A Bit of Re-fashioning

Another day, and I had to think if it was Friday or not all the days are becoming a blur. My husband is still on a mix of homeworking or in the office, today was an office day.  I did manage to get to the local nursery today and  three grow bags were purchased along with three tomato plants and two strips of impatience.  I thought I would buy a couple of things that will flower soon as my home grown  plants are many but a way off flowering just yet.   I transplanted three courgettes to one grow bag, the tomatoes in another and I am using the  other for planting up as they had no compost.  The whole world has to been to the garden centres in excitement you see so it is slim pickings!

Me made May day 15, half way through and this self drafted dress is just right for in-between weather.  I made a slim tube dress in red jersey to go under it (for modesty as the broderie anglaise  has holes and I didn't want it to be see through anywhere) this means it is a bit warmer than a usual summer dress.

This afternoon I decided to cut into this hoody, my son gave me this one as the arms are too short for him, he got it from a charity shop so it is double recycled.  I have worn it around the house when it was cold but it is ridiculously large on me and I have thought all along I would re size it.  So I thought I would experiment with it, I love my denim jacket pattern and wondered how it would fare in jersey. As this is already in my possession I  thought why not.

Now this pattern will not fit all the pieces on here once it is taken apart so there may need to be a few contrasting scraps of other jersey fabric in the mix.  I did not have enough fabric for  the separate under arm panels or front side pieces.  It will be interesting to see how it looks and either way good or bad I will share, it is only intended as an indoor cardi but will be useful to practise on for future upcycling attempts.

There is also a  mans shirt and a ladies maxi dress both from the charity shop rail in my fabric box waiting to be turned into something this summer.  Maybe another shirt dress with two colours so that may  be coming in the next few weeks.

Both my sons have gone out on a bike ride this evening and that is three times this week, it is so nice to see them doing things together now that they are grown up.  Everyone seems to be enjoying getting outside, I passed the stunt park yesterday and I have never seen it so busy, I know social distancing but try telling children that!  Which could stir up another conversation but I will stop there, I think we are all well aware how sensible young children will be on returning to School during a global pandemic ;) do you think??

That is all for today bye for now.

Comfortable Sewing

As dressmakers we often make things for best, or at least I do and that is something I have done over the years but have been trying to remedy in more recent years.  When I first began making my own clothes at sixteen the focus was always on an outfit for a Friday night out and not having much money being able to flick through  the catalogue and copy expensive dresses was such a thrill. Handmade and sew your own clothes was not such a movement back then so I was something of a novelty among my friends.   As  I got older and moved out I  no longer went out as often but I still used to save clothes for best and that was a bit of a waste.  This month is at the very least pushing me to wear all my clothes that I spend time on rather than wearing the same things. I have even adopted the system of turning the coat hanger the other way when I have worn something so I can try and wear something different each day.  It will be a test as some things are for the winter and I won't be wearing those clothes so it will be interesting to see if I can make it through without duplicating.

Now at first I thought I may be a little dressed up for around the house but now I think why not? Why is it ok to get dressed up to go out but not when you are at home with the people you love the most. So there, hopefully this will inspire me to wear what I want whenever I want in future.

Today I am wearing for me made May 2020 day14 my first mock jumpsuit, the fabric only cost about £6 in total for two metres and it is a cotton challis.  It was self drafted and to be honest the trousers  are a little low slung now I know I have a bit of this left somewhere so I could probably remedy that by putting a v shaped yoke in the top.  I will give that some thought  because I have worn it all day for gardening and dog walking and it is super comfy.  That is probably a good reason to solve the only issue with it to make it perfect.

The trousers are flat at the front with an elasticated back panel and belt loops, there is also a tie belt (I do love a tie belt).  The top was just cut from an existing vest top and faced with bias binding.  I am still wearing it, it's like wearing pyjamas but a bit smarter.

 Here I am contemplating my trainers.

I have spent quite a bit of time outside again moving on plants and we even tried our local nursery as I need compost and grow bags but it was packed with a very long queue so we took one look and drove away.  Maybe I will try again tomorrow, here are a few little plants out in the beds. They don't look much now but if they are like last years they will quickly fill out. 

Four little ones in there.

Five plus in this one as they were close together in the pots I planted them in and I didn't want to disrupt the roots so we will have to see how they fight for space.  There is certainly room for them to spread out.

I moved this pot that I planted up onto the wall and I am now hoping it doesn't blow off.

No making to  show for the day today as I have been doing other things, I always feel a bit like something is missing if I haven't sewn something.  Anyway I am going to say bye for now as it is nearly time to go outside and clap, back soon. 

An Old Favourite

Today has been quite busy, finishing up a bag and planning another, making a couple of face masks for my friend and sorting a few things on my laptop.  I can say I needn't have worried, my son sorted it out with the new part, restored everything and it is now running much faster.  It is difficult sometimes to remember they are now grown up and capable of so much, where does the time go? I was talking to grown up son earlier about something and he said 'do you want me to come and have a look?' I said no it is fine I'll sort it. Ha! what is going on there, how the tables turn, wasn't I just teaching him to tie his shoes and now here he is building computers.

For me made May day 13 I have on a favourite dress, again a number of years old but I love it.  Now I did find it is now a little tight across the chest, not too tight just so you can feel it.  If I gain even the slightest it will not fit  and that will be such a shame.  It is a self drafted, fitted shift with a satin lining and side zip.  I do tend to make things so they really fit but then that doesn't leave any room for slight gain or even a large lunch;)

Leggings with this one today as it has been so cold, when I took the dogs out it was paired with a big fleece and trainers.  Still no jeans this month, aren't I doing well I made a promise to wear this little lot this month and get through it I will!

I feel I ought to stress I do not spend a lot on clothes, and wearing all these outfits it might seem as if I do but no.  I keep my clothes a number of years, new ones I make are usually the result of fabric bought with birthday money.  I have a good eye for getting all sorts out of just one metre of fabric, recycling charity shop fabric when I can, and more recently this last year or so I have been fortunate to fabric test for Minerva  so that has provided me with some lovely fabrics to try out. One product that I got to test was a grab bag with lots of offcuts in it, I made all sorts from that  including a lovely little shirt and matching hat for my friends son, all completely free!

Yesterday I shared a bag make that was to be for me, well there has been a development and I have decided to list that one and keep the grey one I completed today.  The grey is more quirky and I like that with the brown more traditional. My husband said maybe list the one that is more suitable for sale, well that is hard to know as I liked them both but do people prefer unusual?   Anyway I rant on, I am keeping this grey one here...

 This grey faux leather is a bit different and I like the colour differences in it, I have used it on the reverse of the strap as I did on the brown one too.

After watching the one show last night and the talk of making face masks I thought I would make a couple as my friend has requested one, so she can have one to wear and one to wash.  I am not sure of the size so one is slightly larger.  They were just the basic pleated version as shown on the show but there was no real talk of how big.

They are double thickness, I had a bit of elastic but will need to order more so one has very slightly thicker elastics.  I have seen images of these all over the place but I am still holding out hope we won't have to wear them unless in really confined spaces. How sad if everyone was always covered by a mask we want to be safe but to never see people smile...

Take care.

Mending and Making

A quick  bit about todays  me made May first, another self drafted dress this time with set in sleeves the quick and easy elastic waist with ties and a lovely strawberry thief fabric ( not liberty but it looks like it).

I have seen fabric like this at twenty pounds a metre and more but this one was seven pounds a metre so much more affordable.  I would say where from but I can't remember, online I know that much.

My husband has walked down the back of his jeans, he does this a lot rather than have me turn them up when they are new he insists on wearing them too long until eventually there is a tatty bit at the back.  They had reached the point where they had to be sorted but due to the nature of the rip it didn't leave much to hem as you can see here I have had to cut up to the torn part and taper it a litte.  I had some other denim scraps so I have cut some thin strips that I joined to the hem to give me something to turn up.

After I stitched the strips on I overlocked them in navy and then turned the hem very close to the join.

Here it is on the right side and fortunately we have hardly lost much length just the amount that should have come off before they were ruined!

So that was one job done then there were a few holes that needed attention.  This style of denim is distressed but the trouble with that is they go through quickly on the faded shabby parts.

I patched them on the wrong side and then stitched on the right side too where the denim may fray out.

Here are the little holes on the right side, I don't quite get why it was distressed in this way to begin with just random bits on the back it is a bit odd.

My making for today was a new bag for myself, I have cut out two, one for me and one for my Etsy shop both different of course but using the same foxy fabric.  I decided to do this today as I keep collecting these little bits of fabric and then I am loath to part with them, so I thought I would do two styles and one is for me.  

So this is a gift to myself, it is a bit autumnal I know but I just loved the colours, the other one is almost finished and that one is grey with the fabric on the diagonal. 

What have you all been up to? Maybe a few have returned to work or managed to get out for a little longer in the fresh air.  Keep yourselves safe whatever you are doing, back soon. 

The Freya Top

Yesterday I finished my Freya top from the Till Stretch book and I am really happy with the fit, it gives a choice of necklines one of them being a cowl.  I originally cut the neck as it is for a roll neck but I felt this was too high for me and may drive me a little crazy, so I unpicked it and halved the size then stitched it back in.  Much better for me at this size, although if I made it a bit looser I am sure it would be great with the higher neck for winter.

I opted for a size three and the length and fit are very good but you do have to ensure that your fabric has the correct amount of stretch to get the accurate fit.  This will become a staple of my wardrobe and I will be adding more of these for the cooler months when I see the right fabric at the right price of course.

So here is my me made May day 11, I have paired my new top with another self drafted skirt, fully lined with a side zip.  This skirt has been in my wardrobe a good few years and I love the bird print, birds feature quite a lot in my clothes.

I tried the top on my mannequin before I made any final changes to the sleeve and hem but to be honest it was already looking good, so a very accurate fit for me on this one.  Just a tiny hem on the sleeves as I do have long arms.

 Here it is with the higher neck before decided to shorten it, if you didn't want this style of neck at all you could always turn a narrow band to the inside and topstitch down, this would create a flat round neck.

My trusty brown baking paper on the go here again, I have made little white sleeves for all the patterns have made from this book then I intend to print of some of my images of the finished garments to stick on the front of them.

I have had a lovely day of making today, it is a gift for a friend of mine and I love it so much it will be hard to part with it.  Due to this fact I am unable to share it yet just in case she sees it on here and her birthday is this month.  I will have to try and remember to share it later.   It was one of those projects that just fell into place, the perfect fabric was spotted the other day and then it arrived today earlier than expected.

There has been some mending going on too and that is always very satisfying, I have a few images of that saved too.  I am currently working on my husbands laptop mine is in my techy sons room as he adds a new ssd, I am worried about lost documents and photos even though this is his job.  We really do rely on our computers now don't we and feel a little lost when something goes wrong.

That is all for today, stay safe.

My Favourite Burda Jacket

Today I am layered up for me made May 2020 day 10 with tights and a jacket to leave the house, yes I left the house to go shopping.  Who would have thought that the weekly shop would become an event, but it is and with a cold, cloudy day a jacket was required.  Something of a change from yesterday.  I made this jacket a few years ago I think it is Burda Young 7018 and I have since made another in cotton, it is a lovely pattern and I used a really good quality black denim for it.  Originally it had a pink and white Paul Smith cotton lining it, now that is still in there but has since been covered over with a slinky blue lining that slides much better over clothes.   The added lining now makes this quite a warm jacket while still looking smart.

The dress I made quite recently and is a simple sew top pattern lengthened into a dress.  Another favourite style for its simplicity.

I managed to get on with cutting  out another pattern from the Tilly stretch book,  this time the Freya sweater.  The fabric in mind for this is a textured jersey with a stripe, I bought the fabric because I like red and it was inexpensive.  It was also destined to be a long sleeved top as my aim is to start adding a few more basic bits that can go with skirts  as my pattern mad brain will always lead me towards the prints creating unmatchable separates!  There are two skirts in my wardrobe with red in so  this top will fit right in.   I will share more on that tomorrow.

This book has proved to be really useful and I will have a look out for her other books, as I mentioned before I got it from the library and then lockdown occurred and we were given a long extension on all the books we already had out.  Due to this I have had this book a while now although I did read all of it the first few days and made plans for what I wanted, it has been nice to keep revisiting it and having another  browse.   I own a Japanese pattern book that is lovely to look at but the patterns in that one are very faffy to trace off as there are so many lines!  Also all of the clothes come out much smaller than the sizes stated.  So if you are looking for a book for a gift or to treat yourself the Tilly stretch book is a good one.   My only slight modification is to make the sleeves a little wider on the patterns.

We have a viewing empty space this evening, as I have said before we don't follow many t.v shows as they are aired but we have been a fan of Sunday evening Homeland, what will I fill that with?  

Well I hope you are all having a relaxing weekend and are ready for the week ahead, I have just watched the update on the virus situation and it doesn't seem too much is changing just yet, just keep doing as we have been and keep smiling.

A Suuny Day Dress

What another glorious day and a chance to wear this dress that I made for a Minerva make and this dress needs just the right weather as it is not really one that I can layer up.  Me made May day 9 (is it only day nine?) and I am not used to this daily photograph business, happy to make the clothes and write the blog but I always feel  a little foolish in front of the camera that is why you usually see a lot of my makes on the mannequin she is much more confident!  The pattern for this dress is a Kwik Sew one and I do like the style and I think it would look good in a jersey, mine is a sort of chiffon so I have had to line the skirt.

I opted for an indoor image today as the sun is so bright out I could hardly see what I was doing.  Here is the pattern if you want to try it out.

There has been a lot more planting going on and I am now in need of another  bag of compost or possibly two.  A few seedlings were potted out on the front and more started off in the greenhouse.

Here are few lovely things making me smile in the  garden because they are just returning and taking care of themselves.

I am still rescuing these from all over the place I love how they just get on with and grow any where, even if you dig them out of paths and pop them in some soil they come back completely undisturbed.

This little beauty has never seemed to die off, it was flowering in winter!  There are loads of new buds on it.

These little buns were made just using up lots of bits that needed eating, over ripe bananas, nearly a full carton of coconut cream, half a bar of dark vegan chocolate plus some raisins and almonds for good measure.

I made 24 so you are only seeing half of them here, I really need to buy myself another cake tray as the rest were put in cases with no support so they look a bit mutant!  Never mind they will still be consumed, one disappeared as soon as they were out of the oven they never last long.

We had a nice drink in the garden today, making the most of things it felt a bit like we were on holiday.  Best not to think too much on what  is going on while at the same time being sensible.

I hope you are having a good weekend wherever you are. Back soon.

Another Joni Dress

Yesterday I made up my new fabric and opted not to go for my skater dress but make another Joni dress from the Tilly Stretch book.  The last one worked out so well and looks very dressy, due to lockdown I have had no opportunity to wear it yet.  This new fabric is fun and summery so will be more of a casual dress so making a Joni in this seemed like a good fit.  Now when I bought the fabric I only bought a metre, the dress pattern requires more so I have had to modify the skirt.  It is not a full floaty skirt on this version as I ran the sides of the pattern down to make it fit a metre of fabric I will show the pieces further down.  For now here it is on me, made May day 8 and we had lovely warm weather today to wear it.

So as you can see the skirt is nowhere near as full as it should be but as a casual dress it is probably a good thing.

You can see the colours and the detail on the dress better here on the mannequin. I particularly like the cross over detail on this dress pattern as I think it is very flattering.  I opted for short sleeves, well I had to have short sleeves due to the amount of fabric :) it is a summer dress so that is ok.

I swapped my needle for a nice new ball point one as this fabric has lots of bounce in it, if you are interested it was from Minerva and only £5 so a bargain of a dress.  I made the  neck binding by just cutting strips of the same fabric and I took extra care not to pull it as I was sewing, because this fabric was light it made a very good job of the twist detail at the bust.

This really is a new favourite pattern and I may go off and make many versions of it over the coming years, watch this space!

Here you can see my pattern piece folded over quite a lot, it changes the shape of the skirt but not the fit, you just get more of an a-line skirt rather than circular.

We have had a nice long walk today with dogs, sat out in the sun for a little while and now I am planning what to make for dinner. I have seen lots of bunting out ready for tea parties here in the UK I will be cooking a hot dinner, as sandwiches were had at lunch time.  There are also some overripe bananas in the cupboard so a little more baking may be happening later to save them going to waste.

  If you are all set for your garden party then I hope you have a good time, socially distanced of course.  Bye for now.

Paisley Dress

I have managed to plant out quite a few seedlings today in pots my only hope now is that the cool weather we have coming next week doesn't kill them.  They  have been protected so far in the greenhouse so it will be interesting to see how they get on outside.  The  seeds I planted straight  into the garden are no where near as tall so they may have a shock.

For me made May 2020 day 7 I am wearing this dress which I made not so long ago, it is quite easy, self drafted from a t shirt I think with a high/low hem, elastic around the waist and a tie belt.

This photo came out very blurry and I don't know why, anyway you get the idea, the fabric is very soft and it is another  comfy dress.  In fact I have been wearing it with trainers today as I did the garden so it is very versatile and it hasn't crumpled too much either.

Sewing wise I cut out and stitched up my new fabric, here you can see my fabric pieces on brown paper that I made quite recently from the Tilly stretch book. I will share more on this tomorrow as weather permitting I will be wearing this garment.

This brown baking paper from Tesco holds up really well for pattern pieces so much better than the flimsy pieces you often get in bought patterns

Evie from Sister Sun is interested in making the orange cake from yesterdays post and as I forgot to note the ingredients here it is today!

Orange Olive Oil Cake

 175g /6oz self raising gf flour
55g/2oz gram flour
1tbsp apple sauce
3 tsp baking powder
55g / 2oz ground almonds ( I used flaked)
225g/8oz brown sugar
zest and juice of 1 unwaxed orange
egg replacer for 1 egg
90 ml /3 floz soya milk
150 ml/  5 fl oz olive oil
75ml/ 2 1/2 fl oz coconut oil


  Crystalized oranges and syrup
1 large unwaxed orange scrubbed
100g/3 1/2 oz granulated sugar
350 ml/ 12 fl oz water


Method
Pre heat oven 180 c  / 350 f   /gas mark 4, grease a 9 inch cake tin, sift dry ingredients into a bowl add the orange zest, mix up the egg replacer, add to mix with the wet ingredients and fold in. Pour into the tin.  Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.   To make the syrup boil the water in a pan and set to simmer add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the orange slices and simmer for twenty minutes. Leave to cool on a drying rack.

When the cake has cooked , pour over the orange syrup from the orange slices, pierce the cake so it soaks in.  I didn't use all of it just spoon some over.  Arrange the slices when cool.

Here it is again

This recipe is adapted from Gluten Free Vegan Baking.

Happy baking everyone I hope that helps.

It's a Wrap

 Now today I am actually sharing a dress made with a pattern for me made may 2020 day 6, one from a magazine in fact and very easy to wear and I would also think an excellent make whatever your size due to the waist ties. They make the dress so versatile and I would also think this would be a  perfect maternity dress as it can grow with you for quite a few months.

 It is a wrap dress with very long ties that go through a hole in the side seam and then wrap around a few times to make a sort of kimono style dress.   My only reservation with this one is that it is so comfy that I do think are people wondering if I have left the house in my robe??  My husband said no it just looks like a summer dress, but I do have that  feeling that it looks very robe like, oh well I have seen people out of their homes in onesies at least this looks more dressed than that ;)

Another fun fact about this dress is that I made my mother in law a maxi dress with this fabric and she bought such a big piece that there was enough left for me to make this dress and line a number of bags.

Here is the pattern of you want to seek it out, I am sure you can buy back issues of the magazine, or you may have a friend who has it like I did.

My School are having a sort of virtual bake off this week so this prompted me to make a different cake instead of sticking to the trusty tried recipes.  I  have made this Orange Olive Oil GF vegan  cake with almonds.  There were still a few modifications to be made as I had a few ingredients missing, I am at a point now though where I will sub things without too much worry. I am finally starting to get a good feel for what I can and can't do with gluten free vegan baking, to the point where I know it is wrong by the way it looks sometimes.  This one looked right though, and my son has had a slice and says it is lovely, I am saving my piece to have with a cup of tea later.  He came down earlier and I said don't anyone touch the cake as I have to take a photograph for School!  So we actually have an image of a complete cake today, hurray. 

So the oranges on top you have to cook in sugar for twenty minutes and this also make a syrup that you pour over it at the end.   

My tester said it is just the right level of orange flavour.

I sat outside earlier and read some more of War and Peace yes I am still going with that book too and enjoying it more now.  At half way through it, it is a good job I am enjoying it as it is no light read.  I keep thinking it would help if the writing was bigger (it is really small print) but then I suppose the book would be far too big to hold then 987 pages as it is, plus additional info. This was why it was chosen a s my isolation book, it was a now or never kind of thing. 

Take care everyone and if you are in the UK  enjoy the lovely weather for the rest of the week.  If not have fun wherever you are. 

Going with the Flow

Another day at work in it's new location and the day passed by pleasantly, I felt a bit reluctant as I left for work yesterday in a different school and I thought this must be how supply teachers feel all the time never knowing what to expect or where anything is! For us of course this is only temporary while the children of key workers are cared for in specific School sites, I needn't have worried as it was completely fine.  Today I was completely fascinated by  pair of twins who kept changing the rules to a game we were playing outside. Now it was a made up game so of course they made the rules but it was just so interesting to hear them bouncing ideas off each other, agreeing then disagreeing but all the while keeping up! Children are so fascinating when you have time to listen and be part of their worlds, plus they were having such fun with this bean bag game of theirs it was a joy to observe and play along.

Todays me made May day 5 is another self drafted skater dress same as my red one ( there are a few of these!)  fabulous fabric on this one that washes like a dream, very bright after lots of wear and I have other items in the same fabric so watch out for it again this month.  My colleague loved it so much I took her to the fabric store and she bought some, I then made her a t shirt out of it.

 Here we are lucky enough for another outdoor picture, still in tights you will note but I have hope for tomorrow as it is supposed to warm up.  Things are looking leafy and green and quite a few of my seedlings in the greenhouse need potting on now so that is a job for tomorrow.  I have planted some straight into large tins that can go straight out as soon as they are large and sturdy enough.  The cook at out School last year saved me the large catering tins for tomatoes.  They make excellent planters some are still silver, quite a few are rust.  They only have flowers in them so the ones that are rusty looking won't affect the flowers will they? I wouldn't plant food in a rusty tin though, time will tell with the flowers.  I'm sure some gardening expert out there will let me know if this was a dreadful idea, I had intended on just recycling them when they lost their sheen but I quite like the rusty shade.

My exercise for the day was just dance with the children this morning in the hall, once again I feel the staff enjoyed it more than the children did.  We are all just clearly happy to be out in the world! I may in fact find some of these routines myself now and carry with at home for the rest of the week, it's not a bad way to start the day.

I've shopped my own bookcase and decided to revisit another title, this time The Four Loves  by C.S Lewis.  I do like his style of taking about life and getting you to think, he is not always easy to follow but definitely worth it.

Tomorrow I am home so I will have time for some making, I'm going to have a think now before I cut into my new fabric.  Stay safe everyone.

A Cool Day for a Paris Skirt

Feeling the chill a bit this morning when I got up and decided I would opt for an outfit where I could definitely wear thick tights, opaque ones my favourite.  I was back at work today and knew I would likely be outside for part of the day with children so this had to be considered.  It was nice to be up with a purpose and I enjoyed seeing a few  people I haven't seen for weeks but he rest were new faces as I was in a different school.  The skirt I am wearing is another self drafted one from my sew what skirts book, it is a very eye catching print that mimics French newspaper print from long ago and I love the quirkiness of it.  I have had it a long time and  is a favourite of mine, it is lined so extra warmth there. (timeless treasures fabric if I remember correctly.)

The top I made from a pattern, the pattern is for McCalls dress M7313 and I just used the bodice pieces but made them longer to make a t-shirt as I know the fit is good.  The sleeves are elbow length and then I have added a broidery anglaise panel front and back at the top.  The fabric is ponte roma so this is quite a thick top too.

After speaking to a few children today it seems they are ready for a return to normal school days, there are only so many attending and the days are very different  for them. This must feel like a very long time for them indeed in their young lives.

After getting in from work I drank two cups of tea in quick succession, at home you can have a drink whenever you want so the one cup I had at lunch time just didn't cover my needs.

Last night we watched the last episode of Homeland and we have followed that for the last few years, I don't know if any of you have watched the series but I have really enjoyed it and I was also quite happy with the ending, I feel that is where these things usually fall apart but it was fitting with the character I thought.

Yesterday I managed to get my hands on a packet of spinach seeds so I will be planting more of that the only problem is where?  They really need to go straight into the ground but I know as soon as they have leaves the dogs will eat them, they are very good at finding and eating any veg I plant so it is difficult.  I had some  purple kale last year that was completely destroyed  by the dogs they left nothing but stumps!  My lettuce plants are on a frame so up off the floor but there is no more room on there, I will have to have a good think.

On my way home today I posted one of my bags that has just sold and it was one that I only made and shared with you last week, it is for a gift with a message so I have added a handmade card that matches the bag I hope she likes it.  This is another area where  the odd  little bits of fabric can come in handy.

Right off to cook the dinner now, homemade spaghetti sauce and vegan no-meatballs, back soon.

McCalls Dress

Well I've been out to do the weekly shop and it was quite a quick moving queue again, day 3 of Me Made May and I'm remembering to nip outside and grab a quick pic too.  I might become more forgetful of doing this as the month wears on but I will try my best.  So todays dress I made last year in April as a Minerva  make, I also have a long sleeve t shirt in the same fabric that I wear a lot (with jeans that I am vowing to stay out of for a month!).  For this dress I did use a pattern McCalls M7533, but I did add darts and taper it a bit as I found it a bit too loose originally.

This fabric has quite a silky feel to it so it is really comfortable to wear, I think clothes that are like that will obviously get more wear.  Shirts can look really smart and I have a few but they are never as easy on so they languish more in the back of the wardrobe, they will be coming out this month at some point.
Here below is the pattern I used if anyone wants to give it a try but be aware that  I added darts front and back to mine to get the fitted look.

Yesterday I made a carrot cake that was a bit of an experiment it turned out rather well, it is a little crumbly as all gf baking can be but not dry and very tasty. As we cannot be trusted to have a cake in the house in one piece here is an image of it with slices already missing!  It has also been cut a bit wonky but never mind that as long as everyone is enjoying it.  I will put the recipe below for fellow GF  bakers.   I made it in a loaf tin but I may do it in cake cases next time just for ease when serving.

Vegan GF Carrot Cake

100g GFv plain flour

50g gram flour

50g buckwheat flour

80g coconut

130g brown sugar

3 small carrots grated

grated rind of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

1tbsp apple sauce (from a jar)

handful of raisins (your preference or flaked almonds)

4 tsp baking powder

100ml rapeseed oil

225ml soya milk 

1/2 tsp mixed spice

Method

Line a 2lb loaf tin and pre heat oven to 180, sieve flour and baking powder into the mixing bowl and grate carrots and lemon.  Mix in other dry ingredients, combine oil and soya in a jug. Add remaining ingredients to bowl and combine, quickly fold in the wet ingredients  and pour into the tin.  The mixture is quite wet, tap the tin on the side to bring air to the surface then bake for 35-40 minutes. 

You could also add xanthan gum if you wish and it may well hold better but I don't think that agrees with me so I have stopped using it.   Apples sauce is good or banana if you have a ripe one for getting things to hold.

I really must try and take better food images if I am going to post recipes ha, ha you will have to trust me it tastes better than it looks.  Cooking is usually taking place here as we are hungry or in need of cake, the pictures are always very much an after thought but the cooking and baking I do  enjoy. 

We are having a bit of a change to the usual Yorkshire Sunday dinner here today and I am making Chinese food. If nothing else that at least means less washing up as I do tend to create a mountain of it on Sundays!  Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone.

 

Warm Weather Dressing?

Yes me made May day two and I am out of jeans again although wondering if it is such a good idea, I looked out of the window this morning to glorious sunshine so I put on a dress. However on venturing out to the greenhouse first thing I was shocked by the cold wind, especially on my bare legs.  Well I held out and I am still in the dress but once more a zip up hoody has been added to the outfit as the day goes on.

So today I am wearing a dress that I made about seven years ago, I only know it is that long because an old photo popped up in memories  last week of me with my boys and it said six years ago!  Well that shocked me as these things do because the memory felt so close, also I know that I already had this dress before that holiday so it gave me a bi of a time frame.  The fabric is ponte roma and once more there is no pattern as I just used another dress for the bodice measurements and two rectangles that I pleated for the bottom.  This is one of the dresses that I took in and removed the belt loops from quite recently, I don't always want to wear a belt with it so I thought it was best to take them off. I also moved the shoulders in a little as they were a bit wide on me.

Looking very much in need of the sun in this photo!

This dress has always washed really well and if hung out to dry hardly needs an iron so my kind of thing.  It is also really comfy so I like this style and I have a few, I do have a new piece of fabric that is on my table and I think this will be another dress along these lines.  The only reservation I have about it is that it is really bouncy and I'm wondering if the hem will be ok.  Sometimes really stretchy fabric can pull out at the bottom and spoil the shape even with binding due to gravity pulling it down.  I may just go for it and see, here is the fabric...

 Now I thought this looks nice and summery but at the same time it has black in it so I can wear tights if necessary and if I do short sleeves maybe a little cardi over it if it is cold, it often is here.

Yesterday I dug out another old book that I gave up on some time ago What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell.  Now I really like his writing but I got bored with this first time around, it is a series of articles  of his that were in the New Yorker so it is not one continuous book as is his others have been.  So yesterday I picked an article at random and really enjoyed it, and then another also very interesting. This time around I am going to approach the book that way and only read the odd article as and when it interests me, which just goes to show looking at things with new eyes in a new time etc. We are never the same two days in a row and neither is our perspective so it is good to revisit things we thought we had finished sometimes.

Now my cake tin is finally empty so I am off to go and do some thing about that. Bye for now.