The first of many

The
first of many

 

I have made what I hope will be the first of many little dresses for the
littlest one. (I am not counting the Christening gown.) Mandy and I
chose a denim fabric for the dress with a red velvet trim.






I lined the yolk with a Liberty fabric because I thought a double layer
of denim would make the dress too bulky. I am happy with the result and
she looks adorable wearing it.




The liberty fabric matches the plum buttons perfectly.




I used an oliver & S pattern.

These
gorgeous patterns are the brainchild of Leisl who writes the
Disdressed blog which I
like to read. Every pattern comes with a wrap-around sleeve from which
you can cut out a little paper doll and dress her with cut out clothes.
It made me feel seven years old again when I did this.




You can buy the patterns from Oliver & S in the US, but they are also
available from Duckcloth here
in Australia and I bought mine here because it arrived faster and being
the impatient person I am I wanted it immediately.



We are very excited because Duckcloth is now selling the cut cloth
fabrics on line. Check out their great website.





 

* * * * *



 

I have been tagged by Michelle at
Hathersage Hall. I
have never been tagged before and am not really sure I know what it
means, but it makes me feel like a real blogger and not just someone who
does this for her own fun. Apparently I have to write six unimportant
things about me. Well, here's the surprise - everything about me is
unimportant, except for the fact that I managed to produce two wonderful
daughters and they are very important. Well, here we go...



I love the three fs - family, flowers and fabric. Make that four fs and
add food to the list.



I like to be able to go to bed at night knowing that I have achieved
something during the day - even if it is only something small.



I love to read and could happily spend all my money in bookshops (after
I have spent all my money on fabric, flowers and food).



I have so many projects and books I want to either start or read, I
doubt there will be enough time left in my life.



I would love to be able to travel to somewhere fabulous at least once a
year.



Roses are my fabourite flowers.



And that gives me a good excuse to post a photo of a rose from my garden
which I love - Meg (and because it is a while since I posted a photo of
a rose).

 

Apparently I am now supposed to tag six other people. I hate to be a
spoilsport and hope I don't break some sort of chain which will mean I
go straight to blogger hell, but I don't feel confident at this stage of
my blogging career to do this.

 

08 February 2008

Material girls

 

Our new fabrics have been on the website for some time, but I thought I
should show them in the blog as well because the pics on the website are
very small (a problem which we hope to overcome). Even these do not show
the fabrics at their vibrant best. I am amazed at how hard it is to
photograph a piece of fabric. I am sure a professional would laugh at my
attempt, but we can't afford professional photography. Clicking on the
image below will enlarge it and make the designs easier to see.





Copyright the cut cloth



The exciting thing is that we/our wonderful screenprinter, Gregory, can
print any of these designs in any colour a customer would like, so if
someone has, say, a red couch and they would like cushions in the same
colour - we can do it. How good is that! The fabrics are also available
for sale by the meter.



The most popular fabric so far has been this one



and we have had to order more from Gregory. I feel for him working in
this hot weather - he tells me his oven for 'cooking' the fabric after
it has been screenprinted reaches 140 degrees. Can you imagine how hot
that would make his studio when the air temperature is already over 100
degrees (in the old measurement). I feel weak at the knees just thinking
about it and will have to stop my monotonous complaints about the heat.

 

30 October 2007

Creating a Miracle

 

Our screenprinter, Gregory, called this morning. He was about to print
our fabrics and asked if would we like to come and watch the process.
WOULD WE? We were in his studio in 15 minutes and spent the next half
hour totally enthralled. Here is a screen ready to have the ink applied.




Gregory prints the first screen
and creates a miracle.


The fabric is draped above the table like a tent and, with the fans
gently whirring overhead, I was immediately transported to an exotic
location.


The fabric then goes into a heat box to be "cooked" in order to set the
ink.

Tomorrow, all the fabrics will be finished. Here is a sneak preview from
some of the proof prints Gregory has done.


We are so grateful to him for being so patient with us. At times, our
lack of knowledge must have been very difficult for him. His advice and
suggestions along the way have been invaluable.

As I was watching this fascinating process I couldn't help thinking how
my life has changed over the last 12 months. What I was doing a year ago
(stuck behind a desk for ten hours a day) and what I am doing now
couldn't be more different and I am loving it.

 

18 October 2007

Streetscape

 

Today Mandy and I met with our wonderful screenprinter, Gregory. When we
arrived at his studio we were met with this scene which was enhancing
the suburban streetscape.

For
a while we were so overcome we could only sit in the car and admire all
these beautiful screens sitting and 'cooking' in the sunshine. Next
week, they will be used to produce our new fabric. For the rest of the
day we could not get these images out of our minds.
We both agreed that, in the journey of the cut cloth, today would have
to rate as the most exciting day we have had.

 

10 October 2007

Bamboozled by Colour

 

We are getting down to the pointy end with our fabric. We have an idea
of which colours we would like to use, but there are so many variations
within each colour range it is giving us headaches. We think we have
chosen a colour and then we see something which we like better or which
we think will work better with the other colours. We had no idea it
would be so difficult to finalise this aspect.


The choice of colour can change completely the way the design looks and,
until the fabric is actually printed, it is hard to know how it is
really going to look. We want to give the range a summery look, but we
don't want it to look too pastel or 'lolly'.


So we will continue to bury ourselves in colour and hopefully, at the
end of the exercise, we will emerge with something with which we are
extremely happy. Wish us luck!