Keyhole Blouse from my New Gertie Book

 Hello, this weekend I made my first make from my new book, Gerties New book for Better Sewing.  I bought this for myself as a Christmas present and this was the first thing that caught my eye.  Now the fabric I bought some time ago from John Lewis in Sheffield just before it closed down and I don 't normally having much fabric hanging around I usually have a purpose in mind when I buy but this piece must have been waiting for this blouse.  I think so because the pattern just has the right kind of feel for it.

So completely out of character for me is that I did a little dummy run on an old duvet cover piece just to check because well, this fabric has waited long enough so I did not want to spoil it after all this time.  It was just as well I did that as I found I had to adjust my keyhole neck a little.  Other than that the fit is good, I really recommend trying out the neck shape though to get it just right if you are making this blouse.

For the buttons I made regular button holes, the book suggest bound ones but as the pattern is busy enough just regular ones here.  Also I chose to alternate the colours as I had these colours in my store which go really nicely with the fabric and they are big ones too. There are five rows of shirring stitches at each shoulder that you probably can't make out in this photo.

Overall I think it is a really lovely blouse, you do still need some know how though as you are adapting the pattern given for the bow tie blouse. The book is full of lots of useful advice if you are thinking of buying it.  Mine was purchased second hand from wordery.  I don't know what I will choose to make next I will have to have a think.  The blouse was made over a few relaxed sessions and this was nice as many of the things I make for work are done  in one sitting, I quite enjoyed doing a bit then coming back to this over the weekend.

The book The Lighthouse Witches was finished yesterday, I really enjoyed the book however it is so sad that so many women had to die over the centuries for being accused of witchcraft. I have read a few books that are based around this subject and it still astonishes me the kind of ludicrous charges that were passed along with the brutal cruelty. 

So today I have started Fevre Dream by George R.R Martin and so far so good however it is about vampires so I may have to pause if I get scared!  I picked up this one a while ago at a charity shop.

We are still watching Yellowstone but nearing the end of this series so we may watch on eof the origins ones next.  I may have mentioned before we only watch TV after nine in the evening as we like to do other things before then.  Although that said I did watch a ballet early evening one day last week, Coppelia, it was not one of the best not enough dance content for me too much pointing and gesturing if you know what I mean.  Apperently it is a comedy, it was not funny so in a way I am glad this one of the ones I have not seen on the actual stage.

That is all for today,  have a lovely evening.

Stretch Sewing

 Hello everyone, what a rainy week we are having here in the UK. I hope you are well wherever you are and keeping safe I know our rain is nothing in comparsion to the weather conditions going on in other parts of the world, but being English I am preoocupied with the weather always. 

I am making quite a lot of French Terry projects at the moment so I though I would share some of that with you.  It has also given me a scrap busting idea as it is cotton and so soft I have decided to make some knickers with all the little offcuts from it.  Now I have only just decided this today so nothing to show as yet  but I know a lot of people like the Iris Pattern by Tilly and the Buttons, well I had a look and the price! Well I won't be buying it, for a pair of knickers, there are only a few bits to them.  So I am going to use my own as a pattern and work from there.  I have made some quite a while ago but I seem to remember the fabric wasn't quite right I am hoping this will work better.

Here is the fenix sweatshirt by style arc that I made on Monday...

It has side panels with topstitching and the pattern call for twin needle around arm holes and at cuff and bottom. I only chose to do the twin needle around the neck as it is so patterned I felt it would just get lost every where else.  There are also pockets into the side panel seams, I am wearing it today and it is very comfy.

Yesterday was another Style ARC make this time the Kristin dress, these colours are lovely and bright.  The sizing came out right on this dress although I did taper across sizes at the shoulder as I am small there.  

It was evening when I photographed this so it is a little dark. There are lots more to come and I have to say stretchy soft fabrics are the comfiest, not all are going to be made in my size so the manneqinn will be doing the modelling for me.  That said my mannequinn feels like she is about to fall apart if I size her up, the whole point is supposed to be you can adjust them but mine doesn't seem to like it.  I already had an incident once before where the whole top popped off that is why I have ribbon around the top now, it is hiding tape!

I am really enjoying reading the Lighthouse Witches, made even sweeter by having come from the library after I had picked it up in Waterstones before Christmas.  I may have mentioned that already in  my previous post but I love it when that happens. 

Tomorrow lunch is booked to take my mum out,  part of  this years aim to get her out more.  It won't be a weekly thing but I thought maybe once a month for lunch and also when the weather is fit maybe somewhere she can have a potter around markets or garden centres she has not been to, so that could be two outings a month.  Not too far for her  to walk though I will drive of course she is 84 but just a change of scene.

What have you all been up to so far this week, anybody doing anything exciting?

Take care everyone. 

McCall's Shirt Make and Other Sewing

 

Hello I hope you are all having a lovely weekend, a quick catch uo today to show what I have been making and doing this week.  So far I am on track with my intentions, last week I split one of my projects over two days  to take advantage of the dry period on one of the days to get out for a longer walk with my dogs although it did catch us while we were out and the two Jack Russels kept stopping and had to be pulled along. They do not like rain!  The project I split up in sessions was this McCall's shirt and here is my husband in it, he doesn't want his face in the picture though.  The fabric is cotton gingham in a blush pink, my husband really likes this shirt.

I also made two dresses and they are both very bright viscose challis, the red one is lined and the white one ha a lined bodice.

Doesn't this just look like water colours?

I love the colours on this one, the red with the pink is such a good combination and probably not one I would put together when dressing.

The Anthony Horowitz book I was reading A Line to Kill was another good read and I finished that earlier today.  Although I am going to start my library book  before reading the rest of my Anthony Horowitz books as I feel if I read them all in one go it may put me off, too much of the same can do that can't it?

After visiting my mum a few days ago we have arranged to go out later in the week in the day time, this is something I want to try and get her to do more often as she enjoys it once out but can be a bit reluctant when asked, but then feels she is in a lot.  It is just a case of once out and made the effort she enjoys it.

Friday evening we went to see Avatar the way of water, it was so long. Visually really good but being in the cinema for such a long time is not for me.  It seemed everyone was getting a bit fidgety. 

Yesterday I spent a good few hours drawing then adding colour, I chose a ballerina from one of my ballet programmes.  I am really happy with it especially the limbs, also one hand good the other not so much so this needs a lot of practise.  I chose it because I really loved the line of the body, also had fun adding colour to the tull skirt. Later I did some more figures but trying to sketch quickly, I find this hard as I want to stop and rub out and redo. 

I hope you all have a super week, back soon.