Internet Love

It was my birthday on Wednesday, and what could be more exciting than finding oneself featured over at Modish?   I am afraid I may have shocked my co-workers  at the Library with my little yelp of joy!   And then, the very next day, Polka Dot Rabbit took one of these cushions home from the Little Shop of Handmade and blogged about it.  Birthday happiness!

Liz Grotyohann from Cosa Verde made the picture magic above.  Isn’t she a dab hand at mixing and matching photos?  I need Liz to come over to my house and decorate with her eco-friendly finds.  I think I’d be a better, happier person if she did that!

 

Dart Fail

There’s only one problem with my wedding dress pattern, but it’s a deal breaker.  Pointy 50s boob darts might have been great in 1953 but now they say LOOK AT ME I’M WEARING VINTAGE.  All the modern patterns I can find have princess seams, which are fine in general but not for this particular dress-of-my-dreams.

I bought this pattern today from the ever-fabulous sandritocat, fingers crossed.

Oh, can’t resist: “Oh, Matthew!  Puffed Sleeves!!”

 

Rawr!

The design is from andwabisabi: a most adorable 2-movie cross stitch!  I don’t do a lot of embroidery and I’m not great at it, but in small doses it’s a lot of fun.

 

Equal Love and Tulle Love

my wedding dress inspiration board…

My dress form — her name is Beuhla — stubbornly refuses to grow 6 foot tall and stretch in the torso,  hence the toile is a lot more squashed on her than it will be on me — see below.  The finished version will also be less hot pink than this too

Too sick to work this week.   Instead I gently played at dress-up for an hour or so at a time, using calico and some cheap pink tulle to figure out the basic structure of The Dress.

This first toile, with its cut out piece of calico for a bodice, is simply to get some idea of how I like the style of dress on me (answer : a lot!  hooray!).  It’s three pieces: a skirt, a bow, and a sweetheart bodice.  It uses a full circle skirt, which I am now reconsidering.  I think there’s too much fabric at the bottom: that once it’s layered in tulle it will be ridiculously large, and crazy-expensive too as I’d like it worked in silk dupioni with nice tulle.  I also have to learn how to construct a boned bodice.  (Any ideas, sewing mavens?)

It made me happy to start building my wedding dress.

Something that has been making me sad, however, is the Australian wedding ceremony.  We recently found out that our celebrant will be legally required to say that ‘marriage is between a man and a woman.’

I have very strong personal feelings about this meanness (I realise they will not be shared by everyone who reads this blog, but please bear with me, for I don’t often talk politics here).  Dan and I are currently looking at options like going through the legal rigmarole the day before the wedding.  In this way we can say what is in our hearts on our wedding day, not what is written in old man’s law, and hence avoid affirming unjust sentiments in front of dear friends and family.

This weekend, thousands of people marched in Melbourne for the right to do simple and joyous things like play with hot pink tulle and plan vows.  And for the so important legal privileges that Dan and I will enjoy because he is a man and I am a woman.  What’s more, my friend and photographer-to-be Jessie was there to commemorate the day for the over 65 (!!) couples who exchanged vows.  Do have a look at her beautiful photographs.  Some of them are just heartbreakingly lovely. Please go have a look.  If you’re not convinced that this is the right thing, ask yourself what you would lose, and what the world would gain, if a few more people were allowed to say in public,

‘I love you: I do.’

 

Cake Toppers

Bought this morning on Etsy from redlightstudios.  They’re so freaking cute I might just die of cute.

 

Wendy’s Wrist Wallet

Picture post!  Yay!

Wendy was the winner of my Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway, helping me out with some great advice for my little business venture.   And she showed perfect taste once again when she sent me this gorgeous creature print for a custom wrist wallet.

I lined it with red Kona cotton, to match the cut of fabric Wendy chose for her button.  I love the sense of chase, the hunt and play between cat and ball.

And she’s also kind, sending me just enough of this fabric,

to make this.  So pretty!  I have it sitting on top of my sewing basket so I see it whenever I walk past.

Thank you, Wendy.  I hope your wallet makes you feel as happy as this little flower is making me.

 

Little Shop Of …

If any of you Melbournians reading this live near Carnegie, or travel along the Pakanham/Cranbourne line, check out a great new shop opening  11am Wednesday.  The ‘Little Shop Of‘ sells only gift items made by hand in Melbourne and Victoria, costing under $50.  It’s so cute, furnished with owner Bec’s market finds and housing her studio out back.  And it’s right next to the Carnegie train station.

(The studio, late at night before a big delivery to this new store…)

The web site as it is now shows Bec’s handmade jewels but will expand to show prints, gift cards, baby clothes, softies, my vintage sheet cushions (hooray!) and more.  You’ll be able to shop online or pop in anytime from 11 till 6, which makes it a great stopover between work and a birthday party or a visit with some little ones.

Enjoy!

 

Heidi and Seek Hits The Big Time

Speaking of the lovely Hayley (see last post), she’s Etsy’s featured seller this week!  Have a read here and a look at her wonderful creations!  Be slightly intimidated at the fact that she creates these amazing clothes out of factory offcuts and thrift store finds, with a two year old in tow!

Hayley’s work is also on the cover of Handmade Melbourne this year.  As for me, I couldn’t be more excited that we wound up studying together   — of which more later.

 

It’s School, Jim, But Not As We Know It

Let’s talk about clothes!!  Specifically, drafting patterns and making glorious original clothes!

I found this course whilst idly Googling a few days ago, and hours later I was enrolled in the last-but-one place, Tuesday and Thursday nights.  What’s even more exciting is that my Etsy friend Hayley saw my Facebook update, and hours later she was enrolled too!

I’ve got almost all the stuff required (there is a loooooooong equipment list and I’ve had to re-purchase many items I already have in the ‘domestic’ version) and I can’t wait!  It starts tonight!  Bounce bounce bounce… it’s going to be quite a change from grad school.

 

“I left my jelly babies in the TARDIS…. They’re a delicacy I discovered on Earth.”

A bit of a relaxed blogging day is in order: enjoy the awesomeness that is my Mum and her knitting needles.  She made Dan this Dr. Who scarf for his birthday, and he won’t take it off.  Some days I come home and he’s wearing it in a heated room.

So of course I had to buy him some jelly babies!  (For those of you who are not nerds: click here for the scarf, and here for the show.  Tom Baker always carried jelly babies in his pockets which, like the Tardis, are bigger on the inside.)