Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Catching up!

So it has been awhile since I last popped by and said hello, but today the sun is out and the world is smiling. It seemed like a good day to get on with things and feel productive. Don't you just love those days?!


This last weekend Cath and I had a lovely few days away sewing and eating and spending some wonderful time with a lovely group of gals (and two delightful boys in the form of my lil' bubba Wyn and Cath's equally snuggly nephew)--not including the bubs there were 15 of us in all who took over a very hobbit-esque retired monastery about an hours drive from Newcastle. It was in no uncertain words divine and please excuse my dodgy photos that do no justice. Plans are already afoot for the next one in Spring (Summer just seemed too far away!)




We were also blessed a few weeks back to be awarded the Liebster Award by Debra over at Sew Little Time. Thank you Debra, we were so chuffed you awarded Sunny Corduroy Corner so early in our life! For those of you who are not aware the Liebster Award requires you to:


1. Thank your award presenter on your blog and link back to him/her
2. Copy and paste the award to your blog
3. Present the Liebster to 5 blogs, with less than 200 followers, that you think deserve to be recognised
4. Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog
5. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too!

So, I had a bit of a think about how I wanted to respond to the award and I decided to try and live locally! Yep, I went in search of local blogs that inspire us from our sunny little Newcastle and I was fortunate to find that many of my favourites have less than 200 likers. Well, let's see if we can change that!

Without further ado, please stop by and see the following wonders when you get time--

The Olive Tree Market: For any Novacastrians I probably don't need to say more but for all you out of towners this market is one of the very best local artisan markets with many very talented people regularly stopping by to showcase their wares. Many of the lovely crew who also run Make Space (where Corduroy Corner sell our wares) have stalls at the Olive Tree on a regular basis.
{BTW I just noticed there had been a re-vamp on the Olive Tree Market blog but when I stopped by a couple of weeks ago they definitely met the requirements of this Award}

Oscar and Matilda: I can proudly say I knew Miss Zoe before she became the talented lass behind Oscar and Matilda. She makes fabulous resin treasures and jewellery that have been spotted brightening many outfits--including mine!!
{I just noticed Oscar and Matilda has also been through a few changes but they definitely met the requirements of this Award, although I had trouble posting a comment at this time.. }

Elkhorn Design: This was a new face, for me, at the Olive Tree a few months back and I couldn't resist snaffling one of her gorgeous handprinted and oh so soft long sleeved tees--the ochre and grey are truly divine.

Blackbird Corner: Oh yeah, can you believe they are just under the 200 mark!? Well, 'cause they are and because they are so awesome (especially the generous Nici) and talented and stock such an eclectically diverse range of goodies, I just had to stop by and present them this Award.

OK, well, I know that is just 4 but to make up for it I also kinda award the following blogs. I can't find a list of likers on their blogs so am not sure if they meet the specs but I figure between them maybe one will hit the mark! So, I (kinda) present the Award to the following Newcastle lovelies;

Little Eco Footprints: A new blog I discovered on my 'local' travels that will definitely see me stopping by from now on!

Sketch and Jones: Because I love everything she puts her hand to and aspire to use more of her amazing hand-printed designs in my sewing.

Howdy Stranger: I bought a t-shirt from this lass yonks ago and it still looks great, the red-screen print is very me, and well, her blog is just super awesome.

Sorry for the length of this post, it was always going to be a big one, but enjoy your travels around Newcastle til next we meet!

Blessings
Helen

Friday, June 1, 2012

New Item for Corduroy Corner???

Helen and I have been thinking of new items to add to our Corduroy Corner stock selection, what to retire and what to renew!

I came across this gorgeous pattern for what I'm calling 'Puff Pocket Girls Shorts' - I'm sure a better name exists out there, so if you can think of one, feel free to let me know!!!

Amazingly Gorgeous Shorts with puff pocket
I'm going to do a trial run in some funky Saffron Craig fabrics for my 3 year old daughter Matilda!  I bought 1/2m of these fabrics about a year ago, thinking I'd make something straight away, but nothing ever jumped out at me...  Until now.  I figured I should make something with them before my kids grew too big to wear anything made from 1/2m of fabric!!


I'm thinking the small flowers will be the main shorts and the large purple dot fabric will form a great contrast puff pocket!!!  It will give a very different look to the understated elegance of the shorts as they are in the book I think.


Funky Saffron Craig Fabric

So, I got motivated, left the housework til later (actually it's still waiting for me to attend to), and got cutting and sewing, and voila - before I knew it, the vision was a reality!!!  Here's Matilda modelling the shorts, complete with stained leggings (it's getting cold here, and the first day of winter has arrived bring with it rain and general coldness...) and classic model look :)




The orange ribbons wereMatilda's addition - there are yellow dots on the fabric, so it's not tooooo bad!


I'm lucky I got some photos with the pockets gathered - she normally undoes the ribbon straight away and lets the pockets fly out to a ridiculous size - I'm thinking I might stitch them in place to stop it, although it does give me some laughs to see how big they are..

So let us know what you think of the pattern.  I'm liking the contrasting fabrics, and am looking forward to making more of these (interspersed with the boys clothes we are mainly be planning on doing).

Would your little girl wear these shorts?


I'm in love with this pattern and with Saffron Craig's fabric also - a local Australian designer - woohoo!  If you haven't seen her stuff before, head on over and check out her page.

So all in all, I'm pretty happy with the way the shorts have turned out.  I guess that means I should get off the computer and start cleaning the chaos :)  Or maybe I'll start thinking of my next project...  Maternity clothes for me, quilt backing, boy's shorts, hats, bags.....  The list goes on.  I must stop and do something productive :)

Til next time, farewell and take care

Cath