On the Mannequin

At the weekend I did something quite unusual and bought a sewing magazine, much as I like to flick through them there isn't usually much to grab me but I took the plunge and bought sewing world.  It has a nice shift dress pattern but I already made my own pattern for one of those so that is no real gain.  With it came a paper pattern for a three quarter jacket so I thought I'd make that for a change.
When I got it out though it was printed on both sides so I still had to get tracing paper (read baking paper!) out and mark out.    As these magazines are quite expensive for what they are I feel for many people getting the proper pattern is the bonus of them, so I think this might be a disappointment  for a few people.

When I had a read through it did have a few nice ideas but not a lot I want to make, cross stitch, a bag  and some coasters. I then read it was it's last issue after twenty two years, this is a shame because although it is not quite for me I am sure there will be plenty of fans who will miss it dearly, not to mention the staff who produce it.

So the pattern that came with it was a Pattern House one, and maybe this tracing off thing is the way a lot of patterns are going but I still think a full pattern for the main event would have been better.  It is called the Eve Jacket, I like the grey on the cover so I bought a nice medium jersey at the weekend. When I cut it out I also cut a lining which is not stated in the pattern and the jury is out on that at the moment as I keep faffing with it on the mannequin thinking it is pulling out of shape.  So we will see, it may not stay.

 Now the fabric that I bought has a reverse side of sparkly silver or maybe that should be the right side but the bolt was rolled the other way.  If it was near Christmas maybe I would have used it that way but as it is I have gone for the plain grey side.  I thought a lining would give it more substance so that is just on trial.  I did also cut the sleeves full length on my jacket then changed my mind and lopped them off.

Here it is so far while I decide on the lining, I also need to press all seams and put the interfacing on.  I am still not sure if the style is for me but you don't know unless you try something different and I do tend to stick to the same things.

I really like the look of the Knipmode magazine but you can't just get it direct here without contacting them and then waiting for a response, it looks a bit like Burda magazine where you do have to trace off but it looks it bit more modern.  I may have mentioned it before but it seems a shame they are not more accessible,  I watched a YouTube  review of some French magazines too and they all looked really exciting.  Maybe I am just intrigued because they are not available here and it is a case of what you can't have.  If anyone has any recommendations for worthwhile publications let me know. I don't like it when they always feature a basic t shirt or a dress with a few pleats in the skirt.  I pulled a few off the shelf when I bought the magazine last week and they all seemed to have similar patterns on them.  As I have said I don't use many patterns but I though it would be good this year to try some new things.

Today was a snow day, I have probably squandered it but never mind.  I watched the news, had a slow breakfast and pondered what is in the freezer so that I don't over food shop this week.  This is not because I buy huge amounts I am quite good with this usually it is just last week there was stuff for the bin which drove me made as I hate waste. We then went shopping and spent more than usual so I was grumpy when I got back, I am shopping alone this week so I will stick to my plan.  I also saw some potatoes in the cupboard which may not last the week so they have been par boiled and frozen to save any future waste.  There were also a few  potatoes chopped ready for tonight's stew for the meat eaters, I'm also making a tofu and spinach lasagne, trust me that tastes better than it sounds.

So I will go now and have another look at the jacket and get the dinner started, keep safe in the snow everyone.

Zebra Shirt

This weekend I made another shirt with my burda pattern, it is one of the few patterns I own but as I know it works I return to it.  Each time I use it I try to do something a bit different with it but at the end of the day a shirt is a shirt so I don't really think you need more then one pattern.

I bought the fabric back in November and had thought I would make yet another skirt, however this year I am trying to fill the gaps and make more tops as for the last few years it has been mainly skirts and dresses.  It comes to light when you dress in jeans at the weekend and realise all your tops are quite old and you need  a bit of variety to go with them.

For this shirt I decided to do three quarter sleeves, make it quite a bit shorter than the pattern and also make the collar a bit slimmer.

I also wore it straight away as another theme is not keeping things for a 'best' that never comes and actually get wearing the items.  My only niggle with shirts is I feel they make your bra straps fall down, am I imagining this or is it a real thing?  It doesn't seem to happen as much with jersey tops, maybe it is just me.

Yes I know not great pattern matching down the back but it wouldn't have been possible with the small amount of fabric I had and I really do hate the fact that it can waste so much if you try to do this at every point on the seams.

Things do line up better at the front, the pattern was quite random too, it appears to be three zebras down just below along the row then every fourth row down they are in a straight line.

I also did a little turn up on the sleeves so I folded it to the reverse, stitched it in place then folded it to the right side and pressed.

I always put pins along where my button holes are going to go then a tiny mark for the button once these are complete.

Here is the old faithful pattern if anyone is interested, as I stated I only own a couple so if you are buying a shirt pattern it is good to know one that is tried and tested.  This is not biased in any way it is simply one I have owned for a while.  I bought more fabric today that will become another shirt dress from this but that can wait for a later date.

I also cut out a little slip on jacket from a pattern that came with a magazine, I will share more on this as it progresses.

Shirt Dress

This is a short post today, I have been busy decorating all day and still lots to do.  I have a new shirt cut out and ready to sew up but that has to wait until all spring decorating is done, I do have a shirt dress on Minerva crafts blog this was lovely to make and I will be making more just as soon as I choose the fabric.

The pictures are really badly lit I know but hopefully that is coming to an end as the evenings are getting lighter hurray!

Today as I was moving the bookcase to paint I had the idea that maybe I don't need most of my books, I know it is nice to keep favourites but really there is a lot of stuff on there that I will never read again and to be honest I never really liked the first time around.  So there will probably be another large charity shop donation this week.   Sometimes it takes a bit of decorating to make you realise why do we have all this stuff?  It took a while just to empty the bookcase so that I could lift it, then you think why am I wasting time doing this, are these things needed? When my husband came home I said well it makes you understand the minimalist lifestyle when you have move everything.  He didn't quite get it, he pointed out where I've missed a bit :( . I always do the decorating during half term, I may be off school but it is still work and I know decorators get paid a packet for the hours I put in. A good job love would suffice!

Rant over and more to do tomorrow.

Story Bags

Well I found a use for the printed fabric from the weekend, while I was at work yesterday I had just printed off some images for the children to work with to create silly stories and thought these need to be in little bags.  It just so happened there was enough fabric to make them and one is a bit bigger than the rest but that is ok, I wasn't aiming for perfection with these it was a quick sew up last night so that I could use them today.  The ribbon for the tops came with a throw a while ago, you tend to get a long piece of ribbon around throws, so they are completely recycled and the words I just wrote on an old piece of curtain fabric with a sharpie to make a label.

The children enjoyed using them, so that's good and they can't peek in the bag so it makes their selection more random than just putting the cards on the floor.  I have done similar things before so I must remember for future that even just adding little  bags makes the activity more exciting for some reason?

Yesterday I had another quick blitz in the wardrobe and now have thirty five items for charity shop and six in the bin, it doesn't look that different but I do have some spare hangers now.  How is it even possible to accumulate all this and not notice?  I do have an odd attachment to things at times I feel.

There is a dress in the bag now that I bought from a charity shop about two years ago it has never been worn, I do like it but it's way too dressy so why leave it sitting there when someone else could be wearing it, someone with a more formal life or just has reasons to dress up more often.  I thought it would be nice for a wedding but everyone I know is married or separated and in no rush to repeat, my friend got married four years ago the was the last wedding I went to, before that it was fourteen years!

  So yes I am working hard on this, I read that you shouldn't hold onto things for fear of the future. Well fellow dressmakers you will know it is not fear of the future that makes us hold on but the idea that should you get rid of something the very next week you will have an amazing idea about what you could have made with it.

I have also got things that I have made myself, bags and so on.  Even if I don't use them it seems to be harder.  Here it is not money spent but hours put in and even though the time is long gone there is that silent tug.  It seems more ridiculous now that I put it into words so there is some free therapy right there.

Another go at Fabric Printing

So here we are in February and I haven't got anything much to report on the sewing front again, just the usual repairs I always think they don't make for very interesting sharing unless it's a makeover of something or a how to.  This week we all have the cold again! We only had it just under two weeks ago so I will be really happy when the cold season is over.

I have finished another Margaret Atwood book 'Hagseed' and that makes three of hers in a row so I think I am going to go for something different now and come back to her as an author later. Also in books I have read and used The Complete Pilates Tutor' from the library and that book is amazing it gives really detailed information on the anatomy and various postural problems with workouts for correcting them,  really good if you are interested in this and like to try these things out at home.  I did try to buy a copy of this but it was not in stock at quite a few places and used it was coming up at £30! I am not paying that for a used book, so after reading a few reviews I found this one...

I am so pleased with this, it was 60p plus £2.80 postage and when it came it looked brand new, it is colour coded from beginner to advanced and again gives lots of background information.  The reason I wanted to own a book on this subject is because it is fine to get novels from the library but I couldn't digest and recall all the information I got from this book in a couple of weeks. Also there are so many detailed illustrations of the exercises so the  best thing to do was find a used one.

We did manage to get out yesterday for some food to celebrate my mum's birthday, everyone enjoyed that, mine was not great to be honest but I didn't let on as I didn't want to moan.  It was a chickpea curry, I make that all the time at home and it is lovely and so easy, what is it with these kitchens when faced with a meatless dish they have to serve up some crap! Sorry but I really don't get it.  It was our treat so as I said I didn't say anything because I wouldn't want my mum embarrassed she is of the old school grin and bear it even if your paying for it so I did. :(

When we got back I decided I wanted to make something but I didn't know what, my husband has put two shirts aside as they are no longer brilliant white and given them to me for buttons etc.  I decided I would do some printing with a pot of red fabric paint I had and a potato (Ha) I have done this before.  He said very primary school, well yes but it works.  I cut my shape and I was happy with it, I had resized the shirt pieces thinking I would make a little top so spent ages repainting the spud, and printing all the pieces ( you can' t just dip it as it isn't even) then when I looked at them hung up I don't think I like it.  Some of the shapes are a little irregular now that is to be expected but it is the shape and colour, I was looking at them and thought urgh, it looks like a chicken has wandered through some blood.  Now is that me being weird? but it put me right off it.

So now they are sat on sewing table and I'm thinking what am I going to do with those, is there any point making it up into a garment if I'm not sure. Also an hour or so when I could have been making something else. Oh well you have to try these things I suppose.

I still have my zebra fabric to make up but don't want to cut into to it until I'm sure, there is still that nagging feeling that a lot of what is currently in my wardrobe is not getting much wear so I am trying to be more careful what I spend my time making rather than just diving in.  Unfortunately this can result in a stale mate while I ponder what to do.

On Friday I managed to take nine items to the charity shop, this is something I need to get back into this year.  Having a bit of a sort through things that just accumulate, I am sure there are plenty of things in the boys cupboards from when they were younger and I have a way to go too.  I can be pretty good at leaving the charity shop with items so I have to make sure there is more going in there  than coming out.  That can be my challenge I am not allowed to leave with anything unless I have taken a few things in.  I did try about a year ago getting rid of an item a day, but you soon forget and can also cheat if you think about it as you could just be taking out a pencil or something trivial. It seems to work better for me if I do it in chunks at a weekend then I can see a full bag of items I no longer use leaving the house, and hopefully being put to use by someone else.

It will soon be half term and I have a lot of decorating to do so I am hoping I can get on top the decluttering mission, it is difficult when other people keep buying items in boxes and saying don't throw that out I may sell it on later and need the box. That is oldest son who has boxes breeding in his wardrobe.  I will keep trying though.