NIKKI-SHELL

Bench Monday #8

More players here :)

Tessuti Awards

Tessuti Fabrics, that treasure trove of designer silks, wools, linen, cottons and blends from the great fabric houses of the world, has watched the creativity and craftmanship of its many customers grow over the years.

We are continually blown away by many of the garments designed and made by our customers, so we'd like to take the opportunity to publicly recognise the design skills and ingenuity of people who pursue fashion just for the love of it. There are plenty of awards for designers and manufacturers already working in the fashion industry, but Tessuti wants to recognise the up and coming young designers and the individual talents and clever creations of 'home couture'.

• The Tessuti Awards is an annual event, first held in 2007.
• 2009 Tessuti Awards will be held on 2nd of September starting at 6:30pm.
• Registration to enter opens August 10 and closes August 24.
• There will be 2 categories; Vintage Little Black Dress & Smart Day/Evening Wear.
• Both categories are open to Tessuti customers, both young and old, male and female, fashion students and all sewers.
• Tessuti Melbourne will hold a Tessuti Awards night on the 13th August, ask in store for details.

Entries are invited from fashion and design students, home sewers, tailors and anyone with a passion for fashion, fabric and perfection. Visit our registration page for more information and to register for the event.

There are two categories in the 2009 Tessuti awards. They are:

1. Vintage Little Black Dress Category. Prizes include:

• 1st Prize: a return trip to Paris supplied by Tessuti
• 2nd Prize: $500 Tessuti gift voucher.
• 3rd Prize: $300 Tessuti gift voucher.

2. Smart Daywear, Eveningwear Category. Prizes include:

• 1st Prize: Bernina Bernette 92c sewing machine valued at $799, courtesy of Bernina Sewing Centre, Chatswood.
• 2nd Prize: $500 Tessuti gift voucher.
• 3rd Prize: $300 Tessuti gift voucher.

Follow this link for the rules.

Tessuti Awards will be held at ESMOD Australia, 2 Short Street, Surry Hills, on Wednesday the 2nd of September 2009, from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. Judging will commence at 7pm.

Knitting from the stash

Heidi has been in need of a hat now that it's pretty cold and windy here.  A ball of yarn from the stash (i'm trying to be a good little knitter!) and a few days of commuter knitting was all that was needed.  I used the pattern from Knitting Rules in which you measure the head and multiply by the number of stitches per inch to get the amount of stitches you need to cast on.  You can then make up your own pattern, 2x2 rib, 1x3 rib, stocking stitch, moss stitch, lace pattern, whatever takes your fancy really.  Perfect!

Doesn't she look cute?  Now if only i could get her to keep the thing on!

Oliver's quilt

Family friends had a baby way back in March (i think).  Little Oliver Antony was born very early and i quickly got to work on a quilt for him.  I finished it pretty quickly and it waited to be photographed before being posted to the UK.  Well, as i've said before i am terrible at getting things to people on time and the quilt has languished in my sewing room for far too long.  I finally photographed and posted it yesterday.

All fabrics are from Amitie (of course!) and a big thanks goes out to Louise who helped me decide on the pattern and fabrics.
I hope it is well received by Oliver.

Le Slouch

I've never really been a hat person.  I always think i look silly in them which then makes me feel self conscious or maybe it's the other way around.  Anyway, i've seen Le Slouch (by Knit and Tonic) around on the net for quite some time and liked it, it has also been quite chilly here in Melbourne so i decided to stop being so silly and knit one for myself.  Five days of slotting in a little K1, P1, K1, P1 on the train to work, walking to the park and watching season 1 of Cheers and i have myself a new hat that not only keeps me warm but is also pretty cute!

I used less than a ball and a half of Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran in grey.  If you'd like to knit one you can find the pattern here.

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• New long sleeve top made from Tessuti fabric using the Lydia pattern.  I have a few more of these on the 'To Do List'. 
• Culottes just like these, fabric from Tessuti.

It was open house at my place today, a steady stream of some very good and missed friends and their kids flowed in and out throughout the afternoon.  A good but busy day and my yoga class tonight was very much needed.  Ahhhh.

Tomorrow a quick drop in before work then the second BurdaStyle Club meet afterwards.  It's going to be a long one!

Bench Monday #7

A family Bench Monday at the park.

More here.

BurdaStyle Melbourne CBD Sewing Club

Where?-Tessuti Fabrics, 141 Flinders Lane (near Russell Street). Tel: 9654 4566.  www.Tessuti.com.au

When?-Thursday June 25^th starting at 6:30pm and ending at 8:30pm

 

What to bring....

·         A finished project

·         Details of or ideas for your next project-picture, pattern, fabric ideas etc

·         Your current project if you wish to work on it

·         Your sewing machine if you plan to sew

·         Anything else you would like to show and tell, books, mags, patterns etc.

·         A gold coin donation to go towards tea, coffee and biscuits etc.

 

At this meet we will discuss the following....

·         Upcoming topics

·         Ideas for things we’d like to learn

·         Our next meet

 

You will be able to buy fabrics on the night and will receive a 10% discount on all purchases.

If you would like to attend please email me at nikkishell@burdastyle.com to book a spot.

I will be organising a Sydney BurdaStyle Club meet for when i am there in August.  Stay tuned for more info about that.

winter knitting and beautiful buttons

Now that winter is here i've been in the mood for knitting.  I was frantically trying to finish off Justine's socks then ran out of red yarn :(  And the worst part is that the yarn is now discontinued!  If anyone has a spare ball (or a half) of red Patonyle and would like to send it my way in exchange for some dollars please do let me know, poor Justine has been waiting far too long for her socks.

In the meantime i have been knitting a pair of socks for my Dad.  I gave him a voucher for hand knit socks last year for Fathers Day, i got started on them a few weeks ago and so far i have one made.....it's Fathers Day in the UK tomorrow, oops!  I'm pretty crap at getting gifts to people on time aren't i?  They'll be worth the wait though Dad and hey it's summer there so it's not like you really need a pair of woolly socks right now is it?  Dad?

Yesterday while on my break from work i popped into Morris and Sons to pick up some yarn to make Le Slouch.  I decided on some grey Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed ( i fought the temptation to buy green) and a set of 5mm dp's.  I'm itching to start it but i'm going to be a good little knitter and before i do i will finish up the last few stitches on the first of my Dad's socks and cast on for the second.

I also called into Buttonmania yesterday after Suzie and Jodie called into the shop to tell us that they were having a sale.  I bought myself some delicious button candy (as you see in the above photo).  I also bought a nice little pile for my beautiful friend Fi.  She's button mad that girl and hadn't been able to make it to the sale.

OK, enough talking, i'm off to finish up a toe and imediately cast on a second sock.  I'm living in fear of that second sock syndrom.

Esme as Princess Leia

Princess leia esme, originally uploaded by nikkishell.

Since my hair is growing quite long i've been toying with the idea of braiding my hair and doing other things with it. Last night i stayed up way too late watching Youtube videos and came across one showing how to make buns with socks. I decided to try it out on Esme this morning and although the socks were a little too big (the buns didn't stay in) it was really easy to do.
Look how cute she is!
We're off to buy hair accessories today, bobby pins, hair elastics, oh we girls are going to have fun this weekend!