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

UP movie review

The hubbie and I watched Disney Pixar's new movie, "UP" on the long weekend. I am truly a big kid at heart, and I love watching cartoons- the hubbie watches them because of me.



While this is still not my favourite Disney/Pixar movie, it was still a lovely film... a little sad for Disney, but I thought the message behind it was really quite sweet.

UP had many moments of humour, and the whole cinema was laughing; but when those sad sections were evident, you could've heard a pin drop- it obviously caught everyone's attention.

We watched UP in 3D- but realistically, it wasn't necessary.

I would recommend this film to "big kids"- adults who enjoy their cartoons and silly adventures. Little kids could still watch it, but it might be a little over their heads.

Make sure you are there for the little introduction from Pixar- a tradition that they always have a little movie before every Disney/Pixar film. Very cute and sweet!

Competition Winners

Just a quick note to announce the winners of the Penelope Red handmade scarves comp.

Natalia from South Australia has won the Blue Nightingale scarf.



And Patty from Virginia, USA, (a facebook follower) has won the Red Lantern scarf.



Thanks to all of those who entered!

Penelope's Pizza Scrolls

I invited some of my friends over for High Tea yesterday, and I made some Pizza Scrolls- this is a recipe that I have made up, and since it is so easy and quick to make, and yummy, I thought I would share it with you.

Ingredients:
(Please note that ingredients are not measured. It is up to you as to how much you want to use, but I have placed an approx. for each)

1 brown onion
4 rashers of bacon
parmesan cheese
4 sun-dried tomatoes
fresh basil
Salt and pepper
4 sheets of ready-rolled puff pastry, thawed
1 egg

Method


Trim and cut bacon into small pieces. Chop onion.
Lightly fry together in a fry pan.
Set aside to drain and cool.



Grate the parmesan cheese (you can decide on how much you want to use), and place into a food processor/blender.



Place the bacon/onion mix, tomatoes, and basil, salt and pepper, along with the cheese, into the blender, and blend until it looks like a paste.




Take two sheets of the puff pastry, and spread the paste mixture evenly onto the sheets with a spatula/knife.



Using an egg, brush the remaining two sheets of puff pastry.



Take the pastry which has egg on it, and place egg-face-down on to the paste mixture. (Leave the plastic on each pastry sheet until you reach here. It makes it easier to handle.)
Making sure you get rid of the plastic at this point, roll up both layers of pastry.


Cut little scrolls, approx 1cm (a little less than half an inch) wide.


Place the scrolls onto a lined baking tray. Brush with the remaining egg.



Bake in a moderately hot oven (200.c. or 390.F.), for approx 15 minutes. (My oven is relatively fast, so perhaps for other people, this may take up to 20 minutes). They should be golden brown when they are ready.

Note: make sure you preheat your oven, otherwise the pastry will not work!



Place on a pretty platter and enjoy!

High Tea with the Girls!

I love baking, and entertaining! What better way to combine the two, than to have some great girl-friends over for a little "High Tea"!?

We had a public holiday yesterday, but the weather was quite bad, so it was nice to stay in doors, with the heater on, and eat, chat and drink tea!



I come from the school of thought that there is no point in having it, unless you use it, so it was a good excuse to get the fine china out, and feel like ladies for the day! I love the beautiful, delicate designs that are present on the china!




I encourage everyone to have their friends over for High Tea! You don't need an excuse, just do it because you can!

I made pizza scrolls (the recipe will be in the following post), scones, and Peppermint slice bites. My friend, Ana brought some yummy Almond biscuits to share.

Next time there is a weekend forecasted for bad weather, invite the girl-friends around for some high tea and your favourite delight!

New Designs on the Penelope Red Website

Pictured above, one of the latest Penelope Red styles: The Ikat Gold Mini Skirt

I am excited to share with you my very latest designs!

In the past few months, I have been slowly unravelling my latest inspirations, designs, and how they are made. This is a small, more exclusive collection, as they are all made using very individual fabrics, most are one-off's, and they have been created using more 'couture' techniques.

I have also updated the Penelope Red website gallery, as I was hoping that this format would be easier to browse through.

In this post I have placed one photo of each of the new designs featured on the website, as well as the link to the blog entry I did on each (look at this if you want to see the"making of")...


Above: the Penelope Red Ikat Bolero


Above: The Penelope Red Jade Winter Coat


Above: The Penelope Red Kaleidoscope Mini Skirt


Above: The Penelope Red Silk Road Winter Dress



Above: The Penelope Red Silk Road Hooded Coat

Be sure to check these styles out on the Penelope Red website!

These styles will be available in my Etsy store soon.

Follow me on twitter or facebook for more updates of my latest designs and finds!