Category Archives: Uncategorized

Banksia…

07/05/2012 6:15 am \ 16 Comments \

… is the name of the plant beside me.  Actually the name given to huge range of plants, this one is a bush, although banksias also come in the form of trees and groundcovers.  Did you know that Western Australia is a botanical world hotspot?  Mum and I visited the Australia Gardens in Melbourne a few years ago, enjoyed a lovely tour with a talk by a guide, and discovered (well, I discovered; Mum already knew) that Australia holds one of the most unique, diverse and huge plant populations in the world, and of that unique population, 95% is from Western Australia.
Interesting, huh?
All this is to distract you from the fact that my outfit is pretty meh today.  I thought it looked nice in the mirror this morning, but I am less enamoured of it in my picture.  What the hey, I am comfortable and perfectly warm.  I do like the interesting little peep of floral cross-stitched silk skirt coming out the bottom.  Ah well, you win some me-made days and you lose some.  🙂
I’ve finished my “wacky” project, and will wear it soon; not tomorrow, but soon.  I’m pretty excited about how it turned out now!  It is weird and wonderfully so!!  Imo, anyway…  😀  
And this afternoon after I have finished my office work I am planning a little dyeing session, on another recently almost-completed project (wish me luck  ;))
Watch this space! 

Picture taken around 1pm;  Temperature at the time 21C.
Overnight low: 13C; Today’s high: 22C 
Mostly fine and cloudy, very very windy.  That is my excuse for the hair  🙂

Details:
Dress; Burdastyle magazine 06/2011, dress 102, purple shot rayon, details and my review of this pattern here, and see this dress styled in 6 different ways here
Skirt; Burda 8071 with the bodice removed, cross-stitched silk dupion, details here (as a dress) and here (turning it into a skirt)
Cardigan; knitted by me, Jo Sharp’s Knitted Cardigan with the addition of knitted lace edging on the sleeve hems, using Jo Sharp Soho Summer DK Cotton in Sapote (col 216), details here
Shoes; Bronx, from Zomp shoes

Later edit; I almost forgot! today was a me-made bonus day for me, since my husband wore a shirt I made for him  🙂
Craig’s shirt; Burda 7767 modified, burgundy linen, details here
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Looking deceptively dressy…

06/05/2012 6:04 am \ 17 Comments \

… for chucking a ball for the dog in the park, no?
But actually, nothing I am wearing is dressy in my book, so I’m good.  This is another example of comfort dressing, like yesterday.  
This dress is stretchy-knit so it is muchos easy-wear, but I always feel a tad self-conscious when I wear it because it is real figure-hugging.  Sorta on the va va voom side, y’know  😉
So, I do feel a tonne more comfortable and less self-conscious wearing this dress when I have a big coat over the top, like my good ol’ trench coat here.  And can I say, this trench coat has been such a goodie??  I love it utterly.  It was my good coat when I first made it, but when I made another one, I started to treat this one as some old throw-on thing, to be worn whenever without thought to consequences, didn’t care what happened to it.  When it gets dirty, I toss it in the washing machine on an ordinary cycle.  Well, I figure, the materials are all 100% cotton, so how awful could that be?  Still, the first time I tried this I held my breath, anxious about its fate.  Anticipating a brow-beating, “what have I doooone??!” moment.  Which did not come.  My trench coat emerged from the washing machine in perfect nick, which earned it double gold stars and a place in my “have-forever” pieces.  
The shoes probably make my outfit look dressy; but these clogs have a stacked heel all the way along so they don’t feel quite as high as they look when you are wearing them.  And they are an excellent choice for when walking through wet grass and you don’t want your tootsies to get wet.
Honest disclosure; for most of the day I was slouching about with my feet cosily ensconced in uggies, so yeah  🙂

Details:
Dress; Burda 8071 modified, stretch knit skirt and linen bodice, details here
Trench coat; Burda 7786 modified to be double breasted, beige cotton, plaid cotton lining, details here
Shoes; Perrini, had for donkey’s years

Picture taken around 11am;  Temperature at the time 20C.
Overnight low: 15C; Today’s high: 21C 
Mostly fine and cloudy, patches of sun.

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Comfort…

05/05/2012 7:18 am \ 18 Comments \

On a sartorial note; today was one of those disastrously uninspired days when I contemplated and rejected just about everything in my wardrobe.  Everything felt hideous to me!  Finally just settled on this blah blah ensemble… not very put together or super-wow or anything, but just some favourite comfy and easy-to-wear pieces.
And obviously, neither could I be bothered with an exciting photo  🙂
It is silly, because I had good intentions this morning and wanted to look nice since I had a very important function lined up: my children were taking me out today for an early Mother’s Day treat.  We had to have it today, since for the real Mother’s Day next Sunday, all of my children are working for some part of the day or another and there will be no overlapping free time in which I can spend time with all of them together.  So, today we had a firm date.  We went to Koko Black, and ate toasted sandwiches and drank hot chocolate and chatted about everyone’s lives and what we were all doing at the mo’ and it was so so so nice to hang out with them and laugh together and really listen to each other… I had the most wonderful-lest time.
I’m on cloud 9 even now.
Oh, what was I saying?  Oh yeah, I wanted to look nice for our outing, but in the end I just could not get inspired.  But who cares?  They didn’t mind.  Of course it didn’t matter a jot what I was wearing.

Picture taken around 2pm;  Temperature at the time 22C.
Overnight low: 13C; Today’s high: 23C 

Forecast was for thunderstorms and rain, but has actually been fine all day with both cloudy and sunny patches.  Maybe a dozen raindrops?  (sigh)  At least we got some rain yesterday.

Details:
Shirt; Burda 7767 modified, blue chambray cotton, details here
Skirt; originally Burda 7863 jeans, beige corduroy, details here, later converted into a skirt, details here
Shoes; Bronx, from Zomp shoes

And in a super synchronised synergy, wait for it; two of my children came downstairs rocking me-made items today!  Cassie wearing the little layered skirt I made for her using the leftovers of my Japanese wool/silk, and Sam the corduroy coat I made for him last winter.
Sigh.
I am so lucky to have them.

Cassie’s skirt; Vogue 8363 modified, rust-red wool/silk mix bought in Tokyo, details here and my review of this pattern here
Sam’s jacket; Burda 7767 modified, navy corduroy, details here

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The Daughter of Woman

04/05/2012 2:58 am \ 13 Comments \

I am paying homage to “The Son of Man” the 1964 painting by Rene Magritte.
Today’s mini-challenge within the me-made May group is to be pictured with food, or to be eating or drinking something.  So I took inspiration from that famous work of art, hehe.
Incidentally, this is also my morning tea.  
The artist later ate her subject.
🙁 for the orange

The Son of Man, Rene Magritte, 1964

Picture taken around 9.30am;  Temperature at the time 20C.
Overnight low: 16C; Today’s high: 23C 

It is very humid and the promised rain eventuated… we are getting plenty of it today!
And going by the forecast we are in for a lot more.  You may be interested to know that in Perth rain is a very very welcome occurrence, we really do not get enough.  Makes for a lovely lifestyle I agree, but the farmers will be happy today!
Details:
Top; Vogue 1247, lightweight orange cotton, details and my review of this pattern here
Skirt; Vogue 1247 lengthened and lined, curtaining fabric, satin lining, details here, and my review of this pattern here
Shoes; Enrico Antinori, from Zomp shoes
Brolly; Charlie Brown, from David Jones
And today is another joyful day of me-made synergy within my household; I was happy this morning to see Sam wearing his shirt I made for him, for Christmas last year.  A me-made bonus day!
Sams’ shirt; Burda 7767 modified, white and navy check polycotton, details here
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Day Tre…

03/05/2012 9:03 am \ 23 Comments \


… one has to say it the Italian way to get the poetry in my title there…
Another gal over on the me-made May challenge posted the weather stats on her photo, which I thought was a terrific idea.  It helps to gauge the appropriateness of the outfit when you have an idea of the temperatures, don’t you think?  Helps you to put yourself in those shoes and imagine whether you would be coping or not.  In my case, usually not… I’m a hopeless wuss in the cold!

So, yeah.  🙂  As well, I’m incurably nosy harmlessly interested in life in other places and I just like to know. 
On that note…

This picture taken around 3pm; Temperature at the time 24C.
Overnight low: 16C; Today’s high: 26C 

Mostly sunny, some cloud cover, showers were forecast.  Do you think we got any rain at all?  Nope, not a drop.  Actually was a bit humid with that cloud cover.

Still incorporating “new” things into my me-made challenge, although this linen/silk dress, like my maxi dress from Tuesday, doesn’t feel new any more.  It got worn massively over summer.  Today in a nod to the autumn weather I’m wearing it over my burnt orange silk skirt for a bit of extra warmth.  And check it out; the wavey welts and the skirt match each other… like a set! (hehe)

In sewing news: I’m brewing a new project in my head.  It’s a bit wacky.  I’m fully prepared for people to hate it  🙂

Details:
Dress; Burda 8511 modified to have welt pockets, duck-egg blue linen, orange silk welts, details here, and my tutorial for making the wavey welts here
Skirt; Vogue 8363 modified; burnt orange silk, details here, my review of this pattern here, and this skirt styled in 6 different ways here
Shoes; Bronx from Zomp shoes

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Tree, with sunrays

02/05/2012 7:13 am \ 11 Comments \

Heya!
Hmmm, what to say; well maybe something about the photograph…
I was glad my list of daily activities took me past this spot today.  It is usually deserted and to my mind utterly, ethereally, beautiful.  And I managed to set up to capture a little bit of a sun-ray effect in my photograph.  I’ve said before; I am no expert on photography, but I’ve learnt one of the most important in terms of a good outdoor photo is the quality of the light.  I lucked out with my timing today!  
The sun-ray effect adds an air of drama and magic to any photograph, and makes me wish I was wearing something more… er, magical here, and not an ordinary rather prosaic little outfit like this!  But anyhoo…  this is what I am wearing so that is that.
Although we are well into autumn now, and colder temperatures are definitely on the agenda… er, sometime soon maybe, today is a beautifully balmy 28C.  I picked my little sludge-y skirt with those fab deep front pockets.  I’ve read them described as being like a waitress’ apron, and really this is a perfect description!  I made the skirt using purple denim and with black waistband and hem edging, and dyed the whole thing brown.  I started out the day in a different, more autumnal top, but after coming home from my early morning walkies with the dog I threw that one off, sweltering; and substituted this cooler billowy shirt.  Perfect!  This is my “pirate” shirt with the silver skull buttons.  I bought those buttons in Tokyo on our day out shopping with Yoshimi and Novita, and whenever I wear it I think about that day.  How I would love to have another shopping day like that one!

Details:
Shirt; my own design, using elements from different patterns, black cotton mix, details here
Skirt; Vogue 1247, purple denim with black detailing, dyed with iDye in Brown, details and my review of this pattern here
Shoes; Enrico Antinori, form Zomp shoes

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May Day

01/05/2012 7:15 am \ 24 Comments \

… and the first day of Me-Made May ’12.
And thank you all so much for that lovely feedback yesterday!
I’m actually excited today and feeling motivated about taking the photographs again.  This is good, hopefully that tide of enthusiasm will carry me along for a while… 😀  I’m also very keen to see everybody else’s outfits over on the Flickr group.  Thinking about that,  I decided it would be sensible if I made a further addendum to my pledge; that I try to incorporate mostly garments that have been made since the last me-made challenge, so that I am not going over old ground, so to speak.  Don’t want to be boring, hehe…
Today is a beeautiful sunny autumn day but with a bit of a nip in the air; so I am wearing my chiffon maxi-dress made last October, and my little black snakeskin cardi, that is a few years old now but is a good match shape-wise and style-wise for this dress.   Actually, I experienced a marvellous moment this morning; marvellous, that is, from the point of view of a middle aged woman such as myself.  A young twenty-something girl stopped me in the street, and said “That is a completely awesome jacket!  I LOVE it!”  Oh, man, call me sad, but that moment really made my day.  So sweet!  Which made me think; unprompted compliments, and especially when they are about something one has made oneself (not that she knew that) do give such a disproportionate lift to the complimentee, over and above the good intentions on the part of the compliment-er.  And the importance of paying that forward.  So, when I trotted down to the supermarket later I said something nice to an elderly lady about her hand-knitted cardigan.  Her bright happy smile made my day even more bright and happy too!
Zoe upped her pledge by stipulating that someone in her circle would also be wearing something made by her every day this month, as she sews a lot for others.  So, imagine my joy when Cassie emerged this morning wearing this calico jacket made by me (below).  I can’t promise that this sort of synergy is going to happen very often since I have absolutely zero say in what my family wears any more, but it is good fortune that someone in my family is wearing something made by me on this first day of me-made May as well.  It is a sign!

Details:
Dress; Vogue 1355, polyester chiffon, lined with lightweight cotton, details here
Cardigan; plastic-coated jersey knit stamped in a snakeskin print, my own design, details here
Sandals; Joanne Mercer for Micam, Hobbs shoes
Nail varnish; self-mixed , ruby-red with gold

Cassie’s jacket; my wearable muslin of Vogue 8333 sewn with all the hand-finishing details, calico, details here (which reminds me, I really should get onto my real version of this pattern…!)

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Delightfully tacky

30/04/2012 3:48 pm \ 36 Comments \

I like the clashiness here.  A reminder that nature can beautify anything…  The rose is a late autumnal bloomer from my garden; some litterbug chucked the Coke can onto our verge and in the act of picking it up to toss into the recycling bin I suddenly saw artistic possibilities.  We don’t actually drink the stuff ourselves  😛
And below; quinces from my parents’ garden.  
That classy platter is actually an old fan guard/cover that I picked up off a neighbour’s verge in a council toss-out.  Pretty cool, huh?  Fair dinkum, best neighbourhood recycling scheme ever conceived!

So next, I am participating in me-made May, and we are travelling later in the month.  
Now I’ve had some thoughts about blogging during me-made May; and I would welcome your feedback, please!  In the past, I have posted an daily outfit picture, and blogged a few thoughts each day.  I find this an easier way for me to keep motivated and keep going with it.
But I have read quite a lot of negative feedback on other blogs about the apparent boredom of “having” to look at people’s daily outfits; and if the blogger is participating themselves, lots of apologising about the “posting overload”, whatever that means.  I’m bemused by this; since the feedback on the me-made flickr group is always the polar opposite; that people really do like having a bit of a squizzy at everyone else’s daily outfits.   I know I enjoy sneaky-peeking into other peoples self-stitched closets and sharing a bit in everyone’s daily lives, too!
So please tell me, what are your thoughts?  Do you tune out during the me-made months, or do you, like me, enjoy a daily sticky-beak at all the self-stitched goodness?
A lot of participants are talking about how they are going to up the ante this time.  I am opting to go ALL me-made, and mix-it up with a different outfit for each day like I always have for these challenges, and truthfully I don’t think I can up the ante more than that!  So I will try to aim higher with my photography, and do my best to capture beautiful and/or interesting images each day.  Sound fair?  🙂
I am pretty up-to-date with posting my recent creations, with only one new thing up my sleeve, yet to be photographed.  It has been a very productive month for me  😀  but this is going to be offset next month when we go away.  So, although there will not be stacks of new things over the next six weeks, I am hoping to post some lovely scenery on my blog here, along with my hopefully groovy-doovy outfits.
And I am sure going to try my best to keep it up during our travelling schedule, later next month.

And after all that, an addendum; the abysmally astronomical additions for April…

Ivory Trench Coat
Outer fabric; a gift from my friend C, from her late mother’s stash
Facing fabric; $14.81
Lining fabric; $21.43
Pattern; McCalls 5525, used before
Buttons; $4.20
Total cost; $30.44
Curtain skirt
Outer fabric; a gift from my friend C, from her late mother’s stash
Lining; leftover from the trench coat above
Zip; $2.20
Pattern; Vogue 1247, used before
Hook and eye; bought a new packet of 3 for $3.45
Total cost; $5.65
Leatherette skirt
Fabric; $57.98
Lining; $6.99
Zip; $1.42
Pattern; Vogue 1170, used before
Started one new overlocker thread; $1.00
Total cost; $67.39
Clipped Wings, a top
Fabric; I’m not sure since I bought this last year, guestimating $20
Pattern; drafted from Pattern Magic 3, which I have used before
Total cost; $20
Sapote cotton cardigan
Yarn; $62.70 (bought during the 30% off sale, yay!)
Pattern; used before
Buttons; $5.40
Total cost; $68.10
Gingham PJ’s
Fabric; $17.45
Elastic; 1.05
Buttons; leftover from another project
Total cost; $18.50
Ultramine corduroy skirt
Fabric; $7.01
Lining; $4.19
Zip; 0.99
Pattern; Vogue 1170, used before
Thread; $3.20
Started one new overlocker thread; $1.00
Buttons; from stash
Total cost; $16.39
Strawberry Pink jeans
Fabric; $13.21
Zip; $1.99
Facing fabric; recycled old PJ’s
Jeans button; from stash
Total cost; $15.20


The running total for the first third of the year; $633.04

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