western-australia – Em Sew Happy Blog

Life has been a bit hectic, and I felt like I missed out on summer this year. I usually love it when Christmas carols start playing in shops. Where I live, it means beach days, icy cold drinks and living in shorts. Instead, this year was filled with cold hospital waiting rooms. By chance, a Facebook ad popped up with ‘secret cabins’ and I decided to press on the link. A charming little cabin called Sylvie’s Hut popped up and I couldn’t book fast enough.

Now, it might seem easy to pack for a three-day getaway, but the weather has been a bit fickle this year. Also, most people don’t realise how vast Western Australia is. The hut is situated in the quaint tidy town of Nannup. The three-hour drive south from Perth can see a change in climate. The temperature usually drops especially nighttime. Talking about nighttime, the stars were amazing. Sylvie’s Hut is plonked in the middle of a paddock without any other buildings around so there was no light pollution to dampen the bright night sky. If you visit, make sure you turn off the lights and look up.

For a small town, Nannup is packed full of character. For the drive down, I decided to wear my Monsterfabriken Vanja Dress which is a lightweight cotton dress. It was very comfortable to travel in with a long skirt and the adjustable ties which I kept loose for the trip. We stopped in town on the way to Sylvie’s Hut which you can find on Instagram under @cleveshut and we were immediately charmed by the historic buildings.

There really wasn’t much on the agenda except to relax but we were so taken by the variety and number of eateries in this little town. We were blown away by the meal we had at Pickle & O which featured a solid vegetarian menu with some non-vegetarian offerings like the chicken burger that we had. Unfortunately, we couldn’t sample some other cafes that we had hoped to because opening times were limited to certain hours. Understandably, this town has a small population which swells with weekend visitors so opening times cater for this. We loved visiting the art gallery and the local stores which had beautiful handmade items. We aim to make another trip where we can visit all the various galleries. For the day of exploring, I’m glad that I packed my Sewing Therapy Tie Dress No 2. I had made a long version in anticipation of the weather cooling down for autumn and I was glad that I packed my white cardigan which was perfect when the sun dipped behind the clouds.

On the final day when we were travelling home, I wore my True Bias Calvin top with my True Bias Dani Pants. I have travelled extensively with the Dani Pants; I made and wore three pairs when I went to South Korea last year. I packed the lightweight denim version and matched it with my Calvin Wrap Top. I purposely left my ties long for my top. Just for the look of it and the security of having the ties doubled over. The outfit was perfect for our stops on the way home. The highlights were the delicious brunch at the Blackwood Café and then we made a stop at the famous Cambray Cheese where we sampled their traditional handmade farmhouse cheese. This little family run dairy blew us away with their sheep dairy and farmhouse cheese factory. We came away with a big bagful of cheese including their Farmhouse Gold.

True Bias Calvin Wrap Top and Dani Pants

It was a very successful trip. For a trip where we planned to do nothing, we actually came away feeling very rested but fulfilled. It was a much-needed respite. We will definitely be returning to visit the charming character filled town of Nannup.

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

X Em

Margaret River is a short drive from Perth in Western Australia which makes it an ideal destination for a weekend getaway. It’s such a beautiful region with so much to see and do but the goal of this getaway was to do less and reset after several very hectic few months. Forest bathing amongst the giant gum trees works wonders for the mind and the blood pressure.

It’s currently winter so I decided to be very practical in my packing. We did have a slow lunch booked at a winery which meant that my outfit had to be good for walking but dressy enough for the venue that we were lunching at. Before leaving for the trip, I managed to finish sewing two versions of the Swimstyle High Waist Pants* which I wore on the first day. We were staying in town, which was great for walking around town, visiting some of the unique shops in Margaret River Town. The highlight was finding Margaret River Artisan Store which is run by a cooperative of local artists. We also picked up some delicious goodies to bring home to share the taste of Margaret River with our family from Vasse Virgin and another favourite was dropping into Margaret River Bookshop for a few new books. There are so many boutique stores to explore but we had to head out to lunch.

Lunch was at Xanadu Wineries which is one of the more established wineries in the region. I would highly recommend booking for any of the venues before going as it gets very busy. I’m glad I paired my High Waist Pants with my Jarrah Jumper and had a cardigan with me.

I also packed my Nova Jacket which I was grateful for as the temperature dropped and there was an icy wind blowing by the time we had finished out slow long lunch. A trip to Margaret River is not complete without popping into Voyager Estate.

We headed back to our accommodation for a rest and to change before heading out to dinner at Swings and Roundabout. Another fabulous venue but book ahead or risk missing out. The temperature was considerably cooler by nighttime, so I was glad that I had packed my Dawn Jeans. I wore it with my Alea Blouse (this pattern was a collaboration between Sewlala Patterns and Marsha Style). Sorry, no photos in situ but popped some old photos below. I think the key is to layer up as often venues are quite well heated interiorly but getting to and from the venue can be wet and cold.

Our last day started with pastries and coffee at the beautiful self-contained unit we were staying in. The sun was streaming in, and the air warmed to a beautiful 20 degrees.

I decided to wear the denim version of my High Waist Pants with the Brattle Top. I only needed to throw on a lightweight cardigan for the rest of the day. We were driving back to Perth with a detour to Wild Hop Brewery. This came highly recommended from friends, and we were glad that we had followed the recommendation to book the Rotisserie Chicken as well. It was a worthwhile detour!