Cheap, Warm Dresses

The weather is getting cooler and I love it.
These are some of my winter dresses!

The first one I made, the fabric was with new which cost about $20, the deer and birds are from some Disney curtains I got from the op shop ages ago.
I followed the "Too Cute Tunic Dress" pattern by Pip Lincoln in Sow La Tea Doe.
The pattern was easy to follow and pretty quick, the longest part was sewing on Bambi's mum and the birds, and I did that prety dodgily.

 Hand made dress from new fabric and Disney curtains, Hat $4 from Salvation Army

 

The dress above was from the salvos $3.50 (got it half price!). I think its an Indian dance costume, I had to sew up the sides and shortened the sleeves. The jacket/cardigan was second hand from somewhere, and green scarf Salvos $1 bargain bin.

I haven't worn this dress yet, It was $15 from a church op shop. I didn't get very good photos of this. It pretty bright and the synthetic fabric could get pretty sweaty, not sure how I feel about it yet?

It's either a favorite or it's going to relax on a coathanger for a long time.

These photos were taken by Anna, who despite my shitness at being photogenic managed to get some good shots. ThankS!

A Blanket By Winter....Hopefully

I started this quilt and I want it done by winter, yet the current pace at which I'm working may mean winter next year.

Its pretty simple, and made out of lots of scrap fabric we have laying around, bits of old clothes, teatowls and curtains.

Hey Julia, did you like Perth?

This Wednesday Julia Gillard rocked up at  Fremantle High School for a community cabinet meeting. 

A whole range of protesters and supporters turned up to make some noise.
I was there to support  the carbon tax, we wore sky blue!
Everyone was there...from Save Our Marine Wildlife, Conservation Council Australia, gay rights, stop live exports, stop uranium mining, Oxfam, free the refugees....and the list goes on.

Unfortunately a large, loud and slightly intimidating group of fishermen turned up who didn't want new marine sancturies established.

I don't know much about the topic, but when we asked them, "what and why they were protesting?"... they didn't seem to know either. Instead they got defensive, shouting, criticising and shit stirring others.

One even got out a fishing knife and slashed the "Ban Uranium Mining" banner. The police failed to show any interest...

These are some comments I found on a recreational fishing forum.

"I'd even buy a brand new bicycle for the first kid to cast a sinker into the Gingers head and reel her in with a nice 5/0 hook..."

"Is a flag with Ju-liar painted up with a hitler moustache going too far...?"

"We know our fish stocks are improving all the time..." (hmm, not sure where this guy is getting his information from).

But moving on to better things....

Here is the link to an article from TheWest about the day,

Fremantle Thanks PM for Carbon Tax

"Ms Gillard said carbon pricing was the first step towards a cleaner energy future in Australia with the revenue from the tax going partly to fund programs that reduce the country's greenhouse emissions."

The Conservation Council Of Western Australia put out this great article. 

Power of the Positive Trumps Climate Naysayers

"On one side was a sea of young faces and blue T-shirts, proclaiming now as the time to embrace a sustainable future, make polluters pay and invest in clean energy"

 "TAX ME BABY"

 Young and old out to support a clean energy future!

This wooly man was out to stop live exports, he was pretty unfazed about the whole event. Just chillaxing and having a feed.

"A Great Big New Opportunity"

I attended a Perth rally yesterday, to show support for Julia Gillards carbon pollution tax.
There is another rally one comming up on the 30th March!
We need a clean energy future!

Here are some photos of the rally held out front of the Perth Convention Centre (23rd March) and a link to an ABC article about the event

 

We need to switch to clean energy sources – such as wind, solar and geothermal power.

(photo above of Albany windfarm in Western Australia)

The problem is that in the current economic system, clean technology is more expensive than old, outdated technology that creates pollution.Business lack the incentive to switch to clean technology.

Make clean technology cheaper by putting a price tag on pollution!

 (photo above of Coal fired power station in Collie, Western Australia, taken from Science Photo Library)

We need to consider the true cost of producing energy from fossil fuels such as coal – the fact that it’s bad for our health, it’s damaging our planet and is making climate change worse.

Visit this site to see why the carbon tax is so important.

Australian Conservation Foundation: What does a price on pollution mean?

Disneyland

This is what I wore to uni the other day. I got the Disneyland t-shirt from our local swap marketd for $1. It was high and tight around the neck so I cut it. I also cut the sleeves to shorten them. I have been doing this with lots of t-shirts lately, especially guys ones.

The skirt was originally an old nanna dress I bought a while ago at the Denmark second hand and dress up shop. It had big puffy sleeves and shoulder pads, luckily the waist was elastic and had a matching belt. I cut the top of the dress off about 1cm above the elastic (I haven't hemmed it...yet. Although it doesnt seem to be fraying too much!)

Oh, I nearly forgot, I went to a clothing swap party with a couple of friends on Wednesday night. It was interesting and pretty fun, we talked about sustainable fabrics and clothing while snacking on cup cakes and cucumber sandwiches...I'm interesed in going to other similar events...
The downfall was the lack of people there, seeing as it was such a good way to spend a wednesday night. I didnt find anything fantasic, but I cleared out my wardrobe, met some new people and had a chat.
It must be hard to make people attend small scale public events which are a bit out of the ordinary.

Ride a bike!

 My beautiful Indie300 which cost $25 from our local swap markets.

 Riding around Vietnam checking out the local sites.

Critical Mass Perth, when we took over the streets! so much fun, despite being abused by some angry drivers.