Tag Archives: Random Life Stuff

Pruning and baking…

07/03/2012 5:12 am \ 46 Comments \

… I’ve been getting out in the garden.  And engaged in some brutal hacking garden maintenance.  But I felt sad about those fallen sprays of soft and velvet-y grey-green, and gathered them up, and made an arrangement.  Quite nice, don’t you think?  I think sometimes the obvious beauty of flowers blinds us to the quiet and subtle beauty of plain unadorned foliage.
Alongside there; a knitting work in progress  😉
And just to prove that my kitchen is not merely for show (although everyone including my family might be forgiven for mistaking that one) I have been baking….   A friend had an important birthday and I hosted a birthday do and made a cake, and y’know what? fortuitously it was delicious!  I was so proud like a mother with her new baby I took a picture…
 Pink Velvet Cake  (recipe from the Australian Women’s Weekly “High Tea” cookbook)

There!  It can be seen that I do occasionally dabble in activities other than sewing!
But back to important matters…
In sewing news:
I’m getting behind on my documentation… I have three new things to show here  🙂  I am just awaiting on the right day to take photographs…. you know how I am a bit of a perfectionist in such things.  It’s not like I am going to just slap any ol’ hideous me-photo here on the internet…  And realistically, it has just been too darn crazy-hot to actually wear any of my new creations yet, and I like to actually be wearing that thing on that day or I feel like a bit of a fraud.  Silly, I know…  as it is I have been boringly wearing the same-old-same-old little summer things and I am getting.  Sick.  To.  Death. of my summer wardrobe.  I’m dying to get into some of my new cooler weather things!  But we are expecting a nice cool change today, so soon a “new thing” picture shall appear.  I promise.

I received a very cool and very generous gift recently from the very talented Shams.  Thank you so much Shams!!  I won’t show details here just yet… but I will at the right time.  Sorry to be all mysterious, but results will appear in due course… watch this space!
Also, the lovely Mary awarded me the Versatile blogger award!  Since I already have this one I won’t repeat myself by doing it over again, but if you want you can click on those award buttons in my sidebar to read the things I have written about before.  Thank you so much for thinking of me, Mary!
Now I’m going to have a minor rant give my considered opinion on something that is bothering me heaps lately;

That hideous new word verification thingy.  Is the new system not the most teeth-grindingly awful thing in blogworld at the mo’, or what….  Does anybody else agree?  Whenever I go to leave a comment and that blurry, blended-together, ridiculously illegible as well unintelligible, thing pops up… well, half the time it’s so damn difficult to work it out I have to have a couple of goes at it before I get it right.  And … “prove you are not a robot”?  What the heck?  that’s a little bit rude…  Honestly, it seriously saps the will to comment…  I removed the word verification from my own blog months ago, even back when the word was still relatively easy to figure out and I haven’t been spammed or had any (intentionally) rude comments yet.
Here’s my feeling; the sewing and creative community is nearly always so kind and supportive, do we really want to put obstacles in the paths of people who might merely wish to say a kind word about our new creations?  So I respectfully suggest that if you do have word verification attached to your blog then you might consider removing it for a while and see how you go.
It might not be as bad as you think  🙂

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A minimal summer wardrobe

02/03/2012 4:45 am \ 14 Comments \

I was reading one of my favourite fashion blogs Garance Dore and came across a list; the perfect minimalist, functional and fabulous wardrobe. 
Paraphrased, it goes something like this:

  • Black cashmere turtleneck
  • Grey v-neck cashmere sweater
  • Silk shirts
  • Three pairs of flats.
  • One pair of sublime very high heels, black
  • Grey skinny jeans. White skinny jeans.
  • One pair of boyfriend jeans.
  • Two blazers, one black, the other marine blue.
  • A straight-cut skirt
  • A light as a cloud scarf
  • A dress, Alaïa or Roland Mouret.
  • A big coat, camel or grey.
  • And a military parka – light and long.

And I’d go wild with accessories. A hat. Red socks. A pair of amazing sunglasses. A purse to die for. Bright nail-polish.

I am a die-hard list lover, so I adore this sort of thing! And immediately scratched out my own take; the minimalist summer wardrobe.  Since those of us here in the southern hemisphere will immediately notice that with that selection, we would have nothing we could actually wear at all right now…  🙂  So:
  • Shorts
  • 2-3 light loose little tops
  • 3-4 day dresses, some pretty, some plain
  • One maxi-dress, or whatever is the fashionable silhouette of the season
  • 1 little skirt
  • 1 light cardigan
  • Bathers
  • 1-2 light long-sleeved shirts
  • Pair of linen trousers
  • for footwear; glittery sandals, leather sandals, and a pair of thongs for the beach

And the accessories; sunnies, and a fun and funky pedicure.  Sunhat and a few floaty scarves.

The next time I came across my funny little list Tim had scrawled an addendum…
Summer essentials, for guys
1x board shorts
3x T-shirts
DONE!
Lol!  Hehe, aaah boys.  😀  Simply no idea.  
Oh, and finally, my facts and figures for February…  now there’s a nice bit of alliteration.  Whoever said that poetry and accounting were incompatible?

Gone a bit Batty top
Fabric; leftovers
Pattern; from PatternMagic 3, a gift (and used previously)
Dye; used and accounted for previously
Total cost: free
Some basics…
Fabric; one from leftovers, the other three from a recycled dress, original cost of all this fabric was approx $39
Dyes; brown dye accounted for previously, red dye (first time used) $7.77
Total cost for the 4 Tshirts: $46.77
White with a navy grid shirt
Fabric; leftovers
Pattern; from Unique Clothes Any Way You Like, been used before
Total cost: free
Billowy White shirt
Fabric; from an old pair of trousers
Pattern; my own design
Buttons; leftovers from a previous project
Total cost: free
A Pretty Silk blouse
Fabric; $64.35
Pattern; Vogue 1170, first time used, $7.00
Zip; $2.20
Total cost: $73.55
Woman in Red dress
Fabric; a birthday gift from friends
Pattern; Vogue 1087, used previously
Thread; had some red thread already
Total cost: free
Miscellaneous extras
Rotary cutting wheel blade; $13.45

Twin needle; $6.60
Total cost: $20.05 

outfit Details:
Top; Vogue 1248, made from a mix of blue cottons, details here and my review of this pattern here
Shorts; Burda 7723, details here, my review of this pattern here, and see these styled in 6 different ways here

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Tracing through the years

31/01/2012 4:54 am \ 25 Comments \

I have a small collection of Burda magazines from the late 70’s and early 80’s.  These were bought new back then by my mother for her own use and I have them now for safe-keeping.  I loved looking through these magazines, and still do!  These were absolutely fascinating to my younger self, and part of the inspiration behind my decision to sew for myself.  Along with, naturally, my mother herself; hugely influential to my creative self.  A very inspiring lady who was always either spinning, weaving, dyeing, knitting, sewing, or all of the above; magnificent creations for her own wardrobe.  And still does today!
Something that interests me now is that the very garments that I loved the most back then are still my same favourites today.  What does that say about me?  That my tastes have not changed much?  I would like to think I am so happily consistent and not all over the place like a dog’s dinner which is how I sometimes feel sums up my tastes…  Looking closely at my chosen favourites I can see I’m attracted to a simplicity of line, an absence of clutter in the silhouette, and a certain… something else.  I guess what that nebulous “something” is; is my “style” that I am still trying to define today.  I did notice that something made up in neutral colours and particularly in white, always attracts my attention, and is almost guaranteed to be one of my long-term “favourites”; LOL!  That predilection has not changed!
Back then, the patterns came in one size, or two if you were lucky.  The patterns did not come in all sizes, nested together like they do today.  So, say one might see a dress that one simply had to have.  Looking at the small print, one would then either be transported with joy to discover that it was indeed blessedly in one’s own size, or at least close enough to enable one to fudge-fit it to oneself; oh happy day!  One the other hand, one might be plunged into doom to see that the one dress you loved the most was only available five sizes too big.  Darn!
Another thing; the pattern sheets themselves.  You think today’s Burdastyle patterns are difficult to trace?  Take a look at this!

That is a pattern sheet from the May, 1977 issue.  Compared to Burdastyle magazine today.  05/2010, to be more accurate…

I’ve put my tape measure in there for an idea of scale….
I think we’ve got it easy today, girls!
Just for fun, here are some of those 70’s styles.  I would welcome these two garments happily into my wardrobe.

Some other lovelies from the Spring/Summer 1977 issue…

Finally, I have decided to go ahead with putting out here my wardrobe addition costs, as outlined here.  So, completing my summary for January…  I think doing a monthly overview will be better than giving a cost each time… a better distribution  🙂

My Darling Clementine top
Fabric $34.60 (includes a portion of the shipping cost)
Pattern; Vogue 1247, first time used $7.00
Thread; $3.20
Total cost: $44.80
A Sludgy Little Skirt
Fabric; all leftovers
Pattern; Vogue 1247 used before
Zip; $1.00
Dye; $7.77 (bought during Spotlight’s 40% off sale)
Total cost: $8.77

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Australia Day

25/01/2012 4:32 pm \ 15 Comments \

Today is Australia Day, and what better cuisine to enjoy than a meat pie and sauce served on a paper bag.  Mmmm mmmm.
Fabio approves.
Wishing all a perfectly wonderful day!

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Coming to my senses…

20/01/2012 5:34 am \ 25 Comments \

Employing that pleasing dichotomy of minimal with steam-punk in my outfit today… yeah?  
Dichotomy.  
Is good stuff.
Now, I’ve had a re-think.  And thank you all for helping me to come to my senses!  I did feel a little out of my comfort zone after posting yesterday, and after sleeping on it I felt even worse about it …
The specific cost of my personal things is, I have decided, personal.  It feels very uncomfortable for me to be publicising it.  That’s just the way I was brought up, so I’m not going to excuse that.  
Even amongst my closest friends I would not dream of announcing how much an outfit cost.  That would be like extreme bad manners… so why did I think I would be OK with doing the same on the blinking internet?? (face palm)
Besides, the numbers I put down here are meaningless to most people who might even read my blog, apart from other Australians.  And only fellow Perthies will understand about the fabric and yarn limitations here…  And I do not want to attract judgement, condemnation or pity from the inevitable comparisons, which I would certainly do if I really started publicising how much things actually cost here… so I will be keeping tabs on my clothing creations this year, in exactly the guidelines I laid down yesterday, but I will probably be keeping the figures to myself.
Unless I change my mind again  🙂  
A woman’s prerogative, you know…. 😉

Details:
Top; top “b” from Unique Clothes Any Way You Like by Natsuno Hiraiwa, white cotton, details here
Skirt; Vogue 7303, ivory wool-mix suiting
Sandals; Micam by Joanne Mercer; from Hobbs shoes

Necklace; urbandon , here
Isn’t this the coolest thing?!  My new favourite accessory…

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Crunching the Numbers…

19/01/2012 6:58 am \ 30 Comments \

I’ve been pretty inspired by reading some posts by other bloggers on the sum total of their clothing expenditure; particularly Waves with her very interesting breakdown of her clothing costs for 2011 and her feelings and thoughts on the same, and Terri with her plans to stick to a set budget for 2012 and the documentation of such in her blog, and Veronica with her strict accounting during her very impressive Sew Weekly year of 2011…. and I have decided to put my own expenditure under the microscope.  
A self-audit.  Yikes!  Nail-biting stuff, no?!
When Craig and I were first married we were frantically saving and had a very strict control on our costs; I totted up all our incomings and outgoings constantly and stuck to a budget  rigidly….  but all that is in the past now!  I haven’t had to add up each and every cent for a few years, and although I don’t think I spend a lot I really have no idea unless I actually do account for myself… and so…
I am going to keep tabs on all the costs of my clothing creations for this year.
Now someone accounting for a RTW wardrobe has it pretty cut and dried, as your clothing just comes with a price tag attached and bob’s your uncle…  when you are making your own stuff things get a bit more complex…  so I’ve jotted down here a few basic guidelines as to just how I’m breaking it down…

Time frame:  I am going to start my accounting from the 1st January to include all the clothes that I finish making in 2012.  
Fabrics costs: I’m counting all the materials for all garments made this year.  If I don’t have the receipt for the fabric anymore and can’t remember what it might have cost (some of my fabrics are years old!!) then I shall make my best guestimate.  If the fabric was a gift, I’ll state that, and count it as free.
I shall not include fabrics bought this year unless I also finish the garment this year.  No really, this makes sense.  It does!  I’m costing my actual clothing here you see, not potential clothing…  
Also, the first time I make something out of a piece of fabric I shall include the cost of the entire piece in that garment, and any leftovers used down the track will be considered as already accounted for.
Pattern costs: I shall include the cost of the pattern I use; but only the first time I use it.  That is, the full cost of a new pattern will be included in the cost of a garment the first time I use it, but each subsequent time I use the same pattern I shall consider that pattern already accounted for and not include its cost again.
Likewise, for haberdashery: the first time I commence using “something”, I shall include the cost of the entire”something” in the cost of that garment, but not for any subsequent garments.  So, say, the first time I pop a new reel of thread on the machine I shall count the cost of the entire reel in the cost of that garment, but not for any garments after that until it is finished.  Likewise dyes and other sundry bits and pieces… 

Does all that make sense?  I realise some of those rules might seem a bit odd and are going to seemingly inflate the cost of some garments at the expense of others that will appear artificially inexpensive, but that is the simplest way I could think of doing it…

And please note…!  I’m not planning to change my habits at this stage, but merely account for them…  This is not an exercise to see how cheaply I can possibly make everything!  (Cheap?  moi??)  There will still be plenty of silk and lace popping up here… (sigh) well, let’s just say I would like for that to happen!…  I still passionately love beautiful fabrics and yarns, and interesting designer patterns, and I’m not going to deprive myself!  I believe my time and effort is worth good quality supplies, and my aim all along in making my own wardrobe has always been to make it the best I can.  Still being fabric efficient, naturally.  I really just want to see how I am going, cost-wise.  So, I will continue to source fabrics and yarns to meet my standards of ethics; supporting my local fabric store as much as I can; and buying fabrics and yarns from countries that have ethical manufacturing practices.

But in the meantime; here is a breakdown of my costs in adding to my wardrobe this year, so far…
The Double-Sleeved shirt:
Fabric $34.60 (includes portion of the shipping cost)
Sleeves; from an op shop shirt; probably cost around $3??
Pattern; been used a whole bunch of times! so free
Buttons; $5.20
Thread; $3.20
Total cost: $46.00
The Calico Cotton cardigan:
Yarn; $80.55
Pattern; $5.95
Buttons; $6.05
Total cost: $92.55
The Sorta Missoni dress:
Fabric; a gift from the lovely Passiona Cottee
Bodice; leftover scraps
Pattern; been used stacks of times, so free
Zip; $2.20
Total cost: $2.20
The Blue-Collar Crime top
Fabrics; leftovers
Pattern; the third time it’s been used
Snaps; part of a box of 50 that I bought last year for the boys’ birthday coats, still going strong… so I’m counting that as free too
Total cost; free!!


Details:
Shirt and skirt; refashioned from 3 of Craig’s old business shirts (so if I was costing this, it would be a freebie!), details here
Shoes; Bronx, from Zomp shoes
Reading specs; a permanent new addition to the wardrobe (sigh…)
and btw, Bessie is wearing a sneaky peak of my next creation… you saw it here first!

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Calico cotton cardigan

06/01/2012 6:29 am \ 58 Comments \

The good news: I’ve knitted a cardigan!
I bought this perfectly lovely ivory cotton yarn at the beginning of last spring, and started this cardigan when I had finished the garter stitch jacket.  I can be a pretty quick knitter if I’m in the mood…
The buttons; nacre, with that distinctive subdued sheen that I love, are favourites that I have used on many projects before.  They are from Fabulous Fabrics.
This is a great pattern.  I like the shaping, done in a dressmaking style like darts in the body, and not shaped in the side seams which is how I’ve knitted the shape into jumpers and cardigans up until now.  A good method.  I’m chuffed with this pattern, and will use it again.  With variations.
You see; I have bought up quite a lot of this yarn lately and so (this is embarrassing) as well as my fabric stash I now have a yarn stash too.  Up until now I have bought wool to knit up immediately leaving myself only with scraps and leftovers.
Why have I changed my ways? well now we come to the bad news:
I got word just before Christmas that the Jo Sharp Knit store here was closing down and was selling off its stock.  I am extremely sad about that.  I can’t bear when local stores and particularly local craft stores, close down.  But anyhow, of course I just had to pop in and check out the remaining stock, and bought… a bit… of yarn  😉  Now I have enough supply for at least a year’s worth of knitting, including a few more little cotton cardigans like this, so it is a good thing that this pattern worked out!

Details:
Cardigan; knitted by me, the Fitted Cardigan 04, version 1 with the lace edging and three-quarter sleeves, in Jo Sharp Soho Summer DK Cotton; colour Calico (shade 216)
Camisole (under) Country Road
Skirt; self drafted, charcoal jersey knit
Shoes; Bronx, from Zomp shoes

Ahem, I wasn’t sure whether to write about this here or not, since I don’t like to be all sulky sad-face here,  buuuut… my double sleeved shirt got such a low rating on Burdastyle that I removed the project.  I just felt so depressed about it.  Actually I don’t whether to even continue on that site.  I’m just losing faith in it a bit.  OK, a lot.  The ratings system is just too awful.  I know they’ve copped a lot of flack for having that rating system, I’ve been reading the complaints for years, but it is still there.  I don’t rate other people’s projects myself because I think to give a low rating is mean and counter-productive and often completely governed by personal taste. One might not choose to make or wear someone else’s project, but I reckon that is not a good enough reason to give it the thumbs down.  Speaking on behalf of my shirt, it was pretty darn well-made if I say so myself.  A tailored shirt is not an easy project, and is something that’s taken me a few shirts to perfect.  Particularly when I’m going to the effort to custom fit.  Which I am.  And as well, anyone who has attempted refashioning with an old garment will know it is way more of a challenge to get a good result than with a perfect piece of untouched new fabric.
Soooo, there it is.  Rant over.  Sorry about that.  Good natured posts should resume soon… once I’ve got over it.
Have a great day, everybody!

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2011; a year in review

01/01/2012 6:37 am \ 31 Comments \

A favourite picture from each month of last year.  May has two, because I could not choose between them…
January; here.

February;  here

March; here.

April; here

May; pretty chuffed with my ballgown, here.  I made the accessories and the evening gloves as well, here

May; I just had to put this dress in here as well since it is my favourite garment of the year… here

June; here.  This is one of my favourite pictures I’ve ever taken for this blog…. just the colours of the morning sky and the glassiness of the river and “the twirl” (a mini-challenge within the Me-Made June Flickr group)

July; here

August; here

September; just a really lovely day out; here

October;  here

November; bathers!  here

December; here

Soooo, 2011; apart from underthings, and one scarf, a souvenir from our holiday in Japan, I did not buy any RTW clothes at all this year!  I made things… lots of which I was very happy with.  The dawning of a fresh New Year has got me freshly and newly excited about all the fresh new possibilities for making fresh new things.  Fresh!  New!
On that note; resolutions, of the handmade variety…
A more determined effort to de-stash (oh, we’ve all heard that one before!)
Continuing to work bit by bit through the challenges of the Pattern Magic books.
And Wardrobe Refashion has gone 🙁  but I’ll be keeping to my pledge to make all my own clothes.  Although the enthusiasm for making my own underwear still eludes me… but maybe 2012 is the year to change that?

Really, creating based purely on whim and passion is my joy and has served me well so far; so I shall continue wandering aimlessly but happily through the process of making, seizing the inspiration wherever it hits, perfecting techniques as much as I am able, and just seeing what pops up…

Best wishes to all for a wonderful New Year, and I hope it brings all you have been hoping for!

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