Kittys Drawings

Hi All!!

Here’s the latest sewing project all finished. I’ve jumped ahead a couple cos this wasn’t the one I was intending to show you, but I was wearing this Saturday (and Friday haha) so I took pics of this instead. This is possibly the quickest dress I’ve ever made, and I even lined the bodice – so if you skipped that, it’s SUPER easy….That said, I think lining is quicker than facings.

Some Notes:

• It’s made from a sheet – Possibly! Nicole from Circa thinks it might not be as the cotton is fairly thick.
• I shortened it a bit
• I didn’t add the scallops on the bottom because I can’t figure out how to shorten the circle skirt without changing the circumference of the hem, thus needing to change the pattern piece for the scallops (hard to explain!)
• Only the bodice is lined
• This has a side zipper but it isn’t closed at the top so it’s really easy to get into.
• It’s the perfect, comfy summer dress!
• I didn’t need to change the pattern at all except the length

(look at the surge of kitties hehehee)

After reading Elyse’s post on her first Spring sewing project, I notice that I have wrinkles on the bodice of my dress too. I answered her question by saying it could be the lining competing for space…Which could also be the case for my dress as I used the same size lining as the outer pieces. I’m not sure? It doesn’t bother me too much though.

Guess what? I made the green belt I’m wearing too Using a kit from A Fashionable Stitch, I covered the belt backing in some green fabric and hand-sewed it all together. Covering the buckle was a bit fiddly though. It comes with a sticky piece of card that you attach your fabric to and then the other side sticks to the metal front of the buckle. Then you jam in the bottom of the buckle with some pliers. I botched it a little bit but you can’t really tell when I’m wearing it. Then I had to rush out and buy an awl and the Mr helped me bash in the eyelets.
I think I’ll be making simpler slide belts next – eyelets are a PITA.
I’m majorly in love with that green fabric I used. It’s such a perfect shade – and matches my dress so well. I have enough left to make a skirt…And the pattern is coming in the mail so it should hopefully arrive shortly.

After making this dress I think I’m going to hold off on all the DRESSES for a while. Need to make lots more separates – so skirts and tops for my new job (staring tomorrow!!! Eeeep)…but first the ROBE in pink seersucker – or plissé – I’m not sure which it is actually. Yes, there is a difference. More on that later ;-P

Okay so I better run!!

Hi All

I finally have pics to show you of one of the two dresses I completed recently. This is Mccall’s 4322 from the 40′s.

I used a navy polka-dot crepe of some description. I think it’s crepe??? I don’t know! Pretty sure its poly but it feels nice, drapes well and feels cool to the touch. It’s got a slight lustre where it folds and it was an absolute slippery b**** to sew! Gee! I started it ages ago but it sat near my sewing machine for about a month with the buttons left to attach and the hem to finish. It was the victim of my fear of finishing things. So I’m glad it’s complete. And I’m not 100% sure I like it. There’s a lot I could have done better (as usual). I think this was only my 3rd dress that I started?

The bad:

• There’s a lot of top-stitching in this – and I really should have basted things more before using the machine. Like the pockets and the gathered sections around the bust, because the fabric is so slippery.
• The hem is not very nice at all! I couldn’t be bothered so I just folded it over.
• The seams aren’t nicely finished either. I hated sewing with this fabric even though it feels so nice.
• I still hate side zippers but with this style it’s unavoidable and it doesn’t look so bad.
• The sleeves are the same length really! I only just noticed, one must have folded up when taking the pics. Derp!
• What kind of buttons should I have used? Nothing I had really goes with the style. You can’t even see them.
• Yes the whole button-front section is dodgy.

(look at Puss all jealous cos Boofy is getting pats).

The good:

• This collar wasn’t too bad to make actually. I’m happy with it.
• Its very comfortable
• I love the length – I didn’t have to shorten this very much at all. Must be that 40′s rationing.
• I traced the pattern onto plastic so it’s nice and durable for next time (gee that took ages!)
• These types of 4-gore skirts are so flattering.
• It has pockets. Yay!
• I want to make this again now that my skills are a bit better. Consider it a wearable muslin.
• I finally have a dress that matches those shoes!

I think something that has an equal amount of drape would be good for this dress. But not a print next time round, a solid instead. Wouldn’t a really lovely lightweight wool in a jewel colour be amazing? Where the HECK would I find that here in Australia?? Argh! I’m sure I could pay $80 a metre at Clegs if I wanted hahaa. Nowai. Let’s hope my thrifting luck holds up!

Anyways – It’s time to harass The Boyfriend into helping me fit the black sheath dress.

Get your entries into my COMP by tonight peeps! Drawing the winners tomorrow

Til then, seeyas!

Finally! I have something to show you. Yes – I’m back from my lazy hiatus. Picking up the drawing again.

This time it’s a sketch for ConceptArt’s Team CHOW competition…The theme is Tarot and you must team up with another person from the forums with 2 to 4 people per team. Then you pick two tarot cards to draw, one from the major arcana and one from the lesser. So my team is called “Oh Bother” and we’re a duo…my teammate is from the UK where our timezones are a bit more compatible. We picked The Star, The Empress as the major arcana and Two of Swords and King of Swords for the lesser. Yay! We’ve got all of January to work on them so busy busy. Slow start but kind of picking up now. Here is my initial sketch for The Star. Nothing too flash just trying to get my skills up to an acceptable level again.

Other news: We finally have some KITTIES!! I am officially a crazy cat lady now. Hehe. Last Sunday we went to the Lost Dogs Home and rescued two adult kitties.
Here is Boof:

He is 3 years old and was in the shelter for quite a while. He’s the fluffiest cat I have EVER seen! Seriously! His tail is so floofy that when he walks, the hairs on it swoosh and sway in the breeze. Awww. And look at those eyes!

Jonny’s cat we’ve called Puss:

She is one year old and much smaller than Boof. She’s uber-friendly and loves to get in your face for a pat. Literally! She will cram her head into your nose to get some pats. And she’s really spritely and active and cute.

So they’re our new babies. I am so happy to have kitties finally and happy that our landlords allow them. The good thing with adult cats is you don’t need to train them as they already know where to go. They are both so friendly too. Yay!

Anyways, back to regular posting from herein. And happy 2010!

For your viewing pleasure.

Well, I have been flat-stick figuring out the WordPress thing. Made a few tweaks here and there. You can see my header has changed (AGAIN omg) – this should be one of the final changes..its how I want the whole site to look eventually. With MY handwriting!
Also, if you click the “About” button up the top there, you can see that page is finished too.

These photos are of my parents’ kitties down at the winery. It can be very hard to take a photo of them as they fidget around a LOT. Possum (the grey and white one at top and bottom) wouldn’t sit still! She just wanted pats! The others I wanted to capture all huddled up in a big kitty-pile as they were but as soon as I walked out the door, they all jumped off each other and ran about thinking I had some food for them.
And Petyi is the big tom – he is a very large cat! And very friendly and placid.

I best get back to drawing – Promise more frequent posting in the week ahead. Even though I do have a lot on. I will be heading to PacPrint on Thursday to suss out if what they mean about letterpress being there, is going to be more than just a teeny stall hidden in the back somewhere. Anyone else going?

I think I like using Flickr to add my pics to Blogger. Much bigger and sharper!

Anyways. These are the kitties that adorn the pages of my diary. The drawings for SJ’s brand logo. I love drawing them! The third photo with the large kitty on the right will be the final one. It’s still a bit too cute but I will work on that. It’s scanned in and ready to refine – just need to find the time!

Mum also wants me to draw/paint some cats for the gallery down in Tassie. I might just do that! Teehee. I hope you like these

On another note…Still figuring out some html tweaking. Widened my blog a bit but can’t seem to get the header to centre even though I did everything proportionally. Hmm. Tell me if this is too wide for you guys! It all fits nicely on my 15″ MacBook Pro screen but if its too massive for most of my readers I’ll change back.