P52 :: Wk2

a women's work wear look

for a SAHM

who chats on skype

.... well that's kind of me but the whole skype thing is yet to take off!

but i am a blogger .... 

& an artist

so i thought i'd give myself a challenge

& do something very very quirky to match

if you've been following along lately

i've not long been back into sewing clothes for myself

so what does every SAHM need

a CAPE 

= because that is so easy to throw on over a top & looks glam

and some SHORT SHORTS ....

= because every girl needs to be just a little cheeky at times!!

( i love this look ..... just ignore my weird expression!)

 been longing to make myself a cape since

i saw this lady's clever versions ...

but i was keen on a hood

so found a fab pattern by Andrea Pannell

the 'Go To Cape for Women'

i made the medium size in the petite length

cute with great swing

love the way the fabric feels, its weight & movement 

drapes really nicely

a recent fabulous bulk lot find

proved fruitful this week .... with a truly great 

warwick micro suede fabric

just perfect for a cape .... a colour i love & feel good in

paired it with a long time hoarded hope valley

denyse schmidt cotton

i really really love how it has turned out

i know i will wear this lots

 now i have to tell you that i was amazed at how simple this was to sew

but it was definately something new for me

fabric i'd not sewn with before 

not really sewn alot with linings

a button .... what? i don't usually 'do' buttons 

but this one is more like an accessory!

i will make another cape again for sure!!

 so now a massive step up with the 

degree of difficulty

yep it was up there with these 

short shorts

seriously felt like i had bitten off way more than i could chew at one point

whilst there are a number of mistakes i'm still pretty pleased with the result

changed the pattern up a bit with showing the lining fabric as a feature instead

my first ever time sewing a fly .... i really really studied those instructions

pattern is the Maritime Shorts by Grainline

yep they are short aren't they ...

i was dressing the look 'up' here 

.... got to do that when you're getting ready to skype hey!

if you know me you'll know that this kind of quirky is so 'me'

really enjoying being creative with my sewing at the moment

i am an art teacher & this whole look is just right

might wear more durable opaque tights with these shorts for real however!

but i don't mind a shorts look with tights & boots

 oh & i hope you noticed the extra 'styling'

as that was part of the brief hey?

those bangles ... up cycled some by cutting long fabric strips

from both the ds hope valley lining fabrics

bit of wellbond glue wind them up

& leave to dry

worn with a renfrew top in a silky bronze that i made up

a few weeks ago ...

pretty pleased i can put together a look that is all made by me!!

wintry woodend retreat

it seems that there is nothing quite like 

running away from the everyday

from time to time

went again to this sweet cottage

set on the edge of the small country town of woodend

easy to get there 

once you've actually managed to walk out the front door!

so from friday lunch until sunday late

complete delight spent with crafty minds

i worked on a couple of long sleeve renfrew tops

some 'jama pants

moved onto something a little more challenging

the lisette tunic dress in a very retro fabric 

with orange, which made it even more retro

i love it but it will need to be 'styled' just right

to make sure it not a bit costume-y

there were some hand quilting stitches added to a christmas figgy pudding quilt

& i cut out a new look dress

pattern & fabric bought earlier this year

very summer-y but well you know

you never know when you might click your fingers

& be somewhere warmer sooner rather than later!

check back later for some

photos of these finishes

(having not really posted much on wearable makes

... i'm not yet up with the whole take a pic while wearing it thing!)

we all took ourselves on a little into town excursion

into the brisk cool mountainous air

up the main road

a right, past the catholic church with its round arches!

along the way & onto the auction house

yep .... there was a HUGE i mean massive

deceased estates auction set for the sunday

with an amazing collection of truly vintage haberdashery

& collectables

some very sweet wooden display boxes & drawers

might have been one just perfect for a recently acquired thread haul

also lovely 1900's shop counter that i did work out 

would have 'just' fitted into my car ....

ooooh how i would have liked to have taken

some of these treasures home ..... went had a look-see at the auction

but alas ..... not quite my budget

but a great experience

seemed half the town was there for the entertainment

hope those lucky new owners speak lovingly to those special items like, forever!?

oh & there was the most extrodinary quilt

apparently made over 50 years

tiny tiny little hexagons

silky fabrics 

all completely...

hand stitched .... the maker slowly went blind

& it was huge ....

wonderful time spent away

thankyou for your friendships

your gift of sharing knowledge your caring actions

your words your stories your company on this journey

little bit of green love .....

well there may have been some 'partying' about these parts

a detailed post will come soon

but

thought i'd sneak in first with my

mother-of-the-birthday-boy skirt!

its a 'key' outfit to be noted on the day - but of course!!

there was some kind of topical green theme

going on ....

check out the most amazing gorgeous green dress

made by my very talented friend for her smallest

..... cool huh!

 so on the green theme & riding my recently re-ignited inspiration

for making clothes for myself .... & having just completely

re-sorted my entire fabric stash

... well there was this green cord that i have been hoarding

for longer than i care to admit ....

not enough for the entire skirt ..... but

 i do love a spot of problem solving

... bring on a great graphic b&w contrast panel & some black denim

there you go .... & 'had' to be finished all before church yesterday

as it was the plan to wear it ... yep

 .... um, might have been a few mins late!

another of Nikki's A line skirts ...

it sits nicely on me & i like the cut

& my invisible zipper was almost invisible!!

oh .... and

do you like the way those sneaky numbers smuggled their way into the facing??

bit of fun ... just for me to see ... but shhhh now you know too!!

using a pattern ... woah!

 went to spotty this morning

had a birthday voucher burning a hole

instructions were to buy for me

half price patterns & 30% of all fabric ...

 ok so i've been trying to inspire myself

back into sewing some clothes for me

since i can rarely find what i'd like to wear

 what seems like a life time ago

i used to sew most of what i wore

now ... to be honest its mostly thrifted

which is good

but i need some extras in my wardrobe

 so a super easy pattern to ease me back into it all

boxing day ... what a wonderful day at home

hanging out with my boys

skirt was made

but i didn't follow the instructions

i cut it longer

i added a lining since it is a voile

i finished with french seams

& I did a rolled hem

oh & I made the waist band a different way

 basically i read the instructions

then put them back in the envelope

& did what was in my head

i liked it but it was a little long!

so back i went

chopped off 2" .... re-did the rolled hems 

on the skirt & lining

again

asked my boys to help with the photo shoot

these pics are a combination of their efforts

before the shortening

4&1/2 and 40 something

maybe you could actually take a photo of the 'skirt' please??

funny day

muchly needed

i like it more now its shorter

but i think it needs a little more vavvoom ... ?

or?

looks better in real life

& i need some tops to match ....  

(& a flatter tummy!)

i have the perfect shoes!!!!

i could probably also challenge myself to make something trickier

since i didn't use the instructions ... hmmm