The start of something good

My friends are finally here in Sydney! They are here for a short holiday and I will be travelling around Sydney with them for the next few days. It's gonna be a blast!


I just came back from the airport just a while ago. I've had a long day! I met my uni friends for lunch in the afternoon in Newtown and went to the airport to meet my friends in the evening.


Here's the outfit that I wore today and the things I bought in Newtown!

// Cropped lace top, Supre / Skinny jeans, Kmart / Doc Martens Wannabe, Rubi Shoes / Snakeskin clutch, DIY / Necklace, eBay //

I had lunch at this gourmet burger place and ordered a duck and bacon burger. It was deee-li-cious! I took a picture of it but then it sort of mysteriously disappeared while I was transferring the files to my computer, which is really annoying. So, no photo of the yummy burger. :(

Cheap rings from a thrift store at just 50c each

Vinyl records

I got the Bill Haley record for a friend and the Buddy Holly record for myself. I'm not quite sure what I feel about my growing collection of vinyl records. I do not own a player... yet. But I will definitely get one when I complete my degree. My records are mostly just sitting on the shelf, smiling at me. They are very patient and kind. However, transporting them when I leave Sydney will definitely be a headache.



I also tried a couple of vintage stuff in the thrift shop and other shops along the street but they were either too damaged (i.e. torn), too outrageous (i.e. extra large padded shoulders that can only be worn at a costume party) or... just not pretty enough for me to spend my money for them (i.e. meh). Oh well, perhaps better luck next time. The next time I go back to Newtown, I'll be buying a Ritchie Valens record. :)


So, that's all for now! Tomorrow is the start of my new adventure! ^_^

Have a happy holiday

The next few weeks (or rather, the next 2 months) are going to be a crazy one. My beloved friends are coming over to visit me in Sydney and I'll be having lots and lots of fun with them for a week. Then, I will be starting another placement for uni which will last 6 weeks. It's going to be really intensive. I hope everyone is having fun this holiday season. 


Here are some embroidery that I have done as little xmas presents for my friends. I didn't take pictures for all 6 designs because I've already given some away. Also, I didn't add the lace as the instructions asked because I think they look better without the lace. 

Even after making these tiny embroidery thingamabobs, I'm still not quite sure what I feel about. They are so time consuming and the end products are usually just a tiny 'ah' or some sort. And they are SO taxing on my eyes!


Oh well, that's all for now. I really should stop screwing up my own body clock and just go to bed.


Happy holiday! I will definitely write another post again before the new year comes. :)

DIY: Chanel-inspired ballet flats

This DIY project really makes me want to LOL. I don't usually type LOL on the internet, but this time, I really have to because it's exactly what I was doing while working on this DIY project.

I bought this pair of nude/beige ballet flats at an outlet shop for just $2 yesterday. Yes, $2, just $2! I was really lucky because this was the last pair for my size! But, when I tried it on, it was TOO PLAIN for my liking and I decided to do a DIY with it. For some reason, the image of the classic Chanel two-tone ballet flats immediately came to my mind. So, I grabbed some sticky tape and my trusty black Sharpie, and this baby was completed in less than half an hour.

I wouldn't normally DIY a pair of shoes because, let's face it - they wear out and they are NOT CHEAP. But hey, this pair of flats only cost me $2 and the DIY is as easy as doing 'Colour By Numbers'. So, with nothing to lose, I took a leap of faith and got on to put my idea into action (which, by the way, is something I should do a lot more often).

I'm not sure if it's the (shameless) idea of the project itself, my courage to do something like this, or the smell from my black Sharpie, but I was literally giggling to myself while making this. So, I hope you'll have fun too!


Materials:
1 pair of beige/nude flats
Black Sharpie
Sticky tape
Nude/beige ribbon (optional)


Steps:

1. First and foremost, test an area of the shoe with the black Sharpie. I know Sharpie is supposed to work on  virtually all surfaces, but it's better to play it safe. I tested my Sharpie on the under side of the flats to make sure that the ink comes out really black and stays permanent when dried!

2. Put sticky tape at the back of the flats as shown in the picture and colour the strip at the back with your black Sharpie. Do this for both flats.

3. Put sticky tape across the front of the flats, and make sure that both left and right side matches!! Then, colour the top of the flats with black Sharpie.

4. If your flats didn't come with a nude/beige bow, you can make one of your own and then stick it to the flats to complete the Chanel look. I was lucky that my shoes already came with the nude bows! :)

There you go. That's all. Wasn't that simple???


Also, I'm not sure about what you think, but my friend thought the shoes turned out looking like a Malayan Tapir...............................

P.S.: I wanted to post this later this week, but Polyvore stuffed my blog posts up when I was creating the inspiration poster on the website last night. So, bah, I decided to post it up today because I think some people might have seen the inspiration poster last night...


Image of the Chanel flats from here
Inspiration board created using my Polyvore account here
Image of the Malayan Tapir, which, by the way, is in the danger of extinction, is from here

Sewn: Vintage 'Country Road' Dress

All right, ladies and gentlemen! I present to you... *drum roll* the 4th clothing item that I've sewn from scratch! I actually completed this dress a while ago but haven't had the time to take the pictures for a blog post. 

Left: Front view, Right: Back view

Left: Dress with belt; Right: Dress without belt

Pattern: New Look 6824 (A+H+J)
Fabric: Green and purple gingham cotton

New Look 6824

I made this dress using the vintage-inspired New Look 6824 pattern. I bought the pattern because I felt that the dresses really reminded me of the 60s. When I first saw the pattern, I even thought that lady on the cover was Betty Draper from Mad Men! 

Dress with belt

Dress without belt

The version of the dress I made comes with a sash that is supposed to be worn as a belt. But I think the belt looks better wrapped around my head as a headband rather than around my waist as a belt. What do you think?

The seam between the bodice and the skirt

The zipper and button closure

The skirt hem

I decided to call this dress the "'Country Road' Dress" because wearing it really really makes me want to pack my bare essentials into an old leather suitcase, hop on a bus and sing "Country Road" by John Denver while I stare out in the vast empty lands on my way to a quiet countryside. But alas, I don't have an old leather suitcase and I certainly do not have the country to go to a countryside on my own. I also do not have the ability to hold a tune, unfortunately.

Before long

Hey everyone, I know that I haven't been posting very frequently this December. I have just been really tired from uni stuff. I am also currently suffering from a severe case of Hong Kong sloth*. But if you are following my Tumblr blog, you will know that I have been knitting a collar thingy using a yarn with sequins. It's now finished but I just need time to take pictures and write the pattern that I will be sharing with everyone! 


So, this is just a post to say a quick hi to everyone. Also, check out my new sunglasses from ASOS! They just arrived today! (^_^)


*If you didn't get the joke about the Hong Kong sloth, then you probably have never watched Boy Meets World... (Check out 1.36 of the video below)

FO: Knitted Cowl

The cowl/shawl/scarf thing I knitted has finally reached my friend in Germany! Woah, I posted it on 31st Oct and it only just reached her this week. This is definitely wayyyy more than the 3 - 10 days that the post office staff said. Oh well, it doesn't matter now because it has reached her!


I made this cowl using the Noble Cowl pattern by Emily, which is available for free on Ravelry. It's a really really popular pattern amongst knitters on Ravelry, with a total of 1640 projects (and counting!)


Knitting this cowl was quite a joy because I have not knitted lace stitches for quite a while. The only thing that I was not pleased about was the loose stitches at the beginning of the round. It's my own fault, really. I think my tension were too loose at the beginning. 

Loose stitches at the beginning of the round :(

The right tension

Unblocked FO

This is how the cowl looked right after casting them off the needles. It's obvious that it needed blocking, so I blocked it using a steam iron. Steam iron worked in this cause because I used a wool-blend yarn. I like using a steam iron to block my knitting project because it makes the knitted FO really smooth and flat. More importantly, it's quick and immediate!! I love watching a bunched up knitting project transform into a real finished product after blocking.

Blocked! :) THIS IS WHY BLOCKING IS SO IMPORTANT!

All right, that's all for now! I have been doing some embroidery as Christmas presents. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish them up and show them to everyone soon! Has everyone started on making Christmas presents? 


P.S.: If you ask a question as Anonymous, please please leave an email so that I can contact you directly!