Glazed Ginger socks

23/10/2010 1:04 am \ 7 Comments \

Finished some new socks!  These are the first out of the sock wool I bought in Melbourne.  This is the own brand produced by the store (now how often do you come across that nowadays, hmmm?) Morris and sons, 100% Australian merino 4-ply.  I ended up buying about eight balls of different autumn-al shades because they were just irresistible, like little warm fluffy balls of autumn.  Just my colours…
These are primarily in Glazed Ginger, or colour 410, but let’s face it naming a colour with a number is sterile and boring and completely un-evocative of anything.  I like a little daydreaming with my wool purchases, thankyou.
The biggest concern when knitting socks is how to evenly halve the wool to go between the two socks.  So these were kind of an experiment to see how much “sock” goes into one ball.  I worried one ball might not be enough for the two socks, so I knitted the heels in a bit of another colour.  This one Beluga, another wonderful name bringing to my mind that Bond movie scene where Valentin gets dunked in his own vat of caviar and comes out blackly oily and dripping in expensive sludge…  hehe… Or, if you prefer, colour 430.  Obviously, the toes got finished off in this colour too.  So these socks will provide a measure for how long to knit the other socks, using this Morris sock wool. 
And for this photo-shoot, Zoe contented herself with watching from the sidelines…

Details:
Socks; adapted from the Ladies’ Sockettes, Patons knitting book C11 (circa 1960-ish), Morris 100% merino in Glazed Ginger and Beluga

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A good hair day

22/10/2010 9:01 am \ 12 Comments \

Of course, as every woman knows, a day involving a hair appointment has a high chance of being a good hair day and then, ipso facto,  a very good day indeed.
Having my hair done is a favourite self-indulgence.  Well, OK, ahem, I do have a few self-indulgences (no-one mention shoes, please), but this one is quite high up on my list!  It comes from being incapable of doing my own hair.
At my mum’s suggestion I experimented with a new way of wearing this skirt; skirt “m” from the Japanese pattern book “Unique Clothes Any Way You Like” by Natsuno Hiraiwa.  The garments therein are designed to each be worn in a number of different ways.  This skirt is quite unshaped to the body and so can be swivelled around so the zip and er, flap (for want of a better description!) sits anywhere around one’s hips.  Today I tried it pushed back in on itself to create a kind of big pocket.  This could make it handy for keys or a tissue, in a pinch!
What do you think?
Below is how it looks with the flap “out”.

Details:
Skirt; pattern “m”, from “Unique Clothes Any Way You Like” by Natsuno Hiraiwa, apricot/grey linen/cotton mix
Top(under) Country Road
Cardigan; Metalicus, secondhand
Scarf; Country Road
Thongs (flipflops); Mountain Designs

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Deep Purple

21/10/2010 8:15 am \ 12 Comments \

Busy busy busy…
Have you ever had one of those days in which you race madly from one thing to the next and are receiving phone calls and text messages like on no other day (usually when one is halfway through some transaction or other important thing)
Aaargh!
But I still tried to look smart because of a few social things I had happening where I knew everybody else would be looking nice.  I’m dying to get back to my sewing machine… it’s been a few days since I did any sewing and am now suffering withdrawals… plus the need to get through a small mountain of new fabric from Melbourne (blush!)
This dress has been such a goodie.  To think I felt unsure when I first made it…  The colour was a departure.  I think the simple unfussy sheath style is a look that suits me.  It’s great to just know one’s best looks when you are scrabbling about desperately through the wardrobe.   Having a kind of style diary like this blog has helped me with this a lot. 
Have you ever made or bought something about which you were a leetle doubtful at first and that later became a mainstay in your wardrobe?

Details:
Dress; Burda 8511, with modifications for fitting and lining, purple raw silk
Cardigan; Saba, op shop
Scarf; alta linea, gift
Shoes; Sandler, op shop 
Bag; Gucci

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And the winner is…

20/10/2010 4:37 am \ 5 Comments \

I must admit I felt quite excited as I riffled through the entries using my high-tech lottery determination system to single one out…!
Thankyou to all those who participated and left a nice comment, you are all awesome, and so kind!
Shannon, I will pop over to leave a comment on your blog about arranging to send you your prize.

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Bathers, 2010

19/10/2010 4:57 am \ 29 Comments \

I’m feeling veeeeery brave, putting a picture of myself up here, in my bathers!  Last year I was way too shy to do this.  Please note I’ve modestly veiled my face,  so no one can recognise me… (lol)
So I’ve made this year’s bathers for myself, the first project from the fabrics I bought in Melbourne from the Fabric store, on Brunswick Street.  If you can you read the printing in the selvedge of the fabric, below, you can see it reads “Zimmerman”.  Well, this is quite a classy Australian swimwear brand and I was pretty chuffed to see end-of-roll bolts of their fabrics stacked up at the back of The Fabric Store.  I haven’t seen the Zimmerman range for this season yet, but I am curious to see what they’ve made out of this very fabric!  I made a tankini, altering the one swimwear pattern I have to do this.  I just drafted the body skirt part and added it on to the bottom of the bikini top at front, and redrafted the back piece accordingly.     I had initially cut these body pieces quite long because they are self-drafted and I always allow myself plenty of extra fabric in case of problems; and at first I was planning for the ivory waistband of the bottoms to be on view when I was wearing them.  But then decided I like the look of the top long and pulled down over the bottoms; so this feature is now hidden.  I cut up an old bra to use for cups inside the bodice.
I didn’t set out to make the bathers “retro” in appearance (a word I’m getting a bit bored with in the sewing world, but not as bad as “vintage”) but they have turned out quite… old-fashioned.  There.  “Old-fashioned” is a less overused and therefore much more preferable term.  I’m going with old-fashioned…
And, just because everybody loves a photo blooper I’ve included one below for your amusement, taken accidentally while I was setting up.

Details:
Bathers; McCalls 2772, with some modifications, navy blue with ivory polka-dot swimwear fabric
Hat; Country Road

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Chain and tassel necklace; a tutorial

18/10/2010 4:53 am \ 13 Comments \

As soon as I saw it I loved this chain and tassel accessory made by the enormously creative and beautiful Maegan, who in turn was inspired by a Blugirl original, and I wanted to have a go at making my own…  Maegan made hers as a lariat, which would be a much more versatile accessory; but I made mine as a fixed necklace. This is because I knew in my lifestyle a lariat would probably end up either tripping me up, strangling me, or slipping off entirely without my noticing…
so I bought 2 packs of 1m (40 inches) of gold chain and two black upholstery tassels, medium size.  I already had some 10mm jump rings and a necklace hook and loop.  If you are at all into making your own accessories like this it is very handy to also have some pliers and a wire cutter small enough to work with these little fiddly bits.

The chains I bought conveniently had jumps rings attached to each end already, so I just used one of these to join them together to make one long 2m (80inches) chain.

Arrange the chain to your satisfaction.  I went with three loops around the neck and left the ends hanging down in uneven lengths.

At the back of the neck, find the three links that are as close to centre back as possible and string a bit of scrap yarn through them all. Tie this in a loose knot.

Laying the chain down on a flat surface, cut through these three centre back links using wire cutters.

Loop the two jump rings through all three chains, and add the hook and loop closure.

Prise open the last ring on each chain end and thread onto it the top loop of the tassel, close the ring securely.

Use a wool needle to pull the top loop of the tassel back through the “top-knot” and out into the middle of the fringe-y bits, to hide it inside.

It can be worn with the ends hanging down loose or loosely tied up which is less swing-ey and sway-ey when you walk about as briskly as I do.  But I think I like it hanging loose better.  What do you think?

Details:
Top; Tempt
Shorts; Burda 7723, with slight modifications
Beaded thongs (flipflops); some little shop in South Africa

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Red halter-neck sundress; 6 different ways

16/10/2010 4:31 am \ 21 Comments \

Ha!
The last time I wore this for my blog and I was writing a description, I was about to segue into rhapsodies about how useful a garment it was when it occurred to me I hadn’t done a 6-way post in a while and this would be a good candidate…
I actually love doing these; shopping in my own closet is fun when I have the time, and it certainly brings to light some garments and combinations that hadn’t occurred to me before and breathes a new lease of life into some “lurkers” that haven’t been worn in a while.
When I first made this dress it was intended to be a light beach dress to cover up the bathers, and it spent the first few months of its life just tossed randomly into my beach bag… then one evening I put some white linen pants on underneath (those particular ones were old ones, also permanently tossed in my beach bag for a coverup on colder days) and I realised it could be quite a chic combination, if said linen pants hadn’t been so creased from being stuffed casually in the bottom of a bag, hehe…  The dress migrated to a hanger in my wardrobe and has been worn for occasions of various formality since, so it is quite useful and demonstrates why everybody should have a little sundress with a pretty hemline and of a cheerful colour in their wardrobe…
For the bodice part with the halter neck I used McCalls 4453, and the skirt part I drafted myself, inspired by the hemline on some dress I had seen somewhere, in a perfume commercial? ( I think?) …  It is made from sparkly red/pink polyester chiffon, and lined with pale pink lining fabric.  I altered the bodice to close at the left side seam with an invisible zip.
For its original purpose; at left, it is worn as a very casual beach dress; then at right, with white linen pants on underneath it becomes quite chic enough for a semi-formal summer evening function.  I wore it like this to the theatre in Melbourne, and when we met friends at a swish-o riverside restaurant in the evening also…

On slightly fresher days; at left, it is funky and fun with a fluffy cardigan and lace-up boots for casual wear; then at right worn as a tunic with jeans on underneath and high heels, it looks not-too-casual for a barbecue with friends

Even in more wintry temperatures, it can work as a top over a skirt with tights, flat boots, cardigan and scarf for everyday wear (boy, I wish I’d thought of this combination during last winter, because I love this outfit now I’ve thought of it!).  And even though it’s a summery dress, with a top, tights and high heeled boots all in a solid one-colour worn underneath, at right, it’s warm enough for cooler days and looks a bit edgy and kinda mod.  I could start wearing it from early spring like this, and stretch it out to cooler autumn days also, out to town or to meet friends or the husband.

Which one do you like the best?
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Fair Isle knitted jumper

15/10/2010 8:16 am \ 9 Comments \

Today’s photo is good for a bit of a chuckle, no?
The above is a photo taken of my husband and me at our engagement party.  I know, we look like babies… this was over twenty years ago.  On a fashion note; please take note of my husband’s skinny leather tie and the random chaotic nature of the print on my dress, lol… tres chic and fashionable for the late eighties, honest!!
I’m putting it up here because he is wearing a cardigan I had knitted for him at the time.  It is my own design, based on a Kaffe Fasset motif.  We chose the colours together (there are at least twenty different colours and yarns in it) and the cardigan shape and style are also of my design, custom fit to his size and the shape that men were wearing at the time (don’t laugh, the boxy bomber-jacket shape was the very IN thing in menswear, truly!)
If I’m truthful I’ll admit he hasn’t worn it in a while.   In fact I dug it up out of a suitcase in our storage room for the detail photos below…
The design is knitted in Fair Isle style, and there are two colours in each row, although at a casual glance it looks a lot more.  The design was quite clever that way…  The whole cardigan is knitted in one piece, from wrist band to wrist band.  After completing the body, I sewed up the two seams (which are the underarm/side seams) and picked up stitches to knit on the waistband, the front opening bands and finally the neckband.  These are all in rows of striped rib.
I was (and still am) pretty pleased with the neat and tidy appearance of the inside of the jumper, so I’ve taken an inside picture to show you how carefully I wove the two colours of each row together in each and every stitch as I was knitting…

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