Zippedy Doo Dah!

I've made bags before, I've done zips before (totally on dresses!) and I've made little coin purses before, but I never really knew how to put a zipper in a coin purse, because I'd always just make it up. They were always hard to do and really required a lot of thought, BUT I googled zip tutorial and found Twelve 22 and my life is a lot easier!

It's totally the first link that comes up and I feel she's my new best friend, because her instructions are so easy and I wanna pay big THANKS! See my purse below, it's a present for my friend and fave custie at the moment, Rosie.





Rosie gave me some ace material to make some brooches for her, and there was a strip leftover that perfectly matched a zip I got (I have heaps of zips from the Op shops, I go there as much as possible!) So with a bit of interfacing and a bit of spare denim and silky purple material, here is a cute present.

I'd totally look to Twelve 22 for zips in pouches, it's the easiest ever! I'm going to go check the rest of her blog now!!!

p.s. feeling heaps better today, and excited about finishing some hot pant shorts I started yesterday, made up from a pattern but altered to look HOT! Not sure what I want to do with them as it's way too cold for shorts!

xoxo Veronica Darling

Going Platinum, Going to Weddings & Generally Being Sickie

Hey pals,

No update for you other than SICKNESS! The first change in the weather, combined with a wedding full of peeps kissing you on the cheek equals SICKNESS!

I've recovered and feeling much better as of yesterday, so my jobs today:

- Blog this amazingly yummy recipe - Spicy Coconut and Pumpkin Soup with Sesame Salt Recipe that helped me recover and zing away all the bugs. It is the yummiest soup I have ever made!

- Review a Fellow DUST member Kim's work - the latest reviews are on the DUST BLOG, check out the new layout etc~

- Finish making these hot pants I started before the wedding and sickness took hold. When I got my hair platinum-ed the other day my hairdresser and I were talking hot pants, little shorts to wear over tights in the winter months, and they're about $44 plus down the road, so I wanted to see if I can make a pair for $10 or so... got some cute 1950s cherry material (black and white) and some black lace for the edging... I'm making the pattern myself, from an old pair of pjs and a Simplicity pattern to guide me with steps to stitch.

- Sew pocket on Rosie's dress and lots more fix it jobs! ARGH!

Kisses, Veronica Darling

Outfit Number 19 - Prez for my Bestie

Here's a little (late) Birthday present for my pal and Bestie Fridays Child!

It's my little yeah-har dress!




Oh Diana looks so cute in black and white check. It's very simple cotton, but I've noticed it must have a blend because it doesn't crease at all, and was very easy to use. I made this really quickly actually, compared to the first one. So pretty pleased! Yay!

What's this called then?

I made something for my little pair of scissors! I don't know WHAT the hell to call it other than a 'Scissor Necklace' because it's all about finding the little scissors when you've got lapfuls and handfuls of material and need to CUT CUT CUT!

So hence, the Scissor Necklace:



I used a bunch of tiny scraps (2 inches by 1 inch) from my RED scrap box (tiny little square set of drawers my mum gave to Mr Veronica Darling, and his tools were too big - hee hee) and I decided to try another patchwork kinda thing. I always think of Dolly Parton (dur?!) making patchwork because of her song about her mum sewing a coat of many colours etc etc etc. BUT, my technique of patchwork is entirely made up, as in I have NO technique!

Firstly I make all the pieces roughly the same with straight edges, then sew right sides together with only 4mm or so seam. I iron as I go, and a trick I saw on Martha or some patchwork show on the 'How To' channel is that you iron along the strips that you're making. So you're going along each new piece, making the iron go parallel to your seam line. DOES THIS MAKE SENSE AM I BEING RIDIC TALKING IN SEWING LINGO?

Anyways, so I made about a metre of patchwork so I had a really long skinny (2 inches wide) ribbon of material, then I cut the edges to be straight (as some pieces were longer and daggy scraggly) and then got some bias binding and sewed it along the raw edge. VIOILA AIAIA check it out in close up:



I'm really proud, and never lose the small scissors again! Woo!

Sorry I haven't posted for ages, working in another town is crazy! It was lots of fun though, saw lots of friends and comedy! LAUGHED A LOT!

I've got so many projects on the go! ARGH!