Monday 26 May 2014

Wot I dun on the weekend by BeaJay

First let me apologise for the title of this post. I have just finished 4 weeks of training Certificate III in Business and some of my students were just out of school and insisted on calling me "Miss". Groan groan. Took me right back to kindy.

Anyway my weekend was wonderful.

I have had a fabulous couple of days down at Stanwell Tops! I was joined by about 29 other sewing ladies from the Australian Sewing Guild and in particular the Rhodes and Alexandria groups, for a weekend of stitching our way through tonnes of fabric.

This is picture heavy but I do have a new outfit picture at the end of the post for show and tell.

This is where we stayed:

Arial View - Picture from The Tops Conference Centre website
Outside view - Picture from The Tops Conference Centre website


Accommodation - Picture from The Tops Conference Centre website

It had a real fun camp feel to the weekend and I couldn't help but sing Kumbaya. The air was fresh, the sky blue, the surrounding countryside an amazing green and food was delicious.


Here we are stuffing our face - they didn't stop feeding us.


Above are some great friends from my sewing group.
Front left Sharon from Petite and Sewing
Jinty - no blog
Kristy from Lower Your Pressure Foot
Sandra - no blog but you can see her marvelous work on Pattern Review where she is Dilliander
Cathy - no blog
Gail from My Fabrication
A new friend who's name I can't remember
And Wendy ( in green top) - no blog


Below is our sewing room with Wendy industriously at her machine.


Here is my area with my weapons of mass construction



Someone brought a friend. Babs was highly annoyed that I didn't invite her. I told her there wasn't room in the car. She is still not talking to me.



Here is Kristy, Jinty and Di hard at work cutting and prepping.


Wendy from Costumes from a Shoe Box is always highly entertaining and makes it even more of a fun time.



Here is the view from our sewing room:


I managed to rustle up almost 6 tops. I say almost as one was a UFO and only needed finishing, 2 have been completely finished and 3 need hemming. After making all of my different coloured Barb pants I needed tops.

Here is the UFO now finished - sort of. I do want to bring the sides seams in a bit.

It is Butterick 5855 which I have sewn before but this time I kept the "sleeves" shorter as the first time I was trying to incorporate a border. It is pictured with a pair of lime green StylyArc Barb pants that I have cut off at under the knee to make capris. I thought a full pant in lime green might just be OTT. I also gave the Barbs a tiny "flare" at the bottom. Warning warning warning - put on your sunnies. I can direct traffic with this high viz gear.

Photo by Sandra (Dilliander) - thanking you

The wrinkles on the bengaline pants are from hours sitting and sewing. The Bengaline is from StyleArc and the groovy 60's top fabric is from Vogue Fabrics.com. It was labeled as a knit but is quite a firm knit with very little stretch. I must admit that I do like the flashback deco look of it. It is still available if anyone else wants to be safe at night. It has now sold out.

All in all a very comfy outfit that will do well for my weekend wear. I see more Barb capris and Butterick 5855s coming up in my future. Maybe more toward our Spring as we will be starting Winter in 5 days - not that you would know it with a balmy 28 degrees Celsius (82.4F) forecast for tomorrow.

More later - I will take piccies of my other items when I can.

A big huge gigantic thanks to the lovely Sharon from Petite and Sewing for organising such a wonderful weekend.

27 comments:

  1. Oh my that fabric is so smileworthy! A lovely ensemble. I love sewing weekends, but it's been YEARS since I've been able to go. I am so happy for you!

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  2. Wow, your top is so bright and so lovely. Always had a soft spot for lime green. It is such a happy colour and you look great in it.

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  3. Lovely outfit- the capri pants are very flattering and the colours are GREAT!.

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  4. I love your new outfit, the colours are great! I wear my Linda capris when it's warm enough. Much more flattering than shorts, I think, but nicer to wear when the sun is shining than full length trousers.

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  5. all those pictures was like watching he project runway show lol! glad you had a great time & the capri set looks fantastic!
    Helen

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  6. loving the lime green outfit. Looks like alot of fun.

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  7. You look great in capris! And I'm glad you'll be safe at night;) What a fun weekend!

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  8. I love your sense of color and whimsy, and I agree that capris are a good look on you! Looks like a fabulous weekend, and getting lots of new clothes is an added bonus. Glad you got to go after your work marathon. So fun to hear from you again!

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  9. Love the outfit! I finally caved and joined the StyleArc club back when they had the 30% off special for members a few weeks ago, and as you might know, they send a "free gift" of a length of their bengaline when you join. I am really looking forward to making something with this and seeing what all the fuss is about!

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  10. It sounds like great fun. Your outfit looks perfect for a beautifully relaxed weekend.

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  11. Looks like you all had a fabulous weekend BeaJay. I'm so envious. Love your new outfit...so bright and cheery. I have just finished my first pair of SA Barb Pants and I love them too.

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  12. What a great weekend to have at the end of your teaching stint. Looks great fun - fancy making 6 tops. I would have been so distracted by looking at what everyone else was busy doing. I love the finished result, and with the current weather, just right for wearing now.

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  13. It was indeed a fab fun weekend and now you have 6 new matching tops for all those wonderful StyleArc pants. Look forward to seeing the rolling blog posts as you catch up with all the new wardrobe photos!

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  14. I love your hi-viz outfit, I can't wear lime but use a pale version in as much of my home decor as I can find! Oh, and it's Trish between Gail & Wendy at the lunch table.

    I find it hard to be serious for too long - definitely in touch with my inner child.

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  15. I envy your weekend with fellow sewers. What fun! And your outfit is very striking. I love the print of that top. It's traffic-stopping in a good way!

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  16. It was a fantastic weekend and your outfit looks brilliant on you (yes had to get the sunnies out). Looking forward to seeing your other tops, I know I was too focused to see much of anything others were sewing!

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  17. I love your lime green art deco fabric. Very Clarice Cliff! I'm just finishing off my first pair of SA Barb pants. Not as colourful as yours though. Look forward to seeing the rest of your tops.

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  18. Your post title is hilarious, I knew exactly what you meant after your tales of your students on the weekend. You were extremely productive on the weekend, and I quite like your outfit - not too bright but very coordinated

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  19. oh wow! a sewing retreat sounds amazing! love the completed outfit!

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  20. Yay. Looks like you made lots of inroads with your sewing!!!

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  21. What a beautiful place! The colors and print of your top is fabulous!

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  22. The place, the sewing weekend, the time spent with other sewists, the outfit...I wish I had been there! It sounds like you had a great time...ps. I love your Style Arc salute.

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  23. Oh, dear Lady! That sounds like a lot of fun ... Why is there no those meetings here in Spain? Love your green suit, it looks very summery and the landscapes of your adventure are spectacular !

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  24. Oh I really love the lime green. I love the whole outfit. I made some lime green pants when I was pregnant with an equally bright top... could see me a mile away.

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  25. Oh I meant to say what a fun weekend. DOn't know if they have them up here but I think I'll check... I need some focused sewing.

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  26. I wondered how the retreat went. I'm happy to hear that you had fun. Capris look good on everyone except me! Definitely make more!!

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  27. You look so cute! Awesome makes!!!!

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