at 92

Happy Birthday to my Grandma Asia who turned 92 today. She asked for a band to play at her birthday party yesterday and here she is doing a Samoan dance surrounded by family members. She's still got the moves!

vintage flexiforms



AVIS - Size A (bust 32"- 39" & hips 34"- 40")



MAVIS - Size B (bust 36" - 50" & hips 38" - 52")



Flexiform manual


please welcome Avis and Mavis. These vintage dress forms were manufactured in NZ especially for the home sewer . As a mail order product, it was delivered as a boxed kitset of 14 pieces. The manual recommends that a friend is needed to help mould the Flexiform to the body otherwise "you will almost certainly end up with a dress-form that just isn't you!".

I won't be trying to re-mould the dress-forms as the vinyl clasps are becoming very brittle and prone to breaking plus the wire is so firm that it will be too tough on my fingers and thumbs to adjust it. So Avis and Mavis will be models for my sewing instead of the uninspiring 'hanger on the door' style I was using.

kiwi christmas swap 2011

Yes it's that time of the year again to start thinking about christmas and the annual kiwi christmas ornament swap. There's still time to join up, just check out sew funky's blog for details.

doc martens diva

Marlena



Darcie



Darla

When I was 15, I wanted a pair of docs but they were way too expensive so I saved up and bought a pair of tan Nomads instead. At the time Treks and Nomads leather shoes were the popular alternative. One time I wore my Nomads to school and they were stolen from the changing rooms while my class was at PE. I remember being upset that day and then ecstatic the next day when the shoes were returned by an 'anonymous' person. I never did find out who took them.

Now Miss15 has just gotten her first pair of black docs and is delighted with them. I tried them on (yeah we're the same shoe size). They're very comfy and look great but I'm not so convinced that these style boots are for me. Miss15 suggested that I check out the Doc Martens diva collection. I didn't expect to discover boots with strength of character and a heel to boot or a Mary Jane shoe that doesn't scream "goth" - maybe all perfect for connecting with my inner diva, don't you think?

demolition stage 2



ALL GONE

today Mr B, Sydney (the off sider) and Master12 made a day trip to the bach to complete stage 2 of the demolition. The rest of the lean-to was taken down. It was a tough job but they got it done in the end. Well done guys!

The plumber and the builder start work next week. Hooray!

modern vintage frocks

I'd been thinking about making myself a couple of modern vintage styled frocks. Then I came across these 2 patterns at the Spotlight sale. Finally I'm on my way to doing some happy personal sewing!

cherry blossoms

In 1998 we planted this cherry blossom tree in our front garden to celebrate the arrival of our second child. His placenta is buried beneath it. This year is the first time that it has had abundant blossoms. Welcome Spring!

demolition stage 1

BEFORE

AFTER

after much anticipation, work will be starting very, very soon on our new bach bathroom. Yesterday Mr B and Sydney, his off-sider, knocked down the awful back porch covered in artificial grass and a makeshift outside shower. That's stage 1 complete! Well done guys.

For Stage 2 they'll demolish and remove what's left of the addition so that a new lean-to can be built in it's place to house the new bathroom/laundry. There's a fair bit of drainage work to take place to connect us to the main sewage system. At the same time, we're having the roof replaced and the deck steps tidied up. All very exciting stuff!

lavender scent

my most economical project this year has been the making of these lavendar sachets using Whitebay lavender that I bought on Trademe and remnants of cotton fabric and ribbons. So far I've made 24 of these little beauties for the bach with about another 12 to go. They aren't much to look at however they'll do a great job of keeping all the winter woolies and blankets smelling fresh and pest free.

the winner is...

yes, our lovely daughter won the Designers Choice for Emerging Designers (selected by FourFontaine based on technical excellence). She is over the moon with her prizes which include a shopping spree at Sylvia Park, Specsavers prize pack and a FourFontaine prize pack and loads of extra goodies. Congratulations Txxxxx from your very proud mum!