Daily Style - Weekend Shenanigans

This weekend was great! On Saturday I headed out early to the Lifeline $2 sale. Lifeline do a big sale on the Gold Coast twice a year where they sell out a whole bunch of clothes, belts and bags for $2 each. I got some great bargains! Then I headed over the road to the uni where the Way We Wear Vintage Fair was being held. I was lucky enough to score a free ticket from Kitty's Vintage Kitsch the night before so I made sure I stopped by their booth on the day to have a chat and say thank you and I must say I am very glad I did. The girls from Kitty's Vintage Kitsch are just darling! At the fair and when I visited their store the other week I was greeted like an old friend and got amazing service. I highly recommend visiting their store if your ever on the Gold Coast because these ladies really know their stuff.

Top: Temt

Cardigan: Temt

Skirt: Vintage

Tights: Big W

Shoes:

Suitcase: Vintage

Necklace: Ebay

That night we headed out to dinner with Corey's family and some old family friends. I wore the outfit above because it was freezing. Winter is definitely on its way to the Gold Coast! I didn't actually take the suitcase out with me but I really wanted to show it to you. I bought it at the vintage fair for a steal. The skirt was also from the fair and I got it from a lady whose last fair it was so she was clearing out everything for half price.

The suitcase is in great condition and I think it will make the perfect little weekend away case. I really want to plan a weekend away now just so I can use it!

Today Corey and I had our engagement photos taken at Currumbin. The universe has been working against with these photos but we finally managed to get them done. We had so much fun with our photographer and I can't wait to get the photos back. The wedding is only five and a half months away now. So exciting!!!

The Cushion Formerly Known As Puff Daddy

Everyone in the world needs a puff! It's the perfect thing for resting your feet on after a long hard days work while reading a book. Or for little kids to sit on when watching tv. And the best thing is it knits up super fast!!!

Pattern: Puff Daddy by Pickles

Yarn: Cleckheaton Country Wide in Sunshine

Time Taken: 2 days

Actual Knitting Time: approx 4 hours including assembly.

I found this pattern last week on Ravelry and instantly knew I wanted to make one. All I needed were some big fat needles and some big fat wool. Thus the epic search began. So I went to Spotlight and searched and searched but all I could find was fat wool in the wrong colour and skinny wool in the right colour. I walked up and down those aisles for half an hour hoping to find something and nothing. So I went home and searched the internet. All the shops I found had the perfect coloured wool in the perfect ply but were so expensive Corey would have shot me if I purchased them. One was going to cost me $200 to buy enough wool to make one puff. Outrageous!!!

Then I had the bright idea to search ebay and my prayers were answered. In a little ebay shop called yarn-4-u I found the perfect yarn at the perfect price. Now this is not a paid advertisement but I feel it is my duty to share with you how good this shop is. I found the wool Monday and had it by Wednesday. This seller is super efficient and answers all questions promptly so if you are considering purchasing wool on ebay I would check this shop out.

Now I'm off to pop my feet up and have a cup of tea before work. Hope everyone has a fantastic Friday!!!

1 Pattern, Seven Bloggers - Week 4

Ooh only 1 more week and we will be posting our finished dresses!!! That means I better get my act into gear otherwise I won't have a dress to post about. This week we are meant to be creating a tutorial about some of the methods/techniques we have used to make our dresses. The problem is I have actually used a few tutorials myself in aid of making this dress so it seemed redundant to write a tutorial for something that someone else has already written a very impressive one for. So instead I am going to share the tutorials that I have chosen to use for my dress.

Firstly, this french seams tutorial from Colette Patterns. Lately I have been trying to take as much care with the inside of my garments as I do with the outside. I know I am the only one that sees it but it makes me feel good knowing my garments look just as professional from the inside as they do from the outside.

Source: colettepatterns.com via Kat on Pinterest

I will also be using this bow belt tutorial which was posted by Tilly and the Buttons ages ago.

I love bows and I am really looking forward to making a belt that I will be able to wear with

this dress as well as with other dresses that I make in the future.

Source: tillyandthebuttons.com via Kat on Pinterest

And lastly I will be making a peter pan collar for my dress using this tutorial from BYOV. I really like peter pan collars but all the dresses I find with them have high necklines which can make me look huge so I have wanted to make my own for ages. I love this tutorial but I don't think I will make my collar scalloped. Decisions, decisions!!!

Source: byov.blogspot.com via Kat on Pinterest

Well I guess I better get started on my dress now since I only have 1 week left. Eeek!!! Wish me luck!!!

Project Restyle

Project Restyle is a flickr group that was started by Elsie from A Beautiful Mess and Rachel from Smile & Wave where people could upload pictures of projects that they have done. The only condition was they had to be restyled from materials/clothing/furniture etc that they already owned. The idea was to take something old and make it new again. I posted a couple of projects to the group when it first started but then have not added anything since until this morning.

I took this old corkboard that has been sitting in my sewing room for ages and decided to turn it into a display board for my necklaces. I am starting to think of projects that I can make now for when we buy a house at the end of the year so that when we do our house can start to feel like a home straight away.

I also used some leftover quilt batting that I had from when I made my first ever quilt and some material I bought to make a skirt that didn't work out and some ribbon.

I glued the wadding down to the corkboard then added a few staples to get it to stay. Then I stretched my fabric over the corkboard and stapled it into place as well. Lastly, I added a couple of pieces of ribbon and all my necklaces and ta-da. A new necklace display!

At the moment this is sitting on top of my dresser but when we buy a house I am going to hang it on the wall. I want to make a brooch holder as well and make a little feature display on the wall. God I can't wait until we buy a house!!!

Daily Style - My New Favourite Colour

Dress: Vintage from Beyond Retro

Belt: Poundland

Boots: Rubi Shoes

Glasses: FCUK

Navy blue is fast becoming my favourite colour! I own 2 vintage dresses in navy and also a navy pleated skirt which I wear to death. My go to combo is navy and red but I have also been throwing in a little bit of tan or yellow or pink to mix things up as well. Navy is practically a neutral!!! Anyway, this is another dress that I bought in London from Beyond Retro. It is so comfortable and I have worn it heaps since I bought it. I wish we had Beyond Retro in Australia. But luckily the other day I discovered Kitty's Vintage Kitsch in Mt Tamborine which I am pretty sure is the only vintage store on the Gold Coast. I bought two new dresses on my first visit. If you are from the Gold Coast or are visiting the Gold Coast I recommend you stop but this shop. It is gorgeous!!!

Forgotten Projects

This morning I was hit with a strong urge to knit something. So my first point of call was ravelry! I love this website. It has so many patterns to choose from and most of them are free. I also love that you can read other people's feedback on the patterns before you make them and learn from their mistakes. Anyway, while I was on ravelry I realised I made two things before I left that I never posted on my old blog so I thought I would share them here.

The first is a beanie I made for myself to take to Europe. I didn't take any proper photos of it before we left and still haven't so here is one of me wearing it while in line to see the Vatican. Not the best photo but oh well.

Pattern: Lucky by Kim Hargreaves

Yarn: Spotlight Basics Empire in Russet

Time Taken: 1 day

Actual Knitting Time: 2 hours

This was so super quick to knit! I started it while watching the end of Harry Potter and finished it while watching an episode of Dexter. One of the quickest things I have ever knitted and it turned out perfect. Love it!

The second item I forgot to share is the scarf that I made for my sister to her birthday. Again I forgot to take any detail shots of it before I gave it to my sister so you get one of her wearing it instead. This was our very first day in London when we went out sightseeing.

Pattern: Hello New York Scarf by Pickles

Yarn: Moda Vera Cupcake in Pumpkin

Time Taken: 3 weeks

Actual Knitting Time: I can't remember.

This again was super easy to make! It took a little while longer than the beanie because it was so long but apart from that it was a simple knit. Hayley loved it and she wore it quite a bit during our trip to Europe.

Now I am really in the mood to do some knitting. Some things I am hanging to make are.....

all patterns via Pickles.

20% Petticoats & Peplums

I was feeling a little bit generous the other night and decided to make a coupon code for my etsy shop. It is my may sale!!! Simply enter MAYSALE in the coupon code box at the checkout to receive 20% off your total purchase. So pop over to the shop now and grab yourself a bargain!!!

1 Pattern, Seven Bloggers - Week 3

I know, I know, I'm a few days late on the 1 pattern seven bloggers post but I went to Sydney for a work conference and did not get back in till Wednesday night and then yesterday was a crazy day with work and our nephew's 6th birthday. So anyway last week before I left I made a muslin. Now I have to confess I never make muslins. This is the first time I have ever made one! I usually just fit and adjust as I go.

But I am very glad I did a muslin this time because it taught me two things. Firstly, I need to let out the seams because this bodice is a bit tight as evidenced by the pulling around the bust. Secondly, I need to use a longer zipper. I just used one I had on hand so I am going to find a longer one for the final dress. Apart from that I am pretty happy with the fit. I don't mind the sleeves which I thought I was going to hate but they are not too bad. I love the neckline!

So I can't say that this has taught me to start doing muslins for everything I make but I think for the more fitted styles I will be more inclined to make a muslin in the future. Now I can get onto making the proper dress!

Wardrobe Organisation

One of the things I have a problem with in my wardrobe is keeping it organised. If my wardrobe is not organised I can't see things and they end up never being worn. With winter coming up one thing I really need to organise a bit better are my stockings. I have so many pairs that I forget what I have. So the other day when I was cleaning out my wardrobe I decide to tidy them up.

I split them into coloured stockings and black stockings and looped them all onto coathangers. I used plastic coated coathangers so that there is nothing that can catch or pull the stockings. The black stockings are all patterned in some way. I still have a few pairs of plain black stockings in my drawers. At the moment these are hanging on the front of my dresser but I am going to relocate them into my wardrobe. Now I can see what colours I have and wear them more often.

Cleaning Out My Closet

Hey guys! I just wanted to let you know I did a big clean out of my wardrobe this past week and listed a few things on ebay if anyone is interest. Go here to see the listings! Here are some of the things I listed...

Penne w Prawns, Cream & Tomato

The other week Corey was asking me if it was possible to make pasta without pasta sauce and I was trying to explain to him that you could just make homemade pasta sauce with tomatoes. So when I saw this recipe I knew I had to make to show him homemade pasta sauce was even better than store bought. The recipe came from Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros.

40g butter

200g tinned tomatoes pureed

250g penne pasta

2 tsp olive oil

500g raw prawns peeled and deveined

2 garlic cloves peeled and squashed a bit.

2 tbs calvados

1 tbs chopped parsley.

Melt half the butter in a small saucepan and when it is sizzling add the tomatoes. Season with salt and a dash of pepper and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it is thick.

Cook pasta in a large pan of salted water following the packet instructions.

Meanwhile, heat a large non stick frying pan over high heat. Add the oil and the rest of the butter and when it is sizzling add the prawns and garlic.

Over the highest heat possible cook the prawns until they are quite bright and the undersides are golden. It is important that the heat is high and that you have a non stick pan so that the prawns fry quickly rather than boil in their own liquid.

When they are cooked scatter them with salt. Add the calvados and cook until it evaporates.

Drain the pasta and keep a cupful of cooking water. Add the tomato sauce to the prawns along with the cream and parsley. Heat until just bubbling. Add the pasta and toss well. If needed add a little of the cooking water to help the sauce coat the pasta. Serve immediately!

Punky & Me Cushion Swap

Today I posted off my cushion for the Punky & Me Cushion Swap. I have not taken part in a swap in ages so when I saw this one pop up I was very excited. I scoured the net trying to find ideas and came across this cushion. I knew straight away it was what I was going to make.

At first my ideas for the print and colour combination were completely different but when I found this fabric in Spotlight I could not resist. It was gorgeous and I found the perfect colour to match it too.

I just hope my swap partner likes it! I posted it off today so it should be there in a few days and we can find out.

1 Pattern, Seven Bloggers - Week 2

This week is the week to share our fabric choices for our dresses. I spent the day fabric shopping with my mum trying to find fabric for the bridesmaids dresses which she will be making for Corey's and my wedding in November. We found a fabric in the perfect shade of yellow and just have to do a test run to see if it will work for the pattern I have have chosen. Anyway, while shopping I was trying to find a nice tartan wintery fabric to use for my dress but had no luck. Luckily, when I dropped mum home she said she had some fabric that might work and pulled this gorgeous red and black check fabric from her stash.

It is perfect! It matches exactly what I have in my mind for my dress. I am going to be doing some contrast details in the black cotton which is just a simple cotton poplin. I am not sure what type of fabric the check stuff is but it is a bit thicker than the poplin. I am going to be starting on my muslin this week and should be able to share that next week. Although, I am going away to Sydney on Monday and won't be back till Wednesday night so my post may be a day late.

Don't forget to stop by and see what fabric the other girls have chosen for their dresses!

Sam: http://hand-quilter.blogspot.com/
Rachel: http://mymessings.blogspot.com/
Marie: http://asewingodyssey.blogspot.com/
Reana Louise: http://curvespatternsandpins.blogspot.com/
Jen: http://the-paperdoll.blogspot.com/
Amy: http://sewingthroughthemotions.blogspot.com/

Happy Mothers Day

How was everyone's Mothers Day yesterday? I hope all you mums had a fantastic day and were spoilt rotten!!! Yesterday we started the day with breakfast at a cafe on the water with my parents, my aunty & uncle & cousins and my grandma & Carson. It was a really nice breakfast! We don't go out for breakfast much so it was a nice treat. I made cookies the night before for my mum, aunty and grandma. They were Ginger & Caramel Cookies. I wrapped them all in cellophane and tied them with ribbon. I also made one for Corey's mum.

After breakfast we went to the markets which were a bit of a let down as half the places were closed. Then Corey and I went to see his mum for a bit when she finished work. It is so hard coordinating two families and fitting everyone into one day. This is the first year we have done that with Christmas and Easter so we are still getting used to the coordination but it should get easier as the years go by. After seeing Corey's mum we went to my parents house for dinner. Dad made delicious garlic prawns and I made peppermint crisp pie.

This is the easiest most delicious dessert I have ever made! I shared the recipe here on my old blog. If you try it out let me know what you think. Because my sister is still in London she organised with my dad to get some flowers for my mum for mothers day and I took a few photos so she can see what the look like.

Happy Mothers Day for yesterday to all the mum's and mum's to be. Hope you had a fantastic day!!!