A rucksack for Amy

I was fortunate to be given some old curtains, vintage as well. My daughters friend fell in love with some William Morris ones and somehow I offered to make a rucksack for her for when she goes to university. We drafted up some ideas. I had some leather samples, just liitle squares so she asked if I could make pockets with them one blue one green  a zipped pocket on the back for security and an inner zipped pocket.

I must admit it  came together like a breeze. It was so good not to use a pattern and let my creative juices flow. I didn't want to put it down I was engrossed.

 I wish I get more creative with my dressmsking. You know embroidering, appliqué even patchworking pieces before cutting out. I once saw a lady who had a marvellous pea coat and each piece was a different fabric they were like curtain fabrics. It was inspiring, crazy and fun all at once.

  I made a shoulder strap  and interlined it for comfort and more support. I only needed to purchase the straps and fasteners. Everything else was available which was great.

As you can imagine she is delighted with it.

Vogue 1042 OOP

When I first bought this pattern it had everything I like in a top. Low neckline and fitted bodice. I'd previously mentioned it on this blog good luck with thst one, commrnted somebody, which wasn't very promising. I knew if I conquered it I would love it but I didn't realise how much



The fabric 100% linen was originally intended for a skirt but when it arrived it was too thin. I decided to  attempt the top but wondered if I could do it justice.
This pattern wasnt easy I made so many adjustments that Ive lost track. I made a sample first( a first for me but it paid off) I was adament I didn't want my bust not sitting in the cups like a bad fit. Looking at the pattern and having a full bust here is how I achieved it.
1. I took a vertical fold out  on the centre front, there was a good two inch gap between the cups on centre front, which I do not have. What I took out I added in my new cup width.
2. I took the measurements for the cup from a bra that fitted me, I added width and lots of depth.  I remade my cup pieces from scratch copying the notches grain etc, and following the bra shape. I reshaped the back strap to stop it gaping  taking in a pleat before cutting out, and I also curved the strap  shoulder seam so it sits on my tiny shoulders.  As my bust is large it didnt leavevmuch room at the armhole edge seem fot my straps to sit. Thus resulting in the straps sitting on the edge of my shoulders, if you catch my drift.  With numerous fittings my fabric stretched at the lower edge and trying to add the peplum which is cut on the straight proved tricky. If I want to nit pick I maybe should have taken an inch off the bodice as it is rolling over, but a narrow belt will rectify that.  I didn't fit the peplum to my hips  as I liked how it looks. I hope to make another but maybe take the bodice  longer and omit the peplum trim.  The skirt I self drafted a few summers ago.

Top   _Vogue 2042.
Skirt _ self drafted

 awkward project pics !!

Sewing table in progress

its fair to say my house is the size of a postage stamp. Trying to sew and hoard my equipment etc is a challenge in itself. I have sewn in nearly every corner of my home. And the conclusion is the dining/kitchen table works best.
I've had numerous tables of all  shapes and sizes. Basically I needed a narrow table for the galley kitchen  for easy access, not too large with the ability to cut  out fabric, and accommodate family gatherings when needed.
My new neighbour was clearing out an outhouse. An old table had been left.  "That can go I dont like that" she said.
"If your throwing it out may I have it".  So now I think in have my perfect table (apart from the hideous legs).
Yesterday we started renovating it, sanding the top down its a nice oak finish. I think  we will paint the legs.  Today the rain is here so I will not be able to continue sanding.

 Fully extended perfect for cutting out and quilting.

Even with one leaf extended it fits snugly in the recess, making a reasonable sewing space. A great triumph here at no. 23. I'm well chuffed,
How do you all sew if you have no sewing room?

Vibrant orange Vogue 8750

Its been a while since I posted a project here.  Ive had a lot of problems with the old Bernina.  Sadly after 2 trips to be repaired (the second to try and sort out the mess that the first repair-man made) I have had to accept there is just too much work to be done. The Bernina technician said "It's repairable, but it needs stripping back and rebuilding" which  of course would have cost too much. So out has come the old Janome, and I'm getting used to it again.  It will do the basics and I can sew again, until I can afford a new Bernina.

I picked up a remnant of  vibrant  orange thick wool upholstery material, with a slight boucle texture.   Not a colour I usually wear, but I thought I could get away with it if I wore it away from my face.
I instantly fell in love with the energy in the colour and of course the price £2.00. There was just a metre with a flaw running down the middle hence the price.  There had to be something I could make with it.

The orange is so cheerful just right for the English winters and the "January Blues" (something I don't actually suffer from, but many do).  I struggled for two evenings with my patterns juggling them around, and folding the fabric in different ways. I finally worked out a way I could  squeeze Vogue 8750 making version A.
 


I've made this skirt 3 times now, my first piece posted here. I wasn't happy with the result of it first time, poor fabric choice not enough weight to it. I've since made it in a thicker wool fabric and it worked well.   The thicker fabric definitely shows off the style and top stitching details, I've even mastered the dreaded curves.
I really love this pattern and the finish skirt  and I now find it  easy to make  and it somehow reminds me of 60's retro feel with the curves in it. I'm sure I shall make more.
    

Knitting Project Bag

Well sadly I didn't get the job. There were 3 other people  being interviewed, it seemed to go well, but obviously not well enough! You see I have a record where every job I have had an interview for I have been fortunate to be offered the job. Now that bubble has burst. I have to say I was gutted. A for my record being broken and B for not securing the job. I would have enjoyed it, but it wasn't to be. Never mind Onward  and Upward.  

This weekend it has been so wet here.  But I decided to pop into town and do a bit of shopping.  I managed to come home with a fat quarter of fabric and pondered what to do with it.  So today I made this

A project bag to store my knitting.  Its ideal as I tend to knit small objects, i.e. socks, gloves, hats, which I carry around with me in my  bag.

I simply lined it with some available  fabric. I didnt put anything in between the two layers, as I wanted to keep it light and soft.

Now I am a big fan of  circular and sets of 4 knitting, in fact it could be responsible for re kindling my love of knitting.  I love the Knit Pro range (I may have told you this before)  So with the remainder of the fabric I was able to make an organiser to store all my new needles

I love the concept, even if it is all a little fussy.  But Im not wearing it so it doesnt really matter. It was a great way to us the vintage panel squares. Ideally I would have used another colour fabric with it, but white is all I had.  Its also quite compact when folded up.

Ive so enjoyed knitting and crocheting with the cold nights these last few months.  Thankfully the nights are slowly getting lighter, I love to observe how light its becoming on a daily basis, and how later in the day I am closing the curtains on an evening. Roll on 

lighter and warmer days.

I have to confess I havent been inspired to dressmake, I keep looking at the patterns but nothing has excited me, until I spotted this dress pattern in Vogues Spring collection  Vogue 1381.    Im smitten, so in love with it.  I cannot wait for them to stock it in the UK so I can get my discount from my magazine subsciption. Talking of which,  just take a look at what is on the front of my magazine which was delivered this Saturday 

Just look at that quilting/stitching detail isnt it heavenly. I did say I was in love with it.

I cant wait

Something to smile about

 Firstly, I feel like Snoopy  as the hospital discharged me.

 What great news. Outcome... I still dont have all the answers because my scans didnt reveal anything. and it could happen again. Well Thats life, and onto something that fills my my heart with happiness.  Creating

This ball of wool, is calling me.  Its saying  "Knit me, Knit me," but I must resist as I still havent quite finished my second sock yet.
Its my own fault, I blame myself entirely   I have been drooling over my wool stash, looking over patterns and now I have made a decision I cant wait to start.  So let me tell you more. I shall be using this lovely sock wool. Such lovely soft colours. Its  Opal Vincent van Gogh  "The Trinquetaille Bridge"  sock wool. A range of yarns based on Van Gogh's paintings

 

I am going to knit a scarf with it.  The pattern is called hitchhiker  on Ravelry. 

It sounds so intriguing and fun. You start with just 2 stitches and you keep increasing to a certain point then stop when you run out of wool or when you have had enough.  How good is that, no panic of running out of wool (unless its not as long as you would have liked) The result being either a cowl or long scarf.  I have a 100gm ball so we shall see how far we get with it, this should be interesting.  
Do you get excited at the prospect of starting a new project be it a pattern or a piece of fabric just waiting to be cut into.  Part of the reason I am always thinking ahead with projects, especially knitting  is to spur me onto finishing whats on the needles, Im a slow knitter, sewing is so much quicker.  
I  only have one knitting project on the go at a time, it would be fatal starting something new.  
I wasnt always like this.  When I first started dressmaking  in my teens I remember having lots of bags of unfinished pieces, probably when I had either gone wrong or couldnt understand the pattern. They used to be stashed away behind my Mums sofa.  She did complain about them. Of course back then in the 70s there was no internet for research, tutorials so I just trundled along.
    
So readers do you knit or sew one piece at a time? Are you forever planning the next project, or do you have lots of projects on the go at once, and if so do they get finished? 
  

vintage sewing and craft books

Blogging so inspires me.  After reading a post earlier in the day it prompted me to get a couple of books of my shelf and familirise its contents.  

These books are wonderful I love them a great insight into sewing in the 1940's when times were hard, money and supplies sparse and rationed but imagination was unlimited. I just had to share them with you.

 Isnt the inner cover a lovely design, ingeneous.  Once inside the books there are endless patterns and ideas.  Articles on darning and repairing.  Getting wear out of wool jackets by unpicking the whole outfit and turning in inside out for more wear, have you ever heard of anything so bizzare, and even 1940's

recycling

My favourite parts are where they decorate their plain materials to create something unique using simple ribbons, and rick rack.

love the top left trim made from ribbon.

Just look at this collar made from rick rack braid, wouldnt it look lovely on a simple shift dress, and even plain covered button get a makeover.

Here is a 1940's onesie, they called them cleaning overalls, very much like our "onesies" which were selling like hotcakes today in the shops when Christmas shopping. I do hope you liked these books as much as I do. 

Call me "Lazy"

It is cold here at the  moment such a shock to the system after all the lovely weather last month.  I struggle with fashion in the winter months, unless I am heading out for the day  it is so easy just to throw on a pair of jeans, thick socks and a lovely warm jumper.   Its not very exciting on a daily basis but practical.  It all comes down to me being lazy.

In fairness, trousers are definitely warmer than skirts when the weathers at its worst, so I must try and and get to grips with making them, can  anyone recommend a good trouser pattern for a curvy figure.  But somehow I am always drawn to dresses.   So my November garment a month challenge of the month is to use my vintage wool crepe in my stash and sew a dress. Its a bottle green colour.

Pattern choice  Vogue 8667  I like the oatmeal version with the collar, I would like to make a matching buckled belt (not done one of those before)  Some thick wool tights, boots a nice cardi and Im sorted. Just need to make it and pray it doesnt get so cold that I grab the jeans. 

100 posts so let's celebrate with chocolate.. Of course

This is my 100th post. 
In all honesty I am surprised I got this far. At times I wondered if I was writing to myself, and sometimes I thought of giving up, especially when I had writers block. So lets celebrate with chocolate........


and one of my favourites. It so reminds me of Christmas Selection boxes and Easter Eggs.
Yummy!!




The top I made for my "garment a month challenge" is the exact colour of the foil paper on a Cadbury's chocolate bar  and its shiny too!! 

This is made from a piece of fabric that was left over sitting in my stash. I didnt  originally choose this fabric. My daughters choice when I made her a dress a few years ago, but it is a beautiful clear purple and polka dots are always a hit with me.  
The pattern is Butterick 5890.     
I had just enough to make  the shorter version minus the collar. (c)  I also omitted the front seam (why have a seam down the front, to me unsightly).
Do I like it?   Yes I do. Though I dont shy away from colour its very shiny, which I am not used to.  I think I just need to get used to it. I would have preferred the longer version which suits me better but there wasnt enough fabric  This top will give a good splash of colour under a cardigan for autumn/spring.     

The pattern says use a  22" zip.  I just dont see why you need such a long zip on this pattern. I can easily get this top on and off without undoing the zip. Even the  previous version I made which was more fitted I can manage with a zip half that length. 


There is plenty of room in it but it is rising up at the front which gives me the impression it needs to be bigger in the bust. No doubt I will make this again and will correct that next time.  I also made the neckline a little bit deeper as I dont like high round necks on me.  Overall I am happy with it and it will be a good addition to my pinks and greys that I wear a lot of.

A while back I mentioned I was thinking of upgrading my camera. Well I am so pleased to tell you that we have finally got a dlsr.  I have been eyeing these up for sometime.  Its a  Nikon D3100, its a beginner dlsr, I should be able to manage that. I love it, the pics are so much clearer. I need to get a tripod and case ordered for it.  So excited :-)  

We went to visit the in laws this week and took them to Lincoln. Of course I was clicking away like a tourist, considering it was late October when these pictures were taken the weather was incredibly warm, we didnt even wear coats.

I also mentioned that I wanted to finish dh socks , and yes (hooray!)  they are complete.  They were ribbed throughout so they were very time consuming.  At hubbies request he wanted them as long as possible, these socks go on forever.

Left: blue ribbed socks  Right:  daughters socks, made earlier in the year.  Both made from drops fabel sock wool, just different patterns in their wool.  I love their wool and have never been disappointed with the quality, and such a good price, especially when they have offers on. Do check them out.   Christmas pressies,  Dont they look lovely.


With the days getting colder and shorter, I find I struggle to  dressmake on a regular basis.  I am more likely to be sat curled up by the wood burner knitting.  I will still try to complete my challenge a month project.  In the stash is some vintage green wool crepe which will make a nice warm dress.  Just need to choose a pattern.  

On the knitting needles  at the moment is some vintage Jaeger angora Spun.  £2.00 from a charity shop.  A pair of bed socks for my daughter, who feels the cold all year round.  A lovely royal blue, this wool is so incredibly soft and fuzzy. I am so going to enjoy knitting this wool, I may not want to part with them.

Whats on your needles or sewing table at the moment.