Ode to Autumn... in late winter

I know I know. It's only a month 'til spring. Sensible fashionable folk are thinking about springtime clothes. Organised and sensible designers and clothesmakers everywhere are right about now actually LAUNCHING their spring ranges. Not this little lady. Though I have, for the moment, stopped making full-on woollen skirts that are warmer than your average crocheted Nanna rug, the fact that autumn is beyond a shadow of a doubt my favourite season means that autumnal inspiration is never far away in my sewing adventures. I love: the crispness of May, the colour of the sky, the temperature of the ocean - still warm enough to swim, even though the air is cool: delicious! Weather in autumn is also perfect for dressing up, holding hands and falling in love. Autumn is pinks, browns, oranges and blues. I can't get enough! Today's sewing channelled all manner of autumnal delights: russet tones, falling leaves, clear blue skies and in-between fabrics like linen and velvet (and a nice bit of 70s waffle for good measure).

The waffle, I noticed as I sewed it up, still had it's teeny-tiny handwritten op-shop price tag attached: $1. One dollar!!!??? After almost 20 years of nigh on obsessive op-shopping, gems like this do not cease to amaze me. The fabric in question was around a metre square. Not huge, but definitely big enough to work with. It's all autumn leaves in orange, brown and grey with GOLD (yes, it's metallic) highlights to boot. Outstanding. I teamed it with a gorgeous light blue. Very special.

Wrap-and-Go!

Op shops are cool, right? And the best bit of the op shop is the sewing section, right? And even when there's nothing really that good (like wooden spools of thread or bags of bias binding) in the sewing section there's pretty much ALWAYS at least a few sewing patterns, right? Can you resist these gems? I, for one, cannot. And as a result, and in spite of the fact that I rarely sew from a pattern, I have a massive collection of them, which I peruse with surprising regularity and usually have a few on display in my craft nook.

Last weekend's wedding dress consultation gave me a reason to get all my patterns out, and I was reminded of, and inspired to make one of my favourite skirts: the Wrap-and-Go.

As you can see, the Wrap-and-Go Skirt is a very fetching '70s number, which is awesome for several reasons, not least of all the fact that it wraps at the back and has MASSIVE

pockets. Since I purchased this pattern around 2 years ago I've made quite a few of these skirts, and I inevitably fall in love with them. I guess there's just something irresistable about them (I think it has something to do with the name...)

Sometimes I make a skirt...

Sometimes I make a skirt and I just want to buy it. From myself. I just want to say "OK. So I made this skirt, and the sale of it was supposed to buy food for my family, but really, it's GREAT and I love it and it fits me perfectly (surprise!) and I can always make another one to sell, right?". Sometimes I keep them (like the horsey print I made by modifying one of Pearl's mum's old maternity dresses) and sometimes I make them really expensive, thinking "Well, if someone loves this skirt as much as me, they'll pay heaps for it, and if they don't pay heaps, I can keep it for myself, because I REALLY LOVE IT". This happened with an utterly spectacular turquoise woollen skirt I made last winter. It had a pleat at the front, and 4 gorgeous bright red vintage buttons. I was so ready to keep it, as it had been out at the markets for 4 weeks, with not a bite. Then one dreary, rainy, dismally un-lucrative week, this gorgeous Irish woman walked into the

tent, said "I love that skirt and it will be MINE!" tried it on, fell in love, and walked away with it. It was a beautiful moment, and I felt happy that it had found a loving home.

This little Kangaroo Paw pocketed number was almost a keeper. I do so love a bit of native flora, and it did fit me perfectly (and looks quite nice with the yellow jumper and burgundy birkenstocks, right?), but I know it will find a loving home, so I'm sending it out into the world.

It's true: I have a thing for yellow...

So I'm lying in bed the other night, exhausted, just about to drift off to sleep, and Pearl says "Oh! I checked Georgie Love today, and you've only got 2 skirts left!". This statement, though

intended to make me feel good, cast me into a frenzy of anxiety. When will I have time to sew??!!I set to work making some VERY dark chocolate fruit and nut (line a baking tray with baking paper, spread chopped almonds, macadamias, coconut, sultanas and pepitas then drizzle with melted dark chocolate), which I proceeded to guzzle along with a half bottle of 1982 vintage Shiraz Pinot Noir, and Voila! Whipped out quite a few very fetching skirts, which should be appearing on Georgie Love very soon.

I couldn't help but notice the yellow theme, perfect for the approaching spring. I do so love yellow, not just in clothing, but everywhere. It's beautiful, and so enlivening, and makes other colours, placed next to it, look so rich and inviting. The amazing safari print was once a souvenir apron from South Africa, and is now rocking out as a pocket on a grey wool skirt. Gotta love a pocket, right? Especially one that's HUGE, has lions, elephants and ibex on it, and is edged with yellow rick-rack!

Crafty Cats

How is it that cats always know exactly which piece of fabric you want to use next? Bunn, my very most favourite special pussy cat, is, characteristically, charmingly aloof and altogether disinterested in human activity (like most good kitties). Come craft time though, especially craft time involving large pieces of various types of fabric, and she comes a-runnin'. She'll usually try a few pieces out before she settles on one which has been specially selected as the location for some careful self-grooming. If I've laid out a selection of pieces which have already been cut out, sure as anything, Miss Bunn will sit on the exact piece that I need next. Let's just say she's gifted. I'm sure she could use the sewing machine, but her legs aren't quite long enough to reach the foot pedal... For now, she uses her skills in the fabric-selection department, and occasionally in the "let's make this skirt look like it's been made out of brown felt" department.

Some lovely new wintery skirts

Finally - some new skirts to send to new homes, via the delightfully special and charming Georgie Love. They should be available sometime in the next week or so here:

http://www.georgielove.com/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=99

This lot have been inspired by some extra-special fabrics collected by myself and my mumma, the cool, yet sunny early-winter days which ALWAYS get me excited about new clothes, and the idea that, hey! Winter skirts should be full of flowers as well! There's such a strange inclination amongst designer-folk to make winter clothes kind of grey... Why so? Winter for me means broad beans stretching out in the garden, the tree marigold in full bloom, bluest of blue skies, cups of tea and roaring fires. Colourful, no? Also, I'm pretty sure that red skirts are warmer than grey ones.

Not to say I don't like grey. My favourite skirt ever, 'Stormy Seas' is grey (with red sailboats) and a couple of the newbies ('Whales in Love' and 'Birds in Love') are made from a lusciously toasty grey wool, but I just can't get enough of sunny days - no matter the season.

Sunshiny wedding frocks ahoy

It was a dark and dreary morning, and I was tired and didn't feel like working on a sunday, but I still made the effort to drag myself to Wollongong council chambers to run a natural baby care workshop. And boy am I glad I made the effort! My lovely friend Ally came along, and we got talking about her wedding plans, and she asked me to make her wedding dress. What a precious honour! I have made a couple of wedding frocks in my time, and it is seriously one of the most fun and rewarding things a crafty lady can do.
Ally is a gorgeous, sunshiny, inspiring and smart woman who, with her equally gorgeous and inspiring partner, Richard, takes care of a startlingly spectacular permaculture garden in Unanderra. Check out their extra-special work at www.happyearth.com.au
It is lovely!
SOOOOO when she said that she and Richard were planning on getting married in said gorgeous garden, in sunny November, I thought of this bright yellow dress that I'd made about a year ago. I LOVED it. So golden and bright, made from a linen tablecloth and a tea-towel, it was a gorgeous weight, and fitted really well because the top is cut on the bias. I modelled the design based on a 1950s vintage dress pattern, and I've made a few dresses from the same pattern because it's so darn great.
So we're having a brainstorming luncheon, to look through my fabrics, draw some pictures, and hopefully get started on something beautiful for her to wear on her extra-special day of love!