mini wardrobe croquis

I like writing/drawing things on paper before starting a project, so working out my new mini wardrobe has been more about thinking, more thinking, writing, making lists, sketching, more sketching, choosing fabric, choosing patterns than actual sewing and taa-dah my mini wardrobe croquis is almost finished with just a few more fabric swatches to glue in (once I find where Mr 10 has put the glue.) The entire process is a lot like playing paper dolls.


The sketchbook fits in my handbag (yes I'm a lover of big handbags) and goes shopping with me. It's proving to be invaluable for buttons and accessories shopping. I used to be really good at holding a colour in my head and being able to match things closely but nowadays, having fabric swatches are a must.

I had another lightbulb moment when I realised that I'll need to build 3-4 mini wardrobes to suit the different parts of my life. Feels like a black/charcoal/grey/blue-red/white mini wardrobe should be next...

simplicity 2728 so far

the Simplicity 2728 jacket is slowly coming together. As my sewing time is limited, I've had to make a list of the construction tasks and spread them out over a 7 day period and then tick off as I go. So far the pattern has been cut, adjustments made, fabric cut, interfacing attached. Tonight it's cutting the bias strips for the hong kong seams (from the peachy orange polyester) and then the start of the jacket body construction (without the sleeves.) The sleeves and collar are for tomorrow.

it's a slow process that most sewers wouldn't even consider but it works for me. The days of pulling all nighters to finish sewing a garment or sewing instead of doing the household chores don't work for me now. I hope to show the finished garment next Monday and then get started on the next item for the wardrobe.

mini wardrobe begins

now the school holidays are finally over (the last of our holidaying children returns to school tomorrow), I can start sewing again.


my sewing plan is to work on creating a mini wardrobe based on an 'orphan' skirt thats been lurking in the back of my wardrobe mainly because it didn't go with anything. I'm planning to make at least 4 items to go with it so that I can have 4-6 distinct looks. My colour palette is chocolate brown/turquoise/teal/off white/burnt orange.

first up in the sewing queue is a short jacket to be made up in a chocolate wool/viscose mix. I'm using Simplicity 2728. This jacket will have 3/4 sleeves, the wide notch collar and back tab. I'll omit the pockets, as they're unflattering on a pear shape and use contrasting hong kong seam finishing instead of lining the jacket.

my wardrobe mantra is: introduce colour, wear what flatters my shape and think mix n match.

from sewing past

look what popped up from my sewing past. My mother decided it was time for me to have it. This was my 21st birthday party frock that I made back in the mid 80s.

The dress pattern was Vogue 1125 designed by Bellville Sassoon and was a very interesting sew. There was a lot of fiddley sewing where the neckline ruffles extended into rosettes. I chose the wrong type of fabric to start with (I had to have this particular shade of blue) that needed quite a bit of stiffening to make the rosettes stand out. Of course that didn't last the distance as a trip to the drycleaners had the entire dress return permanently droopy.



Miss 12 put it on today, whirling and twirling in it, before announcing that this dress was perfect for any girls princess fantasy. I guess it was my 'cinderella' time.

wooden hangers

the wardrobe cleanout last week also saw the exit of my horrible array of plastic and wire coat hangers. They were so ugly that I couldn't even bring myself to take a photo of them!

Then I wondered what I would replace them with? searching Trademe, I found these gorgeous wooden hangers. They're from a retail fashion store that had closed down and now look really good hanging in my wardrobe. Only problem is that there's no clothes to hang on them. So I'm looking forward to next week when school holidays are over so I can get some of my planned sewing underway.

classic choc chip cookies

sharing another recipe for our favourite cookie...

CHOC CHIP COOKIES

180 grams unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
150 grams choc chips

1) Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2) Put the butter, sugar, vanilla in the bowl and mix with an electric mixer until it's pale and creamy.
3) Gradually add the eggs and beat well.
4) Add the sifted flour and baking powder and mix until it forms a smooth dough.
5) Fold in the chocolate chips.
6) Roll into balls and then place onto your lined baking tray and press to flatten
7) Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden.
8) Allow to cool on tray. Makes 12 cookies.

Enjoy!!!

burda wof magazine

I've been resisting the lure of the burda wof magazine for a very long time, completely determined not to subscribe. After all, I have loads of patterns, many which haven't even been used, so why would I want magazines full of patterns? then I bought this withdrawn copy of burda for 50 cents at the library book sale.



flicking through it I found this cute cardi tie top which would be a great addition to my wardrobe capsule. A cardigan is my alternative to wearing a jacket. The suggested fabric is a 2 way stretch jersey knit but I think it would look good made up in a drapey merino wool, making it perfect for both warm and cold weather. Another addition to the ever growing sewing list!



there's also this casual jacket which I think would be a possible as the detailing around the collar and front edges gives it a cardi sort of feel. Although I've hit a snag here as the pattern sheet for the jacket is missing.

Oh and yes, I've asked the local magazine store to put a Burda wof aside for me each month lol!

goodbye black

even though I'm not able to sew at the moment, I'm still doing a lot of thinking about sewing. Most of it prompted by my wardrobe revamp journey. Yesterday I finally bit the bullet and went through all my clothes and shoes. I'm pleased and equally embarassed to say that I had a ruthless cull and this morning delivered 4 very full rubbish bags of stuff to the hospice shop. Don't get me wrong though, I haven't completely ended my love of black. I've kept a few pieces to wear plus some for sentimental value...

comic relief

youtube is great for finding comic relief. How about the current Air New Zealand ad campaign?

tummy tuck jeans

on my wardrobe plan was a new pair of dark blue/black bootcut jeans. I'd read recently about the 'Not your daughters jeans' and got the chance to try them on. These jeans do live up to their reputation of being able to give the wearer a nice shape. The fabric has a decent amount of lycra in it and is much softer than conventional denim. The trick is to buy a size smaller than what you'd normally wear. That way you're tucked in and held up in all the right places. Unfortunately at over $320 a pair, they're not very affordable at all.

After a day of trying on jeans and getting close to giving up on finding a comfortable pair, I decided to go to Farmers, a local department store. There I found some tummy tuck jeans, with a great support panel across the tummy area. It didn't have as much lycra as the NYD jeans but still does provide a comfortable fit. I chose a mid-rise bootcut style in a dark ink blue denim. Best of all it was $50 on sale, so I bought a couple of pairs. Thank goodness for mid year sales!

art of tivaevae

'The Art of Tivaevae' Traditional Cook Islands Quilting
by Lynnsay Rongokea & John Daley (Photographer)

I've been wanting to read this book since visiting the tivaevae exhibition at the Te Papa museum back in May. I was pleased to finally find it at the library.

It's a fascinating read about the art of tivaevae and how it's evolved over time from it's original introduction by missionaries more than a 100 years ago to it's valued and vital place in local Cook Island life and culture. I'm enjoying reading about the artists, the ideas behind the designs and the stories of the tivaevae. Even more impressive is how the art of tivaevae is now a widely recognised artistic form. The photos are a visual feast of colour too.

A thoroughly enjoyable book!

copycat

earlier this week I was doing a google search on charity knitting when I came across an unpleasant surprise!... someone had copied my blog posts about charity knitting and then had it published in an online magazine. To make matters worse, they'd been paid for it. I was so annoyed that I wrote to the online magazine to let them know. Here's their response:

Dear Norma,

Thank you for your email and please accept our apologies for publishing this.

We receive quite a lot of plagiarised poems and stories and check these via google but we've not had any problem with opinions articles before. Certainly we will check these as well in the future!

We have removed the article from our online magazine and deducted the reward given to the member who sent it in. Please accept our sincere apologies for this error. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Sincerely,

I'm happy with the result. Rant over!

mannequin sisters

school holidays=no sewing or crafting.

We're often out and about discovering and exploring. On one of our trips we found these 2 vintage mannequins in Hamilton and somehow they've ended up coming to live with us. They're in pretty good condition for their age (probably around 1960s/1970s) with the strangest long shaped heads and the tiniest size 6 bodies. Apparently they were made redundant from their last job when the small town drapery shop they worked in for years closed down.

The sisters are now named Milly and Mandy and have taken up residence in our rumpus room. We've bought them some wigs from the $2 shop - they actually look normal with wigs on. Now it's just finding them some clothing!

gaucho pants

I haven't found the right fabric for my dresses yet. It's school holidays for the next 2 weeks and I've no intention of fabric shopping with children in tow. So I've put the dresses on hold and moved down the list to the gaucho pants.

These aren't the decades old culottes that were around in the late 70s. The gaucho pant has a more streamlined, classic look and will be perfect for casual wear. I'm using McCalls 5251 and I'm thinking of making a combination of views A and C in a good weight black knit, without the fold over waistband of view A or the cuffs of view C.

pear shaped

Gok Wan, stylist extraordinaire, says one of the essential tips for being fashionable is knowing your body shape and wearing clothes that enhance & accentuate all your good points. He uses the term 'hot hips' for us hippy girls but I'll just stick with pear shaped.

So keeping this in mind, I'm thinking about sewing for myself in a totally different way. As you'll already know, I've decided to introduce colour into my wardrobe. At the start of this process, my wardrobe consisted of 99.9% black clothes and shoes. I felt comfortable and safe wearing head to toe black. I admire colour but was always too self conscious to wear it. That's all about to change!

Ok, so studying what flatters my shape, here's what I've found looks good on me:

- V and deep scoop neckline
- A line skirt style
- Empire line/baby doll dress style
- knee length is elegant
- long tunics & tops that sit halfway over my hip
- longer length cardigan/jacket
- slim longer length sleeves
- bootleg/straight/slightly flared jean/pant

keeping this all in mind, my sewing 'to do' list so far looks good, except maybe the gaucho pants which I'm not too sure about. I like the idea of 'capsule dressing' that Gok talks about. Anyway, it's time to start thinking about colour...

simplicity retro 3559

it's nice to be back blogging again after a full on week of caring for sick children with colds. The arrival of the swine flu has meant that children showing any cold/flu like symptoms have to stay home from school for a week. As a result not a stitch of sewing or crafting has been done.

In an effort to get motivated and focussed, I've made a 'to do' sewing list of the clothes I want to sew myself this year. You'll see the list in the left hand margin of my blog. First up is a dress made from Simplicity 3559. I'm a fan of the upright darts and the shaping of this dress will be flattering with the slightly fitted top and flaring skirt. I've read the reviews on patternreview and it all looks good. As for choice of fabric, I'm hoping to find a teal wool crepe or something similar.