Leopold the draft snake November 9, 2009
Posted by Sarah in blue, cosy, draft snake, fabric, felt, green, home made, recycle, refashion, sewing, snake, thrifty, toy, wool.add a comment
I’ve just listed this very sweet draft snake in my etsy store.
His name is Leopold.
He likes: croquet, croquettes and croque monsieurs
He disklies: crocodiles, croquembouche, and crocs
He’s keeping Harriet company at the moment, Archibald will be joining them shortly!
Hazel the ruffled hedgehog November 8, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Craft, buttons, fabric, felt, gift, home made, love, recycle, refashion, sewing, thrifty, toy, vintage.1 comment so far
My little niece Sofia turns 2 next week, and I wanted to make her a special toy for her birthday.
I found this great tutorial for making a ruffled hedgehog on the lovely blog Matsutake. I’m pretty sure that Katie’s version is much more petite than Hazel, like handful size. But that’s ok, Hazel is more the size of an actual hedgehog, and I like that.
I made Hazel out of a great printed vintage polyester shirt that Mum gave to me a while back. It wasn’t the right style or shape for me, so i’m glad it’s been upcycled!
The purple and black ruffles are made from felt. They took ages to sew on, I didn’t want to have any issues with a little person being able to pull them off and choke on them.
Hazel is in the post and on the way to Sofia now, I think they’re going to make very fine friends indeed!
Frocktober day 28 October 28, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Frocktober, Fundraising, clothes, dress, fabric, home made, mum, refashion, sewing, silk, thrifty, vintage.1 comment so far
Today’s Frocktober frock is a work in progress. I’m wearing it today, mostly, unless it’s under the sewing machine needle or the iron. It used to be my mothers, i’m not sure how old she was when she wore it. It’s been made without any overlocking, so it must have been made by my grandmother for my mother when she was a teenager. Someone (probably Nana) has hacked at the back of it to remove the zip, so there is a huge hole where fabric should be. I’m trying to work out the best way to fix it and make it wearable, it’s definitely a challenge. I’m thinking of taking off the sleeves and giving it a nice low back – what do you think? Any ideas? I’m a little stuck and the moment!
The most excellent thing about this is that it fits me! How cool is it that a dress my teeny tiny mother used to wear when she was young fits me! Yay!!
Remember, if you would like to support the Australian Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation during the month of Frocktober you can. Click here to donate.
My registration number is 539381. (you can put the registration number in the final page of your paypal payment).
Frocktober day 23 October 23, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Frocktober, Fundraising, clothes, dress, fabric, flowers, thrifty, vintage.add a comment
There are just 8 days of my Frocktober pledge left. I’m down to three dresses, so i’m going to have to do some serious sewing next week… or maybe some thrifty op-shopping this afternoon?
This dress was love at first sight. I nabbed it from my favourite vintage store in Sydney, Zoo Emporium. Isn’t the pattern just lovely? It’s impossible to be in a bad mood when you wear a frock as fabulous as this.
My self photography mojo wasn’t working for me this morning… :)
Remember, if you would like to support the Australian Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation during the month of Frocktober you can. Click here to donate.
My registration number is 539381. (you can put the registration number in the final page of your paypal payment).
Frocktober day 22 October 22, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Frocktober, Fundraising, bike, clothes, dress, fabric, home made, recycle, refashion, sewing, thrifty.add a comment
Today’s frocktober frock is an old refashion of mine. I’m very proud of it :)
This is my go-to dress. I wear it at least once a week, and the style is great for cycling in (with tights of course).
Remember, if you would like to support the Australian Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation during the month of Frocktober you can. Click here to donate.
My registration number is 539381. (you can put the registration number in the final page of your paypal payment).
Frocktober day 14 October 14, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Frocktober, Fundraising, clothes, dress, fabric, thrifty, vintage.add a comment
Today for the 14th day of my Frocktober challenge i’m wearing this incredible 80’s op-shop find. I think I paid a grand total of about $7 for this super cool frock from the local Salvation Army store. It’s not normally a colour that I would wear but I just love the design, the way the two pieces of fabric come together.
You can’t quite see it in these photos, but the white panel actually has aqua dots all over it. And just one pcoket, you can see it by my hand. It has quite a high split up the back, making it a bit saucy from behind! I imagine the split is actually there as a practical measure, enabling the wearer to walk in the dress. But still, it’s saucy nonetheless.
Remember, if you want to support the Australian Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation during the month of Frocktober you can. Click here to donate.
My registration number is 539381. (you can put the registration number in the final page of your paypal payment).
Frocktober day 10 October 10, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Frocktober, Fundraising, clothes, dress, fabric, flowers, gift, refashion, sewing, thrifty, vintage.add a comment
It’s the 10th of Frocktober today – I’m 1/3 of the way through!
This dress was given to me by my friend Janne. I wrote about it earlier this year.
It’s super short on me, dangerously so! Paired with tights and my trusty chucks it makes a really fun outfit.
Remember, if you want to support the Australian Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation during the month of Frocktober you can. Click here to donate.
My registration number is 539381. (you can put the registration number in the final page of your paypal payment).
Frocktober day 9 October 9, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Frocktober, Fundraising, buttons, clothes, cosy, dress, fabric, felt, home made, recycle, refashion, sewing, thrifty, wool.add a comment
My friend Maree came over a couple of weeks back with a pair of woolen pants that she no longer wanted. They were really nice quality Veronika Maine wool crepe wide legged pants. They were worn in a few spots, but otherwise were still in pretty good condition. I popped them onto my fabric pile and left them alone. This morning I woke up wishing I had another woolen dress to wear for Frocktober, because most of my dresses are pretty summer cotton numbers, and it’s been so cold here in the last week. I remembered the woolen pants this morning while I was deciding what to wear. I sliced up the centre seam in the leg, and removed the pockets, waist band and fly. Then I ironed the fabric and turned it into this dress!
There was a little patch on the back heel of the pants where they had been rubbed through and repaired. I’ve put these colourful buttons on to cover up the marks.
Joh and I are heading over to Maree’s house tonight for dinner, I can’t wait to see what she thinks when I tell her what i’ve done with her pants! I wonder if she will recognise them?
Remember, if you want to support the Australian Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation during the month of Frocktober you can. Click here to donate.
My registration number is 539381. (you can put the registration number in the final page of your paypal payment).
Frocktober day 8 October 8, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Frocktober, Fundraising, clothes, dress, fabric, home made, recycle, refashion, sewing, thrifty.add a comment
Frocktober day 8, and I made another dress!
I have a stack of old patterns from Mum, and I used one of hers as a rough guide to make this for myself. I didn’t follow any of the instructions, just used the template to cut out the fabric and to work out where to put the waist band. The bias binding at the waist is supposed to go inside the dress, but I quite liked the look of it as it was so I left it on the outside. It has elastic at the waist and also at the top seam. I think the top is still too big on me so i’ll probably take it in a bit.
This cost me nothing – the thread, bias binding, and elastic came from Mum; the fabric from my stash. I got in when I was on holiday in Bangalow last year with Mum and Dad. We went in to the Country Women’s Association store and they gave me a huge pile of fabric for free! There were all kinds of cool bits and pieces, i’ve been slowly working my way through them all.
I’m not sure how long I want it, so for the moment the bottom seam is unhemmed. I’ll probably leave it longish though, it will be nice for summer bbqs and picnics.
It’s so windy outside today, so i’m wearing today’s frock with woolen leggings and a cardigan. But that still counts, right?!
Remember, if you want to support the Australian Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation during the month of Frocktober you can. Click here to donate.
My registration number is 539381. (you can put the registration number in the final page of your paypal payment).
Frocktober day 7 October 7, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Frocktober, Fundraising, clothes, dining out, dress, fabric, thrifty, vintage.add a comment
Today is the 7th day of Frocktober. I made pumpkin soup this morning, then packed it into thermoses and met Joh in the domain for a lunch date.
I was shopping for dresses at a store on Crown st and the assistant came up to me with this dress, begging me to try it on. This is definitely not the kind of fabric i’m drawn to at all, and I was very hesitant to try it on. But wow, when i did put it on, lo and behold the colours actually worked with my pasty freckled skin.
This dress is a vintage beauty, made from thick heavy cotton. It fits just beautifully, like it was made for me (though vintage dresses often feel that way I find).
The label says it was made in Sydney by a company called Coral, designed by J & C New York. I wonder how old it is?
Remember, if you want to support the Australian Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation during the month of Frocktober you can. Click here to donate.
My registration number is 539381. (you can put the registration number in the final page of your paypal payment).
