Heart (march 2012)

A heart I made as a commission birthday piece from wife to husband.

Materials: silk dupion, tulle, sequins, metallic & pearlised threads, bell jar

august favourites

Cookbook of Liam's + gold dress in progress

----^^-----

In news:
Moved house with my friend Liam, we're habituating in Nth Melb now. Definitely different to inner city, I do miss being so central, but I was spoilt living on flinders lane for so many years. Anyway nth melb is different in a good way, quieter, terrace house and still within stubling distance of the city.

Anyway, have had some super inspiration for sewing some dresses. Picked up and amazing gold foil/black fabric, gonna make into a dress with gaping side/tie up shoulders.
Also got some blue woven woolen fabric, to make a capelet, it will be line with silky leopard print, super trash the way i like it. AND some bronze/tarnished gold coloured lace and shiny fabric for a dress--lace sleeves-- yeah for trash.

hanging at the flat sewing and cutting

I'm sewing a bed gown for maman, bed gown is a dressing gown meets bed jacket. While she is recuperating at home, she can at least rock out the house in a vivid robe.

take one existing dressing gown
add sewn patchwork outer shell.




et voila.
I like that it is over patterned and i'm loving the purple/lilac/gold/mustard and I think the cream dressing gown will tone it down, so rather than vulgar, it's striking.
I stood infront of a wall of fabrics for a hour, before finding a combo of four that i liked...ransacked the wall, because originally i wanted vibrant crimson/scarlet, then thought maybe soothing aqua/lightblue tones.

bonnet

a quick bonnet experiment. I had an idea for a pattern, and wanted to see if it's work.

Jump for Joy

Reconfigured pattern from sewing experiment/practice white dress with black modal fabric.

afternoon project

COming home from work this arvo, i went to pick up a zipper I saw some cheap seersucker like fabric in white and thought I could make a sack dress with it.
Overall, I'm surprised with how it came out. I up-scaled the sleeve style from a shirt I already have and I LOVE how massive they sit.

Things i'd change? the neckline, and probably make it a bit longer and line it.

Insert Coin Here

The always lovely Kim and Nella from Craft Victoria have put together something special for the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival....vending machines of 'limited edition' fashion pieces made by Melbourne-based artists.
See the Insert Coin Here website for full details and updates.

As a participating artist, i'm putting in some specially made for melbourne (black) Pardon my French! necklaces.




French profanity, curse with style. Hand embroidered felt speech bubbles in black, de rigeur for Melbourne chic, slung from gaudy gold chains.
So to this folly say oui oui, keep an eye out for a vending machine, so you too can curse to your heart's content!
xx B

pardon my french

zut, casse-toi, connard, ta gueule, putain!, foutre
Hand embroidered speech bubbles for gaudy necklace or brooch.


Naff, but amusing for office wear!
look out for them at my ETSY store

Birds of a feather

Handmade nuno felt using alpaca, silk and camel fibres. 2009

poke and fingers crossed brooches

Favourites in December

Apple pin cushion. This was given to me by my friend Lauren for my birthday. I absolutely adore it! It has a spiced fragrance,y that reminds me of christmas, gingerbread and yule logs. I use the apple ever time i sew.

Rennie, for being scruffy and always snorgling, and keeping me company whilst i was in a codeine haze.

Photograph of my great grand father. I know nothing about this man, but he has a look of a dapper gangster. The Fox terrier adds to the shadyness.

Til Death Us Do Part

Male and female fairy wren (life size), nuno felted with alpaca and silk fibres, beady eyes and bloody canvas.

embroidered bird brooches gen 1

Generation I, looking mighty flat and a tad blah. Making gen II now with a bit of stuffing. I Probably will turn the originals from brooches into hanging decorations or something twee.

Embroidered brooches

I just started to make some embroidered bird brooches.
A quick ink pen sketch on Calico with 2X coloured thread embroidery. Some bad lowlight photobooth images. I will take some photos in the daylight tomorrow.
1X House Sparrow
1X White throated sparrow
1X House Finch
1X Carolina wren

The next batch i make will have some stuffing....these guys are just too flat and stiff looking.
Materials: Calico, thread, ink pen, card, felt/fabric.

Kidney+Lint

Monster bag of lint! well not lint but discarded fleece that catches in the machine when being dried after washing.
I'm using this cast off alpaca fleece as stuffing. It smells surprisingly sweet like honey. weird.
Kidneys stuffed with the fleece

Offal nice kidney brooches 2008 to control temperament and disposition
heat transfer, cotton fabric, gold velveteen, black, mint + neon green thread.

gestures

Finger gestures, handsewn felt brooches
Making these for the Melbourne Design Market 08
Fingers crossed
skeletal crossed
Poke
boney bird

Enk

Houndstooth and fuzzy felt