Terrarium love affair

I have had a love affair with terrariums for so long now. We do Christmas terrariums that are incredibly tacky but make us all smile throughout the silly season. The mention however, of a full time terrarium creates strange looks on my husbands face. So I just pine over terrariums on Pinterest & count down the days to creating some Christmas silliness. 

Today on a school holiday adventure I spotted some lovely rocky moss on the road verge & couldn't resist. I became a roadside collector & quickly grabbed a little patch (it seems to like to grow in the limestone that is used as a road base, just off the bitumen). 

I got home, grabbed a vacola jar & quickly threw it together, I did mention it is school holidays didn't I? Nothing happens slowly on school holidays. So here is my little terrarium. Not even sure my husband will notice it as it is pretty small but if I do happen to see some more moss......well that's another story.

developing 'Poppy'...

I’m delighted with the way my recent design, the ‘Poppy’ dress turned out but developing a pattern requires a fair bit of behind the scenes work. Developing each individual size, doing some test runs & then of course some product testing.

I thought I’d share with you today exactly that, some product testing.

I made up the smallest pattern using just some remnants I had & then let my daughter loose. It’s not just so that I can take whole lot of cute photos of my daughter but it enables me to see that the pattern lives up to what I require of all the clothes I make. They need to be easy to put on (& take off), they need to look good but they also need to allow the freedom to play. 

There was a lot of dribble, a lot of pointing & a lot of playing on her big sister's toys...all in all a successful mission.

Product testing finished!!

here's to the hoodie...

I think I have found a little niche. Not at all what I expected but I am not getting sick of churning out these babies. All the different colour combinations that people are suggesting, the different sizes. I just love them.

The Hoodie Vest has also become the staple winter clothing item for both my girls.

Kids love to play (obviously) & jackets can be quite restrictive. Anything that restricts play also becomes a struggle to get them to wear...so how do you keep your kids warm. Well this is it. Free arm movement, chest warmth & then super cool fabric to make any boring outfit totally individual & very adorable (even with trackies).

If you'd like your own unique made to order Hoodie Vest...check out http://byreneehall.bigcartel.com/product/unisex-hoodie-vest

aaah fleece...

Take a little kiddy bed piled high with stuffed toys & throw on some fleecy sheets & I reckon you have a picture of super cuteness & snugly comfort. The only only downfall is fleece sheets can be super daggy & lack any loveliness. So with a little stash of fleece I decided to give my little kiddy some comfy cuteness.

the gnomes are coming...

I know a lot of you crafters/sewers would be very familiar with this Michael Miller designed fabric.


The moment the weather got cooler & I started sewing up jackets, I was dreaming of these gnomes that I had stashed away. So I'm giving you all the heads up that these little gnomes are soon to appear in my shop in the form of toasty coats. This fabric will not be available for custom orders & will be a limited release of ready made items.

i have a shop (& a new monster)...

I'm finally getting myself organised. I have set up my own shop that links through facebook but also allows those that don't use facebook to see both my made to order products aswell as items I have ready to go. It also has a link to the current fabrics available for made to order items. 

Make sure you check it out:

byreneehall.bigcartel.com

I also had a little splurge & added this monster to my sewing room (if you saw my current clunkers, you'd understand the sigh of relief when this was delivered).

 

It's taking a little bit to get used to...the speed is amazing and it feels like it could take my arm off but it sews through my heavily padded jackets & vests like butter so I am definitely in love. Now I'll even be able to get into some woolen jackets...super exciting.

All warm & fuzzy...

The cooler weather has definitely set in, sick kids, parents sick of sick kids & rain. So I busted out the butchers paper & started working on a coat pattern inspired by my peplum pini. The result surprised me. I must admit I don't normally dive into a good stash of fabric when developing a pattern, it generally takes a couple of goes, but I did & it all worked & fit....fabulous!!

The only problem is now creating the pattern in all the sizes needed. I'm no good with anything monotonous so I quickly got distracted...whipped up a trim hoodie vest pattern & now onto a unisex coat. If only I could focus :-(

i finally took the plunge...

Its taken me a while to get my boutique range of fabrics up & running. There is simply too much loveliness out there to be bought but I finally got my act together & these bunch of gorgeous fabrics are soon to arrive & be uploaded onto www.facebook.com/byreneehall. After my fete appearance the other day I'm super glad I bought a couple of boyish fabrics as there seems to be a huge demand for unique boys gear. I can't wait to make a little vest out of the camera fabric & some soon to be launched reversible okanui shorts would definitely see some fish. As for the girly ones, I just can't decide so I'll leave that up to some custom orders & see what eventuates.

Although this fabric hasn't yet hit my shelves there will only be a limited amount so by all means send me a message to secure your order before it all disappears :-)

 

 

 

building up stock...

A school fete has beckoned me & I'm busy making a small selection of goodies to showcase in the hope of drumming up more custom orders.

Making a whole bunch of something out of fabric I choose is one thing but I love the made to order concept a bit more. It's exciting to liaise with someone and allow them to choose the fabrics. Knowing I'm making them something individual and personal is an absolute delight.

I love it when people comment on the uniqueness of the items I make for my kids. When I custom make something for someone it is also nice to think that they too could get a little bit of satisfaction in knowing they had a hand in the creation of the item.

Love it!

down the garden path...

Before all that sewing, the garden had my undying love. Its a bit like the puppy dog you get shortly after getting married, before the kids come along. Your first baby. Then the real babies come along & the puppy dog who is now a little old & grey gets sadly neglected. My vegie patch is a lot like that puppy dog, it used to be all consuming & I poured all my time & energy into it. Now however, a couple of pregnancies and dealing with a new world of raising girls, all that time time I used to have has just evaporated & been sucked up elsewhere. Over the last 4 years my vegie patch has been more of a burdon than the sanctuary it used to be.

I had dreams of being a new mother, with kids in tow (maybe even one on my back as often I have seen people do) & we'd spend hours in the vegie patch. That dream quickly got squashed by the reality of all those other things that need your attention when you have kids & sadly the vegie garden became more & more neglected. My trips down there would leave me feeling deflated as I looked around at the wasted space that wasn't being as productive as it should. Infestations of bugs were taking over as I neglected my morning & evening bug squashing ritual. It looked sad, as did my poor, old, greying dog. A long hot summer this year & a shortfall of rainwater also meant that when I did attempt a quick little stint down there nothing seemed to get going & all that effort just seemed to be falling short.

But, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Autumn weather has brought much needed rain. The kids are a little bit bigger & willing to share my time a little bit, my husband's attempt at compost has paid off & I have finally realised I can't do it all. Collecting seed, growing my own seedlings, making my own liquid feed it was crazy to think I had made it this hard. Despite realising this, it still requires a lot more work than I can give it. The perfect 6 bed rotation dream has been abandoned in favour of 'chuck a whole lot of vegies randomly in & hope that some survive'.  But its producing & its making me smile again.

Vegie gardens are hard work (don't let anyone tell you they're not) but if you're realistic about it & don't try & overshoot things the joy of a dinner plate filled with home grown produce is just the most amazing feeling.

designing & stuff...

Although I should probably focus on building stock of the designs I already I have, I just can't help myself & I'm back to the drawing board & playing with ideas. I'm working on some overall sort of things (sorry if I may offend, but I hate overalls so I need to come up with a new name). I want them to be slouchy, comfy & easy to take off. Cute girls ones & of course something special for the boys too. Hopefully the rain will continue over the weekend so that I can hide in my sewing room & continue to play.

On another note, I have new labels coming. YAY! I originally had some text only woven labels but they ran out. So a quick online order delivered some printed labels which were OK but not really the look I'm going for, plus I've almost run out of them too. So a visit to World Wide Label on etsy & I have these little woven babies on their way. There's going to be a lot of them so I'll be able to label the clothes I make for my girls now too (a little bit of self promotion doesn't hurt anyone).

have a look at these...

Here's a little peek at some boutique little owls that will be up for grabs in the Facebook shop soon.

it's discount time...

If you have a Facebook account then jump on over to www.facebook.com/byreneehall because i'm offering 15% off a made to order peplum style pinafore to all those that 'Like' my page & leave a comment.

The Peplum Pini is available in sizes 1 to 4 & is reversible with snap closures at the front. Prices start from $31. Refer to 'Products' under Photo Albums for further pricing details or contact me for further details.

The offer is available to Australian residents only on orders received by the 1st May 2013 upon the above conditions being met & excludes postage. Fabric selection can be made from my 'Current Fabrics' under Photo Albums. Fabric is subject to availability at the time of confirmation of order. This discount excludes any other offer.

back on the needles...

A seaside break which was a little cool prompted me to pick up the needles & get knitting again. But now we're back & we're having unseasonal hot weather so the idea of knitting is proving a little difficult again. I am however, the slowest knitter so I need to push through to ensure that this actually gets finished by the time the weather does actually cool.

It will be a beanie. I don't really have a pattern. Just fumbling my way through it (as I do) but I'm  hoping it will look a little like this one...

...chances are that it won't (that's what I get for not using a pattern) but its a nice feeling getting the needles out again. The idea of being warm & toasty in winter clothes sounds just dreamy given the 39deg cel day we had yesterday.

peplum pini...

I can't tell you how exciting it is that I am now at a stage in making my kiddy clothes where I can have a design concept and now actually turn that into a pattern. I've thrown together a few bits and bobs before but often they're quite similar to things that have already been done before. But this is different and special to me. Its all from scratch, all me and I'm really happy with the end result.

I've called it the Peplum Pini and selling them as a custom order over at www.facebook.com/byreneehall

They're reversible, as I think when dealing with kids, everything should be reversible. I'm not the best at stain removal. So if one side gets all mucked up, well then I have the other side to give the outfit an extended life. On the other hand if you're kids aren't as grubby as mine then you have two sides to coordinate with even more clothes, its like two outfits in one. I'm also a big fan of all things pinafore. I like to buy basic T'shirts and leggings for my girls and then throw something over the top to jazz it up if we're heading out in public.

The fabric I have chosen for this is Jay-Cyn Designs 'Storyboek Two' 100% organic cotton. Ultimately I would love the reverse of this to be a gorgeous medium weight hemp as I would like my little business to be a reflection of what I am passionate about. But, little steps and hopefully the bigger picture will become clearer in the not too distant future.

for 'baby doll'...

My youngest is very in love with her little doll so I thought I'd call on my bag making skills (from a previous life) and make a little doll's bassinet. I was surprised at how easy it came together. I made this one without a pattern and fudged my way through it but since then I've looked online and there are some great tutorials out there for some super cute bassinets. Most of the tutorials put my very rushed attempt to shame but my daughter certainly doesn't know any different.

This would make the perfect girl for a little girl. I may even have to make one for my older daughter and attempt to fancy it up a little.

to pink, or not to pink...

My daughter, like most little girls, loves pink. I'm not a pink person, never have been. When she was born, I avoided purchasing any pink. Until now!

As soon as they can dress themselves, they all of a sudden have this new amount of control of what they wear & they love it. All of a sudden my creations in her closet were not pink enough & not princess enough. So that's when the twirly t-shirt dresses became her favorite item of clothing. Which has been fabulous, but now with the onset of cooler weather. My daughter is still attempting to get around in dresses & the mere sight of anything else is causing her distress. So when I told her that I wanted to make her a vest to keep her warm & she could choose the fabric...we created this...

It had to be pink, fluffy & floral. So here it is. I even made a matching hair clip (I think she's converting me).

Yay...new fabric

I'm almost all out of nearly everything, so it's time to restock the shelves.

a tomato distraction...

Yes, I sew but I am also rather partial to all things a bit 'hippie'. I'm a bit of an organic's and permaculture fan. I attempt to live a less wasteful life and attempt a bit of sustainable living. I love a bit of 'Gardening Australia' and think Peter Cundall is a super star. Yes, I am a dag!

So at the end of summer when the tomatoes are in abundance I get really, really busy. I'm lucky to have a rather large vegie garden and family members who also have large vegie gardens so most of my tomatoes are home grown. Though I have been known to purchase the odd 10kg box here and there to supplement any tomato growing disasters (which happens a lot). I'm not a big fan of buying tinned tomatoes. There's a whole lot of 'extra things' in them, there's all those tins to dispose of and tomatoes are just super cheap at the right time of year, so buying a large tin for $3-$4 just doesn't stack up against doing it for yourself.

I do whole tomatoes, passatta, sauces and some semi dried. All in all, a lot of tomatoes. The jars are those I've accumulated over the years from friends, myself & family but I've also indulged in some beautiful Vacola jars. I just buy new lids each year from Green Living Australia.

My tomato preserving is almost finished but there are still some super cheap tomatoes out there and plenty of info online on how to do it (including the Green Living Australia website). So give it a go!

i'm loving these...

I know I'm biased but I am loving these. Pinafores are one thing but this little creation has become my new favourite thing.

I'm not sure that my daughter will have anything else in her wardrobe soon. I'm rotating through a couple of them during the day...one gets dribbly, I dry it out whilst she wears another & she looks clothed the whole time & super cute. Beats the boring old bib!
They also look like little waistcoats on boys which I think is adorable. Time to get some more fabric I think, so that I can make even more. Speaking of fabric, what takes your fancy?

another little sneak peak

I have two girls. You'd say that is just perfect for someone that makes clothes, but not in this house.

My youngest hates being dressed. Actually she doesn't just hate it, she detests it. You could be excused for thinking I was murdering her whenever I attempt to get her dressed. She is also the messiest, dribbliest little thing I have ever seen.

So we have a battle. I don't want her to look like a doll but a little less grot would be nice. So I've designed up something similar to those 'baprons' that I have seen around. It covers them up, catches all the goo, easily changeable & reversible plus I think they look super cute (almost like a pinafore).

I'm busy making some up for the shop but I quickly threw one together for my grub & guess what, it's the blessing I've been waiting for. Now to make them in oodles of fabrics!

i'm back baby...

i've been out of blog land for quite some time now but a little clothing line has inspired me to start babbling again. so the low down is, i'm selling children's clothing over at www.facebook.com/byreneehall & on etsy but if you've checked me out on those then you're only getting half the story. i plan on using this blog to give you sneak peaks into new designs and fabrics but be warned, i do get sidetracked easily & could throw in a bit of general chit chat too.

as far as the clothing is concerned i have started to launch my 'basics' range. this range offers affordable handmade childrens clothing (generally by custom order) with fabrics purchased in small lots to ensure the individuality of your purchase & a high turn over of styles. the current fabric range & product range is showcased on the facebook site. i am however, about to also launch a 'boutique' range offering a designer fabric range with sustainable fabric choices.

i am super excited & anxious about receiving my order for these organic fabrics:

sleeping animals by Rebekah Ginda

grey birch by Jay-Cyn Designs

whale watch by Jay-Cyn Designs

i have a limited amount of fabric & so any custom orders will be first in best dressed (pricing for the  'boutique' range will be uploaded on facebook shortly. but i have a couple of special jacket designs that will feature these fabrics just in time for the cooler weather.