Sew Weekly: Hats Off!

 

This week for Sew Weekly we've made an outfit around a hat! Once again, you can check out all my outfit details in my blog post, but the beret is made from the Grey Jumper I posted yesterday! What a refashionista I've become! That's what happens when you have a LIFE committment to Wardrobe Refashion, right sewing pals?

I'm pretty happy with it overall, the fabric is thrifted - how crazy is it? I think I got it at that Ballarat op shop run I did at the start of the year. Or was in the end of last year? I'm forgetting SO much these days... I started to think it was October the other day. RANDOM!

There's a bit for me to catch up on around the house, at work, and in the Sewing Room at the moment. The Comedy Festival was so FUN, but seriously every second of my day was planned to the second, so it was pretty tricky doing anything normal! Hopefully next week things will settle down. xo

Back to refashioning

Watch this woolie jumper closely:

For tomorrow you'll see what I've refashioned it into, and if you're a keen Sew Weekly follower, you may guess just from this week's theme.

Hope you're having a great post Easter Weekend week! Only 3 days in a working week is sounding great for me! It's beautiful weather here in Melbourne today as well, crisp but super sunny!

I think my post goes up today for Sew Weekly as well, so I'll get you my outfit tonight or tomorrow morning! YAY!

Shoesday: Some more sunny days

Looking back over the past few weeks, some days were so beautiful and warm enough to wear my summer shoes. YAY

Top: Vintage Wedge Heels
Middle: Melissa Heart Flats
Bottom: Melissa Amazonian/Glamazonian (I forget!) Wedges

Did you remember it's Shoesday today?

xoxo

Like Food & Dogs?

Then this is the blog post for you!

I love long weekends! How have you spent yours?

Sew Weekly: TV Week

Hey darling! I'm back!

And with another Sew Weekly dress of course! It's been a whirlwind month, so I'm pleased you've had some patience with my postings (or lack of!) and I'll be back with you and visiting your blog and missing the heck outta you for the rest of April now!

Only the Sewing Gods know how I managed to get my Sew Weekly garment ready in time this week! I am baffled and amazed with myself for sewing up this darling shirt dress, as looking at it (and the photos) now ... it looks REALLY tricky!

First up, the theme for the Sew Weekly challenge (You know Mena's blog by now right? I love 'resetting' what I'm up to all the time, but if you're a regular reader you might be like - I *know* the Sew Weekly by now, hurry up and get with the program!) is Women from Television... and I settled on Lucy from the I Love Lucy show, circa 1950... this pattern is a shirt dress from 1948 that I have NO idea where I got it from... perhaps an op shop... it's in pretty bad shape (a few moth holes!) so I don't think it's from an etsy seller or anything nice.

Planning out my sewing was really important for me, as I was totally slammed with my day job and with the comedy festival commitments I have. It was just super busy, and each day I had about 30 minutes of sewing, so had to sew in bursts. Or Sewing Spurts as Cathe over at Mena's blog suggested!

THEN, when I'd finished up the dress, I had about 15 minutes one afternoon to take the photos, and as Husbie was at work, I found the little tripod. I have tried to take self portraits before, but could never get the focus right. For these ones (I'm sorry I look so tired, I took a nap straight after!) I pointed the autofocus to the spot where I aimed to stand... and then the photos came out kinda in focus. Self timer photos are just weird when you don't have anything to focus on.

But it IS a nice shirt dress, do you think?

This week has been KUH-razy! Totally crazy! I'm utterly relieved how great the dress is, how awesome these photos came out and that the week's finally over! One more comedy thing tonight, and then I'll sleep for 4 years. If you wanna hear a little more about the I Love Lucy idea for this week's theme, I wrote a bit more about the dress in my post.

I hope you've been well, and watch out, because come Sunday I'll be flicking through your blog and catching up on all your news! YAY for the super long weekend (it's Anzac Day here on Monday, so no work til Wednesday!)!!!

xoxo

Sew Weekly: For the child in us!

Yippee! I can't tell you how happier I am this week with my Sew Weekly creation! My apron was great last week, but that busty bust Burda dress left me a little grumpy and annoyed that my drafting wasn't the best. I think given some more time I can probably revisit it and make it nicer one day. But in the meantime we explored our childhood fashion for this week's theme at the Sew Weekly! And it was so much fun for me!

My brother and I grew up on a Hobby Farm (about 10 acres, but we had cows!) and had heaps of 'good clothes', so I wanted to use this photo above because I had a red tartan remnant that kinda looked the same! After I chose this photo of us, I asked Mum if anything was handmade, as I thought she did knit us heaps of things... and our jumpers (mine a vest!) and our beanies are hand knitted by her! Plus, she refashioned the kilt to fit me from a larger size!

Awesome!

Time for some kidding around!

Husbie and I went to a cityside park for the photos and the sun came out especially (it's since poured with rain and gushed and caused havoc since) so I'm even happier because the photos are great, and my suit is great!

My post over at Sew Weekly has all the details for you sewing fiends, there's a few different photos... but I thought I'd save these kookier ones for you! I lined the vest, see below, and made it reversible, jut in case... but it's a little 'See My Vest, See My Vest' Musical Theatre like... so I'm not too sure when I'll wear it out like that.

BUT, I am wearing it right now, with a black skirt and dotty black tights and I feel rather dapper! I have also never made a short pant suit before, and after how gorgeous this all turned out, I think I'll have to make more for winter!

xoxo

Shoesday: Red Shoes

I have two pairs of red shoes that are in rotation on my feet at the moment. With the colder weather I may have to say goodbye to the darling rusty red suedelike ones, and embrace my 80s Debbie Harry ones.

Do you have shoes you can wear all year round? I reckon I might rock an open toe shoe this year, wearing stockings as well. Good look? Or yuck?

Happy Shoesday!

Comedy Central!

YAY, so finally, I've got a minute to share all my comedy tips from the Melbourne INTERNATIONAL Comedy Festival. Note the international part, as Melbs peeps PRIDE themselves as being the Montreal or Edinburgh aspect of the Southern Hemisphere comedy world.

So, without further stalling, my fave: Tig Notaro, Ladies & Gentlemen!

 

Then, a local boy Sam Simmons:

Hee hee, 'local boy' (He's my friend!) And then whilst I've seen him several years in a row, I still adore Russell Kane:

And... who else? (I've seen shitloads of stand up comedy these past two weeks...) Umm, let's finish with Paul Foot (UK) and Jason Byrne (Ireland), Claudia O'Doherty and Zoe Coombs Marr (a bit of Aussie women there for you!), but here's local boy Tom Ballard (also my friend! LOLZ! I have funny friends!):

My Sew Weekly post is earlier in the week (I think it'll be up by this time tomorrow) and it's all about an outfit inspired by a childhood outfit! I'm a little bit proud of my outcome this week (No low scoop necklines in site!) so can't wait to show you!

See you at the Comedy Show OR in blogland soon! xoxo

Sew Weekly: Appreciate the Apron

Hey, what's this blog thing? What's this internetz thing? Everything looks so weird to me... Oh that's right, I've not been logging on to computer land because I've been hanging IRL with comics and LOLing all over the place in Melbourne!

I've been planning all week to send you little youtube clips of who I love at the Melbourne Comedy Fest, but I've actually not sat down at my home computer all week. I've been working, seeing comedy, working, seeing comedy and not blogging, tweeting nor eating it seems!

I plan to have a proper dins tonight, and am now limiting myself to 2 shows a night. Or maybe 3.

But what's this? A snazzy apron!

This week was an apron theme for the Sew Weekly group, and I believe this was a theme suggested by all the peeps at the Sewing Circle... If you are a seamstress, but can't get into the whole 'blog' thing, then I'd suggest having a look... it's kinda like Facebook but for peeps who love seeing... and there's a lot of really lovely people over there, and I've actually spent heaps of time reading the forums if I've been stuck on a hem or a seam problem!

My post details my thoughts on the apron and the making of this Burda dress... it didn't really work out for me because my printer printed the sizing out big, and when I went to resize it I didn't realise it needed seam allowances too, and then the shoulders were just way too big and I was left with a massively low cut dress that could be potentially NSFW.

Notice how Husbie's photos are straight on, and not up above me? There was deadly cleavage in some of those higher up shots!

I gotta fly: seeing UK's New Art Club and Paul Foot tonight!

xoxo

Shoesday: A Go Go Dancing Disaster

Another Shoesday! Shoes on a Tuesday: it just seems so logical! I've been taking a lot of photos via Instagram (Username veronicadarling if you're into such a thing!) these days, just when I'm waiting or sitting or gathering my thoughts.

The sad disaster is that I wore my ballet flats (worn in the first photo) to my new Go Go Dancing Class. YEP, I've started doing Go Go Dancing with Anna's Go-Go Academy and it's BRILLIANT. So much fun! But the sad disaster was that I had to 'pony' and the ballet flats couldn't stand the skipping! They are not made for dancing at all! Considering I've had them since I was 10 or 11, I am surprised they lasted over 20 years. I'm going to send them along to the shoe people, and perhaps they can reattach the sole!

Do you keep shoes til they fall apart? Or do you grow bored and hand them on to their next life? I rarely pass them onto the op shop, I love my shoes!

Sew Weekly: UFO Ta Da!

A long picture post guys! It's my Sew Weekly creation all completed, my post went up on Thursday, but I'm all LOL-ed out because the COMEDY FESTIVAL has started in Melbourne, and I've been out every night after work, and have only just sat down with a Saturday cuppa tea to write to you and check out your blog!

As you can imagine, I'm super happy with the dress! The theme was Unfinished Objects (UFO's! I remember asking Kristy what a UFO was ages back, because I had no idea what people were talking about in blogs! I also don't usually have them lying around!) and I'd started this dress right before crazy busy work time in 2009, and when I realised I didn't have time to finish it, I'd folded it up so neatly and nicely (with another skirt) until now.

How freaking GREAT are my new Melissa's??? Of course I bought them from my friend's shop OKOK in Brunswick, but I'd wanted some muted coloured heels for a while, as I have heaps of black ones... but no pale or tan ones (Doggie Darling ate my vintage tan boots, so have been missing a paler/lighter colour).

I bought the pattern new, the first few months after I learned to sew... I wanted a dress to wear to the Sale Cup and I made the purple version in Emerald Green and I still have it for when I'm having 'skinny' days as I might have been a fraction skinnier when I made it. It's a great vintage-esque pattern in my opinion, and super easy to make and follow.
 

 

Hope you're enjoying your weekend! I'm looking forward to spending the afternoon in the sewing room (for next week's Sew Weekly Challenge) and seeing MORE comedy shows tonight! Did you watch the tv show The Flight of the Conchords? I'm seeing Arj Barker tonight, he's in the show and appears in one of the better songs in the second series "Too Many Dicks on the Dancefloor"! I loved the first series, but the second series (especially the ending) was a little too wishy washy for me!

Take care, xoxo