Featured on Wardrobe Refashion!

Jessica from Wardrobe Refashion asked me to be the Featured Refashionista on the site a couple of weeks back, and I was in full swing doing Outfits galore. So I finally got round to writing some stuff up about refashioning and she's posted it in the news section of the site!

Yippee! I love refashioning! And I love the site! Anyone can join too, you don't have to be a total sewing queen or anything, and everyone is really encouraging when you post!

When I was finding some photos for Jessica, I found this one:


It's from a couple of pillow cases, and gosh it's lovely! I gave it to my friend for her bday, and it's totally inspired a lot of other skirts! Yay!

Hope your Saturday is just as nice as mine! I haven't really done much, but we had a little sleep in, went to doggie school and had some brunch in the sun in Marrickville at THE BEST cafe, the staff are all so friendly and the food is great.

I hung up some new (but old vintage tiki style) curtains that I'd got at the Oppie a couple of weeks back, in our bedrooms and they look gorgeous, might take a piccie of their tiki style once I work out what's up with the camera (might have to get husbie onto that one!) and am going to MAKE SOMETHING NOW! Omfg it's been like a total week off! Not too sure what I'd like to make, so going to look through the stash now!

Back to Crafty Adventures with my 200th Post

Well, it was a busy time, but I got through it *just* and now have a day off today. Yay! I don't tend to harp on about my day job, but let's just say it was extremely busy but altogether a great time (now that it's over!), so hence my EXTREME lack of blogging and crafting here.

KNITTING UPDATE: When I was in Melbs I went to Borders in the citz and bought "The Knitted Odd-bod Bunch: 35 Unique and Quirky Knitted Creatures":


As I was thinking of learning crocheting, to make little toys for little friends, but discovered I can knit little toys instead! Much easier for me, and whilst I know my knit and purl stitches, I don't know a lot of the terms, (skbo or kbtl - I'm making them up now, I have a puppy on my lap and can't run over to pick up the book) BUT the knitting lingo is explained in the back of the book. The photos are gorgeous, and I'm making a shorter tummied daschund, for my little fairygodson in the UK. I'm making her up in black wool, like my little Doggie Darling! Counting the stitches is the worst part, but you can see the shape straight away and I've finished the body of the toy and up to her little ears (hope to finish tonight during telly time).

WARDROBE REFASHION PLEDGE UPDATE: Whilst on my working trip I also raided a few country op shops for wool, fabrics and patterns. Oh! I just remembered a really cool burgundy disco dress I got too, better stick that in the wash today too! So for my wardrobe refashion pledge, it's still intact, although I bought tonnes of tights and stockings and socks from Melbs. I'm also going to buy a pair of shoes:


But it's my reward for getting my last year's tax return in in time to get stimulated by K Rudd! Shoe Reward! So shoes and tights I can't make just yet, so fine for the WRP (no new clothes, just what you can make etc).

BOOKY NEWS: I finished "Up a Tree in the Park at Night with a Hedgehog" by Paul Robert Smith (Hee hee, Robert Smith) and it was pretty good. I read it only because my all time fave author Douglas Coupland had a quote on the front, so it wasn't brilliant but a fun look at relationships.


GARDEN NEWS: My banana tree is now taller than me, my coriander seeds sprouted with great success as did the snow peas. I have absolutely no idea how to grow snow peas, so have left up the tomato stakes with twine between them, so we'll see.

AND LASTLY A LIST OF WHERE I'M AT WITH SEWING STUFF:

- Art smock dress x2 (at least)
- Trousers for Men x2
- Wiggle Dress x3
- Baby bigs x 1 million (however many I can sew actually, as babes continue to be born)
- Vest for a Man x2
- Skirts for skinny hot friends
- Winter Dresses for me
- Baby jumpsuit for Baby Friend

Phew! Also, I'll promise more blogging! I miss it! I look forward to reading your blogs, I'm off to check you out now and see what's been going on!

A gorgeous morning at my house!

I feel just lovely after a dreamy morning in my house!

After reading a little bit of my latest Richard Yates book (short stories this one, and will post once I've finished), I had a cuppa tea and some toast with avocado and tomato. And finished my lovely trousers for Mr Veronica Darling to wear tonight! They're officially Outfit Number 51, cause Outfit 50 was the refashioned stripey dress I sent off for the refashion parade!




Nice hey? Husbie has totally cleaned the house, been to the gym and now is off at the optometrist so he's had a very busy morning too. It's just gorgeous outside. Now that it's noon, I might plan some lunch and go for a walk and enjoy the day.

We're gearing towards getting a pet, a dog! So we talk a LOT about the walks we'll be on with our pup!

Enjoy your Saturday!

Wardrobe Refashioning for a summertime picnic!

This afternoon I finished off this funny refashion. I have to post the 'BEFORE' picture because it is way too daggy:



It's a great 1980s mummy dress, it would have been very light for summer as it's really great cotton. But that style (and size) was just dying for a refashion, and like I mentioned in a previous post I really wanted to keep the weird embroidered birds. They make me laugh so much!

So I gave it a slight 1960s bodice and kept the skirt as is.




What do you reckon? I made it a size 10 (for the Wardrobe Refashion's fashion parade) so it's a little big in the bodice for me... but after it comes back after the fash parade, I think I can alter it to fit. Husbie just loves it... so might be hard to give away!

Not bad!

A totally vintage & refashioned Fashion Show

So using the pattern from my last post, I've been sewing a storm for the Wardrobe Refashion's first ever fashion show, at this Stitches thing. I love the Wardrobe Refashion blog, and I like fashion! I'm not so much a crafty type person, but I REALLY wanted to get a garment in to the fashion show, and it's going to be my first 'real life' thing... apart from selling my clothes at work and bit by bit on my etsy store... it's (hopefully) going to be worn in the real world by a real person. The craft show looks really good though, and I've heard things are often well priced! So you might have to check it out if you like that type of thing! Woo!

So onto details about my dress for the FASHION SHOW!

I mailed Nikkishell and she told me it had to be a size 10 garment... so firstly, I chose my material:



A barkcloth (feels like it) material, that was a tablecloth, and perhaps before that a piece of material! There were no tags on it, and it was a little wonky at the hem bits... sorry to you if you sewed this 50 years ago! I sew wonky hems too!

Using tablecloths are usually great, there's heaps of material (or a challenge to make the dress pattern fit if there's not enough material!) and you're totally guaranteed a unique dress! The thing to watch out for though, are little food stains or markings (cause of its previous life) and the challenge then is to make sure none of those bits end up on your dress!

So then I grabbed out my pattern and a vintage TARGET zipper to match! Yay for thriftiness!



And so far so good! I'm finishing the zipper and collar lining now, so I'll have pics up soon. It is a little big for me, and differently shaped, so it'll be fine for the FASHION SHOW, and once I make the red dress (as I'd previously planned to make) I'll alter it a bit.

Hope your week is going well! I'm not blogging as much as I'd like to this year. A bit sad, and a bit too long in the sewing room. Perhaps I should sign up for one of those 'Tuesday is...' or 'Desky Day'... those blog-a-longs that make you post a lot... have you got any ideas of what I can do?

AWESOME! Take care of you and your loved ones!

Wardrobe Refashion - For Life!

I took the Wardrobe Refashion pledge at the start of the year, having tested it out for a few months prior. And it's AWESOME!

If you guys haven't heard of it, it's a pledge you can take in order to re-use your current wardrobe, or pretty much stop going to the shops and buying new things. OR if you're stuck, by handmade or second hand items first.

I've bought one pair of yoga pants this year, but now I've got an overlocker, I can make yoga and stretchy stuff, so I've decided that I'll be a Wardrobe Refashioner for LIFE! It's a big ask, but I'm totally not into going to the shops for my clothes. I would always pop by the op shops, but on the odd occasion call by Target or girlie shops for something every now and again, but I get crushed seeing stores like Supre have clothes made SO cheaply and so badly. They surely are using cheap labour (not a fact, I could research before I post but whatever!) and I feel a little terrible knowing a lot of it ends up in dumpsters or whatever... these stores are just SO overstocked and fashion moves pretty fast for us females. Anyways, I love doing my small little bit to stop this consumeristic nature of our western worlds, so give big kisses to Nikkishell who's been running Wardrobe Refashion singlehandly for however long!

There's a big group of people refashioning these days, and it's so good making something yourself or buying handmade... and it's not that hard to do! DIY has gone crazy since I started, and the web is full of great places to learn stuff!

My goal along with being a LIFER on WR is to actually post my stuff there! I'm hopeless! I make so much stuff that I never photograph and I've got to get some sort of system going (I'm just too lazy to get the photos of the camera most of the time!) so hopefully I'll see you over there!

xoxo