Making :: Fragment Bags

it's been a while

it took ages to find

 an 'F' word 

to best describe my latest creations

Fragment Bags

 are combinations of vintage fabrics & needlepoints 

with soft leather belts as straps

a constrasting reverse side 

for some

making them two-bags-in-one

each fully lined 

 with a pocket

and magnetic closure

they're all unique

never to be repeated

however if your favourite one has SOLD

you might find one which is similar 

but-not-the-same

as I regularly up-date the Shop with more.

What's on Sally :: Blast from the Past

Rebecca came and camped over the weekend
bringing a bag of treasure

inspired by recent posts I've written about my creations from the past
Reb wanted me to share a few of the ones I've made for her over the years
including an Op shop surprise score

It was the strangest sensation as Reb pulled each garment from her bag of tricks
and I started to remember the fabrics
and the conversations around the making of each one
it was like old friends had come to visit.

Come for a wander with me
while I try and remember
what went where & when....

This Apron Wrap 
[with not much wrapping going on]
was created from antique embroidered & silk fabrics Rebecca brought back from India
[10yrs ago?]

This Apron Wrap was REinvented 

using vintage Fishermans Pants & fabrics 

some sourced in Fremantle and others brought back from India

the mirrors are real glass and the embroidery all done by hand.

As with any garments commissioned by Rebecca
I was given free reign

and from memory I'm pretty sure this Jigsaw Jacket started with the vintage glass beading
which ended up being the border round the sleeves
other fabrics I recognise came from
vintage bedspreads, embroidered Saris and favourite garments

and this 

fully lined plush velvet Jacket 

featuring winged cupids & angels

was created about 20yrs ago

from a vintage Italian bedspread

which was serendipitously 
  rescued by Rebecca from her local Op Shop

and as uncanny as that is
even with the jacket missing a button
the most amazing thing I noticed is

 neither have aged a day in the past 20yrs!

I love it when friends visit. 

Look what they REinvented!

Here's a snippet of the REinventions some of the girls created during the Term 2

 REinventing Workshops at the Studio.

A few have been sewing with me for a while

and others arrived brand new & bewildered....

we laughed, we cried, we laughed 'til we cried

and if the crime squad would like to get in touch we think we might have solved a few outstanding murders.

Most significantly everyone that walked through the Studios doors in May

left here 8wks later a more enriched, empowered & enthusiastic

creative them.

1. Candy Cardy, 2. Bunnies, 3. Jumper Wrap, 4. Pants Skirt, 5. Chequered Pinny,
6. Printed Lace, 7. Stand ya Ground 'Shattered' Skirt, 8. Denim REinvention, 9. Denim REinvention, 10. Commenting,
11. Mosaic Dress, 12. Denim Skirt, 13. Carols Cardet, 14. Red & Green, 15. Candifloss Cardy,
 16. Friends, 17. T-Shirt & Jumper Tunic, 18. The Kate Cardet, 19. Jacket & Pants Skirt,20. Fisherman Pants Tunic,
21. Spliced Denim Skirt, 22. Spliced Denim Skirt, 23. Collar, 24. Shirt Pinny, 25. Tartan Bullet Dress

With nearly everyone booking back in 

there's only 4 spots available for the entire year 

which means I'm going to have to get creative myself and come up with some more creating options.

Last REinventions for 2011 - they did me proud!

Thursday & Friday of this week 

saw the last REinventing & LTS workshops for 2011

and no I'm not hip-hip-hurraying doing cartwheels down the driveway

however I am looking forward to a break of a few weeks.

Mostly I'm looking forward to not having to think about what I'm going to wear on any given day -

I plan on at least one day in my PJ's.

As frantic as the last 2 days were

I did manage to click a few snaps

to show you how clever my girls are.

Not everyone or everything got snapped 

however they know who they are and what they've done

and I would like every single one of them to know

I'm eternally grateful and extremely proud!

 

 

 Carol created a Mosaic Dress by combining skirts, shirts & fabric,
stitching them to an 'up-side down jeans bodice'.

It all came together in the end and Carols button selection was perfect....
as were her shoes.

Angela has made a few skirts over the time we've known each other.
This one we knocked up in no time flat
and was REinvented using a mens shirt attached to a stretchy T-shirt waist.

and this one is the Circle Wrap where we created a slip-on-skirt -

 REinvented by attaching a gorgeous silk fabric panel to a section of skirt
and then stitching that to a T-shirt waist.

Janet had fun turning her 20yr old handmade skirt into a comfy Tunic.

and is continually proving one of my favourite sayings
"If you start with quality you'll end with it".


I'm starting to notice that Comfy Tunics are becoming very popular.

 Judith REinvented a mens shirt into one

and then proceeded to embellish over some marks
with a few machine embroidered spirals.

Her technique was amazing
when you consider she'd never done it before -
I want my spirals to look like Judiths!

 Nikkis creative brain travels at superhuman speed and her sewing isn't too far behind.
 This Jumper Wrap was 1 of 2 created during a 2day Friday Workshop

I'm a little annoyed with myself for not taking more photos of Nikkis creations
Thankfully she brought along some she'd prepared earlier,

(Jacket Wrap)

inspired by creations from the Junky Styling Book

(Pant Top)

and I'd like to think a little inspiration garnered from REinventing Workshops.

(Sideway T)

Inge is new to REinventing 
and like all those that experience the magic REinventing offers 
she agrees it's changed her life.

This was a long sleeve Indian cotton frock
that Inge REinvented into a funky summer pinafore
and is one of a few items that'll be REworn now they've been REinvented.

I'm very fortunate that
all these girls will be creating with me again at the Studio in 2012.

If you're interested in joining them & myself 
have a gander at the dates on the side bar 
and pop me off an email for the details.

Vintage Crochet Cardys go with Everything!

I'm honored to have helped Vic choose the theme for this weeks My Place & Yours

and am excited to share my
favourite piece of clothing.

Here I go bending the rules again - at the moment I have 3 favourites 

however one of these will always outshine anything else 

and that's my vintage crochet cardy

simply because it goes with everything

and like my Doc Martens is the reason I don't like summer.

The other 2 faves at the moment are my latest REinventions,

in fact it was toss up whether or not to do this on the cardys or the garments.

(Flirty French Farmhouse Frock)

I chose both
because I'm usually in love with whatever I've just created
and I'm definitely still in the honeymoon phase with the latest two.

(Around Town Apron Tunic)

Vintage Crochet Cardys are a little like comfy shoes or a good frock, 

once you've experienced the delights of one,

you'll want one in every colour.

I have to admit to owning more than one

and did a bit of a post a while back on just how much I love them!

I'm also honored that Melissa deemed the Piece of Cake Frock 

worthy of her favourite item of clothing :)

(Halter bow detail)

I've also joined in this weeks Creative Spaces - hope it's okay to use the same post in different places.

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