BUSY BEE

Hi fiends!

So the Sewing through the Decades thing is kind of on hold. I've almost finished the first outfit but so much has happened. There was the floods and we've only JUST sorted out my studio now and everything is dry and put away and the damaged smelly stuff has been chucked. Sad to see some fabric go that I'd been hoarding for ages, so it's a lesson to me to just USE IT.

I have like a trillion things to sew though, so there will definitely be more action around here this week and next and to infinity and beyond!

My friend is having a costume party on the 12th, and we've come up with an amazing costume for the three of us to wear. The three of us being the terrible trio...

Violet, Max + Betty!
Although the blondes are now pink and the brunette is now blonde ^_^

So we have come up with a pretty rad idea that I hope we can pull off. I can't tell you what it is because we want it to be a surprise, but I'll posting the things I'm making for it so you guys will most likely be able to guess soon!

Then the day after that is my friends' wedding, so I'm making a dress for that. It will have eyeballs on it! Hurray!

Then on the 18th my sister is heading to JAPAN for a holiday and she needs a super warm hoodie for that.

The 24th March is when Sucker Punch comes out in the cinemas, my friends in the US and Canada are going but obvs we can't all go together since we're light years away. Luckily one of my friends here is going to come with me and we're dressing up.

Trust me to choose the one character that looks like a stripper [click the cut below to read more!]

Tutorial:: Hooded Keyhole Tee

Dad bought me two cool tees from Questacon in Canberra on one of his trips recently. He's a bus driver so goes to all rad places. He knows I love Sheldon from Big Bang Theory, so he bought me some nerdy t-shirts. I'm not claiming to be an all-encompassing nerd. My nerdism is strictly DC Comics and Sci-Fi. Regardless, I do love the shirts Daddy got me1 He also knows that I love to cut up my t-shirts, so he always buys them extra large with plenty of room for snipping and stitching!

This is what I made using an extra shirt for the contrast! It has a surprise back!

Click below to read the TUTORIAL!

Girl Girls Girls

Yep, sing like Motley Crue for a second. Yeh that felt good.

Anyway, I'm just doing a quick post to let you knwo I am here! I am making a cute little outfit for Vince but it's more complicated than I thought. I'll work on it today since he went to Brisbane with his daddy and his mother-in-law leaving me to clean the house. HA!

I've been reading through my google reader, and am super excited about all the Project Runway inspired competitions going around. Kinda wished I was more on the ball and had tried to apply for them. One of them I am LOVING at the moment is Project Run + Play. Although it only took me a few seconds to realise that it was no place for me :(

Every single entrant does girls clothing. I mean YEY for all the pretty ruffley stuff, but how am I supposed to go Oh that's a great idea, I might try that. I'm 26 years old, I don't wear ruffles or anythign trendy so it's lost on me. And I have a son. Maybe when I have a daughter I'd be more excited, but I've vowed to myself to not give up making boy's things. It's like boys are completely forgotten. Sad :(

Anyway, Project Run and Play is a cute toddler/child-themed Project Runway. I think you shoudl go check it out. Loads of talent over there! Maybe they'll do a boy challenge one week?

I am doing my best to prove to the blog world that there is a place for little boy's fashion! Apparently I need to prove a little bit harder and louder. Thank goodness for Dana + Rae's Celebrate The Boy month! It starts February! Super Excited about that!

Bit disappointed in two things I applied for and just didn't cut it, so obviously I have to just keep at it. I vowed 2011 would be my year and dammit it's only January!

1980 - 1989

This post is part of my Sew Through The Decades series, inspired by this post from a A Lemon Squeezy Home last year. Read about my version here. Remember that I'm just collecting inspiration for myself and for you, focusing mainly on mens and boys fashion. The challenge doesn't start until the 16th.

ohhhh the Eighties...

1970 - 1979

This post is part of my Sew Through The Decades series, inspired by this post from a A Lemon Squeezy Home last year. Read about my version here. Remember that I'm just collecting inspiration for myself and for you, focusing mainly on mens and boys fashion. The challenge doesn't start until the 16th.

Rotten in Vivienne Westwood
[source]

Tie-Dye shirts, frayed jeans and mexican peasant shirts still rocked out in the early 70s. Fashion was inspired by David Bowie, Roxy Music and Marc Bolan [T Rex]. Men wore lamé suits, quilted jackets, wide-legged denim or velvet pants and RHINESTONE studded shirts. Their hair was long, layered, and most in mullets!Some men had long sideburns, others sported the blonde messy surfie boy look.

Sewing Through The Decades - It's Begun!

Hurray!
Are you excited?
I am!

Tomorrow I'll be sorting through all the not-damaged stuff from my saturated studio and see what kinds of fabric are still ok to use! I have a feeling there will be A LOT of refashioning going on!

Today [ok I'm so late if you're in Australia like I am!] we kick off with fashion of the decade starting in 1900 on to 1909! Click here for a refresher of what the boy's fashions were like, or you can check out A Lemon Squeezy Home's original post for this decade [I REALLY like that Sailor-Suit swimsuit!] You can also see what she and others made

As you can see, I've added some temporary links to the sidebar on the left there so you can easily click through to whichever decade you choose! It would be SO AWESOME if you joined in with me, even if it's just a few of them. It doesn't even have to boy fashion, or sewing for children, or sewing at all! You can crochet, knit, paint, bead, sculpt, draw, photograph, manipulate, sew; just share with us ANYTHING you CREATED inspired by this decade!

Can't wait to see what you come up with! You can add your creations to A Lemon Squeezy Home's original Flickr pool here, and/or you can easily add them to the linky list I'll be putting up when I show you what I've made [This week I'll also be finishing off my inpisration posts for the 70s to the 00s]. You know what else is cool? Christie has noticed my little corner of the blogosphere and featured my attempts at recreating her idea! SWEET!

On your marks

Get Set

GO!

edited to add I just read the title of her starting line post and Christie used SEW instead of GO! 

One day I will be this intelligent!

The devestation continues

Guys. Australia is in a lot of trouble. I know the floods have affected 5 states now, but right now I'm going to focus on what has been happening in my own backyard.

I can't really tell you the full stories of what I have heard today, I will share them with you later when I'm feeling a little bit stronger. Sorry I've been a bit of a Debbie Downer lately, it's day 6 and things are nowhere near being back to normal.

Today I went down to Helidon and the Lockyer Valley with my husband and the manager of the other Optus store here. We went down with our friend Ryan from CFM and some other people.

Optus sent a shipment up to Toowoomba of phones with $1000 free credit on them, that we distributed to the flood affected victims. It's the least we could do and the gratitude that people were showing us made me feel not worthy.

I have been knee-deep in mud inside one man's bedroom. I have activated about 50 phones myself and helped give them out to people so they can contact their loved ones, their insurance agencies and whoever the hell else they feel like calling because really, they deserve it.

The floods have devestated this area.

I spoke to one woman who had ended up on the roof of her parent's house with her two sons and called her sister to say goodbye to her. The stories she told me of other people in the evacuation centre will make anyone cry I gauruntee it. Stories of people who have lost a good part of their family. Their parents, their spouses or their children [often everything]. I'll write them out here another day. I met a little boy today who was just over three years old, and it wasn't until later that I heard his story and realised how brave he was. 

After thoroughly washing all the mud and disease [most likely] off me, I went down to my parents to hold my little boy tight. Despite the fact that he was yelling and hitting me, I have never wanted to hold him as badly as I did at that moment.

Tomorrow we are headed to Grantham, where we had to organise a police escort because it's still seen as a crime scene. Not a crime scene, but more of a forensic scene if that makes sense? They're still finding body parts. I don't even care if I see something that is going to mess me up, if I can help one person it will be worthwhile.

1960 - 1969

This post is part of my Sew Through The Decades series, inspired by this post from a A Lemon Squeezy Home last year. Read about my version here. Remember that I'm just collecting inspiration for myself and for you, focusing mainly on mens and boys fashion. The challenge doesn't start until the 16th.

they were almost TOO cool

The Swingin' Sixties! Hey now this decade was full of fun and the breaking down of MANY social barriers! This was the decade of  The Beatles, bikinis, fake eyelashes and psychadelic prints!

1950 - 1959

This post is part of my Sew Through The Decades series, inspired by this post from a A Lemon Squeezy Home last year. Read about my version here. Remember that I'm just collecting inspiration for myself and for you, focusing mainly on mens and boys fashion. The challenge doesn't start until the 16th.

James Dean. Ooh Yeh.

Until 1950, the term teenager had never even been used! Teens of the fifties were the driving force behind fashion, and were greatly influenced by music on the radio and tv. Two main fashions were the very distinct greasers and the preps. Fashion icons were Elvis Presly, James Dean, Marlon Brando, Bill Haley.

1940 - 1949

This post is part of my Sew Through The Decades series, inspired by this post from a A Lemon Squeezy Home last year. Read about my version here. Remember that I'm just collecting inspiration for myself and for you, focusing mainly on mens and boys fashion. The challenge doesn't start until the 16th.

[source]

 
Roaring Forties! This was hard to concentrate on just boy fashion. Yikes. Check out all the links to explore for women's fashion! It's pretty!

One thing I learnt at fashion school, was how closely world events influenced fashion and art. World War II was no exception to the 40s. Did you know that the Germans controlled the Parisian haute couture? War goods manufacturing became first and foremost over fashion, and restrictions were placed on how much fabric could be used. McCall's started creating patterns on how to turn men's suits into ladies suits and evening dresses ito children's wear. THAT is reconstruction! You could only buy things with coupons, rationing included clothing and fabric. Here is an example of what you were allowed to buy with your coupons.

You can help. if you want.

everything still feels so surreal. some of the missing have been found, the death toll is up to 13 though. just hearing the details as they come in is horrible. most of the dead are children.

We're ok. my family and most of my friends here are ok. no one is flooded out as far as i can tell, although a lot of us have water in our houses - no one has needed to evacuate that i know of. other residents of toowoomba aren't so lucky, and the devestation that swept the water down the range and into the tiny townships of Helidon, Withcott, Grantham towards Lowood and even into Ipswich and it's finally hit Brisbane. So many lives have been destroyed and will never be the same. My sister had to evacuate from her work in the city, the brisbane river split its banks this afternoon.

all this you can read online, just type in toowoomba flood and you'll be inundated with videos and photos.

there is a way you can help. i cleaned out my cupboards a few weeks ago, but never got around to donating my clothes to lifeline. I'm glad I still have them however, because tomorrow I'm going to send them down to the collection that's taking place downtown.

details here: Toowoomba Flood Appeal. if you can help in any way at all, even just $1, it'd be amazing. Queensland has been attacked by floods for 19 days now, what happened yesterday was when the first lives were taken downtown.

1930 - 1939

This post is part of my Sew Through The Decades series, inspired by this post from a A Lemon Squeezy Home last year. Read about my version here. Remember that I'm just collecting inspiration for myself and for you, focusing mainly on mens and boys fashion. The challenge doesn't start until the 16th.

The dirty thirties saw man-made fibres becoming available for fabric such as rayon, nylon and viscose! Hurray! This is the decade the zipper got the attention it deserved and was touted in children's wear as being able to allow self-dressing. Suntanning became popular, and holidays to the Bahamas and the Mediterranean were all the rage. Men wore white dinner jackets and girls started baring their midriffs! Woot woo! The 1930s also marked the Great Depression, and colours in clothing were greatly subdued than the fun frivolity of the 20s.

Mickey Rooney
[source]

1920 - 1929

This post is part of my Sew Through The Decades series, inspired by this post from a A Lemon Squeezy Home last year. Read about my version here. Remember that I'm just collecting inspiration for myself and for you, focusing mainly on mens and boys fashion. The challenge doesn't start until the 16th.

The Roaring 20s! Definitely one of my favourite decades! No doubt when you think of the 20s you think of Chicago, flapper dresses, rouged knees and flasks of banned alcohol!

[source - wikipedia]

 In 1925, Oxford bags style trousers came into fashion for men. Until then, men's pants were narrow and straight-legged. Tailcoats now seemed old-fashioned and snobby, men wore their three-piece suits for formal occasions. Upper class men still wore tophats or their Homburg hat, middle class wore trilby hats [think detective] and fedoras while working classes wore newsboy caps or nothign at all. Boater hats still were cool.

Destruction

 8 dead. 72 people missing.

1910 - 1919

This post is part of my Sew Through The Decades series, inspired by this post from a A Lemon Squeezy Home last year. Read about my version here. Remember that I'm just collecting inspiration for myself and for you, focusing mainly on mens and boys fashion. The challenge doesn't start until the 16th.

The period from 1910 to 1919 was split in half rudely by World War 1 in 1914. The earlier half of this decade was so rich and luxurious, but during and after the Great War fashion took a more practical and serious tone.

oh! hello fullas!

1900 - 1909

My challenge is going to be heavily men's and boy's fashion, like my blog! I really think there isn't enough rad stuff out there for the fellas, and the original Sew Through The Decades did touch on male fashion but was mostly female.

I'm going to do a few posts before I start the challenge so you have some inspiration! I'll also link back to A Lemon Squeezy Home's posts for each decade also. Oooh I hope some of you join in! 

Wikipedia is by the far my most favourite go to place for EVERYTHING. Oh and Google. I say "I'll google it!" a lot, my friends laugh.

sailor suit
[source]

The first half of this article talks about women's fashion, but I'm more interested in the men's fashion!

"The long, lean, and athletic silhouette of the 1890s persisted. Hair was generally worn short. Beards were less pointed than before and moustaches were often curled."

All I got from that statement was MOUSTACHES.

Floods in Toowoomba

Hey guys, just a quick post!

I worked all morning queuing some posts up for the Sew through the decades challenge, so they'll resume as normal. Can't say for sure if i can actually post any real posts in the meantime.

Downtown Toowoomba

Inside McDonalds. 
One of the other derby girls put a call out to her workmates on facebook asking for volunteers.
She was inside.

yeh there's a lady in that car. Luckily she was rescued.
They found out she was pregnant

Not sure if you know this or not, but the town I live in experienced crazy flash floods today at lunchtime. This morning my friend came over to help me clean out my studio again, a lot of stuff is damaged but my machines are ok and I still have some fabric so that's ok. Lots of already made clothes are kinda ruined though which sucks.

my friend Em took this pic of Greenwattle st. This is literally one st over from us.

That's nothing compared to what's happening downtown. here's some photos I took from the facebook group that has just sprung up.

one of my derby girl's houses

taken from Grand Central

view from Grand Central looking towards Garden Town

One peson has been confirmed dead and two women have been washed away. I'm a little anxious, but I think we'll be ok where we are, although a lot of the roads are cut off. My husband is still at work and I just want him to come home right now.

To put this in perspective, Toowoomba is on top of a mountain range. We're super high up and this  just isn't supposed to happen. There was no warnign no flood alert like in other towns. Just bam, devestation.

Anyway, I'm not trying to scare you all or anything, and there's plenty of crazy ass rumours flying around the facebook group including contaminated water etc. Just want you to know that right now we're safe. It's stopped raining for the moment but there's more headed out way tonight. Tim's family live in Allora and they are on evacuation alert. The power has gone on and off a few times but apart fom that all is ok just where I am.




More videos here




Fellow Toowoomba friends, please stay safe. Just try and stay out of the water as much as possible. Don't try and drive through it.

Grand Central
our main shopping mall

Gamer Geekery + Helping Flood Victims

Just so you know, I'vce scheduled some posts for my Sew Through The Decades challenge goign through some inspiration for each decade. I'll be busy sewing my butt off this week for a different cause!

My friend got his girlfriend all knocked up [that probably could have been worded better but it made me laugh so it's staying], and their baby shower is this weekend. They are MASSIVE gamers. World of Warcraft, Legend of Zelda, anything on the Nintendo. It's going to be super fun, especially considering I'm a comic book nerd and that's a different kind of nerd to them! I've researched WoW and Zelda thoroughly [two games I have NEVER played], and I've got a huge swag of goodies to make for baby Ava!

I'll also be doing a few double ups of what I make for her, to donate to a family who hit pretty hard by the floods here in Queensland. If you could take a moment and head over to facebook to check out the page, there'll be an auction to help raise money for them [they lost their entire farm] and I'll be donating some goodies to sell off there. If you can donate goodies, or just want to check out the auction, it goes live on the 14th.

This picture hit me pretty hard. I had to clean out my studio today due to water everywhere, had to throw out a lot of clothign and fabric and we're goign to have to replace the floor - which I am NOT looking forwards to. I know how annoying and frustrating THAT is, let alone having your entire house like this.

[source]

So there you go! There'll be no photos of the finished products, just some sneek-peaks of works in progress until Saturday! Hopefully I have time to write up a few tutes also. Hurray!

Sewing Through The Decades - 1900 - 2010

I found this post on A Lemon Squeezy Home earlier and I made my mind up to do it also, albeit a little late!

When I was at fashion school, one of my favourite subjects was when we started fashion history. It was interwoven with the history of art also, and I found it fascinating. No wonder my ears pricked up when I read this entry in Christie's blog.

You can read the finer details on her post, but basically, each week I'll be creating an outfit/garment/s inspired by the fashion of the chosen decade! Want to play along? It'll be fun! You can make clothes for yourself, you kid, your dog [oh dear I want someone to do that!]. You don't have to do every single week, you can just jump in whenever and wherever you like!

Like Christie said, "There isn’t a right or wrong way to be inspired by a period piece! The point is to appreciate all the wonderful fashions that have gone before us and be inspired by them for our own projects!"

So here's the schedule!

Jan 16- Jan 22 - 1900-1909
Jan 23- Jan 29 - 1910-1919
Jan  30- Feb 5 - 1920-1929
Feb 6 - Feb 12 - 1930-1939
Feb 13 - Feb 19 - 1940-1949
Feb 20 - Feb 26 - 1950-1959
Feb 27 - Mar 5 - 1960-1969
Mar 6 - Mar 12 - 1970-1979
Mar 13 - Mar 19 - 1980-1989
Mar 20 - Mar 26 - 1990-1999
Mar 27 - Apr 2 - 2000-2010

Each week I'll do a post of all the inspiration I've found and then one about what I made. I'll also be adding my creations to A Lemon Squeezy Home's flickr pool to show her that her idea still lives on! ahha.


Grab a button to sew along or show your support! #notabuttonholic







<a href="http://maxcalifornia.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5241/5334975540_c85cfc8ef2_m.jpg"></a>

[button code is being a bit weird.. I'll figure it laters]

You don't have to use my banner or button, you can make your own for your own blog if you like, just make sure if you do do this, you link back to A Lemon Squeezy Home's original post.

Are you ready?

















p.s. my blog isn't going to be exclusively this challenge. I don't think I could go right to April without crafting something batman.. lol

Celebabies Style - Romeo Beckham

Romeo is the middle son of Victoria and David Beckham. His older brother is Brooklyn and his younger brother is Cruz. Romeo is my favourite, but I'll definitely be doing posts on the other boys as well; when your mother is Victoria Beckham, how are you NOT stylish?

I'm going to try really hard to ignore VB's shoes ok? They're killer, but this about ROMEO. Keep reminding me that alright?

Super Fly little Romeo on the left, litlte Cruz on the right. Love how smug he looks! Those sunglasses are really very cool

Romeo stopping traffic. Snigger.

This seems to be a rather awkward family photo! Love the vest over the tee, it looks like it's joined at the shoulder and side-seams. Unfortunate bowl haircut though.

Love the combination of the shirt, tie and jacket with the jeans. Cruz' beady eyes and gappy grin is weirding me out though.

Fly shoes Romeo!

THIS IS REALLY REALLY ADORABLE

And I love the way his hair is styled here! he kind of reminds me of Christian Bale in American Psycho though...

I see you Cruz, creeping.

Really love this idea, and I think I've posted my version of it earlier. The actual tie stitched onto a t-shirt. Super cool.

Thos shoes are pretty rad. I love when boys are all semi-dressed up, then rock out with their skate shoes. Check out the wallet chain too!

This is pretty cute! I like that they are wearing helmets too. Little Chuck Taylor's, old-school skater boys.

Oh I see, David Beckham is a hipster now? No? Oh well, they all look rad.

He's so proud to be in his little suit! Not sure about the shoes, but the rest is really cute!

Good choice of superhero suit Romeo!

Love little beanies on boys! There is that vest and tee combo again, winner for little boys in my book!