Dairing at the Dressmakers Do

2016 Dressmakers Do : Party time in Melbourne town

Lace LBD

Machine knit Dairing 2/3/Four

Listening to the fabric : felted grey wool jacket

Another occasion to frock up and celebrate all things made by hand with some very talented sewists, this time at the #DressmakersDo organised by the lovely Nichola of the Handmaker's Factory and Leisl of Jorth.
I went for a textural, black and grey outfit; three separates that I know will get plenty of wear in my Melbourne wardrobe.

First up is my classic black lace sheath dress - some may recall that I made and wore this to the very first Frocktails in 2013. Yes, it's the same lace dress, and I still adore it. It has it's very own blog post here: Everyone needs an LBD 09/2013

still haunted by that flash, but what a delightful introduction it was to some lovely and talented sewing friends!

To add some warmth for my travels, I made a grey coat with the most fabulous felted wool - it will have it's own post soon.
For some interest, I thought an avant-garde top knitted in stainless steel, silk and cotton might be just the thing.
Meet Theresa Dair's Dairing top 2/3/Four.

As an overlay (also great with a black tank)

I really like Teresa Dair's design aesthetic. Textural pieces, often knitted with non-traditional threads, in non-traditional gauges, which can be worn in a multitude of ways. It's very similar to my favourite Japanese pattern designers and when made in shades of black, perfectly me ;)
And from the back in its shawl cardigan view:

Crafting friends really are the best.

I found the Dairing 2/3/Four kit in a Raveller's destash, mentioned on Instagram that I was contemplating dabbling in machine knitting to make it and received the most generous offer of a loan of a knitting machine. (thank you again x)

gratuitous dachshund shot. Yes, he 'helped'...

The hand knitters guild market gave me an opportunity to observe and meet some machine knitters, as well as to meet the talented Teresa Dair herself and get some hints on converting the pattern to being machine knit.
The machine knitters guild (MKAV) in the form of the lovely Christine encouraged and guided me through the skills required and I set to work.

For anyone who, like me, has never dabbled before, it's both as easy, and much more time consuming than I had imagined. The actual processing of each row is very quick. The set up, double e-wrap cast on, troubleshooting and eventual cast off was a steep learning curve.

My swatch - used to determine the amount of stitches to cast on, and how many rows to knit.
I underestimated my sleeve length.

The machine is not unlike my overlocker - adorable when behaving but a bugger to rethread and troubleshoot - I don't 'know' it intimately enough yet, so troubleshooting has been a lot of retracing of my steps and cursing.

After 187 rows, the 2nd sleeve was done! So was the cone of thread....

I then used my sewing machine to attach the 4 pieces (Four pieces is a direct reflection of it's name 2/3/Four. I also have Two/3/4 in the same yarn/threads).
I finished it and wasn't sure if I liked it.

I then had to unpick the left sleeve, you may see it's tight in the photo. This was painful.  It was necessary as my 'loose' cast off was still far too tight, exacerbated by the fact that I'd inserted it upside down. I couldn't move my left arm. The cuff on the left now stretches out horribly after 10min of wear, despite blocking ;( I might add a flared cuff extension to both arms, maybe...

new friends and old ;)

Updated newsflash: I do like it ;) It's missing in most of my DressmakersDo photographs as the venue was warm, and as lightweight as it is, the silk & stainless steel is warm as well. What struck me by surprise is how very soft the fabric is! I really was anticipating it being more sculptural, however it's a delightful soft top.

Project page on Ravelry is here

Photowall props for the Win!

KNIT: Seaside Foundry in White Gum Wool

Oh how I have enjoyed knitting as part of a community. I've taken part in 2 KALS, or knit-alongs over on Ravelry since last I wrote. Both were shawls, and both were by Shannon Sanchez Designs.

Foundry is a steampunk inspired design, with rusting rivets, that I simply had to take to the beach.

I had the most fabulous time knitting Foundry, yes, at the beach, being inspired by the constant, reassuring crash of water, the golden sand and the continually changing colours of the waves.
I've used two shades of White Gum Wool, from two talented indie dyers.

Rebecca of Augustbird dyed the Orange Earl as part of her TeaTime club in November 2015 and it  cleverly has subtle orange shades amongst it's green background.
Jenna of Nunnaba released Herbs as part of her 2015 Spiced collection and the blend of blue-green is simply divine.

White Gum Wool, the base that both dyed is simply the snuggliest, squishiest, most divine soft wool I've ever caressed. It does help that it comes from happy Tasmanian sheep, raised by Nan and processed sustainably in NZ. I first heard of WGW when SewJillian posted her shade card on Instagram. I simply had to get one of my own, read all of Nan's blog posts, and when it arrived, promptly knitted up all of the swatch card and went searching for semi-solid colours, which led me to Augustbird and Nunnaba ;)

Knitting Foundry was a series of 4 clues over 4 weeks, and they were big! First was to cast on over 300 stitches, definitely a record for me, by about 200.... Jenny taught me the long-tail cast on & I used both ends of my ball of Nunnaba Herbs, very uneventful and took a bit over an hour, phew!

My first KAL? It was for the mystery ArtDeco inspired garter stitch short-row shawl Lucky in September 2015. I knew what Foundry would look like when finished, for Lucky, it was a mystery until I'd finished clue 4. I learnt a lot knitting Lucky, especially different types of short rows (German suits me) and Judy's magic cast on (it's magical, I love it!).

Stretching Lucky on the line

I also learnt that I like BIG shawls and scarves, so that's why I chose to make the fingering/4ply Foundry in DK/8ply.

2.10m along the bottom edge, oh yeah!

My Ravelry Notes for Foundry:

I like the description of Foundry as a sampler, I learnt bobbles, i-cord cast-off edge, beading, lace, a long-tail cast-on of over 300 stitches and making a fingering shawl in DK ;) It was lots of fun.

Total size 82" across the top edge and 12"wide at the centre, perfect and as I hoped.

Total wool used 414m
Herbs (Nunnaba blue-green) - 86g (200m) (14g left)
Orange Earl (Augustbird Green) - 91g (214m) (9g left)

28/1/16: clue 3 done. Have 26g each of herbs and orange earl left. Used herbs for all of clues 1&2, orange earl for clue 3. I await clue 4…

27/1/16: mid way through the short rows of clue 3. Put on a double cable and I love the length!
My lace is an organic interpretation, rather than the patterns gridded metal, I can only improve with each lace project. And my first beads were slow but not too fiddly… (used a piece of metal wire prethreaded in batches and bent through each bead as I placed them)

12/1/16: finished clue 1.
Around 90” bottom edge length in Dk, perfect. 305 stitches. My first bobbles! Love it & am really happy I’ve opted for Dk. I didn’t do the beaded picot cast on, just a long-tail as I may find myself playing yarn chicken with the 2 green skeins. (used 50g) 

And a huge Thank You to Jenny who hung out at the beach with me and took these shots on an awesome photo shoot day!

70's Splendour at Frocktails Melbourne

Yes, I do spend my life swanning about at all the most fashionable functions ;)
No?
Well, in my dreams I do...

Photo Credit Poppykettle

After a wonderful weekend in our nations capital for #cbrfrocktails, I set about planning for '#Frocktails', here in my home city of Melbourne.
Now, I knew Canberra would be frosty cold, but somehow the Antarctic winter that Melbourne was experiencing was more 'real' and caused more angst about 'what to wear to be warm'. Well, that and the reality that I was staying next to the venue in Canberra, but would be waiting on open platforms and catching trains in Melbourne.
Jenny Rennous-Oh-Glennus had the most brilliant of solutions - pop over to her post to see not just the best full skirt ever made, but also, her hidden source of toasty warmth.

 I accompanied her on the train to Frocktails in a full length wool coat, appropriated from my mum's "AFL games at the MCG" attending wardrobe - I felt very Sherlock Holmes. I will be making one for next winter. My headdress was the source of much fascination for a young girl also on the train, clearly we were going to a ball.
And what a ball it was! 51 gorgeous ladies from as far afield as NZ & Brisbane, all in handcrafted magnificence. My photos of the evening aren't mine and all credit goes to Mel Poppykettle, Helen Funkbunny and Gabrielle UpSewLate, they have many more in their posts.

Photo Credit Poppykettle

Keeping up my tradition of sewing my way through my silk stash, I paired this very tactile, almost peach skin silk with a classic 1970's pattern. The Tuesday before Frocktails I was full of 'the flu' & my wonderful mum drove me around some opp shops, as we like to do. There were 5 perfectly 70's patterns in a little shop that simply said 'take me home' and this one then said 'make me, in silk, tonight'. I did mention my raging fever? Anyhow, I was sensible enough (for a change) to soak the silk in a gelatine mix before laying it out and cutting the dress as long as the crosswise width of my fabric allowed.

I've reinforced the channels at the top and along the CB zip with silk organza. SewSquirrel is my online & local supplier. This silk is divine, but really doesn't like being unpicked and even with a new microtec needle, threatens to run on the stitch lines. That invisible zip, it's white, shhh, don't tell anyone ... A perfect excuse to buy a new summer shade of nail polish really ;)

DH had understandable reservations when he saw it in it's full 70's glory, it was quite Aline and made a strong 70's silhouette statement. My concerns were more along the undergarments line, its not an opaque fabric, and in it's original styling, bras were rather optional.
Mel reassured me early on in the night that the paparazzi flash wasn't showing my undergarments, phew! (I'm still wary after my first Frocktails experience where my understated burgundy slip became the main event, rather than my black lace dress). For those curious, this has a black halter neck slip ;)

Photo Credit Funkbunny

It was a truly magnificent night and I managed to escort the last ladies standing down Collins St to hot chips after 2am, so that's a definite achievement!

A Canberra Capsule Wardrobe #CBRFrocktails

I recently flew up to Canberra for the inaugural #CBRFrocktails and after a few false starts landing through the fog, was warmly greeted by the local sewing spoolettes, coffee and a sunny sky. 

Seven items proudly made by me ;)

Most importantly, what did I wear! Well, I took great delight in packing a small case with a co-ordinated selection of favourite RTW and new and favourite me-made items. Basing my daytime outfit around a pair of dark denim mid-waisted boot cuts (I found my 'perfect' RTW jean at the 11th hour before sewing a pair), I simply required a top each day to go under my Named Patterns' Saunio +/- layered with my teal Swoon cardigan. Two perfect workhorses that, conveniently layer beautifully together.

Hopping around

Hop Hop Hop - the delightful Myra from My-Zee-Moo has passed the blog hop onto me and before I forget, I'm going to nominate my two hopping recipients - Jenny of Rennous-oh-Glennus and Helen Funkbunny! Now, to settle in with a coffee & answer the Blog Hop questions ;)

(no lie, I have just stepped back with a long Macc - freshly roasted beans & the perfect amount of texturised milk = yum) 

((and yes, Mac is named after coffee - a short and long one with just a stain of white...))

A silk sarong for Sydney: V1310

May I present .... a sarong...
(post edited to add some daylight photos of the V1310 skirt & Pattern Review post)

worn backwards in this shot, as worn to a wedding

Teal waterfall cardigan = Swoon

I do like teal. And when there's just enough left on the bolt of snuggly luscious wool knit at Rathdowne Remnants for a waterfall cardigan, well, how could I not indulge!

The pattern is Swoon's free Scarf Neck Cardigan, which comes in both women's and girls sizing. It's been made up recently (& locally) by MrsNickpea, Lara Thornberry and Sewn By Elizabeth, who was working on one at SewAway.

Mosses in AcCord

According to the dictionaries in Casa Maci, accord (the noun) is to agree or be in harmony with opinions, actions or characters - so, let's be in accord that MossesForAll is a valid aim ;)

Mosses For All!!!

 I missed #mossmakingmonth in April - and Thank You to Jenny for bringing it to my attention - and for facilitating my purchase of a remnant of fine black cord from Tessuti.

Half way through May #MMMay14

RenAlex&KMoss&CDSS, ClegsSS, CSS&Renfrew, SDT.

Top pic is V1250&ClegsSilkScarf 

The texta garments are MeMade, the pencil indicates RTW

One of my favourite online community events has to be Me Made May each year. This is the first year I've participated, but seeing sewists from around the world in their 'everyday' outfits is one of the most inspiring things - and of much more use to me for coordinating my wardrobe than any number of 'stylist' articles or photoshoots ;)

Week One had 4 days & was accompanied by Melbourne having a cold snap that took me completely by surprise - I couldn't remember what I wore last winter to stay warm!

Sew Grateful Week 2014 - Giveaway and reflection

I am Sew very Grateful to all of you, the enablers (new pattern anyone?), the supporters and the inspirationalists - I love what you're doing!!

Miss Bossy Patterns - Selecting a project for March

Over at the Monthly Stitch they realise that some of us may have patterns in our stash that we've never used, despite our very best intentions.
Some of us may also have fabric associated with these patterns…
The March Challenge is to select three of those patterns and to ask you to vote for one which will be sewn for March.
Now, my pattern stash is trying to keep up with Heather B of "all the patterns" and there are some gems that need some TLC before they are worthy.
There may also be some fabric that's waiting on the aforementioned pattern tweaking….
Getting to this glorious stage isn't going to happen in the next month ;)

Voting for all!!

So, I've chosen a luscious knit from the Clegs sale that I pat every time I pass and paired it with the first pattern I saw from Drape Drape - top #1 that I've never even traced….. I even have a draped red knit top shaped hole in my wardrobe (the RTW version is simply, worn out!)

Call me Anna, Social Anna

Why Hello Mac, welcome to your photoshoot

Call me Anna, By Hand London, Anna

Anna really is a social lass isn't she. She's been spotted all around the world, varying her look each time and always looking fabulous. She's really, really good looking and quite generous too - not bad for a lass who only entered the scene in 2013.

Christmas Time!!!

Happy Festive Season everyone! We celebrate Christmas with the family, but are also in the midst of birthday season ;)
This year I participated in three sewist's swaps and have met some of the most lovely and talented sewists and their blogs.

I participated in Kat's Sewist's Secret Santa and had a win! - My lovely recipient received her gift safely (big win! - and I do like meeting new-to-me bloggers!) and I received a lovely piece of vintage sewing patterned cotton/linen that I can't wait to convert to the sewing bag I've been itching to make to keep my bits & bobs organised and away from the boys. Thank You!

I was also part of the Handmade Ornament Swap organised by the lovely Kelli of True Bias who created a swap pool for us Aussies and NewZealander to save on international postage - yay! ;)
Five gorgeous ornaments arrived in my post box - snail mail!! and there was much jostling as the younger members competed to be able to open them & hang them on our rather undersized vintage tree! (ok, so they were scattered a little more for the week of Christmas!)