Carlsberg must do commutes...

Because I think mine must be perfect!

What better way to start/end the working day than by watching the dolphins playing in the river.

I see them maybe 2 times a week, and always try and stop and watch.

Life is too short not to watch the dolphins :)

It looks like they've got babies! The littlies were getting a bit over excited when I first stopped, but then the boat came over and scared them a bit and they started behaving themselves again.

But in this last video you can see one of the little ones getting a bit out of control and somersaulting out of the water at about 13 seconds in.

Too cute!

The fashion of the field

Fieldwork is not a place for fashion... its a hard place to even look half decent.
For example:

In my defence, it was a semi flooded mine. It was wet up mid thigh for sections. I didn't want to get my boots wet because they aren't high tech instant dry ones... I didnt want to get my trousers too wet because I knew that while they are relatively high tech instant dry ones, they weren't likely to dry off in the drizzle.

Hence borrowing some wellys from a colleague who didn't want to go in, and rolling the trousers up as far as they would go! The hard hat and light were necessary, though the pink polka dot elastic was admittedly a personal addition.

I do love the wellys though! And they kept the water in, so acted like a wet suit against the cold water!

Maybe I should work on some field clothes for September...

Belated Jubilee Celebrations

So, I know I said that we weren't doing anything to celebrate the Jubilee, but it turns out I spoke too soon! My friend was away working for the jubilee celebrations, so had a belated "Best of British" dinner party.
We sat in a bunting lined kitchens, eating British favourites off a Union Flag draped table, while listening to the last night of the proms on CD.

Toad in the Hole with onion gravy.

Rhubarb Crumble and cream.

Jubilee "Strawberries and Cream" fairy cakes

Fudge

After 8s

What more could we POMS want?!

And got to wear my Jubilee Sorbetto again too!

(apologies for the rubbish phone picture!)

Baby Boy Collection - Winter 2012

I have a  baby shower to go to next weekend, and the mum-to-be was a little sad to discover she was having a boy. So I decided my present would be some cute boy clothes, to show her that boys can be fun too!

So...

Introducing the "Baby Boy" collection, Winter 2012:

Froggy Slippers, 

to keep those little tutsies warm.

Perth does get cold!

Robots Invade -

 Bright and cheerful, perfect for a play date. Who says boys can't do ruffles?

Jungle Safari:

For the intrepid explorer-to-be.

 Yes... I know I havn't sewn those buttons on yet. But I will :)

Lifes a Beach:

For those more formal occasions, when style is  a must!

All these were made with Rae's Big Butt Baby pant pattern. So adaptable!

I cut the 3-6 month size, so he can grow into them a bit. I tried to make the legs as adjustable as possible, so the cuffs can be folded right up while he's small, and gradually folded down as he grows.

I bought the baby-grows and added simple embellishments to make a complete outfit.

How cute is that little bow tie?!

New Patterns!

Since my stash of fabric is growing, I decided to treat myself to a few vintage patterns from BessieAndMaive on etsy.

Butterick 9804 - Since I decided I needed more easy wearing clothes, I thought this might be a good buy. 4 variations, which will probably get made out of cotton lawn or some of all the slightly shear poly I've been stashing (such as this one I got for $1 from the Salvos!). I love the neckline in view C!

Simplicity 8702 - I liked the simple lines of this dress, and it can be shortened into a top easily.

I'm thinking it might go well made from this slightly stretch cotton from the sale last weekend (I think it was about $3 a meter)

And then Style 1157. I loved the bodice on this dress- very different from anything I've made before. 

I love it in the mustard colour in the middle!  

And for this I might play with the direction of these oversized spots/scallopy stripes on the different pannels. $2.50 a meter! 

Or maybe some plain black with coloured/white piping?

Now the question is... which first?!

What would you do with these patterns?

Diamond Jubilee

Its the Queens Diamond Jubilee weekend, and while I may be "Australian" I'm still born and bred British. I'm neither for or against the royal family, but I do think that events such as this weekend are good for national moral. Wether we can afford it is maybe another question...

We didn't do anything to celebrate, though I am writing this post while watching the coverage of the Thames Pageant on UKTV...

But... I was in Spotlight yesterday, and I accidentally bought some fabric. I know, I know... But my stash is relatively small, and Spotlight had 30% off all their fabric, and they had some nice fabrics in their clearance section. I actually went in for some baby-boy fabric to make up some items for a friends baby shower in a couple of weeks. In the end I managed to get around 11m of fabric for $40, which I'm pretty happy with!

The other fabrics are another story... but when I was deciding what to get, I spied this fabulous fabric:

(Picture from the Spotlight buyers team)

Who could say no!

(Erm... didn't I just say I was only going to buy wearable fabrics that made me look liek I know what I am talking about? Me? Erm...)

We had a BBQ to go to that afternoon... not for the jubilee, just because, but hosted by one of my bestest buddies who also happens to be a POM. 

So I snapped up a meter ($6!) and planned my sorbetto on the way home.

We were only slightly late to the BBQ, and I had a fabulous new top to show off!

The front keeps the sorbetto pleat, but I made the neckline angular to match the flags. I faced the openings, because I didn't have any suitable binding, and was too short on time to make some! The steps could have done with interfacing to stabilise them, but again, time was against me.

On the back, I deepened and squared off the neck line, and added a bit of a frill, playing with the print direction. (Though next time I would make it shorter)

I also added 3 lines of shiring at the top of the frill to aid in fitting (its not a drapy poplin, especially since I was too impatient to wash it first)

(All on top of my usual grading of the pattern in at the chest and out at the hips, and adding about 6cm to the length)

We may not be having a street party, or be drinking pimms or tea, but at least I  have been flying the flag this weekend!

Dress like the woman you want to be...

Wow! I Cannot believe it is June already!

I made it, and hardly had to defer to me-made accessories.

The best bits?

Learning what suits me and what doesn't.

Seeing what gaps I have in my wardrobe. 

(that would be lower halves and outer wear, the same as most new sewists I guess. Also I don't have much in the way of knits)

Getting lots of ideas from other participants, both by seeing their outfits and reading their comments.

The worst bits?

Having a wardrobe dilemmas on important days, and not having much to choose from.

Seeing just how often I wear my jeans! But I think thats more about the time of year than anything else. They only just came out of summer storage in April.

I wear lots of blue! 

What am I going to take away?

Make more (work appropriate) skirts.

I made two skirts already, but I'm not much of a skirt person and don't have much to wear with them just yet. I'm a dress person in summer, but rarely separates. I might even have a go at trousers. Eventually.

More basics.

I'm a pattern-whore. I buy funky patterns, but then don't want to cut them and feel like a toddler wearing them. So I need to buy some more realistic clothing fabric to start with, and learn how to use prints to look like a grown up and not a 2 year old.

Think about how things will work together.

Maybe for summer I will plan a capsule wardrobe... a number of items that are "me" but  work well together. At the moment I buy and sew without really thinking what it will go with. 

I've been going through a bit of a quarter-life crisis in recent years (Though I'm now 27 1/2). I have a very young face, and I have hair that can be hard to tame. I have been trying to dress more age appropriate for a while, because in my industry its hard enough to be taken seriously as a woman, never mind as a girl. The number of times people have walked into my office and assumed its the admin department just because I'm the only girl around, despite the sign on the door saying "Mining- Geology"...

But I struggle to find the balance. I find it hard to look "put together", and my penchant for cute patterned fabrics doesn't help. Some times I feel like a toddler, other times the Boy has no qualms in telling me I look like an old woman... 

I guess its all about finding my own style as my situation changes. At school age I think mostly lived in jeans and t-shirts vaguely gothy, thought now what I wore would probably be called emo. Eeek! More or less the same at university, with less goth and more geek.

At work we wore safety gear, which never really came in  real-womens sizes (size 10... fits perfectly across the bust and waist, a good 6 inches too short in the arms and length...) and isn't the most flattering gear anyway. But at least everyone looked the same and you didn't have to think about it.

Now I'm back being a student, but as a post grad. I'm in the unusual situation after 5 years of having to decide what to wear every single day. People, and more importantly I myself, need to have confidence in what I'm thinking and doing...

 I've recently been thinking about the mantra:

Dress like the woman you want to be

And while I do believe that there is more to life than appearance... 

And I think its true to a point that you will look good in something you are comfortable to be wearing.

But it helps if you look like you know what you're talking about! So I guess thats my aim for the future. 

Make clothes that say "I know what I'm talking about" and faking it 'til I make it!