Finished - a Negroni that will blow your mind....

I wish that I could attach a little sound bite to this post. I feel it deserves a little electric guitar lick - just a few notes; it's that kind of garment.....

It's glamping and festival time at Chez Tragic, which can only mean one thing - a novelty shirt for the husband. Before Christmas I was perusing the internet looking for homoerotic cowboy fabric (as one does) when I happened upon Voodoo Rabbit, a fabric store based in Brisbane, specialising in rockabilly, vintage reproduction and Day of the Dead fabrics. My beloved was perusing over my shoulder, and an Alexander Henry design called Mindblowers caught his eye. This, my friends, is what happens when men go fabric shopping.....


It's had to say no when one has a floor-to-ceiling cupboard full of fabrics for oneself..... I'd been meaning to make him up the Colette Patterns Negroni since forever, and now I had some motivation. The pattern itself was very straightforward - it was very similar to the Aloha Shirt I made him last year, sort of a camp-shirt style, with a one-piece collar. I was able to squeeze it out of 2 metres of fabric - just.  I had to piece the yoke lining and the undercollar, and miss out on pockets. I can't remember the last time I made something and literally had only tiny scraps left. Highly satisfying! 

Here's a close-up of the merry fellows decorating my husband's shirt. 


I think this guy's my favourite. Skull cogs - they get me every time!


I made a size large, which matched up very well with one of his RTW shirts in a similar size. Damn men. No adjustments, no fitting. Straight out of the packet. The only thing I changed was to hem the sleeves and hem a little shorter, and leave off the silly collar button loop. I flat felled the armscyes, which will be precious time I will never get back again. The side seams I frenched as I couldn't be arsed more flat felling was short on time. 



Fit is perfect! Look at him! So cute! I was given the opportunity for one photo. ONE. So it's a little blurry. The Mindblowers debuted this weekend just gone, on our now-annual Australia Day glamping trip. I was able to sneak a few more pics as we set up Sunny and the glamp site:




Despite some mediocre weather we had a great weekend away. Our parents kindly gave us some Christmas cash for a new tent/awning specifically designed to attach to a Kombi - our old one is canvas, heavy, difficult to set up and not exactly waterproof anymore. This one is fantastic - it even has a little inner calico sleeping pod:




Sometimes we sleep in Sunny, but if it's hot or we are staying more than a couple of nights it's worth taking the airbed and getting a better nights sleep.



I'll leave you with this image of a bunch of thirty-somethings frolicking in the sun.




Comments

  1. Hahaha, that shirt is fab! Your husband has exquisite taste in crazy over-the-top fabric prints! I've been meaning to make a shirt for my boyfriend, but I can't seem to find the wild shark or crocodile fabric I've been envisioning. Perhaps I should make a more ... ordinary version first?

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    1. Thanks Jana, I think I've one more crazy shirt left in me before he starts to get something a little more sedate.... Good luck with the dangerous creature hunt.

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  2. Just fantastic. And totally hilarious. Flaming skulls! Your glamping looks pretty fun too.

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    1. Thanks Debbie! The last few weeks I've seen your projects for your husband and thought of what was waiting for me in the sewing room and it did make me sigh a little......

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  3. I can say that your title is accurate. How did you resist the urge to make a matchy-matchy shirt for you?

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    1. The disappointment of only having true scraps left! The only thing holding me back, really, was the risk of poor skull placement over the chest region.....

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  4. Oh your kombi is gorgeous! What year? I am from NZ and we have just had our first camping hols in our kombi we have been doing up (not finished yet). Ours is red/wite 72 model called Aggie and she is a pop top too with the little fold out camper beds inside. Luv the colour of yours!

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    1. Hey Lynda, that's fantastic - it took us nearly 2 years to get him to the point of camping! He's a 1974 model, called Sunny Boy. We love him! And a word of warning - you'll never be finished!

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  5. Sarah, I just love this! Great shirt, it looks fabulous on! Fantastic post! Looks like you had a ball! xx

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    1. Thanks Helene! We had a lovely weekend - now can't wait until my leave in February!

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  6. OMG I love this shirt - so crazy! My husband keeps trying to get me to make him wacky Hawaiian shirts - I might have to give in after seeing this :D

    And what a camping set up - I'd be a lot more inclined to camp if I had a rig like that! I didn't even know they made tents for VW vans - so cool!

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    1. Oh you've got to make him one - you'd smash it out in hours! I was actually a bit sheepish posting this, thinking of your husbands amazing collection. And the camping - yeah I dont/won't slum it... I've even got a coffee machine that lives in the bus...

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  7. Hilarious! That fabric is totally rad, bad and generally a danger to the eyes - but I love it! Glad your guy does too!

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    1. God you're right - it is dangerous to the eyes! One night it'll freak me out on the way to the loo, I'm sure!

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  8. Haha, thats awesome! I'm impressed that you flat felled the armscyes, that must have been such a mission. I love your kombi, he's super cute!

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    1. Thanks - yeah I was pretty over it by the end, the instructions aren't bad and it does give a nice finish....

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  9. Oh man, this shirt makes me want to start head-banging! How very heavy metal/rock star of him. Great make, great fit. But more importantly... Sunny! Oh how I love him. And he's got a new side annexe thing? Don't you love parent Xmas funds?? Looks like a great glamping trip.

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    1. Isn't he awesome!? Sunny I mean! Yeah we are so rapt with the tent - it's such an asset. Surprisingly warm too.

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  10. It totally needs the electric guitar! Such a fun shirt and it looks perfect on him! oh well … this is another post I will have to censor for my relationship's sake ;)

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    1. Thanks Sasha! He's a happy man. I look forward to making him something more classy next time!

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  11. Oh, how fabulous! Try finding THAT in RTW! Well done you; beautifully made, as ever. Your glamping setup looks so great - it must be so satisfying after all you hard work. Hope you had a fantastic time :)

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    1. Thanks Danielle - we did have a super time - just wish it was hotter!

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  12. I love this so much and how great does your husband look playing his guitar in it!!

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  13. Fabulous!! I love the fabric choice, definitely camping with style. Did you get your cowboy print in the end?

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    1. Thanks Jo! Yes I did acquire some Wranglers, for a dear friend for a Christmas gift - he adores it!

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  14. Hahahahaha! Every time we are at the fabric store, my boyfriend reminds me of the time I vetoed his choice of a condiment novelty print for a shirt for him! I went with a nice striped shirting instead ;)

    Oh and your shirt construction is beautiful!

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    1. Thanks Laura - he's still in that phase of wanting novelty prints.... The latest request is for a leopard print trimmed jacket so he can pretend to be Jerry Lee Lewis...... Thank goodness I have not got those skills!

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  15. Im looking for a side tent for our Kpmbi and I love the look of yours, could you tell me what brand it is etc? Thanks Bec

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    1. Hi Bec, I can't remember the brand and we were lucky enough to buy ours secondhand through the Australian Kombi Club forums, but it's essentially identical to this one from Just Kampers. They have a UK and an Australian distributor. It's a great tent as you can zip everything up and drive the bus away if needed, and it's nice a roomy, lots of ventilation. It does take a bit to set it up and it's not 100% weather proof in that the base is a separate piece to the roof, rather than being an all-in-one unit so depending on where you were in the world and how much you intend to camp in wet weather you'd want to keep that in mind.

      http://www.justkampers.com.au/camper-van-motorhome-and-camping-accessories/awnings-sun-canopies/motorhome-awnings/campershop-retro-awning-rhd-green-2015.html

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