2015 Blog Goals

While I do not make New Years Resolutions, I would like to make a list of goals that I wish to accomplish with this blog this year. I initially started this blog with the intention of making and blogging at least 1 garment a week for myself to build up my homemade wardrobe. That fizzled out after less than 2 weeks. This reboot of the blog is doing better, with me just aiming to blog about whatever I make, without too many strict deadlines, and no real purpose to my blog, other than informing others of what I get up to (and possibly a few hints and tricks for sewing and cooking)

So rather than having a completely aimless blog, I have come up with some things to acheive this year (which you can all look forward to)

1. I want to participate in as many sew-alongs as my time and money will allow. I have had so much fun (even with the deadlines) participating in the swirl sew-along and the Vintage pyjama party sew-along. Its great to be sewing something at the same time as a group of people from around the world, and the help and support is amazing! Plus it's a great way to expand your wardrobe with things you might not have thought to make before.

2. I want to host my own sew-along, most likely with a free pattern to make it easily accessible to all.

3. I'd like to do a give away. Not sure what or why yet, but I have time.

4. I'd like work out how to digitize/pdf some of my self drafted patterns to share with everyone. I've drafted myself a few over the years, so I would like to share, and the internet can always use some more great free sewing patterns. I will probably have to get a proper computer to do that though, don't think my Samsung tablet will do.

5. Write up a few informative sewing tutorials. Teaching is not my strong point, and I always forget that not everyone shares my sewing knowledge, so I would like to write some tutorials that are accessible even for beginners.

6. Collaborate with another blog, whether it be writing as a guest on someone else's blog, or having a guest write on mine, or perhaps doing a joint sew-along or giveaway? Only time will tell.

That's it for the list for now, but I may add to it at a later date.

Do you have any suggestions of things I should do with my blog this year?

Dixie O'Dare

Kitty helps sew!

A look back at my 2014

Being New Years Morning and all, I thought I might write up a post about my year. While I know 2014 has been a horrible year for some, including some of my close friends and family, it will be a year I look back on with much fondness.

Warning: This is a very long post

2014 saw me take my first trip overseas (and also my second and third) with a famil trip to Cambodia in April with Peregrine. It was a very eye opening trip for me, learning about the horrors that happened there in the 70's, seeing some of the locations and bones of the victims so close, it was impossible for me not to cry. But on the other hand, I got meet some of the friendly locals, I sampled local cuisine (but not the deepfried spiders) and I explored some of their beautiful ancient temples.

Posing at Angkor Wat

The faces of Bayon

Trees growing through Angkor Thom

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

Cambodia really is a beautiful country, with an extremely rich cultural heritage. This is one country you want to see as soon as you can, and enjoy it before it becomes too commercialised and overrun with tourists.

I also got to go for a quick 4 day trip out to Norfolk Island, curtesy of Oxley travel and Norfolk Island Tourism. A very cute little rock in the middle of the ocean, it has a country town feel to the community, with all the perks of being a secluded island (unpredictable weather included)

Then of course, July held the biggest event  of my year. My Wedding!!! I had spent a few days a week, for the past 2 months leading up to this, at my grandma's, sewing my dress, and had spent 4 months prior to that painstakingly hand beading lace applique pieces. I even spent some of the night before my wedding stitching the red ribbon to the waist of the dress. The skirt used 20m of tulle, which was so wide I cut it into 4 widths, so essentially 80m of tulle went into it. The outer skirt is comprised of two gathered layers of 20m of tulle,  which then had a satin circle skirt underneath, with the rest of the tulle used to make a tiered petticoat with most of the volume on the bottom tier, to balance out the bulk at the waist created by the 2 gathered layers. I kept telling everyone it made me feel like the most glamourous puff ball/marshmallow! 

Our wedding had plenty of other handmade touches to it. I made faux fur capelets for my bridesmaids, a faux fur jacket for myself, lace doilie bunting for the cake table and lollie buffet, the photobooth backdrop, dyed doilies and made table numbers for the centrepieces, and, I also made the cake (despite numerous objections from friends and family) and trust me, it was a damn tasty cake. Whilst a few things went wrong on the day, I married my husband, and wouldnt have done it any other way.

Quick glass of Dom Perignon before going to the church

Arriving at the church

First kiss as a Married couple

The Bridal Party

It was a bit chilly

Cutting the Scrumptious Cake

The Candy Buffet

 My maid of honour was such a big help in the days leading up to the wedding. She stayed over at my house and, while I was busy meticulously icing the cake, she painstakingly washed all the glass containers for the lolly buffet, taste tested the lollies, filled the containers, covered them in gladwrap, and packed them carefully into boxes for transportation. I was so busy in those last few days, the lolly buffet may not have happened had she not been there for me. She was also instrumental in making sure I didnt forget anything when we set up the day before, or on the day itself. 

Photobooth!!!

Then of course, another highlight of 2014 was our honeymoon! This was my husband's first trip overseas (but my third by this point, although it was the first one I booked) We were gone almost a month, and started our trip with a week in York staying with Family.

Quick drink before our flight out of Sydney

Matt in a train at the National Railway Museum in York

Throw her in the Stocks! At the Castle museum in York

York has some absolutely amazing museums. My husband and I spent a whole day at the national railway museum (he loves trains!) And the castle museum has some amazing displays, including a whole reproduction of a victorian era street, complete with a back alley, and shops you can enter. We also walked the historic York walls, did some shopping in the Shambles, had a bit of a pub crawl,  and found a cute York Cat trail treasure hunt style walk, where the clues lead you around York to find old Cast Iron cat statues. Apparently, back in Plague days, these statues were put out to scare away the rats that carried the plague.

The cliffs of Moher in Ireland

 One of my husband's favourite parts of the honeymoon was definitely our 3 day tour of Ireland with Shamrocker tours (which we both HIGHLY reccomend!) As well as the extra day we spent in Dublin at the Guinness Storehouse. No prizes for guessing why he loved that. We did the 3 day Southern Rocker tour, and they sure do cram alot into 3 days. We saw so many sites, and many a laugh was had. Our tour guide Kim was great and had fantastic knowledge of local myths and legends. Plus she liked a sneaky pint now and then.

The Mona Lisa

 After a few nights in London, which neither of us really enjoyed much, we caught the Eurostar to Paris! Unfortunately by this point we had both caught a nasty cold from one of the hostels we stayed in, so when we finally got to our fabulous 4 1/2 star hotel, we just ordered room service and enjoyed the comfy bed. I think they were initially shocked to see 2 backpackers walk in to the lobby! We enjoyed 4 fabulous nights in Paris, and while I would have liked to explore more, it took alot of effort to get out of bed. Luckily, my boss and coworker had given us a wonderful wedding present for our first full day in Paris. They bought us a guided city tour, lunch at the Eiffel tower and a river cruise on the Seine, so we were able to take in alot of the sites without making too much effort. Other than that, we spent a full day at the Lourve (I could have spent many days there) and mostly just wandered around the Eiffel tower as it was so close to our hotel. Of course we had a crepe in front of the Eiffel tower, and I bought myself a white beret.

Crepes plus Eiffel tower Selfie!

All lit up at night

We also camped in Munich for Oktoberfest for 4 nights, but a lack of electricity and wifi at the campsite meant I didnt take any photos on my tablet to conserve charge. I will have to steal some of the photos my husband took later. We had alot of fun at oktoberfest, and being there for mostly weekdays meant it wasnt as busy, so we could usually get a seat, plus we met, and had drinks with quite a few locals. The Friday night we were there was just full of Australians getting embarrissingly drunk and puking in the alleyways... and I wont mention the condition of the amenities that day...... so my advice is, if you want to really immerse yourself in the festival, meet locals,  and actually be able to get a seat, go on a weekday. We found a second hand clothing shop (thanks to a recommendation from our bus driver) and I bought a Purple Dirndl and white blouse as a souvenir, which I also wore some of the time at Oktoberfest. We did look at Lederhosen, but they are quite expensive, and damn near impossible to find in my husband's size. However he did buy 4 german beer steins to bring home for himself. We are thinking of hosting an Oktobetfest event at our place in the new year, complete with homemade soft pretzels and pickles!

When we eventually made it back to Australia, our colds seemed to get worse again, and we stayed in bed for a few weeks until we were right again.

Then, the rest of the year you already know if you have been reading my blog. I made a 1950's style Wonder Woman Costume for halloween, participated in Sew Retro Rose's Swirl Sew-along, tested some sewing patterns for a few designers, cooked Macarons for a CWA cooking competition, participated in Tiny Angry Crafter's Vintage Pyjama party Sew-along and sewed or cooked nearly all the Christmas Presentswe gave this year.

2015 looks to be a great year for us. I am looking forward to my new job at Elsie George Boutique (as well as launching our own line in the new year) continuing work at the Travel Agency, especially now that I have my qualifications. As well as all the new things I will get to sew, and any new adventure married life may bring me (dont worry mum, no children just yet)

So that's it for my 2014. I hope everyone's 2015 will be just as great, if not better!

Dixie O'Dare

PS. I got my Swirly secret Santa! I can't wait to sew something fabulous with that fabric!

PPS. I now have pink hair. And a new dress. New Look 6457 view E

And now for some christmas kitty cuteness!

Homemade Christmas present roundup

Seeing as the Husband and I are pretty poor this year (we can afford bills and not much else) I decided that it would be best to make as many Christmas presents from my fabric stash that I could. Here's a roundup post of the things I made, as well as links to the tutotials I used. This list might help some of you save some money next Christmas.

Firstly, I needed something small for female coworkers and church friends, and after a discussion with my grandma, we came up with the idea to make them lingerie wash bags. Most ladies we know use them (I mean who wants to handwash delicates instead?) The last store bought one I had frayed after the first wash, and one my grandma had, the zip broke after the first wash. I had a quick look on pinterest (admittedly I could have come up with a tutorial/pattern myself, but time is of the essence this time of year) I found this cute tutorial, with fabric binding on the sides, that I liked the look of. I didnt follow the tutorial to the letter though, as I also overlocked and french seamed/top stitched my seams for extra strength.

The pieces of fabric cut out ready to make my first test bag

Almost done, just need to add the binding

Completed! Actually this was the second one, which I gave to my friend Rachel from Elsie George Boutique. We have very similar taste in fabric. 

My test one, just out of the washing machine.

I made 2 to start with, out of the same lovely floral cotton. I tested one out, by washing it a few times, and so far it has held up perfectly. I think the extra work I did on the seams should help it stay together for quite a while. After the first 2 turned out so well, I proceeded to cut out 6 more in differents fabrics, to suit different personalities.

4 more cut out ready to go

I didnt get photos of them all completed before I gave some of them as presents

My mum asked me to make her 2 plastic bag holders (you know, the tube kind with elastic at either end) so I whipped up 2 out of a bit of cherry print fabric I had. For each one, I used a rectangle 18 inches by 22 inches, overlocked the edges, folded in half longway and sewed the seam (I sewed it twice for strength) then turned in the edges with a wide hem, leaving a small gap open, which I then threaded some 1/4 inch elastic through. Attached a quick fabric hanging loop to the top, and they were done!

Mum's 2 bag holders plus her lingerie bag

I then found a fat quarter of horse fabric I knew my friend would love, and made her one as well.

My mother-in-law mentioned she would like a vintage style petal half apron, so I had a look at old patterns for inspiration, then drafted one up for her.

I based it off this one from pinterest

I started by folding a piece of tissue paper in half lengthways, then drawing a rough half petal shape out for the centre panel. I cut it out, then placed another piece of tissue paper under and to the side of the centre piece and drew out the side petal, which I then cut out. I then cut out a centre and 2 sides from both the main fabric, as well as a blue fabric to line it with. I also cut out a blue waist tie and a pocket from the birdy fabric. I added white piping along the edges, this is how it turned out:

I think she liked it. She wore it christmas day while cooking at her place.


I also like to hand sew felt christmas ornaments for my friends, so this year I came up with these (thanks pinterest)

This is before stitching them up

 I had someone in a facebook sewing group ask for the  pattern for these,  but as I had just cut them out free hand, I didnt have one. So I traced around the pieces I had and came up with this

Feel free to use this to make your own

For my Besties kids I thought it might be nice to sew them some christmas pyjamas. Last year I made them all toys (fort building kit, zombie bride with removable organs and a plush cthulhu) but I thought, as kids, they probably get toys from everyone. So using some of the leftover polka dot fabric from my christmas dress, as well as another different christmas fabric for each kid. I made each of them boxer shorts, using the Darcy boxer pattern from measuretwicecutonce as well as appliquing a piece of fabric to a plain shirt from big W/best and less, with help from this applique tutorial. The girls shirts were discounted winter shirts, so I took off the sleeves, and bound the armholes in the boxer short fabric, and I used the ladies size 8 option in the boxers (I'm hoping they will fit for a few years)

The girls pyjamas

The fabric I used on the boy's pyjamas

I somehow forgot to take a photo of all 3 finished sets. For the boy's pyjama top, I appliqued a koala to the front, then using a premade iron on applique, gave the koala a moustache. He loved his pyjamas so much, he wanted to wear them to the Christmas morning church service (his mum wouldnt let him) I made his boxer shorts a bit longer than the girls, added a few faux fly buttons, as well as taking a few inches off the sides, as the pattern is in adult sizes.

Then there are the people who are hard to sew for, particularly the men. So whipped up some fudge in a few flavours, and gave them that. Here are the recipes I use for fudge, theyre super simple and you only need to cook it in the microwave

Chocolate fudge:
400g can of condensed milk (395g will do)
100g butter cubed
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
100g dark chocolate finely chopped

Line a 20cm pan with foil.
place condensed milk, butter, sugar and syrup in a 3L glass bowl (I use my trusty pyrex bowl from the op shop) cook uncovered in the microwave for 10-12 mins, stirring every 2 mins, until bubbles appear over the whole surface while cooking (honestly my old microwave needed 8-10 mins, but my new one cooked it in 5) Stir in the finely chopped chocolate until it is melted through, then pour into your tray, and refrigerate. When set, lift out the fudge with the foil and cut into small pieces. One time for valentines day, I even used cookie cutters to cut out fudge hearts.

Cookies and cream fudge:
395g tin of condensed milk
1 cup castor sugar
125g butter
2 tbsp glucose syrup
200g white chocolate chopped
1/2 of a 150g pack of oreos chopped

Follow the same steps as for the chocolate fudge, but after the chocolate is stirred in and melted,  add the chopped oreos and mix.

For the Strawberry fudge, I used the cookies and cream recipe, but left out the oreos and added some strawberry flavouring and a few drops of pink food colouring.

I did have a great present planned for my husband, but unfortunately, I didnt get it finished in time for Christmas :( so everyone will have to wait (including him) to find out what it is.

Now that Christmas is over for another year, I'm looking forward to sewing up this baby for myself. Its a 2005 pattern, but with a distinct 1950's style to it. It was a present from my mumsy, and I'm thinking either view C or D

I hope everyone had wonderful Christmas, and that 2015 will be a great year for you!

Dixie O'Dare

A Christmas Dress....

So, doing all this sewing for everyone else for Christmas (alot of which I cant post yet to keep presents a secret, hence the recent radio silence) has got me thinking I really need to sew myself a Christmas Dress. I made myself a poinsettia Christmas skirt last year, and made a gored skirt with coordinating red panels for my bestie, but my skirt seems to have disappeared in the madness of 2014.

My good friend Beccie of Sew Retro Rose Fame has made some beautiful Christmas dresses over the last couple of years, and in particular 2013's Christmas Dress has had me pretty jealous. The dress was based on Beccie's Fall for Cotton Dress which was based on a vintage dress she saw at the Rose Seidler House Fifties Fair that was sadly too small for her (too small for her? No wonder I cant find true Vintage, lol)

Beccie's 2013 Christmas dress, Isn't it Fabulous?

So I've decided to kinda steal the design from her (sorry Beccie) but probably with a circle skirt, rather than a gathered one and maybe a different neckline. And without the amazing Christmas Shoes and Hair flower, sadly my budget doesn't allow for that much fabulous-ness.

I purchased roughly 4-5m of a gorgeous red velour fabric from Vinnies (op shop) a few weeks back, then I bought the same (I think it's the same) Gold Lurex binding from spotlight to do the gorgeous waistline embellishment with (and probably the hem as well)

Then I decided, maybe that dress wont be very suitable for an Australian summer........ so its been put on the shelf for a later day (or a Christmas in July)

 I also recently purchased some christmas Polka Dot Cotton which I thought would look great made into one of Gertie's patterns, butterick B6019. Being cotton, this will be a much more wearable dress for the hot Australian Christmas.

Butterick B6019. I'll be making the full skirted version

I even had some help cutting out

His name is Prince, and he is a big mumma's boy

I went for the full skirted option, to allow a bit of breeze and swishy-ness. I read Gertie's blog post about it, and made the same adjustments to the pattern she did. I added 3 inches to the length of the skirt, underwires in the bust area, as well a waist stay and extra boning. I also did not cut the size that the pattern envelope said I should. According to my measurements I should make a size 22, but I made the size 18 instead, and it's a perfect fit.

I forgot to take many progress photos of this dress, I was too busy watching bones on my tablet

A few mirror selfies before heading out

The bust is really pointy on this pattern, but I kinda like it now, very 1950's! 

I finished making this dress yesterday, after church, but before my church's carols night. I got loads of compliments, and it fits like a glove, so this dress is definitely a win for me, I'll make it again!

Dixie xoxo

Everything Your Mama Made Pattern Testing

I was lucky enough to be chosen to test this fabulous new pattern by EYMM.

The description of this pattern is:

"The ‘Off The Shoulder Cowl Neck Dress & Peplum Top’ is a simple and modern top and dress with an inviting neckline finish. The upper and mid sleeves are fitted, with a looser, open wrist and a longer length."

It has many different lengths and skirts styles, and I naturally went for the below the knee circle skirt option. This Pattern calls for the use of a knit fabric, making it a stretchy, easy to fit, comfy design. Seeing as I don't keep too many knits in my stash (and the deadline was 3 days!) I chose to go with a glittery red fabric that I bought a whole bolt of when my favourite store, Clarksons, closed down. I have made quite a few dresses out of this fabric before and I just love it!

The Red dress in this is made from the same fabric. 

Before I even began to Sew mine up, I noticed in the Tester group on Facebook, that the waistline on this dress looked quite low. I like my circle skirts to start at the smallest part of my waist. I mentioned this to the pattern designer, and she said we could shorten the bodice by up to 2 Inches if we wanted, but she did want to see how long the bodice was on me before I altered it. So I got to Sewing..... 

The bodice before alteration 

After I cut 2 inches off the bodice. The weight of the skirt pulls it so it sat at pretty much the same spot. 

I ended up taking just under 5 inches off the bottom of the bodice, to get the waistline to sit where I wanted it. This was mostly due to the amount of stretch in my fabric, as well as the weight of the skirt. The longer bodice definetely works for the peplum length, but needs to be shortened if you want the added weight of a full skirt. I believe the designer has now added a second, shorter, cutting line to the bodice pattern, for the skirted option.

As this dress has a fairly loose fit, and is made in a knit fabric, it really does need a belt or sash to cinch in at the waist, and looks great with a petticoat. I wasnt sure about this dress as I was sewing it, but now I absolutely love it! I think this will become a staple in my wardrobe for next winter for sure! 

This pattern is available, only as part of a Sew Fab Winter pattern bundle of 10 patterns, which you can find here for only US$29.95. Thats less than $3 a pattern! This pattern will be available for purchase by itself, sometime in the future.

This pattern is a great introduction to working with knits, and is versatile with a few different options. The peplum top looks great with leggings and boots, while I love the 50's look of the below the knee circle skirt.

I really recommend this pattern for a great winter 1950's style dress.

Dixie 

P.S. I seem to be having some format issues with this post, that I cant seem to fix. I hope everyone can read it ok.

P.P.S I think I've fixed the formatting issue now... I hope