The return of the mojo

You may have noticed there hasn't been much sewing going on lately ;) I worked on my Chantilly a few weeks ago, got to the hem and stalled. Hems are boring! However, I won KraftyKat's recent giveaway, and it arrived today! I was lucky enough to win the lovely pattern above. It's a very cute little dress with lots of variations. I went straight to my fabric stash (which consists of four pieces of usable fabric, and then lots of scraps!) and chose the cutesy flowery fabric. It'll need to be underlined, which I thankfully have fabric for. I've decided to go for the cape collar variation (the one on the left) and a simple gathered skirt, as I don't have enough for the pattern skirt. 

As for which size to go for, I'm not really sure. When we moved, I stress-ate and comfort-ate and gained back all the weight I'd lost going to the gym. What a waste of money! I'm still annoyed about that. I've now lost it again plus a bit more, by counting calories and changing how I eat (I now eat little but often during the day, and then a larger evening meal). I wish I'd done this before! This combined with a gym membership would have worked wonders. Ah well, live and learn I suppose. 

When I fitted my Chantilly (which I will finish today!!) I fitted it to be a bit too small. It now fits with a nice amount of ease. Woohoo! So I think I'll do the same thing with this dress, I'll fit it to be skin tight and by the time it's warm enough to wear it I should fit into it. Does this sound sensible? 

Right, a quick tidy up, then it's time to finish that hem!

Hello again!

Hello! I'm still here! Just haven't felt like blogging. I've still been reading all of your lovely blogs, and I've been knitting away but haven't touched my sewing machine even though it right there all set up on the desk. The poor thing is actually dusty!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas/holiday. I'm still looking for a job, which is slowly driving me mad. I haven't felt like sewing at all, even though my Chantilly is almost finished.

However, it's my youngest sister Ebony's birthday in a couple of weeks. I've taught her to knit, but didn't get a chance to teach her to cast off. Every time I see her she asks, but there's never time. So for her birthday, I'm going to pass on my copy of Knitty Gritty and my first ever pair of knitting needles, the ones I learnt on when I was about 12 or 13. To go along with that I'd like to sew her a project bag. Yes, I finally want to sew! I'm going to make her the reversible bucket bag from the Bag Making Bible. It's the one on the cover. I plan to make a patchwork from the fabrics I won in a give away from Very Berry Handmade and then line it some pink fabric I have.

I've got some pretty scraps for the bias binding too. I'm hoping it will be pretty, but even if it isn't I'm sure she'll love it. If you're a long time reader you might remember I made Ebony a princess dress two years ago. It seems I made it at the perfect time, since then she has grown in height but not in width. So she still wears it and adores it! It's just not as long anymore :) I just realised I never got around to taking photo's of her in it, so here is one my mum took for me with Crunchie the cat. (You might also remember Crunchie nearly died from a blockage in his intestines. He recovered well, and is doing fine :) )

This was taken not long after I gave it to her. She's taken great care of it, and always hangs it up carefully. Mum has told me she still wears it all the time two years later!! She looks so young in that photo, I'd not realised how grown up she's gotten. A couple of months ago, mum and I were setting up Skype. We got it working so mum shouted for everyone to come and see. So they all come running into the living room and what is Ebony wearing? Yep, her princess dress! So I think she'll really appreciate a bag for her knitting :)

I'll try and post on my progress on the bag, and maybe some recent knitting projects. I'll try not to stay away so long. 

Ashley x

Operation Emergency Maxi Dresses!

It's hot. Most of my dresses are polyester, and are terrible to wear in this lovely weather we're having. The trip into town to pick up thread, zips, and elastic was very uncomfortable. I definitely need some cooler dresses! 

So Operation Emergency Maxi Dresses begins! Simply, it will be a tube of fabric with a zip at one side and elastic and straps at the top. Then I can wear a belt at my waist as tight or as loose as I want. Or no belt at all if it's super hot. It will be a good chance to practice invisible zips :)

Hopefully I'll have at least one maxi dress to show you soon!

Ashley x

Socks, gloves and a shawl

I didn't intentionally take a break from blogging, it just sort of happened! I've been working on finishing up some knitting projects, as having 6 (plus 2 long term) projects on the go wasn't fun. So I'm now down to 3! The long term ones don't properly count ;) So here are the projects I've managed to finish:

This is an Ishbel shawl by Ysolda Teague, made in Botany Lace by Araucania. I'm not sure how to wear it. I like it a lot more than I thought I would before I blocked it. Here it is before blocking:

It was all rumpled and bumpy. And it grew a lot!! Before blocking it was 39 by 13 inches. After blocking (and a little shrinkage) it is 57 by 16 inches! It's a nice size for wearing around my neck like a scarf, but it doesn't show off the lace as much as I'd like.

I also finally finished Dom's socks. He's was very happy to put them on today, as it's very windy and rainy.

He says that they're very comfy :) The pattern is Manly Aran socks from the Toe up socks for everybody book. The yarn is Superba 100 Klassik 4-fadig by Rico Design. It's a very good sock yarn, and relatively cheap too. Lucky for me, Dom doesn't like his socks super long so once I was past the heel there wasn't much further to go :) Oh and the background is some fabric I bought last week for a summer dress when it was lovely and warm. I think I jinxed it! 

And lastly, the gloves. These are the Fiddler's mitts by Ysolda Teague from the book My Grandmother's knitting. I used Excelana 4ply yarn, and I really like it :) The photo shows them before blocking, and you can see where the colour work isn't as smooth as it could be. They're currently drying, I just soaked them for a bit and smoothed them flat to dry. They look much better, so I should hopefully have some blocked photos soon :)

I hope they're dry by tomorrow so I can wear them into town to meet a friend. They should keep me warm enough :) I'm also getting my hair cut tomorrow and I'm planning on a shorter cut. I'm still not entirely certain about it, but we'll see :)
Ashley x

Chantilly - fitting #3

The wrinkles from before are much better. Still there, but much better. I think with the weight of a full gathered skirt, they won't be very noticeable. I'm happy with the back now. Especially considering what I started with! 

I was all excited to get started tonight, when I remembered I haven't washed the fashion fabric! This might not seem like much of a problem to most of you, I can just pop it in now and it'll be ready later right? Nope. As we're in student accommodation, we have to use the on site laundrette. We usually do our washing early in the morning as no one else does. Trying to find an unoccupied washer at this time of day is impossible! So it'll have to wait till morning. I can start on the lining tonight though, as it's polyester so doesn't need pre-washing :)

Also, I'm making a spinach and cheese flan tonight with cheesey pastry! Yum! :)

Ashley x

It's back!!

It's back, it's back!! My sewing mojo is back!! Or at least, I'm pretty sure it is ;) I think the Pendrell dress scared it away, but now that I've decided that it's ok to have a UFO (unfinished object) I actually want to sew again because it means I don't have to work on that dreaded dress! I mean, heck, I have plenty of knitting WiPs (works-in-progress) hanging around, including a cardigan that I haven't worked on in forever. 

Now, no sewing has actually taken place yet. However, some fabric/pattern shopping has! And I have a massive urge to browse through my pattern box. Here's what I just ordered:

Chantilly

Rooibos

Bleu

The fabric is for the Chantilly, and I also ordered lining. I cannot wait!! Now I'm off to browse through my patterns!

Ashley x

I'm on a roll!

I just posted about two more Christmas presents over at the Crafty Christmas Club! My post is here :) I'm getting excited for Christmas now, but mostly I'm looking forward to going home. I've not been home since the middle of September so I'm missing everyone! Plus mums just moved house, so I'm looking forward to seeing it :) Apparently there's a church pew in the hall!

In other news. . . 

Isn't it beautiful?! And it's ring bound!! How practical! No more faffing with a silly book trying to make it stay open on the right page! It's really nice to have a reference book, so I don't have to go looking for a tutorial online. I think I'm going to try the Pastille first, as it's the only one I really have suitable fabric for. I find it so difficult to find fabric with enough drape that isn't a sheer chiffon online! It's so hard to tell, or the description will be 'suitable for dressmaking or quilting'. So not drapey then? Grr! I need a BIG fabric shop near me so I can feel and see the fabric properly. 

Is there anywhere online that sells lightweight fabrics that aren't a sheer chiffon? Please let me know!

Ashley x

Look, I have a sewing shelf!

Yay, finally a place for me to put my machine that's easy to get to! A shelf might not sound like much, but at the moment we live in a studio apartment. The only real storage space is the floor to ceiling wardrobe or under the bed. When my machine was under the bed, it was annoying to get out from under there. Then we managed to clear a space at the top of the wardrobe. However, every time I tried to get it out I nearly dropped it on myself as the shelf was so damn high. So last weekend, we had a massive clear out and tidy up, and Dom cleared this shelf in the wardrobe for me! It just the right height for me to get to it easily, and I now have a place for fabric too! My patterns are in a folder under the bed, but easy to get to, and everything else is in two boxes at the top of the wardrobe. Boxes are easier for me to get down that my machine was :) I also have a little box that I put everything I'm currently using for a project in, so my scissors, thread, buttons or the zip, the pattern instructions etc. that lives on the counter where I sew. It's really nice to finally have proper places for everything. Perhaps now I won't lose what I need :)

Ashley x

Paired up - fabric and patterns

I've been meaning to do this for ages, but I got held up by Becky's dress. Then I bought more fabric, so there was those to consider too! So, here's what I've decided on :)

I love this fabric! This is the second fabric that I've had that had a strawberry print on it. I wore the dress a few times, but it was too big everywhere as I hadn't paid attention to seam allowances! I've learnt alot since then! I haven't used this pattern before so I'm looking forward to it :) I'm thinking of going for the view in white on the envelope.

This print is so adorable! I've used this pattern before, with the other strawberry fabric I mentioned above. It says its for stretch wovens, but the fabric isn't stretchy so a muslin is definitely needed! The pleats give the skirt a lovely shape :)

I can't wait for the Crescent skirt sewalong! I've decided that I love the pattern so much, I'm going to sew two skirts at the same time. I figure if I have double the sewing, I'm less likely to speed ahead of the sewalong. Plus its exam time during the sewalong, so a sewalong is the perfect thing for me, as it'll keep my sewing time at a limit. So I should actually get some revision done!

I've been looking forward to sewing the Ceylon since I got the pattern. And that fabric. . .! I love it, I just hope it won't be too stiff. Hopefully the pre-wash should soften it up :)

Hmm, three dresses, two skirts and only one top? I should really sew more tops! lol I think I'm going to go for the red and white polka dot view, but I quite like the white view too. What do you think?
So the plans for my fabric and patterns are made. Lets see if I stick to them!
Ashley x

Fabric purchases!

I just so happened to have a quick browse at the fabric stall at the indoor market on Thursday, and what did I see? That they had some adorable new prints in! I only ever really have a browse, as usually there's only ever polycottons or 100% poly and I much prefer 100% cotton (ok, I'm a cotton snob! But I have a good reason, polyester makes me sweat. Very ladylike I know). So I was just looking really when the lady came to ask if I needed help, turned out they were 100% cotton! This clinched it, I wanted them! They were £4.50 a metre too, not bad for cottons with cute prints :) They're both going to be summer dresses! I'm currently putting together a post with photos of all of my fabric (only 6 pieces, but that's practically a massive stash for me!) along with the pattern I plan on using with it. This is both for my benefit as it helps me plan ahead and actually remember what I've decided, and also for your benefit because if you're anything like me, you're nosy! :) 

I hoping to get a bit of sewing done tonight. Remember this post? Well, I dropped it so I could work on Becky's dress. I'd got as far as having the pieces cut, and the front sewn together. So onwards!

Ashley x

Crescent skirt fabric

Are you going to be participating in the Crescent Skirt Sewalong? I am! I've just ordered my fabric :)

It's a cotton poplin from Croft Mill. I can't wait for it to arrive! I'm really looking forward to my first Sewalong too :)
Will you be sewing along with Tasia?
Jellybean x

Evening gown fabric!

The colour is somewhere in between these two photos :) And those specks aren't dirt on the fabric, its dirt on the camera lens! When the fabric was delivered, the envelope was ripped! I expected the worst, but luckily Fabricland put their fabric in a carrier bag as well, which is what the fabric is leaning on. I daren't leave it out of its bag for fear it'll get ruined! I also upped the contrast of these photos so you can see the lovely subtle shine it has! The satin I've worked with before has been thin and reeeeally shiney cheap looking, but this?! This is something else! Duchesse satin . . .wow. Its just lovely. I just want to stroke it all the time. Its lovely and thick, and has a beautiful drape! I'm excited to work with it, I'm imagining it being a dream to sew!
Also, I haven't worked on the next muslin or any alterations to the paper pattern at all! :( Why? Because I am clumsy and nearly sliced the end of my thumb off last night! It hurts like a bugger, so I'm trying to let the resultant flap of skin heal down so it doesn't flap around like a flappy thing!
More soon :)
Jellybean x

There be an evening dress in the works. . .

One of my friends has a ball to attend on the 8th of April, and has asked me to make her a dress!! We've chosen New Look 6401 as the base. The reason she asked me in the first place is because she can't find anything to fit her chest! So of course there will be heavy modifications to the bust to make it fit. She hasn't decided on the colour yet, but we're thinking a satiny fabric. She's coming round tomorrow so I can measure her up to find out her size (upper bust measurement obviously as she's waaay bigger than a B cup!) and then we can find out how much fabric to order! We're ordering from Fabricland I think, as its cheap :) I'm looking forward to plotting and scheming! lol
I'm really excited!!! I've always wanted to try an evening dress, but never had the need to. Now I do! :D I just hope it turns out ok and that I can get it finished on time. I think now that we've found a pattern (we were thinking of draping it on her at first!) it shouldn't be too difficult or take forever. But I suppose we'll see. More later :)
Jellybean x

Fabric purchases!

I found out from a member on The Sewing Forum that there is a fabric shop at the top of Steep Hill (if you've ever been to Lincoln you can't miss Steep Hill!) It must have opened during the winter, as we didn't really bother going all the way up the hill in the cold! I was ridiculously excited about a new fabric shop, so we puffed our way up the hill. It's called CallyCo, and it was lovely! Lots of lovely good quality designer fabrics. I eventually settled on 2 fabrics, I think the first was £12.90 pm and the second was £10.90 pm. So pretty expensive (for me at least!).

I bought 3.5m of this one, I plan on using it for making the Ceylon! I love this print! I just hope it isn't too big for a dress.

I love this cutesy print! I bought 2m of this one, and I plan on making a blouse from it. I haven't quite decided on the pattern yet, I'll let you know when I do :)
I also bought these:

They're so pretty, and were only £1.80 so I just had to have some! I can't wait to make these fabrics up :)
Next door to the fabric shop is a lovely whiskey shop. Dom treated himself to a bottle, which we sampled it when we got back. Now I don't usually drink whiskey neat. Nor do I usually drink such good quality whiskey. You should have seen my face at the first mouthful! Wow! I swallowed badly and coughed a little, but I was ready for the second mouthful and actually managed to taste it properly. It's good stuff! We also treated ourselves to an ice cream from the wonderful ice cream parlour across the road from the fabric shop. Delicious!
Jellybean x

So close to Sencha

I only have the button holes and buttons to do!! :D I'm so close to being done. The colour really doesn't photograph well with a flash though. I can't wait for sunnier days!
I'm still waiting for the black silk crepe from Cheapfabrics though. I sent them a message nearly 2 weeks ago and received no reply. I'm getting rather annoyed.
As the Beignet and Sencha took so long to complete, I think I've had enough of these patterns for now. I'll definitely be revisiting them though! As for the red Klona cotton fabric that I was going to use for the second Beignet, I'm planning on making a blouse out of it. And the black cotton underlining that was supposed to be for the silk crepe Sencha? I'm tired of waiting for the silk, I figure I'll just get some more black cotton to underline it when the silk gets here. In the mean time, I'll use the black cotton to make a skirt. I'm still deciding on the patterns, so I'll let you know when I decide! :)
More later!
Jellybean x

Bad sewing fairies!

The sewing fairies hate me today. I was happily sewing the lining and the shell together when the bobbin thread ran out! Then as I was filling the bobbin, I realised I had run out of thread :( With no other thread even half matching, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to pick some up. Or maybe even Tuesday as Mondays are super busy with lectures for me :(

On a happier note, I pre-washed my red silk crepe with success! I used Soak wash from The Little Knitting Company. I think they are selling off the stock they have and then won't get any more, as it would seem shipping liquids into the country is a no-no. I tried ordering from Amazon.com and it said it couldn't be delivered to my address. So once the Soak Wash runs out, if The Little Knitting Company doesn't have any more, I guess I'll have to use baby shampoo. I'm not sure if its because it's still wet, but washing it seems to have given it more of a sheen, which I'm happy about :)

If I can be bothered after tea, I'll iron and cut out the red cotton underlining (which I also pre-washed today) for my Sencha blouse. I might even do the black underlining too.

What do the bad sewing fairies do to you? Hide your scissors? Steal your new machine needles? Or something equally annoying?

Jellybean x

I did a silly thing.

I let my heart choose the fabric for B5032 instead of using my head. I loved the colour, and ignored the fact that it was quite a heavy twill type fabric. The fact that its so thick makes the darts sit funny. I've tried making them shorter, longer and have ironed the heck out of them. I've come to the conclusion that the fabric is just too thick and heavy. Or at least I think that's what it is, I'll take some photo's tomorrow and post them. I've had way too hectic a day to be bothered to do it tonight. I'll also take photo's of the muslin too :)
That has made a crappy tiring day even more crappy. I'm annoyed at myself. My only consolation is that I might be able to salvage the skirt. But no promises. I think I've had enough of this pattern for now, and will get more fabric to make it another time. In the mean time, I'll try out the muslins for the Colette patterns so I can sew those up when the fabric gets here. I should have more success with those fabrics as they were in the dress making section, not the super-heavy-I-will-ruin-your-darts section (I actually bought this fabric from the market, so I even got to feel the weight and drapeyness of it, and still thought it was a good idea!)
Back tomorrow with photo's of those stupid darts.
Jellybean x

My first fabric splurge!

Ooh it feels good! :D I ordered fabrics to make 2 Beignet skirts and 2 Sencha blouses. Here's what I ordered:
Shell fabric for Beignet

Navy Klona Cotton

To be lined with

Royal blue Polycotton lining

I plan on wearing this with a Sencha blouse made from this:

Scarlet silk crepe

This colour combination is very daring for me! Hopefully I can pull it off :)
The second Beignet is to be made from:

Crimson Klona Cotton

Can you tell I like red? :) To be lined with

Pink polycotton lining

I plan on wearing this with a Sencha blouse made from this:

Black silk crepe

So what do you think? Am I crazy? Will these colour combinations work together?
I'm looking forward to the luxury of real silk! I like planning an outfit and then buying the fabrics for it. I think this is probably how I will always buy fabric, it means I never buy too much or too little, and will keep my fabric buying at a reasonable level. I don't plan on buying any more fabric until these outfits are sewn up. For one, that splurge cost £70 which is more than enough for one day (week/month! lol) and for another, I just don't have the room for a stash. This should last me a while, as I have to muslin these patterns first, but the second outfit should be quicker as I'll have already sewn a muslin and the real garments! :)
So what was your most recent fabric purchase? And how do you buy fabric? Do you buy as you need it, or do you have a stash that you add to when you want it?
Jellybean x

Colette love

Ooh! I'm so excited, I've just ordered 3 of the lovely Colette Patterns!! I ordered them from Sewbox, as they'ew a UK supplier so they'll get here quicker :D So which ones did I order? The Sencha blouse, the Beignet skirt, and the Ceylon dress. I fell in love with all three when I first saw Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons versions :) I've wanted these patterns for ages! Though I have yet to work out how to d an FBA on the dress and blouse though :S I'm sure consulting Fit for real people will help :)
As for the fitting of the skirt, it was easy compared to the bodice! I had to move the pleating and darts so that they lined up with the darts on the bodice, and add a little to the side seam, but that was it! I'm planning on sewing the entire dress in muslin tomorrow to test it, and then I think I can go ahead with my fashion fabric! I picked out a poly cotton twill in a lovely red :) I'm going to pre-wash it later, as Im unsure how much is cotton so don't want it to shrink.
Oh, and I found my cami, so hopefully should be able to post pics when the next muslin is done!
Jellybean x

Progress Report #2: M5731

 I finally got round to tracing that last piece! I've also done a practice of the bodice :) I wanted to practice the corset/lacing effect, and I'm glad I did. I couldn't get the cross of the ribbons to sit in the middle :( I also set in the sleeves, which was a pain, as the armholes didn't fit around the free arm on my machine. And when I tried to attach the lower sleeves it didn't match up! I got frustrated and took the easy way out. I cut a strip of fabric and simply gathered it onto the sleeve. The one on the left is only 14 inches long, and the one on the right is 25 inches long. I prefer the one on the right :) I'm not sure how long I'll make them yet, or if I'll but some lace to do it in like the pattern suggests.

 So as I said, I wasn't happy with the ribbon. Dom had a great idea, and suggested I sew little loops of ribbon into the seam, and use these to lace it up! I think it looks great! And much easier to get in the right place :)

And a close up.

One of the things I kept thinking was, these pieces are so small! I've only ever sewn for myself before, so its strange to be using such small pieces, and not being able to try it on as I go.
Also Fit for real people came! I spent yesterday reading through it, and thoroughly enjoyed it! It's very well explained, and I loved that it takes you through the alterations for people from start to finish :) I can't wait to try what I've learnt.
I ordered the fabric for Ebony's dress yesterday morning from Fabricland. I've never ordered by phone before, so was a little nervous. The bloke I spoke to was very friendly and put me right at ease. An hour after I placed my order I got a call from them asking me to confirm the colour of muslin I ordered, it was nice to know they don't just chuck any old thing in. They were a pleasure to deal with, and I love that they're a family run business too :) And the best thing? My fabric arrived this morning! The cuts are generous which is appreciated and it was all packaged well. I can't wait to get fitting with the muslin and Fit for real people! :)
The fabric for Ebony's dress is a lovely colour! The cherry colour is a bit more red than I was expecting, but I love it and it looks lovely with the pale pink :)
I might cut out the fabric later.
Jellybean x