Something new

I have recently made something new for my Misi shop.

I have worked with some gorgeous fabrics in my time and find it very hard to throw, even the smallest, leftovers away. So I decided to make this large brooch / corsage .

The first layer is red silk Dupion, left over from a Medieval style wedding ( shown in old posts if you want to scroll down).

The organza petals on top of that, fabric left over from the beaded bridesmaids earlier this year ( again in previous post).

I then added some seed beads and glass beads.

I also thought that it could be used to decorate a handbag or a dress.

My shop is www.misi.inspiredbrides.co.uk

I am pleased with the final brooch, thought I might make some more. I know just the fabric for my next one !!

Just wanted to share

Found a blog when I was blog-hopping http://rag-mad.blogspot.com/ with a lovely Bob Marley quote. Just wanted to share..
I can't seem to add the quote myself without writing it all out !!! I really don't know what I am doing with computers, there must be a way of doing it. LOL . I just don't know what it is.
When my son was 5 and at primary school I used to help with the reading sessions. Once, a young boy asked me to do something on the computer, I looked at it but ...........
So, another 5 year old came over and sorted it right out !!!!!
I was sooooo embarrassed that I went and enrolled on a college course. Did all the Clait exams and even got a 'passport' (I think thats what it was) for a computer. And to think , that is supposed to mean I can 'competently' use any computer. Go figure !!!!!!! I just want it to do what I want it to do. Is that too much to ask :(

Bridesmaids

Over the summer I have met and worked with some lovely people.

I met Caroline, she wanted 3 bridesmaid dresses and could not find the colour that she wanted in the shops.

Also, there was one little problem, one of the bridesmaids was in America and would not get her dress until a day or so before the wedding. Caroline was getting married abroad so there would have been no way to alter her dress if it did not fit properly.

Did not think of it before, but maybe I should have said that if she paid for me to go over with her I could have done the alterations abroad with them !!!! Ah, missed opportunity there !!

To overcome the American problem, we got her mum to measure her and we sent a sample dress over for her to try, just made in a lining fabric, her mum emailed me to say that it fit perfectly. Great, so I could just get on with making the dress.

Also, a couple of weeks later, Caroline rang me and asked if I could do another 2 bridesmaid dresses !!! Ofcourse, you can't say no can you, so I ended up making 5. I hand beaded all of the dresses and had to make them all look the same even though they were different sizes but it all looked very nice. I hope to receive some of the actual wedding photos when things have settled down for the newly weds but for now here is a picture of one.

The dress is in orchid satin with organza overlay and these pictures are takaen before the final press. I hope you like x

See , I have done some work, just been a bit lax in my blog posts, and I always wait until after the events have happened so that no-ones secrets are out the bag !!

Do you think its too soon to show pics from another break I had ??!! I went to Glastonbury too xx LOL

Back to sewing

Well, I have chatted about my mini break but my blog was supposed to be for showing some of my work !!! Inbetween my little excursions I have done some work.

This one was for a Stepmother of the Bride. The lady in question had actually found a shop which stocked a line from http://www.linearaffaelli.com/ . Unfortunately they did not stock her size, she was told that if they ordered one she would have to have it. It is difficult to be sure of something if you can not try it on and they are costly if you decide that once it arrives it does not suit you ! However, their clothing is lovely.

She showed me a picture of the one she liked, however, she did not want a bodice so we changed the top completely. Also, we decided on a longer length skirt. It is made in tafetta, Chinese Red and Black. The red is lovely, it catches the light and looks purple/red. I had extreme difficulty in finding a lace motif that I liked. I ended up buying some Chantilly lace and cutting it up !!! Rather expensive to do, but it was the right thing to get. I added some black beads and sequins to it.

This is the end result. She was very pleased and enjoyed being able to make her changes to suit her own figure.

Last Day at Milan

The final installment of my break :(

We only had the morning to spend in Milan, we had to be at the airport in the afternoon.

On the Saturday we were going to climb the roof of the Duomo but, due to security for the parade, it was closed off.

However, even though there were people inside for a service, we found out that we were allowed to go up on the Sunday so our disappointment was over. So worth the visit !! Beware, even though we used the lift, there were still lots of steps to go up.. Leg muscles !!! And so not the time to have worn a short skirt !!! But it was not planned.

The views were amazing . Apparantly every statue, of which there are loads, is different. It was lovely. Have I mentioned about the lovely weather !! (not in this post, ha ha ) Well worth the trip. Although the view from certain points, over the city, was not too spectacular. Unfortunately there seems to be lots of development going on, I am glad I got to visit when I did, I fear that they are spoiling bits of the city which is a great shame as there is some truly beautiful architecture.


After our Cathedral visit, we went for a last drink in a cafe beside the square. Watching the people go by and already missing the place. I had the biggest Mojito on the menu , full of crushed ice and absolutely gorgeous on that hot day.

Thank you Milan for a lovely time x

Just to finish, here is a pic of me, terrified at the airport. I hate flying, but I force myself to do it because I like to get to somewhere else x

Milan Trip

Continuing on from my previous post x

On the Saturday the weather was glorious again. We had found the Tourist Information and bought tickets to go on a bus tour which you can hop on and off whenever you like. It was lovely to hear a bit about the different places, we saw The Castello Sforzesco, which we had a look around .

Then, got back on the bus and were dropped off at the shops with a more reasonble price tag ! This was, for me, a bit disappointing, a lot of the shops are the same as ours and I was hoping for more special boutiques.

However, we did come across a couple of nice shops off the main drag which (unfortunately can't remember the road) were a little more individual. One shop inparticular stood out for me. Penny Black , feminine, beautiful , affordable clothing . Loved it and I understand its quite a new brand, doesn't have an internet base yet.

In amongst all the bus trip we had popped back to the main square
LOOK !!

A special parade was going on. How nice of them to treat us on our trip LOL

There were dignitaries . Lots of Police !! Definately the safest time to have visited Milan. Everyone was stood there for hours in absolutely baking heat. Old soldiers, forensics, firemen, etc. They really did look fine in all their uniforms. People were being called up to receive awards. Because it was hot, we went to a cafe for a drink. Next thing we know, the parade has finished and some of the people walked right past where we were sat.

Was very nice to see, Men in uniform !!! Lovely .

As promised, here is me in my new shoes, with my handbag, outside The Duomo. For some reason, this gentleman wanted to get in on my picture !!!

Catch Up

Well, life has been so hectic that I have neglected my blog, in fact, at one stage I was on a limit of half an hour per day on the computer !!!! Just because time can wizz by on the darn thing .

I have been busy working on a wedding dress which caused me a few design issues and took rather longer than it should have. Also had several other jobs to do .

However, the last time I posted was back in May !!! That was to show you my new shoes which were going to be travelling to Milan with me.

I thought I would share some of it with you, but will have to do it in stages as there are so many nice pics . It was absolutely gorgeous weather. We stayed at Hotel De La Ville which turned out to be just a street away from the main square. Very Old English gentlemans Club type feel to the place. More English than a lot of our places in fact. Was great, would highly recommend it and the breakfast was gorgeous . Top Marks x

Well, of course, the first thing any self respecting woman would do on arrival in Milan on a Friday lunchtime, is to head to the shopping mall. Bit out of my price range !!! But was nice to look at the Prada, personally I am not a Louis Vuitton girl so was not too bothered about that. Gorgeous building thoughAnd here is the Italian Mr Bean, our lovely waiter that Friday evening . LOL . A street away from our hotel and next to the Ferrari showroom !! was a lovely restaurant, very reasonble prices, gorgeous food and wine, fantastic service. And here is a pic of my lovely Auntie who took me away for my birthday treat. Cant quite believe I am nearly 40, its creeping up very quickly now !!!! I have more pics but will leave it there for now. But it is certainly a lovely place to be and the fantastic weather certainly helped. I think the European lifestyle, eating and drinking out in the sunshine, certainly suits me xx LOL