Making Pyjamas in My Pyjamas

Somewhat ironically, given the name of my blog, I have the worlds largest collection of daggy pyjamas. I know I'm about to burst your bubble because you think I swan around here in satin peignoirs with those fluffy toed high heel slippers quilting my little heart out but honestly my pyjama collection consists primarily of washed out flannalette pants that no longer have functioning waist elastic. I want you to imagine me hoisting my pants up every three steps to avoid flashing my plumbers crack (mmmmmmm attractive)and throw in a mental image of a few ratty old t-shirts that are no longer fit for human eyeballs, because that pretty much sums up my sleeping wardrobe. In case you're not gifted enough to creatively visualise this hot mess, here is a picture because I want everyone to know exactly what I'm talking about. 

Disclaimer: Don't send me your therapy bills . If you actually conjured up a mental image or looked at my picture you're on your own. It's not my fault you did what I told you to do.

While I was staying with Little Miss Sunshine two things happened that relate directly to this post. Firstly, I saw some pretty cool kids pyjamas at the markets and then I saw Little Miss Sunshine wearing pretty pj's every night. I took one pair of pyjamas for my entire stay because I only have one set that are fit for public viewing. Last time I nipped outside in my jammies to drop the bin at the end of the driveway the garbo's gave me 5 dollars because I looked like a homeless person.

Side note: Basically I'm mingy. I refuse to pay 40 bucks for something Im going to wear to bed because it has Elmo/Flowers/Snoring Sheep (insert other pyjama related themes here ) on it. For 40 bucks I can buy 1/16th of a pair of cheap Ferragamo's and feed my shoe addiction. 

This led me to thinking about the last pyjamas I made from crusty old sheets. And while I thought I was pretty crap hot when I made them almost 2 years ago, they aren't doing me much good sitting in the bottom of the drawer not being worn because they're hideously fugly.

So with a plan in my brain and trepidation in my heart I set forth to make myself some pretty pyjamas which meant I had to go to Spotlight and get some fabric. And I had to buy 12 metres because it was on sale and Spotlight may never have a sale again. 


After I'd washed that fabric, and made myself a pattern from an old set of pyjamas (yes I made a basic pattern ) I made this set of pyjamas so I can look like a totally hot babe while I'm asleep with my mouth open drooling on my pillow. 

And then I did a long leg version.

Third time was a charm ! 

Does anyone else hear angels singing? I made ruffles and didn't sew my finger to the hem once. Another challenge mastered.(Kat, dont even start about zippers-let me bask in my ruffly glory for a little bit longer)

Spring Break!

Let me just say that what happens on holidays stays on holidays so there will be no tattling in this post ( I bet 20 people just clicked out of this post without reading any further) Little Miss Sunshine and I are sedate mature ladies and we behaved accordingly for my entire stay. Despite what she may tell you over on her blog, it's all lies and I did not lead her astray one little bit. There was one slightly drunken night (and the tables were too high to dance on ) and not a whiff of potential arrest until I was leaving. More about that later. 

I packed so much crap going over I was only 200 grams under the weight limit at the airport. Thank goodness they didn't check my carry on because I took the biggest handbag I owned and stuffed so much in it that it weighed approximately 43 kilos. Then to add insult to injury I got picked for bomb and drug testing going through the scanners. Apparently I look suss or like a drug courier. 

I was met at the airport by Marg holding a box of Krispy Kremes instead of a name card saying "Mrs. Pyjamas" because I live in a dimension where KK doesn't exist. As far as I'm concerned donuts are the perfect welcoming gift and the week just got more sugar fuelled from there. Chips, Chocolate , Booze, Cheese, Oreos and prosciutto for protein. I think we covered all the main food groups.  I didn't actually poop for three days at one point which gives some credence to the idea  that vegetables are probably necessary for good bowel health. 

I was completely inspired by the Quilt show in Brisbane and these were a few of my favourites. There were lots of Ooh's and Ahhh's from me while people around me talked about the technical brilliance and colour placement of the blocks and tone and shade and other things I know nothing of because I just look at it and either like it or I don't. In fact I pretty much left my brain at home and was content to utter non words to describe how I was feeling. 

I popped in to see Natalie Bird who created the 'Tis the Season stitcheries and to have a look at Michelle's fabulous patterns which were being sold on Natalie's stand. Yes- I name dropped that Michelle is a friend of mine. I love to ride on my blog buddies coat tails since I have no actual talent of my own.

We massacred some frog cakes that I brought with me (that got slightly smooshed during transit ) That chocolate one looks like he's screaming doesn't he? I think he knew his time on this earth was limited. If you've never had a frog cake- sucked in because they rock. It's probably one of the few good things about living in Adelaide. 

Little Miss Sunshine seriously is the hostess with the mostest. I had a fabulous time and everything was done to make sure I enjoyed myself to the max.  I finally got to see her house (utterly gorgeous and exactly how I want my house to look if it ever grows up) and with a view like this to stare at every time I went outside who wouldn't have thought they were in Paradise? 

I was a bit slack on the taking pictures thing while I was away and only got two pictures of Little Miss Sunshine  . In one she is flipping me the bird (which I intend to use for blackmail purposes at some point ) and in the other she is fuzzy. It's all a bit spooky because when I looked at her that night she WAS all fuzzy. But I cant recall a lot about that night so perhaps we should move on. 

The biggest thrill of the trip was driving with Young Miss Sunshine who has perfected the art of driving round roundabouts at 100 kilometres per hour on two wheels. She has a career in the wings as a stunt driver if her other career doesn't pan out.  It was a bit like being on the Matterhorn after drinking a bottle of Vodka. I'm just grateful to have survived. 

Kirsten this one is for you . I saw yellow watermelons!

I retail therapied my credit card to the max . I highly recommend having a secret credit card so when you spend money with wild abandon you don't give your husband an apoplexy. It works for me . At one local quilt shop, I was recognised as Quilting in My Pyjamas before I even had a chance to open my mouth .That's because I'm a rock star and I'm recognised everywhere. 

And now for the fabric spoils. By the way, I've given up on only buying 100 yards of fabric for this year since this pushed me over the 200 yard mark for 2011. I have no willpower.

 (I'm blaming you for this latest Japanese obsession Kate!)

As an aside , outside of Spotlight, I have never seen so much fabric in one place in my life as I did at Maison Sunshine. You know that saying "She who dies with the most fabric wins" . Don't even bother trying to compete . Little Miss Sunshine has already won. This is a small part of her obsession collection. I have already called dibs on her fabric stash when she dies. The friend who has been charged with packing it up in a semi to send it to me has told me that will take so long I may as well come up for the funeral and stay to start sewing my way through it all. 

We did the markets and I forgot to take any pictures. We ate brunch twice and I forgot to take any pictures. We went out for dinner and I took this picture and then promptly forgot to take any more pictures because I was too busy stuffing my face with half a cow's worth of steak and the best potato and onion galette I have ever tasted. 

Minor crafting did occur while I was away. A stack of hexies got cut and glued with significant help from Young Miss Sunshine who also flipped me the bird when I tried to take a photo of her doing such an awesome job. I'm starting to think that flipping the bird thing may be genetic. 

The sum total of my craftiness while I was away amounted to this. (and two half finished sunglasses cases that I cant find in the wreck that is my house at present)

I shopped. Oh how I shopped! I bought clothes, I bought bags , I bought fabric and I bought thongs (the foot kind not the other kind ) and some where along the way I realised that if I was at my weight limit coming up it was likely I was going to be well over going home especially when I factored in getting this on as hand luggage on my way home. Through wonderful unexpected circumstances I am now the proud owner of a Go! Baby Fabric cutter. (Was I doing the Happy Dance or what!) So I posted 10 pounds of other stuff home via Australia Post. The added bonus was that it was a way to circumvent Mr. P seeing all my new goodies when he picked me up at the airport. It looked like I only bought three things during my entire trip (coffee, rocky road, a present for Mr. P ) because I picked the rest of it up from the post office while he was at work the day after I arrived home. 

Unfortunately security at the airport had never seen a Go ! Cutter and when it went through the scanners, bells went off and people came running and I got rugby tackled to the ground by three burly guys and then got hand cuffed while they searched my handbag for other illegal weapons. I'm not saying my picture has been circulated round every airport in Australia as a drug mule but twice in one trip is a bit of a coincidence don't you think?  It was lovely to finish off my trip with a strip search and twenty questions about whether I intended to attack the flight crew with a fabric cutter during the flight. Perhaps they thought I was going to cut them into hexagons? 

PS. Don't you believe a word Little Miss Sunshine says about Bitchy Poo . She's utterly delightful!

Favourite Things Friday

Welcome to Favourite Things Friday. Yes- I'm back. Yes-I'm in one piece. Yes-I'm exhausted.

I know you're all expecting a fun filled post about my holiday with Little Miss Sunshine as my favourite thing this week so I'm going to fly in the face of convention and expectation and give you something  different. My time with Little Miss Sunshine deserves it's own special post so until my brain cells regenerate sufficiently for me to write a coherent post you're going to have to wait.  I'm still in holiday mode or at least trying to be. Little P hit my house like a whirlwind on Wednesday a mere 12 hours after I arrived home and it's been utter chaos ever since.

I have been blathering on for at least 6 months about wanting a new laptop/notebook/I pad/tablet. Do you like how decisive I am? I loved the idea of being able to wander round the house and access the internet in the toilet, the bedroom, and sitting on my backside on the lounge. The idea of not having to run backwards and forwards to the computer room to see what the next step in a recipe was seemed like an added bonus too. I reckon I waste about three hours a week doing that. My current laptop is about 5 years old, weighs approximately 60 pounds and is clunky and huge. I bought it from Noah who had it on the Ark and sold it to me cheap.  As so, for my birthday this year Mr. P gave me perfume and a voucher to go buy myself a laptop/I pad/tablet/notebook.

I've been debating what mode of portable technology would suit me best. What would reflect my personality ? What would make it look like I know what the hell I'm doing? What are all the young hip things using? What can I use without going back to university to get a degree in computer geekness?  Sara and I exchanged several emails about the relative merits of each during which she tried to help me by explaining technology but it just made my head hurt a LOT like when I have to do maths, or think serious grown up thoughts.

I finally bit the bullet after having a play with one of these while I was away and bought this on Wednesday. 

Best .Thing. Ever.

Is it wrong to want to marry my Ipad? I'm sleeping with it and Mr. P is starting to get suspicious. Anyone want to Face Time? (See! I even know the lingo!)

If you'd  like to tell me all about your favourite piece of technology or any other thing that floated your boat this week, write your own post and link it up so uber cool people can pop on over to your place for a squizz. 

Bon Voyage !

Today is the big day. I finally finished packing 6 hours ago and I'll be amazed if Im not over the weight limit at the airport.


I'm leaving  Mr. P  to keep the home fires burning with some trepidation, while I wander off to play for 6 days with Little Miss Sunshine.  I am hoping and praying that the "home fires burning " part, is in fact, only metaphorical and that I won't come home to the charred remains of my abode. Let's face it -any time a woman leaves the house for longer than 12 straight hours  it becomes an excuse for a bloke to live the single life, get drunk, eat junk food, and sit around in tatty undies scratching his unmentionables with impunity because basically we wont let them behave like that when we're around. Anything could happen while I'm not here.


I'll be back next week with news of my adventures and I have no doubt, pictures of fabric purchases. Everyone behave while I'm gone !

15 Minute Challenge with Kate

Thanks to the magnificent Kate for hosting another week of the 15 minute challenge. I'm posting early this week, although it's Tuesday here already. In case I haven't mentioned this in the last 5 minutes I'm going away this week so Im working against the clock.

It's been a reasonably good week for sewing at Maison Pyjamas. I've gone fabric basket crazy.  You may recall my disastrous attempt last week. Not to be beaten by fabric and bad mojo I went ahead and tried again.   I'm happy to report success.

For a friend who is having a birthday this week

For my scrappy Swap partner - Side 1 

Side 2

For a special friend 

A little bit of quilting happened on the Blue and Brown Quilt. I have a lot more to do ! I'm making this a priority after I get back from holidays.

I started a new stitchery from one of Michelle's patterns. 

I played with some selvages.

And the Merry Go Round quilt got quite a workout. Getting to this stage was not without a significant amount of unpicking and quite a bit of swearing. I had a case of "everything I touch turns to s***" on  Sunday.

Can anyone else see where I managed to stuff up?

Discovering I had sewed them together upside down did not thrill my heart. 

Unpicking is not my favourite thing this week. Neither was realising I was 9 blocks short when I thought I was finished with the block making! Hopefully my relationship with this quilt will be repaired by a little "absence makes the heart grow fonder" therapy.

Current tally on the "7 quilts finished before the end of the year" deal:
1 completed 
1 ready to be quilted (by me ) 
1 in the process of being quilted by me
2 ready to be quilted (by the quilting guru ) 
Lots of progress on the Merry Go Round Quilt this week 
No progress on the poor Hourglass Quilt (sorry Thea!)

Drum Roll Please

Unaccustomed as I am to public writing I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who entered my give away over the past week. In just a few minutes we'll know who the lucky winner is. 

But first ....One of the cool things about being part of the blogging community is that when all of Australia is snoring it's head off and I'm pretty much one of sixteen people in the country who is awake at 3.20am, I have my Northern Hemisphere friends to keep me company. Thank you people on the other side of the world for getting me through another night of cruddy sleep. I took the opportunity to get busy in my sewing room as well. Naturally I'll be asleep tonight at 9pm but I'm starting to enjoy living like a 90 year old woman who has to get up 43 times a night because she has  a bladder capacity the size of a pea. 

Ok I was just sort of building the tension there ...I like being dramatic. Let's hop on over to Mr. Random Number generator and choose a winner.

You’ll just have to trust me on this because I can't get that little number doodad result thing to paste in my blog....The winner is:Number 53

 Pokey said...

 

I'm glad to have you blogging, Shy, and even more, to visit with you in your blog window, and you in mine. Keep it comin' girlfriend, you are a bright spot on my computer ~

:-}pokey

Pokey will be mortified that the very first time she doesn't proof read her comment and and calls me Shy (I can hear most of you rolling round on the floor with laughter at this point )  random number generator picks her comment to be regurgitated for all the world to see. I'm pretty sure  that the universe wanted you to have this fabric as consolation Pokey! Congratulations. Please send me your address and I'll get this off to you this week.

Thank you everyone for playing!

Favourite Things Friday

I was blown away by all the participation in FTF last week. Thank you for dropping by, linking up and playing.

My favourite thing this week was prompted by an influx of mail which had me doing a funky happy dance. You may recall when I asked for donations of selvages for a quilt I'm making next year. Some lovely kind people responded and my selvage pile is growing ever larger!

First from Thea over at California Dreamin'

And from Kat at Mumma's Time to Create 

Who also sent me these because I'm a Babushka addict.

 And a chocolate addict.

And  from P at The Way I Sew It (who sent them all folded like this - I'm pretty sure she has a touch of the Virgo about her . Who else but a Virgo would send these folded?)

Who also popped in this piece of beauty that I had admired on her blog a few weeks ago.

It's not that I don't adore every single one of the goodies I was sent this week. But the selvages made me squeal like a 13 year old at a Justin Bieber concert. 

What this means is that I think I have enough scraps to start my selvage quilt as soon as 2012 hits. It took all of my will power not to roll around amongst this pile of gorgeous-ness. 

Alright! I did roll around in the pile. Sheesh.   At least I wasn't naked because that would just be plain weird. 

I also didn't have the internal fortitude or sense NOT to start the quilt either. Could you resist with all those selvages staring you in the face and begging you to come and play?

So...my favourite thing this week is selvages. The ones I've been collecting for about two years and the ones that have been gifted to me by awesome friends. Thank you awesome friends! 

Kat is some kind of comedian - she sent me a zipper. Apparently she is expecting me to make some dolly zipper purses. Pftttttttttt...that zipper is likely to perish  from age before I attempt a zip. I'm planning to leave it to one of my grandchildren in my will with the story of how hilarious Kat is.

Maybe I should frame it....

P.S.I will be away next week visiting Little Miss Sunshine (go me !) so FTF will be on hold while I'm actually enjoying one of my favourite things- holidays! I'll be back the following week though so hold onto those favourite things thoughts.