Stuff

Bits of leather drawn on by my good buddy Sync, destined to become a pair of boots.


A once-abandoned design for some golf brogues with a beautiful quilted and fringed front flap, now resurrected.


A repair job for a friend's Grandfather's bag, the handle had come off so I made some new bits and hand-stitched the handle back on while watching and lamenting the result of The Ashes, boo hoo.

I really don't like repair jobs, but these friends are so ace, and the bag is so old and interesting, it taught me many things, and that's a good result.

We have had a bit of general malaise around lately, hence the loss of mojo, it's still not quite back but I am soldiering on. Leo dropped a brick on his toe, he enjoyed limping so much that it has been a re-hab of sorts getting him to walk normally again. We have all had colds, and are re-surfacing to find our blogs to be sadly neglected. Rest assured there are tasty treats to come, and on the Lego Lab too.

Listening to: Mad Men theme music by RJD2, I have been overdosing lately!!

Sorry for my absence

Lost my mojo - back soon, miss you all xxx

Suggestions please!

I finished these sandals yesterday, and am so looking forward to wearing them this summer. Red foil finish kid leather, 1960's Australian stamps of the Queen in 3/4 profile, cute pinked edges, navy blue waxed leather sole.

My only unfinished detail is what to call them, and that's where I'm taking suggestions. I've been referring to them as QEII or HRH, but I'd be keen to hear what you think.



Listening to: America - West Side Story
I've been watching this again, such a great movie, and Rita Moreno as Anita is astoundingly good. Hope that you're singing this song all day, like I have been for most of the week!

Ah, the Witches

I can't go past a Penguin Classic, and this week I'm re-reading the John Updike 1984 novel 'The Witches of Eastwick'. Delightful, potent, wicked stuff. I rented the DVD to remind myself of the film, and loved it all over again, those iconic women, the crazy Mr Nicholson, and the fantastic 80's outfits.

The film was done in 1987, which was my year 9 in High School. I had a friend with blonde hair, a redhead pal, and of course I am the brunette. We fancied ourselves as the characters from the film, so I was Cher, I just wish I could wear some of the slim high-waisted trousers she sports.

I've been thinking about the hair, especially Susan Sarandon's, who as Jane wears a neat french braid, but upon liberation her hair becomes a radiant afro. As you can see their hair is wild, big, bouffant and free, a transformation rarely made in film these days. Now the heroine starts with an unruly mane, and by the end she has a sleek, tamed look after her big makeover.



Seriously, I have been struggling with my big hair for ever. I always wanted geometric short hair cuts, a bit Annie Lennox a bit Louise Brooks. Instead I got crazy curls at puberty, and no-one told me that I shouldn't brush it, that the bouff would only get bigger. I remember when I discovered hair mousse, it was instant relief in a can!

Now I have a hairdresser who understands curls and doesn't try to straighten it all the time, and I have well and truly embraced what I've got. Salut to the Witches of Eastwick, and may there always be a place for big hair. Amen.

Printemps

Et voila, my finished embroidered spat/shoe combination.

White leather, multicoloured thread, hand-embroidered spat panels, navy blue waxed heels and soles: I love them I love them I really love them!

It's almost a sad thing to have finished them, I have been working on them for so long. They are inspired by my Spectrum Boots, which are visible on the left hand side there as my avatar.
It is also going to be difficult to resist wearing them before the exhibition, as soon as you crease the front they no longer look brand-spanking new, so I may have to put them out of sight until October.

Hope you like them too!

Listening to: Daryl Hall and John Oates - I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) 1983!! This was the first album I ever bought on vinyl, my Mum still has it at her place, my sister and I had many elaborate dances choreographed to this album and I stand by it to this day!

This week I've......

....been to Geelong to do a presentation of my work to the Sewing Guild. My mother-in-law is an amazing sewer (is that the right term?), and she has always appreciated what I do, so she asked me a while ago if I would play show & tell with her sewing group.

It was great to meet all the talented ladies, it was a real bastion of fabric, so I was almost hyperventilating as they discussed interfacing and lingerie fabrics, not my forté as you might know already.

I really enjoyed their perspective of my craft, and to see it all together made me remember that I do have a body of work, even if the making does seem glacially slow at times.


I've also been inhaling the fumes from this leather dye, it's not altogether unpleasant. Very potent stuff, not as much as raven oil, but it really soaked into these heels. Most shoes are finished with a black or brown waxy dye, but neither of those colours feature much in my making. So I've been experimenting with good ol' navy blue, my fave, and they turned out beautifully. After this photo I covered them with shoe polish, which was then buffed to a high shine.


The detailing on these soon-to-be-revealed shoes has really gone over the top, but that gets me so excited! Every part of the shoe has some special treatment/decoration/feature, including these steel tips for the soles. I can't even remember where I picked them up, maybe when I lived in Sydney. I used them on the outer edge of the heel, so that they don't wear down.

I am hours away from posting a picture of these beauties, I just can't wait to share them. When the sun comes up I'll be straight back into the studio to decide on a final detail and then you'll know all about them!

Listening to: 24 Carat Black - Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth Classic old-school funk