deondergangvanmijnouders

Hey, I made a dress! Yes, I have returned officially as a sewing blogger, because it is a sewing project for just me! AND it's a LILLY DRESS by Katie at  Orange Stitches . Lately, I've been hanging around on twitter while my boy goes to sleep. I know there are various ways to help or not help your child to sleep, so I just hang out with him with my phone brightness down low and 'read my book' (as I tell him) which is actually reading twitter. Ginger Makes had a little note, 'Can anyone pattern test for Katie!?' and as I'm in a 'joining in' vibe now I'm back blogging & sewing... here I am with a Lilly Dress ... and it's my first time at pattern testing. Voila! Katie describes the frock as a dress you can wear running around the house or running errands, and then something you can make it look a bit more special later on if you go out for drinks ... and we all need those kind of dresses! The gingham for me makes it a little more House Dre...

Hi guys! I'm really excited to show you my first ‘Made in China’ creative blog post, it's a combined fashion & art launch in Shanghai! Thanks so much for your chit chat last week about the idea , and so here's a very true example of something creative from Shanghai, that you wouldn't expect from China. I was completely giddy (I have been about most ‘grown up’ things in Shanghai, being with a 2 year old mostly all day can do that, plus it’s an extraordinary city) to be invited and spent all evening smiling my head off. This is my first official fashion launch, and guess what? I have no idea how to write a review of fashion, so I’ll just tell you about it my way. Oh well! Also feel free to point out anything I may have missed… I don’t really know my high end fashion designers so can't do a 'it's kinda like...' 'you can see their inspiration from ... ', but I can show you all my photos, and there’s heaps of clothing photos and COLOUR (woot woot!...

Hi and welcome to my Sewing School Scoop blog post! If you hadn't seen I started my first ever sewing course here in Shanghai, through a gorgeous sewing & design collective called Couture Nomad , set up & run by a wonderful bunch of expat women living through Asia! I got to meet Catherine, the founder, this week as I've joined Teacher Muriel's Wednesday class as it's closer to my house. Only a 10 minute bike ride, instead of a 20 minute taxi ride! YAY! So I thought with my sewing scoop posts, I'll highlight some 'A-ha moments'... because what I'm finding now after 3 classes, it's stuff like "OH THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE"... because for years I've been sewing and cutting and dreaming without techniques to help... so now I'm picking up those finer tuned ideas about sewing. I've found short cuts, neater & tidier ways to create things, already. PLUS, check out that smocking above... did you guys realise how easy as all ...

Hey! How was the weekend!? Today, I wanna talk about this blog, and maybe some areas where I’d like to take the blog… AND see what you think! I’m brimming with blog content ideas, and I’m trying not to bombard you with too many too soon (and at the same time try to set up my blog as having regular posts again)… but one thing I’ve noted after being in Shanghai for a short and quick 6 months: There is just SO much creativity and so much create-ing in this town. In the English speaking world, I am overwhelmed, and I’m only seeing these amazing glimpses in the local and (tricky for me, but maybe one day) Chinese speaking Shanghai art & fashion scene.  So, as I started to plan my sewing projects and to ‘get back’ my sewjo mojo and body love (to make my own clothes & feel happy!) … I have started to also say ‘YES’ to all things, and because I’m not working my usual radio job here in China … I also have the independence and time. For the first time in my life p...

We arrived in Shanghai in mid September last year, when all the trees still had their leaves and created this umbrella canopy for us to walk the streets without the sun glare... as it was still very hot. A few days were hot and steamy with a bit of rain. These freaking trees made me so happy. I had thought and tried to prepare myself that Shanghai was a busy concrete jungle... so I was taking so many photos of the trees when we walked around. WOW! Through the Former French Concession part (and even extending to many other parts of Shanghai) you'll see these trees. I *love* them. Sometimes it feels like a street in Europe, or a quite countryside town instead of a gigantic metropolis. Really. I had to show you my boy Felix's first taste of the excited Chinese tourists as well... most Shanghai Locals are used to westerners, but we spent Golden Week in town so lots of Chinese tourists were holidaying here too. And he just got so much attention with his super white skin and blonde l...