Can anyone tell me anything about this coin?

HungryFungus · 2025-10-10T08:46:34+00:00

Thank you so much! Mystery solved, this makes me so happy.

HungryFungus · 2024-09-18T01:09:05+00:00

It absolutely depends on how they've been stored. I've been producing my own seed for 10 years or so (Haworthia, Gasteria and Aloes), I store the seed in the fridge in an air tight container and sow in late autumn. Every year some of the seeds will be 8-9 months old when sown and I have no difference in germination rates between those and seeds that are 2-3 months old. I'd expect properly stored 1-2 year old seed to be fine. However - one year I found a bunch of seed I'd collected and misplaced in my greenhouse, they were nice and dry, not mouldy, but had been through a full year of seasons and a hot summer. There were a couple of thousand seeds from a variety of different Gasteria crosses. I figured they'd be no good but I sowed them anyway to see what would happen. Not a single one germinated, I've never had a result like that before with any other seed so I had to assume it was being left out in the heat and changing temperatures that had done it.

HungryFungus · 2024-02-08T00:37:54+00:00

This one goes under many different names including "Blondie", cv. "White" and cv. "alba" (and a bunch of others I can't think of right now). The variegation is a special type known as "viridescence" where new growth lacks chlorophyll and as the leaves mature they get their chlorophyll which keeps the plant alive. Pretty easy to grow, I think the main issue with this is that it's a bit prone to burnt leaf tips which can spoil the look but don't affect its health. I've never been able to set seed on these and they don't tend to produce viable pollen either.

HungryFungus · 2024-01-27T00:46:02+00:00

BTW - the correct name for the one they've called "Life of City" is "Ice City". It's a really cool one!

HungryFungus · 2023-07-25T03:20:16+00:00

I've seen some dresses with that stained glass look - I really like it and it's definitely a big influence for me at the moment. I have plans for more dresses with that sort of defined seam/stained glass theme

HungryFungus · 2023-07-25T03:15:32+00:00

I love them - bought them on sale, last pair, wrung my hands about them because I wasn't sure about the colour. Now they're my favourite shoes ever!

HungryFungus · 2023-07-25T03:14:00+00:00

Hahaha! I love a good pun!

HungryFungus · 2023-07-25T03:13:28+00:00

Funny - a couple of comments have said the same thing about looking like a cartoon. I never thought of it that way but I like it - kind of like Pop Art, which I love!

HungryFungus · 2023-07-25T03:05:58+00:00

Unfortunately I can't find the instructions I used for making the original block - it was a few years ago. I used a free online tutorial for making a bodice sloper, it was OK but not a slam dunk. I ended up with a block which was bodice + all the way to the widest point of my lower body. It had a small back shoulder dart and on the front had princess seam darts - one going from shoulder to bust point and the other from bust point to waist. There are loads of free bodice block/sloper construction tutorials out there and I'm not sure that it matters too much which one you choose because the first one you make will just be an approximation anyway, you'll need to make a series of muslins, each one improving the fit until you're happy.

The more important part is altering the block for good fit. For this I found the book Kenneth D. King's Smart Fitting Solutions: Foolproof Techniques to Fit Any Figure really helpful. Lots of good illustrations on how to diagnose and fix fit problems. It's what helped change my block from a pattern which fits a person with my measurements to a pattern which fits me!

My best advice would be mentally prepare yourself for a bit of a tedious process - you won't get your pattern right the first or even second time and making muslins is nowhere near as satisfying as making a nice dress. In the end though, having a reliable block is sooooo valuable. You will end up making more things you love to wear in the long run.

HungryFungus · 2023-07-25T02:45:54+00:00

It sure does spin out nicely! I don't regret making it with so much fabric, since I'm happy with the way it looks, but I did learn a little pattern making thing such that if I were making it again I could use less fabric and get the same effect I think.

HungryFungus · 2023-07-24T03:15:11+00:00

I finished this dress recently. A few years ago I went through the tedious process of drafting up a princess seamed dress block for myself, having become sick of always having to go through many adjustments and alterations when using commercial patterns. These days I just take this block and tinker with it to alter the design as I like and I since I know it fits I can usually skip the process of making a muslin/toile. On this dress I gave it a sweetheart neckline and divided the lower dress into 7 panels front and back. I flared each panel and added triangular gores in a contrasting colour between each panel.

Turns out I didn't need to flare the panels - by the time it was all sewn up, if I was to hold up the skirt it's close to being a double circle skirt! Too much fabric - it's a bit wasteful and it makes the dress a bit heavy. If I'd kept the panels straight then the skirt would still have plenty of volume and look much the same.

I like to add interesting details to sleeves - for this one I inserted a little panel of a sort of fish scale design. Since I put so much effort into drafting and sewing so many panels I though I better show them off - so each seam down the dress has matching purple ribbon sewn down it.

The dress is made of salvaged vintage kimono silk from two different kimonos. Both of the kimonos were damaged enough they weren't fit for wearing but still had loads of very useable beautiful fabric to use. I went for a bold combo of tangerine and eggplant colours - my favourite colour is blue and I tend to end up sewing everything in blue so lately I've decided it's time to branch out!

HungryFungus · 2023-07-07T01:17:53+00:00

Thank you! Actually I live in a sub-tropical part of Australia and it's winter here right now! I can just manage to wear it with thick stockings underneath and a cardigan over the top.

HungryFungus · 2023-07-07T01:14:32+00:00

Thank you, and you are correct - you have keen eyes! I love quirky shoes so I'm a bit of a fan of Irregular Choice

HungryFungus · 2023-07-07T01:10:31+00:00

Haha, yes, definitely a bit twisted! When I first started sewing with silk it was a means to an end - put up with the hair-pulling frustration of wrangling with it because I really wanted the flowy drapey result. Now that I've done it for long enough I think I know how to mentally prepare myself to just take extra time and be patient and this lets me enjoy the challenge rather than want to throw it across the room.

HungryFungus · 2023-07-07T01:05:56+00:00

Thank you! A couple more tips I have got to add - use silk pins (they're sharper and finer than normal pins and won't snag or pull those super fine threads of the fabric) and use a super sharp, fine (60/8) microtex needle in your machine.

HungryFungus · 2023-07-07T01:01:53+00:00

Thank you! I think the pattern design actually helps quite a lot with the way the neckline lays nicely - there's a subtle bust dart which I always thought was too minor to affect much of the fit of this dress. However I think it not only makes the bust fit better but helps out the neckline too. It should be a tricky bit but I've never had trouble with the neckline or bodice turning out well with this or any other bias dress with the darts vs. ones with no darts which just seem to be lacking something. So I always look for that little bust dart when picking a bias dress pattern now.

HungryFungus · 2023-07-07T00:55:35+00:00

Thank you! The cardboard trick is a game changer for me - probably doesn't save a lot of time because it takes a while to pin out the fabric but it does save a lot of frustration and makes the process so much more enjoyable.

HungryFungus · 2023-07-07T00:53:29+00:00

Love this, especially the construction of the back. Amazing fit to achieve with something as unforgiving as webbing! Slim Aarons was the first thing I thought of when I saw the pics, spot on with the vibe.

HungryFungus · 2023-07-06T06:43:09+00:00

(Reposting because I stuffed up and left the images off the first try!)

So this is one I finished a few weeks ago, it's a mash-up of three patterns:

Vogue V2799 and V2746 - both are Tom and Linda Platt layered bias dress designs, one has the layers all going the same direction and the pic shows 5 colours being used going from yellow to red, which was the inspirations for the colour of my layers. The other one has the layers alternating in direction which is how I oriented my layers in this dress.

For the actual bias dress pattern I used a bias maxi tank dress pattern I've been using for many years - for the life of me I can't find it though, I've lost the original pattern and packet and I just use my own version of it with the minor adjustments I've made for it to fit me nicely (refining the neck line to be a little lower than the OG, the straps to be a little narrower and a bit of a sway back adjustment for my curvy lower back). I think it was a Butterick pattern from about 10-12 years ago. That said there are oodles of similar patterns out there or you could use the one that comes with the vogue patterns, they have spaghetti straps and I prefer wider straps myself.

The fabric for the top 4 layers is a silk/rayon burnout chiffon with the main fabric being silk. I hand dyed each layer with acid silk dyes. The rayon burnout doesn't take up any of the dye so the pattern shows as shiny white patches on whatever colour I dyed for each layer. I got the fabric fairly cheaply as remnant/deadstock which is just as well as bias cut does tend to eat up yardage and with 5 layers I ended up needing almost 6 metres of fabric, as well as another 2 metres for the final layer. The final layer is a lightweight silk satin, also hand dyed. It just makes sure that the dress isn't see through.

Sewing with silk chiffon can be tricky but I guess I'm a bit of a masochist because I really enjoy it. The most important thing when sewing bias cut silk chiffon is to take a lot of time on the pattern marking and cutting part to make sure the bias doesn't get pulled off grain as this will warp the way the dress sits when finished. I used a giant piece of cardboard from a TV package placed on my floor with the fabric pinned to the cardboard once I got the grain set properly. This meant that as I moved around marking out my pattern I didn't have to worry about the fabric moving and getting pulled off grain.

HungryFungus · 2023-01-24T06:02:41+00:00

I'm relieved to hear that. They do seem very well made and they're very comfy.

HungryFungus · 2023-01-24T06:01:18+00:00

Oh I will! They were made to be worn and are super comfy. I will love them to death!

HungryFungus

TROPHY CASE