Just passing....

... in between surfing lessons and post-Christmas shopping (teenager has gift vouchers burning holes in her pockets!) and thought I'd share one of my favourite Christmas presents. I love receiving handmade gifts, especially when it's something you would have bought for yourself if you'd ever seen it yourself...I thank my sister for being so clever and brave!

Santa

Last class for the year!

We were a couple down as they had commitments elsewhere however we who were 'commited' (or perhaps should be) swapped our Santa presents over morning coffee. I did very well (thankyou Veronica, my necklace goes with EVERYTHING!) and gather from the discussions that were happening, everyone else felt the same way about their respective gifts. We're an intuitive bunch us Re-inventors!

I'm going to waffle a little now, so you can leave if you like (have a look at the Re-invented Garments link on the right before you go).

In all sincerity & from the bottom of my heart I have enjoyed sharing the Zen of Re-inventing with everyone who has thought it a good idea and taken the time (& spent the money) to join me at the Art Centre over the years.
As much as you may have gained from the experience you can treble that for me. I love the challenge that each of you bring to class, whether you're new to Re-inventing or a dedicated follower...and at this point I'd like to take the time to acknowledge & thank you all, as it has absolutely & utterly without question been my pleasure!

Have a FANTASTIC CHRISTMAS and I hope that 2009 brings all of us everything we wish for and maybe just a little bit more!

JPx

~Millie Amber Rose~

3/12/2008

10:01pm

7lb 7oz

53cm Long & 34cm Head

...and she is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous!

 

I spent a couple of hours with them last week and can verify she doesn't cry....she smiles & purrs in her sleep! They are all over the moon, very happy family, Kylie is in love with her baby girl, looking like the cat that got the cream...it's a beautiful thing. 

Blushouse at Bazaar

Finally! Georgina has worked soooo hard to get to this point and it was wonderful to be part of the Bazaar experience and to witness the enthusiasm that her designs generate. I held the fort during the earlier part of the day and was overwhelmed at stages with people literally throwing garments at me to put in bags! I don't know that it was like that all weekend however it was gratifying & self satisfying for me to play my small part in the scheme of things.
I don't know that I miss it, in fact I do know I don't miss the whole market-thing, it was nice today and I'd do it again, just not regularly like in the deep dark past. Another nice aspect to the day was that I got to reconnect with a couple of familiar faces, who if they're listening (and they know who they are!) I'd love to keep in touch with.
I'm going to include a bigger better photo of Georgina...just 'cause she's lovely!

Bazaar

These are destined for Georginas pitch at Bazzaar on Friday. The style is deliciously simple made from light cottons with Georginas quirky screenprints to shake them up abit.

Sewing on Sunday...

...for the last time at the Art Centre for 2008, thank goodness I still have a couple of Tuesdays left for the year 'cause I have soooooo much fun and I'm going to miss the workshops over the festive break. Still it will give me a chance to up-date my wardrobe & samples by using the garments & fabric I have 'filed' in piles all over the place. Dan recently referred to living with my 'filing system' as like living in a storage warehouse...unneccessary & unkind even if maybe perhaps just a little bit true.

I took a photo of the Art Centre mannequins dressed up in samples prior to todays workshop. On the left is a deconstructed Dress & bias cut Skirt combined to make a Wrap Dress with the bottom of a Top cinching in the waist & the top of the Top is now a Shrug with rose detail. The other is dressed in a deconstructed denim Jeans Jacket attached to a lined Skirt which I split down the front & inserted an open-ended invisible zip. I LOVE mens ties and have combined two of them to make an Obi style Tie which pulls the coat in beautifully around the upper waist.

Take a look at the 'Re-invented Garments' Link to see the new garments I've added. Todays group took to Re-inventing like ducks to water & created some beautiful garments.

- - - o o - Birthday Girl - 0 0 - - -

It's been a BIG  weekend with the 7 yr old turning 8 on Saturday. We celebrated with some of her friends in the morning early avo by playing Pass-the-Parcel, eating lollies, Treasure Hunt, eating lollies & drinking fizzy drink, smashing a Pinyata to pieces in moments (I thought they lasted longer than 5 hits mind you I think it was the thought of MORE lollies that had these sweet cherubs swinging like they were possessed!) and a couple of goes at Musical Bobs & Statues with a feed of typical party fare followed by a Freddo Frog Ice-cream Cake full of 'millions' of tiny Freddos....and there was MORE cake in the avo when family came to say hi. 

She had a FANTASTIC day & got loads of wonderful presents, top of the list being the 2009 Guiness Book of Records & the Microscope Set, which if she could manage to she'd sleep with! 

She makes a beautiful 8!

Back to sewing Blushouse Tops first thing & ALL day tomorrow...Bazaar is Friday!

Moments...

This is a good example of what goes on outside my studio window so you can see what I mean about being distracted...who wouldn't be!
I was starting to see double due to the black trim I'm sewing on some more Blushouse dresses so took time out and enjoyed a moment...

Flocks of Frocks!

More gorgeous Blushouse frocks!

They're always fun to sew as I can't wait to see what they'll look like finished...not because I don't understand the design but because of the fabric colour combinations that Georgina chooses, for example the chocolate dresses are lined with lolly pink as are the yellow ones. I didn't get time to snap the apricot ones lined with deep orange. Then there's her screen prints which bring the whole garment alive.

I'm noticing that her designs have an old fashioned edge to them (simple & uncomplicated) which I also have an affinity with, being the old fashioned girl I am!

Finished!

The Blushouse dresses are finished and they look gorgeous...even if I do say so myself!

Oh please (as the 7yr old is known to say "Get over yourself"), I just sewed them up, Georgina's the creative genius who came up with the combination of style, fabrics and screenprints.

What's missing.......?

...my CAR!

We were robbed on Tuesday night! 

It turns out they were in the house while I was on the computer and the family were asleep! They waited for me to go inside to bed (11pm) before coming into the studio and then leaving in my car. It was the next morning that we realised and pieced together what had happened. The police didn't take long to locate my car, it was found in the next suburb, missing some personal items however no noticable damage. My biggest relief with the car being found was that it still contained ALL my sample garments...phew! Everything else is an inconvenience. We've had to put a stop on all bank accounts as they stole my handbag (where they obtained the spare car key from), we've had all the locks on the studio, house, shed and Dans car changed because they also took Dans car keys along with his mobile phone & wallet. 

As horrible as it all is we realise it could have played out alot differently (much worse)...for this we are thankful. The girls don't seem too affected by the ordeal however I know the ever vigilant teenager will be even more vigilant... and that's the hardest part for me to accept, that they were in the house while the girls were asleep...Yuk! 

Busy....

Here's a glimpse of what I've been looking at the past week, my sewing machine with a Blushouse dress under it! They're taking longer than anticipated (lined with invisible zips)...I'm not very good at estimating how long something will take to sew-up as I have trouble converting sewing-time into actual-time. I'll post a photo once I get them finished.

Workshops are going well with both venues not quite full and interestingly mostly accomplished Re-inventors booked in.  There's going to be some interesting garments come out of this lot of classes which I am determined not to forget to photograph. It's unfortunate that I don't have the lovely-reliable-competent Kylie available to take snaps, she's suffering with 'fat feet' (oh, the memories!), with only a couple of weeks left 'til baby arrives.

Very quiet here at the moment as family gone to Library so shall take the opportunity to do some more sewing...

It's the Little Things...

It's the little things in life that make all the difference...like two friends sharing a joke while playing dress-ups. I should have been out in the studio sewing up a storm rather than hanging out inside 'spying' on these two however they were so captivating....it's also a good thing to take the time to notice the small things. 

Workshops are back in full swing as of tomorrow and I can't wait! I'm full of great ideas and loads of enthusiasm after this holiday, I don't seem to be able to get enough of the sewing machine. I've made myself a couple of skirts and tops in anticipation of not only needing something new to show my regular & novice Re-inventers but the summer wardrobe needs a serious up-date. 

I'm busily sewing dresses for the lovely Georgina (Blushouse). I'm always excited to sew for Georgina as her designs & fabric choices are always so interesting/challenging. I've volunteered Eliza and I to help her out at Bazaar this year which I'm looking forward to as it will be an opportunity to spend some one-on-one quality time with the teenager in an environment we are both comfortable in...surrounded by beautiful clothes!

We're Back!

Hi,

we had the best time! 

The road trip both up & back was memorable for various reasons which I'll list in order of greatest impact.

• Wildflowers in every imaginable colour and they were EVERYWHERE!
• Road kill ie. LOTS of Kangaroos, some birds and one Emu.
• Wicked Vans with their funny sayings & graphic paint jobs, Road Trains indicating to let you know when safe to overtake & LOTS  of Grey Nomads in caravans heading south for summer.
• Beer Bottle Tree ie. small native tree on side of the road decorated with empty stubbies, typical Aussie humour as was the Santa on a motorbike stuck in a fence, a relic from Christmases long past.
• Incompetence at Caravan Park we stayed in on way up & back....I can laugh about it now!
  

The time spent at Shark Bay defies description, literally, you have to experience to believe it. We were more fortunate than most knowing & staying with Alison, who has lived & worked in the area for 20yrs, also there are less people visiting the area this time of year.

I'll list in order of greatest impact as I know one womans holiday isn't neccessarily anothers.

• My friend Alison.
• Waking every morning to the view from Alisons lounge.
• 4-wheel driving up to Cape Peron with Alison.
• Standing at Skip Jack Point watching schools of Sharks, Stingrays, Turtles & Cormorants feeding on the shimmering schools of Skipjack.
  
• Walking alongside a pod of Dolphins who were swimming a few feet from shore at Cape Peron when suddenly they took a sharp left & Ali pointed out we were now walking alongside an 8' Tiger Shark!
  
• Stella complaining about flies landing on her (to the point of near tears) but not the least perturbed by an 8' Tiger Shark in the vicinity while she snorkelled in the shallows! 
  
• Feeding and watching the Dolphins at Monkey Mia.
• 3hr trip on 60' Catamaran the 'Shotover' out to sea grass beds to watch Dugongs feeding.
  
• The superior quality, condition & presentation of the Tourist places ie. Ocean Park, Monkey Mia, Cape Peron Homestead. 
  
• Eating fresh crabs most days thanks to Bobby getting up at 4am every day.
  
• 

Needless to say we were reluctant to leave. With any luck it wont be TOO long before we can all 4 of us go up and share the magic of this unique part of Australia.

ps. Thanks Ali!

JPx

Stormpede to Shark Bay!

Morning,

Ye Ha! We're packed and ready for our holiday, or as Stella put it this morning "we're off on our Stormpede to Shark Bay today!". Stormpede 'cause it's raining and she's in a big hurry to get there. 

We're actually overnighting in Geraldton to break the trip up so we'll see Shark Bay and my dear friend Alison on Friday. I haven't booked us in anywhere for the return trip 'cause I dont want to think about the holiday coming to an end at this stage however we will return. We have to be back for start of school and workshops...secretly I'm thinking 10-11th Oct.

Bye, JPx 

Only 24 hours in a day!

I don't know how some people do it???...fit all that makes up a day ie. children, pets, laundry, dishwashing (with no dishwasher), shopping, gardening, sleeping and blogging into just 24hrs! I've spent a good part of today doing those things while trying to link my Blog-with-my-Website-with-my-Flickr-photostream...fingers crossed I think I've had a win?!

I'm going to make a cup of tea and take a moment to enjoy this gorgeous day before I launch into packing for the road trip to Shark Bay.

LIFT OFF!

I feel like I've just landed on the moon!

I've enjoyed other peoples blogs soooo much & for soooo long I thought I'd give it a go! 

I run workshops called Re-inventing your Wardrobe and Ready to Wear...Again. I would like this space to be somewhere I can showcase the wonderful people who attend my workshops & their infectious creativity, also somewhere we can come to keep in touch. For those who can't make a workshop and are in need of Re-inventing Therapy I hope these pages will be of assistance!