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-the home of Simple, Speedy Sewing.

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Meri Blouse is a traditional dress worn in the Pacific Islands, originally introduced by missionaries I've heard. I made these four for a concert at church for some New Guinean ladies. The pattern cutting is very simple with little fabric wasted. And

To finish Me Made May, here's my favourite make of all time, worn by the lovely Emily. It's 5 metres of Ikea upholstery fabric, patternmaking uses subtraction cutting methods (google Julian Roberts, he has lots of free resources). As you can see from

What can I say? I'm in no danger of running out of handmade clothes for Me Made May (last count- more than 50 items in my wardrobe) but they are getting more...unusual. This flatpack shawl (it is a flat shape with armholes) was a college design proje

I made three of these dresses, because they look more complicated to make than they really are. This is black linen with a bit of sashiko stitching - cool to wear in summer or over a tee shirt when the temperatures go down.
#memadewardrobe #sewers of

The Year of Being Pretty Thankful...

Wishing you a wonderful year in 2011! Hilarious card by Alicia Holland.Around New Years a friend and I decide on a theme for the year. 2011 was set to be The Year of Being Pretty - I do need to tidy myself up a bit! But it was a tad too shallow, even for us.

May have to settle for The Year of Being Pretty Thankful instead. In true Oprah fashion, every day I list in my diary 3 things I'm thankful for.

Today it's:

1) a dry floor to walk on (not underwater like so many other Queensland homes)

2) electricity ( I whine about the bills but having the power cut during these floods is no fun) and

3) just being alive. (We know some lovely folk at Murphy's Creek who were tragically drowned a few days ago - that puts a whole new perspective on just losing a few material possessions.)

Hope 2011 finds you with plenty to be thankful for!

Flood sculpture on the Brisbane River...before the real flood began...