Thursday, September 30, 2010

Blogtoberfest - I'm in!

I stumbled across this today on {tinniegirl} and just had to jump in.

So the next question is ... are YOU in?!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Playing catchup

So the last week and a half feel like I haven't progressed on my Lady Grey because I've been sick with tonsillitis - not fun. I'm on the mend now but still have some catching up to do. I would say my muslin is maybe 40% complete (no sleeves or collar on there yet) but I should hopefully get it finished this weekend.

For those playing along at home, there are some more posts on Gertie's site so instead of adding them here I'm going to create a Page with the links and just keep updating them there. I will also include the dates that she posted about how we will progress each week.

On my to do list:
* Get tailoring supplies. I've decided to go for the tailored option as this is a good chance to learn some new skills but I need to head to RJs with my supply list (not sure yet how much I need)
* Finish Muslin. I ended up slashing my main pieces using the notches in the back pieces as a guide, which I will blog about when I get the chance. I measured my back length and my teacher says my length is about 6cms longer than the "pattern average" so I added 8cms to give me some room to move (it's easier to remove than add) and also drop the waist because I'm short-waisted, proportionally to my legs. I might need to lengthen the sleeves too but I'll wait on doing that.
* Pre-treat fabric. As I discussed here I've decided to make my coat with the Cavalier Garbardine from Spotlight and I also bought some satin fabric which is white with black polka dots - just what I was after!

On a more general sewing note, I've been thinking a whole lot more about what's missing from my wardrobe and will blog about that soon. My mind is spinning with different thoughts at the moment!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Lady Grey is in the building!

So, come Monday night I was pretty tired - so much so that I couldn't be bothered to even go out the front to get the mail. I convinced myself to go out and grab them and was greeted by a package with the all knowing "Clothing patterns" listed on the customs form. I was barely inside before I tore open the package to find my awesome Lady Grey pattern (along with Nutmeg and Cinnamon!). I think I jumped for joy when I saw them!

The packaging is totally cool! It's a little booklet with a pocket in the back with the pattern sheets. The book is even stitched into the envelope. Like I said, totally cool!


Note: my pattern tracing paper is from RJ Harvey in the Nicholas Building on Swanston St (Melbourne). It is a nice weight but I found it a bit tricky to trace the Colette pattern because the ink is not really dark.

So I finally got some time to trace off the pattern pieces (all 14 of them) tonight. 2 hours later and they are finally all traced! I will probably cut them out tomorrow and then sew them up on the weekend.

I've been reading all of Gertie's posts so far (links below if you need to catch up) and have also been reading all the questions and comments on each post. I've decided to go with the tailored option so will need to go and get some supplies from RJ Harvey.

Links from Gertie's blog (so I don't need to keep hunting for them and so you can catch up):
* Colette Patterns Lady Grey Sew-Along announced!
* 20% off the Lady Grey pattern
* Join the sew-along - get your own badge!
* Meet the Lady Grey designer
* Fabric selection help
- I'm planning on using Cavalier Gabardine in black from Spotlight. Whilst my dream Lady Grey would be in a teal or turquoise colour (inspired by Tasia - this was the post that took me from Lady Who? to Lady ooooohhhhhhh! I have been coveting this pattern since then) I've decided to start with a basic black
* Gather your muslin materials
- I have a roll of calico that I can use for this, so I think I'm all set.
* Cutting vs tracing
- I traced, see above.
* Sew-along materials list
- I need quite a bit on this list. RJs, here I come!
* Making the muslin!
- I need to decide if I need to lengthen the coat before or after the first muslin. But there are no shorten / lengthen line. Yikes! Off to ask Gertie!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Gertie's Lady Grey Sew-Along - I'm in!!

I'm so excited about this ... I've finally ordered my pattern (and I'm praying to the mail pixies that it gets here soon!) and I'm committed to the sew-along!

If you head over to Gertie's Blog you will see that sewing hasn't commenced as yet (muslins to be started next week) but there is already some great info about choosing fabrics and what you need for your muslin.

If you haven't joined already, come along and join the fun! There's nothing like a group of co-conspirators to help you to complete a project and I can't wait for the tips and tricks that Gertie has up her sleeves for this.

Oh and go and check out http://www.colettepatterns.com/ - they are just stunning!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Your own personal style

I read a really interesting post this week about understanding your own personal style. It really got me thinking about my own style and the fact that I feel that there is a gap between my style and what I aspire for my style to me. I'm not someone who follows trends but enjoy some elements of current fashion. But mostly I aspire to be "stylish", classifying my personal style as "Elegant and sophisticated with a twist" with the twist being interesting elements such as a bright scarf, funky earrings or sassy heals, although it's something that's been missing in recent years. I just love classic looks and timeless elegance. Thanks to the stylings of Mad Men (and many of the awesome sewing bloggers out there) I'm becoming a fan of vintage, mainly late 50s and early 60s (but not as far as the swinging 60s).

So now that I've declared my style to the world, it's time to unveil my master plan to build my ultimate wardrobe, or should I say sew my ultimate wardrobe! I have an awesome book the Lucky shopping manual which is split up into chapters by type of clothing article and gives recommendations for the minimum you would need in each category and then the extras you would need if you wear a lot of that clothing type (eg if you're a pants girl like me, have more pants than skirts). It also includes tips for styles that flatter and photos of different types of that type of clothing (different collars, cuffs, styles etc...) and designer profiles. It's a great book that I recommend and will form the building blocks for my wardrobe. I plan to find patterns in my stash and also new patterns to get wardrobe coverage, then I'll find the fabric and then sew it up! It's still in the planning stages but something that I'm really excited about it!

Another great book is The Pocket Stylist which helps you find your body shape and suggests the styles that flatter your shape. Once great tip for determining your shape is to take a photo and print it A4. Then cut it out and look at it from the back. It helps you to identify your shape without any "distractions" that may influence what you think your style is.

Another great tip I learnt was to find out if you are short or long waisted. You use measurements to work it out and it helps identify styles that fit. I always thought that I was long waisted because tops are always too short (except for recently as it's the current fashion that tops are longer) but then I discovered that whilst my waist may be longer than most peoples, it's actual short based on my proportions. Very interesting stuff! It made me realise why short tops don't suit me as it makes me look even shorter waisted!