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Briar. And Anita.

You know one of the things I most love about having some real life sewing friends (apart from having awesome friends)? I can try on their sewn garments to (a) see if they look good on me and (b) check the fit.

This is what I did when I went over Anna's a few weekends ago and she was wearing her Megan Nielson Briar top. Readers, I cannot lie. I nearly ripped it off Anna's back. But I thought that would be rude so I politely waited until we were combing through her amazing wardrobe and calmly tried it on instead.

Luckily for me, it fit like a complete dream, simply needing 2cm added to the length of the front. So I made myself the size L with the added length, and ended up with a beautifully warm jumper:

See my cute green beads from yesterday? Little M wore her pink and purple ones out today too and we had quite a few comments about Mummy & Me matching outfits. Not sure how I feel about that!

This Briar is made from a Merino wool knit - quite a thick one - from The Fabric Store on Brunswick St. Luckily this pattern doesn't need much fabric, because I got sucked in to the tune of $38/m. But I have to say - this is THE most lusciously warm knit - I wore it out tonight for dinner and didn't wear a coat, despite it being coat weather. 

What can I say about this pattern? It comes together like a dream. I LOVE the way the neckline binding is attached (sorry, I forgot to get a close-up sans scarf). It just looks so professional. The merino was also a dream to sew. Despite some initial hesitation, I also really love the high-low hem. I think it is a cool way to layer. I'm not sure I'd wear the Briar without another layer underneath. After having my appendix out and giving birth, my tummy muscles are not as tiiiiight as I'd like them to be. So no midriff peeks from me. 

I also have to report that I have made another (two!) pair of Anita Ponti Pants. My previous Bleach Boys pair gets a serious workout, so I bought some extremely thick black ponti from Tessuti. I originally made this ponti into a pair of Style Arc Sailor Sue Palazzo Pants and the ponti was such a bad fabric choice that I refashioned them into these Anitas. I sized down for this pair too - really sized down. I would estimate these are at least a size 6 in the waist and leg - possibly smaller. I started with my size 10 but the first time I wore them spent the day hoiking them up. So I unpicked the waist and the hems and made them a lot smaller.

This Briar and a pair of Anita Pants has been my go-to outfit over the last while. I love the combo, and it keeps me super warm on these horrible chilly Melbourne days we've been having (although the last two days have been beautifully sunny). I love the outfit so much that I have made another Briar and another pair of printed Anitas that I will show you soon.

So - what is your take on the Briar? Are you a fan of the high-low hem?

A Crafty Afternoon With My Girl: Clay Bead Necklaces

Little M and I love doing crafty stuff together. At two, she is too little to do any sewing yet, but we love to draw, paint, glue pompoms, sequins, fabric, anything really onto paper, make beads, dress-ups - you name it, we love doing it together.

At the moment young Little M has a raggedy cough so we've been spending the last few days inside (she's on the mend btw). I had run out of ideas to keep my rambunctious girl entertained, so I googled craft necklaces, and came across Blogless Anna's Oven-dried Clay Beaded Necklace tutorial. I thought it looked great and something a two-year-old would enjoy with a little help from her mum.

So off to Spotlight we went this morning and bought five little packets of oven-baking clay. It wasn't cheap - nearly $6 a packet, but I figured it would be really fun and I would get a cool new necklace too!

I'm not going to reiterate the tutorial - hop on over to Anna's blog using the above link if you want to make some of these beauties.

Here they are just after they came out of the oven:

As you can see, Little M also made a bangle. I had to help a bit more with that one.

Here they are all finished:

Little M immediately opted for pink and purple - I find it funny when she gravitates to these colours. I don't dress her in gender-specific colours on purpose, so I find it both fascinating and amusing when she wants the more 'girly' colours. Don't get me wrong - I love pink and purple myself, I just don't want her to be exclusively dressed in those colours.

She did an amazingly neat job at rolling the clay into beads. It wasn't particularly pliable either - maybe because it is cold here in Melbourne? All I did was poke the hole through with the skewer. Pretty talented young girl I have.

Anyway, mine are the green and yellow - and I LOVE them. I mixed white into the yellow and green to get some different shades. We put them onto natural leather strands and Michael tied some adjustable knots for us.

I'll show you a picture of me wearing them in the next few days, but here is Little M wearing hers with the other beaded necklace she made today:

Isn't she lovely?! And a little bit grubby.

Vogue 1314

Well, Leith did it again - she made a dress that I simply had to have once seeing it. This is a tricky decision - given we are mates and go out together socially it can present a situation in which we are both wearing the same thing. The thing is, I wore this dress for the first time out to dinner with Leith, Anna, and Lara at Hellenic Republic last weekend and Leith and I were wearing the same dress. In different fabrics, but still the same dress.

But I had to do it. I had to make Vogue 1314:

I made it in a lovely soft knit (I think it is a viscose knit) that Anna gifted me. Thank you Anna! I love this fabric.

I made the size 10 and then nipped it an extra 2cm in total along the waist area on the sides. This pattern runs big - so take note - if you make it, you'll need to size down.

I did also shorten the dress by about 5cm because I had very limited fabric. But I like this length. I think just above the knee suits me.

Apart from that, the pattern came together beautifully. The neckline doesn't gape, the sleeves are a good length. The pattern asks you to secure the gathers along the side seams with seam binding - I used rayon seam binding that I bought yonks ago after poppykettle raved about it. I love this stuff too - it is nice and soft and looks very pretty too. I got mine from etsy.

I feel like this style is a bit of a change for me, but I really like it. I feel quite grown up with a more fitted style! This dress is very comfortable too - I'll definitely be making it again, especially as I really lack winter dresses.

These photos were taken on a gloriously sunny day this week - Anna kindly came over and photographed the clothes I've made recently. I've been having such issues getting photos taken (despite having a camera/photography mad husband), so Anna was a complete lifesaver. Plus we got to have a lovely lunch together and Little M showed off beautifully being her most charming self for her new friend Anna. Anna - she hasn't stopped talking about you all week! 'When will we see my Anna again Mummy' has been her favourite question.

Well, I'm off the cut out a muslin for the fitting class I'm doing next weekend with Leith. Then I'm cutting out the muslin for an Anise jacket - there are soooo many pattern pieces - not looking forward to this!

A Liberty Laurel

Thank you everyone for your well wishes on my last post. Unfortunately things have gotten worse around here... I ended up in the Emergency Department on friday with stomach ulcers and oesophageal spasms from prolonged antibiotic use (damn you sinuses!). I thought I was having a heart attack! Awful times. Luckily my lovely friends were able to take Little M for the night - I'm so glad she didn't have to see me in that much pain.

While I'm still feeling pretty unwell, I summoned up the energy to attend Mr Sew Brunswick's 40th Birthday Party on saturday evening. I was back and in bed by about 8.30pm though!

Luckily I had a new Laurel to wear that I had finished before my emergency visit - it was a special birthday party after all!

I made it in Liberty Tana Lawn called 'Caesar' that I bought from Shaukat.

I paired it with another Red Phonenix necklace - the one with the red beads, and a jet beads necklace I bought ages ago from an antique shop in Paddington in Brisbane. I got the Red Phoenix one for Mothers' Day - Little M has excellent taste!!

I made the view with the cute little ruffle on the sleeves:

Pretty sweet huh? I made the size 8 in exactly the same way as I did my Lace Laurel, however I find the sleeves on this version much tighter. I don't know why - I guess different fabrics behave in different ways?

I underlined the dress in silk cotton, but I find it stuck to my stockings and the singlet I wore underneath. Annoying. At least it will be good come spring/summer.

So - that's my newest frock. I am now taking a break from pretty things like Laurel dresses and sewing myself some long-sleeved t-shirts, jumpers and thick Anita Ponti Pants. Because Melbourne is FREEZING at the moment!!!

What are you sewing for winter? Or summer - you lucky ducks!