Bridesmaid jacket

Last week when I had finished the Bridesmaid dress and the it was due to be collected the lady came and asked me if I would also make a jacket to match with the left over material if there was enough. I agreed so she left the dress with me to be collected this evening, she also wanted me to use the right side of the fabric this time ( the dress was made using the reverse).  It was a good decision to use the reverse side of the fabric for the dress I feel as it has a better  quality look to it, I made up the jacket with no pattern and a few measurements but the child has yet to try it so fingers crossed as I want to say goodbye to this item now!!
Here it is...

The idea is that the jacket is just to keep the chill off if it is too cool, the days are getting warmer but the wedding is in a few weeks and we are still having some really cold days occasionally. 

My own sewing has taken a back seat again so hopefully soon I can get stuck in with some of my projects, my husband said I could try saying no occasionally, especially when I'm red in the face unpicking things!

I would definitely not want to make bridal items on regular basis, slippery fabrics and fear of stitch holes, no thank you.

I'm going to make something in a lovely cotton next that behaves itself. 

Five frugal things this week

This week has felt like a success spending wise with very little waste (always a good thing) and a bargain found at the start of it.  Last Sunday was of course mothers day here in the UK and we had both mums and dad around here for lunch. We had a great afternoon with meal, desert and wine for eight of us and I'm sure it would have cost a small fortune had we all gone out. Also I would have struggled to find something to eat (vegetarian, lactose and gluten free!) so here we got exactly what we wanted without having to worry about the cost or limited choice. So that was my first frugal success.
 The second thing was I have been wanting some black skinny jeans, I did buy some from Next before Christmas  for £30, I got them home  and decided they were not worth it because of style, fit and general rip off of a price for what they were. So I  have been on the look out for some more but in no great rush. I popped into the charity shop to drop some things off and saw these...

Now the picture is a bit bright so they are blacker than they appear here but to be honest I would say they are the same shade as the ones I returned to Next.  Also as black jeans fade they can be revived with a dye. At the moment though they do not need that and I am wearing them today, washed and ironed on the reverse to preserve their colour. What's more they were only £2.49!! See I knew I did the right thing taking the others back.

Saving number three was getting a book from the library instead of buying one from Amazon, now I am still tempted by this one as the book I want is not in the library system and is currently not cheap enough on amazon or ebay from independent sellers. But I will just have to wait as I am sure it will come down in price in time so for now I have this...

I have only just started it so it is a little early to tell what it's like but it started ok if a little dark. The good thing here is if it is rubbish it didn't cost me a penny.

Frugal thing number four was I had no food waste this week which is great because I hate it when you get to the end of the week and go shopping only to come back and remove old wasted stuff from the fridge. This happens less frequently these days anyhow but this week there wasn't any, I am making a concious effort to check the fridge and ensure things are getting used, being frozen etc.

Finally I have been doing another course on Future learn it has lots of free courses you can do which is brilliant for just getting a taster for if you are interested in something, I have been doing beginners Dutch. There is the option to buy a participation certificate but I don't need that,  it is good that it is there for people who want it.

Back soon.  

Frugal Lunch Bag

My priority sewing job for this weekend is going to be to make myself a reusable lunch bag so that I don't have to keep taking it in a plastic bag.  I put my lunch in containers but then I tend to wrap it in a plastic bag before putting it in my actual bag just in case of leaks. plastic bags are not good are they, but we do tend to still have some for lining the bin and stuff like that.  All my shopping bags are reusable ones  but we do still tend to accept a few of the nasty ones for lining bins and stuff.
So I will eliminate a bit more  waste and make sure I use a cloth one for my lunch that can be washed.  I saw this idea in one of my favourite craft books...

I probably wont make it that big but I will use whatever leftover fabric bits I have even if it has to be a bit of a patchwork design.

I will not be buying any of the specialist materials it tells you to use just whatever I have to hand.  Although the book is sewing green it is not very green to buy new materials for every project is it?

I may use a bag for life between two layers of cotton to make it waterproof as these bags don't break down quickly do they and I have lots of them in the cupboard.  I will experiment and see what comes of it.

This is the book the idea is from...

It is a good book I have had quite a while and while the ideas are green you can make them greener still by always trying to recycle the little bits too, like don't throw a ruined item out without first removing zips and buttons etc, really cheap 50p bags from charity shops may have good zips or handles you can use (craft shops charge a ridiculous amount for handbag straps so don't ever buy these new if you can help it.

Handmade Bridesmaid Dress

I have been a little absent on here recently but so busy the time has flown. I have been busy this week making a bridesmaid dress and altering an evening dress. I have been getting up for work, leaving at 7.30 coming home, cooking, eating, sewing then a bit of T.V, bed and repeat all week. In fact yesterday I got up and altered the evening dress at 6.30 a.m because it was needed for picking up that evening. So I feel like I have been on a bit of a hamster wheel this week.
The good news is that after Easter I will be working four days but finishing Thursday lunch time, that should give me some space. There are things I like to learn and do and the reduced income is worth the time I will gain, because you can't buy time.  I think that by not being wasteful with what I earn has given me the possibility to be able to do this. If you like designer clothes, hiring a cleaning lady and eating out every night then this option may not be for you.
I prefer to wear my own label, be my own cook and take care of my own  house. But that's just me, I respect other peoples choices.
After that ramble here is the bridesmaid dress I have been working on...

I

It is a satin but the lady wanted me to use the reverse side which is textured, it has an over skirt of net and the satin flowers are hand stitched between the two layers.

It has an invisible zip and a petticoat stitched in to make it stand out a bit more but if this feels too much for the little girl I will unpick that part of it, it is still very full without it. 

 I think it has turned out well I just hope they like it. At one point this week I was very annoyed with it as the zip had to come out as the fabric had stretched a little. You will know what I mean if you have ever had to unpick tiny stitches on fabric that leaves pin holes!

I am hoping for a less hectic week then I will do some sewing for me. 

Frugal Small Living

Just recently  I have started watching the US programme Tiny House Nation. I find it really interesting and I admire the people on there who are willing to par down their lives in order to do other things with their finances. Some are living this way so they can travel for their jobs, a couple on last night were doing so to be mortgage free. Also so they could move for the husbands schooling, then residency and so take the property with them.
The properties are really well designed and look good in the landscaping which usually accompanies the build. The thing is the American owners usually have a gorgeous plot to put the tiny home on, this of course makes all the difference. Some of them are placing them on land owned by parents or siblings, farms etc. I would imagine it would be very difficult to get a gorgeous site for such a home here in the UK and if it was available it would be probably quite costly so you might as well be paying full rent or mortgage on a regular property.
All of this however does not stop me from being incredibly fascinated by how people manage to live in this way. I like all the space saving ideas and a lot are similar to the way we live when we go away in the caravan. That is just a week at a time though and I do like to sew and have space to myself. I would imagine living on top of each other can be incredibly difficult.
There is a blog I have followed for some time called Rowdy Kittens Tammy and her partner had a tiny home built and lived in it for three years full time also moving locations a number of times for work. You can see it on her blog, they have decided to winter in a rental house due to the cold and the pressures of small living.  I really enjoy her blog and she has always been very honest about the reality of living in such a way.
One thing that strikes me is that US homes are generally so much larger than ours here in the UK yet they are the ones choosing to opt for these micro homes sometimes, this can only make it so much harder to do.

The above picture is the kind of thing featured in the show, sometimes with a loft bed/pull out bed.

They do look really cute and I would imagine are great for keeping clean but perhaps suited more to a single person or a couple, a family in one would be a real challenge.

Having read that lots of you are downsizing your belongings for a more simple life the show is certainly worth a look for all the space saving ideas and de-cluttering advice. I tend to look on in horror thinking where would all my clothes and sewing stuff go? If anyone is living in a tiny apartment or home it would good to hear from you. 

Also just found one more that I love Here

Skirt with Pleats

Just finished up my tartan skirt yesterday in time to wear it out last night, I was worried that the pleats wouldn't stay in as they are just pressed but not starched (as I don't have any). They stayed in fine but didn't remain as crisp on the back where I had been sat down.  I wore it unlined with tights but having worn it now I am going to line it so it doesn't grab when I wear tights.  I may also invest in some spray starch as I have another skirt in mind that will have just one big pleat at the front.
Here is the fabric with the skirt I copied from beside it...

I made the area between the pleats in the middle a bit bigger as that is how it is on the red skirt. I just pinned them in place then top stitched them down.

I cut the waistband so it just sits on the hips and do you know  what, I did not pattern match the waistband. Those people on the sewing bee would not like that would they? However I'm wearing it and I'm not bothered, I would match a pattern on the seams as best I could or in obvious places like a seam down the front or back, but honestly you could drive yourself crazy with it. 

There it is finished and my top covers the mismatched waistband so not to worry. 

I have fabric left for bag making, I haven't made a bag for ages.

I do have a flower girl dress to make for someone so that will keep me busy just waiting for her to get the fabric.

The other night I made the mushroom casserole from Jack Monroe's book and everyone loved it, except younger son who hates mushrooms, he had an alternative. Pancakes were had yesterday, they seem to be the most successful GF recipe so far.  I had a go at samosas the other day, oh no what a disaster, the pastry was hard. What did I do wrong? 

More Books and Cooking

I feel like I have done the right thing in cutting out wheat but it has increased cooking time and amount of pots to wash! I had a go at wheat free pizza last week from an Isabelle packet mix. It looked ok when the toppings went on (if a bit strange around the edges) and the boys were polite and said it was ok. I thought it was dreadful! It was chewy in a very odd way, I'm sure I cooked it long enough but it had the weirdest texture ever, I would rather go without!

One with ham on half for younger son.

One with olives and veg.

I will not be using that packet again but I will experiment myself with the dough I make myself. I ended up scraping the topping off my pieces and just eating that. Anybody got any tips I'd love to hear them.

I am having more success with lunches and saving, less food is being wasted I feel as I always take stuff the next day for lunch now. I made a curry last night big enough to portion off five other portions into containers into the freezer as the squash was massive. So with a load of veg and butter beans it made a lot, half a bag of cashew nuts battered to crumbs with the rolling pin and a jar of Tesco Royal Korma. 

Cutting things out of your diet means less junk to eat so this saves money too, it also means I don't get any cake after lunch on Sunday! Today I threw some things in a mixing bowl ( I really did throw them in no measuring) sugar, bertolli, an egg, gluten free flour, coconut and a drop of vanilla essence, I mixed it all up, put it in a tin and cooked for 15 minutes while the dinner was doing. It came out good, that was the fastest cake ever. I cut it in half, spread with raspberry jam and sandwiched them together, I had a slice after lunch, so there you go maybe you just have to wing it.

I called at the library yesterday, some books had arrived (not the Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall ones) A girl called Jack's book is very good. No expensive ingredients that only get used once, I can see I will do lots from this one.  It has a section just on beans ans pulses, also one for veg, so ideal for me.

I actually sat with this for ages last night and looked at it like a traditional book from cover to cover, it has little suggestions for changing things and tips for storing and not wasting food at the end. Well done Jack Monroe!

The days have felt a bit brighter this last week and I am definitely ready for spring, I have had enough of the cold now and I am ready for a trip in the caravan. Now that won't happen until Easter but warmer days would be nice. Is anyone else fed up of the cold? If Winter is your favourite season I really don't get it, I'm ready for sun, flowers and bright mornings. Coming out of work in the daylight was a huge bonus this week.