Liv's Adventures in Cloudehill Gardens

Easter Sunday, my parents and I went off to the Dandenongs for lunch and a wander around, the very wonderland looking, Cloudehill gardens. It was overcast and chilly with the leaves on the deciduous trees agreeing that autumn was arriving. 

Outfit:

Skirt: Made by me

Top: Friends of Couture via ClearIT

Belt and boots: Op Shop

Tights: Top Shop

Bunny Ears: ClearIT

Sew for Victory: Part 1

(source)

Sew for Victory has started! Yay!

While I haven't gotten very far in my project(s) I do have a pretty clear idea for what I want to do. 

I've been saving up some fabric for this very occasion the first being this really pretty, possibly vintage, pink fabric (possibly a crepe back satin...). 

It's got a lovely flower design on it and it's perfect for a little lounge ware looking wrap dress I'd like to make. 

To do this, I've decided to kind of mash two patterns together, both of which I've used before. The first is a 1940's dress pattern that I love from my September 1948 edition of the Australian Home Journal. I've used it twice thus far and love it. The second is the retro Butterick B5152 robe pattern again from 1948. This pattern will give me the basis to turn the first dress into a wrap dress.

Unlike both of the patterns listed, I'm going to give the dress 3/4 length sleeves since I need more dresses like that in my wardrobe. 

So far, I've cut out my pattern. Hopefully, by next week I should have it mostly put together....

Doctor Who Look

This is a little outfit post that's from... actually, the same day I finished my cardigan (just a bit late, haha). I think I threw this together to do a little shopping. I wanted to dress a little bit Captain Jack Harkness ;)

Cardigan: Made by Me
Jeans: Dejour Jeans
Shirt: Borrowed from James
Boots: Borrowed from my mother
Braces: Jay Jays
TARDIS Pin: Armageddon 2013

Gulf Station

Last Sunday, my family and I went to Gulf Station, which is a little National Trust Farm about an hours drive from Melbourne. I pushed myself to go having spent all of Saturday on my feet until about 3am. However, I knew it would be a lovely day since they were having volunteers give examples of work around the farm.

There were big Clydesdale horses and tiny Shetland ponies, sheep being sheered, and chickens running a muck... wonderfully farmish!

It was nice to be able to wander around and get to see a woman ironing with the old, heavy, black irons. First, putting wax on it and then wiping it off on a scrap so the clean linens don't get dirty. The old clothes on the line was a nice touch as well. 

Along with the many barns and covered areas, there was a quaint little farm house. The house was lightly furnished and purposefully left in mild disrepair in places so you could see the foundations. It was really cool seeing the beams and construction.

Just before we left we saw some blackberry bushes back in a ditch and picked some for blackberry apple pie. Yum!

While the trip was a wonderful experience, it was nice to get back home and take off my boots after walking all around the farm.

The Pie Maker

So.... I may have just finished Pushing Daisies. 

... and very much fallen head over heels in love with it! 

Which of course meant I had to run down the the market and pick up strawberries and rhubarb to make a pie. 

Dress: Handmade by me

Belt and Shoes: Op Shop

Making a Dream Wardrobe

For a while now I've been working towards making my ideal wardrobe. Something that has items that work with several other items and, to a degree, trying to think like a well dressed woman out of the 40's or 50's who can't afford to just go and buy stuff willy nilly but has to think and save for each item. I (like everyone one else, I'm sure) get sick of having those days where you open your bursting wardrobe and think, "I have nothing to wear!".  Normally, this would lead to retail therapy and adding more to the ever growing pile of stuff that is 'cute but doesn't go with anything' or 'isn't quite right but close enough for now'. 

NO MORE!

I have made a change in my habits and vowed to finally get the wardrobe I want.

My first step in this process was to go through my wardrobe and get rid of all of the clothes that fell into the  'isn't quite right but close enough for now' and 'doesn't fit' categories. The 'cute but doesn't go with anything' category was more of a grey area. It came down to if I loved it and wanted more things like it in my closet, it stayed otherwise I was just as ruthless. Some of the nicer things I've held onto to sell; everything else went to the op shop.

Make no mistake, this was really hard to do. It took several days of getting rid of stuff. It ended up coming down to ignoring all of the sentimentality and saying, "If I'm not going to wear it, it can't stay".

I went through this process two more times with my shoes and then my jewellery. Finally, I was down to just the stuff I like in my closet.

The next step was to work out what I want my closet to look like and what am I missing to turn it into that. This took three draft lists, and hours spent on Pinterest to complete.

Since I also want my wardrobe to be made up of mostly handmade, vintage, and op shop items, it's going to take some time to get the wardrobe I want. However, it also gives me a list of things to make that should get lots of wear and be worth the effort put in.