Meet: Sydney Sewing Social

Rachel (aka Boo Dogg) & I had a fabulous weekend in Sydney!! Of course we went to the Sydney Sewing Social but we also did some shopping and sightseeing. It was fantastic to spend a weekend away in good company and without the boys. Plus there was lots of Prosecco!

On Saturday morning, we had breakfast with the trendies (and my good friend Kate) in Surry Hills at Four Ate Five before taking Kate on her first ever fabric shopping mission at The Remnant Warehouse. For a beginner she had an exceptional eye for good fabric. I bought a few pieces on her advice and I am so happy with them.

On her way back in to the city, Kate dropped us off at the Dinosaur Designs Extinct Shop. This is the outlet shop for Dinosaur Designs and has lots of discontinued and excess stock items. You should all know by now I LOVE Dinosaur Designs. I have a large collection of necklaces, bangles and earrings. On entering the shop my heart was bounding and I was beyond excited. I ended up with a few pairs of earrings and some salad servers. Perfect!

 

From there it was on to The Fabric Store for a quick scope of the 50% off Sale before meeting everyone at Tessuti. I am so glad we did this as I found the most divine Lisa Ho red wool coating for my upcoming Lady Grey coat. It wasn't on special but it was beyond perfect so I decided to buy it then and there. Thank goodness, as it was all sold out by the time we returned a few hours later with the Sewing Social ladies.



We had a fabulous time with the Social Sewing ladies. We met in Tessuti before heading to The Fabric Store. Most people left us in The Fabric Store but the stayers all headed to The Clock Hotel for a well earned cold beverage and a good chat.

At the end of the afternoon there was Rachel of The Two Windmills, Christy of Little Betty Sews, Rachel of Boo Dogg & Me plus myself. We headed to Bills for dinner and some more Prosecco! There was great debate over which dessert was best. I think the lemon curd & raspberry trifle won. Overall it was a fabulous day!!

Sunday saw us at Adriano Zumbo cafe bright and early for pastries and coffee. With our 12 pack of macarons in tow, we headed to Circular Quay and the CBD for a wander.

We stayed at The Sebel in Surry Hills which was great. It was between The Fabric Store and Tessuti. What more could we ask for?!

I suppose you are all wondering what I bought on this epic trip to Sydney... I had a well defined list and bought all but one thing on the list. I also picked up two extra pieces which were too good to leave.

This is the beyond beautiful Lisa Ho red wool coating from The Fabric Store that will become a Lady Grey coat.

The denim is a lovely soft denim with a bit of stretch from The Remnant Warehouse for a pair of Juniper pants. The stripe will be a shorter McCalls 6559 with or without sleeves and the black/dark aubergine is for another Vogue 1250.

These lovelies are from Tessuti. I got a brilliant red lycra for a vintage inspired swimsuit and the She Read Red jersey for a draped Vogue 1159. 

These beauties will all become dresses. A few Simplicity 2444's (the black/white cotton from Tessuti and the purple/green from The Remnant Warehouse) and a few undecided patterns. I bought extra of a floral silk to line a future Anise Jacket.

So overall a beyond fabulous weekend which may have to become an annual event.

L x

Knit: GAP-tastic Cowl

 

I did it! My first ever hand knitted item!!  After multiple unravels and attempts at casting on, I finally found my groove. The combination of a broken foot, torrential rain and a stint in the kid's hospital for a tooth vs lip altercation* made this a rather quick knit.

I used two balls of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Navy that I bought online from Yarnover, along with a set of Hiya Hiya 40 inch 9mm bamboo circular needles. I wouldn't go any shorter on the circular needles. I started with the 24 inch and it was too tight and awkward. The 40 inch were perfect. I casted on 121 stitches instead of the recommended 131. Purely because I was lazy and had casted on so many times before. The two balls of yarn resulted in a 10 inch wide cowl. 

Next time I'm going to use 3 balls of yarn and cast the extra stitches. I really want to use a mustard yellow yarn next time. I'm a bit torn between using the same brand, Lion Brand, which is a wool/acrylic blend (but has the perfect colour) or using a 100% wool yarn (but I can't find a mustard yellow). What to do?!

Project Details
Pattern: GAP-tastic Cowl by Jen Geigley
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Navy
Needles: Hiya Hiya 40 inch 9mm bamboo circular needles

All up, I am extremely pleased with myself in completing this project. I'm not a complete convert to knitting but I will make another cowl or two for winter.

*We finally got home from Queensland late Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning I was doing a bit of baking with the boys. Mr H got a bit excited about an apricot and slipped of the stepstool hitting his chin. Blood everywhere!! The next 14 hours were a whirlwind of solo-parenting logistical skills (Mr Sew Brunswick was still in America) culminating in theatre at 11pm to stitch up the inside lip, fix the outside chin and examine his teeth, plus or minus remove his front teeth. He came out with 7 stitches and his teeth intact!! We got home at 10am, after picking up Mr N from a friend's house, only to re-present to ED at 9pm that night as the stitches had fallen out and the wound had opened. Thankfully they decided against taking him back to theatre. We now just have to wait to see if the wound heals and if his teeth are ok.

Talk about one hell of a week?! I am so looking forward to Rachel and I's trip to Sydney next weekend. Who's coming along to the meet up?

L x

Meet: Sydney - February 9

The husbands and flights are booked. The accommodation is sorted. Prepare yourselves people!!
Rachel and I are coming to Sydney!

We're staying in Surry Hills, close to Tessuti and The Fabric Store and we'd love to catch up on Saturday 9th February. It would be good to meet at Tessuti for a spot of shopping and then find somewhere that serves good food and chilled champagne! Let us know if you're keen or if you have any suggestions. Christy, I know you're keen and full of ideas! 

Can you tell we're excited?!

L x

Meet: Melbourne Sewists

What better way to spend your Saturday afternoon than with a few friends fabric shopping, talking all things sewing, drinking beer and eating pizza?! Seriously I was in heaven. We met at The Fabric Store on Brunswick Street, Fitzroy and then proceeded on down the street to the Alannah Hill & Gorman fabric outlet, before grabbing a table at Little Creatures Beer Hall. A lovely afternoon with lovely people.

I had sneakily been to The Fabric Store on Thursday as my mother-in-law is in town from Toowoomba and asked if we could go to a decent fabric shop. I'd grabbed two gorgeous pieces on Thursday but had my eye on the Marc Jacobs leaf print. So that was the first thing I grabbed when I went back on Saturday to meet my fellow Melbourne sewists. I then mentioned to the lady that I was after a bright coloured stretch cotton to make another pair of Clovers. She reappeared about 10 minutes later with a fabulous bright orange stretch cotton drill. Perfect!

I'd never been to the Alannah Hill fabric outlet as it involves stairs and I usually have the boys and a pram with me. So I was keen to check it out. You have to be prepared to put some work in to finding the good stuff but I did spot a Liberty jersey and an amazing red wool crepe from Alannah Hill.

In the photo we have my recent fabric purchases. On the top we have a printed cotton sateen from Spotlight (my local is closing down so I had to buy something!), I'm going to make Vogue 8667. Then we have the orange stretch drill for a pair of clovers and the Marc Jacobs leaf print cotton/silk for a Grainline Scout Tee. The red wool crepe is for Vogue 8787 with the cowl neckline. On the bottom is a silk print for a Colette Sencha, a Marc Jacobs cotton sateen for another New Look 6000 and the Liberty Jersey for a few pairs of undies.

So much for my "No more fabric!" pledge... Time to fire up the machines and get sewing!!

Thanks ladies for a fabulous Saturday. Lets do it again soon.

L x

Meet: Melbourne Sewists

On Saturday, Rachel organised a sewing meet-up in the city. Any interested parties met in Tessuti for a spot of shopping before descending on Federation Square for a few drinks. It was a fabulous afternoon and it certainly has been a long time since I rode the train home on a Saturday night with a few drinks under my belt!! One of the best things about meeting fellow sewing enthusiasts is talking in pattern numbers. Fantastic!



Most people were sewing bloggers but there were a few non-bloggers who came along. Here's the attendance list!

Rocket Sews - Kirsty
The Two Windmills - Rachel
Little Betty - Christy
Funkbunny's  Kitchen Garden - Helen
Bella's Collectanea of Sewing - Belle
The Perfect Nose - TJ
Sew Squirrel - Sarah
My Messings - Rachel
All the Whimsical Things - Kat
Sew Love Red - Robyn
Thornberry - Lara
Seamstress: Poppykettle - Melanie
Boo Dogg & Me - Rachel
Catherine
Sue A
Anna
Heather

Apologies if I missed anyone.

It was a fabulous afternoon and I hope to do it again soon.

Now, on to my fabric selections. I am documenting them here now so Christy (aka Little Betty) does not claim them as her own ideas!!

These three pieces will become my Freddie vest. Rachel & I are doing the class at Tessuti in a few weeks. From left to right we have a double sided linen for the front, a metallic cotton fabric from a dud skirt for the back, and a bit of rockstar (bronze & black print) for the lining.

On my list I had the washed linen in a gold beige for a Simplicity 2443 jacket. The green floral is a wool blend that I found in the remnant bin. It has a lovely drape. Not sure what it will be. Any suggestions??

A jersey called Under Fire for another Vogue DKNY 1027.

And another remnant bin find, a hot pink knit which will become a Drape Drape dress of some description.

All together a super successful shopping trip with some good times thrown in.

L x