A sneak peek and a recipe

So, here is a sneak peek at the outfit I blogged about on Monday. It is finished but needs a mighty good press. I am thinking of wearing the orange top today with a brown skirt, and hoping that I don't look like a reject from the seventies...

And this lovely (or terrifying) pink guck you see is actually a yummy beetroot hummus that I made. We LOVE beetroot in our house, in goes into brownies, salads, sandwiches, stirfrys, the list goes on. So, after seeing a jar of this for sale at some crazy price I thought I would give it a go and you know what? It kind of worked.

1 can chickpeas

2 teaspoons tahini (super easy to make yourself, just google it)

1 or 2 cloves garlic

1 beetroot (mine was roasted but you could also use canned)

1 or 2 tsps balsamic vinegar

olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a blender, and add enough olive oil to get your desired consistency.

Lots more creative spaces right here.

I got my mojo back!

My sewing mojo that is. I have taken a rather extended break from sewing, after the last two dresses I made, neither of which are wearable at this point in time, I needed to step away from the sewing machine and reassess why I want to sew. And I realised that I was making life so hard on myself by rushing right into projects that are way to hard for me, especially after not sewing for such a long time beforehand. So I have been working on much, much simpler projects, using fabric I have found at op-shops, or that were already in my stash. I have nearly finished my version of this outfit.

The actual vintage outfit is available here but I have to say I like my version better. All I need to do is find some buttons for the top and then it is done so will try post pictures later on in the week. It was a much easier outfit for me to attempt, the skirt I have made before and the top is easy peasy (and of course the bow is not too difficult either). And now I am cutting out the fabric for another simple top, one that should be perfect for summer.

Plus, the most important part of it is, I am actually enjoying sewing these projects. I am not getting stressed, or angry when something isn't working, and am taking my time and enjoying the process, a new concept for me when it comes to sewing. So, yay for sewing mojo!!!!

(Now I just need to channel the same energy into finding a job I actually want to do... that might take a little more effort.)

Advanced Style Blog

Has anyone out there seen this blog? The author roams the streets of NY taking photos and talking to stylish older people he meets. It is so sweet and inspiring and I highly recommend it as a pick me up.

Advanced Style

Vintage Sewing and modern bodies

image from what-I-found

A friend is leaving Sydney in a few months and mentioned as her going away party she wanted everyone to dress up and go to some cocktail bar. I thought it might be fun to find a vintage 60's dress pattern and make a dress for this. So I started to search and I have to say have taken something of a blow to my confidence. On What-I-Found they have 6108 vintage patterns, but when I search using my bust size I get 46 results, most of which are from the 80's. That works out as roughly .7%! Most of the patterns from the 60's were for a bust size at least 4 inches smaller then mine.

Now, while I am not exactly small I am also not big, I am well within a healthy weight range for my height, I eat well and I exercise (mostly). But I feel like if I were to be transported back to the 60's I would be considered obese. Although interestingly, given one quote I found on the average size of a woman in the 60's, while I am taller my waist and hip measurements are right on par, but my bust is much bigger (although don't ask me how reliable these figures were, people can say pretty much what they want here on the internet can't they).

So, I wonder, how much have our bodies changed over the last 50 years. And is this fashion for vintage out of reach for a lot of us as we simply do not have the bodies to fit the clothes? One statistic I found (and have heard a lot) is that in the last 15 years alone the average bra size, in the U.S, has gone from a 34B to a 36C. If there can be that drastic a change in 15 years imagine how different women could have looked 50 years ago! And it is hardly surprising with the amount of drugs, hormones and chemicals have been introduced to our lives (but that is another post!).

I guess the best solution, for me anyway, is to take a pattern drafting course and to learn how to resize vintage patterns to fit my modern frame. Because at the end of the day I will take a wiggle dress over a pair of skinny jeans every single time.

image from what-I-found

My Creative Space

involves looking at a large pile of glass and trying to decide if any of it is usable. This time I am thinking there is very little there, none of it has been in the sea long enough to get that beautiful worn look that makes sea glass so appealing to me. This lot might just have to go in the recycling, which is at least better then it littering out beaches! I'll be taking a second and third look just to be sure though.

I have been adding plenty more stock to my store if you are interested in taking a look at some proper sea glass.

And, as aways plenty more beautiful creative people here.

Dreaming

Today I am dreaming of Africa. Dreaming of the rain that you could swear was going to engulf you. Dreaming of the elephants grazing on the side of the road. Dreaming of the children who were so trusting they would fall asleep in your arms. Dreaming of the smell of the plains at 5am. Dreaming of hearing lions outside of a tent. Dreaming of the sound of the Indian Ocean. Dreaming of the amazingly talented, crafty women, selling their wares for much, much less then I would sell mine. Dreaming of the sense of space and freedom. Dreaming of the feeling of a dream come true.

What are you dreaming about today??

Happy, happy!

Wow, two posts in one day, it must be a miracle!

Today, I feel good. After months of dithering about I feel like things are happening. I have opened my store and have enrolled in a Silver Jewellery course (something I have wanted to do for years and years and years). And, while I am not yet earning money (which people seem to put a hell of a lot of emphasis on) I feel like maybe, finally, I am finding a direction.

Also, I have been a whiz in the kitchen this morning making things for the mans lunch this week. Chicken and chickpea balls anyone? Perhaps some homemade muesli bars?

Both recipes from this (rather excellent) book.

And the winner is...

Kate, from Foxs Lane!

Congratulations Kate, I have sent you an email so if you could email me your address that would be great!

Thanks to everyone who left a comment, I really appreciated the feedback. My store is now up and running and can be seen here.

Have a great day everyone!!

My Creative Space - GIVEAWAY!

After my last post and some encouraging words I have decided to just jump in with the madeit store, so today I am taking photos and setting it up. So, I thought to celebrate I would have a little giveaway and send one of my sea glass pendants to one of you lovely folk, the glass was picked up off various beaches so these are also good for the environment (recycling and all that)! All you need to do is let me know which of these necklaces you prefer in the comments and follow my blog, I will then randomly pick a winner on Monday. Easy peasy. Hopefully, it will be smooth sailing, but I have never done anything like this before so be kind, although you always are :-)

As always, plenty more creative spaces here!

Decisions, decisions...

So, I haven't worked in about 18 months. My husband and I travelled for a year and then moved to Sydney so I spent time finding us a house, making it a home and generally trying to make life as easy as possible for my man who had to go back to work. But, that time is now well and truly up and I should be off looking for work again. But I just can't make myself do it. Somewhere along the line I totally messed up the career part of my life and the only work I am skilled to do I so do not want to do. What I have loved is spending the last few months getting in touch with my creative side again, and I don't want to give up my making. But, that is not fair for my husband. So what to do, what to do?

I have toyed with the idea of setting up a madeit shop selling embroidery and jewellery but it is hard to know if anyone would be interested in buying my things. Should I just jump on in and see how it goes?

I have also toyed with the idea of heading back to university to do another undergraduate degree but after doing it once (and still having the debt to prove it) I am not sure if I can commit to another four years and at least another $20,000 in debt.

Or should I simply suck it up, and start earning money again so my husband does not have to take the full burden of supporting us (he does stress, needlessly I might add, about our finances).

So, today I am filled with indecision and doubt, wondering what will become of this life of mine. So, here are some photos from our travels, just to finish this post on a high note. Thanks for listening :-)

Sewing for men

This is a post I have wanted to write about for a while as the issue arose about a month ago. My husband doesn't really go for the handmade goodies (he still has nightmares about the super itchy homemade jerseys he had to wear as a child) but he did ask if I would be able to sew him some shirts. He is quite slim and so really needs to wear fitted shirts which are surprisingly hard to find (unless you want to spend hundreds of dollars, which we don't). He even went so far as to come into Lincraft with me and sit looking at pattern books trying to find something. And we came out with nothing, nadda, zippo. There was maybe five pages of mens clothing, with at least 2 of these being for scrubs, 1 for a halloween costume and the rest were for boxy shapeless shirts. It seems like the modern pattern companies have given up on the men, they seem to be able to stay on top of women's fashion, providing thousands of lovely patterns, but when it comes to the men there is very little out there.

So I have had a bit of a browse at the vintage patterns, but I doubt this is what he is thinking of:

Image from What-I-Found

So, is it because the majority of home sewers are women that this demographic is not catered to at all? I think we all know from experience that it is not because men don't care how they dress. I for one would love to find someone out there producing patterns that are modern and fitted and classic, all at the same time, so I can make something for the man I love.

Of course, I could just make him the always popular jumpsuit? What do you think??

Image from What-I-Found

My Creative Space - trying to be about the process not the product

Knitting a cardigan has been a real learning experience, and not just for all the new techniques and skills I am learning. I have figured out that I am an immediate gratification kind of girl and tend to focus on the final product. I tend to make things that are quick, at the most a couple of days and that I rush things that should not be rushed (ahem, a dress that does not fit at all and that now needs the 3 hours of hand sewing to be unpicked is a good example...). So knitting a cardigan has gone totally against the grain for me, I have been working on it for weeks already and have still not finished the back (nearly there though!). I have found this quite frustrating, I just want it done. now. But, you can't rush knitting so I am having to learn how to just enjoy the process of knitting. Hopefully it is also teaching me to take my time on other projects as well, particularly my sewing.

Lots of other people hopefully enjoying the process here!