2013 - A Year of Creative Workshops

2013 was the busiest year I've ever had

every Term was fully booked 

with a mix of new & familiar faces

 where new project ideas were thrown amongst the familiar favourites 

the year started with 

 our 3rd Busselton Sewing Sleepover 

which interestingly 

was the only time during the year I travelled further than the front gates 

to share my knowledge & skills 

all the magic happened here

The Sew Outside the Lines™ Patterns 

were a big hit this year

with many participants creating more than one 

Splice Skirt

Piece of Cake

Change of Heart 

and the projects from the Basics & Beyond pattern package being no exception 

with many often adding signature details to their finished pieces

1. Zebra Cake, 2. Lined Change of Heart, 3. Protea & Stripes, 4. Dots & Spots, 5. Ribbon Denim & Aqua, 6. Firecracker Skirt, 

7. Pretty, 8. Lemon Meringue, 9. Tea Towel Frock, 10. Pretty Piece of Cake, 11. Brave Days, 12. Winter Berry, 

13. KAPOW!, 14. Colour & Pattern, 15. Vintage Florals, 16. Circles, 17. Shimmer Splice, 18. Crepe Splice, 

19. Velvety, 20. Heart Skirts, 21. Heart Skirts, 22. Fans, 23. Birds & Trees, 24. Waffle Spots, 

25. T Pot Skirt, 26. Change of Heart, 27. Belt Bag, 28. Cushions, 29. Top & Frock, 30. Peachy Quilt, 

31. Man Bag, 32. PJ's, 33. Sally & Liza, 34. Covered, 35. Best Friends, 36. Owl Cushion

there were many REinvented Wardrobes created 

and

added to during the year

1. Collared, 2. Collared, 3. Tea Dyed Tie, 4. Shimmer, 5. Forest, 6. Flaming, 

7. Zipped, 8. Lacey Bib, 9. Red Wrap & Frippery Love, 10. Tied Wrap, 11. Velvet Wrap, 12. Blanky Wrap, 

13. Frippery Tray, 14. Skirt Top, 15. Fishermen Frock, 16. T-shirt & Tie Skirt, 17. Beach Coat, 18. Fancy Frock, 

19. Tea Towel Tunic, 20. Tunic REfashion, 21. Wrap T, 22. Top REfashion, 23. Sripes & Layers, 24. Doily Jacket, 

25. Apron Frock, 26. Kimono REinvent, 27. Dyed, 28. Brons Slip, 29. 2-1, 30. Cirque, 

31. Jumpigan, 32. Fisherman Frock, 33. Cupids Jacket, 34. Apron Wrap, 35. Frog Wrap, 36. First Frock

and on occasion some of us opted for a more conventional approach to up-dating our wardrobes

by enjoying the benefits that commercial patterns have to offer

or by taking the time to create & adapt our own patterns

1. Tea Frocks, 2. Festive Frock, 3. Simplicity, 4. Tea Frock, 5. Butterick, 6. Vogue, 

7. Brocade Bedspread, 8. Hippy Party, 9. Curtain Jacket, 10. For a Friend, 11. Tweed & Lace, 12. Vogue, 

13. Be.S.T Frock, 14. Paua Top, 15. Flecky Busso Shirt, 16. Apron Wrap, 17. Kates Knickers, 18. Charles Rack, 

19. Libery Peacock Pincushion, 20. Persistence Pays Off Vest, 21. Colette Pants, 22. Paper Bag Skirt, 23. Mrs Woo, 24. Liberty Frock, 

25. Interpret, 26. Georgie Girl, 27. First Frock, 28. James Dean JKT, 29. Taking Liberties, 30. Red Dress, 

31. Jeanette & Collette, 32. Denim Vest, 33. Bouquet, 34. Rich Red, 35. Tartan36. Roses Jigsaw Jkt

and then there's the people

1. Bowl of Goodies, 2. Group Ties, 3. Pattern-making, 4. Rebs Corner, 5. Company, 6. O'locker & Iron, 

7. Thursday & Friday Girls, 8. Finished, 9. Preparing, 10. Finished, 11. Creating, 12. Cornflowers, 

13. Cutting, 14. REinventors, 15. Pop Frock Fun, 16. Kate, 17. Button Cupcakes, 18. Full, 

19. The For-Sale-Fabric Cupboard, 20. Jigsaw Jacket Explosion, 21. Pene, 22. Best Friends, 23. Making, 24. Splice REinvent, 

25. Last Day, 26. Quiet Time, 27. Op Shopping, 28. Crochet, 29. Splice Girls, 30. Eating Cake, 

31. Bree, 32. REinventing Easter, 33. Companion, 34. Cutting, 35. Fleur & Rosie, 36. Frangapani Cupcakes

the wonderful people

who have graced the Studio & me with their presence

the smiling faces belong to

the warmest, funniest, sometimes saddest, always entertaining, most caring, courageous & creative individuals it has been my priviledge to share time & space with...

thankyou for another exciting year

and thankyou also 

to those of you who visit the Blog  regularly

 to share what we get up to

some names I know & others are but numbers in my stats

either way your presence is also very appreciated

I'd be talking to myself it wasn't for you...

I'll leave you with these words

to mark the beginning of a 

New Year

because they're perfectly true.

 x

  

Merry Christmas.

We're all home for Christmas this year

which is pretty special

hasn't happened for a few years

so will be savouring every moment tomorrow brings

and wish the same for you. x

The Week That Was

tea frocks ticked off the list

christmas cake made

Recipe

and not shared

op shop outing & catch-up

early Christms presents recieved

watching sisters between dance routines

and the world beyond the front gate 

I've only half a lunch to prepare this year

and a few gifts still to wrap

before the 25th is here

again...

Make Do & Mend ...or REinventing?

The only thing that's changed
is that we now do it because we want to

blokes however should still keep a close eye on their wardrobes

as their pants make the best skirts

Vicki

ties turn into fabulous frocks

Tie Frock

and a mens shirt REinvented into Apron Top will always be a great idea.

REinventing Story - The Fancy-Pants Frock

The youngest had her dance concert last night

and it wasn't until

a couple of days ago I considered what I'd wear

turns out 

Teatowel and Tablecloth Frocks just aren't 'fancy-pants' enough for the Crown Theatre

so by combining 2ish op shop sourced garments, 
a filed Nicola Waite Skirt 
a little gold/pink shot French indie labeled silk Top
and abandoning any idea of turning the cream net sequinned top into anything

I removed the invisible zip from the skirt
and lined the bodice with another filed garment 

joined the two together
 creating the 
Fancy Pants Frock
suitable for all swishy soirees I might be invited to in the foreseeable future

and as much as I'm deeply madly in love with her
the icing was I got to REcycle shoes from a couple of years ago
[my waistline might have changed thankfully my feet haven't]

and as much as I thought while creating the Fancy Pants Frock
I might be in danger of over dressing for the occassion

turns out I did a little

didn't care
because isn't that what Mums do....

All in a Days Work

I had 2 private tuition classes booked at the end of last week.

Friday

saw friends, Elisabeth & Raelene join me 
for their first visit to the Studio 

both wished to replicate favourite garments

by creating patterns of their own

to REcreate in their leisure

which is exactly what we did

and on Saturday

Bree arrived 

to make her 'Festive Frock' 

even with a couple of 

minor something-nothing hiccups

that is exactly what we did

and at the end of two rewarding days

it was lovely to kick back

and watch these little guys

busily  doing their thing

New Holland Honeyeaters 

because there's nothing like a spot of garden sitting
to bring 'stuff' back into perspective.

In the Corners of the Studio

In my Studio

I

fill up space 

and create

corners

 

  

sometimes I'll invite others 

to share the space

where they're encouraged to see what I do 

   

whilst in between the gaps 

I create clothes

lots of clothes

so many clothes 
I'm running out of space

and all the corners are full!

All I Want for Christmas is....

I was only thinking the other day
how great it would be
if all my presents for Christmas came from Op Shops

my favourite Op Shops

and be the sort of presents I'd buy for myself

then I saw this floating around in cyberspace
and thought my wish had come true
some ingenious charity worker
had read my mind

Info here

nearly 
but not quite
because they're only available in Victoria

so now all I want for Christmas is that
 Op Shop Gift Cards be made available in WA...

although it's another reason to move over there...

and then I'm thnking
Oppy Debit Cards would be even better....

13

13

is going to be your lucky number. x

The $50,000 Coat

It's a story

about a bloke 
wanting a particular-sort-of-a-certain-kind of coat

The Bloke

and the bloke he contacted 

to make it for him

The Tailor

and the girl who thought it a fascinating story 

The Writer

and wrote about it

The Book

because to most of us

 $50,000 
is alot to pay for a coat 

The Coat

and to a few 
it's what you do....

Sew-What-You-Like Workshop - Day Two & Pattern REviews

Everyone decided to create from patterns during this 2day Workshop

so I feel marginally qualified & a little obliged 
to do my very first pattern reviews 


Jeanette made a frock



from 100% cotton fabric 
using this pattern 

Simplicity 1610

not her first and possibly not her most challenging project at the Studio
Jeanette opted for the sleeveless scoop-neck version 
the process from go to woe was fairly straight forward 
as long as the instructions were adhered to

we did contemplate not self lining the bodice
as the pattern asked
using our old faithful Bias Binding to finish raw edges
until it was realised the squared off armholes wouldn't allow for this

it turned out to be a firm fitting 1950's styled frock
which Jeanette enjoyed the making and wearing of so much 
she's coming back for some floral fabric to make another.
*
*
Rosie bought this gorgeous Japanese cotton voile from me a while back 
and arrived with the perfect for summer top pattern to tackle

opting also for the high-neck version

which we ended up lowering to suit Rosies shape better

the raw edges allowed for Bias Binding finishes in the same fabric 

and on completion Rosie chose to jazz it up a little 

with some 'ribboned' Bias sewn as a big droopy bow in the centre

Butterick B5644

Finished, the garment is loose fitting, roomy and airy
a straight forward project for an experienced sewer as Rosie 

and it would also make a perfect first time project for a novice.

*

*

JoAnne had high hopes for her bag full of potential REinventions 

and it was decided the piece she most wanted to play with
was the fabric in an unwearable frock

we decided a Vogue pattern of mine

would fit the bill perfectly

if we lost the frill at the bottom

turned the neck gathers into pleats/tucks
and added extra width at the sides

Vogue V8229

there wasn't much of the orginal frock left by the time we'd finished

we even REused the Invisible Zip

Quite a fitted garment when finished
[we added extra panels into the sides] 

not a difficult pattern to follow & construct

especially if just laying up fabric

REinventing using a pattern is extremely rewarding 

and a tad time consuming.

*

*

When I saw this fabric I immediately thought Tea Frock

and when Kate saw it in the Studio Shop 

she thought the same thing

having already made her first one 

a couple of weeks before in a more difficult fabric

this one almost sewed itself

the most time consuming part was leveling the hem-line

due entirely to the bias nature of the cut

and the weight in the skirt

there's no point in doing a review for this pattern

because the pattern is no longer available

and if I'm going to do a

Tea Frock Workshop

I'd best find one similar soon!

With a little time up her sleeve 

Kate made a start on her next 

Change of Heart Skirt 

as with others Kate's made in the past 

this one will not have the front wrap panel

however this time Kate's challenged herself by lining it

 and if Stella keeps bringing us her delicious chocolate Brownies

and we eat them

I might have to do a workshop 

on how to best let out your seams!