Sunny day dress

Last night, after many months of no sewing (about ten months, actually), I decided to make a dress. I don't know if that means I'm officially 'old'. Ten years ago I would not have predicted that I'd be sewing late on a Saturday night!

I decided to pull out my Sew La Tea Do book and make Pip's fabulous sunny day dress, as I'm sure it will be a good thing to have on hand in summer. I had just enough candy-stripe material in my stash (thanks to my friend Irene), and I decided to use some leftover red fabric for the straps to avoid stripe overload. The pattern was for small to medium, so I sized it down a tad. I probably could have gone a bit smaller, but I guess a dress that's a little too big is better than one that's too small! I also omitted the pockets, simply because it would save time.

Pip also suggested using iron-on hemming, but I decided to sew my hem. This bit took quite a long time, as I had to get rid of a lot of excess fabric. I'm not entirely happy with it, but the dodgy bits are on the inside so I don't really care. I'm going to make a red sash to go with the dress as well. That way I can choose to wear it a little more fitted if I want to. I think the original 'flowing' design will be perfect for our humid Brisbane summer days, and perhaps even for the beach.

Overall, this was a really easy dress to make. The straps take a while to sew, but nothing in the pattern is overly hard to do. Pip's instructions are perfect for beginners. She even tells you when to make a cup of tea!

Close-up: art hanging system

By popular demand, here are some close-up shots to show how our art hanging system works. Firstly, you remove the cap from one end of the track and slide in a hanger. Each of these hooks can hold up to ten kilograms.

Then you can adjust the hook to the required height by sliding it along the plastic tubing.

Finally, you hang your frame (or, in this case, skateboard) on the hook. The plastic tubing is quite long, so you can hide it behind by loosely securing it with a rubber band.

You can change the configuration at any time by sliding the hangers along the track or changing the height of the hook. This makes it very easy in our case to just add more skateboards to the wall!

David Bowie is here!

Today we (well, John) finally got around to picking up my Cease and Desist skateboard from the post office, featuring none other than Mr David Bowie. As soon as I got home from work, I promptly set about installing it on our new art hanging system.

Also, thanks to those who commented on my post about the hanging system. As requested, shortly I'll post some close-up shots to show everyone how it all works. 

Art hanging system

In my last post about skateboard art I mentioned that we were considering having an art hanging system installed in the living room. Well, the price turned out to be so affordable that we decided to have two walls done! We went with the original plan of the wall above the TV (where the boards were hanging), as well as the main wall that runs along the hall.

I think this system will work very well for us, as it allows us to change our display very easily. The skateboards are now hanging on the main wall (with the two new boards still to be hung), and our framed Blacklist Studio prints (which were previously on the floor leaning against the wall) are now above the TV. I'd still eventually like to hang my Kozyndan print on the main wall once it's framed, but I love that we now have the flexibility to change our minds about the configuration whenever we feel like it (rather than drilling permanent holes into the concrete walls).

What do you think?! We've only had it installed for a day, so it's still very new and exciting for me...