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Some not-overly consistent top stitching with crazy back tacking +
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a little bit of who can be bothered joining up , I'll just sew right off the edge +
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a uniquely placed tail with an extra bit of kink=
Sally, as made completely by Connor (master 16).For a boy who still struggles with the concept of dirty clothes going INSIDE the dirty clothes basket he pretty much nailed the softie making.
If you would like to get your mitts on a copy of the Sally and Smith pattern, just leave a comment telling me about the first thing you made that actually really truly worked!
Well it certainly wasn't the dinosaur with the backwards arms and wonky legs my housband and houseguest took great delight in mocking.
ReplyDeleteLocket? HA!
ReplyDeleteIt was a lion from a Golden Hands book of 80 toys to make for children - still have the book and the lion - Dandelion - of course! I was about 12ish?
ReplyDeleteAwww he did such a fantastic job! Is he keeping it?
ReplyDeleteOOOOh another Golden hands pattern for a dog that I made for my youngest cousin. Flopsy was made from my mothers old gardening overalls and a deliciously ugly 70s print shirt for the tummy and inside of the ears. She carried Flopsy around for a couple of years.
ReplyDeletewow, that is so cool! Did he pick the fabrics too? It definitly has an 'edge', a very cool doggy! My first seweing machine things were pencil cases for anyone who didn't want one haha. I'd applique a name on, insert the zip, give them to my cousins and sister etc, Wish I had one now to look back on!
ReplyDeleteAyden? Well baby clothes for Ayden. My grandma taught me how to knit but a summer baby boy didn't need many bootees and fancy hats :)
ReplyDeleteit would probably have to be miss 22 ... she worked straight away!!!
ReplyDeletepleased to say i've had sewing success since children! LOL!!
janine
I pieced the wonkiest log cabin pincushion by hand for my Grandmother when I was 8. It was made from scraps of my clothes and she used it for years and years. When she could no longer see to sew, she gave it back to me. I still have it. I still marvel at it!
ReplyDeleteA queen size quilt with wonky stiching and all but 15 years later its still on mine and my husbands bed. I made it while going through the "big" first love break up from what I had come to realise was not the man of my dreams but an actual frog. I still dont know what a fat quarter is, but my quilt is still together after this long which means I got somthing right! (sound the rocky music) it hasnt lost a thread yet!!!! woohooo -naomi mcnomes17@yahoo.com.au
ReplyDeleteHe's done a fantastic job! He should be proud. The first thing I made that worked - was a rag doll when I was about 12. I did need a fair bit of help from my mum with the feet and the shoes - but it did work out quite well in the end!
ReplyDeleteHonestly..? I can't remember, does that mean I'm really old..?
ReplyDeleteLizzie
xxx
He's done a brilliant job! My mum took sewing at school when I was about 10, and we made an apron that my Schoolboy now uses, and a needle case that I still use. Pretty sure there was a long creative break after that though!
ReplyDeleteDoes master 16 get paid as a pattern tester? It was soooooo long ago I can not remember what I made. It would have been at school and dinosaurs where roaming the earth.
ReplyDeleteHe did a great job! The first softie I made that actually worked like it was supposed to was a sock monkey. Of course, looking at it now I can see how much I did wrong, but he is still pretty cute.
ReplyDeleteYay for Connor! His Smith is definitely a one-off!
ReplyDeleteShe looks great! And unique!
ReplyDeleteThe very first thing that I made with a sewing machine was a log cabin cushion. I was 15 and it was made during the so called "project days" in school where you could choose which project you wanted to join (How to sew a patchwork cushion, how to repair a car, how to...).
And it turned out great, much better than a lot of the stuff I tried to sew afterwards...
Fine
OMG, so adorable!!!
ReplyDeletethe first thing I made that truly worked... my mother was a pattern maker, so I remember her teaching me how to make clothes for my Barbie from the time I was knee-high to a grasshopper - I'm sure under her careful supervision those always worked.
But the first thing I remember making of my own design, was actually a stuffy - a white mouse I named "Rat" - and I think I was around 12. He sat on my bed for years as I was quite proud of him, but I forgot about him until just now!
I was 5 and it was an apron with my grandmother. It is more than 50 years later and I still have it. The hand stitching is very good for a 5 year old, but my grandmother was a perfectionist and if the stitches were not right she would rip them out and I had to do it again. I am glad she did because I take pride in my sewing now. I have a new 10 year old neice adopted into the family who wants to learn to sew. A copy of the Sally and Smith pattern would be fun.
ReplyDeleteGo Connor!!!
ReplyDeleteWarmest hugs,
Sandi
Well I began sewing at age 9 after an apprenticeship watching my Mum sew our clothes for 9 years or so. I started out by making clothes for my brother's teddy bear from pretty wild leftover curtain fabric. (It was the 70's!) I remember my room was strewn with fabric (not very different from today!) and I suppose my effort was not as good as Connor's but I was so proud of the shorts (No elastic, he didn't need it. In the tradition of all teddies he was pretty tubby.) and shirt (no buttons) and in fact that teddy still sports that outfit today. (Truly well sewn clothes never date. Or so I am told.) That was the beginning of a love affair with sewing and I am still madly in love with it today. Thanks for the opportunity to reminise!
ReplyDeleteHmmm... I can't remember the first thing I got right, but I can remember some early major stuff-ups, one being some shorts that didn't work properly. I even recently made the same mistake with track-pants.
ReplyDeleteThe dog looks great - especially for a beginner - I would have been pretty happy with that!
I made a grandma's path cushion when I was 8 with the help of a wonderful aunt. But the first softie I made (aged 12) that was a huge success was a fantastically simple teddy bear that was a hand puppet. You had to have a very small hand to make it work but it was for my younger sister and she loved it and it was a favourite of hers for many years. I even had to make it a blankie to keep it happy when she went to school.
ReplyDeleteI wish I still had the pattern - I think I could create one myself but it was such a cute teddy and easy to make too.
I can't remember the first but when I first made a quilt that sat flat and no extra seams I was chuffed
ReplyDeleteI love this! Just so friendly looking and very well constructed. Way to go, Connor!
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I successfully made? That's a hard one, it was so long ago. It was probably doll clothes. I remember making them when I was very young.
Well done Conner. Here are the first things I made http://snailblazer.blogspot.com/2006/08/sewing-bug-has-hit.html and the first softie I made http://snailblazer.blogspot.com/2006/08/owl.html
ReplyDeleteComing up to 5 years blogging/sewing this week so hopefully there has been some improvement along the way!
Oh my goodness, she is sooooo cute!! I am owned by two wienie dogs, and I am drooling over Sally. :D
ReplyDeleteIt would have to be an apron made way back in home ec! Ugly for sure. Love the doggie!
ReplyDeleteEvin5 at aol dot com
Nice Customizations, Connor. Hmm, sounds like a business name.
ReplyDeleteFirst softie I ever made was a sock doll when I was 11. My friend down the street had a book on crafts and we both made dolls. Mine had black yarn hair in braids and blue button eyes, with an embroidered nose and mouth. I made some clothes for her too, from some scraps my mom gave me. She's living in a suitcase in the garage with all my other childhood dolls. Her name is Flower.
The first thing I ever made was a hand sewn bag (about big enough for a soda pop can) that I "embroidered" the word dirt on because I got to tired of stitching to ad the 'y' on to. I was seven and it was for my doll clothes. I can also tell you about the piece of furniture I was sitting on, the orientation of it in the room, the view from the window behind me, and about a zillion other things. It was the day my Grandmother taught me to sew and it made a HUGE impression on my life. I am currently teaching my 8 year old how to sew. She saw your pattern and said"Mom, look, it's a wienie! Make me that please!" I think she would love it more if she made it...
ReplyDeleteA doll blanket out of two pieces of cloth. My cousin helped me a lot, but I sewed all the way around the outside edge by myself.
ReplyDeleteSummer
does a pillow case count...prolly not.
ReplyDeletei made a small teddy bear when I was in fourth grade....it was WONKY
I think I was five years old when I cross stitched my name and two hearts on a pillowcase. And all my stitches were straight, it was a proud moment. And my mom entered it in my small town quilt shows childrens division, where I like, took home a participation ribbon. I had never been so proud in my life. I got a PURPLE PARTICIPATION RIBBON! Sigh, I still have that pillowcase, it's falling apart, but I can't get rid of it.
ReplyDeleteMy first attempt at embroidery...it was Truly Scrumptious by Cinderberry. I still can't believe the blocks sewed together properly and it looks like a REAL quilt!! Yay!!
ReplyDeleteOh Sally is fab - good job Connor!
ReplyDeleteI think one of the first softies I made was a Clothkits doll way back in the early '70s. She was so pretty with a printed turquoise and purple dress.
xxx
Mmm It would have to be a little felt dog I made when i was in year 4 at school. He was red with black eyes. Our whole class had to make them, but my bestie and I were the only ones whoes eyes and tails still were in place after a week of being carried around in the play ground.
ReplyDeleteMy mother also has the stitch sampler I made in primary school. Not sure whats its purpose was but she still has it. LOL
She looks great. He did a great job!! The first thing I designed and made all by myself was an Elmo pillow. I was like 15? I had gotten a giant Elmo face balloon for my birthday. I traced it and got some red fuzzy fabric and some black felt and sewed it on. I still have it somewhere. I thought it was pretty cool (at the time)..
ReplyDeleteI think the first thing I made that actually worked was my grease circle skirt I made for my 21st birthday. It is also what started me on blogging! Every project I started before that either didn't work out or got dumped half way through.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing better than a sausage dog made out of pigs.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying not to be insulted in your insinuation that I have made things that haven't worked. I'll have you know that the very first thing I made, approximately 32 years ago was a totally bitchin' (and working) green corduroy drawstring book bag in Sewing 8.
The first thing I made that worked? A red gingham shirt for my daughter when she was eighteen months old. It was to match a pair of very cute Osh Kosh overalls - I was too mean to buy the matching shirt. It had a frilled collar and because the shirt was so small, I had to tack the collar rather than pin it, and for the first time I got a collar to sit right.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Master 16!! He has done an excellent job!! Good on you for encouraging the world of 'beginner sewers'! Can't wait to be able to help my little people sew. Master 5 is especially keen to learn.
ReplyDeleteUmmm, I'm still trying ;-)
ReplyDeleteWell done Connor!
Firstly, congratulations, Connor!
ReplyDelete... and congratulations Jodie on getting a 16yo male to sew!
The first thing I sewed that really, truly worked was a four gore lined skirt (from a commercial pattern) with zipper made under my grandmother's supervision! I was seventeen and she had just bought me my first sewing machine! I had not done Home Ec at school so it was my first time using a machine too!
In grade 8 home ex class I made a red with white hearts apron. That was 26 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI have a very vague memory of making "Gonks" to throw at pop singers including Normie Rowe. If you don't know what I mean you are way too young, ask your mother!
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I made that worked was a ballgown for my Barbie when I was 10. My mum wouldn't buy me any clothes for her so I got my Nana to teach me to sew!
ReplyDeletemr_leebee (at) yahoo (dot) com (dot) au
Sacred Heart College Victoria Street Ballarat, I made a floppy eared dog, blue, I've still got it somewhere. Turned out ok. Preferred that class to learning how to wash dishes.
ReplyDeleteThanks to two sweet "teachers" in junior high, I was able to make a pair of felt mittens with a clip inside of them to clip on the x-mas tree.
ReplyDeleteLong gone now, but remembered fondly!
Probably my Blue Hawaiian print Wrap Around Skirt in Year 7 - Man I loved that skirt!! And I love the legs on that puppy!
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that made me soooo proud was when I figured out a whole pattern from a Spanish sewing magazine called "Primita" for children clothes and I cut and made a little overall for Alfie my 1 year old son. I haven't stopped making things since. Cheers from Mexico !
ReplyDeleteI'm not messing with that Sally...the look on her face clearly says to me..."hey I'm unique and I like it that way, deal with it!"...well done Connor even if your Mother does like taking the piss...but then, you probably deserve being a teenage boy and all...
ReplyDeleteHave no clue regarding the question so too bad so sad I fail the giveaway exam...oh well, you get that...
For me, it was a knitting project - I was probably 12 - a pair of overalls for my little brother's teddy. It had increasing! and straps! and shape! that mostly worked.
ReplyDeleteI still remember how great if felt to figure it all out and then have someone love it despite the wonky stitches.
It was a double fabric elephant that my husband drew for my. It took me a bit time to figure out that I need to sew the ears hidden between the two "wrong sides" and that i want the tail pointing out (therefore hidden inside)...
ReplyDeleteBut it was worth it!
a pillow case i made in home ec and i embroidered a donkey pulling a cart on it when everyone else was using paint pens. I used that pillowcase until it fell apart and the stitching had half worn off the image.
ReplyDeleteI was 7 and appliqued and hand sewed an aqua gingham oven mitt with an offcut of old blanket inside.
ReplyDeleteIt had a white clock face with black chain stitched 4 O'clock hands embroidered on it (Tea Time!) The curtain ring on top was blanket stitched all around.
It was far too precious to use. My mother hung it up on a hook next to the stove.
That was 50 years ago!
It was only recent and I've been sewing for years! It's a red Melton wool coat lined with pink Ruby Gloom satin for my 4 year old. I've never been so proud of myself!
ReplyDeleteIt took a whole summer vacation but then after a lot of unpicking and re -stitching I had made a bathrobe.
ReplyDeleteAnd now making clothes seams to be a lot easier and I changed to making toys and bags.
I was quite young probably 8 or 9 when I started sewing barbie clothes. They weren't great but they were my first attempts. I think all your new patterns are simply adorable.
ReplyDeleteA RHINO!! Check him out! (getting a bit of a hunting gallery- now I have made 4!!)
ReplyDeletegrayinberlin.blogspot.com
you have raised a fine youg man!
ReplyDeleteLove it! Great sewing.
ReplyDeleteWhen I returned to sewing as an adult, the first skirt I made from a commercial pattern was too small at my hips (using the waist measurement). My second attempt was too big at the waist (using my hip measurement). Finally, my third skirt fitted as I fudged how to grade the pattern to fit me. So glad I didn't give up! (Do I sound a little like Goldilocks?)
I'm among the gals who are so old we can't remember what our first successful sewing project was. Maybe the yellow floral jumper in eighth grade home-ec. It had buttons and buttonholes AND a zipper, which was a lot to learn in one project. My top stitching may have been much like Connor's. LOL! You rock, Connor!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child I would take my worn stuffed animals apart, make patterns from them and make new ones. As far as I can remember, I did a pretty good job! :-)
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I ever made was a BALLOON SKIRT!! remember them, they made you look like your bum was a hot air balloon!! Great dog by the way x
ReplyDeletegreat job on Sally, she looks like our dog, Abe. First thing was probably a skirt for my Barbie doll. A Favorite fabric and some gros grain ribbon and voila!
ReplyDeleteMaster 16 did a brilliant job! I remember making a wallhanging in junior school with an owl on the front and I showed off by doing chain stitch and fly stitch that my granny had taught me. :o)
ReplyDeleteNowt wrong with a uniquely placed tail. Our hound was runover whilst a puppy. She has a uniquely placed leg that nearly wasn't there.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 8ish I made a frog with a felt top hat and waistcoat called pudding. I stuffed him with pudding rice. He was about 5cm long. My Mum still has him.
Great job Connor!
ReplyDeleteMy first softie was a bunny I made for my DD while a baby who love it until she got her hubby... but bunny proudly sits on her spare bed all tatterd and worn. I'd love to try my hands at your Sally. Thanks.
IF I remember correctly, it was a drawstring bag to corral my checkers. I was 9ish (50 years ago).
ReplyDeleteBTW, I am a U.S. "textiles" teacher who allows her students to choose their own projects. It is a logistical nightmare that more than pays off in student motivation. These patterns will be great to have on hand. Thanx for them AND your marvelous blog.
wow! That's great! I think I made a little fuzzy elephant from a kit when
ReplyDeletei was about 13. But it was by hand!
This Sally sure has personality and I take it she doesn't mind a little pork in her diet. Great job Mr16.
ReplyDeleteI made a pink pinafore for myself when I was 10ish - the mother was very patient back then and good at playing teacher to my sisters and I.
Hmm... Well... There have been plenty of epic fails, and not so epic fails, but probably a stegasaurous (sp?) that I made of a friends boy and then could not bear to give up!!! Love the doxi!!!!
ReplyDeleteReally like the doxi -
ReplyDeleteI've been sewing since mmmm...
First thing I ever made was a jingle bell jack, totally made out of yo-yos 4 in cicles for the arms and legs with a bell on the ends. Then 6 in circles for the body. Stuff a ball for the head and a cone shape for the hat. He lived for years and did have to be restrung a couple of times...
Just popping in to say, Happy Birthday!!!!!
ReplyDeleteA doll I made for my daughter when she was little from a Rainie Crawford pattern.That was 33 years ago and am now making soft animals and dolls for my grandchildren.Love that your son made sally.My six year old grandson wants to learn to sew.
ReplyDeleteOn my own it was a stuffed dog from a simplicity pattern made out of spotted thin wale corderoy ...in the late 60s I guess!
ReplyDeleteSo cute! The first thing I remember making was a little crazy quilt style pillow for my mom for mother's day, but I was only about 7 and either wasn't allowed to use needles or didn't know how, so the whole thing was put together with craft glue. Well, it *kind of* worked...
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I made that actually worked were felt and sequin tree-shaped Christmas ornaments, about a year later. I was really proud of how those turned out.
once made a small quilt for a Ninja Turtle toy....7 year old nephew thought it was just the BEST thing
ReplyDeleteIt was a vest. I was 10. I still can see the fabric and those special buttons my mom let me splurge on. I loved it so.
ReplyDelete-Brooke
So what your saying is that the tail is kinky.
ReplyDeleteYou need to get out of the sewing room Jod's!
A happy jacket of course, in year 7. Did I wear it? NO! But I was bitten by the sewing bug and havent looked back...
ReplyDeleteFantastic job! Love the fabrics.
ReplyDeleteI taught myself to knit. The stitches were soooo tight I ended up with a tube instead of a scarf. Never would lie flat.
The first thing I made that truley worked was an apron made out of a bridesmaid dress I had to wear. You NEVER wear thosr things again. I cut the front off. Serged both sides, turn it over and toped stitched. Used the back for ties and used an old apron I loved to make the front just perfect. I still have the prettiest apron ever mad out of that old brides maid dress.
ReplyDeleteI was about 10 and my mother hired the high school girl next door to teach me how to make a simple dress. I was so proud when I wore it to church the next sunday. I've loved sewing and crafting ever since.
ReplyDeleteI'm in love with that cute dog.
The dog is lovely!
ReplyDeleteBeertje Zonn
Three very tiny felt owls, the one with the wonky eye was done intentionally i swear.
ReplyDeleteI made curtains, sort of rectangular. Still worked though.
ReplyDeleteWell I made an elephant that worked out well but it only had 2 legs. It was a large cuddly elephant all the same!
ReplyDeleteSewing began around 4 years for me - sewing out test strips for my dad on machines he was repairing in his sewing machine shop! Love your pages and patterns jewel
ReplyDelete