When I made the pinnies and edged them all around with handmade bias I was happy and proud, but then I stitched some doilies to this beautiful lustrous silk velvet and made them into scarves and I got a tingle up my spine.

Dot was married in 1947…..she is now 86 years old and still living in her own home. I asked to borrow her wedding dress to photograph and pour over. It arrived in its original Buckley and Nunn box tied up with string and from the Children’s Department. It is so tiny that I couldn’t get it on my size 6 dressmakers dummy and so fine that it made my day.It is made from silk organza. The skirt is made up of panels cut on the bias and inset with lace. I didn’t like to press it and iron out the creases of 60 years, I was also a little afraid of damaging it.

The last couple of weeks I’ve been making these garland rosette brooches. It all started when I needed a colourful something to wear to my Nieces wedding. I noticed Nicky wearing a large fabric brooch made from frayed strips of fabric in great colours. I asked if I could borrow it to copy or really imitate it and ended up making something that was similar and then taking the idea further into the realm of the rosette. My brooches are far more structured than the one that Nicky wears which is one of a kind and can’t be copied. They are fun to make and liven up a winter coat, jacket or bag.

I’m really enjoying wearing this at the moment! It’s the greatest and possibly the only perk of the job is test driving the merchandise.The Maroon Floral print is limited edition. Once these are sold I can’t make any more! The floral panel is a beautiful quality heavy cotton and the back panel is soft stretch denim.

It looks better than I could have imagined it. Sue brought it over the other day and I couldn’t believe how well it worked out! the colours, borderless, simple, thick and comfy…and essential to the whole quilt thing is that it is unstudied. She worked some kind of mysterious magic with the positioning of the squares. I’m just glad that part wasn’t up to me because I know I would have tied myself up in knots about it.  Now the rest is up to me to tie it or quilt it in some way. I had imagined leather tags like what there used to be on mattresses, but now I’m thinking felt behind buttons, I have hundreds of buttons!

The The Quilts category for the preamble to this post……….

who came down on the weekend to visit with me and to buy skirts! It was a roaring success and the decks really are clear now to go ahead into winter, although it doesn’t feel like it at the moment with this freakish heat in Melbourne.

The Doilie Pocket skirt went over really well too which was great so here it is

This Weekend I am offering all my summer stock at the incredible price of $40

Everything must go to make way for winter stock so I have decided to slash the prices to get it moving quickly.

So this Saturday at the Sisters Market in the Brunswick Town Hall and the Shirt and Skirt Market at the Abbotsford Convent all my summer Stock will be reduced to $40

and everything else including my beautiful new Doilie Pocket Skirts will be $85

I’m a cardie wearer, I think they are the perfect Melbourne garment. They have the right off-on-hot-cold-inside-outside applications, so I want to make some to sell and to wear, because like skirts they are hard to find under $150, with the elements of fun casual interesting good quality. Now… I’m not claiming to have covered all of these in the first try but here I go….having a stab.