The treasure trove

A couple of weeks ago I won this lovely antique tallboy chest of drawers on eBay. I'd been search for months for the right look, size & price, but everything kept going beyond my budget. Finally I won this one & my bloke & I travelled down to Mount Eliza to pick it up.
The couple were clearing out their mother/in law's unit who had moved into assisted living & while the men did the hard work, Jill & I had a friendly chat as she showed me around the near empty unit. My work came up & she told me her mother in law had been a dressmaker.
They'd already sent her clothing & accessories to the Op Shop (gasp, sigh), but her sewing supplies were in their garage.
I said I'd be most interested in purchasing some of it & she said she would go through it & send me some photos before she listed it all on eBay.
The email came last week with picture of fabric, buttons, haby & 160 patterns. I could have the lot for a very reasonable amount, if I would take it all. Too right I'd take it all.
Sunday we made the trip back down the Pennisula & picked up the booty. And I spent Sunday night & Monday morning sorting through it all. Lining, interfacing, wool, silk, satin, sateen, prints, plains, stripes, checks, cottons, tartan, furnishing, curtains.
 Of the 6 Singapore bags of fabric I have sorted it into one for myself, one to resell, two for Carey & one will go to charity. Only a supermarket bag full of scraps went to the bin.

Then there was the 60 button jars sorted into types or colours plus more on cards, more than 300 reels of thread, some millinery supplies, fastenings, bias binding, zips & a small amount of eqiptment - needles, measures etc.

Finally 3 boxes of patterns dating back to the 1950's. What a collection. And they are in sizes that fit me. Of course I wanted to keep masses for myself, but as if I'm going to make all those 60's dresses when my favorite eras are 10's, 20's, 30's & 50's. 

 There is a 1950's Norman Hartnell that could fetch a small fortune as it's so rare, but I can't bare to part with it just yet. So I have a 'keep for now' pile, a keep for school pile& 3 boxes: sell individually, sell in lots & send to the charity shop. 

It meant that I was throughly distracted from wedding stuff for almost a whole day, but eventually yesterday afternoon I sat down & got Emily's dress finished, to the hand stitching stage. It's so pretty. I must get on to finishing my own dress today.....

Less than a month

So Servant of Two Masters finished on Monday night. By all accounts it was a resounding success, which I didn't actually get to see because Emily's dance concert was on too.
With that out of the way all there is to focus on now is Christmas & the Big Day.

I am starting to stress a bit with the wedding being so close. The days get less & there is still so much to achieve.
Shirts are done, boys pants are done except for fastenings.
Ties are cut, vests are cut.
Emily's dress is started.
After a mild nervous breakdown when I tried on my own dress last week & discovered I no longer have the boobs to fill it. (No idea where they went as I haven't lost weight, just toned up)
I couldn't face it until yesterday, so armed with the tv series Kingdom Hospital I sat myself down to rectify the problem.
I unpicked the lace overlay from bodice, unpicked the top seam & removed a couple of centimetres from the bust, but then the sweetheart shape wasn't siting right so I cut that down, but it still wasn't right, so I trimmed some more, added bust cups, eliminating the bra issues & stitched it back up. After some tears, tantrums & almost dislocating a shoulder trying to hook the back up it finally fits again & sits, almost, perfectly. Now I just have to reattach the lace overlay, finish the beading, attach the skirt, sew on the vintage glass buttons & voila!
I cannot change shape again in the next 23 days or I'm likely to throw the dress out the window & wear a sack.

I am actually enjoying the amount of exercise I'm getting & it's helped so much with my back pain. Given the amount of sewing I'm doing, I'm fairing pretty well.
I think with the discipline of working each day on sewing tasks I can see myself being able to stick to the program next year & really get my Etsy store happening.
Each week I've been getting a sale for my vintage lace or patterns & as I'm picking up a huge stash from a retired dressmaker this Sunday I should have lots more to list.
But it's really getting on to making things & having the confidence to list them in the new year that I'm struggling with. It's ridiculous when I can get a call to dash into Crown Towers to alter a designer beaded dress for an evening event & get the job done in 3 hours. I know I can do it, I just need to find the confidence to put myself out there. New Years resolution? Maybe.


So I'd better stop procrastinating & get back to it, I hear Kingdom Hospital calling.

Anything but…..

I'm finding it really hard to focus today.
Invoices, packages, Facebook, youtube, emails, Houzz, eBay, anything but what I'm supposed to be doing.
Which is making Nigel's shirt & cutting out vests.
Unfortunately while I was at school on Saturday Willow our fluffy grey kitty decided to have a little shred of the vest pattern. She just loves shredding tissue paper & is not discerning when it come to what is patterns & what is discarded.
So I have to find a new pattern.
I have made some matching lace cuffs for Beatrice's jacket  with the lace from the jabot. The sleeves were just a touch short & the black & white broderie anglaise cuffs will just finish it superbly. I still have some for sale in my store if you are interested.
She looked amazing on Saturday. I trimmed a tall velvet hat with ostrich feather, buttons & ribbon that really bought the whole look together.
I was really pleased with the overall look of the show, I think the costumes & set really complement each other.
I think Servant of Two Masters will be a really fun night.
Ok really must go & sew…...

Almost on stage.

S2M is almost done.
 First Dress rehearsal is tomorrow & I'm pretty sure everyone has a costume. I was in a bit of a panic at the beginning of the week when I discovered the majority of the boys costume were still untouched. Hems were pinned, pictures attached with fabric scraps & trims chosen, but nothing was finished.
With only a few hours of my contract left, I cleaned up the work space & got to decorating the boys outfits. And here I thought I was just the designer.....

Today I'm finishing a really cute jabot for Beatrice who spends most of the play masquerading as her brother. We've gone with a traditional 16th century costume with a modern day Gothic twist to fit with the overall costume concept. It's made up of 3 length of vintage lace with a heart motif to represent the love she has lost. It's so sweet.
Other things on the horizon are

• working up a design concept for the first production for 2012, 42nd Street 
• making an Alice costume for a friends 30th. 

On the other front I have a massive to do list all set out for every day til the wedding.
How did I get myself into such a big DIY wedding?
This is when you need adult attendants & a family who can actually assist you with all this, but it's just little ole' me. It will look fab though.
After much searching & several stalled attempts, I finally found some local drink dispensers for the lemonade from eBay.
It's really encouraging to be getting all the RSVP's, some are coming from interstate & the UK.
Well better to get back to it.

Big Week doing nothing

This week was supposed to be a catch up week, but how differently it turned out.
Headed off to Savers first thing Monday morning to fill out the S2M costumes. Wow, so much good stuff to be had, even found a pair of electric blue Versace men's pants, but at $59.99 they were a little beyond the budget.
$226 later we had blouses, tops, shirts, skirts & pants enough to kit out the remaining cast.
Our first costume workshop two weeks ago was brilliant. Lots of students turned up & made the cutest headbands. Last Saturday only one was there, which was disappointing, but she made lots  of gorgeous little fabric flowers.
This week we have a mid semester break for the race that stops a nation. Yes we have a public holiday for a horse race,  the Melbourne Cup.
So no rehearsals on Friday or Saturday, but this is where my week took a turn for the…. interesting.

Friday 3pm: Could I make 4 x U shaped covered cushions for  6'x4' banquets? "Possibly". In grey velvet, by Tuesday, we'll have the fabric to you Monday? "Ahhhh let me thing about that. No."

Tuesday 11.30am: Could you make 2 chiffon curtains 3x3m by tomorrow? We'll have the fabric to you at 3 for an 11am pick up." Ahhh, ok."

Rebecca Twigley 2010

Wednesday 11am: Could you come to Crown on Thursday at 2pm & Friday at 11.30am to do fittings for Rebecca Twigley & Jennifer Hawkins Race Day outfits? It'll only be a few small alterations. "Sure, I'll take the work home as my mobile machine is broken & I can't make it til 12 on Friday'". That's fine I'll let Thelma know.

Jennifer Hawkins 2010

Wednesday 12.30pm: Just wanted to give you a heads up, Jen hates one of her skirts. The first one didn't fit so we asked the designer to make another that was slightly bigger, longer & pencil shape. It's not. They have no more fabric & they're in Perth so there might be quite a bit of work to reconstruct it. See you soon. "Excellent, I love a challenge"
When I arrive I'm asked where my machine is. "Didn't Melissa tell you it's broken"  No.
Anyway the decision is to completely remake the skirt for Jen's fitting tomorrow at 12, so I would have to work at home anyway. I have no measurements, no fabric & less than 24 hours to make a skirt as well as alter Bec's outfits including cutting & hemming a 3 layer silk circle skirt.
 "No worries"
Race into Clegs to match fabric & Vicki saves the day with Ivory Victoria Silk Satin.
Race home, design & draft skirt. Finish sewing skirt to fitting stage at 11pm, start on alterations for Bec's outfits at 6am, leave home at 9am for an appointment. Catch 10.48am train to city with borrowed machine.


Thursday 11.40am: Where are you Jen's here waiting? " Didn't Melissa tell you I couldn't make it till 12pm, I'll jump in a taxi from Spencer St"
11.50am: Jen tries on the skirt & LOVES it. It fits like a glove. Her Cup Day dress however is not as expected, so major alterations need to be done to make her smile. I set to work on adding the waistband & hemming the skirt before unpicking the whole skirt of her Sass & Bide dress & reshaping it. 3pm finish.
I've effectively done two full days work in 24 hours.
Bring on the money…...

Silk Flowers a go

After my little back hitch, I haven't been doing a whole lot of anything except surfing the net, watching the box & lying around.
Yesterday I was determined to get back to work, even if I only managed a few hours.

Armed with Nurophen I got stuck into the costume rooms & sought items & fabric in my quest for upcycling all the costumes for S2M. I have a budget of about $2000, but I'm hoping that we won't even spend half utilising as many items as possible from stock.
I found so many pictures for inspiration googling upcycling, Japanese fashion, steampunk, Harajuku, & Hi 5 & we're well on the way to getting most of the outfits together for the chorus.
The plan is to only make costumes from scratch for the 9 leads.
It's really exciting to see the outfits evolve. One of my fav sources of inspiration is Gothic Lolita Fashion Magazine with patterns that I get from a Pomapour's Craft Cafe on Ebay. I have bought way too many Japanese pattern books from her, but the are so cute. I'm addicted.

Today I've been shaping all my silk petals into one of a kind rose petals. It's quite time consuming, but as the little pile grows, I know I'm that much closer to having my Wedding dress belt & fascinator finished.

My stiff back decided to turn chronic overnight, stupid back pain. And I have to go back to school tomorrow.
Instead of being able to take advantage of my beautifully tidy sewing room, I've been creeping round the house trying to avoid doing anything to send my lower back into spasm.
So the dreaded sort of tax receipts, invoices, payments & overseas trip has ensued. You don't have to move much to sort papers & enter them on a spreadsheet. Bring on the tax return…..
Now I'm going to look as S2M designs. Maybe a little sketching will be relaxing.

Clean up Day

After yesterday's effort of trying to stiffen all the silk petals for my wedding fascinator on my work room floor & being left with a stiffened back, I am resolved to completely clear my storage, um I mean work table, so I can actually work on it. I'm sure I'll find lots of goodies I have forgotten I have. So that's the plan for today. Also got a call from a friend at church to help alter her daughters costumes for their upcoming production of Oliver. That should be easy, their school borrowed them from my 2010 production.

Busy Bee

I've been a busy bee last few days.
Added loads of Vintage patterns to my Etsy shop & sales started almost immediately. Several yards of lace, 4 patterns & an inquiry for all the lace as a lot all in two days. It would be nice if this continued. Here's a few examples of the 1940's-60's patterns I have for sale.

Yesterday I started on some personal sewing jobs for the Biggish Day.
Got the silk underbodice for my dress constructed, but am still waiting for the lining from Spotlight. It's so frustrating when I ordered it weeks ago & I can't go anyfurther with out it. Also cut out the lace overbodice. I drafted it & tweaked it on Mildura, but the lace is sitting quite different to the toile fabric that was a bit more fluid, so I need to work out how to get the bust sitting less puffy. It's exactly how I wanted though, so that's encouraging.
I also made the lace waistband & cut out 'millions' of silk petals for the waistband & birdcage fascinator. I still can't decide on exactly what I want so there is lots of samples, more things to put in the shop hopefully. I tried a little padded heart to sew the bits on to & a few gathered flowers, but decided I really want more authentic silk flowers. They are just so time consuming.

This silk flower is abut 150 years old from
the Vienna Museum Fashion Collection that I visited in June.
Mine is just going to be ivory & blush.

Love the size of this one, not too big, but still quite bridal.
   I don't quite get the point of the ones with veiling across the eyes,
so this really appeals to me.
Sorry I don't know where I got the pic. 

I've also been making a playlist for the wedding reception. I think we've got a good mix so far. Some romance, some dance music, some jazz, some classics, some silly songs (with Larry).

Prague Quadrennial: Estonian exhibit by Reet Aus

I have also been trawling google for more ideas for S2M. I'm getting more excited about the idea of upcycling, so I need to get down to Savers & other big Op Shops to find the right jackets, pants vests, skirts & tops to get sewing with. I think it's going to look so fun….

Lovely Lacies

Got the good old Etsy store up & running again today & filled it with beautiful Vintage lace from Austria, France & England. Aren't they pretty. Tomorrow it's the excess Vintage patterns.
It's just getting motivated to make some stuff. That's the scary bit, which is ridiculous when you think about how much I make in a year for Carey & Myer. I just have to move passed the idea that no one will buy anything. They will won't they……?

S2M

I just got back from a week in Mildura as costume maker, cook, ticket seller & general rouse about for Aspect Motion Dance Company's first tour collective. It was exhausting, but amazing.

Now I've got my next two projects to focus on.

The Servant of Two Masters, hereafter known as 'S2M', & my wedding, hereafter known as 'the biggish day'. Both due in December, I need to get my skates on & get designing, collating, & creating.

S2M costumes are a merge of Hi 5, Harajuku & Steampunk. I'm really hoping to try & upcycle as much as possible & make this show look really creative.

At the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Space & Design I was super inspired by Reet Aus, eesti-naiste-laulud,

an Estonian designer who creates new costumes out of discarded clothes & textiles. Then today when checking out some back issues of Belle Amoire I came across another group of designers, Gibbous Fashions,

who work with the same methods. I am so in love with their designs & will be scouring Savers for Vests, jackets, coats & pants to create our own upcycled outfits for the cast. I was already excited about this production, by now am more inspired than ever, especially knowing I have so few hours to work on it.

Surely the parents & students can manage this sort of crazy costume construction where there are no rules & no need to be highly skilled in sewing, patternmaking & construction methods.

I'm really excited & can't wait to get shopping.

My aim is to come under budget & still look spectacular.

The other project has only 88 days to completion. Argh!

The biggish day is going to be very DIY, but still our budget seems wildly extravagant. Some lace, some fabric, a lot of fabric, some mdf cutouts, stickers, straws, more fabric, ribbon, paper, heart shape paper clips. So many little things add up. And then the big things like the venue & catering….

Pretty Pieces

I have too many options for the Biggish Day. I have searched so many website, wedding blogs, magazines, that I can't narrow all the ideas down. I guess on the upside I can just try a whole heap & then sell what I don't absolutely love. Good way to get my Etsy shop up & happening again.
Waistbands, fascinators, jewellery, dresses. No, I should really only make one dress.
Tomorrow I get started. Really, the search has to stop & the making has to start.