My Penelope Red Pleated Neck Blouse

Recently, I have had a little spare time to catch up on some sewing for ME! I adore bright prints and colours, and when I saw this fabric, it just screamed out to me!



I decided to make my own version of the Penelope Red Pleated Neck Blouse, as the fabric was so light and soft, and it will be perfect for summer!


Pictured above is the Penelope Red Monet Pleated Neck Blouse, which can be purchased online or at The Rocks Markets. If you would like a copy, please email me at: designer@penelopered.com.au



I bought this fabric from Tessuti Fabrics, a few months ago. It is a beautiful 100% silk twill.






As I had planned to wear this top with some bright red pants, and my favourite colour is red (obviously!), I chose to highlight the underbust seam with a bright red satin binding.




Since the fabric is silk, I wanted a beautiful finish, so I completed all seams as french seams. I then bound the facing edge too, with satin binding- so no over-locking was needed at all.



A great summer top to wear with jeans, or my fabulous red pants (shown in the previous photos), or a mini skirt... I can't wait for summer now!

Artist: Lindsey Carr

"Struggle", acrylic on wood by Lindsey Carr

Somehow I stumbled across this amazing artist's website, today. The artist is Lindsey Carr, and I wanted to share her artworks with you, as they are simply stunning!

Lindsey is based in Scotland, and uses the flora and fauna to inspire her works.



"The Fox Confessor" Acrylic and oils on wood, by Lindsey Carr.

I love the intricate detailing, and busy nature of each artwork. So many colours, and many things happening in each.

Contact Lindsey : lindsey@littlerobot.org.uk

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Winner of the Penelope Red Blue Nightingale Scarf

Just a quick post... recently, I held a competition to win a handmade Penelope Red scarf. Natalia, from realisationcreations won the Blue Nightingale version, and was kind enough to post about it on her blog!

There is also a few photos of some of my recent designs in this post, so take a look!

Natalia is a jewellery designer, based in South Australia, and has some beautiful designs.

Alencon - rock crystal quartz, freshwater pearl, prehnite, Balinese and sterling silver bracelet

by realisationcreations



Above is a photo of Natalia, wearing her Penelope Red scarf.

It was nice to read her comments about the scarf too!:

Hi there Penelope! I blogged about the FAB scarf! Even my hubby was impressed. :) I've already worn it yesterday and today, and absolutely love it - thanks again! Natalia xo

I am just glad to see it has gone to a good home!

Thanks for entering the comp, and I will plan to create a new one in the next few months.

The High Tea Party

On Sunday, my friend and I attended "The High Tea Party" at the beautiful Observatory Hotel, Sydney.

The Observatory Hotel is gorgeously decorated! If I didn't live in Sydney, I would love to stay there!

When we arrived, it was extremely crowded in the foyer! There were hairdressers, make up artist's, manicurist's, jewellery designers, shoe designer's, etc that each had a stall/room set up to sell their wares.

The high tea was nice- the room we sat in was even nicer. As much as I love baking, and entertaining, sometimes it is so much easier to let someone else do all the work!




I happen to be wearing the Black Bow Tie Top, which is available in my Etsy shop.

The Penelope Red Pleated Turtle Neck: A new design!

Last week I finished a new design... The Penelope Red Pleated Turtle Neck. The charcoal grey and black version is available in my Etsy shop now. The fuchsia and black version is now available as well.

This design features a lovely pleated detail on the LHS shoulder, and the pleats extend across the front of the blouse.



You can wear it tucked in or out, with your favourite pair of jeans, pants or a skirt.




The top has 3/4 sleeves, and a very soft roll-over turtle neck. The hem falls to the hip.


Both designs, the grey and black or the fuchsia and black, are one-off's. Each being unique from every other top, as the fabrics are recycled, and I therefore, only had a limited amount to use.




A more casual look for Penelope Red, but I still like the understated panache that the pleats give. They look much better in person- it is very hard to do it justice in the photos!




Take a look at the Penelope Red Etsy shop online, to see the Grey Pleated Turtle Neck, and the Fuchsia Pink and Black version.

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My Red Halter Dress: "The Making of" by Penelope Red

Sometimes it is important to sew something beautiful, just for the sake of it! Any excuse is a good excuse, especially when the weather is as bad as it was last weekend! It means I have no issues about feeling guilty for staying in doors all day.

I will be attending a friend's bush wedding in a few weeks, and weather permitting, I wanted to wear a dress. In October, the weather can be anything from 35.C. (like it was two years ago) to 15.C. like it was this week. I am hoping for warm weather!

I recently bought some really pretty and brightly coloured sandals, intending to wear them at the wedding, so I was inspired to make a bright dress!

I decided to make a halter dress. I have also been constantly making straight skirts, and I thought a full skirt would be a nice change. Also, since the fabric was linen, if I had made the style to tight across the hips, it would crease dramatically.




I placed interfacing throughout the bust and waist areas. The bust has darts and pleats to create the fullness.



The back waist area.


Over-locking the side seam.


Placing the invisible zip in.



I always like to make sure my seams match!



Finishing off the bust area.



The outside of the dress completed.


The inside should always be as neat as the outside!

The next decision was placing the gorgeous embroidery around the top of the waist band. This embroidery is recycled originally from doily's! It is actually an appliquéd design, which I just cut around, and neatly hand appliquéd the design to my dress.





The finished product:




I intend to get some better photos at the wedding, or the next time I wear it. I will post them, hopefully, soon.

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Artist's on Etsy

Ok, so I am taking a break from "Wednesday is Accessory Day", because I just love these Etsy finds, and I couldn't wait to show you!

I am always astounded by the illustrators that are on Etsy (and everywhere else for that matter). I also LOVE colour and detail, so I guess these artist's have caught my attention for this reason as well.

smallmuse is a collector of paper, and her one-off collages are stunning! At the time of writing this blog, there were only two designs on sale in her shop, but hopefully there will be more to follow.



Bird 17 One of a Kind ACEO by smallmuse

I am always in awe of people who can paint... it is something that I have admired, and have always wanted to learn properly, but I have just focused on everything else!

I love virtually every design/artwork in the BirdNerd artist's shop. The contrasting colours and textures are just beautiful!



Eastern Bluebird - Painting by BirdNerd