Little Dorrit

I hope you all got a chance to se the firt episode of 'Little Dorrit' on Masterpiece Theater last night. If not, never fear! You can watch it online HERE. I don't know how I'm going to wait five weeks before the ending...but in a way it's kind of fun to have something to look forward to every week. :)
I thought Matthew MacFadyen was brilliant in the first episode. I was so thrilled when I heard he was going to be in it! I think he belongs in period films. ;)

Claire Foy is amazing as well. :) She's so sweet.

I'm already in love with the costumes.

And I can't wait until next Sunday night. :)

Busy Bee

And this is what I was up to yesterday. :)

Toddler Cherry Flower Sun Dress:
And fresh spring vintage inspired pillowcases made from Anna at Pleasant View Schoolhouse's pattern HERE.

They are now in my Shop and on sale until March 31! :)

Now off to do some more sewing...

A Satisfying Day :)

I've been busy busy sewing all day and feel quite satisfied. :) I've got a few lovely things to put in my Etsy Shop tomorrow, so check back to see what they are! I've taken a little break from historic costumes and I've been making a bit more useful things for today...but still pretty, I think. ;)

I've also got "hooked" on crocheting again. I haven't crocheted much in years, except the fingerless gloves I made this winter, but now we've started crocheting every week with the lady who taught us how and now I can't stop. I'm on my second doily and now I've started this cardigan:
Oh well...it's fun! :)

Here's a sneak peek at one of the things I was up to today....

The best thing to do while sewing all day is to drink lots of tea and listen to Roald Dahl books on CD. I listened to most of James and the Giant Peach today...brilliant. :) He's one of the most clever authors.

Well, I'm off to bed...home all day tomorrow, hopefully I'll get heaps of more sewing done! And more lovely sewing time with friends on Friday! Whoo hoo...it shall be a fantastical week! :)

(Alright...perhaps I've had a wee bit of too much tea?) ;)

SPRING SALE!!!!

I'm having a big sale over in my Etsy Shop! Almost everything is on sale now through March 31! Go check it out and ENJOY!

Happy Spring! :)

Pincushions in the Shop :)

Bright and cheery to inspire you to sew. :) Check them out.

Summer Sewing List

Here are a few things I'm planning out to work on this summer. But I may change my mind at any moment and add or take away from the list. This is just an idea of what I'm working on in my mind. :)

The beautiful pink and yellow dress from Marie Antoinette:

I've got the underskirt fabric but I still need to find the perfect fabric for the bodice. I also might need to find a better pattern. The one I have is too small for me so I'm not sure if I want to bother sizing it up or not.

The black and white dress from The Duchess:

I'm working on a dress inspired by this, it's not exactly like it, but still Duchess worthy! ;)

Titanic Jump dress:

This has been an ongoing project which may take me a long time to complete. I made a really rushed version of this once but it didn't work so I'm going to take it apart and start over. I also decided I think I want to be a crazy and go all out and completely bead the bodice because I just love that part of the original. I'm currently working on making the hand beaded trim. I'm thinking of starting all over from scratch and using the fabric from this dress to make my Moulin Rouge bodice.

Here is my rugged unfinished first attempt:

Elizabeth Swann Underpinnings:

I'm half way on my corset! I really need to get that out and finish it. Now that I'm done with some of my custom orders maybe I can. :) I'm also planning on making panniers and they will all work under my Marie and Duchess dresses as well.

Will Turner pirate costume:
Yay! I'm so excited about this one! I have almost everything I need to make it now except buttons for the coat and vest. But I have vest fabric and a second hand leather coat I'm remaking into a piratey coat. I still need to buy fabric for his pants though.

If only I could get some of those boots.....:)

Okay...that's all I'll list for now. These are my HOPES of what to work on. We'll see how far I get.

Sink Me!

I love the costumes in the 1982 film, The Scarlett Pimpernel starring Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour and a very young Ian McKellen. Quite suprising for an 80's film, the costumes are splendid!
I love this redingote:
Reminds me of the dark blue one in The Duchess.

The fellow's clothes are quite smashing. :)

I love this dandy striped jacket!

If you've never seen it, then...sink me!...go rent it! It's insanely clever and lovely costumes to boot. :)

Jane Bennet Short Jacket Finished!

I just finished the Jane Bennet short jacket I made for a customer. We took our inspiration from the jacket Jane wears (above) in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice and this cardigan from J. Crew:

Here are the results!

Fabric: 100% linen from fabric-store.com

See more pictures HERE.

Costume Sketches

Every great costume designer, after researching the era and character their designing for, starts with a sketch.

I love keeping a small idea book full of sketches that I later will end up using in my concept sketches. It's nice to have a small sketch book that can fit in your hand bag but there have been times I scribbled on any old thing just to remember the idea until I got home. :)

Here are a few Costume/Fashion sketches that I love:

Fashion Sketch by Kat Macleod:

Costume Design by Deborah L. Scott for the film 'Titanic':

Fashion Sketch by Laura Laine:

Costume Design by Catherine Martin for the film 'Australia'

Costume Design by Jacqueline Durran for the film 'Atonement':

It's interesting to see different people's styles and mediums. I love trying different techiques.

Some of my favorite Art supplies:

-Pencils: Derwent and Prismacolor
-Watercolors: nothing special, bought at Trago Mills in Falmouth, UK

-Rubber kneaded eraser (these are the best!)

-Pencil Sharpener

-Pencil Case made by Genevieve of Pretty Wit

My stack of sketchbooks:

These are just a few of my sketchboooks. I have so many! But I think that's a good thing? ;)

From top to bottom:

-Spiral bound sketchbook (not sure where it's from, reject of Matt Parker photography I love being at the Parker house when they clean out their closets!)

-Hardbound square Sketchbook by Winsor and Newton (bought in Truro, England)

-Moleskine softcover notebook. (the thin ones that come in a 3-pack)

-Leather Bound Sketchbook from Barnes and Noble

Want to turn your scribbles and ideas into art? Check out this amazing book:

Are you inspired yet? :)

Australia Inspired Clothing Line

Costume and Production Designer, Catherine Martin is coming out with a clothing line with R. M. Williams inspired by the film Australia.

Catherine Martin is such an inspiration to me. I'm in love with her costumes in Australia as well as Moulin Rouge. She and her husband, director Baz Luhrmann, make an incredible team!

I did another post earlier today on my other blog about her amazing production design as well as her gorgeous line of rugs and wallpaper. Check it out HERE.

Check out the complete collection HERE. I love those patterns in the fabric. :) Very"Catherine Martin". ;)

Australia on DVD today

Every now and then, I'm one of those people who has to race to the store and buy a movie the day it comes out. It's a pretty rare film that makes a must own for me. Australia, however, is one of those films. :) I bought it today but the best part is, I got the exclusive pack for the same price as the regular DVD.

It comes with this amazing little book of beautiful photography from the film.Such an epic. We had a movie night with some friends tonight and watched it.

I'm sure one of these days I'll make some costumes from it. For now I'll just enjoy every bit of the DVD. I'm not only in love with the costumes. The cinematography is AMAZING. The score is beautiful. The acting is suburb.

Alright, I'll stop gushing. :) But I am one happy girl today.

Jane Bennet Short Jacket

I've been busy working on a custom order for a Jane Bennet jacket only shorter so it can be worn nicely as modern wear.
I got the top stitching done last week and sewed the rest of the bodice together today.
I'm loving the 100% linen. :)
It lays so nicely. In these pictures it's all pressed, but I think I love it when it's fresh out of the dryer and has a wavy wrinkle to it. (I'm just weird that way)

Alright...I'm off to sew some more. Just wanted to show you all I am indeed still sewing. Just not blogging as much this week. :)