Wednesday 28 September 2011

6 months Update

Well it's been around 6 months that I last posted anything and so much has happened!!!

On a personal level, I am pleased to announce that I am currently 30 weeks pregnant! It's our first and we are very excited! The baby is due the begining of December.

Workwise, I have been working freelance from home designing and sewing, I have made some wedding outfits, which I will post soon and am currently working on a wedding dress for November.

Working from home has been a blessing. I found the first trimester of pregnancy challenging as I was constantly tired and was nauseous. This settled in the second trimester and now I'm in my third, the tiredness has crept up a little again, but thankfully all tests and scans show the baby is doing really well.

I do intend to continue this blog, althought to be honest, alot will depend on how I get on in my new role of being a mum.

Thursday 3 March 2011

Alannah - Freelance Sewing

I just wanted to share with you some of the items I have been sewing for a new London based up and coming designer label called Alannah. I sewed all these garments for her recent photoshoot.
Let me know what you think? (Sorry about the somewhat blurred images, I am still waiting for the actual look book and was sent these low -res images in the meantime, also, my scanner seemed to cut off the right hand side a bit!).


Have a great evening X

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Dior Dismisses Galliano!!

After my last post about the alleged anti semetic remarks made by John Galliano, I was sent a video clip by a friend which was recorded in a Paris cafe. In it John Galliano makes some really disturbing comments to the people he is having a "conversation" with.
In light of this and the most recent incident, Dior has dismissed him.

In a statement, the Paris fashion house said: “In light of the deeply offensive statements and conduct by John Galliano in a video made public yesterday, Christian Dior has commenced termination proceedings against him.” Mr. Galliano joined the house in 1996.
Chief executive Sidney Toledano said in the statement: “We unequivocally condemn the statements made by John Galliano, which are a total contradiction to the longstanding core values of Christian Dior.”

Sunday 27 February 2011

Recent Purchases

I saw this vintage 70's tiered dress on Ebay a few weeks ago and added it into my watch list. When it was nearly expired, I got a reminder through but I wasn't anywhere near a computer, so I missed out.
Fortunately for me, the seller relisted it and I won it.
As I was anticipating it's arrival from France, I started planning what I would wear it with from my existing wardrobe. It was at this time, that I noticed that I didn't have the right belt to wear with it.
I promptly went about hunting for a belt that would fit the bill.
I managed to find one at Primark.....now I never really buy anything from Primark simply because quite a number of years ago, I purchased a top from there which was absolutely ruined when I washed it, plus I don't really buy clothes that I consider as 'throw away fashion'. I like my clothes to be well made, in great fabrics and have a long wearing life.
Anyway, back to the belt....I found the perfect belt in Primark, as I was buying some underwear for my niece (their Childrenswear is particularly good), and although it isn't leather, I like the style of it and the studs make it a little bit harder.














Whilst I was there, I picked up 3 more belts - two with gold trimmed bows and the third was a double belt in light grey for another dress that I was waiting to accessorize right.
The best thing was that I spent £8 in total for the four belts!!! A bargain or what?!

Have a lovely Sunday X

Saturday 26 February 2011

John Galliano Suspended!!!

I'm sure by now you have all heard the news (at least those of you who are into fashion like me).


Dior has suspended John Galliano while they investigate the alleged anti-Semitic remarks that landed the designer in jail last night.

I have been a fan of Galliano since I was at Uni studying Fashion, which is well over 15 years now, so I was completely shocked to hear this yesterday.

I hope the allegations are not proven to be true.

Tuesday 22 February 2011

London Fashion Week - Roksanda Ilincic AW 2011

London fashion week started a few days ago and I was fortunate enough to be given a ticket for the Roksanda Ilincic show which happened today at 12.45pm.

For those of you not familiar with her work, Michelle Obama recently wore one of her dresses when she met the Chinese President Hu Jintao.




The show was amazing......Roksanda is known for using some of the most exquisite colours in her collections and she did not disappoint with this one either. Some of my favourite colours from her show included burgundy, light grey and cobalt blue.

I adored the details she introduced such as chunky zips down the back of really delicate silk dresses. The contrast between hard and soft really was great. Another detail I loved was her use of what looked like oversize sequins with pearl centres - again, the hard and soft contrast was beautiful on the cream pieces that were shown.
I found overall the collection to be very feminine and very wearable. She designs clothes that women really want to wear and that have that longevity we all want from our clothes, especially in this time of economic downturn.
Her clothes are not cheap, but I personally believe that you would wear them season after season without getting tired of them.

I have already hinted to the hubby that I saw some really great pieces that I want, and with my birthday coming up in June.....who knows?!

I could have shown the entire collection as I loved it so much, but instead opted to select my favourite pieces. All photos are from Style.com, where you can see the entire collection.











Have a great Tuesday
X

Friday 11 February 2011

Blythe work in progress

I mentioned before that I am now freelance sewing for a couple of days a week for some up and coming independent designers.
On the days i'm not freelancing, I have been working on adding some more items in my Etsy shop as well as adding pictures on Flickr.

At the moment, I have been knitting these cute little Blythe hats with hand made pompoms and crochet ties.
All the yarns are 100% Cotton in a double knit yarn. I made them on 2 3/4mm needles.

They are really quick and easy to make and that is really what I find gratifying about making Blythe clothes and accessories.



Completed colours


Red colourway


Pale pink colourway just started


Aoki in blue colourway


Aoki in yellow colourway


Aoki in cream colourway
 Have a great Friday. X

Saturday 5 February 2011

Decisions Made

I have been taking some well deserved time out to decide what I want to do and what direction I will be taking in terms of my next career move.

Having been made redundant just before Christmas, it has taken me a while to adjust to being at home again.
Whilst this was good for the first few weeks, I quickly realised that I need to fill my days with activites in order to avoid my days just becoming a routine.

With this in mind, I have been doing all the thing that I wish I could do when I was working full time, including going to museums and exhibitions, trawling around antique shops and fairs.

I have found that I have been factoring in doing this every week and it has been great!

On the work front, I have been applying for full time Senior Design positions (I've had one interview so far and I'm waiting for feedback from the agency) and in the meantime, I have been undertaking some freelance sewing work for an up and coming designer. This has kept me busy for a few weeks.

I have also had the time to finally increase my Etsy inventory and have made the decision to only concentrate on making Blythe items for now.

Here are some of my newest items


Handmade Check Knickers


Handmade Broderie Anglaise Knickers


Handmade Blouse with Openwork stripe and pinspot


Handmade Blouse, Skirt and hand knitted hat


Handmade felt beret and hand crochet flower trim
 Have a great Saturday X