Gasp! has it really been more than a month since my last post? How time flies! So much to catch up on. Firstly I hope everyone had a safe and happy christmas and if you are over here in the west I hope you managed to stay out of the heat!

I've been pretty busy over the last month working on a mock wedding dress for a film-maker friend of mine, which is thankfully almost finished. I have a love hate relationship with sewing...I love the idea of designing and making my own clothes, sometimes I even entertain the idea of making one off ball gowns and wedding dresses from home, but my god! I would be so absolutely stupid if I did! If I ever mention the thought of doing it, please hit me!

I don't think there's been a moment where I haven't regretted taking on this job. The fabric is awkward to work with, the pattern (1950s style gown) is incredibly complex and I guess I'm just not inspired to do it. But that said, I'm anxious to do a good job and my biggest fear is that it wont fit the actress properly or sit nicely. Here's hoping.

But as much as I hate (and love!) sewing, I do really enjoy designing and making patterns. Mid wedding dress I had a slight sabbatical to make this dress for Bella for christmas. The fabric was actually for an advent calendar that I'm going to make the kids for next year (oops...this year!) I wanted to avoid the cliche and rather garish green and red and go for something more fun! Anyway, Bella and I fell in love with this summery print and ended up buying far more than we needed, so the dress was born. I have to say, I am rather chuffed with it. The pattern was designed by me for Bella's flowergirl dress. This version has had a few alterations and I think it makes a gorgeous summer dress and it took me less than a day to make.

A few other decorations that I made pre-xmas...

and the completed pink bird...

And finally, best christmas present ever... a Moleskine journal! Thanks Mum!!

now...back to the wedding dress....

one big softie

here's my latest creation, his name is Moxy-Maou.

I think softies are so cute, so I couldn't help making one. feeling a bit creative this week. I'm making christmas tree decorations again, same as last year. They look really amazing when hung on a tree.

These little gems are all hand beaded and embroidered. I'm wondering if I should consider an etsy shop? but it's probably a bit late for this yuletide season...

I also dragged the sewing machine out of hibernation...I need to make my daughters flower-girl dress, for which I drafted the pattern months ago, managed to cut out the toille and never took it any further. Well today I sewed up the toille (test run made from calico) and fitted it so now I can make any alterations and proceed to make the actual dress. Fun times. :-)

Don't forget to comment me below on the PIF post if you want a free handmade gift...

divine candy

Inspiration comes in many shapes and bright colours... many many years ago I was training to be a fashion designer, and even though it's a career path I've long since given up on, you can never really take the designer out of the girl! I don't get inspired to sew very often, I find it frustrating and time consuming and I am a terrible perfectionist striving for a level of perfection that I am simply not patient enough to achieve.
That said, I was seduced today by the array of vintage prints available in spotlight so much that i couldn't resist buying some.
You see, I've been suckered into being the costume designer for a film a friend of mine is producing, and I'm required to construct a 50's style wedding dress as cheaply as possible. We have pretty much decided on the design, so today I was looking at patterns for some inspiration for the actual construction and some idea on how much fabric i will need (as I'm making the pattern myself, I won't know these kinds of details).
Anyway, I discovered the 'Vintage Vogue' pattern collection which are basically recycled 40s and 50s patterns. Oh my god, they are fantastic! So Stepford Wives!
So I've actually altered my design to incorporate a few extra little features that I found in these patterns to give it a little more authenticity, and now I have to do up the sketches and pattern flats for the film guys to check over.
While I was browsing around, I noticed that there are alot of very 50s style prints in store, and they are so delecious, I simply could not resist. I got carried away on the thought of designing an entire summer collection, just for myself, based on 50s prints and styles.
How could anyone resist fabrics that look like lollipops?!