vivid 2011

i guess this might be sacrilegious being a melburnian and all, but sydney - what a beautiful city!

we went to the opening weekend of sydney's vivid festival to catch Jason Pierce/Spaceman 3/ Spiritualized perform their wonderful Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space album in full - strings, choir, band - the whole deal. awesome!
light shows, i thought? meh! this photo does no justice to the absolutely stunning creations by Superbien beamed onto the Opera House sails. and there were fantastic interactive installations all over circular quay. even the most hardened cynics (er, perhaps myself, elmo less so) were super impressed!

and of course, what holiday is complete without adding to the stash, first: this beautiful bunch of lovelies from Leura in the Blue Mountains.**
and secondly, more japanese books from kinokuniya.
** this blog was intended as a means of creative discipline, so i hope to post completed projects soon and not just that which fuels my fabric/book obsession! (but seriously, aren't they cute?)

cherry blossom girl

After collecting these books for a little while, I have finally made my first dress from a Japanese pattern book - hurray! Luckily, the diagrams are clear and numbered (and I did have help in deciphering instructions =) ).

My sis picked this dress and fabric; I quite like how the shoulder straps double as little cap sleeves. I hope she likes it!

Watching: and loving New York shows! Project Runway Season 7 - back in NY after a season in LA, and Bored to Death, an HBO "noir-otic" comedy starring Jason Schwartzman as an unlicensed detective, Zach Galifianakis as his comic book artist best mate and Ted Danson, his editor. Dry humour, silly stories, special guests stars - including Jim Jarmusch and Parker Posey, and awesome soundtrack to boot.

Sew-sew

Yesterday, i taught my first sewing class; we made reversible tote bags and a pinch pouch (at least, this is what i've been calling them! here is another example). the blokes were banished from sewing central, and we listened to the radio all day and ate pizza bread in between bouts at the machine.

the pinch pouches use a flexible metal frame that pinches at the side to open and snaps back in place to close shut. we found these frames (and cute fabrics) at amitie.
i made this pinch pouch during the week to test out the pattern (also from amitie).
i do love the grumpy saucepan and the talking cup of coffee on the print above. i used a sunny, floral japanese print inside.although the frames were a bit tricky to deal with, these pinch pouches were relatively easy to make. i was left a little unsatisfied with the pattern and might try another one next time...

elmo came home from overseas with a very kool, special request book from kinokuniya...
which inspired this morning's project. this is a present for a gorgeous three year old, perfect for colouring pencils =)
elmo's derwents look so sweet in this pencil case! in the 80s, derwent pencils were a much prized possession. your school projects immediately went up a grade if you used derwents doncha know!