SSS Days 22 & 23: Lost days

The trick with Self Stitched September is finding time to photograph my outfit when things get busy! With only two days left of September (where I'm not as busy - ha ha maybe I am) I thought I'd give you the round up of what I wore that was handmade; made by yours truly from the last week.

Thursday 22nd September:

More grown up things to do, so I dressed like a pirate (what else) and the self stitched part is my stretch knit skirt.

Friday 23rd:

Self stitched red dress and circle/loopy/cowl scarf I made to wear to Laneway earlier this year. It was a warm day and a total tease because then the weekend went sour.

And which leads me to the lost days of Self Stitched September:

Saturday 24th:

I wore a great LBD that you so can't see in this photo of me as a robot girl but I've worn it to DEATH! It's shrunk a few times in the wash, I've re-sewn the side seams a little and each time I wear it I think it's got to be the last. I'm wearing it here with my leopard print tights, as I worked at the Parklife Music Festival on Saturday, and my friends (The Yacht Club DJs) wanted me to wear this and dance on stage. Unfortunately I had to work :(.

Sunday 25th:

I wore this in the morning (my Sew Weekly outfit that I'll post more photos for you here) and a version of this in the afternoon:

It's my dyed bedsheet dress, and I think I had to wear leggings or tights as well because it started to get colder. And it was on Sunday that my iphone started going bad... the touchscreen isn't working as well, so my out and about busy liftstyle meant that I couldn't get good photos of me these next days.

Monday 26th:

I wore this red hearted IKEA fabric skirt, but paired with a black cardi, black top and the blue jacket with my Melissa flats. This skirt is so great and versatile, I've worn it twice this month now.

Tuesday 27th:

A version of this dress, but with a black cardi and my cowboy boots instead (also the second time this month I've worn this plaid number)... and yesterday:

Wednesday 28th:

The wrong shoes on a drippy wet day, but I wore my darling spring dress:

And yep, it so wasn't spring. Well, it was Melbourne spring as in four seasons in one day! YAY! (but a sarcastic yay)

So it's been a strange busy week, and with my phone behaving badly, a tough technology week too! I hope your last few days of SSS have been a little more successful than my past week! xoxo

Sew Weekly: Spring Colours

Happy Weekend guys! Hope you had a great one! I worked yesterday at the Parklife music festival and I'm ABSOLUTELY buggered. It was so good though, and I love working with great people and great friends! Yippee!

Last week for Sew Weekly we chose colour palettes, and as we're all hankering for springtime at my place (and I'm sure at yours too), I had to go stereotypical blossoms and pastels, but I like the stronger tones and lines in this old bedsheet. I love the dress so much, but haven't had a date to wear it yet!

My write up explains it all a bit clearer, but I'm so pleased to try out another of Amanda from Adelaide's vintage patterns! YAY! xoxo to you Amanda!

Wishing you lots of springtime sunshine and a gorgeous week ahead xoxo

Blossoms and the Bee

Husbie and I took this week's Sew Weekly Colour Palette (spring in my case, autumn for the rest of them) photos (my post goes up today) on Sunday, and it was so beautiful in Melbourne. Warm, sunny, breezy and everyone was out smiling. These blossom and bee photos are taken by Husbie, who has 3 bookings for weddings in the next few months. If you haven't seen his website, it's Shotgun Pictures, his friend Chris takes the photos in Sydney, and Husbie in Melbourne. A little side project for them, and great photos!

Talking of websites, last weekend, I picked up veronicadarling.com, much to my astonishment it was available! I think it was a photographers holding page a few years ago, and for some reason I thought to check it via the Australian domain names website thingy, where you register pages, and it was free. Now that I've paid for it for 2 years - $100 - I'll have to work out what to do with it! I suppose I can update this blog to sit there, and I'm sure it's not too hard to do. My brain needs a holiday to even think about starting that project! If you've gone over to your own domain name outside of blogger/blogspot/wordpress etc, let me know if there's any first steps!

xoxo

SSS Day 21: Grown Ups

I'm doing grown up things at the moment, so yesterday I tried to wear my bolero to pretend "I mean business" in the same way a powersuit spoke to the 1980s world. It may or may not have worked, but I did a talk and held a meeting (via VIDEO conferencing) and made some holiday plans (just paid for my Cambodia trip this morning) in this ensemble just fine.

Just quickly checking my archives, and I did make this bolero this year (feels like forever ago) in February! It was for the Valentine's Day theme of RED at the Sew Weekly! Looking that far back at Mena's archives and my archives, I actually can't believe I've sewn so consistently this year. Whilst not all projects were wearable (as you can see this month, I'm not really wearing that many garments from this year), I'm still amazed at the steady sewing and being involved in the Sew Weekly team has made me so confident! Confident online, confident with my sewing skillz, confident with my design dreaming and totally confident with the photography part of it all too.

Overall, how great is sewing? We are a lucky bunch! What I really really really love too: when you sew for yourself, you are making the clothes fit you... not worrying that your body doesn't fit the clothes. Over the last 3-4 years now that I've been sewing madly, and kinda consistently, I'm less worried about my body shape or body image. Occasionally I see my tummy get bigger or stick out, or my calves looking a bit large, but wearing my handmade clothing makes me so proud of this old body as a clothes horse! The one thing I totally cannot change about myself is my height, and being able to make clothes to fit properly makes me feel taller than Heidi Klum, rather than awkward short girl.

I have more grown up things to do today, so I better rush off! Talk to you soon!

xoxo

SSS Day 20: Yesterday

I'm a rushing this week, so here's my bits and pieces for my handmade day yesterday! It's the dress I made earlier in the year, as part of the Unfinished Objects theme of Sew Weekly and again I'm wearing my handmade cowl... the purple one! I love it!

It was a bit of a weird outfit, because once I left the house I realised my umbrella (and I needed it) was leopard print, I had massive fruit prints in my skirt and my bag was red (I'd changed over when bike riding, because my blue one didn't fit in my panier bags. If that's indeed how you spell panier bags?) ... purple, pinks, greens, fruit and leopard print AND a red handbag?

Not my cuppa tea, but somehow that's what I wore yesterday. Oh well!

Thanks for all your lovely comments this week! I'm in the middle of deciding if I should wear pants/leggings (lants) to the Parklife Festival. You know those leggings that are so tight and you're like, "Why are you not wearing a skirt with those tights?". If you don't know Parklife, it's an EXTREMELY young festival with heaps of flesh showing... I'm SO not going to be fleshy this time of year, plus I'm working. I've started a pair of electric blue lants, so will see how they turn out. I'll just wear them walking and to the gym normally, but for a music festival, it might be fun to wear lants ironically, right? If I like the electric blue ones I might make a crazy floral print dress as well. Or even lants with floral print. Double floral? Oh the kids today!

xoxo

SSS Day 19: More riding gear

Yesterday was pretty much the best day ever. Or should that be BEST DAY EVER? We woke up early, went walking with the dog, rode to work and it turned into the prettiest spring day! We stopped at Polly Woodside (the old boat in the background) for a quick photo for you!

All your Self Stitched September info: My handmade dress is from earlier this year, so a total Sew Weekly number that gets a few wears here and there. It's perfect for bike riding, because it's so floppy. Riding back home after work, we just escaped the storm, but it was SO windy! I'm not super active and sporty, but riding around is so fun and easy exercise. I was beaming yesterday riding around town!

This week my plan is to work solid in the office, ride a couple more times and cook at home instead of going to after work affairs (which is common in my line of work) as I'm working at the music festival on Saturday for the radio as well. A busy week ahead, but really for me, when is it not a busy week? There's a couple weeks left after that, and then holidays! October is pretty much going to fly by because of my trip to Cambodia (that I'll have to lock in with the travel peeps today) and then we're having a big shake up at the end of October... I'll fill you in soon once it all comes around, as don't wanna anticipate it all too soon!

Thanks for supporting all these handmade adventures and postings this month! There's been a few articles recently that have made me super happy to be blogging and sewing with sustainability in mind. There's this woman in Melbourne who has chosen not to buy any new plastics and there were a few sewing articles on the ABC news site (that's hard to find now) about how lots of people are sewing for themselves, or SIY sew-it-yourself, instead of DIY! Do you feel that more people are crafting these days? I know more people who are into it, talk about it, but haven't really bit the bullet and made things yet!

xoxo

SSS Day 17 & 18: Weekend Wearz

Self Stitched September continues here at Veronica Darling HQ! Do you mind all these extra photos and blog posts? Am I annoying you yet? It really prompts you to post when you have a challenge like a Handmade Month (if you're just checking in for the first time, hiya! I'm wearing all my handmade garments for all of September! And others are doing it too! YAY!) and of course wear all your things!

Saturday I really wanted to wear no tights, because I'm totes over wintertime and I attempted this dress with shorty shorts and the (thrifted) long sleeve tshirt, but it was just too cold. It was so windy in Melbourne! I added the grey tights to try and trick myself a bit! We went on a big bike ride!

On Sunday we collected our thoughts on things (as you do on a Sunday) and decided we'd buy a Sodastream (!) and do some grocery shopping. I wanted to be a little Stepford Wife, so went with these really old capri's, my darling Melissa heels and this handmade white blouse. I actually had to show you this photo because of Doggie Darling's smiley face! HOWL! What a cutie! The weather was FINALLY ok to wear bare legs!

YAY!

Sew Weekly: Easy Being Green

Wanna see some babes in gorgeous handmade dresses?

Kazz and I caught up for a gorgeous little soiree in the city, with a little Great Gatsby jive for this week's Sew Weekly theme. Darling Kazz made MOST of her outfit, and you can see all her elements all together in a fabulouso photo montage!

We met up at Madame Brussels in the city last weekend, and I'd started piecing the dress together Saturday night, and finished up Sunday morning, with a little 'That'll Do' kinda vibe. It's a great result for a gown, but I don't know if I'm a full length kinda gal, considering the petiteness and the having to lift the skirt up when you walk etc. I'm also wearing 4 inche heels to keep things from dragging along the ground.

But I simply adore the sleeves! And Kazz!

Babez.

The full details of how I put it together Frankenstein like is in my Sew Weekly post, and I feel really proud of my write up this week, so I do urge you to pop along and have a read! Not one to gush (or am I always one to gush?), but I loved how overdramatic I got!

Hope you've had a great weekend!

xoxo

SSS Day 15 & 16: Love Music!

Happy Friday!

This week for Self Stitched September I wore my Gumnut Baby dress (made this year for Sew Weekly's Childrens Book theme) yesterday and I saw some fun young bands play in my neighbourhood! We live in Western Melbs, and there's not your typical amount of live music venues, so when awesome bands play in your suburb, you can't say no!

Here's me last night when I got home! I was super excited to see my fave band: Drunk Mums. They're from the western suburbs of Melbs also and really punky fun!

Today I wore this apron dress, and saw Lanie Lane perform! She was stunning and so vintage-y sweet, you'd really love her and her style! I'm not 100 % sold on this apron dress, it looks cute and flattering here, but it feels bulky and I feel very wide when I wear it. So it kinda makes me not wear it. I should picture this photo when I wear it next, because it looks sweet.

I tell you what? I'm OVER wearing tights. I'm hoping hoping hoping tomorrow is warm enough to ditch the tights and wear bare legs for reals. It's still kinda warm now, this late at night, so fingers crossed it'll be proper springtime tomorrow. I wanna wear sandals and skirts and floppy clothes again instead of tight tights!

xoxo

SSS Day 14: Toy Camera

Today a toy camera lens arrived in the post, Husbie bought it for his Canon cameras. It's totally plastic, and has basic settings, here's us testing it out with Doggie Darling in the backyard. These photos are totally raw (apart from my framed curved edges - that I <3 so much!) and are so interesting with the vignette thingie. Husbie was excited about how 'soft' they look. WHATEVER!

As it still is Self Stitched September (did you know there's a facebook group and a flickr group as well? I don't have as much time to update my photos over there, but just getting my outfits up here is enough for me - and you maybe!) here's what I wore today. A LBD and scarf/cowl: handmade ... tights and two cardigans: thrifted... shoes: MELISSA!

I just searched my archives, but I must have made this dress and didn't post a photo of it, way back in 2007. I found THIS dress, which is a second version that I made up for a friend. It's super short, but I wear little black shorts underneath, and considering I'm so petite even if it lifts a bit, no one seems to notice. Of course, I was just working today, but then I had a facial! Yippee! And also, I googled travel details because I decided to go on a holiday to Cambodia with my friend! Double Yippee! More details to come!

Talk soon xoxo

SSS Days 11, 12, 13: Oops!

My first stuff up as I didn't get a photo of yesterday's outfit for Self Stitched September! Oops!

On Sunday, I cleaned the house, but my parents came to visit and we had gushy catch ups and before I headed out for a little Great Gatsby Soiree in the city with Kazz, I caught a photo of my oufit with 3 pieces of handmadeness:

I look funny! OH WELL INTERNETZ! I'm wearing the cropped jacket I made during the Ascot Week, my skirt I made after stuffing up a lot during the Yee Ha Country theme, and there's a scarf or cowl or scoopy loopy scarfy thing I made for the music festival earlier this year. You can loop it up twice for extra warmth.

And then on Monday, I was back at work, working early, forgetting to take a photo but looking a bit like this:

My spotty dress I've made ages back. But with a cardigan, tights and scarf and my handmade red duffle coat as it's still COLD. The day got away from me with my parents here, my friend needed a little TLC and all the gushy family lifestyle, one forgets to take a photo. As even as much as I push for it, the world doesn't revolve about me and what I wear! Anyways! Handmade and Self Stitched Successes!

And now for today. I wore the cotton floral number I made during week we did embellishments, and I chose to try piping:

BUT I had an accident today:

WHAT. I could feel this starting to happen the last time I wore it (about a month ago) but I wasn't doing much stretching or lifting, and today I lifted and ran around a bit and my under arm seam just tore! I had to wear my cardi all day, no biggie, but I really don't think I can salvage this one, it's torn right along the bust dart there! I think in my resizing of the pattern pieces I did make the arm holes a little too small, which makes it slightly weird in shape.

*** For some reason this didn't post last night *** Oh well! You get the added bonus of me linking to my dress, which has just gone up on Sew Weekly overnight, it's the Great Gatsby theme!

Sew Weekly: In need of a dye job

Do you do colour? Do you get a dye job?

I of course (wait for it, you *will* be shocked) am not a natural blonde. I know, I really should have made you sit down first.

So I look towards the Hairdressers this week after seeing this gorgeous hairline:

Darling Corrin's Hair Lounge in Brunswick! Google her from great vintage chats about crochet! xoxo

Last week we were doing fabric manipulation, like colouring, dying and painting! Go and have a look at everyone's great stuff! Mena broke the internet with her pink dress, Adey made the ships sail by, my yellow became toned down, Debi almost flew away with her balloons (or perhaps flew to America!) and darling Sarah became confused but gorgeous in the end!

I can't wait for this week's Great Gatsby theme to get online! Talk soon and Happy Monday! xoxo