REinvented ~Wrap Top~ Give Away

This, my first ever Give Away, has been a long time coming 

and is not just a celebration of 3yrs Blogging,

or a way to show my appreciation to those that frequently pop in for a look at my world, 

it also marks a turning point in my approach to blogging.

Over the next few weeks you will see exciting changes in how I present REinventing to you

& if you join the merry band on Follow Me (right hand column half way down) you'll hear the news first.
 

So without further ado I welcome you to my first ever 

REinventing Give Away
(which probably means I'll do it again).

YeeHaa! 

I'm offering 6 one-of-a-kind REinvented Wrap Tops & I'm giving 3 of them away.

'Paris Punk'

Size 10-12

 'Heritage Rose'

Size 14-18

 'Spring Blossom'

Size 12-16

 'ChocMint Surprise'

Size 14-16+

'Garden Gate'
Size 12-16

'Tree of Life'

Size 12-16

What you need to know & do:

• These garments are all created from pre-loved T-shirt styled Tops, so are stretchy with a soft worn feel & look. The fabric type allows for the size variations. They are either stitched closed across the neck & partially down the front or all the way down, so they are a pull on & off garment. 
• You vote by leaving your name along with a comment, telling me if you've been to my Blog before or not, in the comments box along with your choice of 3 Tops in order of preference ie. (below is an example);

• 1. ChocMint
• 2. Blossom
• 3. Paris Punk

• Don't respond/comment by email - for those that don't have Blogs & have received this Post via email you'll need to click on the title & comment Anonymously, which I've explained in the right hand side (on my blog) underneath the Eco Quilt link - leave your name at the end of the comment so I know who you are in case you're a winner!
• One comment/vote per person. 
• It's open Internationally. 
• The winners will be chosen using the fold n' pick method - with photographic evidence. 
• There will be 3 winners. The first chosen gets their first preference, the 2nd & 3rd people chosen get their preferences in relation to what is left on their lists.
• Closing date is Thursday 5th May.
• Winner announced Friday 6th May on this Blog.
• The Tops that aren't won will be available for sale. 
• Please remember that these REinvented Wrap Tops have been created from pre-loved garments so will come to you in that soft, slightly worn condition that ensures REinvented garments look & feel amazing.
• Click on the links directly below each Top for a more detailed description.

Think I've covered everything.

I hope this works and you like the Tops enough to join in.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Mosaic - Necklines

To relieve some of the angst from not achieving a whole lot today I've created a Mosaic.

I love Mosaics because I get to showcase everyones hard work - it's like standing up saying "...and here's one I prepared earlier" - only I didn't, not all of them anyway.

Some are mine, some are students & some I found while trawling favourite flickr groups and they've all ended up on the Sewn Details site.

Hope you find them entertaining and perhaps a little inspiring.

  . DTFBL012  ROSA, 2. Front closeup of Twinkle Sews dress, 3. "Heirloom" necklace, 4. Sculpt, 5. Joanie, 6. Sue, 7. IMG_2800, 8. Bad Dolly necklace, 9. Untitled, 10. green-gingham-top, 11. RyW - Carol , 12. RyW - Antoinette, 13. RyW - Christine, 14. RyW - Jody , 15. Dress detail close-up, 16. refashioned T-shirt, 17. RyW - Melissa, 18. pattern c, 19. RyW Darlington - Brigita Detail, 20. Fibre Art Bib Necklace, 21. Robe Ellis Island, 22. sleeve-shoulder pocket tee - black/grey 3, 23. RyW - Jody, 24. Grey tunic detail, 25. LTS - Liza Top, 26. Jody, 27. Jody, 28. Romantic Sweater Top, 29. double t-shirt dress - white 002, 30. Lorelie, 31. brown blue jacket tunic neck detail, 32. Pauline, 33. Veronica, 34. Merran, 35. Veronica, 36. Jody

a Random Day

 We woke this morning to another holiday.

I understand the need to down tools over Easter & I acknowledge the significance of ANZAC Day 

but I was sooooo ready to get on with it and had big plans to kick start the whole 'get back into it' campaign today, that the news, all business is still shut has thrown me.

In honour of this random day I'm doing a random post.

As I REstitch Wrap Tops for my first Give Away in a couple of days,

 

 I'll show you the Friendship Cuff idea I'm working on

 

and share with you the colours in the garden at the moment

before heading inside to heat up the Minestrone Soup I made yesterday and gather the family in the lounge to watch

Whale Rider.

I've decided the best course of action is to relax and make the most of today because tomorrow will see me 

hit the ground running!

I make a mess when I sew.

I've a system for the stuff treasure I bring home,
invariably it sits in piles,
sometimes by the front door for days
waiting for the journey out to the Studio

to be filed.

My filing system consists of pigeon holes,

cupboards,

racks,

& bins.

  It's taken a while but I'm now confident that I've proved it doesn't matter how much room or storage I have I'll always need more.

I'm spoilt having the space I do out here in the Studio however it doesn't diminish the size of the mess I make when creating, it just makes it easier to spread around. 

This last lot of creating for the Talks was no exception, what is changing though, is my ability to focus on the task of turning the mess back into organised chaos whereas before I'd try and work around it.

I'm old enough to have also realised, organised chaos is as good as it's going to get.

So I make more piles

in the hope that they'll fit back into the holes they came out of.

It's with a feeling of relief (that it & more fitted back in) and a sense of achievement (it's still novel) that I can stand back and feel good about having again organised my chaos.

In readiness for the next lot of mess creating!

Free Machine Embroidery Tutorial & a Confession

I confess to not using many gadgets when sewing.

I read how others do and how these gadgets & tools make their sewing lives much better & easier, having asked myself on numerous occassions "why not you too", the only excuse I can come up with is laziness. 

   I simply can't be bothered.....or should I say, couldn't be bothered because the other day I REdiscovered a gadget bought years ago, sitting unused on a shelf.
The discovery came whilst creating the Sculpted Shirt.

I was amazed at the brilliance behind the simple design and blinded by my stupidity for not using it before now.
Just as free machine embroidery changed my life, the embroidery hoop has enhanced it.

I thought it might enhance yours, so I've put together a little tutorial on how I used it.
The reason you would want to use a Hoop is to keep your embroidered design flat, as opposed to the blistered effect you get when free machining.

1. It might have another name but 'Embroidery Hoop for a Sewing Machine' is what I'm calling it - until I hear otherwise. It's different from other embroidery hoops because it sits low (almost flat), making it perfect for sewing machines.

2. You just squeeze the 2 handle things on the Inner Spring Ring and it separates very easily from the inside lip of the Outer Rim.

3. The Outer Rim has a lip around the inner wall which allows the Inner Spring Ring, once positioned & released, to slide into place holding the fabric taut ready for stitching.

4. Now the fun begins - once you have attached the correct Foot for free machine embroidery and got those Feed Dogs out of the way you move the Hoop around under the needle creating your design.

Caution: I did find that the back of the foot crashed into the protruding Spring Ring handles causing me to have a little heart attack and the design to get mucked up. Being free machine embroidery the muck up soon became part of the design and by maneuvering the hoop so that the handles were always in front or out of the way I avoided this drama.

I love the mess I can create with free machining however now that I have the choice of a more controlled finish, I feel that this is a very warranted gadget and well worth the owning.

My latest REinventions

These are the REinventions I created to wear during the 3 days of Fashion Talks I was invited to conduct.

1. Circus, 2. Sculpt, 3. Circus, 4. Blend

I talk alot - with my hands

I handed my camera to others today and asked them to take photos because I was going to be too busy talking - I hadn't realised just how much of it I do with my hands.

I always try and get peoples hands into photos however I've never actually seen my own in action before and never from this angle.

Another first was achieved today.

This is the 4th time I've been invited to conduct these Talks and this time I changed the format so that I could perform live demonstrations of T-shirt REinventions in front of an audience - hahaha!
You've no idea how nervous I was, so nervous I couldn't quite bring myself to do it on the first day.
Turns out my fear of falling flat on my face because I would be soooo nervous I'd forget how to sew was totally unfounded -
I enjoyed every minute and am back to do it again tomorrow.

 

With 5 talks a day and a new top REinvented every time I'm thinking they're going to make great give aways.
Another first!

REtreat REinventions

This is some of what was created during the REtreat.

My focus is always on helping the girls create their garments and it's usually not until after a workshop I wish I'd taken more photos - 2 of me would be handy sometimes.

 

1. Joanie, 2. Lynn, 3. Sue, 4. Joanie, 5. Lynn, 6. Lynn, 7. Maud, 8. Maud, 9. Lynn, 10. Jeanette, 11. Sue, 12. Joanie, 13. Lynn, 14. Sue, 15. Sue, 16. Lynn, 17. Sue, 18. Sue

REinventing REtreat - What we did when we weren't sewing.

It's going to take me a while to photoshop all the images of the REinventions created on the REtreat 

so I thought I'd share with you what we did when we weren't REinventing or shopping.

We ate, drank & talked

we laughed, chatted & relaxed 

while absorbing the ambiance of the historic home & gardens 

we called our own for 3days.

 I'm sure you can appreciate there's a lot goes into organising a REinventing REtreat
 - lots of boxes need to be ticked. 

From the moment I drove in the driveway 
and for the first 20mins after my walking in through the front door
walking from room to room 
all I could say was OMG.

All.The.Boxes.Ticked!

  
From the off-street-at-the-door-no-steps-to-navigate parking,

     to the swing-a-cat-and-not-hit-anything workspace

I knew immediately this was going to work.

My only regrets are not taking more lighting for night sewing

and not taking better photos of the stained glass front door at night,

   the long wide hallway where you entered the bedrooms from

 the spacious bedrooms with luxuriously comfortable beds

worn stoops leading you from the newish extension to the original home

the generous kitchen

spacious bathrooms

and did I mention the amazing workspace
where after we'd shown off our piles of bargains
 looked a little like Christmas morning after present opening
  

It didn't take us long to move in
take over
 get comfortable
 and get sewing

I've now got 2days left in which to organise myself 
for 3days of talking REinventing at the
Claremont Treasured Craft Creations & Antiques/Collectibles Fair 

This is my 3rd of year doing these Talks
 however this time I've put my hand up to perform live demonstrations of T-shirt REinventions 
on people 
in front of an audience 

it's a good thing I like firsts.

Six Amateur Fashion Designers attend worlds first REinventing REtreat!

We all had a giggle when we read how the Busselton Mail had referred to us as 

'six amateur fashion designers'. 

Over the next few days I'll show you just how we lived up to the description!

After our first night we headed out for a day of serious Op shopping 
and with most of the Oppies within walking distance of each other 
we decided to take advantage of the glorious weather and combine the shopping experience with some exercise.

  

 It wasn't all shopping (only 99%) - we did manage to squeeze in a stop for sustenance
 where we debriefed before heading off for the last few Op shops left on our list.

With longer arms, tired feet & only slightly dented wallets we headed back to our accommodation very happy in the knowledge that we came, we saw & we Op shopped,

'til we dropped!

We spent the rest of the evening preparing for the next day,
when the serious REinventing would begin.