Did I mention how much I love Sense & Sensibility???

As you might have guessed from earlier posts, I love Sense & Sensibility's patterns. I now have most of them, but was VERY excited when it was announced that the Regency patterns are now available as e-patterns, and the remainder of the patterns are soon to follow. That's instantly downloadable patterns! Just purchase, download and print on your home printer, and you're set to sew! How cool is that? If you're interested in purchasing a pattern, visit the Sense & Sensiblitiy site today!

The Ultimate Regency Dress Adventure

What do two girls who love Jane Austen do? They go to England and retrace her footsteps of course!

We should have posted about this long ago, but life seems to have gotten away from me this year.

The first things we packed were the Regency gowns I had made us, and our underpinnings. Sadly I didn't get around to making my stays, but Mel did!

After picking up the car, the first place we went was Chawton. We stayed at a lovely B&B called Shepherd's Court, which I would recommend to anyone! We managed to find Steventon, the village where Jane Austen was born and grew up.

Finally the day to visit Chawton arrived! We got dressed up, and set off across the fields to Chawton after breakfast. No mud, but our petticoats were six inches deep in dew! We arrived early and had time to sit in the sun and dry out a little before Jane Austen's House opened.

It was so much fun spending the day in Jane Austen Land, wearing clothes inspired by her time.

As well as Jane Austen's House, we also visited Chawton House Library, which was once owned by Jane's brother Edward Austen Knight. The grounds are slowly being restored to their Georgian glory, so once again our gowns were very fitting.

Our whole trip was an amazing experience, but the Jane Austen parts were really special. Especially the days we wore our dresses!

Underpinnings

Long weekend this weekend, and Jodie and I are planning on making our Regency Underpinnings, that is our stays and a couple of chemises each.

We went out to Spotlight last night, and got everything we will need. I cut out my pattern this morning.

First attempt at stays, hopefully we manage it ok.

So sew!

I realised the other day that it might be a good idea to have some sort of a wallet to keep all the important documents for our holiday in! So last night I sewed one! (pictures later, I'm at work and just wanted to share the joy). My silly sewing machine worked like a dream - I am suspecting it didn't like the fine lawn I was trying to sew last time I used it.

Because of some impending changes to my job, I want to get sewing on a new work wardrobe. This should double as a holiday wardrobe I hope. I now have the vintage simplicity pattern I've been lusting after for ages, plus I've ordered a vintage 1940s slip pattern from one of my favourite vintage sites.

I have a new toy. But I'm going to torture you till I manage to get some photos! teehee

I went thrifting at lunchtime (no tupperware today), and found 2 tablecloths and a handtowel. One tablecloth is a tea cloth that will make lovely shopping bags (Koalas and kookaburras, and looks brand new!), the other one is a huge cotton damask with drawn thread borders that have sadly seen the washing machine too many times. If any of it can be salvaged I want to use it for an apron! The rest of the fabric, well I might make a cloth for my table, not sure what to do with the rest yet. I'll see how much I've got to play with.

Ramblings

Not a lot has been happening in the sewing department recently. And now it looks like I'm going to have to work the weekend. I'm really hoping that we will get all the necessary updates done by COB tomorrow so it doesn't happen, but I'm not too sure it will. Oh well, I could do with the overtime to help pay for my holiday and for my new laptop! I am finally getting myself a new computer, it should arrive next week :D

We're all going on a summer holiday!

No more working for a week or SIX! Yep, I booked our flights last night, and I applied for my leave today! I had just enough leave for while we're away, I'll take a couple of days flex before coming back to work. It's so exciting!!! Booking stuff makes it so much more real I think.

Silly machines

My sewing machine is having issues again, I really think it needs a service. BUT I walked into my spare room the other night (technically for the next 3 months it's Cate's room), and discovered that the Bernina made it to my place this year so I have a backup till I get around to getting mine fixed. Of course the Bernina is a million times better than my Janome anyway.

I've been threatening to "steal" a singer from Mum for at least the last year (one of the portables I claimed the day we got it... at the same sale the brown canoe came from, I was still in high school), I think I will do it this Christmas. I need someone to check out the wiring on it before I run off with it though! Wish I could steal Granny's, but I've got no room for it, and I don't think Mum would let me get away with that one. Oh well, I can run off with the attachments and play around with them for a while!

In other sewing news, I ordered a bunch of Amy Butler bag patterns off Ebay last Thursday, and they should have been posted over the weekend. I'm hoping that they've arrived today. I've been quite spoilt by post from the US this year, that if it takes more than a week I get sooo impatient! Here's hoping it's in the country at least :D

Packing list first draft

Ok, so I am starting to nut down what I want to make for our trip!

Regency underthings - a set of stays and at least 2 chemises
at least 1 new Regency gown
Beatrix skirt, shirtwaist and a "corset cover" to wear with it (or possibly combinations ;) )
40s suit
50s suit
2 (maybe) 40s afternoon dresses

Modern: Jeans for hill climbing!

Off to Jane Austen's England!

Tomorrow I go to the bank to sign the paperwork to get the loan for our trip to England! Then we can start planning and booking our trip, organising to meet the Fankles... just really getting into it all!

Also need to start training to climb Ben Lomond, the highest peak in the UK (I think), and sewing historical clothes ready to wear. At least one new Regency gown of course (and stays!), plus I think I want to spend most of my time in 40s/50s clothes :D Oh and don't forget a Beatrix suit, I'm sure we'll need some Edwardian clothes at some point, at least while we're visiting Hill Farm. Plus I love my Beatrix skirts :D

The adventure expands

I created this blog because I wanted to share my journey of making a Regency Gown. Since then, the historical dress obsession has expanded to include many of the eras since the Regency. I am in the process of making my first Beatrix Potter-inspired Edwardian shirtwaist, again created by the wonderful Jennie Chancey from Sense & Sensibility. Photos to come once I get some stitching done! I have at least 3 planned at the moment, they are so inspiring. Plus, I need some new clothes for summer!

Ta-da!

My last post was about my bridesmaid's dress, and since the wedding is now over I thought I'd share a piccie



I made the originally posted skirt, and ended up making the top from Simplicity 4990 as it was a lot easier to make in the time I had. I procrastinated too long!

It was a wonderful wedding, everyone looked most beautiful!

A touch of modern sewing

My sister is getting married in September, and I am a bridesmaid. I am making my own dress, but have been procrastinating on getting started! Tonight I have begun on a petticoat to wear under it, actually a tiered skirt in cheap cotton fabric. It's going to look quite good. The skirt I'm going to make is quite full, so a good full petti will make it look better. Tomorrow afternoon I hope to cut out the toile of the top of my dress, so I can get started. Mumsie gave me the real fabric last weekend, so I really have no excuse! And then when I've finished the dress, I'll be able to do some historical sewing, guilt free.

New dress idea!

Tonight I am going to try and make a new regency gown! This weekend Mel, Aunty Jenny and I are going to a scrapbooking retreat, and the theme is Christmas in May. We are having Christmas dinner on Saturday night, and it is traditional to dress up. So, I plan to make a red Panne velvet dress, and I thought the regency one would be nice, using the lining pattern to make a flat backed skirt. How cool is that??? Now I just have to go and do it.

Winter has hit, and it's freezing. I've been home an hour, and my heater has been on for that long so the lounge room should be fairly warm. Here's hoping!

Wish me luck on my project ;)

Presenting...

PHOTOS!

Lets see if I can do this right

That's better! Photo isn't breaking the blog now. Oopsie!

Stash building...

Cate and I decided to go and scope out some fabric for Sophie's wedding/bridesmaids dresses today, and Mel tagged along as well. We went to a few places, and ended up at Spotlight. We raided their clearance table, and got some great bargains! I got a cream cotton voile with a texture in the threads, which will make a nice gown, possibly an undergown with something more elaborate over the top. Also a plain brown voile, which will make either a chemise or possibly a couple of pairs of shorts/bloomers to wear under my skirts. Or it could go into a dress yet. For $1 a metre on that one, it will be handy whatever it gets used for! I also found another brown cotton, think it might be voile as well, with a striped pattern woven in. Hard to describe. Last but not least I found a retro cotton print. It looks a bit like 70s bed sheets, but it will make a great sun dress! Or two, depending what pattern I get. I did good!

As well as a pile of fabric, I was finally able to get the 1950s suit pattern I've been dreaming of for months. I was excited enough to pay full price for it! We also got to see the regency gown in the book for the first time! Even though we already have the gown, it was cool to see.

After Spotlight we went into Civic for some lunch, and made a trip to Lincraft. Of course they had Simplicity patterns 1/2 price! They had the suit I got earlier too. But since they were cheap I went ahead and got the Regency Underthings pattern. Woo hoo! It is a pretty :) Now to get time to make it up. I still want to get the Sensibility one eventually, but the Simplicity version will do quite nicely for the moment.

Progress

It has taken me a while, but tonight I cut out a new skirt front and a new bodice and lining. The hole in the fabric of the skirt created a real mental block, even though we went out and got more fabric straight away. The bodice was just bugging me, as I couldn't get the lining to sit properly. Now I am going to use the same fabric on the lining rather than plain old calico - at least they're the same weight!

Now onto the sewing! Maybe not tonight, but I don't have anything on tomorrow either so that makes it easy. At least I've done some work on the dress!

Babysteps

It's been quite some time since I did any sewing. I have been procrastinating very badly recently. But I rethreaded the overlocker this evening, so I am on my way to getting back onto Mel's dress. I have tomorrow night free, so I will try to at least get the new skirt front cut out - one without holes!!!

Finally...

I got up this morning and my sewing machine is working like a dream! Yesterday after I cleaned it, it was working better but not perfectly and now you would never know there was a problem!

Melissa's dress is coming along just fine and dandy now! I am just sewing the bodice and lining together, and then it will be time for the sleeves :o) A wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning I think :o)

Success!

I finished my Dress! Actually I finished it ages ago, just after new year. Now it's Australia Day and I have to sew Mel's. She found the prettiest pinky/watermelony fabric with a satin stripe that will look just divine in a Regency gown. My sewing machine was being silly last night though, the tension in the bobbin thread is being screwy. I pulled the needle plate off this morning and cleaned it out (hmm that sure was a lot of lint), and it is better but not perfect. I can't find the manual for my machine anywhere though, so I can't get more ideas. I have some new needles somewhere, I will try changing to a different needle and see if that helps.

Now I just need someone to take some photos...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

There are only 2 and a bit (hopefully 1 and 2 bits!) working days till Christmas. Then I have 3 weeks off to work on our Regency gowns! I am hoping to get mine done in the first 2 weeks, while I am in Temora making my mum and sisters help me to fit it! Then I'm back here for a week and can make Mel's then. I am looking forward to finally having time to do stuff. Work has been so crazy, and I think I only have a 5-minute attention span.