The Joni Dress

Hello, I had a nice surprise this week as a book I ordered from the library had just arrived, It is the Tilly and the Buttons  Sewing Stretch book.  I have watched a couple of vlogs of people who have made some of the items in this and they look really nice so I thought I would give it a go.  Fortunately for me it was in the library system and looking at it  I think I must be the first person to get it.  It is a lovely book, I picked it up on Saturday and yesterday I traced off the Joni dress and made it!   It was the first pattern that caught my eye that I thought I have to make that, also I had some fabric from Minerva that I pondering what to make with and this has been the perfect match for it.

Here is my dress...

I have to say that when I first made the twist bit at the front I thought it didn't look right but when it was all made up and on it hangs lovely.

I chose this navy as I wanted more work dresses but as you can see I will feel far too dressed up for work in this this!  It may be a rare going out dress but then that will feel such as shame as I do love it.

I won't put too  much about the process here as I want to do a full review of the fabric for Minerva but the book is definitely worth checking out.  I think it would be a wonderful birthday gift for someone and the directions are very clear.  My one gripe with this is that the sizing was perfect for me on this garment except for the arms which were too tight.  I am ok as I can redo the sleeves but as you can see I do not have massive arms in comparison to the rest of me and the rest of the fit is spot on.  Just be aware and cut your sleeves a little bigger as you can always run them in if too big but making them bigger is more of a job.

Here is the book...

So I have this book for three weeks as many people will have it on order so I have to trace off and make my way  through it in that time.  There is a raglan sleeve t-shirt that I am going to make next and I think I will use up leftover fabrics on that one.  Please let me know if you have this book and what your favourite makes were.  There is nothing like a deadline to focus the mind and I am beginning to think I maybe need deadlines, although that said there is an article in the book about slow sewing and enjoying the process which of course is great and I did enjoy my day of making yesterday.  I am sure that Tilly didn't have my three week library loan in mind when  she wrote that though. 

While I am on the subject of books I also had The Librarian of Auschwitz on one week loan last week and that was a very good book, hard of course given the subject but also I think amazing to think how people clung to hope and how important it is to keep people's stories alive from that experience.

I have tried a few new recipes this week, and this particular one I am not too sure about but they were best when just out of the oven.  They are strawberry and blueberry gf scones, due to the fruit in them they seem a bit soggy when they cool but most of them were consumed.

Mine look a bit flat don't they, not at all like the ones in the photo in the book.  I am dubious as to whether she followed her own recipe.

Anyway never mind I did make my own version of a walnut cake that I adapted from another recipe that came out really light and fluffy but that went really quickly, also my own version of a vegan carbonara.

How is your week going and what are you all making? Let me know in the comments.

February...ing

Here we are half way through February so I thought I would do an 'ing' post, the mornings are getting lighter so at least we are moving in the right direction as dark mornings are really not my thing.

Making more bags, as after a little lull I have sold two this past week so I thought I would do a little restock. It does make me happy to think that people want to buy the things I make and I always enjoy reading the feedback so here is to hoping the last two sales were well received.  I know not everyone leaves feedback so that makes the ones that do all the more special.  Here are the two bags I made this week and below the latest one I started to work on yesterday.

I have a shirt in this zebra fabric so the bits I used were left over from quite some time ago when I made that, it always pays to save your scraps you never know what you might use them for.

The mint on the table is what I used to draw around for the partial circle shape, use what you have on hand, ha ha.

Learning a new song on my guitar, now I tried to find a basic chord sequence for it online but I couldn't, there only seemed to be very complicated ones for experienced players.  So after two hours of tinkering around I think I have figured it out for myself, I played it for my husband and he said it sounded like the song so I am pleased with it, it may not be perfect but this is something for me I don't have plans to go on stage or anything!  The song is Secret Place by Phil Wickham and I keep playing it now to try and get it to stick.

Drawing a little something everyday, I got this idea from an excerpt I read from a book.  They are only little quick sketches and so far I am just doing them in my diary as a reminder to do it.  The idea is to keep your creativity flowing and I do really like drawing it is something that we just don't do very often and I don't really know why.  I am trying to build it in as a new habit, I may share them later if I feel brave enough, again this is not something I have any expertise in it is just something to enjoy.   The book I read the excerpt from is Conscious Creativity by Phillipa Stanton I am currently wondering whether to treat myself to the book as it is not available form the library.

Feeling under the weather, ok this is my one bit of negativity as it is half term again and I have had a cold. Anyone who works in a school will know this strange phenomenon it is like your body holds on until the last day of term then says 'that it you can be ill now!'  For me personally it seems to happen every school holiday but on a plus note you could say at least I don't have to worry about work and can just rest through it, every cloud eh?

Enjoying a course I have been doing on Open Learn called from Sound to Meaning, all free and there is so much on there so if you interested in learning anything new go and have a look at all the courses on offer.  I am about seventy per cent through it now but I do write down everything, I have to say my note taking is not very concise I will go back through it after and gradually condense it all down, that is just the way I learn.

Planning on making better use of my cook books over the coming months, I do cook from scratch all the time but think I'm maybe sticking to the same dishes a lot recently so I will  be trying to work on this and will of course share this as I go.  Since last November my husband has also been vegetarian  ( I went vegetarian at twenty and vegan three years ago) and I am so impressed with how he has stuck with it, due to this I have been buying more meat substitutes to ease him in but I feel now is the time to try and expand on that a little, we'll see how that goes  I enjoy all kinds of beans and veg dishes but I think the substitutes have helped him a lot.

That's all for now, I'm hoping for more days out and dry weather over the next month. Take care.

Another Mock Jumpsuit

Hello I hope you are all having a good week, I think it has been a rather calm one and the sun has been shining today so that always makes me happy. Last weekend I completed my top and trouser set that looks like a mock jumpsuit, similar to the one I made last year but this time with a slightly different top.  You can see the one I made last year right here.  I actually found the burda top pattern to be a very good fit and shape so that was a decent freebie with the Simply Sewing magazine, and as someone who doesn't part with money for very basic patterns that is high praise!  I will make it again as a dress and also show some ways you can hack it as promised in my last post.

I wasn't sure if the trousers were a little loud when I first finished this, but after an iron and trying them on I realised that they hang really well.  As an added bonus I already had the shoes/ankle boots to match so it was meant to be, I ended up wearing this outfit to go out for tea with friends last Saturday. There is a tie belt, a little tricky to see in the above image and belt loops neither of these are on the pattern I mentioned in my last post, it was just a case of cutting  strips to make them and fitting them into the waist seam.    I will be posting more on this in my Minerva post so watch out for that, I will post a reminder when it is live giving full details.

Here is an image of the top on its own so you can see more clearly the shape of that, it is a very basic make.  You can easily get way with no facing or binding round the neck by just overlocking and doing a very narrow hem, the same with the sleeves.   The fabric used here is John Kaldor if you are wondering and I was gifted it by Minerva.

I have another piece of fabric that I am thinking of making The Liberty spring dress with, this fabric is also for Minerva so I am uncertain if I can use this pattern as it is a magazine edition and not one stocked by them.  I don't know if any of you have any ideas about this?  For example could I use this one and then find and compare one that is stocked by them in the same style?  If you have any ideas please leave a comment with your thoughts.   Failing that I will have to have a rethink as I can make the dress without and do step by step instructions, but not everyone is confident without a pattern so probably a pattern is best for that project with it being a sponsored post. ( Is it still called sponsored if you are paid in fabric??)  Any how this is the dress in question complete with the magazine below...

It is getting steadily brighter as I leave work but this was still the situation at three in the afternoon the other day...

There are signs of daffodils everywhere so I'm looking forward to those, it is a sign that it may be cold and dreary but not for long.

We have binge watched a series this week on Netflicks  called The Stranger, I really enjoyed it and it starred Richard Armitage (always a bonus!)  If you haven't seen it go and find it now and add it to your watch list. It is a British cast and you will see lots of familiar faces including Jennifer Saunders who I don't really associate with drama, but there she is.

Book wise I am reading After Me Comes the Flood (still) and I can't seem to get into to it, I loved the Essex Serpent and Melmoth but this is plodding along.  I am in a 'started so I'll finish' kind of mood so hopefully it will all pull together.

That is all for now, I hope you are having a peaceful week of making and planning.