Projects, Books and What's Growing

A bit of a catch up post today rounding up some of what has been happening over the last few weeks.  I am loving the greenhouse, even on a rainy day like today I can pop in and check on everything and it's nice and cosy.  It is amazing how much things have grown in the two weeks since we put them in, we went straight out when the greenhouse was finished and bought some small veg plants to starts us off then I bought some seeds.  I wish I had measured everything now as they have grown such a lot, especially the swiss chard which was tiny...

I put it in that pot as it had lots of room, it may need moving soon!

Tomatoes and courgettes.

The strawberries always get ravaged by the birds outside so we thought we try those inside but one is flowering already, will this force them on too soon?  Advice welcome.

I thought I'd killed these Kale when I put them in as they were tiny and looked very unhappy at first but now they are growing .  I also planted seeds of purple kale which are now  just coming up...

This is quite exciting!

Basil coming up there in the middle, chives and parsley either side (when they show) my friend bought me this little set as a gift about a year ago. 

There are other things in there as well but I am sure you will get bored with looking at pictures of my plants, you may not find it as exciting as I do but I will update as things develop so you have been warned.  

I have finished two books this last couple of weeks Eleanor Marx A life by Rachel Holmes, this was fascinating but heavy, literally. It was quite intense to read and a big thick hardback so also hard going to hold up while reading.  I started it before my holiday and finished it last week, what an interesting life, I may not have agreed with all her ways of thinking but wow! Definitely worth a look, I actually read this because of the Essex Serpent it was listed at the back as a subject of research and I'm so glad I followed it up.

I then started a novel called In a Cottage in a Wood by Cass Green, when I first started this I was very nearly put off by the first few pages. It begins with a scene in a grotty hotel room after a one night stand and after the beautiful language of Jane Eyre a few weeks ago it felt a bit jarring.  I am glad I stuck with it as I really enjoyed it, there are a few twists and just enough suspense.

On the sewing front I have two projects to attend to, one is for Minerva and has just been cut out.  I couldn't go any further until I had been and bought the lining fabric which I have done today. The thing is I didn't want to take all the pattern pieces off until I had the lining and I could see everything was there.  I am using a pattern this time, my favourite jacket one...

An unusual choice for a jacket I know, but we will see what it is alike when it is all made up.

While I was there I also spotted this lovely black fabric which will become a top tomorrow, I just need to decide on my neckline I have an idea to do something a bit different but not sure if it will work.  Pattern free again for this top so just a case of working it out.

I may have been influenced by the growing theme here. 😊

Handmade Greenhouse Reveal

My husband starting building me a greenhouse late last Autumn using the hand made base he constructed for what used to be our raised fish pond, he has made me wait until it is completely finished before I show the pictures so here it is and I think he has done an amazing job.  Everything was made from scratch, using wood we had, sale wood and new wood at full price from  builders merchants.  He just made the frame as he went along tweaking things where necessary.

I thought I'd start with the finished item then work back.

It has two opening windows, one on the end and one at the side and the benches for planting are all built in.  We left the back wall without benched as grow bags will go there, we also opted to panel that wall as it just backs onto the garden fence anyway.

This was how it began, my husband drained the pond and cleared it out.

He cut a doorway at the side.

The beginning of the frame.

The bit of mesh you can see just inside the opening was to block the doorway when he wasn't working on it as the dogs wanted to go in there and use it like a toilet.

This next part took a bit of time, he was very thorough.

Starting the roof.

Making the benches.

Gravel on the floor.

A lick of paint.

Panelling on the back wall.

So on the roof he used dual wall polycarbonate and for the windows clear acrylic as it was supposed to be more efficient and safer than glass.   He has also added a mini guttering and a small water butt. In total for everything he had to buy it has cost roughly £400, I think this is amazing given the quality of what he has built and the price of flimsy greenhouses in the shops, I would say this is more of a garden building. Of course there were many man hours put into this project but he has enjoyed the process.

Tie Neck Blouse How To

I thought I would share today how I hack my existing clothes to make new ones, removing the need for patterns and ensuring a good fit.  Warning this post contains a lot of pictures today and I hope they are clear enough to be helpful if you want to have a go at doing something similar  for yourself.  Below is the finished blouse...

This type of blouse was one that I had on my to do list for this year, as all tops follow pretty much the same shape however I didn't want to buy a pattern for it.  I had seen an image for it which I shared in a previous post and I put this on my notepad...

So my first job was to get one of my existing tops that has no stretch in it, the reason for this being my fabric is non stretch and I want this blouse to just pull on with no need for a zip or buttons.

From here on are the steps to making this blouse.

I lay the blouse on the fabric, this one has some gathering at the bottom I arranged the fabric of the blouse so that this would not make my pieces too wide.  I then cut around it leaving a good inch all the way around, you can take in but can't put back once it's been cut so allow more if you are cautious.

Fold in the sleeve so that you can see where to cut for the armhole,  of course if you have an old top you may want to just take it apart to make a pattern.  I do it this way because this is a top |I still wear.

Cut around the neck and along the shoulder, I cut back and front together then lowered front neck line after.

Fold your front piece in half and cut where you want your neckline to lie.  Don't worry if it is not spot on you can take more off later if you need to.

Then I cut a V shape notch to one side where I want the blouse to tie, I also cut two small pieces to face inside the V but no interfacing as the fabric is quite floaty and I don't want it unnaturally stiff there.

Fold fabric in half, double again to make two sleeves, lay on sleeve of blouse to get an idea of armhole shape then fold back so you can see to cut.  You may want to mark the line with chalk.

You will now have this sleeve shape, now measure your arm from shoulder to wrist to see what length you will need for the arm.  Add on 2cm for the hem and 1.5cm for the shoulder seam.

Now cut up the side tapering it  a little .

Now cut two long strips for your tie pieces, about 4cm wide, it will be folded then folded again so if you want a wider more obvious tie on your blouse then make your pieces wider than that.  Now to put it all together.

Put your front piece on the machine right side up, fold one of your little facing pieces in half then stitch down one side of the V.  Take the other piece and repeat on the other side.

Then turn them through to the wrong side and cut a little v there.

Then pin it in place and topstitch on the right side. Neaten the inside by trimming, folding under and hand stitching on the inside.

Now you can sew front piece to back piece at the shoulder.

Then take your sleeves and fold them in half, make a little notch at centre sleeve where it will meet the shoulder, open the shoulder seem right sides facing up, lay sleeve right side facing down match notch to shoulder seem then pin in place easing sleeve to arm hole gently but don't force it.  If it hangs over a little you can trim that off. Sew in place.

When both sides are done fold blouse over and stitch down side seems and up along arms, match the under arms and pin before you do this and ensure the fabric doesn't slip.

Try on to check that the neck is where you like it, if not lower it a bit, or reshape if needed.

Join both tie pieces then fold in half lengthways, make a small cut centre back neck then start sewing you tie band on from the centre cut matching the centre join of tie piece.  Raw edge of tie to raw edge of neck.  sew down one side then the other this will ensure even tie on each side.

Then starting from one side fold the tie piece in half again tucking the ends under, sew all around the neck trying to stay in last line of stitching.  If you find this tricky pin it first then work from the right side to ensure neat topstitching.  Make sure you overlap it a bit on the inside if you do it that way so that you catch it in.

Before you go any further now you may want to try it on to check the fit, take your pins with you!  Make it as fitted as you can while still pulling it over your head easily, just pin on the outside and try it you can always move the pins after. Check the sleeve length is ok.

Now you can just hem the sleeves, I chose a thin elastic, zig zag or overlock first, measure around your wrist with elastic then sew it together. place on the bottom of the sleeve and pull as you hem around leaving it to move loosely inside.

All that is left is to hem the bottom and neaten up those inside seams, I always do this after now when I am happy with the overall fit it saves wasting time.

I've done a curved hem so it can be worn out or tucked in, you can just make it straight if you want.

It is purple but on a very gloomy day!

I hope this has been of some use and inspired you to have a go at winging it without a pattern, my apologies to any purists out there who do things differently or like to stick to the book.  Patterns can be expensive and I know there will be many people who want to make new styles but can't afford all the latest patterns.  For those people I hope this is helpful, if any of the steps are unclear just leave a comment and I will answer it.

Happy Sewing!