I don't just sell handmade...

I'm one for practicing what you preach and lets face it, it's nice to have something that's original and to buy gifts that you know someone wont already have.

Well last week a new arrival in the family, my little nephew Aaron Lee so I went on the hunt for something different and fun for my new little nephew, I contacted some very talented ladies My Coat of Many Colours and Bright'N'Crafty to make my little nephew something special, here's what they came up with:

Hand knitted booties in navy (left) by Bright'N'Crafty and hand appliqued guitar onsie (right) by My Coat of Many Colours

I'm constantly amazed by the talent I'm surrounded by and wanted to share some of my latest handmade purchases, these little goodies are now making their way to my Sister in Oregon where I'm sure they'll be put to good use. <3 Bobbins x

Paganelli update

As an update to my last post I thought I'd share the fruits of my labour this week - my Funky Flower collection using Jennifer Paganelli prints.

This is the first time I've made circle skirts and I've come up with my own design with a smocked waist line which gives an amazing fit, it also means that the tops can be tucked in and it looks a tshirt dress - very trendy! 

The circle skirts are even bigger and more twirly then I expected, they use roughly a metre of fabric and a whopping three metres of trim - it's a lot of material but the end result is stunning!  I've made them out of quite modern and funky Paganelli prints.  I've also used glittery top stitching, jumbo ric rack and lace to make them even more girly.  I have purchased matching tops and added handmade fabric flowers with vintage and new buttons, to make a nice coordinating outfit.

I've really enjoyed making the circle skirts and they are so twirly and fun - my little girl calls hers her "dancing skirt" so cute!  I feel like I'm finally starting to find my own feet with dressmaking and making designs I really love, the designs look like they are straight out of the Boden catalogue but with a Bobbins twist.

Spotlight on Jennifer Paganelli

I don't know if I'm showing my newness to the dressmaking industry here, but even after a year of sewing every day and spending hours looking for new fabrics I hadn't heard of Jennifer Paganelli before a few weeks ago... I am always on the lookout for bold and beautiful fabrics, things that are a bit different to what other dressmakers are using and one day I stumbled across a fabric from her Crazy Love line called Victoria in Blue - it was love at first sight! I've been working on a lace overlay dress that I know this fabric will be perfect for! 

Victoria in Blue

Well after finding this lush new fabric I spent a few hours looking at Jennifer's different collections - she designs for a few different fabric manufacturers and has several different lines.  I ended up fall ordering six prints from several different collections and they are absolutely striking - big, bold, beautiful and sophisticated, everything I was looking for!

My new Jennifer Paganelli fabrics

I've made one dress so far out of the fabric in the bottom left and this Friday I'll be releasing a size 2-3 Pretty Peasant Dress at www.facebook.com/windthebobbin in the fabric on the bottom right as a little surprise (shhhh!) but I really can't wait to use all the fabric, if you're interested in buying some of this gorgeous fabric for your own creations checkout http://www.sewmamasew.com/ccp0-catshow/dsjpaganelli.html they seem to have quite a comprehensive selection.

My first Paganelli dress, a ruffle pinny with pearl snaps - pattern by Lily Bird Studios

Also, just worth a little mention is Jennifer's book - it seems her talents don't end at designing gorgeous fabrics, she's also just written her first book titled Girl's World her website www.sisboom.com describes the book as including "twenty-one adorable sewing projects to make for little girls—frilly dresses, ruffled pillows, bed canopies, stuffed animals, and more!" - this book has over 50 reviews on www.amazon.com and a 5 star review rating! I think I might just need to add it to my Christmas List!

Girl's World - Twenty-One Sewing Projects to Make for Little Girls by Jennifer Paganelli

Welcome

Welcome! To my all new blog, I never thought I would be a blogger... there are already so many things I try to keep on top of online, but in two weeks time it will be my birthday, well not my birthday but Wind the Bobbins birthday and I'd like to make a second year resolution - to keep better track of my accomplishments, what I'm working on, ideas, etc - I already have my Facebook page www.facebook.com/windthebobbin, but I hope this blog will have a slightly more personal feel and also be a way for me to look back over the entries, so many things seem to get lost in Facebook.  Please feel free to leave comments as I'd love to hear from you!

For those of you that don't know about Wind the Bobbin - I opened shop on 1st May 2011 sewing handmade gifts and selling various items, over the last year I've had to abandon my waiting list due to increasing demand and have been making more ready made items and taking the occasionally custom order slots.  Here are a few pics of the collection I'm working on at the moment Little Red!

Pattern by Brownie-Goose

Pattern by Lily-Bird Studios

An original Wind the Bobbin design

An original Wind the Bobbin Design

Thanks for taking the time to read my lil' blog and for your continued support

<3 as always,

Bobbins

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