Me Made May 2013

Every year I watch people take part in the me-made/self stitched months organised by Zoe of So, Zo... but I have never taken part before because I never thought I had enough me-made items to wear. Well...this year I still don't have enough me-made garments to wear but I have decided to take the plunge - just to see of I can.

 'I, Kat of KraftyKat , sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavour to wear a me-made garment at least three times a week for the duration of May 2013'

Gulp! It's definitely going to be a challenge...but that's the whole point. Hopefully my stash-busting challenge will help me out. If all else fails, Miss P has posted 10 super quick tops which may well come in handy! I'll be posting weekly round-ups of my outfits - hopefully it will get me wearing my me-made clothes more and give me the chance to experiment with some different combinations.

Wish me luck! Are you taking part in Me Made May? I can't wait to follow everyone's outfits. I'm excited!

In other news, I'm on the hunt for fabric with a Snoopy print which is suitable for making pyjamas with. Can anyone help? I've scoured the Internet but not managed to find anything suitable. There must be something out there somewhere, surely?!

K xx

Stash-busting challenge

It's no secret that there has been a bit of a lack of sewing around these parts recently. And by "a bit of a lack of" I mean pretty much none. Although, newsflash, I did make a little zipped bag as a gift last weekend...that counts right? So if you've read about the Birmingham meet-up that I am co-organising in June, you might be wondering how I can possibly even be thinking about buying any more fabric at all when I have hardly made a dent in my purchases from the meet-up last November such as these beautiful fabrics...

 

 

...and these....

 

 

 

The truth is I can't! I'm feeling the guilt of having an ever-expanding stash. So I've come up with a plan! I am setting myself a stash-busting challenge.

 

 

I, KraftyKat, will make at least three garments using fabric

from my stash before the Birmingham meet-up on

Saturday 15th June. If I do not complete this challenge,

I promise not to buy or acquire from the swap ANY more

fabric at this meet-up.

 

 

So there we go. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I have just under 2 months to make my three garments. Hopefully it will be a good way to kick-start my sewjo too. Wish me luck....!!

 

Have you ever set yourself any sewing challenges? Were you successful? Do you want to join me in a pre-swap challenge of your own? I'd love to hear from you!

 

K xx



 

Birmingham meet-up 15th June - Save the date!

Hello everyone and happy Sunday!

Remember these happy smiling faces from the Birmingham blogger meet-up last November?



Well, Marie and I had so much fun at the last meet-up that we've decided it's time to do it all again! We've planned another Birmingham meet-up for Saturday 15th June and this time we're joining forces with the very lovely and super-organised Claire from Sew Incidentally to bring you a day of fabric shopping, swapping and just generally hanging out with some lovely sewists.



Me and Marie at the last Birmingham Meet-Up

The details at a glance...

Birmingham Meet-Up

Place: Birmingham New Street Station

Date: Saturday 15th June 2013

Time: Meet-up from 10.30am till 11.00am
Rag Market Stalls: 11.00am - 12.30pm

Swap-a-thon + Lunch: 12.30pm - 2.00/2.30pm
More Market / Shopping: 2.30pm onwards!
Home Time: 4.00 - 4.30pm

.

The plan is to meet up from 10.30am at Birmingham New Street station (just on the other side of the ticket barriers) and then at 11am we'll head off for some fabric shopping! We'll aim to start off with a visit to the world famous rag market, before heading to a nearby cafe/bar for a spot of lunch (venue yet to be decided) at around 12.30pm (it won't take too long to walk there we promise!). There, we'll swap, de-stash, chat, eat lunch and make merry until 2.00-2.30pm. Afterwards there'll be plenty of time to visit the lovely market stalls again and then onto a couple of fabric shops including the Fancy Silk Store and Barry's Fabrics.

A few words about the swap...the idea is to pass-on any un-loved sewing/knitting/crochet bits and bobs for example fabric, patterns, notions, books, threads, buttons or magazines etc. etc. Please don't worry too much about what to bring with you to swap with other sewists...you are not obliged to bring anything at all if you don't want to, it's all about de-stashing and having fun! Nobody leaves empty handed and you always find something new, exciting and surprising in amongst the piles of yummy stuff on the tables :)

So if you fancy coming along on Saturday 15th June please pop me an email on kraftykatblog(at)gmail(dot)com. I hope lots of you can make it for what promises to be a really great day. If you are not already convinced, take a look at a couple more pictures from the Birmingham meet-up last November...

Last year's swapping fun inside Cafe Soya!

Fancy Silk Store

Barry's Fabrics

If Birmingham is tricky for you to get to, never fear...Claire is organising a whole host of meet-ups this year all around the country so there will hopefully be one that suits everyone. For details check out this blog post.

K xx

Blogiversary giveaway winners

Thank you so much to everyone who commented on my last post where I asked for tips on using an overlocker. I now have a whole host of tricks of the trade from you lovely people which have already come in handy as I've been playing with my overlocker today.

Right, it's time to announce the winners of my blogiversary giveaway! The random number generator has spoken and the winners are...


Jersey fabric (lot 1): Sabs from tybalt: king of cats

Sew and Stitch Home book (lot 2): The Hojnackes

Simplicity 2444 pattern (lot 3): Ashley from Jellybean's Odds and Ends


Well done to all three winners! Please could you all email me your addresses and I will pop your prizes in the post!

I didn't want to do a blog post without a picture so I'll leave you with this....

This is a dosa, a big pancake made of rice flour, and sambar, a spicy soup. I love South Indian food and I am attempting to cook dosa tonight for the first time...wish me luck!!!

K xx

Overlockers: How do you use yours?

A few weeks ago I became the owner of a shiny new overlocker. It was something that I had been thinking about buying for some time - I'm a sucker for a neatly finished seam and I always admire how professional peoples makes look if they have used an overlocker. I did quite a bit of research beforehand and decided on the Janome 9200D as it has excellent reviews. (How did anyone ever decide to buy anything before the Internet?? Any big purchase and I always google the reviews!).

I had a bit of luck when I went into John Lewis to make my purchase - they had one on the shop floor that had been returned by an elderly lady who had bought it but found it was too complicated for her to work out, so they offered me this machine for 20% off - bonus! I did feel a bit sad for the lady who had returned it though. I like to think that she would have been able to work it out eventually.

I had a bit of a play with my new toy when I got home. Although the machine comes pre-threaded (whoop!), something was not quite right. I suspect that the lady who had it before me had had a bit of a fiddle, because it was not threaded properly. Using the very helpful instructions I managed to thread it properly and get it working. I was rather proud of myself!! The instructions recommend that when you come to change the thread, instead of starting all over again you simply tie the new thread onto the old thread and pull it through the machine. Genius. So in theory I should never have to thread the machine again. In theory...!!

So, people with overlockers! I have a question for you. I'm all set up and ready to go, but I must admit I am still a bit stumped about when to use my shiny new toy. I know that when sewing jersey you can do the whole thing with an overlocker, without touching the sewing machine at all. Right? But when it comes to non-stretch fabrics you sew with a sewing machine and finish the seams with the overlocker, as i understand it. Do you serge before or after sewing the hem? Also, where is the best place to buy the large spools of thread for a good price? Any tips gratefully received!!

Don't forget there is still time to enter my blogiversary giveaway...the deadline is tomorrow! I'll leave you with the results of my Easter crafting...twit twoo!

 

 

K xx