Rain, rain, stay away

What great weather for bloomers! Harper wore her Big Blue Butterfly Bloomers teamed with a V-Neck in rich patchwork to a party today. They were great for all the crawling she did on the grass in the sunshine.

Lets hope the weather holds up! I'll be at the Bondi Markets tomorrow should the rain stay away.
Come and say hello!

Note to self - I must weed the pavers in the garden.......

Lost batik on a rainy day

In preparing and packing for a market stall at Bondi I found some of my batik pieces that I thought had sold out already - these baggy pants for starters... I also discovered a batik dress that I bought for myself that I completely forgot I had. Proof and testament to my hectic life.

Unfortunately, in the end there was no market stall set up today due to the rain and wind that is part of the ever unpredictable nature of Spring.

The finer details

Golden Feathers

Swirling Vines

 I love these two batiks. The halter dresses in these are beautiful.

Fit for the Prince and Princess

c.1925 Photographer Unknown

Leo Haks is a celebrated collector of historical photographs, among other things, who over a thirty year period amassed an astonishing collection of imagery taken throughout Indonesia by a number of photographers (many unknown) during the time of Dutch colonial rule. The National Gallery of Australia has been fortunate enough to become guardians of this collection - Leo donated his collection some time in 2007. Thanks Leo. I will certainly have to make the trip to Canberra to look at the beautiful pictures to see first hand the clothes being worn in their most traditional and celebrated fashion by children and adults. I love the baggy pants above, and the little girl in the image below is so beautiful. I'll also have to get my hands on a copy of the book Batik: From the Courts of Java and Sumatra as it features some of the photographs from the collection, and some good reading by the look of it. That should keep me occupied while I wait for the rest of my order......

Batik Halter Dresses

So pretty.

Available at Collector Store, or email me other stockists.

Not so petit

I am still waiting for the rest of my order of children's  Relax Shirts, Smoks and Easy Tops to arrive... sigh... 

In the mean time I am dressing myself in the odd bit of batik - not so petit after all! A few months ago I rummaged through a suitcase of wares for sale at the Rozelle Markets and found a beautiful piece of 1960's batik right at the bottom of the pile. The seller tells me he'd bought it in 1971 when traveling in Indonesia. The remnant then became mine for the grand sum of $5. My year nine school Textiles and Design lessons have come in handy once again - I whipped up this dress in a few hours the other day (based on a Ginger & Smart dress my friend owns) and I will be baring my shoulders in it as soon as the warm weather returns.