Woe is me

Is anyone else having problems uploading photos to blogger?  I've had this issue for a little while and though I have a couple of draft posts ready to post, they are drab and boring without photos.  So if you don't hear from me for a while it is because I'm still trawling the internet for help or sulking about my photo function loss..!

Packing up

I don't know about you, but when I travel I always have lots of plastic bags in my suitcase.  For my shoes, my dirty clothes, to protect delicate items, to store newly purchased souvenirs - half of the items in my suitcase end up in plastic bags.  But there comes a time in every woman's life when even her shoe bags need to grow up a bit!  What a great excuse for a bit of scrap busting sewing.

I made three different sizes (each based on the amount of leftover fabric I had!).  They are a simple sack with a length of grosgrain ribbon for a drawstring.  Easy peasy to make and they will help the inside of my suitcase look so much prettier!  If you have any travel or packing tips (sewing or non-sewing!) please share them.

Brushing away the dust

Oh, where has the time gone?!  Sorry for my absence, I will try and be a better blogger...!  I've been offline because of a mix of shoulder issues and a holiday!  I'll slowly catch up on the backlog of blogs to read, put some new posts of my own up, get into some more sewing and also find time to figure out if the end of google reader is something I should be concerned about!

Hope you are all well and have lots of interesting posts for me to read!

Dressed up in Blue

I wore my new Blue Dress to work last week.  It was lovely to wear and I received some great compliments on it.

 

 The bodice isn't lopsided, I am..!  I've since tut-tutted to my photographer that it is his job to notice how the clothes are sitting before taking photos!  My shoulder is still a bit sloped from the operation and I think I was also subconsciously pulling the sleeve down a bit to cover the scar.  But I can assure you that the bodice itself is not lopsided!

Overall I'm pretty happy with the dress and only wish I'd finished it before the end of summer!

Next projects are the Burda jacket for MH and a self drafted tunic for me.

Babies in the garden

A photo visit to the new babies in our garden.  Not pictured here is the HUGE redback spider I also saw.  Redbacks are very poisonous and even though no one has died from a redback bite for decades (since the antivenom was introduced), a bite would still require a trip to hospital emergency and are apparently really painful.  I get quite worried for Tansy as she is always poking her nose into dark places and one day might annoy the wrong creature, so I'm always on the lookout for them.  Redbacks are the only pest we use nasty chemical poison on in our backyard - I can't bear the thought of stepping on them (my toes literally curl at the thought!) incase I miss and one runs up my leg and bites me!  I find about 10 redbacks a year in our backyard and the one yesterday was the biggest I think I've ever seen.

Anyway, on to much prettier (and less deadly!) garden adventures!...

Baby tree fern frond

 Baby raspberries - hooray that we are getting an Autumn crop!

 Baby butternut pumpkin

 Baby purple capsicum

Baby Italian melon - we've been trying to grow these for the past couple of years.  This is our first success after snails ate the young shoots the first year and last year the seeds didn't even germinate.  I think it is kind of like a rockmelon??  Has anyone ever grown these?

Talofa new fabric!

A dear friend of mine is living in Samoa for a while and she very thoughtfully posted some locally printed fabric to me.  How spoilt am I?!

The brown fabric has an Hawaiian inspired hibiscus motif.  I like how the dye hasn't soaked all the way through, giving the 'wrong' side a variegated look.  Depending on what project I end up choosing for this fabric, I could probably use either the wrong or the right side of this fabric as the 'right' side. 

The blue fabric is a more traditional print.  This fabric is quite stiff, so I'll have to choose the right project for it.

Isn't it lovely when friends surprise you with a gift just because they know you'll appreciate it!

Finished! Blue Dress

Wow, what a marathon!  Some of you may remember eons ago I started a Blue Dress.  A self drafted pattern for a dress that would be appropriate to wear to work in an office.  I started it just a week before my shoulder surgery last year with high hopes of finishing it within a week.  Hmm, that didn't quite happen (what an understatement!).

But at last, here it is.  Four months late, but with a very valid excuse of shoulder surgery and subsequent relapse (with accompanying talk of a possible second operation - sulk).

 The bodice ended up a little bit too long, so the dress has a slight 1980s drop waist.  

I have the perfect belt to help hide that though!

 Front view (with belt!)

I only overcast the hem, rather than a turned up hem.  I'm not sure how that will hold up in the wash so I may end up hemming it later.

 Back view, invisible zip at centre back.

Front facing.  

I put interfacing between facing and fabric, but I'm wondering if it might still be too flimsy to stay upright as the fabric is quite thin.

 Facing and lining.  The lining is a plain black cotton.  

I've made a light summer dress just in time for the weather to turn grey, cold and a bit miserable!

The skirt lining is pleated rather than gathered like the main skirt.

Facings on the back neck.

 

Overall I'm quite happy with this dress and if I don't get wear out of it before summer ends maybe I can wear it with a shirt and tights for winter?

Details

Fabric:  $12.99/m from Lincraft, Melbourne City.

Notions:  Navy blue invisible zip, navy blue thread

Pattern:  Self drafted 'Blue Dress'

Total cost:  Around $20

Did I learn anything new:  No, but I had to search my memory for how to sew the right angle when joining the facing and lining on the front bodice detail.

Would I make it again:  Yes, but I'd shorten the bodice and probably make a different skirt.