Australian Nationals 2013

Is it really a week since Nationals finished?!

I had an awesome long weekend, releasing lots of pent up band-geekiness!

Friday was our hymn and Test Piece- "Northern Landscapes" - which is a big work that all the bands in the section have to play. The euphoniums had the opening notes and we managed not to split them, so we knew it would be all good from there. 

Saturday morning was the march contest, through the streets of Northbridge. There was a decent crowd watching the rare spectacle. Western Australia only has about 7 bands, spread across its vastness, so nearly 30 of them marching down the street is definitely not what you expect when you go out for brunch!

And Halt! Marching through Northbridge

On the inspection field prior to marching off

Then Sunday was the final day of the big competition. A stage march and our own choice test piece - "Rhapsody in Brass". We pushed pretty hard in our test piece, probably a bit too hard. Its normally a test piece for the grades above our lowely C-grade status, but we felt we pulled it off pretty well. We had a great time playing and preparing, and felt that our final performances of each piece were just about the best we'd ever played. 

In the auditorium performing our test piece

We ended up coming 3rd, behind two bands that were on the very top of their game. 

The band in general was a little disappointed to hear the results read out, but after some time to reflect it was a great first attempt at the national competition (the state competition isn't much of a competition...) and a great base to build on. 

During the week we had a party instead of rehearsal. 

And I made cakes :)

Red Velvet, and White Chocolate and Passion fruit.

In band colours. 

Bring on next year!

And the pep talk from our conductor:

"I could not be happier with the way the band played today! We went in each day and played exactly as we had rehearsed it. Everything went exactly to plan (well as much as one can expect on contest day). All the comments from the adjudicator were very complimentary- nothing on the tapes is worth hanging our heads low about! There were 2 bands there today who are at the very top of C Grade at both nationally and state level and even in one case really should be in B grade. Lets think back to before the adjudication when we all agreed that the band never sounded better in this whole lead up to contest! I have never been prouder of this band and you can bet ill be singing the praises of the band to the guys at work on Tuesday!! I am so proud of this band- and I hope you are too!! Well done!!

Happy Easter 2013

My foster mummy is busy today - keep your fingers crossed for her and her band! - so she left me in charge!

If you're the slightest bit interested, you can watch the live stream of the competition at http://www.brassbanned.com/ if your timezone agrees!

Challenges and Contests

Now I've broken my sewing drought with a laurel or two, I got to work on a new muslin for my Mad Men 2 dress. Well, my first Mad Men style dress. I traced a fitted shirt from my burda stash, and played around with it- FBA (!) then rotated out the horizontal dart, adding a pleat or two to the shoulder and the rest will he in the vertical dart.
This is my inspiration pic, but I've decided to leave the collar off as I think it would put me off wearing it. So instead the little pleats will add a little bit more interest. My plan is to take some of the fullness out of the waist and the arms, but leave enough to keep the feel, especially with something poofy underneath for pictures!

And my fabric of choice:

Like last time I tried a burda shirt, it came out much bigger than expected from sizing, but I think I can save it. (I gave up on fixing the princess seams of the last one and threw it out in the last round of clear-outs) So that is tomorrows job. Well, actually, tomorrows job is finishing attaching the gate that is half hanging off the wall, but maybe after that.


Did you hear about the Laurel contest? Huge! And 6 different categories. And no entry limit. One of the categories is aimed at we antipodeans currently going into winter (and boy don't we know it. Single figures here last night! I put a jumper on for the first time in months and months). I'm tempted, though I have no real ideas yet. Maybe something black and warm, to go with the crazy tights which may or may not be back in fashion. Or a Laurel "Christmas jumper"?
(These confuse me. I get it at Christmas. But Christmas jumpers in April just because its cold?!")
Closes 30th April, so some time to think still. Not much though :S

Then after that closes, its May... and we all know what that means!


And for a totally different kind of contest- I won't be sewing over Easter weekend because its the Australian National Band Contest. So excited! Keep your fingers crossed for us!

And finally, because no post is complete without cutesy dog photo:

Its been a long time coming.

I did my first ever full bust adjustment/alteration on the laurel. 

OK, so I should probably have been doing them previously, but what can I say...

 I think I still fudged it a little as I didn't want to do the front darts so I graded the extra width from the FBA back into the side seam. It definitely makes it sit nicer over the girls and around the neck.  I used the same fabric as the Kimono Sorbetto, because I love the print on these simple tops. 

Looking at the pictures I kind of wish I kept the sleeve caps in all purple. Still looks OK though. The sleeves are hemmed and finished with a pretty stitch. I think I'd prefer them about an inch longer next time. Still have a full range of movement. Never had that with something that I have sewn sleeves onto before!

And the back:

No closure needed- pulls on and off fine. I lost a little of the pattern to the darts, but its only really noticable if youre looking for it. Again, should have really moved them across a little so they were entirely in the purple, but I didn't think on at the time. 

And I am proud to say that I finally mastered the french seam of the armscye. Looks very pretty on the inside too! The neckline is bias-taped, and the hem is a simple double fold over. 

Very wearable, very me.

Bring on the autumn!

I'm not one to jump on the band wagon...

...but I already made my first Laurel. The new release from Colette didn't really float my boat until I saw version 4- a 1/2 sleeve top. Considering how many sorbettos I have made, I figured something with a little more shape would be a great addition. And just that morning I had seen purchased the perfect fabric to show the simple shape off.

For this version I used some turquoise voile left over in the stash. I just about had enough, though had to shorten the sleeves a little. to get them to fit. Following my gut instinct from many sorbettoes, I cut a size 8 body with the sz18 length, and size 12 sleeves. I think I need to do a bit of an FBA, but otherwise I'm really happy with it.

This is so comfortable. Definitely a "this is not a t-shirt" top! The gentle gathering in the sleeves, and potentially my slit in the back means my arms have heaps of movement, which is something I usually struggle with.

Most of the seams are french-finished, and the external edges are finished with lime green bias tape, with accent buttons in a different shade of turquoise to maximise the clash! I think it gives it a very funky look. I even hand finished the bias tape, as I wanted clean lines. 

Looking forward to all the variations that will be possible on this! And a great wardrobe builder. I have plans for 2 more basic ones in gorgeous, and one with a button up back.

MadMen sewing has totally stalled, but at least I'm sewing something, so I will hopefully get on with it soon!

Looking all grown up

The wonderful people at Pet Art Photography took some pictures of our beautiful foster dog last weekend.

This is the sneak peak. Isn't he regal! I wish we could keep him, he's so lovely but not quite right for us.

Look how clever he is! In the last 3 months he has gone from being a shivering skinny wreck of a dog to a bold and clever chappie who is so eager to please and loves life.

Remember... don't shop- Adopt!

Pirate Shirt

Don't you think it looks pirate-y?!

Maybe less so with number 4, but the rest?

This is a 1971 pattern I won as part of a Sew Greatful week, from the lovely Claire at Errant Pear. 

As part of the giveaway, she begged the winner to make view one. 

Those sleeves- just look at them! I love big sleeves, yet they feel so overwhelming. Could the fitted bicep help rein them in?!

I'll let you decide:

Seaside hair in Cottesloe

I added a slit centre front, closed with a button, and played around with the stripe directions to break it up a little. The sleeves are tight. They only just fit, and that makes the neckline pull and sit unevenly. 

But the biggest issue I had was the size. I took 20cm off the waist of this sack, and its still a sack. It has no fastenings and no shaping, so I should have expected it, but really, huge sack. I could do the waist shiring, but I don't really like the feel of it. 

I think the only way I could pull this off is to have it tucked in to a pencil skirt that I don't have yet. 

But... the sleeves. I think I like them. Maybe with a centimetre more ease, and maybe on a more fitted top! With the volume of everything else it still feels too much, but I think on a slim fitting top I would love them.