The Dottie Frock + the Bag

THE FROCK  ::  how could I not blog about the Dottie Angel frock that i stitched up for October's GINGER MINOUX photoshoot.  Yes, I may have stitched it up the night before the shoot as only Type A people do, but how could i not, she went so perfectly with all of Sparky Jones October's goods.

So this frock was a dream to make actually, if you are a fan of bias binding, pockets + top stitching  like myself, this pattern should definitely be on your hit list.   The inside is ever so fantabulous with its bias binding  + french seam finishes, that you could infact wear it inside out.  But i guess thats the topnotch thing about it ... only you know how amazingly beautiful the inside is - just like as in life i guess!

And those fabrics, well story goes like this ...  both the sage coloured Linen + the Liberty of London fabrics came from Spool o Thread - a dangerously amazing sewing boutique that we visited when I went on a girls trip to Vancouver a few months back.  I  100% needed them, but had NO idea what i was going to make with them, yet as soon as i got the Dottie Angel simplicity pattern, decisions were made rapidly!  I was initially going to make the cute tunic version, however i ended up being a smidge short on the linen, so the long dress it was, + well... i'm kinda glad.  The bottom part of the dress you might recognize as the lining option for WOODLAND, which i had to carefully arrange the pattern on the last of that truffle fabric to make it work.  I still have some finishing touches to do, but i'm definitely + surely going to make another outfit from Miss Dottie Angel!

THE BAG ::

OK ... so one of new features that really has me doing a little happy proud dance is .... EVERY MONTH we will be designing from scratch ... an amazing totally unique to the world ... Sparky Jones Character - that is perfectly gorgeous for everyday use.

Just kinda because every now + then ... the perfect combination of gorgeous fabrics come together, ideas swirl ... and thats when we decide to create tiny but bestest batch of unique goods. We'll make a pattern, snip + stitch until they a just what we want and then ... make just a few ... mainly for me and YOU too!  Thats kinda joking but not joking - wink!

So Meet our NELL JONES Tote Bag, size /2  .... 'MADAME TRUFFLE'

Yes we did make some handsome chaps otherwise known as BOO BOO POUCHES from the same delectable fabric ... but why stop there right!   3 beautiful NELL JONES tote bags were designed to be, so usefully adorable that you just want to put on a gorgeous outfit + head to the streets to show her off!  She is now available in our NEW ONLINE SHOP with 4 beautiful trimming colours BUT remember to order ASAP as shipping deadlines for the festive season are looming + these lovelies take 2 weeks to stitch up!  EKKKkkks, i'm not ready!

'GINGER MINOUX' - x - October's cozy feature character

Oh October you have been a hard month, on all fronts.  Not only that, i'm totally a sun summer kinda lover, so the fact that we are heading into cold, blah + cloudy season has me teetering on bluesy.  Thats when I knew I needed to create a character that was so gorgeously uplifting, so fun, bright + bold to chase away all those negativities.  The perfect friend to make me just want to roll around in Autumns leaf fall like a kid and just . be . all .  happy about getting cozy.  

My Daughter Bea + I have been reading my childhood stories, especially ones by Dick Bruna, i just love his illustrations, colour use + simple lines, such a fantabulous source of inspiration ... and to also remind me that things/life when simplified can just be as beautiful.  So after reading 'The Fish' for the 100th time + each time thinking about how the little girls outfit is absolutely to die for.... the idea for 'GINGER MINOUX' was born.  So down in the Studio I scurried , pulling out all my warm woolly fabrics trying to find the 'same as Susans outfit' colour, when there it was ... Ava's vintage woolly fabric.  Moons ago i had made a Jemima Jones clutch from her fabric + there was enough to make a small batch of 'The Fish' inspired Tom Pom caps. Perfect-O-mondo!  But something just felt like it was missing.  Designing, creating, frenzy + VOILA .... little flannel lined ear flaps that looked like Dick Bruna illustrations! 

'GINGER MINOUX' is a tiny batch of Limited Edition, of 6 only + forever.

She comes with that fancy new feature that we have now incorporated into our Nogginware process - topstitched crown panels for added strength, durability + well, a topnotch snazzy look.

Now, this little character is available in 3 adorably unique options ::

- Straight up // sans Pom
- Fur de Faux Pom
- Wooly Alpaca Pom

each option gives a totally unique look to the Nogginware, I myself have decided to go with a 'Straight Up' version, just because i think she's going to look pretty adorbs in the snowy months

Lining :: 
- Not Knitted but Knitted 100% cotton flannel in yummy coconut + chocolate.  And a specially designed inner band for a comfy fit, which is made from a Canadian Organic cotton jersey in a delectable deep brown.

TurnAround Time :: 3 weeks

Not sure if you've heard, but we are sorta downsizing per say + just focusing on only ONE amazing signature Nogginware character each month (well with some random goods here + there, like pouches + ummmmm very nice OOAK things!)  Why?  well life was getting a bit too chaotic with all my little peoples + then when I had time to create the perfect Nogginware ...it always seemed to be in the wrong size for the most wanting peeps, or just a wee bit the wrong colour or yada yada.  So the Change happened back in September, starting with 'WOODLAND'.  Now we decide on the bestest seasonal style for that month, then choose yummy top notch quality vintage/reclaimed or organic fabrics + just make a small batch of semi customized quality goods ... ones that you get to choose your very own size + toppings (i.e. trimming colours, buttons, pompoms etc) that way everybodies life is a big bowl of simplified  H A P P I N E S S!

If you want to know what exciting Sparky Jones goods are in store for the next couple o months ... head to our FINER DETAILS page in our new Online shop.  Also, would kinda recommend signing up to our Mailing List to get the heads up before anybody else + a tasty lil sale here n' there!

Au Revoir friends

bye for now Jemima

This Guy

This Guy :: is Benj.  A bona-fied geek - a biologist, nature lover, world traveller, poet + way too many things to list here ... but mainly he is my brother.

Benj passed away this past February.  This is his birthday week, and the first without him.  It's all been messy.

Never do you understand the magnitude of life until you lose someone so uniquely special ... this man was my childhood, my young self compadre, my mentor, the one who always saved me. He always told me what i needed to hear ... truth or otherwise.
 

He was highly intelligent, so he could be quite the arrogant tosser + superjudgemental, yet his health conditions made him caring, understanding + generous.  He was born with a severe heart condition, which these days can be fixed with a few laser beams.  But he wasn't so lucky.  So many operations + then when he was old enough, they cut open his chest, removed his sternum + placed inside a chunky box.  This kept his heart going. His shoulders were lop sided, nothing was ever quite right. He burned through about 6 pacemakers -  he was quite the busy chap.  Masters in Biology, Researching Monkeys in Africa, touring in South America, saving grasslands, rare frog habitats + those less fortunate ... he was always saving something.  Now I understand.

Along his journey his body gained so many scars, so did his heart + eventually his mind. PTSD starting showing it's ugly head 10 ago + since then we started to lose our Benj.  He became an angry volatile stranger.  In February we got that phone call.  The Coroner had said he had passed naturally + peacefully, which I guess we have to be thankful for, but really I know Benj had had enough, he didn't want to fight anymore + I guess his heart simply complied and just. stopped . beating.

One of the first things I thought about, was the last time we spoke a few years ago.  He repeated a number to me ... it was my lucky number, a number I had told him about 35 years ago.  He remember shit like that + is the only person in the whole wide world that knows that number.  Just that thought alone makes me my stomach churn + my heart want to explode..

These past 9 months have probably been the worst + hardest in mine, my sistas + parents life.  I'm sure we all appear to be functioning humans, but underneath it's numb, dark + angry.  Loss + grief are complete fuckers.  I've come to the conclusion that loss comes with a double serving of guilt, that little people + deeply emotional stuff ... do not go together so well.  Grief is so              very.         isolating            and that thing called acceptance... well some happenings in life are so monumentally huge that you never accept, you just walk through life + keep it under your arm, close to your heart and that is ok.

So if I could offer advice, I would say ... if you have a loved one going through the biggest thing in their life, just hold their hand, don't ever say ... maybe you should yada yada ... listen without judgement + above all else say these 4 words

How. Are. You. Doing.

It somehow acknowledges that a crisis exists or a person exists + opens a gateway of understanding and conversation.

This is Benj's Birthday week, he would have been 42.  We had a pizza party, birthday cupcakes + sang Happy Birthday - the kids loved it, their happy excited little faces made me happy, but not a minute of my life goes by without him in my thoughts or my heart.