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Entry plonked in Amigurumi • Art • Bookshelf • Crochet • Dressmaking/Costume • Embroidery/Stitching • Gallery • Interior Design • Knitting • Life • Other Sewing • Pi's Stash • Quilting/Patchwork • Reviews • Sashiko • Weaving @ 3:05 pm

Earlier in the week, our stint of sunny weather was temporarily interrupted by a few days of cloud, and the slight scent of sulphur on the air made me suspect that a little of the ash plume from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano may be drifting down to the ground all the way over here. One particular morning, the light was a little strange; everything seemed to have the golden tone that I generally only experience as evening approaches in summertime. Another thing was that the critters up in the trees seemed to go silent for a few minutes. Being outside in the daytime hadn’t felt that eerie since the last solar eclipse – they went quiet like that then too. Very odd, but could be my imagination, of course.

Still, the sun came through to encourage us into the garden this weekend. Do your eyes deceive you? Why, no! They do not: pictured above is indeed a pan full of ‘The Famous Chattelay‘! This time, the dainty dish has been prepared with forsythia, daffodil and vinca petals. Delicious! (Probably. Don’t eat this.)

Now, I learned two things with the girls this afternoon: first, I always assumed that daffodil trumpets grew separately from the petals, but they in fact form halfway along the sides of the trumpet; second, if you carefully remove the petals and pinch off the end where the stamen is rooted (these were full of insects – yeek!), you can stack one into the next with very attractive results. The girls added a vinca leaf to top it off (see the foreground of the first picture, above) and later set it into the middle of the Chattelay as a beautiful garnish. My thoughts were starting to wander…

Yes, it’s inevitable.  Sewing.

I think this stack contains about four daffodil trumpets. Facing down, it reminds me of those fantastic, swirly-hemmed gowns that I often see professional ballroom dancers wearing (behold a bright, daffodil-yellow one on this page!). The other way up, a bodice with a gloriously-frothy, off-the-shoulder neckline in chiffon ruffles or feather trim. Sheer decadence.

As for colours, I fancy something bright and cheerful with my golden petals and sulphur today. I like the periwinkle shade the girls put with their yellow trumpets and I think I’d also go for some obvious choices: azure or cerise. If we are talking drama, it would also be wonderful with black, of course. Very slick. …I really do like bright yellow and black together; I used those colours to grab attention when I used to sell on that auction website – lots of black, and just enough gold to add zing (the products themselves were very mundane: small household gadgets). Gosh, I had forgotten all about that. Well, either I was lucky or the design worked to encourage buyers into the shop, because everything sold very quickly even though there were two other sellers undercutting me at the time (including my US-based supplier who jumped into the UK marketplace after he saw what was happening – bah!). So, yes, black and gold can be extraordinarily good in design.

As far as that ruffly neckline is concerned, I do fancy trying that sometime when I have an occasion dress to make, preferably for me!  ;o)

Entry plonked in Dressmaking/Costume • Life @ 4:51 pm
Tagged thusly: colour schemes, design ideas, inspiration, ruffles