Declaring my intentions

I've debated over the last few weeks whether I should say something about my lack of blogging activity over the last few months. This morning I've decided that I will 'declare my intentions'.

I started this blog a couple of years ago. It was intended to serve as a record of the changes my husband and I made to our apartment, and also provide some sort of 'creative release' for me. I had been breaking my balls in the same job for almost a decade, and, although it was in a creative industry, I was getting very little back from it (besides a mediocre pay cheque to pay the bills). Having Flying Ducks helped me to feel that I was 'taking control' in some small way. I didn't expect anyone to read, but many of you did (for which I am very grateful).

Eventually, I was blogging several times a week. It was a few months ago that I realised that I didn't understand why I was doing this. It seemed to be mostly just to show off that I'd bought some new kitchen utensil, and not that I'd done something creative in the form of renovating or making. This, it dawned on me, was quite shallow. As many of you know, I also started a new job in the middle of 2011. I have felt much happier as a result, and have no longer felt compelled to force myself to write blog posts in order to feel like I am doing something (however shallow) to fulfil myself.

[I must also point out that I have no problem with those who DO choose to blog on a regular basis, and I am in no way calling your activities shallow. Many of you have a lot of great things to say or show, and many of you blog as an important part of your business promotion. That is something I respect.]

So, what's my plan? Well, I don't plan on closing this blog down. I'll still be using it whenever I feel that I have done something that I am proud of and that I'd like to show off. That might be something we've done to the apartment, or something I've made. What I won't be doing is blogging to show you a new tea towel or fruit bowl or ornament. There will be no giveaways. Ever. I can't say if I'll be blogging on a regular basis or not. That will depend on whether I've done something that I feel is worthy of a post. I may also start to again post on my other blog (which is intended to be largely political in nature), but I won't be forcing that either.

I realise that some of you like regular posts on blogs in order to justify following them, and that's cool. I don't expect everyone to be into it, so I understand if you unfollow. I've already had a couple do this, and that's fine. I'm not going to be paying any attention to my follower numbers or stats in the future. I've never made a cent from this blog and never intend to, so those things are irrelevant. As long as the people who ARE visiting my blog enjoy it, that's what I care about.

Thanks to everyone who's supported Flying Ducks over the last couple of years. I've met so many people (online and in person), and many of you I count as real friends. This has been the best part of it all.

New sewing project: apple print dress

So rather than addressing the fact that I haven't shown my face around here in quite a while, I'll just get straight into showing you my latest completed sewing project.

A little while ago, my friend Kass (who I've known since I was eight, but not seen since I was twelve) contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in joining her to work on a sewing project. She had an original 1950s dress pattern that she wanted to try out, and I couldn't say no!

We both decided to tackle the view on the left. Kass is also adding the embellishments, but I decided to leave it plain given that I chose a bold fabric. We both made some minor alterations to the bodice, and I also omitted the piped waistband and decided to the bodice directly to the skirt. Here is the bodice in progress.

The bodice was by far the most complicated bit, so I was glad to have that out of the way. However, while the skirt was easy since I've worked with gathers before, it was very time consuming due to the ridiculous volume of fabric. Here is the unfinished dress (no zip or hem) right after I attached the skirt to the bodice.

Finally, once the zip was added and the skirt was hemmed (also very time consuming due to the volume of fabric), it was done! I decided to photograph it with a pop art filter to enhance its brightness.

I've purchased this patent red skinny belt online, as I think it will finish it all off nicely.

This was by far the biggest sewing project I've embarked on, and overall it went very smoothly. It did take me about 12 hours (including cutting the pattern), but I have to say it was well worth it. If I was to make this dress again, I'd definitely remove a lot of the skirt fabric; it's quite heavy (partly due to the canvas-like fabric), so not really suited to Brisbane summer days. That said, I LOVE this dress and will be wearing it every chance I get!

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...

Update: skateboard art

Quite a while ago now, I mentioned our desire for more skateboard art in our home. We currently have two boards hanging in the living room: one glow-in-the-dark limited edition Dalek board, and one Neckface board signed by the artist on his 2007 Australian tour (when we are lucky enough to see him spraypainting at the former incarnation of the Alibi Room in New Farm).

In the last two weeks, we've added not one but TWO new boards to our collection, which means we'll soon have four on the wall. The first one was this Jordan Hoffart/Vernon Courtlandt Johnson (VCJ) board that John wanted. Apparently it's quite significant because it's the first commercial board produced by VCJ in a long time, and he designed some of the most influential graphics of the '80s. John was lucky enough to get one of the first five boards, which are signed by both Johnson and Hoffart, with all proceeds going to charity.

Our second board (which I purchased) is this Jason Lee/Cease and Desist David Bowie Aladdin Sane board. The Cease and Desist boards are replicas of (or, perhaps more fittingly, tributes to) original designs from the '80s and '90s which were only produced in limited numbers due to the fact that they infringed on copyright (and therefore subject to cease and desist letters). The new boards are hand printed in limited runs of 100. As it's next to impossible to get hold of an unused original of this design without parting with a significant amount of cash, this is the next best thing. Oh, and for those who don't know, the Jason Lee I am referring to is the one as the My name is Earl guy (he was a pro skateboarder in the early '90s).

We're considering getting a professional hanging system installed by the Art of Hanging in Nundah so we can display the boards in the best way possible (and so that we can easily change them around should we acquire more!).