Today I hopped into Spotlight for thread, and miraculously got out without buying any more fabric. Came this close, but steeled my will. But bought a shawl-collared blouse pattern, Burda 8218, because I have plans for a blouse with a shawl-collar and Lauriana mentioned they were the most difficult to self-draft. I trust her judgement.
An uninspired pairing
Today I hopped into Spotlight for thread, and miraculously got out without buying any more fabric. Came this close, but steeled my will. But bought a shawl-collared blouse pattern, Burda 8218, because I have plans for a blouse with a shawl-collar and Lauriana mentioned they were the most difficult to self-draft. I trust her judgement.
The Indestructible Dress
Me-Made-March, Day 9
Today involved a visit to the vet, which required grappling with and stuffing two cats into one cat box, very much against their will, and a dog on her lead who was so excited at thinking she was having a walkies today with the pussycats in tow she wanted to drag me off at twice her normal speed. And that is quite quite fast…
So I chose the Indestructible Dress, in anticipation.
So, this dress has been seen here before, I made it about five or six years ago. I’ve even contemplated tossing it out a few times, through sheer boredom with wearing it. But when something is this cool, and this practical, and this indestructible, and always turns up out of the wash looking as pristine and white-as-white as the day its fabric came home from the fabric shop, oh yeah, and no ironing required… I think maybe it’s earned permanent hanger space.
Details:
Dress; Burda 8511, with fitting modifications and zip moved to left side seam so as to interfere as little as possible with the border print. Made out of some sort of synthetic stuff.
Thongs; Mountain Designs
Nail Varnish; (appropriately named, given my morning’s activites, no?) Glamourpuss, BYS
What day is it today?
Oh yeah. The Tuesday after a long weekend always leaves me a little befuddled. True, I’m easily befuddled.
Details:
Hoodie; adapted from Butterick 4985, added a hood and with different sleeves, white lace, more details here
Petticoat (not seen) Burda 8071, beige silk satin, more details here
Skirt; skirt “m” from Unique Clothes Any Way You Like by Natsuno Hiraiwa, pinky-grey linen mix, more details here
Shoes; Country Road
I’ve been awarded an Awesome Blog award, by Stacy! Thank you so much, Stacy!
Now I’ve got to think of 7 things about myself. Oh dear. This bit is really hard, because I can never think of a thing… but this blog is about sewing, knitting and fashion, so I guess I’ll try to aim in that direction.
1. I can’t get enough of fashion. I subscribe to Australian Vogue, and I get so excited when I see my new Vogue magazine sitting in the letterbox. Part of me just wants to dive in immediately and devour it cover to cover, but I’m strict with myself. I only allow myself to thoroughly soak up little portions at a time, in quiet moments. So I can stretch it out over the month.
2. I hardly ever sew up a muslin. That is how slack I am. Once in a blue moon I will bother with this tiresome task. 99.99999% of the time I’ve felt no need to go down this path, and have just fitted with the garment along the way. This has always worked just fine. I just find muslins to be almost completely unnecessary. Especially for simple daywear. I admire people who go that extra (superfluous) mile, and admit the necessity when dealing with wedding dresses say, or very expensive or rare fabrics, but when it’s a simple little cotton or linen dress well really… Of course I am completely contradicting myself because I recently published here exhaustive pictures of my glove muslins. Yah, I’m a hypocrite, so? And also having said that, I am planning a tailored jacket for this winter, for which I probably will do a muslin. yawn. I promise there will be no photos.
3. Commenting… I guess I might say something here about commenting in blogland. Commenting is kind of tricky, is it not? Everyone seems to employ a different MO. I personally hop over to somebody’s blog to reply to their comment, or if someone has asked a direct question which I think others might wish to know I write the answer in my own comments section as well. I also apologise in both our comments sections if someone has seemed offended by my blog post. I try to visit everybody’s blog who has commented. Sometimes in my travels I’ve noticed that other people reply to comments in their own comments section all the time. This tickles me, that someone might be having a conversation with me in their own comments section. If you have replied to my comment in your own comment section then there is a pretty good chance I haven’t read it because I never return to the same comment section again.
4. I just asked my son for suggestions, and he said “favourite colour”. Thanks darling. But even that helpful suggestion has me writhing in indecision, because my favourite colour changes seasonally. Or monthly. Or even weekly..? I used to have a stock standard answer “white” to that question, to make it easy. But really I love all colours and it would be impossible to pick a favourite!
Perhaps I could talk about least favourite colour combinations. I definitely avoid certain combinations and especially in my apparel. Black and red together is a big one. I look truly awful in that combo. Ill.
5.I’ve been sewing for about thirty years. Wait I might have used that one previously, for some other award. Meh. It takes up another “thing”.
6. Knitting; I’ve probably been knitting for just as long, but less consistently. My mother taught me to knit, as she did sewing too, and my first project was a dark green scarf for our cat Fluffy. I struggled through a few rows, about 10cm worth. It was extremely holey and weird; “arty” is the nicest way of putting it. Like contemporary modern art. My mother finished it off with her beautiful even stitches, and I forced Fluffy to wear it once or twice. She was a patient cat.
7. A final thought, about fabric in sewing; I think the fabric you choose is the deciding factor in how well your garment is going to turn out. Truly, locating a really good fabric supply is the seamstress’ best asset. I once formulated a theory, that you should be able to make something really fabulous out of any fabric and that a person is only limited by their imagination. I do still harbour that belief; but I temper it with this truth, that with really beautiful fabric you are much more likely to have a fabulous result. I might add, that’s been theory hard tested around here and a truth hard won…
So now I’ve got to pick 5 wonderful bloggers to pass this award on to.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it….
Veronica, from Veronica Darling
Sherry, from pattern ~ scissors ~ cloth
Sharon, from Communing with Fabric
Terri, from Rags in the Machine
Jacinta, from ModelMumma
Labour Day
Labour Day; to commemorate the rights of workers, is always held here in Western Australia on the first Monday in March. So, that is today, people… Specifically celebrating the utopian ideal for all workers of a day comprising eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation and eight hours for rest, introduced at various dates during the late 1800’s for various states throughout Australia… And pondering this titbit of history brings me naturally around to the subject of, well really people, what would we do without Wikipedia, hmmm? Such a modern-day marvel… Trivial information, tantalisingly eluding one’s memory, is now but a google away. Not that the history behind this day is trivial, far from it, but you know what I mean… I mean that all these sorts of historical dates and events we had to memorise in primary school and probably had to write multitude little projects on to drill it into our young brains so that we could just pluck out said information easily in the future… sadly optimistic, as these facts are often lost to me now and have to be looked up each time all over again. Well, realistically my amnesia for historical facts was a career choice; ask me a chemistry question and I’m OK but history has been a long-closed book…
Having to look it up just now was good for me because I’ll probably remember it now…!
Whatever, we took the opportunity to go kayaking out on the river with some friends, followed by brekkie at a divine little cafe on the water’s edge. It’s been one of those magical mornings.
And although you can’t see them in the photo, my bathers (worn for the actual kayaking) are on underneath my shorts and top too, so unlike other days in which my underthings are shop-bought, this is a wholly me-made day!
(Oh, and re the original look of these bathers, I’ve long since taken out those bra cups. They were moving around during swimming and bugging me.)
Details:
Top; Burda 7834, silver crepe, and striped cotton/spandex trim, a review of this pattern is here
Shorts; Burda 7723 modified to be more flared, charcoal grey gabardine
Sunnies; RayBan
Sunday, and thoughts on black
Me-Made-March, Day 6
I’ve decided to try wearing clothes I hadn’t worn during Self-Stitched September, to mix it up for that group a bit. That means going through the wardrobe and pulling out things that haven’t seen active duty for a while… this black dress was originally part of an evening-y ensemble, that included a black lace overdress, which I cut up for something else at some point. Since then I’ve worn it as a petticoat occasionally, but not for much else. However, I should wear it more because it is a perfectly good dress by itself. The fabric is a thick glossy synthetic satin which does feel quite nice and ripply/flowy to wear. It’s real easy-care, just toss it in the machine. Er, actually come to think of it, I just toss everything in the machine…
I added some leftover black lace at the front of the bodice, so it wasn’t too plain. The straps are just out of skinny little satin ribbon, which combined with this type of fabric and the style makes the whole thing feel a bit lingerie-y, so it really needs a cardigan over the top, for public viewing. I think maybe I don’t wear it much because black isn’t really my thing. Putting a little neutral beige cardi over it is “me-ifying” it somewhat.
Why don’t I wear much black?… is something I think about sometimes. You see it everywhere. Lots of people wear a lot of black, a lot. And I don’t much. I associate black with funerals, and goths, and depression. That’s when I put it on myself. Paradoxically, when I see someone else wearing black, I often think they look quite smart. With-it, cool and out-there. Not always, sometimes I mentally wish serial all-black wearers would be a bit more imaginative, but usually black is a colour I like. On others. Just not on me. Weird, huh?
A big plus about black; it’s real easy to mix and match, and you can always find shoes to go with your outfit. When you’re into colours it’s a darn sight more challenging!
Details:
Dress; an adapted version of NewLook 6035? (I think?? it’s been a while since I made this thing…) black synthetic satin and lace
Cardigan; my own design, coffee and white net, grosgrain ribbon
Garden of Weedin’
Gettit? Oh, I’m such a comedienne… not!
This post so named because I got a whole lot of gardening and outdoor tidying up done today, haha. As well as, the silk for this dress is printed in a heavenly mishmash of leaves, feathery wings and otherworldly foliage that always makes me think of some untouched wonderland. What’s more, the atmosphere around here is a bit paradisiacal, as the wished-for cool change is happening today, thankfully. Finally a day cool enough to to motivate one enough to get something done… so it was out with the lawnmower, the hedge-clipper and the leaf blower, and I also cleaned our barbecue and outdoor eating area. I feel so productive!!
Actually this makes me think of some Me-Made-March and Self-Stitched September participants I read occasionally who own up to putting something on just for a photo or a small part of their day and then getting back into old sweats and a Tshirt for their actual day, well, I just don’t get that. When I put a picture of my daily outfit up here, then that is what I am wearing that day. I put it on first thing in the morning and wear it for all my daily activities (bar hopping in the swimming pool, natch) and it is on all day and put out for washing that evening. I guess I’m over thinking that I am going to ruin something nice by wearing it. In case you’re wondering I took this photo after the morning’s gardening activities, so you can see I managed to not ruin it.
But I admit to not wearing the sandals whilst gardening!
Thank you for those nice comments yesterday about that dress, and it will stay in my wardrobe. I am feeling a lot more optimistic and buoyant about my sewing efforts, and actually about all life in general today. Nice weather, and a few nice comments, will do that to you… thank you!
Details:
Dress; Vogue 2820, printed silk and with chocolate net edging, piping trim and tie (first blogged about here, and a better picture…)
Sandals; Micam by Joanne Mercer, Hobbs shoes
Sunnies; RayBan
Not your daughter’s dress
Me-Made-March, Day 4.
OK. Want. Autumn. Now. If I look less than cool, calm and collected here, it is because I am. Less than, I mean…
I’m actually wondering if I should give this dress to Cassie. She looks so much nicer in it than I do… well, she is at the age when everything looks a lot nicer on her, and will do forever after from now on, I already accepted that a few years ago.
I still like this dress, and I feel good in it. It’s comfortable and cool, (silk chiffon is wonderful for hot days) and I think it looks not awful on me. But I also have this thing where if something doesn’t look like it belongs to me, then perhaps I should pass it on. After all, as I learned in Self-Stitched September, and am re-learning again in Me-Made-March, I have heaps and heaps of clothes, all made by me, so that I could probably do several months of this challenge and not double up. However not all the things hanging in my wardrobe are super wonderful on me. Lately I’m feeling indifferent about just about all my stuff… I wonder if it is time for a clean-out?
Although perhaps tomorrow the hoped-for cool change will refresh and revitalise and reinvigorate, and there is a chance I will love my clothes once more. Fingers crossed…
Details:
Dress; Vogue 1152, embroidered and sequinned silk chiffon
Petticoat (under); Burda 8071, beige silk satin
Sandals; Vincenza, from Soletta shoes
Bag; Gucci
Sunnies; RayBan
Keepin’ cool
I’m sorry I’m not very exciting today… just keeping cool. I flopped slid gracefully into the pool as soon as I got home from walkies. And this is the second day in a row Sienna has wanted to be in the photo with me. Often she is there, somewhere, not necessarily in the frame but popping about in the background sniffing at trees and doing her own thing. Lately she just wants to sit down where I am, so it must be hot for her too…
Now the above picture isn’t at all exciting, but lets move on and have a look at some really interesting fashion-y stuff… I watched our recorded Oscars last night, and I agreed with Beth that while a lot of the gowns were sadly unexciting this year, Cate Blanchett had the standout most beautiful gown of the evening. Givenchy Haute Couture; a little part of me kinda hopes she will one day select something Australian for one of these events, but truthfully if I was in her position I’d be going Parisian too, probs. Whatever, Cate Blanchett never disappoints on the red carpet, and this was no exception. The details of this gown! I adored the little touch of gold at the shoulders and going down the back, setting off the soft feminine lilac to perfection, and I wished the camera was able to zoom in and show us exactly what those little bobbly things were going down the front of the bodice. Whatever they were, they added just the right amount of decoration and interest. I also loved that boxy square line of the sleeves and bodice; unusual and therefore a touch above, beautifully proportioned and realised. Really, there was nothing not to love about that gown… and the colours were perfect for her complexion. She looked magnificent, as she always does.
As well, Helen Mirren look superb, a serial Best Dressed lady in my book. With Vivienne Westwood she could hardly go wrong, no? VW is usually so out there and her designs incredibly intricate and architectural; often gravity defying in their artistry, one of the reasons I find her so inspiring. But for this occasion she toned down her usual flamboyance and produced a restrained and superbly structured gown, the soft sheen as well as the drab grey/pewter-y colour of that fabric showing off so well the elegant folding and draping that that designer is so admired for.
And I also loved the Dolce and Gabbana gown worn by Scarlet Johanssen. Of course she is a natural beauty who would look good in anything, but even so her choice of gown this time was particularly stunning. Form-fitting lace in that deliciously sophisticated berry colour, backless, and a divinely shaped skirt with a train? Just too beautiful…
(I would credit these photos if I could remember which particular site I found them on. There are many many many copies out there in the internet…)



































