Kittys Drawings

Hi All

Yay I have a sewing post for you!

I am so behind. But this is the only thing I’ve been fairly pleased with since I made the charcoal version of this skirt.

I made some adjustments to the pattern, most of which were successful but I still have some things to learn!

Here is what I did:

• Moved the front darts in closer together.
• Shortened the final length by maybe an inch. I did this by folding the pattern in two places – one inch near the hip and one just above the kick-pleat.
• Narrowed the hips
• Gave it a tinier bit more of a ‘wiggle’ shape
• Lengthened the strip I used for the waistband so there is more of an overlap for securing the skirt. I used a largish snap fastener and a hook and eye designed for pants and skirts (so its quite a bit bigger than the tiny ones you get on dresses).

Puss squirming in my arms - look at those paws!

There’s a few things I think still need tweaking. Both to do with my sewing skills and with fitting:

• I went a bit crazy with narrowing the hip and I think that’s why the skirt bunches at my waist. It’s annoying how much the final fit changes once you put the waistband in!
• Instead of taking so much out of the hip, I should have taken that wiggle shape thing further and narrowed the bottom of the skirt more so it cuts in closer to my knees. I really want a wiggle skirt!
• I could still learn a bit about tidying up finishes around the closures. I’m getting better at the hand sewing and this one is fairly neat but could be neater.

That's Boofy mid meow "Mowowowoowwowwwww" he says

I really love this pattern – even though it’s only the bottom of a dress pattern. It’s so quick to make and looks pretty good. I like the length a lot – just at the knee. A fraction more flattering than just above the knee.
I find that skirts that hit above the knee tend to throw out the proportions of an outfit. With a blouse and high-waist skirt combo, the skirt needs to be proportionately longer than the blouse section. Roughly the Golden Mean It’s just more pleasing to the eye hehee.

I can't get over his expressions - always priceless!

Hmm – what else… ah yes, the fabric. This is an awesome, thick khaki cotton I found at the Salvos. There’s tons of it left and I shall one day hope to make a blazer for this one too. Or I will turn the remainder into a wiggle dress. Maybe I have enough for both (there’s heaps!).
I underlined it with some white sheet. The same as I used for the pastel striped dress. The zipper is brown and so is the hem tape I used. Not that you see that but it makes me feel a little calmer knowing the insides coordinate. It’s the same kind of happiness a girl gets from knowing she’s wearing some nice frillies under her dress

Oooh cheeky!

Haha.

ANYWAY – Time to wrap it up. I have so much more to say about sewing than about drawing! Art speaks for itself a little better ….

So I also have some fun stuff…
Tomorrow I will post another GIVEAWAY! Just a mini one! My blog is no way going to turn into an ad machine, but I received some skincare products to sample as part of a promo company I’ve signed up to. Cos I like free stuff. Who doesn’t like free stuff!? They gave me a whole bunch of decent sized samples with the encouragement to give them to friends. So why not share the lurrrve? More details to come

Ciao peeps and enjoy your weekend!

Okay so I know I’m not a food blogger….but I do loooove food! So it was natural that I should go to the Taste of Melbourne this weekend I dragged Jonny along and after the debacle of me leaving our tickets at home, we eventually made it to the Carlton Exhibition Hall. It was a lot less crowded than I thought – we turned up a bit past 12pm and there was no line to get in anymore.  There weren’t really lines for anything which was good!

I promptly set about stuffing my face. Joy! Jonny was telling me to slow down hehehe.  We spent about $80 on food and drinks which is a bit much – I know it wasn’t supposed to be a bargain event – but it was excellent to finally try some dishes from restaurants I don’t have the money to visit frequently!

We even got chatting to a bloke from one of the big alcamahol stands – seeing me dressed in my little green vintage dress and Jonny with his grandpa hat on, one of the first questions he asked was “Are you hotrodders?”!! LOL – well we’re not quite hotrodders but he was pretty spot on asking if we drove a VW. Turns out he’s got a fancy red hotrod of some sort. Sweet. Funny the people you meet.

Jonny snapped away with his flashy Canon 1DS Mark II and took these wonderful pics for me. You can see my cool dress too.

Here are the dishes we ate and some extra photos:

Making the first transaction at Jaques Reymond – I made a beeline for this stand as soon as I got there I’m a total sucker for French food. Mmmm.

Tempura of quail breast, tajine flavours, wipped persian fetta.
This was nice. A little bit small but the quail was very tender and juicy.

Martini of bittersweet chocolate, espresso jelly, & bourbon vanilla chantilly. Very very delicious. I could have eaten about 4 of these!!

Next I zoomed to Movida

Braised beef with Spanish paprika, saffron and potatoes. A lot like something my Mum would make – but with a dash more booze…it had a real wine/burgundy flavour to it.

Nomnomnomnomnom

We took a cocktail break….

Then it was off to Fifteen:

Vanilla panna cotta with slow cooked quince from Fifteen. Absolutely devine! So creamy and vanilla-y

At The Boathouse:

Clotted cream mousse with ginger nut crumble. A bit rich and I really did scoff too many sweet things. Seemed like moussey, jelly, set stuff was the go for many of the desserts on offer. Not that I mind – I looooove stuff like that.

I finished with a limoncello and pineapple cocktail. Everyone was getting around with these because they looked fab. Another bit of too much richness for me…oh dear. Often my eyes are so much bigger than my stomach! Haha.

*buh*

Thanks again to Jonny and his wonderful photography. There really is nothing better than having a personal photographer on hand

Oooh ooh and look at my haiiiiiirrrrr!!! Hehehe

Well I hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend! I’m off back to cleaning in preparation for my parents coming to visit. Yay!
See you all sometime midweek

Excuse the lack of many photos – I am pretty pathetic when it comes to posing. The urge to pull a stupid face is too strong! It’s very windy today too so that’s why my hair is all over the place.

Me and Jonny were out taking photos of graffiti in Collingwood. Saw a lovely car with it’s windows smashed in. Charming. I told Jonny if we move into the area eventually (Collingwood or Fitzroy will be possibilites), our house will have to be very secure. Eep.

Think I shall have to take more pics soon. Do you know long this took to get the colour right? I got to the hairdresser at 3pm and didn’t leave til 9:30pm!!! OMG! They did what is called a ‘back to back’ in hairdresser’s language which just means a full head of foils. Every. Single. Strand. In foils.
I am so so very grateful for the dedication the team at Biba Academy showed to getting my colour right! The founder of Biba, Paul Divitaris took over the completion of the colour cos all the students left around 7:30pm. I’m going back again in a couple of weeks to bring the red up some more…I had a permanent colour in from before that is why it took so long. But the next time I go it will not take anywhere near that time.
And I’m really really happy with the result! Its wonderfully bright and the exact shade I wanted. It’s brighter than the picture which is why I need more pics! Awesomeness.

I really recommend the peeps at Biba – Great prices and they wont let you leave until you’re happy with your cut or colour.

Well I better go. I have a Nintendo DS game review to write! Ciao!!

EDIT: I had to show you all what I put on layby this weekend! Despite not having ridden a bike in well over ten years, I bought this little baby yesterday. It really is true that you never forget how to ride cos I managed just fine cruising around on this in my HEELS and vintage 50′s dress. Teehehe! How retro and cool is it? Jonny also bought a bike and now we’re set for summer cruising. Can’t wait!!

Awesome!!