Secret squirrel finishes his year long journey today after travelling back to Antwerp in Belgium. Today An from Straightgrain will be sharing the final creation of this series after being inspired by these five acorns from the Shaffer sisters...

Can you believe we are almost at the end of Secret Squirrel?! Today An and I are sharing the last host in this year long series before Secret Squirrel heads home to An's place in Belgium!!

Today our host will share her creation from the acorns passed on by Emily from Naptime Creations in Hong Kong.  Our host today will also show us the five acorns that will be passed on to my co - host, An. 

Here are Emily's acorns...

And here is a sneak peak of this month's host and her outfit she created with them....

To see more of this fun outfit, click HERE!  And don't forget to check out StraightGrain next month to see An's outfit and to hear about the prizes that will be awarded for taking part in this series.

Eeek...I am a bit late with this referral post this month! Secret Squirrel has popped up in an exotic location this month.  An and I are nearing the end of hosting this colourful, worldwide series...and if you would like to take part, there is only one more opportunity. Here is a sneak peak of what the next blogger made...

Pineapple, Alahambra, denim, ombre, upcycling.

After a little break on his way from Asmita's place in India, Secret Squirrel is here again and has travelled across continents again to arrive in Europe.  Do you remember the five acorns Asmita from Elephant in the study passed on?

Coloured pencils; A long journey; Pomegranates; Stripes; Paisley

Remember, if you would like to host the next month of Secret Squirrel, please head over to this blogger's post and leave her a comment to let her know!! If you are new to Secret Squirrel, you can read all about it here. There are only a few stops left before Secret Squirrel returns home to Belgium, so jump on board! You can see more Secret Squirrel sewing in the flickr group too - thanks so much to everyone who is sewing along - I hope you are enjoying it!

I always find the new year a strange time...a new date to get used to, reflections on the year that has passed and looking forward to the year ahead.  I have enjoyed having a little break from sewing and blogging over the past few weeks.  We have just bought a house and moved to the country so I am going to be super busy with house and garden this year....I will write a blog post about our new place soon....

But today, I am filling you in on what Secret Squirrel has been up to!!  Secret Squirrel has travelled several continents so far and is now over halfway through his round the world trip.  He has travelled to a new continent this month and I can't wait to find out more about the blog he has visited and to see what this blogger has made with the acorns she was given by Jenya from While she was sleeping in Victoria, Australia.

St Basil's cathedral; Snowflake; Buttons; Harry Connick Jnr; A long time ago.

Here is a sneak peak of the outfit made incorporating these acorns....


Secret Squirrel is a little delayed this month due to some festive partying!  The next blogger to take on the challenge will have until March 1st to post their creation to allow for a bit more time.  If you would like to be the next Secret Squirrel host, please click HERE and leave a comment on this blogger's post.  Comments to apply to host will close on January 14th.   

Today is the first of October...I know, I cannot believe how fast 2013 is flying by.  I have only just gotten used to writing the 2013 date and it is nearing it's end!! To celebrate the first of October, Secret Squirrel is ready to be unveiled for another month...Tasha sent Secret Squirrel off with these five acorns before settling in to have her baby son!

An and I have only been given one photo as a sneak peak of the outfit created by the October Secret Squirrel blogger.  I love using bias, have recently read The Little Prince, and like to consider myself fairly green....(as an aside, have you read that An had a baby girl last week?  A big surprise for most!!). 

I am very excited to have a better look and can't wait to see what she has made!!  Click HERE to find out the next Secret Squirrel host!!!  And if you would like to host for next month, make sure you leave a comment on this bloggers post to let her know!!  There are some pretty cool prizes which you can read more about here and we would love to have you along!!

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Here are some lovely sew along outfits created in the Secret Squirrel flickr group....

Today is the first of September!  That means (among other things) that is time to reveal who Secret Squirrel visited for the past month after leaving Venus' house in San Diego...

Secret Squirrel packed his bag and left Melbourne this morning.  Did he travel by car, by train, by plane or by boat?  You will have to wait until the 1st August to see who he will be visiting next!

If Secret Squirrel hasn't contacted you, we would love you to sew along!   Add your photos to the Secret Squirrel flickr group from the 2nd August - how exciting to see different interpretations of the same inspiration. What will you make with these five acorns of inspiration??

 

 

1. Tangerine; 2. Patch; 3. Anne of Green Gables; 4. Australia; 5. Something old.

Secret Squirrel landed in Australia from Belgium three weeks ago.  After three days in quarantine, he was released here in Melbourne and let free to inspire me to sew... An asked Secret Squirrel to pass on these five acorns of inspiration to me to create an outfit for one of my three daughters... 

Acorn # 1:  A mandarin duck - tricky...colours, a photoshoot at the boathouse with Juliette eating mandarins? (a bit of a loose connection), feathers??;

Acorn # 2:  'not done' ... I can incorporate this with acorn # 4

Acorn # 3:  A painting by Japanese artist Ando Hiroshige (see larger image here)... I immediately thought of a Japanese kimono and started hunting on ebay for a kimono piece that resembled the painting;

Acorn # 4:  'pleat'...I decided to incorporate this with acorn # 2 and thought of Marta from do guincho's beautiful 3D pleated dresses that she kindly posted a tutorial on.  Fabulous - I had been looking for an excuse to make one of these dresses!

Acorn # 4:  Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.   Hmmm.... the only song that immediately came to mind was "Let's call the whole thing off" (you say potato, I say potarto....).  I started googling their compilations and realised I knew a few from their titles.  "I've got my love to keep me warm" was the one I decided to work with (You can hear the song here.).  I imagined a faux fur vest with hearts incorporated somehow. 

I finished this outfit on Friday night (at midnight mind you).  Luckily Juliette obliged on Saturday morning and I got some sweet shots of her in Secret Squirrel outfit......and here it is!!

 

Let's 'break it down.....'
 

The dress

Pattern -  A-line dress (I adapted my Debbie's birthday dress pattern which I am excited about - it is currently being tested by some fabulous bloggers as well as my sister and good friend).  The hemline is a little shorter in this version.  I used my friend Marta from do guincho's 3D pleated dress tutorial;

Fabric - Chocolate brown gabardine with Japanese kimono pocket.  The pleats are stitched with fawn embroidery thread. The dress bodice is lined with a fabric I picked up at my local fabric store (Spotlight).  I chose it as it co-ordinated with the kimono piece.  It is not my usual style but I think it goes well with the whole outfit.  The print was called "Sakura's Melody" (an exclusive print for Spotlight).

The faux fur vest

Acorn:  Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong duet: Got my love to keep me warm.

Pattern:  Self drafted - I will be posting a tutorial within the next week or so.

Fabric: Faux fur from a Melbourne fabric retailer - GJ's Fabric.  Lined with the same Japanese quilting fabric used to line the dress bodice.  The heart pocket was a piece of the kimono fabric.

The hair clip

Acorn:  Mandarin duck.
Materials:  Dyed feathers and cross grain ribbon.
I bought some dyed feathers from my local craft store and chose thin cross grain ribbon in the colours of the gorgeous Mandarin duck.  I picked out the feathers to match and glued them with craft glue to one of the girl's clips.  I think it would actually look really cool as brooch or scarf tie too.

I was initially a bit worried that incorporating all five acorns into the outfit might look a bit mismatched, but I think the whole outfit came together cohesively and I am really happy with how everything turned out.  The vest is so soft and Juliette says it feels like a pussy cat.

 

And now...I have the super fun task of passing on five acorns of inspiration to a blogger who is willing to take on the challenge...that is....Secret Squirrel!!!

 

And here they are...

 

 

If you would like to be the next blogger in the Secret Squirrel series, leave a comment to let me know.  'Expressions of interest' via comments will close by Saturday  evening (8.00pm Australian Eastern Standard time), after which I will carefully consider and email one blogger to carry on the Secret Squirrel mission.  The email will be sent out by next Monday (July 8th) at 6.00pm (AEST).

 

If you do not hear from me, you can still sew along!  An and I are working on some cool prize packages for the best sew along outfit as well as the best official blogger outfit.  Read all about the ins and outs of this series and the sew along in our initial Secret Squirrel post.  You can upload your photos into the Secret Squirrel flickr group (But NOT UNTIL the 2nd of August).

 

Stay tuned and keep an eye on your inboxes...Secret Squirrel is ready to be set loose!!

 

SewFineFabrics is a fabric store on Etsy which has a great selection of organic cottons (Birch, Monaluna) but also of other prominent brands like Windham (Lotta Jansdotter!), Michael Miller, Riley Blake, Moda, and the like. Owner Jodi selects only the prettiest prints and best quality cottons, and ships them all over the world at stunning rates! SewFineFabrics is donating a $50 gift voucher to the Secret Squirrel host who sews up the best outfit. Thank you, Jodi!  

SewFreshFabrics is started as an Etsy shop, but quickly grew into an independent fabric store with an amazing range of fabrics. Designer cottons (Lotta! Amy! Anna Maria!), organic fabrics (Birch! Cloud 9!), Japanese import (Kokka!), solids (Essex linen, Kona cotton!) and more. If you cannot find it in Peg's store, it probably does not exist. The winner of the sew-along competition will be able to go on a $25 shopping spree at SewFreshFabrics. Thank you, Peg!  

LimaSews is owned by Linh and Mark, and sells some of the top brands and designers in organic and regular quilting fabric. Lotta Jansdotter, Cloud 9, Birch, Art Gallery, Free Spirit, Rowan, ... they're all there! And their prices shipping rates are simply amazing (check out those for shipping outside the US!). The creator of the best sew-along outfit wins $25 worth of delicious fabrics at LimaSews. Thanks, Linh and Mark!

Elegance & Elephants probably needs no introduction: designer Heidi's Bubble Shorts pattern was one of the sewing hits of the past few months! But the winner can also select one of her two other patterns (the gorgeous Ruffle Top/Dress, and the super cute Bubble Pocket Top & Spin Skirt), or pick one of her upcoming fall patterns, perhaps? Thanks for giving away two patterns, Heidi!

Scientific Seamstress is the alter ego of Carla, a molecular biologist who went from laboratory experiments to sewing experiments. She sells loads of great physical and digital patterns, for children's, women's, men's, and doll's outfits. And a few bags too! Over the past years, Carla has sold thousands of copies of her wonderful designs. Thank you for sponsoring our little squirrel, Carla!

Sewpony Vintage is run by Suz (co-organiser of Secret Squirrel) who has just released her first vintage style pattern - Debbie's birthday dress (with blog tour starting next week!). She has another vintage dress pattern in the works and will be adding to her etsy shop over the coming months with more vintage inspired patterns.

StraightGrain sells patterns designed by Secret Squirrel co-organizer An, who has a soft spot for simple, clean designs with many different options. After the Bubble dress and Tinny dress patterns, a third pattern (Hanami top and dress) is currently being tested, and a fourth one is in the works.

We hope these wonderful prizes will spark your inspiration and enthusiasm for Secret Squirrel... Will you be sewing along? Be sure to add your creations to our Secret Squirrel flickr group!!!

 

Thank you SO much to Carla, Heidi, Jodi, Linh and Marc, and Peg! And good luck to everyone who is participating!