Archive for September 2011
September 25, 2011 | 
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It has been as hectic as a Screaming Jay Hawkins song around here of late and I think I may just be back on track. Phew! This post is a tad late, sometimes life just gets in the way, you’re having such a good time that before you know it the week has flown by and you’re back to the beginning again.
So lets just imagine for a minute you and I meet up for coffee and cake in this quaint little cafe in town where they play The Dirty Three on heavy rotation, the walls are filled with books and obscure paintings we choose to sit on the bouncy vintage cinema chairs underneath the hanging porcelain tea cups next to the sun filled window, you order a flat white and I order a soy latte— you look absolutely fabulous by the way —admiring your shoes of course, you swing a compliment back my way that is filled with surprise ‘Kazz you’re wearing colour COLOUR! how did this happen? you look great!’ we have a girly giggle, sip slowly on our perfectly made coffee’s and I proceed to tell you how this all come about…
Sew Weekly’s challenge this week is to put together a palette of colours that you can sew around, in my case a Spring Palette, once I started researching I fell in love with this website then it all just kinda made sense it really is the perfect way to pre-plan your wardrobe from season to season. I think I’ll use this method in the future.
Here is my Mood Board selected from some of my favourite Pinterest pins. Pinning gets somewhat addictive don’t you think?
Now let me first tell you about these fabulous wedges that my hubby brought home for me, I know right isn’t he the most amazing man EVER!!?? He first noticed I fell in love with them when he turned around mid conversation to find my face and hands squished tight up against the glass of the shop window like a bug on a windscreen, he carefully peeled my face and hands slowly from the glass and sat me down with a glass of water and a brown paper bag instructing me to just; breathe. This colour becomes the basis of my Spring Palette which makes sense really why buy shoes that don’t suit any other part of your wardrobe? So let the sewing begin…
This is my fabric palette of choice it’s half store bought and half thrifted they are all cottons, some with a slight stretch some not. They’re lovely and Spring-like don’t you think?
I spent my Friday night cutting out these two patterns; b to the b o r i n g so I indulged in the Savage Love podcast to help entertain the process, fun. I decided to use the pants from 2315 and the blouse and skirt from 2154 both extremely easy patterns which made for a day of quick sewing amongst cleaning and kiddie party drop off’s on the Saturday. So here are the results from my efforts, please excuse my hair I am unsure whether to let it grow or chop it off, I always get to this length and get all agitated with it.
I feel a tad conservative, I’m not sure why, I guess it’s the colour and the silhouette I’ve decided on, I don’t know, it’s a new way of doing things for me, Spring has sprung and so has my wardrobe, Lucky me.
Next weeks challenge is ‘Pink’ so I’ll be sewing with my Spring Palette in mind so I can continue to wear these fabulous shoes. Did I mentioned I scuffed them? (they’re suede) I was prancing around the house in them, somewhat reminiscent of Maria from The Sound of Music, I fell back onto my bed and flung my feet up in the air to admire them, like you do. SCUFFADUCK I immediately collapsed into a yoga pose to calm myself down.
So what about you? how do you decide what you are going to wear from season to season?
Happy sewing.
Above are the staple elements that made up my F.Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ outfit which is the flavour of this weeks Sew Weekly challenge. I was looking at dresses from the 1920′s and the silhouette seemed relatively simple somewhat boxy with a drop waist so I thought why spend money on a pattern, I went with the boxy and to be honest—as I’ve found out me and boxy don’t go together too well, hell I’m already slightly boxy why put another box inside another right? that aside I was really pleased with how the dress turned out and felt really confident when I slipped into it until I spied photos arr I looked like I gained 10 pounds and you know those knickers that you pull up to your eye balls to help suck in the mum’s bumps? Spanks! I think in this case they added to the problem a bit like squeezing a slightly deflated balloon in the middle and watching where the left overs sit, I mean really it either pushes your bits up or down it never holds it all in. Do you like the fabric? I do, it’s a not too stretchy lace and I chose this because of the faux fur stole I made a year ago, I think the styling meshed together rather well and screamed 1920′s. I’d like it better if it didn’t glue it’s self to my mums bumps. Ah well you win some you lose some.
I cut the bottom into scollops using a good ol fashion saucer from my cupboard —rad dressmaking tool! I then sewed the pieces in on the bias hoping for it to hang nicely, I expected it to hang better but there really wasn’t enough weight in the fabric to do so—obviously. I chose to roll hem everything for a lovely finish. The red braid that appears on the V-neck and the bottom I’ve had in my stash for years and finally found a place for it. I love it when that happens I don’t feel like such a hoarder then.
Off to meet the utterly fabulous and very talented Veronica Darling for The Great Gatsby meet-up.
We met up at the very fabulous Madame Brussels in town. The venue was gorgeous, very quirky, the interior and the staff who were dressed in tennis outfits. We loooooved it and the Melbourne weather was pleasant enough for us to reveal our shoulders. You wait till you see Veronica Darlings sleeves on her magnificent gown. OMG.
I sat on this cocktail for two hours and licked the sides of the glass when I finished. Do you do that too?
See, will you look at her gown! she made it from a bed cover using three different patterns and it is as gorgeous in real life as she is. She’s a clever gal this one.
Here we are being snapped up by the paparazzi. Kazz over here! Veronica are you ready for your close up? Oh we were the talk of the town darling.
I loved meeting Veronica Darling and hopefully one day we can meet up again and talk more on fabric and patterns and notions and stuffs. Veronica’s post is up on Sew Weekly where you can view and read all about her wonderful gown.
We’re off to the Melbourne Tattoo Expo this weekend to visit our long time and super talented friend Ash , I might just have to come back with a newbie. Yay!!
Happy Sewing lovelies.
I joined the abstract expressionist movement and hung out with Jackson Pollock aka Jack the Dripper for the afternoon, after having a few beverages he finally paid me a compliment on my unique painting technique and said my work looked remarkably like his, pffft is he suggesting I stole his idea? jezz what a complete pollock.
If you are new around these parts let me fill you in… I get down and dirty on my Janome (no pun intended) and do these crazy challenges over at Sew Weekly not because I have a lot of time on my hands—that I certainly do not , I’m basically bursting with ideas and need to put them somewhere and sitting in front of the box is not an option for me, this is way more fun. You know what’s not fun? the new Red Hot Chilli Peppers song it’s kinda crappola.
That’s my crappola face up there. Anyway, I made this little playsuit from white broadcloth, but before I decided it was photo-worthy I did a bit of research on crotches— oh hush now I’m trying to be serious here… did you know you can sew a frowning crotch, a smiling crotch, a tight horizontal crotch and god know’s whatever else crotch? none of which you want to sew, the perfect crotch is definitely all in the cut, I’m perfectly happy with this perfectly cut crotch and I didn’t use a pattern either. So the moral to this story is get to know your crotch.
Back to Pollock. After Mr Pollock got over the insane idea that I had stolen his painting technique he did however suggest that I pop around to his house and show him my unique painting technique. So that I did, you can view some of his work here he’s done okay don’t you think? he still has a long way to go though, practice makes perfect. Have a go at this.
Well that’s it for me this week, we are kid free so hubby and I are out on the town tonight eating gorgeous food, drinking fabulous wine and seeing some live music, he’s just come home from winning the 2011 Ringwood Golf Club Match Play Championship woohoo!!! so we have some celebrating to do. I’m anticipating a perfect night and hopefully tomorrow’s Sew Weekly’s Melbs Great Gatsby meet up goes ahead and that will make for a perfect weekend. Hoorah! Happy Days
Happy Sewing you gorgeous thing you.
