FUTURE BEAUTY

'Future Beauty: 30 years of Japanese Fashion'

the first major exhibition to comprehensively survey avant-garde Japanese fashion from the early 1980s to the present, is currently on show at GOMA, Brisbane.

I went this week with my friend S, and we loved it!

In the late twentieth century, Japanese fashion came to display its uniqueness, when Kenzo Takada, Issey Miyake and others began to attract attention.

Then Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto made their debut in Paris in 1981, with designs completely devoid of the traditional aesthetics of Western fashion.

The exhibition features dozens of amazing fashions, sculptural, dazzling, and extremely clever.

No photography is allowed in the exhibition, so I could only take pictures from the introductory display.  However, these garments are in the exhibition.

The look, shape and texture of fabric is explored to a wonderful and fascinating degree, for a viewer who loves textiles, fashion and the art of sewing.

 I came home possessed of the urge to sew, and with another heat wave upon us, decided a cool maxi dress was an essential:

I bought this fabric in Sydney last year, when I went fabric shopping with the lovely Val, of Valerie's Sewing Blog.

It is a border print jersey knit, and due to some confusion re pattern repeat, lost in the mist of time, I ended up with two pieces, intending to make a top.
However, inspiration for how to make the most of the interesting fabric has eluded me.

Until this week.
Suddenly I had the idea of butting the two pieces head to head, and joining them together.
This put the striped border in the middle instead of at the hem and gave me enough length to cut a maxi dress from my TNT pattern.

I used the maximum amount of width available to get some fullness around the bottom of the skirt by judicious pattern placement, front then back.

I bound the neckline and armholes with a scrap of black jersey, and voila:

A cool dress for a very hot day.

About once a year I attempt a selfie -
 here we go with the wind blowing the hair awry...

My lovely friend M recently gave me the fixings for a sweet and quick Christmas craft:

This is her Christmas cake frill, tied around my empty cake tin..

And this is how you make it:

The red is M's finished frill, the green is the work in progress.
I am working in inches because my quilters tools are in inches.
Cut a piece 42" long and 5" wide.

Sew a neat double hem along sides and ends.

Now sew a length of white insertion lace along the centre.
   Thread a length of narrow ribbon through, leaving enough at each end to tie a bow.

And here is the finished ruffle, ready for the Christmas cake.

I re-arranged the Tree, just a tad..

Welcome to the new ornament, direct from Notre Dame, Paris.

My friend brought this Nativity scene back from Peru.
Isn't it adorable?

Be good:
Santa's coming....

Have a great weekend and stay cool.

xxxx