Sew Darn Tired

While those who can try to leave the southern states in the winter for the warmer climes of Queensland, during the recent school holidays we went to Melbourne. I was lucky that I could get time off (without pay) from my new employer for the school holidays and so I decided my first pay packet in 13 years would be spent wisely on the things I love... being with my son, travel and fabric! Years ago I had a boyfriend from Melbourne so went down firstly to meet his family and then years later I  worked for a travel company that is based in Melbourne and we would go down for training and managers meetings at least twice a year for 6 years and since then, have been going regularly at least once a year. I loved Melbourne from the first time I went down.. the food, the shopping, the comedy, the arts, the theatre and most importantly the very different nature of the people. Of course I didn't just limit myself to Melbourne but visited many top areas in the surrounds too.  So ...

I've just come across a fabric sale that is in Melbourne on Saturday 18 April. Below are the details from  designerstitch.com.au  where they have a list of fabric shops in Brisbane and surrounds and also through the rest of Queensland and the other states. I'm sure if you live in Melbourne you are aware of Designer Stitch School of Fashion and Design, but I'd never heard of them before. The list of fabric shops in and around Brisbane is very comprehensive and there are some I have not heard of before. Massive Italian Fabric Warehouse Sale  April 18th – Open Direct to the Public One Day Only – Saturday 18th April  from 9.30 am until 3.30pm. 5 Marriott Street, Oakleigh. (off Dandenong Road ) ( the building does not have an obvious sign –  with only a small sign in window that reads “ Christopher George”) Fabrics at wholesale prices – ALL imported direct from ITALY…. Linens – $5.00 p/m Denims – $6.00 p/m (varying weights and stretch) Silks – $5.00 p/m (...

I'm back from Melbourne and doing some great things. I saw Nick Cave  on Thursday night and as ever he was great if you like that sort of thing. On Friday I went to the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition in the National Gallery of Victoria , it too was great. It was a great exhibition. There is a large body of work there...it's probably one of the best exhibitions I've seen. I recently saw the  Undressed  exhibition in Queensland Museum and I wasn't that impressed. It was small and all the exhibits were behind glass and the lighting I thought was poor (others made comments in the visitors book too, so I wasn't alone there). Admittedly the underwear exhibits are much older, but it was hard to see details. The Gaultier exhibition was all uncovered, with many rooms in different themes with many, many exhibits. You were permitted photos with no flash and could get right up close - but naturally not touch. I spoke with a guard there who was writing a report, in great detai...

I made the Style Arc Kerry Cargo Pants this afternoon. I cut them out and then I called back Telstra to fix my Dad's Foxtel account. In the time it took me to sort the problem out, I had nearly finished them by the time I spoke to the tele sales person... notice I didn't say by the time I fixed the problem! Can you see the phone.. it was 32 minutes by then but I had about another 20 minutes left to do. These are quick and easy.  I didn't look at the instructions at all. I nearly didn't make the side cargo pockets as I was making these just to see the sizing. When I made the McCalls jumpsuit (not finished, not blogged yet), it didn't fit around the bum and I checked the pattern pieces against the Style Arc one and they were very similar - so i added 1cm to the side seam and they fit fine - glad I added it though! No pictures on yet. These are a wearable muslin made from my stash. This fabric is some from my Mum's stash that she gave me years ago. I made the...