Kittys Drawings

Hi All!

A bit of a jumbled post today to tell you about a few things I’ve bought and quite a few questions to ask!

Yesterday I popped in to Savers for the first time in a long time (at least two months!) and was overjoyed to find a piece of seersucker (on the far right in the pic) waiting with my name on it Yay! I love seersucker and I’m pretty sure others do too – I don’t know what’s so awesome about it, but I’m sure my eyes bulged out of my head on spying it on the rack. For only $4 too! There’s not a whole lot of it – just 2m and it’s 36″ wide. That’s 91cm by the way – Just so I can confuse you a bit more with my mixing of imperial and metric.

If I’m really clever, I may be able to squeeze out this dress from the amount I have. Absolutely perfect don’t you think? I may need to use a couple of contrast pieces for the waistband and pockets though.

Also – does anyone have any tips on helping me reduce the size of this pattern?

It’s a vintage 15 so I need to shave about 2 inches off the bust and waist. If I take a piece out of the back do you think that will work? I don’t know how the bust is shaped as yet (Still have to wait for pattern to arrive).

Do I dare make the variation with the open midriff?

And one last question – Can I iron seersucker or not??

The other two pieces seem to be almost from the same donation – very similar in style! They’re lightweight cottons in the cutest prints. There’s a bit more length in these but the width is narrower. Not sure what I’ll make of these as yet – they’re quite sheer. Ideas?

And finally – Check out my new sweater guard/clip/whatever you call it. So sparkly and red. If you’ve ever watched Glee you’ll know what these are – they hold together your cardigan so you can have it open without it flapping about. This purchase was required after I got myself a little faux fur shrug that didn’t have any clips to hold it together. And I have been wanting one for a while for my regular cardigans. So you may see this in future sewing posts!
Doesn’t the aqua linen contrast well with sparkly red of the clips? I’m so in love with the colour – it’s not even aqua – maybe azure.

Anyway that was quite the ramble. If any sewists can help with my silly questions it would be much appreciated! Next post will possibly be another sewing one. I doubt I will get my drawing done too soon – It still has a long way to go.

Till soon!

Hi Everyone!
I’m back from Tassie! I had a grand time catching up with my parents and my friends down there. I also got to check out MONA which is all kinds of awesome. More on the trip later – First things first!

Just before I left, I heard from (Iron Chef) Shellie that I had won her Decor giveaway and the fancy resealable containers arrived on the day before I had to fly out. Now I don’t usually splurge on these kinds of things so winning some good quality stuff to put my lunch in was a big bonus. They totally kick ass over my cheap Ikea ones which are all warped from being nuked in the microwave one too many times.

Look at the goodies

Now for some Tassie pics! These are from the Hipstamatic contingent of photos. I’m not sure the ones on my proper camera will be any good so you may or may not see them on here. Do you want to see them?

Either way, I will upload them to my Flickr account soon when finish editing (argh!). I’ve got a squillion things to catch up here at home and still lots to do before Fiji – which is less than four weeks away. I need to get SEWING!

More of a rundown of what I got up to later!

‘Til soon!

Hi!!

Yay a new post! It’s been fairly quiet around these parts here. On the blog anyways – cos I’ve been all over the place at home! The two drawings I’ve got going on are pottering away very slowly. Doing 30mins here and there which isn’t a lot of progress really. I don’t want to rush to finish because every time I do a little bit I keep seeing how much is left to do and I don’t want to leave any sections behind.
Last night I also started trialling the new Corel Painter 12 which was released just the other day. It’s pretty flash so far – looks quite different and is quite a bit more intuitive to use. However I did notice a couple of glitchy bits and I’m not sure if it’s because I still have the older version on my computer or I just need some more RAM. I really should take advantage of the potential 16GB I could fit into it (GEEK ALERT! I should have forewarned you ) Moar Powah!!

*ahem*

Moving along.

Sewing…

I’ve finished this totally cool wrap dress using Mccall’s 5585 – from the 50′s or early 60′s I’d say.

… ta daa (why so serious?)

It was very easy to make, but also quite time consuming because there is a lot of hand-sewing to do. The construction is quite simple and awfully clever- it just fits over your head and there are two buttons each on the front and back where you can attach it at the waist. You only button one side and then the waist tie passes through the other set of buttonholes to tie it up. The buttonholes are simply gaps you leave in the waist seam. Very very clever! So since there are no side seams that attach, there’s 4 sets of facings down each side. Hence all the hand-sewing. Don’t forget the hem – which is almost a full circle but split in two.

It’s absolutely one of my favourites so far and there’s actually nothing I’m unhappy about for a change! It gapes a little under the arms and there’s plenty of room in the bust which isn’t all that necessary but it makes for a very comfortable dress. THESE are my “track pants” (from now on….yes I do actually wear trackies – but they never see the outside of my house). I made this from a bed sheet too by the way – if you remember my stash post from a little while ago.
So perfect for Fiji! I think I could make a couple of these!

Check out Puss going for a wander. She doesn’t like to sit still very long.

And the back – it’s meant to be reversible but I don’t really like high, square necks so I’ll just stick to wearing it with the V in front. Because of this I’m also considering putting the two buttons that are meant to be on the inside, on the front and outside so I can attach the skirt without the ties. At the moment it has a bit of a habit of sliding back – and two buttons would look cute at the waist don’t you think?

Please excuse the terrible quality of the photos – winter in Melbourne leaves only the most measly skerrick of light to work with at the end of the working day. And it may still technically be autumn but it sure as hell don’t feel like it – Winter’s blown in with full force.
Also – my posing really sucks! I still need some major practice. Boo.

Umm – what else….
I’m about to go finish the hem for a black cotton skirt that will go with my Miss L Fire shoes. I found a really heavy cotton and thought that gathering/pleating almost 2 metres of fabric into my 63cm waist would be a good idea. It works fine, but the result is a rather puffy skirt which is kind of cool but a bit different to what I’m used to. The outfit I imagined in my head has turned out like Where’s Wally meets Alice in Wonderland. Interesting! Photos soon I promise!

AND – A very busy few weeks coming up ahead. Actually, I think I’ll be pretty flat out right til Fiji (which is tail end of June) – I’ll be in Tassie next weekend visiting the folks and friends down that way. I’ll be stuffing my face with lots of food (what’s new!) and trying not to freeze my ass off.  Then the following week I will be partaking in the Love Vintage Fashion Fair as a model for the lovely Nicole at Circa. Tomorrow I have my fitting so I’ll find out what I get to wear! Yay! I really ought to save some dosh for any treasures I might find there.
Somewhere amongst all that I need to get a haircut (see how long it is! hehe). BUSY! Argh!

I think that’s it for now! I better tidy up all these odds and ends because I’m feeling rather restless with all these half finished projects. Ciao!

Hi!

Mini stash post!
Found this cool-as orange-y floral rayon (??) at Savers today. I think it’s rayon. I really have no idea. But it drapes beautifully and would be perfect for a killer 40′s dress with nice tucks and details. Yeh!

Kind of like one of these amazing Trashy Diva dresses. I would just die to have this. But it’s not high on the list of shopping priorities. So I’m happy I found what I did today because I’m sure there’s plenty of patterns kicking around on Etsy which will help me fulfill my dream Even if I can’t have the exact thing.

Other news:

• I sold some drawings to the lovely Domestic Divinity which I’m very thankful for. My first Etsy sale! Yay! If anyone wants anything else just let me know and I can set up a listing for you.
• I’m currently almost finished on one wrap dress. The one out of the blue and white floral sheet. Its proving to be quite comfy and will be perfect for Fiji. It gapes a little in the bust despite the measurements saying it will fit a 30″ bust. That’s pretty tiny and there’s still LOTS of room. Oh wells, it doesn’t look bad. Pics soon.
• I found the most amazing emerald green wool crepe (almost certain this one is wool crepe) at the Salvos which matches my Miss L Fire shoes exactly. It was fate I tell you. I’m going to make a 40′s dress out of it since the shoes are very 40′s in style. I steamed the heck out of it yesterday to pre-shrink it and I’ve begun the cutting too. It only just squeezes out of the amount of fabric I have.
• Also scored from my Savers trip today…a white and green Zara v-neck knit – also perfect for the shoes! The thrifting gods are smiling on me I think It will go really great with my sage green knee high socks and a black mini skirt. Or as mini as I’m okay with wearing. Mind you I don’t have this skirt yet. And I haven’t tried the remainder of this outfit to make sure it’s not too leprechaun…so…It might be FAIL.
• aaaand finally….I have a drawing almost finished, of a gorgeous young Swedish blogger….once I get over my current hurdles with it. That’s on the plan for tonight

That’s about it. Gee – another longish post when I though I was gonna be quick.

Seeyas!!

Hi All!
Hope you all had a happy Easter! I gorged on lots of food. Not much chocolate though surprisingly. I’m probably the biggest anti-traditionalist you’ll ever meet, so the standard “family” holidays aren’t my bag. Especially since I’m an “orphan” in that my folks live interstate. And so do my boyfriend’s folks.  So while most people chow down at family lunches around these times of year, I’m hanging out with friends or just The BF – which is awesome.
Family is great – and mine are particularly cool, but I never had the whole extended family thing – cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, you-know-the-drill, being an immigrant and all (does anyone else think that’s a funny word?)…so all my life the holiday seasons have been enjoyed with the special family you choose, friends! Yay!

ANYWAY – Onto the draw. I didn’t get many entries, and that’s okay! Means better chances to WIN. So thanks to Random.org I got these results:

Those winners are:

Lorraine

and

nightowl_72

I will try and track down emails for you guys tomorrow, but if you want to speedy the process you can email me at kittysdrawings (at) gmail (dot) com – send me your address and I will post out the prizes ASAP. Yay!

Other things: I’ve been doing some sewing. Still mega behind on showing you my finished projects! I whipped up a gathered skirt yesterday which in terms of sewing skillz, is actually neatly done…BUT – I don’t think I like the style that much. It may have been the top I was trying it on with….Regardless, its casual and comfy enough for the Esz Resort Collection (teehee).
Two patterns also arrived today which will become part of the Collection, and I’ve started cutting one already. It’s a 50′s wrap dress which doesn’t look that tricky but there’s lots of pieces and lots of facings so it might take me a while.
I also finished a simple light purple round neck blouse. It’s quite nice…..but….I dont think I’ve got anything to match with purple yet. Must remedy that.

SO MUCH TO DO!
Ack! Better get back to it.

Byyyyeeeeee

Lightning fast posting today….

Look what I scored today – from the Salvos and Savers.

Okay so I buy something new almost every week. My stash is getting immense! I’m using it though! I just need storage. Shelves. Not the giant pile spilling out of shopping bags on the floor of my ‘sewing room’ :shifty:
But these were super pretty so I had to show you. I have PLANS for them. Mostly for my ‘resort wear’ collection mwahahahaa – ie. What I Will Wear on My Island Holiday. I have a pattern in mind already for the two on the right. Would you believe they are BED SHEETS? Yes. Yes they are. There’s so much crazy-awesome stuff at Savers and its mostly in the bedding section. I had to restrain myself!

The other two will be tops. I need more top patterns. I only have a simple round neck vintage one (which I am about to start tracing today). I’ve not been that enthused by any modern patterns. I think I need to look at some different eras – maybe the 70′s for the floaty blouses I tend to favour. Like the one in my last sewing post. Anyone that can point me towards something along those lines? The polka dot sheer fabric would be perfect for one of those.

Anyways I promised this would be quick. I’ve been very busy this week….not only is work completely and utterly MAD at the moment, I’ve been doing both drawing and sewing most afternoons. I have a drawing that is about 80% done right now which I am really very pleased with at the moment. The majority of the hard stuff I usually hate doing is complete and now I’m just tidying up details and doing the hair (yay!). Hopefully that should be ready by the weekend.
I also have two dresses that are finished and ready to show you. Wow!

Sooo – all that’s left for YOU to do today is enter my competition - Get a wriggle on peeps! Two more days to enter.

Scratcha later!

Hi All!

It’s been a while since I did some sketches! So it was rather strange to find myself in a sketching mood one afternoon at work (!!)….The ConceptArt CHOW topic for last week was a snowmancer or some-such. I didn’t really have many designs on actually entering but it did get me thinking about bears. Polar bears.

Animals I am more comfortable sketching. I find I can draw their movement so much better.

The one on the bottom right’s head – errgh…its a bit misshapen.

Other news….I’ve got quite a few modeling gigs happening thanks to Nicole over at Circa Vintage. Next week I will be participating in the showcase of some of the Darnell collection for an event called Dreaming of Chanel which will be taking place at the fabulous Cranlana in Toorak.

Then in May we will have the Melbourne Vintage Fair held at the Showgrounds and I’ll be strutting my stuff there too. Yay!!

Today I got my hair cut again – a ever so slightly different style than my usual and I’m also back to the bright red. I must get the Mr to take some photos of my latest sewing projects while it’s still looking awesome straight from the salon. I’m a bit behind on showing you my achievements! And I’ve got so many new ideas and things I want to make I’m not sure what to start first. Actually, I change my mind every day. If only I could have ALL the hours of the working day at my disposal.

Well, must get back to the sewing machine. And then the Wacom tablet ….(there’s drawings in the works too).

Oh and don’t forget my GIVEAWAY – you have one more week to enter!!

Seeyas!