Bright and Shiny Party Frocks

I'll have one of each please...thanks very much

What a great party dress!

...and this one too...

This is like a bright and shiny t-shirt.....I showed you this some time ago and I still love it.

...or what about this one...with some bows?

I've got a couple of Chrissy things to go to, unfortunately, none will require me to "frock up" to this degree, but I can dream on can't I?

Party Frocks

It's coming up to party season in this neck of the woods...

How about this ...I really like it. Just perfect for that after work break-up shin-dig

Armani Prive

Or something a little less formal perhaps?

How about this one...

Or this...

or my fav...




Tommy Hilfiger

 Oh my!

Not sure which designer's responsible for a couple of the dresses...if you know, please set me straight

Let's Partay!

From the "stash"

Over the past few months my desire to sew has been missing, but things have changed....and the over locker and sewing machine have been getting as bit of a workout of late

I've had these patterns in my collection for some time now and all, bar the Vogue, have been used before. The Simplicity pattern was purchased at an op-shop a couple of years back. I made a dress from it last Summer.

The Quick sew is a terrific, versatile pattern that I've used to make 4 polar fleece tops for the past couple of Winters. I also used it for a stretch cotton dress last Summer. The McCalls is one from the 80's or 90's I think. The little sleeveless top is a terrirfic design. I've made tops and a couple of dresses from it. Very versatile. In fact, whenever I look at patterns I always look for interesting tops rather than dresses because I can always make a top patern into a dress.

All of these fabrics have been in my "stash" for some time too.

This is a blue and cream spun rayon. It has a gorgeous weight and falls really nicely. Whenever I see spun rayon I've always tried to buy a couple of metres. I think it's one of my favourite fabrics to work with, apart from linen

This is a stretch fabric and while it looks very black and grey, it's actually a whole range of blues.

Another stretchy fabric....it's going to be a t-shirt dress I think...haven't made a final decision on it yet...but half the fun is deciding what pattern to choose and then seeing how it turns out. IF it turns out that is. I often have complete disasters that end up being put in a special "to fix later" bag.

Bling

Sometimes, I just can't go past a bit of "bright and shiny"... and when it's combined with a nice shoe,  well.....SNAP!

Whenever I shop I'm mostly attracted to three things:

Grey. Pockets. Bling...and if all three are in one item

Heaven

I bought these a while back, possibly last year from Target would you believe.

Love 'em

A Big Week.....

It has been a big week at Number 10...just as it's been a big week for everyone everywhere else!

Apart from Christmas and New Year, I celebrated another birthday smack bang in between the two big days. I had a lovely day and received some beautiful gifts. MONT bought me a book I'd been wanting as well as a tripod for my camera! No more wobbles for this girl, no-sir-ee.....all crystal clear from now on!

My girlfriend "G" gave me a Wedgwood plate, to match the Jasper Conran cup and saucer she gave me last year. It's glorious! ...and my Mum popped in with some beautiful roses.

Me? I shouted myself a new coat for next Winter.

I know it's a funny time to be buying coats when the temperature in Melbourne got to 41 Celsius yesterday, but I found it in our local op-shop and it's absolutely beautiful!

It's pale camel and cream pure wool and it's reversible. It'll be perfect for those cold nights at the football with MONT....it's also perfect for what I hope to achieve this year. To make 2011 a minimal retail year for me. I plan to shop the closet and cupboards, make do with what I have, save a little more money and stay away (this is the hard part) from fabric stores and sewing pattern sites. More on that later though, for now, I just want to enjoy my gorgeous gifts and relax until I have to go back to work next week.

Have a happy and safe weekend
xx

24/7 Fashion

It's funny when you make a dress that can take you from one day to the next and still not look out of place.

Yes, it's the frock/nightie

That's why I had to find a "trim" to put around the neck to make it look more daywear than nightwear. I just need to sew it on this afternoon to finish it off.

It's the same dress pattern as the silvery linen one I showed you yesterday. It's Vogue 8655 which I think is still only available to purchase via the McCall website. We're a season or two behind here you see. Well worth a visit though, especially when they have a sale on and you can pick up a Vogue for a couple of dollars.

Anyway, the fabric was from my very own stash in the cupboard. I don't know how long it's been sitting in there waiting to be used but I'm glad I was able to find it.

The trim is from "Jimmy Buttons" in George Street Fitzroy. It's a fabulous treasure trove where you'll find all the buttons and trims you could ever imagine...

More on Jimmy Buttons another time though. It's such a great place with very helpful owners/staff, that it really deserves it's own special post. I'll have to ask them if they'll let me take a few photos to show you just how wonderful it is...oh and did I mention it's also pretty darn CHEAP? Be still my heart

So, sew!

Hello me lovelies...how's it going?

Did you have a wonderful Easter? I sure did. I spent most of the four day break SEWING! It was absolutely wonderful and I got heaps done.

A few days before Easter I paid a little visit to Rathdowne Remnants in Brunswick. I mentioned it here in an earlier post...anyway while I was there wandering around, I spied this beauty.

It's a natural linen with a silver metallic thread woven through it...Beautiful!

...and the pattern? I bought it online and I have to admit, it is one of the simplest dresses I have ever made.

Here's the (almost) finished product. It needs the hem done and desperately needs an iron, but will look fab once it's completed. I'm so pleased with the way it turned out... so pleased in fact that I made a white version...I'll show you that tomorrow.

By the way, thank you for all your lovely comments regarding my award and the uh umm "seven interesting things about me"...yeah well, not sure about them being interesting or not, but hey, it's a way of us all getting to know each other a little better right?

Long Weekend & New Look 6602

What a weekend...and it's not over yet! We've had wild storms, downpours, flash flooding and hail stones, some as big as tennis balls....

Me here at Number 10? Well, I've had spurts of productivity....and spurts of just sitting on my behind and watching movies.

Blissful!

I did get this dress made though and will finish it off today. I just need to face the neck and armholes and then machine hem it.

It's New Look 6602 and it isn't a bad pattern, for a simple, shifty type frock.

I made it up in this fabric which caught my eye at Darn Cheap Fabrics. It looks vintage, but isn't. In fact when I first saw it I thought it looked like some old curtains from the 1940s....or possibly earlier.

I bought 2 metres and overlocked the cut edges before I threw it in the machine for it's first wash. I wash everything in wool wash before I sew it up...sometimes, depending on the fabric, I wash it several times just to be sure.

Well, it washed up beautifully and passed the "no iron" test. The pattern's good too because it'll go with just about any colour shoes/sandals. That makes me very happy.

My next project will be the sequined t-shirt dress. I've been putting it off until a rush of confidence sweeps over me. It's sometimes a little daunting positioning your scissors at the edge of a fabric that cost a small fortune... it will get done though...it's just going to take some courage on my part

Show some guts girl....come on!

Toto, there's no place like home

I thought I'd take these babies out for a spin at the weekend.

MONT and I ventured into the garden for a little while to prune and trim and get rid of some of these god awful brown weedy things in the grass....these 'girls" worked a real treat.

...and no... contrary to popular belief, I was dressed before heading into the front garden and was not still in my night attire, (although I can't guarantee that wasn't the case a few minutes before this photo was taken)

T-Shirt dress

I've been doing a bit of sewing these past couple of weeks. Not a lot, just a bit.

I love a bit of bling, but I also like "simple" so thought I'd make a couple of T-shirt dresses in different fabrics for night and day.

I found some sequined fabric in soft gold, not too sparkly, so got a couple of metres to see how I'd go....I'd like it to resemble this Philip Lim sequined dress, although I plan to make it with short sleeves.

I've had this old Butterick pattern since the 1970's, at least I think that's how old it is. I originally made it up in a dark navy blue knit and I wore that dress to death.

The other day I made it in this black knit. I bought this wool jersey ages ago and got it for a real bargain because it had some faults. This is the second dress I've made from the piece of fabric and there's a little bit left to make a floaty sort of top too.

This photograph isn't the best as far as detail goes though...( I really must do some photography classes to hone my skills). Anyway, this was my trial run dress and I plan (hope) to get the gold one up and running over the next week or so. We have a big holiday planned and I'll need some party frocks, so I think it'll look nice in gold... I hope it will anyway.

3 Chooks+2 Dogs = The potential for very smelly shoes

So I bought these today... Cute Huh?

...and not only are they bright and cheery, they were an absolute bargain!!

I toddled into Target on my way back from the Optometrist this afternoon and lo and behold, they were there, calling out to me!

They were reduced to $19.98, with another 20% off.

But when I got to the checkout they scanned at $7.88

Thank you very much Target. They're just what I need when venturing into the yard to lock up "the girls" of a Winter's night...or check the rain gauge.

Happy weekend everyone...hope it's a good one!

I'm off for a spot of (window) shopping and a coffee with my girlfriend "G". Perfection!

TuTu Much

Hi all.....are you all plum tuckered out yet? Is it getting all too much for you?

Well, take heart. We're all in the same boat and paddling like mad to get everything done for the "big day"

Me? Well my big day is tomorrow, when all the family and kids and littlies descend on Number 10 for a big Chrissy bash.

A week or so ago I was wandering around the big wide web, catching up on blog posts etc. and discovered this

... and on further searching, found this as well. So I thought I'd make a couple for the kidlets....you know, them wanting to be fairy ballerinas and all.

So that's how I've been spending my time. Making tulle tutus for the Princesses. Next time though, if there is a next time, I think I'll read the instructions PROPERLY and get the soft tulle rather than the stiff one, as it was a little hard to work with and could turn out to be a bit "scratchy". I'm sure they'll love them though...and their new magic wands.

Amazing what you can do with an old discarded venetian blind rod, a Chrissy star decoration and a hot glue gun!

I've also been doing a bit of cooking for tomorrow night. I've made, what I hope, will be a delicious pork and chicken terrine that also contains pistachio nuts and cranberries. As soon as it's ready to eat, I'll take some photos and post it over at Live, Laugh Live and Cook. Fingers crossed it works out OK

Have a good Friday and weekend...Tonight MONT and I are heading out for Chrissy drinks again...gotta love this time of year. It's the only time we really get out and socialise!

Tuesday Vintage

Lovely huh?

Beautiful vintage Vogue designs from the 1950's.

Elegance, class, style. Can't get much better than that.

Don't forget my giveaway this week. It's a $70 voucher that will allow you to choose some lighting for your home.

Make sure you leave a comment on any post this week so you can go into the draw.

New Arrivals

Apart from the Goddess Gown and the Lucy Housecoat, I also purchased a couple of other vintage patterns from Etsy the other day

This one's a Vogue from the 1970's. It's a maternity pattern but, no...I am not expecting. I like it for the one shoulder dress, which will be great over Summer

I also like this 1972 McCalls, especially the short blue version with the cut away armholes.

...and then there's this 1963 McCalls...

All of these have already arrived in my letterbox. Unfortunately, the only one that is yet to reach Number 10, is the Goddess Gown. Hope she gets here soon.

Melbourne Cup Pretties

Sarah Kelly of Canberra, in GREY, wins the Cup final of Myer Fashions on the Field...and doesn't she look lovely? Timeless, classy, elegant.


Great outfit designed by Cue.



Some nice little chapeaux


And another pretty one. Natalie Sadie of Essendon in a David Medwyn outfit. Nice colour combination.

Photos from Melbourne's Herald Sun

Goddess Gown and Lucy Housecoat

I have a new addition to my collection.

It's this little beauty and she's described as a Goddess Gown.

I found her while browsing through Etsy and a couple of websites that feature vintage patterns and she's due to arrive at Number 10 any day now.

I also purchased this lovely design from 1969....

And this beauty is from the 1950's. It's called the Lucy Housecoat. Don't you love designs that are given names?

What I've found really interesting though is the difference in the sizings from what we're used to today.

For instance, the "Lucy" is classified as a Size 14, to fit a bust measurement of 32 inches. I found a lot of designs like that, particularly from the 1950's.

I know I've been doing a lot of looking and choosing and buying lately but not much sewing....but that's going to change soon. I've had a few other things taking up my time like getting Number 3 finished.

Also... I always find getting out the pattern and the fabric and then constructing a garment is something you have to be in the right frame of mind for, otherwise things can turn pretty "ugly" pretty quickly.

That's my theory anyway, and I'm sticking to it.

The Race That Stops A City

It's Melbourne Cup Day tomorrow and the city is in quite a spin. I must admit though, I've never bought into the sales pitch that it's "the race that stops a nation". It might stop a city, or parts thereof, but a Nation? Nup.

What it does do though is give the chapeau industry a nice little kick along. Big time. Yep, the milliners absolutely love this time of year, even though they're run off their feet. The Spring Racing Carnival does a pretty nice job helping the frock industry too, not to mention the bookies and the TAB. Who said times were tough?

As far as hats go though, I quite like a little cloche.

I think they're quite classy and would be my choice for a day at the races.

This little lemon number is particularly nice.

As for me, I like the greys...so what else is new? The only grey racing in tomorrow's Cup is Newport. Haven't got a clue what it's won in the past or who's on it, but it's a gorgeous grey and that's good enough for me. '