The Hem-isphere challenge: garment n°2

Hey there a quick post to show you what I made for the second instalment of Zoe and I's swap project, our topic was La Parisienne and you can read more about it here. I'm so sorry for the bad pics but I was in a rush and it was early in the morning so the light was really dim :(

So this is another take on New Look 6808, I used the beautiful silky cotton and mother-of-pearl buttons Zoe sent me and added heart-shaped lace from my stash around the collar. I LOVE my top and I usually wear it with jeans but it's also great with a pencil skirt.
You can see Zoe's garment here http://sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.com/2012/06/hem-isphere-project-parisienne-blouse.html, I can't believe she made such an awesome top out of what I sent her! See you

The Hem-isphere challenge part two

Hiya, how's it going? It's been raining heavily all week long and the other day I didn't have a car but I had to go out, I was shivering and my feet -horror!- were soaking wet by the time I arrived back home so imagine what a nice surprise I had when I found Zoe's latest package in my mailbox!
Inside were the most awesome mother-of-pearl buttons, lace and fabric ever! Seriously, not only are the colour and print wonderful but it's so light and soft it feels like Liberty.


So this time the topic was chosen by Zoe and she came with this great idea: la Parisienne :) This immediately brought back fond memories since it's the name of a bakery where my mama would buy my birthday cakes when I was young. Sigh, nougatine, marzipan, chocolate and whipped cream... But I digress, of course I wasn't to use this for our challenge^^.
The thing is, I've rarely been to Paris and mainly when I was quite young -everyone was dressed like Robert Smith!- so my references regarding this city and its inhabitants come mainly from movies, songs and celebrities. To me Parisiennes are Catherine Deneuve, Brigitte Bardot, Bernadette Lafont, Anna Karina...





...and above all, the embodiement of French class, easy glamour and overall cuteness, Sylvie Vartan! Actually she was born in Bulgaria but she became a very successful singer in France and has represented it abroad ever since.




She wore a lot of candy colours, white lace/broderie anglaise and stripes and peaked in the 60's and 70's so I tried to reflect her style in these eras in my package to Zoe: some crepe-like striped fabric, a fun pattern and some faceted buttons.

I forgot to take a pic AGAIN so thanks Zoe!

As for Zoe's inspiration you can read all about it in this post, I'm thrilled with what she gave me and I hope I can make something that will come up to her excellent idea for this challenge! See you later for the results :)

The Hem-isphere challenge: part one!

Hello everyone, I hope you had a nice weekend, I got a bit busy and so I couldn't post at the same time as Zoe the Grand did about the outcome of our first Hem-isphere project!
Here's a pic of the awesome nautical themed vintage top she made from my modest offerings^^:


For this miscellaneous swap Zoe had sent me two dress patterns from the 60's and 70's and yards of blue checkered fabric -and a cute little badge^^:


I had chosen the mini smock dress and had made a muslin and it did look great but when I laid the pieces on the final fabric I realised that I would wear my garment much more if it was a simpler top. Enters the second Stylish Dress Book and its "U" tunic that I was dying to try and here's my absolute favourite top of the moment:



I didn't put the sleeves and the gathers at the hem and I like it as it is! As always with Japanese patterns it was very straightforward, a front and a back piece and a collar on the bias and that was it.
I'm really grateful for this challenge, the first episode was so much fun, I can't wait for the next one! And PS I made the denim shorts too and I'm wearing them all the damn time :) See you soon with more creations!

I'm a very lucky blogger!

Indeed, I'm delighted to share the news with you that 2012 is going to be the year of my collaboration with the awesome Zoe in a project called Hem-isphere :)
It all started when I saw her Poetry and Clothing challenge in 2011, I too wanted to have some super cool and gorgeous garments made by her -yes I'm opportunistic like that!- so I asked her if she'd like to work on an exchange project with me. You'd think that just because she works in Traderemade, organises almost single-handedly Brighton Craftaganza, has launched the Me-Made challenges, analyses and writes about the sewing industry, consumption and women-related problems and sews amazing things in what is left of her free time she wouldn't be available... Well, she graciously said yes! But having sewn for her friend she advised me against making stuff for each other because of the unavoidable fitting issues so we settled on exchanging notions packages every two month to make our own garment/accessory. We'll also try and use stuff from our stash as mush as possible.
For our first swap we didn't choose a specific topic so here are the very random things I sent her -photo courtesy of Zoe since I forgot to take one:


The pattern is a 60's blouse, loose fitting with kimono sleeves and a peter pan collar or fitted and sleeveless. As they say on the enveloppe you can add a simple dirndl skirt to have a fabulous ensemble! The belt buckle is real vintage, dating back from the 60's too, the sequined anchor appliqué had been in my stash since 2000 and the only thing I bought for this occasion is the beige trim.
And now this is the excellent package I received from her:

OMG I want to make these two patterns! I love that 60's dress with the ties and the gathered shoulders but I'm fond of the 70's mini smock. And that fabric is so soft and cute! Can you imagine the front yoke detail in the bias with contrasting piping? And look at that adorable little badge:


I have already gotten started on a muslin for the pattern I chose and it's looking great so far, I may have managed to snatch myself a little Zoe modjo^^ We should post about our respective projects in February and then we'll have our next swap in March. I'm so excited about this collaboration, I can't even wait for the next round!