An Exciting Delivery and an Update

So this evening i came home to find an exciting delivery on my doormat. As soon as i saw the airmail envelope i knew what it contained. I carefully maneuvered my dripping bike around the package to avoid getting it wet. Poor Storm (my bike is called Storm because she is a Falcon Storm. Yes i am that original!), this was her first experience of rain, and it's been raining most of the day here, on and off. Good old British summer! My poor Tomato plants were also casualties of the horrible weather...i came home to find two of them had been knocked over...one may have partially snapped at the main stem as well! My poor little plants, just as the have started to flourish with tomatoes. I have stabilised them and am hoping for the best....

Anyways, i digress. The exciting envelope contained my new Sewaholic patterns! I blogged about my growing addiction a few weeks ago when i pre-ordered the Lonsdale Dress (along with the Pendrell Blouse) and ever since then i have been eagerly anticipating their arrival. And now they are here!!!

I am so excited to start on these patterns, but i think i am going to have to force myself to complete some of my UFOs first! Anyway, am planning to join the Lonsdale Dress Sewalong which starts next week, so i shouldn't have too long to wait!

So, what have i been working on recently? Over the weekend i have...

- Completed another Bucket Bag for a friend

- Designed and started a cross-stitch which will become a card (to be revealed shortly!)

- Cut out muslin fabric for the New Look 6557, first blogged about here, which is to be one of two dresses for my Holiday Wardrobe Challenge (the other will hopefully be the Lonsdale dress!)

I also went to see the final Harry Potter film, which was awesome :) I can't believe it's over, but what a way to end!! 

So i don't think i have been completely unproductive :) However, over the next 4 and a half weeks i would like to complete two dresses and two Sorbettos, finish my cross-stitch and a good chunk of my knitted squares....i best get cracking!!

What are you planning at the moment? Is anyone else planning on joining in with the Lonsdale Sewalong?

Knitted Square Count: 15 (my mum has finished hers!!!)

K xx

Cath Kidston Kit Bag

Thanks to everyone who shared their sewing weaknesses/nemeses in response to my previous post...it was really interesting to see what everyone found challenging! And just to clarify, i did mean top stitching when i said i am incapable of sewing in a straight line...i realise a wonky seam is not so much of a disaster!! Hopefully practice will make perfect, so i will persevere...

Anyways. You may remember this book, which i was lucky enough to receive for my birthday last month, from my lovely friend Ella :)

I am a massive fan of Cath Kidston. Some of the stuff is a bit too twee for my personal taste, but overall i love the bright prints and vintage throwback style of the products. As well as a whole load of fantastic patterns, the book i was given contained everything needed to make the bag on the front cover, which i have finally got round to making. I think it turned out pretty well...

Another crafty friend of mine (Sirisha this is you!!) had been given the same book, so we have been sewing the bag at the same time and swapping tips. She started before me, and as a result i have been cheating a bit - i heard what she found were the most fiddly bits and adapted the method accordingly! For example, for the button loop the instructions say to sew a small seam around the loop fabric right sides together, and then pull it the right way out. However, this sounded too much like hard work so i used the method i have used for other belt loops and pressed the fabric bias-tape style before top-stitching to secure. Also, i liked the idea of lining the bag so i used some of my favouritie polka dot fabric (i think i now have this in about 4 different colours) in bright red to line. I cut out the lining using the bag fabric pieces as a guide, sewed it up and popped it inside. I also added a small pocket as i do love a good pocket! I love the contrast between the lining and outer fabric.

Overall i think this bag took between 3-4 hours to make, including time where i was faffing around or trying to decipher instructions (which overall were actually really easy to follow). This also includes a lot of time for practicing button holes...as a rule i try and avoid these if possible as i find them fiddly, however after a bit of practice to remind myself what to do i got the hang of it and i am really pleased with how they turned out! (You can just about see them in the picture below!).



As i said, i'm really pleased with how this bag turned out. I'm not sure how much day-to-day use i will get out of it, as i tend to prefer cross-body straps rather than shorter ones like this, but i really like the pattern and think with a slightly modified strap length this could be a winner :) I predict that i will be showing many more makes from patterns in this book in the near future.

In other news, i am excited to report that Tasia who blogs at Sewaholic has announced a Sew-Along for the Londsdale dress! Most excitingly, this is due to start at the end of July, and will be complete before i head off on my American travels - perfect timing for me to (hopefully) complete the dress as part of my Holiday Wardrobe Challenge. My dress pattern has been shipped so i am now just awaiting it's arrival!! Watch this space...!

Knitted Square Count: 14 and a half

K xx

Identifying Your Sewing Weaknesses

There has been some discussion recently in the blogosphere about how to improve as a sewist, and how to measure this progress, most notably Tilly's post on Becoming an Advanced Level Stitcher. Last night, while stitching away, i got thinking about my sewing weaknesses. For example, i am not very good at sewing in a straight line. I do try, and i am always careful to use the foot and markings as a guide, yet somehow i always seem to vear off course. I am hoping that this will improve with practice, as i have always been taught that practice makes perfect! When i was younger i used to spend time every morning practicing my flute, sometimes under duress, going over the basics such as scales on the promise that it would improve my playing. And there is no doubt it did. However, sewing is a little different...the equivalent would be spending hours sewing straight lines on pieces of scrap fabric, and i am not convinced that this would be a good use of my time. There is a lot of focus these days on learning through doing, so i am hoping that if i persevere, and perhaps pay a little more attention and sew a little slower, my sewing will become straighter. Maybe. Other weaknesses of mine stem from the fact that i can be a little impatient, but i try to moderate this and be careful not to rush things!

However, i like to think that despite these weaknesses, i am improving as a stitcher. I have a lot of new techniques under my belt since i started, many of which i learnt through taking part in the Crescent Skirt Sewalong, for example French Seams which i have since included in other garments.



I love how neat French Seams look!



Also, in cases where i have made things in multiples, for example the Bucket Bag first shown here, i find that every time i make the pattern i identify things that i will do differently next time to improve the finished item, which is a sure sign of progress i feel as each subsequent bag turns out a little more 'polished'. It doesn't help that i am my own worst critic and a complete perfectionist, and that i notice small flaws in a finished make that nobody else would ever spot if they weren't looking for them. However, I'm not sure there is such thing as true perfection, and as my boyfriend once commented, they are handmade items - their flaws make them special.

So, i would be interested to hear your thoughts on the matter. What do you think are your sewing weaknesses, and how do you work to improve them?

Knitted Square Count: 13 and a half

K xx



How Does Your Garden Grow?

I am VERY excited to report that i have produce in my garden, for the first time ever! Usually i am not particularly green fingered (I kill cacti...true story!) but now i somehow seem to have managed to have nurtured living plants which have produced fruit (well, vegetables, but you get my drift). 

At the moment they are only very small, but hopefully they will soon grow big and strong...

Tiny peppers

Equally tiny tomatoes

I won't pretend that i grew these plants from seed...my dad did this and then gave them to me...but they are definitely flourishing. I can't wait for my first harvest!

Is anyone else dabbling in gardening this year? I will be interested to hear what everyone else is growing!

K xx

One Sorbetto, two Sorbetto...

So it appears that i am joining the vast array of other bloggers who have fallen in love with the Sorbetto top. Last night i whipped up version two in a delightfully soft cotton i found at my favourite fabric stall in Leicester market over the weekend. I wasn't planning on making version two straight away, but i saw this fabric and it was just screaming "Sorbetto" at me! I bumped into Marie while i was there (caught in the act of fabric buying!) so she was lucky enough to get a sneak peak :) I think this fabric is much more me.

After making version one at the weekend i made a few minor adjustments to the pattern. I made it a tad longer again, and also i flared it out more over the hips. I think that this version is spot on, and perfect for the hot weather we are having at the moment!

I am especially proud of my french seams which make the inside look so neat...

I think that one of the reasons this pattern is so popular is that it is so easy to make. I literally made it last night, and was left with just the hemming to finish off this morning, which took all of 10 minutes. The basic pattern is also easily adaptable, for example i have seen a tunic version by Another Sewing Scientist which i just adore! 

I absolutely love the method shown in the pattern instructions for joining the ends of bias binding. Previously i have fiddled around with folding over and overlapping edges, which never gives a particularly neat finish. This pattern suggests sewing the two ends together across the tape (from top to bottom), trimming and pressing the seam and then sewing round across the join as for the rest of the tape. I hope this makes sense as i forgot to make pictures...the end result is a lovely neat join which is just fantastic. I will definitely be using this method in future every time i use bias binding!

Right i must get off to pack...i am off to a spa with my mummy for a few days which i am very much looking forward to...i could use the relaxation! 

Knitted Square Count: 10...i am taking my knitting to the spa though so hopefully this will increase over the next few days :)

K xx 

Sorbetto Top

This weekend i finished my first Sorbetto top. The pattern is generously offered as a free download from Colette Patterns. There have been many many versions of this top seen around the blogosphere recently, most notably Marie has so far made three! Whenever i see the word 'sorbetto' i always want to sing the song from the cornetto advert....'Just one sorbetto....give it to me...'... Anyways, here is my first version of this pattern...i say first as i imagine there will be more!

(sorry for the lack of front-ways photos...i couldn't seem to get a well-lit one today, they all looked a bit odd!)

I made a few adjustments to my sorbetto muslin - i added an inch across the chest, graded down two sizes around the waist and added three inches to the length. The fit is good, although it is a little snug across the hips as when i extended the length i cut straight down rather than allowing for extra space. However this is easily fixed for next time, and it is not too much of a problem to make the top unwearable. The only problem is i'm not too sure about my fabric choice. I selected it mostly based on the feel, as it is wonderfully light and drapes really nicely. However, i usually tend towards darker colours and so i am not too sure about this. However i have already selected another beautifully soft cotton, this time black with a white print, so watch this space for my sorbetto version 2!

This is the first of three garments that i plan to make for my Holiday Wardrobe Challenge. I think it will be great in Vegas as it is very light, which hopefully means cool! The next two are dresses which i imagine will be much tricker...i best get a move on! However, this afternoon instead of starting a dress muslin....i made pants!

Remember this kit, which i was given for my birthday?

                                

Well, this afternoon it became these!

I won't pretend that the sewing here is the neatest i've ever done, as it was a bit fiddly, but i am pleased with the end result! They were pretty quick to make too. I have long admired the beautiful creations from Ohhh Lulu so it was fun to dabble in this area of sewing! Now i really must get into a dress frame of mind...

Knitted Square Count: 10

K xx

Summing up 6 Months of Sewing

I can't believe it's July already...this year is going by so quickly! It was around 6 months ago, just after Christmas, that i first started sewing. Inspired by the "6 month review" i have seen a number of other bloggers do this week, i thought it would be a good chance for me to look back on my first 6 months of sewing!

So far i have made...

one chunky scarf

 

a couple of cushion covers

 

three bags (the third one was the same style as the second one shown here)

  

some little purses

 

some beaded jewellery

 

one Crescent skirt

and one baby cardigan

I'm pretty pleased with everything i have made so far. I think that the item i am most proud of is the Crescent skirt. As well as being my first garment, this is by far the most complicated make i have attempted to date, and i love it! 

So, what do the next 6 months hold? My aims for the rest of the year include...

- Three new makes for my Holiday Wardrobe Challenge

- Finish my share of the knitted squares for the blanket i am making with my mum

- Knit another baby cardigan

- Make some more small bags, purses and other small items with a view to attending my first craft fair

- Handmake at least a considerable portion of this year's Christmas presents (i know, i know, it's July, but forward planning is required here!)

These may be slightly ambitious, but we will see....!

In other news, i have almost finished my first sorbetto top, i just need to buy some more bias binding to complete one of the sleeves and then i'm done! I have a relatively free weekend so am looking forward to getting lots of sewing done...watch this space!

Knitted Square Count: 9 and a bit

K xx