Kittys Drawings

Hello everyone!

Apologies for the lack of posting last weekend. We didn’t get back from Blaigowrie til quite late. The big ride on the scooter was quite a success…I won’t tell you how I managed to get more scratches in it (eep) but I will tell you that I got down there and back without anything seriously bad happening. For those folks not from Australia, Blairgowrie is about 100kms south of where I live in the inner suburbs of Melbourne (depending on which route you take)…It’s right at the bottom of Port Phillip Bay and is a popular spot for city people wanting to get away for the weekend. Mind you, it’s hardly ‘country’ or even remotely isolated…Melbourne is such a spread out city that the entire trip down the bay is built up with plush beach houses of varying scale and style.
Anyways, we had a good time – playing board games, drinking and just blobbing about. Yay

So on to this week’s sewing project…

This has been the first project for the year following my new resolution of taking my time and finishing things properly. I’m so happy with this top that I can even show you the insides The pattern is Mccall 6475 from 1946 and I used a cotton blend of some description in a nice orange floral. I don’t usually go for orange but I loved this print as soon as I laid eyes on it. It’s another one from Savers from way back. The fabric has a really great drape to it and is soft and airy. It may be a rayon/cotton blend…Not sure. It washes ok from the little swatch I tested….so who knows what’s in it.

A few notes about the pattern and finishing:

• I made view C which you can’t see on the cover but the only difference from view B is the peplum at the bottom isn’t gathered as it’s designed to fit under a skirt.
• I don’t think this would work with anything but a super drapey fabric. There’s a lot of gathering that needs to fall nicely. I’m happy with my fabric choice!
• It’s VERY blousey – considering how small the size is, and it IS meant to be roomy, but there’s a LOT of room. Tight, structured waist definition is absolutely essential for styling this!
• The cute details are a bit lost in this print but I would love to make this out of a plain, maybe even sheer fabric

• I finished as many seams as I could with rayon seam binding.
• The side seams are zig-zag stitched because I ran out of that colour seam binding!
• I made a narrow hem finished by hand.
• The side closure consists of three snaps and a hook & eye on a placket. This is SO much better than a zip – And yes I will keep going on about that forever.
• I omitted the shoulder pads….for obvious reasons. I guess some light ones wouldn’t look too bad and they are very much essential for the era…One day I will make some and see how they look.

Yay! I’m really pleased with this top and I definitely want to make more versions of it. It took about a weekend to do – The bound seams were fairly time consuming but if you omitted those this would take no time at all to make. Once again, this is another one of those 40′s patterns with neat little details. I love how the sleeves attach to the neckline. Mccall’s patterns from the 40′s are especially excellent. Side note: I’m actually waiting on a heap of patterns to arrive from Etsy, eBay and a super special Mccall’s from Patterns From the Past.

Notice I also got my replacement grey shoes from Asos? The 38 fits much better.

Well that’s all for now. I have to start on a new project…I don’t even know if I’ll have anything new to show for next week! I think I’ll have to actually do some drawing! How bout that!

Heh…

Ciao then!

Hi Everyone!
A bit of an all over the place post today. First up, I’ve currently got an auction up on eBay for some gorgeous shoes I bought off ASOS. They are so pretty but unfortunately way too small for my feets! I bought a UK4 which usually means a Euro 37 but these are a full size too small. So I would say if you’ve got a 36 foot, AU6 or UK3, these should fit. They’re brand new, never worn and still in their box. Happy to ship international, just ask me and I’ll get a proper quote for your location. They’re currently sold out in this size on ASOS and you will be getting them cheaper even with the Buy It Now option

CLICK HERE for the auction

Also – I now have a Facebook page! It took me quite a while to jump on that bandwagon because I usually keep Facebook for private stuff. But click on over and press LIKE for me There’s a bunch of buttons to get you there in my sidebar or just click HERE

You may have noticed I’ve tidied up my blog a bit. I also figured out how to add custom fonts so I’ve changed my post titles. And remember how a while ago I told you I’d won a years subscription with the BaseKit website builder? Well I’ve set up the very  beginnings of my site (finally). It’s still not finished but I’ll show you when it’s done. It took me a little while to figure it all out but I’ve got the hang of it now. My only problem with using Basekit is that I am limited to standard fonts and I can only use Google Analytics for my tracking which I don’t like very much, preferring Woopra. I know the idea is to get away from any kind of code but IMHO you do need to access a little of it, as annoying as it may be. Maybe one day I will learn how to make a proper website. Hmm.

Other news – I got my scooter license!! YAY! The two day course was quite intense. Going from Zero driving knowledge to being allowed out on the roads in two days is pretty full on. The instructors at HART were really excellent and taught us really well. I’m kinda proud of myself for passing because only 8 out of 12 made it, and I was the only one who didn’t already have a car license.  I brought my scooter home on Friday – it was nerve-wracking driving home from the city let me tell you! Not to mention my 200cc Vespa is a LOT bigger and heavier than the itty bitty 50cc scoot I did the course on. The advantages are that it’s not as battered and the weight of it means it handles better through corners and driving slowly. After scaring the people working at a prestige car dealership in the back streets of North Melbourne (I was hooning around the car-park getting used to my new ride), we went out on a longer ride on Saturday. All the way down to St Kilda via Williamstown, then South Yarra (Chapel St!), Richmond, the city then home. Now I love it and I’m not scared as much anymore hehe. It will no doubt take a while not to be a danger on the roads (oh dear) but it sure is a lot of fun having a scooter!
However, today we ran into a dilemma. I was all set to head down the beach and go for a nice long ride….buuuuttttt……when I started her up – she started leaking LOTS of fuel!!! Omg! Not really prepared for all this mechanical bizzo. Dammit! So now she has to go back to the dealer and hopefully they can fix it. I mean….that kinda really sucks. I hope I haven’t bought a dud. Eep. I think something must be loose along the fuel line somewhere. It was only in for service last week.

Ummm that’s about all for now. I’ll be posting some sewing stuff soon and hopefully do some drawing too. It’s really hard to get motivated this time of year. Not sure what it is. Does anyone else fall into a bit of a creative slump around the end of year holidays???

Ciao!!

Hi All
I’ve been pretty sucky at this blogging bizniss the past few weeks haven’t I? Seriously I’ve been SO busy!!! We’re off to WA for a friends wedding tomorrow morning and the past month I’ve been crazy busy getting prepared. I took on the task of making myself a dress as well as the backdrop for my friends photobooth. Add to that the late hours I do at work and getting home and doing home stuff. BLAH. AND having a social life. It’s all too much really. They don’t call it the silly season for nothing.

Thankfully I will have a break off work in the time between Christmas and New Years. I plan to take full advantage of these days off and do a lot of sewing and drawing and being fairly introverted since most people will be away doing family things. Yay!

So I wont be posting anything this weekend. I do have some sewing to show you though. That I will try to do next week. This post was just to pop in here and say I’m still alive. Also, since I had to take down the RiskCloud post until the launch of the product, your Reader might have stuffed up and you’d have had some broken links…Check it out HERE if you like as it’s back up again. Sorry bout the confusion.

Also, last weekend I was super busy – especially on Sunday….
My friend Sally Goodall is quite the up and coming photographer. We met when her and her now husband moved in next door to us when we lived in a studio apartment in Richmond. Sal needed help setting up her computer and Jonny was there to lend a hand. Sal was keen on becoming a photographer and was going through school at the time. Jonny lent her some of his gear and we went on a few shoots together and now Sal is working full time shooting mostly weddings and portraits. She’s come such a long way in a really short amount of time and it’s really great fun working with her. On Sunday we went out to do a vintage wedding shoot out in Inverleigh (near Geelong), on an amazing property. I borrowed a dress from the ever lovely Nicole @ Circa Vintage and we had another ‘bride’ and our model ‘husband’ (lucky boy – LOL). We were out frolicking in sunshine and long grass all day and I really can’t wait to see the pics when they’re done. I will definitely be posting them here for you to see.

ANYWAYS.

I better go finish packing, eat, clean, all that stuff.

To tide you over til my next post, here’s a picture of the BoofMonster, doing what he does best – nothing.

Ta ta for now!

Hi Everyone!

New sewing post comin’ right at ya! I recently finished this vintage mail order pattern from the 50′s (possible early 60′s?).

I’d originally made a black denim version of this but it doesn’t have any beading on it yet like I’d planned so I wont show it yet cos it’s not technically finished.
Straight after I put together the black one, I started this one in a grey wool blend from my original Savers stash. The fabric is a bit itchy so I lined it with some grey gauzy cotton.

The pattern is fantastic – very simple. Just two pieces with four darts for shaping on the back and front. It also has a kick pleat at the back and a centre-back zipper.

I made some changes to the pattern:

• Shortened it considerably!
• Made the bust much smaller
• Shaped it so it’s a more ‘wiggle’ fit – the skirt is normally very straight.
• Lined it – the patterns call for facings which I did on the black one and they’re annoying. Lining is so much neater!

This is the perfect work dress – and a very versatile pattern. I could easily make a scoop neck version in linen and embellish the neckline with fabric flowers. It would also work well with border prints or fabric that has a vertical or horizontal stripes. The possibilities are endless!
I really must trace this onto plastic (I’m very far behind in all that!!) so that’s more durable.
And it doesn’t even look too vintage – very timeless.

On another note – I found the navy belt at the Salvos recently. I’ve been looking for a good navy belt for ages and I’m so happy I found this one! I also picked up a cute pair of white cotton gloves from the same Salvos and a few metal zippers. For a measly total of $10.50!

Yay!

And I’m sorry for the supreme lack of drawing posts. It’s all in the works I swear. Its been mega busy here at home too. I may have a rather exciting announcement to make shortly – which is somehow related to this outfit…but until it’s all concrete, my lips are sealed.

Til soon!

Hi Everyone!
Oh boy, I am sooo behind on my sewing updates!!
I made this skirt a few weeks ago as I was in a rush to make something that would go with my work shirt. The shirt is blue and striped (and is horrible) so I had nothing that matched. I needed to wear the shirt to go see a customer and while I did finish the skirt in time it wasn’t without some hiccups.

I used the base of a dress pattern and just made my own waistband to fit.
Everything was going swimmingly until I got to the waist! I had made it much too wide and it was mega squeezy to get it on. Ugh.

It was still wearable even though I could barely breathe and I used a cream coloured zipper because it was the only one that was the right length. I managed to make it through the day and just covered the dodgy zipper and waistband with a belt. When I got home I was fiddling with it trying to make it more comfortable and of course the zipper went *pop*! Derp!

By that time I was well and truly over it but funnily enough the next day I found I had the energy to fix it. I took the waistband off and removed the broken zipper. This time I made sure I tried it on after every new section was pinned and also managed to find a black zipper. It was too long but I sewed it in anyway and just trimmed and finished the end of it so it wouldn’t come undone.

Now I’m quite pleased with it as it fits fairly nicely and it’s super comfy. I’ve shown the insides of it too as they’re quite tidy if I do say so myself….The seams are finished with a zig-zag stitch and it’s all underlined with a soft grey gauzy fabric. I used satin sew-in hem tape for the hem.

Since this was made I’ve also used the same pattern to make another skirt (which I’ll show later). I made some modifications so that it fits slimmer and is more pencil shaped and I like the new version better.

However I have one question for the sewists out there – Since I am using a dress pattern for the skirt, should I be taking some off the top of the pattern to give more room for the waistband? I find that when I try these on without the waistband in, they fit really great. But as soon as it goes in, the skirt tends to bunch near my lower back as if there’s not enough room for all that fabric between waist and hip.
Hard to explain! But I’ll show you what I mean when I do my next sewing post.

(bwahahaha look at Boofy’s FACE – he looooooves the pats. He’s all like “gimmegimmegimmeMMMMOAR”)

That’s about all for today. Don’t forget the GIVEAWAY of course – being drawn on Saturday so get your entries in quick smart!

Oh and the shirt I’m wearing in these pics was a Savers find – Genuine vintage for $6!! The label inside the shirt still uses the old Australian sizing method – its a SSW ;-P Which I think equates to a modern size AU8-10 or so. And that’s my new hair – Freshly red!

Seeyas!

Hi!

Today I decided I wanted some fabric. I thought I would head out to Brunswick and hit up those fantastic little shops that sell great fabric for $3 a metre. I had plans to buy a couple of different sorts for some upcoming projects. Since Savers is on the way there it crossed my mind to pop in and check what they have first before I go elsewhere.

Well.
Let me tell you, it was a good think I went there first.

Look at ALL THIS! I scored at least 20m of fabric for the measly sum of $63.84!!! I bought 16 different kinds all ranging from $2 – $5. The only thing missing is some GREEN but that doesn’t matter – I’ve got plenty to keep me going for a while.

The light grey one is really nice and drapey and would make a fabulous dress or skirt. It’s a bit stretchy though so I might save it for when I have more experience.

I’m loving the white linen (furthest on the left)..it’s really heavy and very bright white. Could either dye it or leave as is. The other two light ones would make fantastic blouses. I have some itty bitty olive green glass buttons that would make great accents on a cream 40′s blouse.

That navy polka dot is mega cute. Would have to become a full skirt 50′s dress with a big petticoat underneath. Also that pink and blue stripe will get the same treatment.

Check out that printed cotton on the bottom of this pile! It’s rather stiff and there’s a lot of it. Would make a great Alfred Shaheen style halter wrap dress.

*squee*!!
Yes I’ve been posting heaps lately. I don’t know if this frequency will continue. I considered scheduling my posts to spread them out a bit but meh, I’ve got that much on the go at the mo, you can all just get it at is arrives

I started a new drawing last night too. Planning it to be slightly more detailed than my last few but we’ll see how that goes huh – Inevitably I will get sick of it and do a rush job at the end. Maybe….just maybe…I could try starting something new when I get sick of one. And then see if I feel like going back to the other one later. Here’s hoping that doesn’t leave me with two unfinished projects instead of one rushed, finished one. Which is worse??

Anywaysss…..

Seeyas!

Hello

Down to the second last life drawing class (I think). Drapery was the subject this time and how we see the figure differently with clothes on. Drawing clothing can disguise the true form and it can be more difficult to draw ‘across the body’ like you would with a nude. Instead, you can fall into the trap of only drawing the outline which leaves things looking flat.

Warm ups….I think all the ones I scanned are about 30 seconds. Funnily enough, it feels better to use 30 seconds instead of 1 minute per pose for the warm up – gets you loosened up quicker. Our teacher likens these to stretching before going for a jog

The contour and the tone drawing. I did a blind contour this time – not looking at the page while you draw and not lifting your charcoal.

I did two drawings again for the final 20/20mins. The first one without any drapery and the second one with. Kinda stuffed up the arm on the first one….

So after tomorrow I think I have no more classes. I’ll need to get back into the self-direction. Get back into this digital stuff. I have a whole bunch of inspiration pics – and lots of ideas ready to go. Need to get off my ass and DO IT.

Bya!