Vogue Skirt-Check.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Vogue 8246"][/caption]

I've spent the last 3 days making that Vogue 8426 -inspired skirt I blogged about on the previous post and took pictures today. From the start to finish, I told myself that it was going to be a mock-up/test garment/muslin instead of the real thing in order to test the fit of my drafting, and then to later make other versions of it if it was successful. However, I also wanted to make it a wearable muslin. I was quite determined to use fabric from my stash, and only to buy little incidentals like zippers if absolutely necessary. The path to the  end was frought with mishaps, with me miscutting the front centre piece NOT on the fold, and having to piece another bit of fabric to make up for it, then I discovered a hole in the skirt fabric, then after that, I couldnt' insert the lapped zipper properly. Also, this was my first time inserting corded piping, so the results aren't as uniform as it should be.

After reading about SewVeryPrairies' skirt here, I thought and thought about how to draft the skirt. The front of the skirt was quite easy to draft. It was the back which had me puzzled for a bit. The bum-hugging shaping of the back of skirt has to be built into the 3 seams at the back, which ends in inverted pleats. This was what I came up with.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="321" caption="drafts and doodles..."][/caption]

It was quite successful-although for the skirt to hug the bum even more, I'd have to curve in the seams even more inwards. But I'm quite happy with my skirt as it is.

The materials I used were a dark grey crepe material, a silvery rayon? fabric, and bemberg lining.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Fabrics"][/caption]

Here are the pattern pieces laid out on fashion fabric ready to be all cut out.

Ready to cut.

I wanted my skirt to have piping details in the lower waist seams and on the side, but didn't want to buy ready made piping-so I made my own. I started by cutting 1-inch wide bias strips with the grey fashion fabric.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Bias strips"][/caption]

Instead of buying cord for the piping, I used some regular knitting yarn.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Knitting yarn."][/caption]

I used a zipper foot to sew the yarn into the piping.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Handmade corded piping"][/caption]

I was too lazy to take pictures of the process in between. But here are the photos of the finished project.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="301" caption="Front view"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="301" caption="Back View"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="301" caption="Side View"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="301" caption="Closeup"][/caption]

The whole project cost me nothing-I used everything out of my stash, most of which came from opshops.

Not too bad for a mock-up. I'll be making more soon.

My little man was very good-he just smiled at me from his little rocker as I hammer away on my sewing machine. How lucky am I?

Pencil Skirt-Vogue 8426

I have an itch to scratch. I want to sew. Want. Want. Want. I want need more winter skirts. Skirts in sturdy, thick tweeds and houndstooth. Pencil skirts. Skirts like these.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="320" caption="Gray high waisted pencil skirt"][/caption]

But I started having serious skirt envy when I saw this.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="516" caption="Back view"]Vogue 8426 by Sew Very Prairie

More Opshop Goodness and a Hat Refashion

Went to the opshops twice last week-once after my dental checkup (a follow up root canal treatment), and last Saturday. Saturdays are the only time I get to go out to the shops alone-Little Wyld Man stays with his daddy at home. And since I've started him on solids, he is a teeny weeny less dependant on me as Wyld Man can feed him something if he's hungry. As much as I enjoy my little man's company, I do miss my opshopping jaunts, which I used to do before he was born. So Saturdays are reserved for grocery shopping, opshopping, and an occasional visit to the library. Anyways, last Wednesday, I dropped into the Salvos on Smart Road.

For the benefit of my Malaysian readers back home, Salvos stands for Salvation Army, a charitable institution who franchises their charity opshops into what is now a huge opshop chain. Vinnies is another opshop set-up, short for St Vincent de Paul, a Catholic run organisation. These two are the main opshop operations in South Australia, but there are other numerous opshops around. People donate things they want to get rid off which are in usable condition, and the opshop volunteers clean them and price them. People come in and buy an item, and the money goes to fund a charitable cause. In recent times however, it has become fashionable and trendy to opshop, as people go 'green', tightening spending during recession times, and as 'vintage' becoming the by-word in fashion. As a result, prices in opshops are getting steeper and steeper, which goes against the whole ethos of opshopping. On this trip, I saw a beautiful checked coat, rather old, with a stained and ripped lining selling for AUD25 at Salvos! I can get a brand new Target one for AUD30! And Wyld Man once saw an old army issue wool coat, probably made during the Vietnam war, selling for AUD90 at a Victor HArbour  Salvos opshop. It wasn't old enough to be a collector's item, nor in a good condition enough to warrant that price, which was outrageous in an opshop. I saw a wool men's overcoat at Peter Shearer's brand new for only AUD 124.  In the one year I have been here, I've seen prices increase quite substantially. And Vinnies is the same. I'd like to support Vinnies more, being a Catholic-run organisation, but at those prices, I'd think again and let the prices decide.

Anyways, during my Wednesday jaunt, I picked this up.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="301" caption="Summer knit dress"][/caption]

It is in extremely good condition, almost brand new, in a size 8. It was a teeny weensy bit tight, but, hey, it was only AUD7, so what the heck. I tried it on and couldn't resist, the print was so pretty. And pink! I don't know what the deal is with the straps though. I'll cut it off sometime.

I recently taken to wearing hats to church, instead of veils, and have been keeping a lookout for nice hats in opshops. I've got two already, but wanted something to match my brown winter coat. And I came across this.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Brown hat with turned down rim"][/caption]

It is very similar to my navy blue hat.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Navy Blue Hat"][/caption]

I love this hat. It goes with almost everything. I had made a mental note to myself to buy one in brown if I ever see one with that turned down rim design. Lots of op shops carry brown straw hats but with a flat brim. I've never liked those. This design however looks leagues better.

The brown hat however has loads of this.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Plastic flowers"][/caption]

It looks ok in the pictures, but there's too many of them, and they're old and dusty. The kiss of death for hats. And I know that I'd never wear it to church as they are. And not in winter-they were a bit too spring-y. So, I ripped them off.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Naked hat."][/caption]

You can still see the price tag on the hat-AUD4.

So I did a refashion.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Hat refashion"][/caption]

I based it on my blue hat, and used brown satin that I had lying around, with the insides fused with interfacing for some weight and substance.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="New and improved."][/caption]

I would definitely wear this version. I had planned to wear the bow at the back, like the blue hat, but I think the bow looks better in front on this one.

Aside from those buys, I also snagged 2 jumpers at Vinnies on Saturday.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="301" caption="White oversized chenille acrylic jumper"][/caption]

I love the oversized look-big top and a narrow bottom. The narrow waist band and the cuffs gives it shape and makes the oversized look look like it was done on purpose. Here's another view.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="301" caption="View B"][/caption]

Here's the second white jumper I bought at Vinnies.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="301" caption="Cable knit white jumper"][/caption]

I loove loove cable knits. Wyld Man asked me why I needed so many white ones. Because. I. Need. It. And. Want. It. And. It. Was. Cheap. AUD 13 for the two of them. And I think those are REALLY good reasons.

Here's a picture I took of the Little Wyld Man this morning.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="301" caption="William in a bonnet"][/caption]

All rugged up for winter. He will be 16 weeks old this Friday, and 4 months old on the 19th of June.

A Wedding Anniversary

One year. That's how long we've been married last Sunday. On Sunday last year was the last day of autumn and the happiest day of my life. It had rained all week but on the Saturday we were married on May 30th 2009, it was a beautiful day with piercing blue skies and light breezes. We were married at St Laurence's Catholic Church at a Solemn High Mass with three priests.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="486" caption="Virgil of Pentecost -Solemn High Mass"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="680" caption="Me paying very close attention."][/caption]

Or so it seems. Actually, I recall being rather distracted.

I loved my wedding dress. It was custom made for me, and I picked the pink and silver threads for the embroidery. The bodice was laced up and it cinches the waist beautifully-as well as not needing any adjustments for any fluctuations of weight. I made the veil out of tulle and sprinkled pearls randomly through it. If anyone wants to order a custom made dress in any design, I can get one for the price of a rental. Just email me.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="485" caption="My family"][/caption]

They flew all the way from Malaysia and arrived the day before. I've never seen my brothers in suits...I don't know if I ever will again...

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="All the siblings."][/caption]

After the ceremony, we left for a few select locations for a bridal photo shoot. Nothing staged in a studio for me.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="424" caption="Montefiore Hill"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="483" caption="The cloisters at Adelaide University"][/caption]

I thought our photographer did a great job. I don't think the photos were touched up too much, yet they turned out really well.

Photos by Ricky of CTR Photos, flowers by Donna Lovell, menswear by Ferrari Brothers.

Sigh. Well, that was a year ago. I love reliving it though. Everything went without a hitch. It was just such a beautiful day.

On Saturday we celebrated with a simple dinner at home with the family.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="One year later-Our budding family"][/caption]

The Little Wyld Man is 3 and a half months old now. He's cooing and gurgling all the time and likes to talk back! He's developing motor skills and tries to touch things with his hands-although he's not quite there yet. He recognises a smile and will smile back at you when you smile at him. And his cheeks! They jiggle when you pat his back to burp him, they're that chubby! He's just so beautiful.

Here's the Little Wyld Man and his grandma.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="301" caption="Gwemma and the Little Wyld Man"][/caption]

That cake was the top tier of our wedding cake. My lovely mother in law made it and had it iced by a very talented cake lady. Here's a closeup.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="The Wedding Cake"][/caption]

There were three tiers. One tier was used at the wedding. One at the Little Wyld Man's christening, and now the last one for our anniversary. It had been staying in the freezer for all that time, but it tasted lovely and just as fresh as when it was first made.

I cooked Corn Soup, JFC, Pork and Pumpkin, and Cream Chicken and Vegies. JFC stands for Joyce's Fried Chicken, and was so named by the Wyld Man's younger brother-he raves about it-and it's pretty yummy, if I do say so myself. I'll post the recipe up sometime.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="301" caption="A simple dinner"][/caption]

It's been a womderful year, and here's to many more to come.

A Root Canal, A Dentist, and Opping It!

I had to have an emergency root canal done two Fridays ago at 10pm. I've had twinges of pain for three days prior, but I ignored it because, well, it was manageable. My appointment was for the first week of June. However, it did come to the point where I thought I might need to have it seen to earlier, so the dental receptionist booked me in for a Monday, three days to go. She also gave me an emergency number to call, just in case, which at that point, I really didn't think I'd need.  That Friday night however the pain escalated and I had to have my tooth done that night pronto. I was all dressed and ready to go for a birthday party that night at 7pm-but I was humming and harring about whether it was a good idea to go. In hindsight, I'm glad I went. That dinner would have been torture had I not gone to the dentist, who was all the way on the other side of the city to where we live.

Who I went to is another interesting story. His name was Dr Daniel Chu, and I didn't think much of it when the receptionist gave me his name. On meeting him however, I thought he definitely had a Malaysian accent. He asked me where I was from, and I said I was Malaysian. He said he was too. What race was I? Half Kadazan, half Chinese. Kadazan! he exclaims! That's from Sabah! Where he was from too. I asked him which school he went to, and he said he graduated from Tshung Tsin Pre University, which was the same place I went for high school! And his dad is a GP at Gaya Street and knows my dad! Talk about a small world. Anyways, he did a very quick job on my tooth and told me that there was an infection at the root and it was only 2cm away from the sinuses, and had the infection gone there, there would have been some nasty facial swelling. So I was doubly glad I forgoed the dinner and had my tooth done.

I had my follow up at my regular dentist on Monday-and lucky me, there was a Salvos next door. So of course I went. Sigh. Not that I need anymore clothes. But I do love bargains. And if there was a really nice piece for a really good price...Anyways, these were the two things I got.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="3/4 Cardigan"][/caption]

The camera didn't capture the really pretty buttercuppy colour. It looks almost brand new and it was only $3. I love the way it goes with a lilac camisole.

I also got this Barkins skirt for $3.5

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Barkins skirt"][/caption]

Grandma also got me a really pretty red knitted cardigan from her local craft shop. It looks really vintage-y looking, and a really brilliant red. I love it!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Red knitted cardigan"][/caption]

I've always love knitted sweaters and cardis and was never able to wear them in Malaysia. I love being able to wear them now. And vintage is the in thing right now.

Have a great Sunday

Wyld Woman

The Prince, An Apron and A Mother's Day Present

It's been some time since I last posted. Sometimes time just gets away from you so fast you don't realize it. I've been meaning to post, but so many things have happened in between then and now. The Little Wyld Man is now 13 weeks old and growing so chubby and talkative. He's learning to use his hands, he talks and coos when somebody talks to him, and he smiles back at me when I smile at him. He recognizes me and looks for me, and he tells me he's hungry in his own peculiar way instead of crying-he makes a whinging sort of sound which signals to me he wants some milkies. He loves it when I read to him and he can't stop cooing at the pictures. He's also getting balder than both his granpas put together. Here he is in all his princely little glory.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Big Yawn."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Cheeky smileys"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Big Wyld Man and Little Wyld Man"][/caption]

Here daddy's reading Spot Loves His Dad to the Little Wyld Man. He's paying lots of attention.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="321" caption="Mummy reading a Beatrix Potter book"][/caption]

He looks a little bored here. Maybe he doesn't like Miss Moppet the little silly kitten.

Aside from that, my sewing student finished her apron.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="659" caption="The front"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="656" caption="The back"][/caption]

This was the design she based it on.



It was a fun process showing her how to do it.

Anyways. This year was my first Mother's Day celebration. Went out with the family to celebrate the mothers and guess what? I got a present from my Little Wyld Man! Wasn't he clever? He gave me a card and a book.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="My lovely card"][/caption]

I didn't know there were cards for first time mothers! Gotta love Hallmark.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="*sigh* Happy...."][/caption]

For my present I got a Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="THE French Cookbook for Servantless Women"][/caption]

Since watching the movie Julie/Julia, I've really wanted that book. I tried talking myself out of wanting it, but after reading all the rave reviews on Amazon, it was kind of hard to. Then I tried telling myself that it has no pictures, and what decent cookbook has no pictures? But after reading it, I understand the enchantment. It's written in a really chatty manner, and even with no pictures, you learn so much! It tells you exactly what type and size of pots and pans to use, which cut of meat, how to cut or treat certain items of food, etc. It totally demystifies french cuisine and makes it achievable. When I first got it I read 80 pages straight. But no, I havent tried making anything yet. I need a bottle of cheap red wine to experiment. And the Wyld Man says I can't have his. Hmph!

May has been a good month to me. Oh, except for that emergency root canal. Yuck.