thank you

...for your open heart. i'm humbled by your family's love and hospitality. i am changed. always.

the purple dress

the purple dress.Now here is an interesting story. I have had the privileged the last couple of years to attend many dear friends' weddings. this dress was specifically made for one such occasion. I had a very pale cotton voile in my cupboard which I wanted to use but didn't know how. I then set off to find some inspiration at the fabric outlet conveniently located down the road  (this has always been a secret indulgence of mine.) I found the purple lace > at first I didn't quite like but I decided to try it out. when the lady cut it for me it was just not enough material according to my calculations. again I decided to take a chance. It took me about an afternoon to make the dress. It was amazing I just had enough lace!! so I was elated not to have those very annoying bits of offcuts lying around. Needless to say I very much enjoyed wearing the dress...

whoa...another bridesmaids dress.

happiness. the dress was specifically made for very good friends' wedding. each bridesmaid got  material to make her own dress.  so this was my interpretation of it. a above knee Greek tube dress with one draped shoulder. each bridesmaid could also made a bouquet - mine was in my hair. (partly because it suited the event and because I didn't want to lug it around the whole time!) the wedding was amazing. natural yet designed. congratulations Walter & Hendrieka! (ps. the pictures where taken by a very talented friend of ours Leonard)

yes I can sew. three bridesmaids dresses. done.

http://www.welovepictures.blogspot.com/Lize & Lesego wedding 2010. this was my first official bridesmaid dress commission. I made 3 dresses with the most beautiful printed cotton twill. (as you can see on the left). The dresses were made in record time > 1 week. pattern. sewing and finishing. happiness

vintage oh vintage

no. I didn't use any filters.  this picture was taken with my cellphone.  hence the grain. (and I won't the excuse the vintage pun ) I strangely like it. I made the dress about a year ago. 1940 deluxe. I picked up the fabric for R10/m and the very vintage pattern for R5 from a small haberdashery in Polokwane ! (what a bargain.) just more reason to love this dress!

impromptu fashion shoot

oooh. this was a very quick but fun photo shoot done for a new awesome fashion brand Nooi. happiness.

oh so very welcome

...so you might ask “...why did she call her blog the winking impala?”
it is a bit strange. I know, however it does represent a moment of unadulterated discovery (according to some: sheer illusion.) The title line was inspired by a freak moment with my sister on one of our always very interesting family holidays spent in the Kruger National Park, South Africa.
One very hot day not to long ago two sisters were merrily driving 40km/h through a part of a country that is known for its extreme beauty and oh so very wild beasts. Our two very brave sisters contained in a very humble vehicle were searching far and wide to see just how wild these beasts were. Oh, and they were so very disappointed, because it seems that all the animals decided to take a siesta and  coincidentally hid from our heroines. After a very long while they grew very tired and had very little new things to see, except of course for the abundant impala.(who are so very beautiful if you look close at their intricate dress) Eventually after another very long while the girls stopped in sudden anticipation and promise of a sighting of the possible awakening of some particular animal. Now it is important to insert that all the while and in such a very curious way the family of impala who just happened to graze right next to the humble car, were inspecting the two expectant spectators and became very much appreciative of these spectators inspecting their culture and style. And just then, the very main impala gave a wink in grateful return.

“that impala just winked at me!’ the girl exclaimed. ‘im serious, it just winked at us, seriously if you just keep still and wait...maybe it will wink again!?’
 

Now that is the very elaborate yet strangely abrupt story of the winking impala and it serves as a very exemplifying explanation why I try to always notice the small gestures in life... because it just happens so blinking fast. I am looking forward to note glimpses of life, good design and awesome little gesture in this blog...much happiness.