Q&A and Sofie's project

Thanks everyone for all the nice comments and the compliments on the new hair “do”. My usual hairdresser wasn’t working on the night of my last appointment and I had someone new. I was a bit scared as his hands were shaking but I shut my eyes and hoped for the best. Luckily it turned out pretty good!

From the last few posts there were a few questions to answer:

Birgitte asked: Is Sofie sewing a triple layer in the last pix, and if so, would it be easier with a walking foot? It caught my attention cause I'm using mine right now. Yes she is, and thanks for mentioning the walking foot – I hadn’t given it a thought. And obviously her teacher hadn’t either!

Karen (kbenco) asked: Where did you get the print? Mmm, not sure but I think it was good old Spotlight. It was a while ago.

Carol commented: This pattern is so versatile. Have you seen the Stitches magazine article that shows you how to draft a cowl collar and add a pleat front to this pattern? I use it all the time. No, I haven’t seen it (or just don’t remember seeing it). Do you have the issue handy – so I can see if I have that copy?

Isabelle suggested: It's probably time Sofie asked for a sewing machine of her own - as an early birthday present perhaps? :) I don’t think that would work. I have an older machine but she wants the better one. Everything belongs to Sofie! Lucky I love her and she brings me coffee in bed in the morning.

And a lot of you want to see more of what Sofie is sewing too. She will be making two dresses/tutus. One in white and one in black. These need to be artworks and not something you would wear. She must manipulate the fabric and incorporate different textures, embellishments etc. Before she starts on the art pieces she has to fill a portfolio on different techniques – including unsuccessful ones and annotate them.

She has lots of ideas but no firm decisions have been made. There will be – feathers, tulle, satin, quilting, sparkles. Already the sewing area is covered with “stuff”. She seems to be enjoying the subject but it does also include studying other artists’ work – which involves articulating what you are actually seeing.

This is a page from her portfolio showing the initial design thoughts.

This page shows some samples for the black dress.

Sorry about the photo being sideways - Uploaded 3 times (even as a small image) but blogger insists it be sideways!

Here is a close up view of one of her samples. She has screen printed onto silk, quilted and stitched around the design. Excuse me if I don't get the terms correct..

She has to continue to try new techniques until her book is full of samples.

In the future, I am not sure how much I will be able to show of her work as she is being examined on it. I will check with her teacher in case there are any "rules" about what I can show.

SMOT no 3

I managed to get one more top in for the challenge. Cut out in April but sewn up in May - that counts doesn't it?


I used good old Kwik Sew 3338 - basic T top. I made some changes to look like that very popular Jalie tie neck top.



I lowered the front neckline slightly and added a length of brown mesh to the neckline. I also added the mesh to the sleeves to balance the look. The body of the top is a very soft viscose lycra. It was almost entirely made on the overlocker....and here is why...

Sofie has taken over the sewing area and MY machine. She is studying studio arts - textiles (VCE). At the moment she is filling a portfolio of samples. She needs to make two major works and she has decided on Odette and Odile of Swan Lake. She is up to her neck in feathers, glitter, satin and tulle.