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Thursday 24 June 2010

McCall's 6069 Vacation Dress


Another easy knit dress which I have dubbed the vacation dress because while I like it I don't think I have the balls to wear this anywhere other than at a holiday resort. It is very low cut at the back and combined with the giraffe/zebra hybrid print I think it might be a bit much for popping down the shops!

Gorgeous Things Ann made this recently as a pool cover up and for that the pattern is perfect. EricaB also made a stunning version of this that doesn't look too low cut, but I guess I am a shorty by comparison and should have adjusted the pattern.

McCall's calls this an easy, 1 hour pattern and it is certainly easy and probably can be made in an hour, just not by me - slow sewer extraordinaire. I really like the front cowl drape, but if I make this again I will raise the back so I don't feel quite so bare. That said I'm going to slap the pictures of me wearing it on the internet......



Sorry the pictures are a bit dark, we are having typical Hong Kong summer weather at the moment - vile!



Thursday 17 June 2010

New York Fabric Shopping Spree

As you saw from my last post, I was lucky to have some NY shopping experts with me and although time was short and we only visited 3 stores, they were all different shopping experiences and close enough to each other that I recommend visits to all of them if your time is short too. For full reviews of these stores and many more in the garment district do visit LindsayT's blog, she also has some great articles and maps too, all handily referenced in the sidebar.

Here's where we went and what I bought....

First stop was Mood Fabrics of Project Runway fame. This is a large, but well organised store, a great place to go if you have a good idea of what you are looking for. Or you can be like me and wander around till something jumps out. I only bought 1 piece here, a peacock inspired cotton print, not cheap for a cotton, but gorgeous quality.


Next up was Elliott Berman Textiles. Lots of lovely designer fabrics here at very reasonable prices. They also have swatches of a large range of their fabrics at the front of the store so you can shop those if you find it easier. This was a very relaxing shopping experience, we were the only customers in the store at the time. I'd decided to focus on fabrics that are difficult to get in Hong Kong - knits - so that's what I bought here - 3 pieces.

Sensible

Loud

Crazy (this is an Elie Tahari if I remember right)

Finally, Carolyn took me to one of her favourite spots, Metro Textiles. This is a relatively small store, but manages to cram a lot in. If you know what you want the owner can probably dig it out for you, but it's kind of fun to dig around and see what you find and the prices are good. Here was where I stocked up on some basic knits and a couple of extra impulse buys.

Plain knits

Printed knits

Mystery (to me) fabric for jacket, silk print, border print cotton


You know this all looks quite restrained to me now, but it weighed a ton! It's fortunate for me that the US regulates airline baggage by piece and not by weight.

It is baking hot and extremely humid in Hong Kong now and I really need to make some summer tops and dresses so hopefully most of these won't be in my stash for too long. Stay tuned!

Tuesday 15 June 2010

Older and Richer in Fabric

Well I am back from my fabulous trip to celebrate (?) my 40th birthday in New York and Bermuda.

As you will know by now I met up with Carolyn, LindsayT and Elizabeth in the garment district for a spot of fabric shopping. The time passed all too quickly but it was fun and frankly it probably would have been dangerous for the wallet and my suitcase packing skills if we had had any more time.


I will show you my purchases in a separate post but let me tell you the walk back from the garment district to my hotel felt a lot longer than on the way there.....


A few more pics;

Oops, looking like I am being stabbed in the head by the famous garment district needle.


Historical Dockyard in Bermuda wearing the much worn Burda 02/2009-124 dress which really will fall apart soon.


One of Bermuda's beautiful beaches - freezing water though!


On our hotel balcony before going out for my birthday - in the one dot dress from my last post!