sewing entry 2011

This year I won Third Prize in the sewing section of the Canberra Show. I am determined to enter again, but I must decide on what I am going to create!

Before the end of the year I have a couple of things I would like to make, including a wedding dress for my sister's wedding in France (don't panic, it will be a very simple dress and shouldn't take too long at all!), but I want to get started on my Show entry sooner rather than later.

Last year I entered in the Non Professional (less than two years experience) 'Any article of hand or machine sewing', and I think since this is only my second year entering I will stay in that category.

But the delima is: do I design something myself, or go with a pattern?

One pattern I did have in mind is a replica of Scarlett O'Hara's red dress -

Which I would make in blue so I could wear it myself.
But is that too much?
It's not as though the prize is a lot of money or anything. It's mainly just ribbons unless I win the Grand Champion award which is $500. Last year some ugly ass outfit won. Very strange!

the dress that launched a thousand ships

I don't know why I have titled this post "the dress that launched a thousand ships", but maybe because I think it should be able to launch a thousand ships. I made it from scratch with my own two hands and I am pretty impressed by it.
The pattern is from Butterick and the material is from Spotlight.
It probably cost around $100 to make (including pattern, fabric, lining, trim, etc.) and would have taken roughly 30 hours - the longest part being the cutting of the fabric and the overlocking of the edges.
Huge thanks have to go out to my Mum who paid for all of the materials (part of my Christmas pattern) and helped me by pinning the hem and yelling at me to stand straight so that the hem would be straight!

If I use this pattern again to make a more simple dress I will make the sleeves a little pouffy! What do you think??

treasury on Etsy

Today I have been "featured" in someones Treasury on Etsy. A Treasury is a collection of items that one person will put together. EndlessSummer has put together a Nutcracker Ballet Treasury (http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=79300) and has featured one of my Nutcracker PDF Cross Stitch patterns on it.
Unfortunately the pattern she has featured, while it is lovely, takes 12 emails to send! Well I have broken it down into 12 separate PDFs because it is almost 80 pages worth of pattern! But it would be a really great large Cross Stitch.

craft this week

This week I have been quite productive craft wise: I've made a table runner, outdoor seat cushion, coasters, place mats, hand bag and a hand towel. Very productive all up!

I was going to wait to post this or show anyone what I have been working on, because all of these are potential Christmas presents (although I may not have allocated the present to the recipient yet)...can you see your present here? I'm hoping that if someone doesn't like their present they can maybe sell it on Etsy or let me know and I can give it to someone else who will like it.

I've had so much fun making all of this stuff and I would love to be able to spend all of my time just making things. I have a number of other projects to do before Christmas: a pin cushion (probably just for Etsy, but maybe for a friend), a quilted note book, a sleeping mask, an apron, maybe an oven mitt or two. Hmmm...there's only 3 weeks to Christmas, I wonder if I will get it all done in time.

I'm also waiting on my fancy ribbons to arrive from overseas so that I can wrap my presents. I have my brown paper all ready to go, and I'm going to print out some "TheDuchessE" stickers, but as usual I'm not using cards or anything. My goal for next year will be to cross stitch some small Christmas scenes and make cards out of them. But I'll have all of 2010 to work on that!

current crafty inspiration

I am currently inspire to create the following to sell on Etsy: - I-Pod and I-Phone 'socks' using fancy fabrics and cross stitched motifs
- Note books covered with fabric with a fancy quilted front
- Apron with matching oven mitts
- Lap quilts (selling them for over $100!)
- Framed cross-stitched quotes
- Dresses or skirts, or even corsets!
- Fascinators and hair accessories

I think it would be nice to win lotto, quit my job, buy a nice place that has space for a craft room, and spend my time creating things. At the moment my apartment is so tiny that if i make a stack of stuff I wouldn't have anywhere to store it!

What do you think - please vote in the survey on my blog!

my christmas list

Christmas is coming (I actually can't believe how close it is) and I thought I would write a little Christmas list. Writing this list is actually quite pointless because I already have my present from my Mum, and my Dad will hopefully be getting me an ironing board...but it's something to do.
The Duchess's Christmas List
- Ironing Board
- Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow (on DVD)
- Transporter 3 starring Jason Statham (on DVD)
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman (on DVD)
- Overlocker - and a new apartment with a sewing room to put it in!
- Book on how to do vintage hair styles
- 3 to 4 meters of any kind of lovely fabric for dresses (with that much fabric I could make basically any dress, and possibly a skirt or something as well)
- Fat quarters of quilting fabric
- DMC Cross Stitch thread (any colours)
- Cross Stitch fabric (any type)
- a Quilting book or Craft type book
- Hand bag making supplies (although this would be at the bottom of my list because I think it could be too much hassle to make a handbag)
- Dress patterns
- Hair straightening Iron - one with a large flat bit for straightening my long hair

I think that is about it. I might add some more stuff to this list later, but to be completely honest I don't actually need any of this. But I think for Christmas it is good to get something that you want, rather than something that you need.

my finished quilt

After a couple of months of hard work and tireless instruction (from some of the most patient women in the world) I have finished my first quilt!!
It is a lap quilt that measures about 40" x 40", with natural cotton batting, and all cotton fabrics.

If you ask I can point out many mistakes that I have made in this quilt, but from a distance you can't tell! And as one of my friends keeps telling me "it adds character"!

I have decided that I am going to enter a couple of items in the local Royal Show in February next year. I am going to cross stitch a photo of my friends at their Vietnamese Tea Ceremony, and I'm also going to create a quilt using the techniques that I learned while making this quilt.

Apparently I'm meant to name my quilt...hmmm...I will name this quilt "Briar Rose".

I think I want my next quilt to be a bit Gypsy inspired, I will call it Esmeralda!

best friends

This weekend made me realise that a good friend is one who will take time out of their lives to patiently hold your hand and teach you a new skill. A couple of my friends have been teaching me how to quilt, and with my swearing, sulking and drunken cutting, it can't be an easy task. But they keep going, and keep laughing, and I have almost finished my quilt. That is friendship.

A good friend is also one who will wrap you in a garbage bag, cling wrap and duct tape while drinking champagne. I sent a text to this friend on Saturday asking "do you need me to bring anything apart from champagne and duct tape?" - if someone intercepted that I'm sure they could take it the wrong way!
What we were actually doing is making a "Duct Tape Dress-Makers Dummy" so that I can use it to make clothes. It makes sense, really it does! But it was definitely a funny sight. We were wondering how we would explain it to the paramedics should something go wrong, or the people on the street should we have to evacuate the house all of a sudden.
Only a really good friend will go to so much effort! And you would only trust a really good friend to do it and then cut you out of it!

As they say - a really good friend will help you hide the body!

cross stitch

I know I'm an old lady before my time, but I do really enjoy cross stitch. There is just something about it that is relaxing, and you end up creating something which is a really nice feeling.

Recently I completed my Antique Rose cross stitch, which was from a pattern in a book given to me by my Aunty Phyl. All of the patterns in this book are quite old fashioned, but they are still nice, although I would prefer some more modern patterns.

I have purchased some patterns on Etsy, which I received in PDF format via email. You simply print these out and you're ready to go. People create these different cross stitch patterns by converting photos or pictures using a particular program.

I have finally realised that I should purchase a program that does this myself! After some googling I have located a couple that you can download for free, so when I get home tonight I will download one of these programs and get to converting. I will do cross stitches of my friends and freak them out!!

my quilt, part 1

Today, with help from some of my lovely friends, I started my first quilt.

I took this pile of fabric
And by the end of the day I had these five squares to start making up my quilt!
I have home work to do of course. I have 4 'Log Cabins' to make up to complete the 9 squares required for this lap quilt. I have to get some batting, cut out some strips to join it all together neatly, and get some material for the back. I thought that I might give this to someone for Christmas, but I'm so proud of it that I think I will keep it for myself and make another one to give to someone.

etsy

Things I am thinking of making and selling in my Etsy store:

• Christmas Tree Skirts - skirts for the tree, not a skirt with a tree on it! ($40)
  
• Nighties - simple cut, but with little embellishments and pretty things ($30)
  
• Handbags - made out of assorted cross stitch things I'll do, and from fancy fabrics ($30-$80)
  
• Jam cap and label sets - cross stitched things to go on the cap, and labels to tie around the jar (set of 3 for $20)
  
• Corsets - I have one pattern for a pirate corset, and I might buy another pattern. These might be a bit too much work though! ($80)
• Aprons - in fancy fabrics ($30)
• Cosies - for assorted things like bottles of wine, tea pots ($20-$50)

What do you think? Too expensive, or just a bit random?

fascinating fashion

Last night I attend Cor da Moda which was a fashion event held at the local Audi Centre showcasing shoes and fabulous fashions.
The tickets said "Dress to Impress" so I went out, got myself a hot glue gun and made a fascinator! I have to say, I think it worked quite well (and this really cute guy I met later on actually said "nice fascinator"!). I found these great purple feathers which matched my fabulous 1940s style shoes perfectly!!
I have to comment on the variety of styles that were at the Fashion Event. There were the fabulously stylish people, the horribly trendy guys (with too much hairspray!), the people who don't care, and then there's the people who care and try but miss! In particular there was one girl in a floral print strapless dress (worn over a black top and leggins). This might not sound too bad, but the dress was short (above the knee) and went out dramatically from the waist, hopefully with the aid of tulle. It was difficult to tell if the poufiness was from tulle or was just the way this girl was formed. She was a bit overweight so it was possible that she just had a huge ass!!
I know that sounds mean....but seriously, you should have seen what this girl was wearing! And I think she was with her mother whose dress was pinned up with bull-dog clips! It must run in the family!

time

I am a big fan of time moving slowly, especially on weekends. You know those weekends when you get your house work done, catch up with a friend, and still have time to watch a couple of episode of Sex and the City. It's lovely. You feel like you have all the time in the world and there is no rush.
I am not a fan, however, of time moving slowly when I am at work. You know those days when you get to work, you do your first task or two and then look at the clock...and it's not even 10am yet! That's just plain upsetting.

Why is it when you are happy for the day to fly it often crawls along, whereas when you're in Melbourne for the weekend hanging out with your sister, the time flys!
I know they say "time flys when you're having fun", but there are days at work when the day does go quickly. It's just that they are few and far between.

Is there something that can be done to make time move more quickly when you're at work, and then slow down considerably when you're not? Maybe it's because I don't enjoy my work, and this morning I came in and not even one person replied to my "Good Morning" - not that that is anything new!

Hmmm....if only I could win Lotto and spend my time doing crafts and selling them on Etsy!!

cross-stitch

I have almost finished my Blue Rose cross stitch that I started a couple of weeks ago. I'm very excited and I'm going to make it into a cute little hand bag. I'll post a photo of it once I'm done.

Cross stitch is so cheap and easy to do (well I find it easy, it's just like a puzzle!), so I have decided to do more. On Etsy.com I found this great store, Bella Stitchery, and I have purchased some great "Pin Up" cross stitch patterns to make. One is a BBQ themed one, so I'm planning on working that into an apron, and the others I am planning on working into handbags. I also got a pattern of "Chat Noir" which I'll probably do and frame, or maybe work into a tote bag.

Hopefully I can churn these out fairly quickly and end up selling them on Etsy. There are some other great patterns that I would like to get including a great Rita Hayworth shot, some Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn shots, and some renaissance art and Van Gough patterns as well. It's all very exciting!!