it hard to purchase apparel fabric without a cause, but I did spot a bolt of houndstooth print fabric so bought a couple of meters for the stash :)

I love Carolyn Gavin's range, Spring Street and stocked up on a few of my favourite prints.

And then there's Sherbet Pips...I have to be honest, this range doesn't grab me like it does other people.  It's cute, but I'm just not sure what I'd do with it.  Didn't stop me though!  I know that in about 12 months when it is hard to buy I'll be wanting a bit, so got it while I could now!

On a side note...I'm working out my Cool Shop schedule for July/August - if you are interested in becoming a Cool Shop and advertising on my blog for free, read here for more information and send me an email!  toni (at) makeitperfect . com.au

.answering questions.

Wow - I didn't think my simple yoga skirt would get such a great response!  You guys asked a few questions, so I thought I'd answer them here as I'm sure that more than one of you were wondering the same thing...

•  I'll definitley do my best to write up a pattern and combine with a pair of yoga pants - can't promise when, but it will be in the near future.
• A few people requested the pattern as a free tutorial - while I do love online tutorials, you've probably noticed that I don't offer them that often on my blog.  The main reason being that a tutorial takes a loong time to put together.  (Well, for me anyway!)  My life at the moment is fairly busy and pretty much every spare sewing session is devoted to my patterns.  I would love to share more tutorials with you, maybe in the future when I have some extra sewing time to come up with some new things :)
• Yep, the yoga skirt is VERY beginner-friendly.  I would strongly recommend it for a beginner sewer (or someone beginning to sew with knit fabrics.)
• Haha - "do you think knit fabric is only for the thin?" - this one cracked me up!  I don't think I fit into the "thin" category - have you heard of control/shaping underwear and tights?  Get some, they work wonders ;)
•  YES!  They are TOMS wedges!  I can't believe I didn't ever blog about them - I have had them for ages now and loooove them.  Highly recommend them, they took a few wears to break in but are super comfy now.  I think I need a grey pair of flats...

• The skirt has elastic hidden around the entire waistband.  Just tight enough so that you can be sure is isn't going to fall down, not so that it creates gathers.
• It does have a roll-top waist - although I think I'd make it a bit longer next time...I remember Oprah once said (and she would know!) that if you wear skirts or pants (she was talking about track pants at the time) with a horizontal line across the top of your butt, it makes your butt appear smaller.  Smart woman Oprah, maybe that's why I like wearing roll-top skirts and pants!!
• Love the track pants idea too, I reckon I could offer an alternate finish to the roll-top waistband too.  I agree, it is very hard to find a pair of trackies that don't make you look like a Westie Mum!
• You really don't need an overlocker (serger) to sew with knits.  It does make the job easier, but if you don't have one, check your sewing machine manual and you'll probably find that your machine has an overlocker-type stitch in it.  If not, it will definitley do a stretch stitch or at last resort, a zig-zag.  All of these options work fine and with good results.  

Okay, that's it for skirt talk for now.  Be back soon to share some new fabric purchases!

.June Cool Shops! Jelly Bean Books.

Yep, it's June!  Welcome to Jelly Bean Books...

I remember having personalised picture books as a child.  It was pretty cool reading a story that I was the main character of!   Jelly Bean Books specialises in personalised children's books as well as a selection of other personalised goods.

Christine from Jelly Bean Books kindly sent each of my children a personalised book and they absolutely love them.  When we first read to them, they couldn't quite work out how they ended up in a book, it was really funny!  The books are great quality, and there are tons of titles to choose from.  Jelly Bean Books asks a range of questions, from which the answers are used to create a very special keepsake for your children.

At Jelly Bean Books, there is a great selection of children's books (including licensed titles) to personalise and choose from:

You can also have a special print made detailing the history of your family name:

Cute Baby Books can be personalised:

And letters from Santa or the Easter Bunny are avaliable:

Jelly Bean Books is offering two lucky winners the chance to win a Deluxe Sized Personalised Book each!  All you have to do is "like" Jelly Bean Books Facebook page and come back and leave a comment on this post.

(Giveaway ends Sunday 5th June and winners will be drawn randomly.)

Important Jelly Bean Books Links:

Website

Facebook

Blog

Mini-Me Handcrafts