A Piratey Art Museum Vest

The Baby turned 1 quite a while ago now!

To celebrate that we had kept him alive for so long, cause let's face it, you don't have a party to celebrate the baby, we gave him a pirate party as I can't throw a party without a theme it seems. 

I wanted to make something for his, I mean my special day but didn't want to go overboard! (Get it?) 

Details:

Pattern: Oliver and S 'art museum vest'

Size: 6-12m

Fabric: purchased from fabric.com

Alternations: used press studs instead of button holes, then sewed on 2 decorative  pirate ship buttons on top. 

Omitted the welt pockets, back band, and top stitched the vest around neckline and bottom section. 

Notes: he wore this to childcare a few times, however the button were quite popular and were damaged. The vest is away with his keepsake items. 

Versace in the middle of Africa

About a year ago I was gifted some beautiful Versace knit fabric from my lovely sewing teacher Liz. I had admired and tried on her version of Kwik Sew 3036 which is a sleeper pattern/brand in my opinion.

After some indecisiveness I decided to copy her combination of pattern and fabric, changing the neckline to the other version. I wanted the chain to sit below the bust to minimise my after birth stomach. Obviously from the photo that did not happen. So this top was not worn until 11.5 months after the toddler was born. 

My mum tried it on and in her opinion it looked better on her so I gave it to her begrudgingly. So now she has a Versace top while living in Africa. Shirley, you better bring it back with you. :)

Thankfully not all is lost, I picked up 1.7metres of the same fabric at the 2013 Boxing Day sale at Clegs. Now what to do with that?!

 

Details:

Pattern: Kwik Sew 3036

Size: 16 straight. Then taken in from the armpits by 2.5cm on each side. 

Fabric: Versace knit purchased from the cloth shop Ivanhoe. 

Alternations: 2.3cm sway back adjustment. 

One of many...

One of many applies to a lot of things in my life right now.

One of many piles of mess.

One of many paint brushes.

One of many big sloppy kisses.

One of many scout woven tees...this is my fourth version of this lovely pattern.

I have made it up in a knit, two rayons and now a double gauze.

 

As this was my fourth version it came together in about 4 hours, no joke. I spent more time worrying about pattern placement as no one wants a spotty boob. I bought the Nani Iro fabric and matching bias binding from an Etsy seller on a whim a month or two back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Details:

Pattern: Scout woven tee by Grainline Studios

Size: 6 grading out to a 12 at the hips

Fabric: 1.1metres of Nani Iro Japanese Gauze, plus matching bias binding

Alternations: Added 3.1cms to the length and 2-3cm sway back adjustment (it wasn't enough see pooling in last photo)

 

Comments:

I'm hoping the fabric softens up a fair bit as its quite stiff in a way, which affects the style of the tee, I'm not sure its the most flattering of tops, but it is good sun protection and it fills a gap in my mummy lifestyle. First worn on our weekend trip to Sydney, I managed to leave all my accessories at home except my sunglasses!

Kat x

Vogue 1250 - it didn't work for me.

 

I made vogue 1250 for Frocktails (Melbourne 2013), its wasn't what I had in mind originally but the Burda dress I made just didn't do my 4 month post baby body justice. While I have seen some great versions of Vogue 1250, (see Sew Brunswick) I feel it didn't flatter me as well as the other reviews I have read and as a consequence I'll never be making this dress pattern again.

  

I cut a 14 in the top, a 16 in the cowl and waist and grading out to an 18 in the thigh area, as clingy was not something I wanted. I feel that my choice of animal print slinky knit from fabric.com which may of been part of the problem. I wasn't happy with the dress with my body shape so with the help of spanks, I wore the dress to frocktails and felt frumpy and comfortable but not glamorous. I think tiredness won the battle there.

 

I have no photos of the full length dress and everytime I pulled it on, I took it off again. Yes it looks good with leggings but I felt very self concious in it, so one day, I took the scissors to it and chopped  roughly 35 cms off it. I will admit that the front is shorter than the back. Whoops.

Since hacking at it, I never wore it again and it's now in the bin. 

Also one of the reasons I never blogged about frocktails was I hated my outfit and I was so bloody tired. It took me weeks to recover from that weekend and I didn't even drink!

 

 

 

Some time later, I picked up a remnant 1.2 metres of red jersey when I visited to Tessuti with Nic and Helen one Friday night. I needed breastfeeding friendly tops and I loved the fabric, great recovery, and it washes well. It sewed up well too, not a lot of curlying. This time I cut a straight 16 except for the cowl which was an 18 so it would be low enough. I fudged the side seams, and kept the darts and the lower back panel. 

I wear this top a lot!! If I ever have another baby then I will make it again as a top and not a dress. 

Frocktails

I'm currently chatting away while lying in bed across the way from Sew Busy Lizzy. It's hard to believe frocktails is finally here! 

 

Nicole, myself and Rachel flew in yesterday and had a great time wandering around Surry hills and china town. We visited the fabric store and tessuti, both of which had their remnant tables/bins plundered by myself and Liz. Sorry, not sorry to the ladies going shopping there today! And we're off to visit some more fabric shops of Sydney!

For those lucky ladies going to frocktails tonight remember it's 6pm for 6.30 start at China Republic. 

In advance I just want to thank everyone for coming and hope that we all have an amazing time! 

Kat

Frocktails an update.

Just a little update, as Frocktails is a little over a month away!

We have a venue booked, some of the interstaters have flights booked, things are a go!

I'm currently struck down with the nastiest bout of food poisoning I have ever had but I'm hoping to send out all the details in a day or two. 

I hope you're all sewing away! 

Exciting times

No, I'm not pregnant! It's even better than that! I suppose pregnancy isn't an enjoyable experience for everybody. 

Moving on, I'm getting a custom made sewing room! Now as some of you know I already have a sewing room, which I have in my house, however we have being planning for a while to knock down our absestos filled garage/shed, rebuild with a better garage/shed/ workshop area, carport and sewing room! I figure while we are spending thousands to build it, it won't cost that much more to add a sewing room. My reasoning is so intelligent eh?

We're doing the most of the work ourselves unless we don't have the skills of course, but with my husband's work and knowledge and the help of qualified friends we should be able to have it up in a 3-4 month or by December timeframe. Slow and steady wins the races in our household. 

Now onto the best bit, designing the sewing room! In the photo below, this was our first working plan, ignore the dimensions and the window length. To get it through council, it was suggested that we call it a workshop so that the council doesn't think it will become a bedroom, as that requires different regulations. 

My room will be 5550 long by 3500 wide.

 

Along one wall I'm having built in cupboards (600m) with doors. Not sure if they will be sliding or not. If they are sliding, 1-2 doors will be mirrored. 

I'm keeping my current desk, she's a massive beast. We will have to take her apart to be able to fit her through the door!

I'm having a small bathroom complete with a shower, 1000l by 3500w this gives us room for change in the later teenage year or if want to sell, it will help with marketing. 

What I want: 

Permanent wall spot for ironing board,

ideally one that slides down into position but I haven't seen this in Australia. It's important to me that my board has a permanent spot to live and won't take up a lot of space. 

Lots of power points. 

Bright lights. 

The cutting biggest table I can get or make. 

A space for friends to sew. 

A couch to sit & relax. 

Do you have any advice on sewing room setups or building your own?

Feel free to link to anyone's that you may have read about.

Ideally I want it be able to put all my plans down on paper, even my desk layout, so when the time comes to build, there won't be any miscommunication. 

I'll try to blog the experience but its been noted that I'm a terrible blogger. :)

Frocktails: The date is set!

Oh my, Frocktails Sydney is reaching epic proportions! How fantastic! 

So far we have 26 interested ladies who are very excited about the evening. 

Please book the 13th of September into your diaries, I'm sorry to anyone who can't attend that day, the majority has ruled. 

So obviously September is 5 months away so I hear you saying, what should I do now? 

Well besides plan your outfit, you need to email me your expression of interest ( if you haven't already) to allegravintage@gmail.com 

I'll try my best to find a restaurant that can fit everyone and I'll try my best not to turn anyone away but I need you to email me your interest. 

When the details are finalised I will need you to book your spot for the evening by prepaying which is non refundable unless I can get someone to fill your spot. 

If you have any questions, feel free to email or tweet me. 

Now someone please tell me what I should sew for this event! Or maybe better yet sew it for me. 

Frocktails, Sydney here we come!

Hello Frocktailers,

Who's excited for Frocktails in Sydney?

I have been making very loose plans at this stage, and we need to set a date so I can book in a venue. I'm thinking a private dining room might be the best way to go so numbers will probably be limited to 30 people. 

Please cast your vote, (on the blog, not via twitter) majority will rule, however I may pull rank if there is a tie. 

Current dates available are:

- August the 30th

- September the 6th

- September the 13th 

Also who from Melbourne or interstate is interested in coming?

Kat x

Making it work, an update on my life.

Hello! 

Long time no blogging eh? Well I may not have been blogging, but I've been having a good time with my baby and at times my sewing machine. 

I'm now 6 very short weeks away from returning to full time work (unfortunately), I requested part time, however it was rejected along with all my other suggestions. Honestly I'm not looking forward to full time work but I will turn my commute into my time, oppose to a waste of time. Which gives me a great opportunity to do hand sewing toys for the baby. 

I don't see how I'll be able to sew, work fulltime, commute an hour plus in each direction daily and spend with my family but like most mothers I'll try to make it work. 

Sewing is my mental health time, I don't watch a lot of tv, so hopefully I'll be able to get an hour plus in every second day. Here is hoping!

I do have sewing events to look forward to later in the year, Frocktails is going to Sydney, and I've organised Sewaway, which funnily enough is a weekend of sewing away. Plus I heard Sewcietea is happening again!

I've also sorted out a list of things I want to sew for this winter. I tend to struggle in winter as I love colour and am drawn to summer clothing, which doesn't help when you live in Melbourne in wintertime. 

My aim is to make a very simple winter coat hopefully in pink plaid, ponti tops and dresses and lots of leggings!

The baby starts 3 full day in childcare soon so I really hope to get a move on my list! 

Kat x

UPDATE: 

After serious thought I decided to take my case to Fairwork Australia. I'm very please to say that my work has agreed to let me work 30 hours over 4 days per week. It's amazing what can happen when you have the convictiction to speak up for yourself. 

A very big thank you to my lovely supporters who gave me encouragement & advice. It means a great deal to have friends like you. X

Christmas presents, past and present.

I am a lucky lady, especially when it comes to Christmas presents. My family knows of my love and accumulation habits of all things related to sewing. I usually get cash, vouchers and interesting little knick knacks for my hobby. 

For the past two years, I am now getting lovely handmade gifts. Christmas 2012 saw this big, thread board made by Ben, come into my life. It was and is love, Ben counted all my thread, and then added more spaces for future acquisitions. Isn't she lovely?

Ignore the test paint on the wall, still haven't decide on a colour for the room yet!

The board has room for 3 scissors stacked on one another, and a French curve. You can see that I add another ruler to the board when it's not in use. 

Christmas 2013, I recieved an overlocking thread board, again made by Ben. Room for 80 reels, which is slightly too many but hey, it's better than not enough, am I right? 

The board is currently sitting on my fabric cabinet, this houses all my patterns and majority of my stash. Again Ben made it. Sensing a theme here? The cabinet was for my birthday/ I need the space combination. The cabinet holds 9, 32-35 litre tubs, top three are sewing/toy/ craft patterns, the rest hold tubs of fabric. 

When I recently requested another 3 cubby holes be added to top for more cough fabric space cough, I was met with a resounding no! 

But I may have won him round as floor to ceiling cupboards are going to be installed later in the year. I'll then have even more space for fabric!

More photos of my sewing room to come soon.