Sunshine shenanigans

The sun was shining the birds were singing...anyone would have thought that it was summer here in Sydney.

Perfect weekend. Early morning run down to the Opera house and meander through the botanical gardens, followed by some Paddington Markets action with my cousin (picked up a gorgeous black felt hat as shown in the pic below - I am in love), and lunch down at Opera Bar watching the ferries come in and out, even sneaked in a gelato treat to top it off.

Yummy beetroot, pinenut and labnah (yoghurt cheese) salad.

Cuzzy catch up time

Sunday was a very productive day on the creative front. I mocked up the bodice of the vintage dress that I am making for Mazzy so that I can get the fit right before I cut it for real :S few minor alterations needed but almost there. 

The green dress is what I am attempting to make for Mazzy. Simply stunning. 

We then spent the afternoon up on the roof of Mazzys apartment in Kings X doing some creative brainstorming and planning for our little business (followed by tea and cake). Finally decided on a name - fingers crossed we can register it!!! All coming along nicely now, just have to keep up the momentum.

Found the best bakery in the cross called Infinity Sourdough Bakery - highly recommend the pumpkin, lentil and feta pie (and a piece of vanilla cake for after). yummo!

And yes the blazer is coming along. Multitasking is what I am about lol. Did I mention that I have lamb shanks cooking away for dinner tonight. Smelling amazing and making my stomach grumble.

Oh also bought (acquired for a few bottles of vino) a stunning antique side board / dresser from Mazzys lovely friend Anna, I now have a sewing space so can move my machines from taking up half of the dining room table lol. It has the most stunning legs and detailing - will have to post some photos once it arrives, as that is the next challenge moving it from hers to ours.

Till we meet again.

Nic xx

Tedious times

So quick update.

Spent Sunday afternoon converting one of my Nanas vintage patterns to modern sizing. All I can say is that the 1950s woman was tiny! For a pattern that is supposed to be a 14 it actually equates to about a modern day size 10. So if I was alive in the 1950s I would be a size 18!!! How depressing is that lol.

Also managed to get all the overlocking for my blazer done - about 30 pieces in total. My overlocker certainly got a workout. Now just to find the time to sew it all together. I am excited as the hard part is now over and now comes the fun part.

Will load up some photos of the dress soon. It is going to look stunning. I think I might need to make a couple for myself. Something different to the usual black outfits that I wear out to events.

Till next time.

Nic xx

Field Trip

So today was an interesting day.

As part of our business venture my friend Maree and I, along with my flatmate Gillian, piled into Marees little car and took the 50min trip deep into the western burbs of Sydney.

Today we ventured all the way to Cabramatta!

I hear you gasp! 'Why would you go out there??' (For those who live in the Eastern suburbs know that you don't really travel any further than the Anzac or Harbour bridges....)

Well I say, this is where you go to get the best deals on fabric (John Street). And deals we did get. I was so surprised at the variety and number of reams they can fit into their tiny shops, along with all the trimmings - I was in heaven.

It was a successful trip, shopping bags full of gorgeous fabric, tummy's full of amazing (cheap) noodles, and eyes opened to a side of Sydney that I didn't even know existed. We may venture out there again.

Now to take all this fabric and turn it into something spectacular. The plans are underway (finally!!!) to start up our own boutique childrens clothing business - all based off of vintage patterns might I add.

Keep your eyes open for updates on a side project that I am doing for Maree. She is off to a wedding in Scotland in October and wanted something stunning to wear, so delving into my bag of patterns we found a stunning 1950s vintage dress and gorgeous deep blue heavy satin fabric to make it out of.  All I can say is Mad Men! Fabulous.

Till next time.
Nic

Red lips sink ships

I am in love love love with red lippy! I have never been brave enough before to try such a bold colour, but since I was heading out with the contiki girls (and boys) on Saturday night I needed something as a focus for an all black outfit.

It was certainly a time for firsts as I bought a Stylestalker dress from the Fashion Weekend Markets back in April that I had yet to wear. Teamed with some amazing tights from a Singapore Designer ELOHIM by Sabrina Goh and a black satin blazer, my Aldo leather clutch and CK heels I was good to go. Hence why I needed a pop of colour.

tights from http://sabrinagoh.com/

dress from http://www.stylestalker.com/

Till next time.

Nic xx

Long Weekends

I love long weekends, just not the kind that consist of constant rain :( oh well means that I can finally make a start on one of my projects that I have been putting off for a while.

So I thought that I would take on the challenge of making a tailored blazer. I have never attempted one before so either this is going to turn out fabulous or an utter disaster (fingers crossed that it's the first).

I decided to do a bit of mix and matching to get the style and cut that I wanted, bit of the old with the new. So with one pattern that I 'acquired' from my Nana, and one that I bought from Spotlight I planned my attack. Fabric choice was a heavy grey suiting for the outside and a satin grey leopard print for the lining. Will post updates on how I am progressing and I hope that it doesn't end up in the bottom of my sewing box along with an unfinished tailored dress I was making for work (ooops).

Wish me luck.

The other things that kept me occupied this long weekend were:
- Catching up with my Contiki peeps (love you guys)
- Chilling out with a cuppa on the couch reading the Sunday Telegraph (inspiration found)
- Waking up to the rain pounding on the roof outside (such a soothing sound)
- Popping the cherry on my new slow cooker (i heart u - nom nom nom beef and red wine casserole)
- Starting a new cross stitch (pics to come)
- Playing with my camera

loving the sleek monotone look with grey pants (hmm maybe next time)

This little guy was in out back courtyard when I was hanging out the washing

 nothing brightens up a room like fresh flowers - in love with the Everleigh markets

snapped these beautiful lilies when I was at the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore the other month

All in all it has been a very relaxing and fun filled weekend.

Stay tuned.

Nic xx

Cute as a button

Well on my last visit to NZ I raided my nanas pattern cupboard, she has bags and bags (and not to mention suitcases) of old vintage patterns. I hightailed it back to aus to start creating.

First project was to make some adorable baby clothes for my little cousins.

I love love love the simplicity of the styles and you can have so much fun playing with the fabrics and trim. I am now hooked and a plan is in the works to create a line of baby/toddler clothing.

Will keep you posted.

But in the meantime here are some pics of the finished products.

Till next time.

Nic xx

Free to be me

Why hello there fancy seeing you here...

Well this is me in a nutshell, the things that take my fancy, inspiration around me, and whatever craft project that I have on the go (which is usually more than one).

A little bit more about me...
- Hail from that small country out there to the east of Australia, you know the one called New Zealand.
- Call Sydney home (for now anyway)
- Draw much of my inspiration from my Polish Nana who has always been behind the sewing machine for much of her life.
- IT Consultant by day....Closet cross stitcher by night
- Love love love photography, so no doubt I will add my fav images on here.

So basically I want to share with you all what keeps me sane.

Will post some images of my latest project (cute as a button baby clothes) in the next day or so. Keep your eyes peeled.

That is all for now, till we meet again.

Nic xx