hoops, scissors and peacock feathers

I had a couple of deliveries this week. It’s always fun to get parcels!

The Dovo Hardanger scissors (which I sold the last of at the Sydney Craft and Quilt Fair) are now back in stock.

And finally, I again have all sizes of the Klass and Gessmann wooden hoops with stands back in stock. Hurrah! They come in 6 inch/15cm, 7 inch/17.5cm, 8 inch/20cm, 10 inch/25cm, 11 inch/27.5cm, and 12 inch/30cm. I’ve been waiting on some of these sizes for several months, so it is good to have them all again.

It’s winter school holidays here, and while my daughters are at home, I have embarked upon a new project. The Reader is in Year 12 this year (final year of schooling), and that means special end of school things, such as the Year 12 Formal later this year. I offered to make her formal dress, and because she’s around for fittings, school holidays is an excellent time to get started.

So far, I have drafted the bodice pattern and made three toiles. The third toile fitted very nicely. I then transferred that pattern onto the fabric and have begun the embroidery. She’s having a teal green dress, with chiffon skirt, and an embroidered bodice.

The colours on this are really weird and nothing like what they really are!

The embroidery uses peacock feather motifs. There is satin fabric, silk dupion fabric, cotton fabric, beads, mini sequins, metallic threads, shiny rayon threads… so far. I’m doing the appliqué and the beading while the bodice pattern is flat and mounted on a frame. Then I will take it off the frame, sew up the darts, and work the remainder of the embroidery (probably mostly couched metal threads) in hand. I have to do it after sewing up the darts as the lines of couching will go across the darts.

I’m enjoying it. It’s something a little different, and I’m really looking forward to seeing it done. It’s getting sparklier by the minute!