Poncho Please! $290

100% wool swing poncho.  Patch fold down pockets on the front and an oversized peter pan collar.

A Looooong Winter

And a very long last 10 month's which has seen nothing added here.  I have been busy working hard and sewing a few little project's along the way but the big change has been in day job's and Im excited that the new one will allow me to put a bit more $$$ into this little label.  So exciting day's are ahead, slowly but surely!  This morning see's the arrival of a cover for my fabric shelf which has been eight year's coming in my lack of organisation, so this afternoon a complete re-assessment of all the scraps I have laying about will be taking place.  How fitting, a spring clean in time for Spring.  This hopefully also means that a little 'photoshoot' of a few bit's and pieces that I've got made and sitting in the cupboard can happen on Monday (dependant on how successful I am at bribing my sister to come and pop a few on for me for  5minutes) and on how quickly I can work out how to link up Instagram to this blog because that would make life so much easier!

Also if you haven't already had a look, the Tessuti awards are on again this year and late notice from me as always, if you haven't already, pop on and suss out the entries and send some love my way with a few votes if you can pick my little cotton dress (tessutiawards.com.au).

 

Summer Update and 'Yes Sir' coat, $370AUD

The past few month's that I haven't been on here have seen the end of Winter and  with it, the end of my three month's at the Spacebar Gallery in Hobart.  With the season warming up and not as many garment's ready to go I thought it might be wise to get myself better organised for six month's time.  The feedback that I received from the gallery was really positive and I had more sales than I could have hoped for!   Am finding it hard to believe that people love my coat's as much as I do and have a housemate that can vouch for the number of times I  'ooooooh yeah'd' a stupid dance around the living room when I heard one sold.  Very encouraging and motivating for the next couple of month's!  I am hoping to get through some of the fabric I've already got (trust me, there is a lot!) and give the metres of wool, linen, cotton's a new lease on life in the coming garment's.  Have made an effort to get myself organised and have three day's in a  row each week to make a garment from start to finish.  It might be a little optimistic but we'll see how we go!

I have half a cupboard full of garment's waiting to be photographed and as I slowly get through that I will be posting each one on here.

(Below:  "Yes Sir" coat, Miss Size 08. $370AUD) Main:  100% wool.  Lining:  100% silk.

I've also got a few top's a dresses which will be put up as well.  Will also try and organise photo's of the dresses I've produced and sold in the last couple of weeks.

At this stage garment's will only be available on here as I haven't got any immediate plan's for another retail space till possibly the end of next March. So please comment or contact me if you are interested in any of the garment's and I will be more than happy to help you out!

sg.

Cut and Paste a New Season

The time of year has come again, when the Melbourne sun decides to peek through the clouds and lull us all into that false sense of spring time and every year I think that it hasn't come soon enough.  Don't get me wrong, as much as I love the cold winter months (of which I am probably the biggest cheerleader) of layering and hot chocolate, it is always fun to pull out the bright patterns of spring and summer and bask in the idyllic scrap of sunlight even if it is only for 5 minutes while the jug boils.  

Today I spent the morning in Fitzroy trawling through roll's of fabric and then lugging home the four large bags of linens, cotton's and silk's I've ben coveting for the past month but haven't bothered to purchase yet because the weather's been so dreary.  But...with Spring creeping up in a little over two weeks time (I know,  I'm already behind schedule for Spring/ Summer, will endeavour to catch myself up as quickly as possible) I thought, why not!  So with my purse a lot lighter than when I left the apartment earlier in the day and arm's dragging on the ground from the sheer weight of the fabric, I traipsed home and spent a few hours admiring and showing off my purchases (there were a lot of 'oohs and ahhs, all from me).  Then decided it was time to throw together a mood board or two for the impending season and get cracking on some serious design brainstorming. 

So courtesy of a scissor happy day and loads of magazines I've put together three board's for my small Spring/Summer coat's range and now just need to start on the pattern's and toilles and encouraging you all to consider getting a funky, bright, fun coat for summer!  

Colour me BRIGHT

I've paid attention recently to a few comment's friends have made on the muted tones I tend to lean toward's with my coat's.  Hang on, muted tones, ME?!  I was quick to disagree, thinking of the coat's I have myself and the fabric's that I usually go for and the clashes of print and colour.  Then I went back through some of the photo's I've posted on here and proved myself wrong.  They were right.  Majority of my coat's are in the muted tones.  So I thought I would pop up a few pic's (ok, only three) of a coat I made a few year's ago and gave to my sister (that's the little red velvet number)  and the other is one I've made recently for a customer in Hobart, you might recognise the 'Peter Pan Trench.'  Just to show that I love a burst of the bright as much, if not more, than the next person and will endeavour not to fall into the trap of using lovely plain fabric's all of the time.   

Wool Shrug $250AUD

I thought today I would share my easy to wear cardi/shrug that see's the light of day most day's, every winter.  Because it is so COMFORTABLE!!!  

I'm not one to really dress up unless occaision  call's for it, so the less hassle it is to throw together an outfit for the day, the better.  This usually get's thrown on over a pair of tights and a daggy t-shirt but you wouldn't know it when I get to the city and have the collar brooched and draped nicely and all you see is a fabulously cosy knit.  For the day's when it look's like there might be potential for some sunshine and I don't want to wear a large coat this is the alternative.  Plus it's a little thicker than an ordinary cardigan which is nice.

Wander by the Spacebar Gallery in Hobart and have a look, there are a few waiting for a new home there (although I haven't put pocket's on those as I found they added bulk to the wrong area's on most body types, so the sleeves are long enough to be folded down to protect cold hand's.) 

Tessuti Linen and Lace Award's

As you may have seen in previous post's I have dabbled in making a few top's and dresses.  The latest one, suprise suprise, is again a little linen number but this time it required a bit of lace detailing as well.  The Tessuti award's run every year and this will be the second time I have entered.  Previous year's have seen the competition run as  a 'Little Black Dress,' which alway's manages to trip me up,  when it comes to designing a garment in black I inevitably hit the brick wall.  Yet I live in Melbourne, go figure, the city is renowned for it.  Give me white any day!

Soooo, after a few day's at home measuring out folds and ironing and re-ironing and sewing and ironing (when there's linen involved you have to alway's have an iron at hand, because it creases in front of your eyes) and fusing.  The end result is below.  If you like it, please head to tessutiawards.com.au and vote for me as there's a fabric voucher up for grab's which I would love to get my hand's on!