Kittys Drawings

Hi Guys!
EEP – I am really behind on blog stuff! Lots of things I can’t even show you. And little time to take pics of what I can show.

Here’s another item from my wardrobe for the meantime….

I bought this dress from Small Earth Vintage quite a while ago now. It came from the estate of a lady who was a bit of a fashion fiend and she just so happened to be right about my size…at least, the same height and waist measurement. Her bust was bigger, so I’ve taken this in a bit to fit better there. I also have another dress from her collection as well as a shirt or two (I think). It’s from the 50′s by the way…..as if you can’t tell

(look at Boofy strut)

I’m almost certain this is hand made as there is no label and a lot of the stitching gives it away. It’s been well loved and I’ve had to mend it a couple of times but it’s just such a great dress. It’s 100% cotton so it’s light and airy for summer. Perfect for picnics!

In other news….Well there’s a lot of it right now:

I did some more testing for another blogger who has her own pattern line. I shan’t reveal what it was until testing is completed and the pattern is released. All I can say is the pattern is AMAZING….and I finished it in one single day. Wow.

Also, I’m signed up for The Dreamstress’ corset making class at Thread Den which happens next week. Super excited about that! I really can’t wait to learn how to make corsets – I’ve been obsessing over them so much lately.

And, this weekend I’m off to see the Grace Kelly exhibition in Bendigo.  Wow! I love country Victoria too. It’s going to be great fossicking around in little antique shops and checking out amazing dresses. Will be frocking up for that one and I’m hoping it will be cold enough to wear my Lilli Ann swing coat (even with the cat-clawed collar).

Hmm

There’s other news I think but I forget it all now. More later!

Ciao!

Hi All!
This week I don’t have any sewing projects for you. I’m just about finished with Suzy’s dress but also the camera I use for pics is on loan for now. Lucky that I took some backup pics a couple of weeks ago for such moments like these. Not that I was really in the mood at the time – these aren’t the best pics, I was feeling particularly meh that day.

So the story with this dress is…..I was reading Kondad-licious and saw that she had posted about a gorgeous dress that unfortunately didn’t fit. I offered to buy it off her if she was happy to sell it…..and she was YAY. The dress fits great and it’s pretty amazing. Love the print and the princess seaming. Plus all those cool folds around the bust line.

I do think I definitely need to get cracking and make a puffier petticoat. The one I have is just a bit sad and droopy now – it does nothing to puff out this skirt. I don’t really like those tiered ones either so I shall attempt to layer 3 circle skirt layers of tulle over one-another and secure with a ribbon for a waistband. With a layer of cotton voile underneath for comfort. That should be enough puff I think. This is all theoretical though – I’m hoping my idea works.

My hair is getting long again too. I’m at that point where I dont know if I should attempt to grow it longer and learn how to style it so it’s a bit vintage or just chop it.

A few other bits and bobs of news – I got some new RAM for my computer so it’s running a lot faster now. 8GB in total. Yeh! I was so excited about it I even started a new drawing. Yep, I’m slowly struggling over my annual new-year drawing slump. What’s with that? It’s like some sort of self fulfilling prophecy.

I get paid next week so my Lady Valet dress-form can be picked up from Clegs. Really excited about that one too! I can finally fit my sewing projects without the danger of having to pin myself into things. I’m sick of stabbing myself! I’m sure it won’t completely eliminate the excruciating pain that comes from jamming a pin under your fingernail but it will help. I’ll also be able to show you the insides and details of sewing projects as I’ll be able to get closer with the camera.

Well I best be off. Got an email to finish writing and then some sewing I think.

Have a good weekend peeps!

Hi Everyone!
No sewing or drawing today. Not that I haven’t been doing any. Actually I’ve even done some design work in the last week! Holy crap! Hahaa. And I’ve finished one dress, bar the buttons, and completed the bodice of another. So I’ve been a busy bee.

The only reason I can’t show you the almost completed dress is because I’m currently trying to get the STAINS out made by the “washable” fabric marking texta I used to draw my sewing marks on. So incredibly peeved. There’s pics and irritated posts over on my Facebook page where I post things you won’t see on my blog or on my personal Facebook page…

So instead, today I’m showing you another dress from my vintage collection. I’m wearing it out to High Tea today so I need to impress This is one of the first “investment” vintage pieces I bought. It was purchased on a whim off Etsy via PlanetClaire Vintage – possibly with a little red wine in my system affecting my decision making abilities, since it was certainly more expensive than anything I’d purchased to date. I have this habit of once in a while blowing a huge wad of cash on a dress/outfit I NEED to have with the excuse that it’s an “investment” and I’m preserving a slice of fashion history. Which in some sense is true…and the bills all get paid AND I donate to charity monthly so yes I’m justifying my purchases

It’s one of my favourite dresses still even though it doesn’t get worn that often – mostly because it’s quite memorable I love the embroidery on it and the little mother-of-pearl accents on the collar. It’s made of a nice heavy linen and is really comfortable and fits so nice.

It came with it’s own belt too but I’ve swapped it out with this pink one I made last week, to go with my shoes Since the shoes were such a score, I thought a belt would go well with them and what better than to make one. I just bought a piece of cotton chino fabric from Lincraft and used a vintage navy buckle from my stash (bought at L’uccello). New accessory in less than one hour! And I realise now that pink goes with a LOT of my clothes. Yay!

Oh and the kitties were hanging around today while I took pics…pics taken on the other side of the room from the usual since my dress is too much the same colour as our couch hehe

Well that’s about it for today. Next week you just might get a new creation. Or even some of the design work I’ve done.

Till soon…

Hi All!
Quickie post today!

I’m all sorts of busy making a dress right about now which is very close to done. You might see it next week. Super happy with the fit of it so far and I’m mega keen to make more versions of it. I’ve got so much planned for the next couple of weeks!

Anyways….what I’m showing you today is something I won a little while back. Debi from My Happy Sewing Place had a comp on her blog where you could win a $50 voucher at The Paraders Vintage. Which I won. Heh. This is what I chose out of the many wonderful things to pick from.

I’m thinking it’s from the 50′s or 60′s – I can’t remember what it was on the listing…and it’s a very fine example of a tapestry bag…..something I’ve been wanting for a while. They can range from the exquisite to the hideous depending on your personal taste. Some people’s personal taste being that they are ALL hideous no doubt
I particularly like this one because the colours are lovely and muted and the lucite bar and metal trim at the top is really neat. It’s in very good condition and quite roomy for a vintage bag so I’m super happy it’s mine!

Well that’s all for today. More next week

Hi Everyone!!
You know how I was going on about that photo-shoot I did with my friend Sally the other week? Well I have some pics for you! This is not all of them – There are more coming soon but I wanted to show you anyway.
The picture formatting is a bit different from my usual so I’m sorry if it looks untidy. It doesn’t do Sal’s pics justice as much as looking at them on her SITE or her Facebook page.

As you can see, she’s quite a talent! The pics are fantastic and it was such a fun day. Her vision was clear from the get-go and she organised the whole thing fantastically. Having participated in quite a few photo-shoots I know how important it is to have an excellent relationship with your photographer. This is especially important for weddings!

My dress is also borrowed from Circa – How awesome is it! Totally a cupcake dress. I loved traipsing around in it all day The location was amazing too – We went out to a 150 year old homestead in Inverleigh, the property of one of Sal’s friends’ parents. It was SO stunning – with views out towards Geelong and the coolest old brick barn. Not to mention our hosts were so lovely to let us use their property to take photos on!

Soooooo – that’s about all I’ve got to say…check out the piccies and follow the links to see more

One last thing…If I could kindly ask no one to download these pics or use them without Sally’s express permission. It’s really important to respect the work that artists put into their projects and distributing without consent is very poor form.
I know my regular readers wouldn’t do such a thing So my note goes out to those that stumble here via Google or wherever and might not have considered the implications of stealing someone’s intellectual property.

And so I don’t leave on a down-note….I’ll mention that I’ve been super lucky with winning stuff off blogs lately! I won a $50 voucher from The Paraders Vintage via My Happy Sewing Place (Fashions from the Past). I’ll have some photos of what I chose with my voucher soon.
Another winning was from Mel:Hot or Not – a La Madre Bakery sample pack with heaps of yummy shortbreads and things. I haven’t received that one yet but I’ll probably take photos before we nom the lot.

Well then – til soon….

Hi All,

Short and sweet post today. I’m still struggling with the blog thing…and I promised photos of some of my other clothing that I haven’t made myself. This dress I bought at the Williamstown Vintage Fair a couple of years ago. It’s made of linen which I love, and it’s the nicest shade of green.

Shoes are my new Miss L Fire wedges. Major love for these, they are SO comfortable.

Photos are back downstairs again, since the house rearrange..I like it better here

That’s about it. Drawing is progressing very slowly. Still have no idea about how I want my portfolio website to look. Need to make a new blog header too….I really need to clear a weekend for this stuff.

Ciao!

Hi!!

Weeeee so the dress is here and it fits awesome! Love it so much! I want so many of the Trashy Diva designs.

Also, this dress confirms that a few of the fabrics I have picked up at Savers are rayon or rayon blends as they feel very similar.

Upon close examination, this isn’t a dress that I could copy in a hurry. Lots of bits and pieces that are beyond my current skill level. Like all the tucks around the waist, the gathers and the collar that fit into that piece down the middle and the bustle.

What do you think of my photos? I dug up some Photoshop actions from the web that give a bit of a ‘vintage’ look. I ought to learn how to do this myself. Technically, I know how to do it….I just don’t know when to stop haha.

So this was meant to be a sewing post. But I might do that later….maybe some time during the week or something.

On the drawing front, I’m still pottering away on my big piece. I’ve started a bunch of practice exercises suggested in THIS post on Muddy Colors (cool drawing blog found via CA). They’re definitely not worthwhile posting here just yet but once they start looking okay I will show you.

(that’s Boof in the midst of a patting frenzy – he gets very excited when getting pats and runs around frantically in circles and occasionally throws himself down on the ground with a big “whump”, paws in the air)

Umm – that’s about it. I’m off to go see Harry Potter this evening. Yay!

Seeyas!