Bee-Bah Bee-Bah Emergency tutorial

The emergency is an impending little boys First birthday.

What started out as plan to make a little soft car, grew into a personalised ambulance.

Someone recently told me this was an organic approach to creating.....OK......I just think its cause I make it up as a go along - but organic sounds good doesn't it???

I took a few slap-dash pics as I went along, thinking that I might want to make a few more variations, so if you would like to join me, I present you with the ambulance - a - long!

Draw your idea of a car, truck or bus as seen from the side. Don't get too technical.

With fabric right sides together cut out 2 of these shapes. These measurements include the seam allowance.

Iron some vliesofix, wunder-under or double sided adhesive to the WRONG side of your feature fabrics (i.e the wheels, crosses)

Peel of the backing and iron them into place on your ambulance shape. Leave a little gap around the wheels when you iron them in place - this will get taken up in your seam allowance.

I ironed some stabiliser to the back of my ambulance shape as well to help my stitching sit on top. Sew your pieces in place.

This white piece measure 3 1/4 inches x 13 inches .

add to each end of this a piece in black measuring 3 1/4 x 6 inches. This is the centre panel or body of your ambulance.

With right sides together (yes I stabilised the strip as well), start pinning your strip to the ambulance. Start with the white fabric just above the front wheel. The idea is to have the underside of the ambulance black (so it shows the dirt less).. Really , the whole idea of a white toy is totally stupid and I know that but hey....I'm being organic! (No really I just like red crosses on white)

Keep pinning

Once you have pinned all the way around to the next black piece gently turn the ambulance right sides out.

Now you can mark on some ambulance (or car) features with a water soluble marker. I added doors and indicated where I needed the front bumper and windscreen to be.

Sew those details on and remove the water soluble marker.

The windscreen, is a photo printed onto ink jet printable fabric, vliesofixed into place and covered with a piece of thin clear PVC.

Now simply pin and stitch the strip to the right sides of both sides of your ambulance.

Make sure you start at the same point on both sides and the centre panel so you don't go skewiff.

Sew all the way around , leaving the join in the centre of the two wheels. As you can see the black is a bit long - I was just guessing and I do like to overestimate.

Trim off the excess, leaving at least a 1/4 inch for turning under.

Clip clip clip those seams - I know it is a pain in the butt - but it really does help....

Turn out through the gap in the bottom, stuff and close the gap with a ladder stitch.

The siren/lights thingo is just a rectangle of felt, stuffed and hand-stitched to the roof.

Hmmm, I wonder if he would also like a bus ?

Wouldn't a rocket be cute with a little face looking out a round window?

Herbie the Love bug for newlyweds? .......

A bus with photos of the whole family?

Ok. I'll stop now.

simmer on a low heat

After the full-on rolling boil of the months lead up to the show, I seem to have lost some momentum.

There is plenty to do

Daughters frocks to be refashioned.

Cool, lightweight plastic stuff for an attempt at a dolly raincoat

a quilt to be bound and a present for a little friend to be invented.

But I find myself simmering on low heat, stirring occasionally.......

The beast awakens

The sewing room is almost tidy (ish)

The shop is full

and the great green monster has been woken from it's slumber.

Wild thing..........

Wild thing

You make my heart sing

You make everything...

groovy.....

Wild thing

Wild thing,

I...think I love you

Thankyou Jhoanna,

I love her.

Buy ,swap, sell

I am starting to feel a bit like I am talking about a party that not everyone was able to get to, so I am going to stop banging on about the show and just show you some of the beautiful things I came home with. My very own Oobee - this guy is so soft. I am going to have to track down this beautiful felt. He is from Leslie of One girl designs (of course) and he is all mine. Leslie is such a gem, a truly truly sweet and generous person. (with a very cute bambino Mae as well).This guy is superbly made and his design is just so beautiful- softie excellence I tell you!

In the crazy buy swap selling that went on at the end of the show, I was gifted this beautiful guy by Louise. This is one of their own awesome patterns! I wish I took a photo from the back - he has the cutest tail and he is ready to move into the sewing room just as soon as I unpack and re-arrange.

OMG - How totally posh is this? Another gift, from the effervescent Nikki.

She is simply the queen of all things bag! I have a work do next week so I think this sweet gal may make her debut there!

Felt, beautiful soft, thick luxurious felt (and I bought more) from Sandra at Winterwood.

I sense a move into the world of felt a-brewing.

Heart-stoppingly gorgeous fabrics from the girls of Ink and Spindle......(who are each heart-stoppingly gorgeous as well, just in case you were wondering). I haven't decided which of the three I am going to kidnap yet. I have this whole hide her away and steal her identity thing planned, but I can't make a decision........

More hand printed fabric (yes there is strong theme here) from Thea and Sami.

Loving loving these mushrooms

The hunky robots from the best craft-show neighbour possible.

Kristen saved my life on about day three by the timely intervention of orange crushed ice. Not to be too melodramatic, but I owe her my life. (and she made me laugh so much that I snorted - in public!!!!)

A little bit more hand-printed fabric, this time from Greenolive design . You guys know I am a sucker for any sort of text on fabric.

and of course, from the queen of text-on-fabric, some delights from the Cookie.

I thought at one point that Shannon might have to call security as Annie was a little ahem...... over zealous...... in her affections but the Cookie took it all in her stride, like the true star she is.

I have a weird kind of affection for Shannon's boys......They are just dorky enough to be super-attractive don't you think?

yes I know that Cathy called me "thunder thighs" on her blog...but I am choosing to rise above that and thank her for the beautiful patterns she gave me...(and besides have you seen the size of her bum????...I'm just sayin')

The delightful Frogdancer gave me these gorgeous handmade coasters at the bloggy dinner. I have seen variations on these around blogland and every time they pop up I have thought I should make some, so I was delighted to get some in the bloggy dinner gift swap.

(That dinner deserves a post all of its own - but if you trawl blogland you'll find out almost all about it)

and from Fi, the chick who re-arranged her whole stall at least three times in five days - I received the worlds largest pincushion! Given the state of every ones feet after five days I think she needs to expand on this idea and make them large enough to be cushions....... They'd sell like hotcakes.

In summary, being surrounded by so much crafty goodness has overwhelmed me slightly. I have a sewing room that looks like a bomb has hit it and and for the first time in months , there is no To-Do list.

So I am planning on just hanging out a bit, enjoying the cooler weather. I'll tidy the sewing room over the week, fill up ye olde etsy shop on the weekend......dig out an old UFO or two and when the sun is out.....

I'll take some photo's of my favourite purchase of all !

goody goody gumdrops

Auntie Cookie's delights

Fi's drops of wonderous colour

Kristen's hunky robots

Nikki's delicious purses

and a bunch of spunky crafters.

Aunty Cookie, Kristen , Bianca, Tegan and Lara

and that wonderful purchase???

Well, she will be coming home with me tomorrow.

oh!

If you got to share space with these people, and be their neighbours, and hang out with them- I know that your brain would be filled with new ideas ,crazy ideas and amazement at the wonder of the world of craft and blogs (and crafty bloggers).

If you got to talk with them and laugh with them, you would know that no matter what crazy ideas you had about how super awesome they were and how professional and how sooo much better than you they were and that they would be somehow too cool to talk to, you would know that you could not possible have been more wrong and that these guys are just awesome!!!

They are all friendly and funny and welcoming and just................ you know , they are just like you guys and me and my mind is almost exploding!!!!

(and there is so much more to show you - Today I bought the most awesome wonderful something. It makes my heart sing , rejuvenates my soul and reinforces my belief in the human race........)