Summer time.

It has been very hot in Sydney this past week. The days are getting longer and the humidity is rising. I cleaned up my balcony this weekend so that I can possibly buy a little three piece outdoor setting to have outside. This summer I would love to spend the hot summer evenings sitting on my balcony, watching the sun set, and sharing a meal with Jamie.

In this fantasy I am sipping iced tea from these beautiful tumblers...

Low ball glasses from Grandma's Junk Drawer

Anchor Hocking Tumbler Set from linneamarie

Striped Bar Glasses from jenscloset

Red Floral Tumblers from oldstuffinboxes

Blue Glass Tumblers by winkinpossum

Sam xox

To market.

Image borrowed from here.

A colleague of mine invited me along to a trip to the Eveleigh Farmers Market that is held near her home every Saturday. I had not heard of this market before, but Marjolein promised it was great.

I met Marjolein at her home, and after a 10 minute walk through some beautiful back streets lined with terrace houses and home to a number of cute cats, we arrived at the markets. What I noticed straight away were the number of bikes lined up along the footpath with baskets on them, the owners being somewhere amongst the crowds of people and fresh produce. We walked the aisles, tasting a variety of dips, cheeses, and meats, while mentally I was preparing a shopping list to take with me next Saturday. The variety was really impressive, with my favourites being the meat stalls (if you are considerate of 'food miles' these meats had only traveled a couple of hours) and the stall selling only zucchini related produce.

As I had a fridge at home half full of groceries still, I did not buy a lot. But next week I will definitely be doing most of my grocery shopping here, and might even ride my own bike there and park it amongst the others...

Yum!

Sam xox

Sculpture by the sea.

Today Jamie and I headed down to the beach to check out the annual Sculpture by the Sea. It began in 1997 and has become an iconic Sydney event. The weather this weekend has been super hot so Jamie and I put off going to the beach until late afternoon (gotta love daylight savings!). The sculptures were scattered along the coast line creating an ant-like trail of people as far as the eye could see.

You can click here to visit the Sculpture by the Sea website to see more images and learn more about the event.

Sam xox

Queen Victoria Building.

Following on from yesterday's high tea photos, here are a few more of the beautiful building in Sydney where the Tea Rooms are. It is called the Queen Victoria Building and is over 100 years old (now guys don't laugh, that's old in European-Australian years).

Tomorrow I will start my short series on Christmasy things... You all know how much I love Christmas!

Sam xox

Spring is here.

There is really something about the first day of Spring. The sun feels a little warmer, the birds sing a little louder and our moods lift...

Sadly I missed out on most of this today as I had to attend work training. Being couped up inside a space the size of a kitchen for 8 hours really put a dampener on my Springtime skip (the training was, however, amazingly valuable for my work practice).

To try and restore balance to my first Spring day for 2010, I came home and sat in my garden ... well ... my tiled three-story high garden.

Oh Spring, how I have missed thee!

Sam xox

Dressmaking class.

On Saturday I attended a three hour course on 'how to make a dress' using the dress pattern V8184 by Vogue Easy Options. It was held at the Tessuti fabric shop in Surry Hills (remember I blogged about Surry Hills here?). Many of you may have noticed my post a few posts back on the tessuti online fabric shop and all the beautiful fabrics they had available. Well, the online shop is nothing compared to the actual store! What a hidden gem! If you want to have a look, check it out here and watch the video of inside the shop.

I arrived at Tessuti as doors opened Saturday morning, with my sewing machine in hand. I was feeling nervous as I do consider myself a novice when it comes to sewing clothes, and I was unsure what to expect from this lesson. My nervous eased when I met our teacher Georgia. What a gem! She was infectiously bubbly and enthusiastic about dressmaking. She had brought along a variety of dresses she had made using this pattern, and showed us how she had altered each slightly to give it an 'extra something'. Her workmanship was something to behold!

I still can't get my head around how much info Georgia managed to pack in the three short hours. I feel like I learnt so much: how to pin and cut a pattern properly, sewing a toile, fitting the toile perfectly to a body, and using the toile as an individualised pattern.

I even learnt how to sew a perfect princess seam AND bone a bodice! I am totally prepared now to make this dress, and I would definitely recommend anyone who is in or near Sydney to attend one of Georgia's classes - worth every cent!

After the class I spent time browsing the walls of fabric, until I found the perfect one...

Here are some pics.

Three hours of hard work.

My 'couture' bodice.

Princess seam & boning.

Heavy-weight cotton fabric in an oatmeal colour.

Tessuti card.

If you are interested in finding more out about this dress pattern, check out Georgia's pattern review here at the Tessuit Blog.

Sam xox

Prints Charming.

For anyone living in or near Sydney, listen up. Prints Charming is holding a Spring Fabric Sale!

Details as follows:

Saturday 4th September

9:30 - 2:00

2 Young Street, Annandale

Those of you not living near Sydney, do not dispair. You can get your Prints Charming fix hereby visiting their blog, and if you like what you see, consider buying their book:

Different countries have different book titles and covers...

In the US it is called Sew Charming --> click here to have a look on Amazon.

In most other countries the book is called Prints Charming --> click here to have a look on Amazon.

Just in case you were wondering, I am in no way affiliated with Prints Charming, I am just giving the recommendation because I love their style :-)

Sam xox

Dressmaker dreaming.

I have spent some time window shopping researching fabrics online and I thought I might share some of my finds with you, in case anyone else out there was looking for good quality online fabric stores.

As I mentioned in this post, you can find a large range of Liberty of London fabrics for a very reasonable price on the Shaukat & Company website (I will be spending some of my first pay cheque on some Liberty fabrics from this store!).

I came across this little gem tonight: Tessuti Fabrics, an Aussie online fabric store with a great variety of unusual fabrics and prints. The website also lists their store location as being in Surry Hills of all places (remember my trip to Surry Hills recently?)!

Here are my favourites from Tessuti Fabrics' online store...

{Dark Clan - Wool - AUS$89 p/m}

This wool fabric is so beautiful, but the price ... I would have to be very confident in my sewing skills! I was thinking that I could perhaps make a lined winter skirt or coat? Maybe for winter 2011?

{Nouveau Bloom - Printed Silk/Cottom Voile - AUS$29 p/m}

This fabric captured my imagination. It does have a nouveau feel to it, and I thought it would look great with the right dress or skirt pattern.

{Osaka Sand Bloom - Japanese Cotton - AUS$29 p/m}

I like the weave of the fabric here as it looks like it would be quite textured. I am unsure what I would make from it, perhaps a summer top?

{Suki Mauve Bloom - Japanese Cotton - AUS$24 p/m}

Finally, I just think this is so cute, the perfect spring fabric.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here, winner drawn this Sunday August 8!

Sam xox

A walk in the park.

Jamie and I have had my little brother staying with us this past week. He is a boisterous 10 year old who has kept us on our toes!

Today was his last day with us, so I took him for a walk in the huge park near our house. We are incredibly lucky to have this leafy sanctuary tucked away in our inner-city suburb. We took a bag of stale bread, a picnic rug and a camera; and spent two lovely hours in the winter sunshine.

Sam xox