Saturday Pottering

 Hello, I hope you have all managed to get out and enjoy at least a bit of the sunshine this weekend.  Yesterday morning it was such a wonderful sight to see it streaming through the window first thing that I got up no problem and started my day on a positive note.  What a big difference the sunshine makes and there were signs of life everywhere when we went out with the dogs, so many plants have popped up in just this last week it really is lovely to see.  My husband took a few pictures, he has bought us a new camera mainly because we kept trying to take pictures of birds and they were coming out all fuzzy.  He bought a reconditioned one so new to us and with a huge discount from what it would have been new.

I did a few a little not too exciting sewing jobs such as, a couple of my handmade tops were just a bit loose at the wrist now they have been washed a few times so I sorted those so that they don't bother me when I wear them.  There was also my little sewing kit that I keep in my handbag for emergencies that needed repair.  My dog decided to pull it out of my bag one day when I foolishly left it in the living room open, he ran under the sofa and chewed all the edge of it.  It must have looked like a good chew toy, it has a plastic coating on it!  So that looked a bit worse for wear and it also had a little mock handle like it was a mini handbag, well that just made it take up too much room so I removed that and recovered the outer bit.  It was so hard to sew through being a plastic coating I should have probably just started again and made a new one, oh well it is done now. 

I had to hand stitch this with it being plastic coated and as you can see some of the stitches are large, I had a job getting the needle through.  I think I will put a trim around on the inside to cover that it is only me that sees it but it will bother me otherwise.

The garden has had some much needed attention, I was out yesterday tidying up all the beds and cleaning out the greenhouse.  I put a few primroses in front next to the door so it will be interesting to see if they last but that is all for now as it is early, I may start a few things inside on windowsills.

I have one of these at either side of the door, I may change the paint colour at some point soon.

Our printer packed up a few days ago so that is the next thing to break this year, we have another in reserve that was passed on to us at least so my husband set that up.  I had a free pattern for a dress I was going to make for frugal frocks next month but it prints all wrong!   It really makes no sense with lots of blank pages in between so I will be looking for another option.    The challenge is you use fabric you have already and a pattern you have found for free online then we all share, I found it on youtube but it will take place on instagram.  I am trying to take part in more of these things this year to be more sewciable. (Yes I know I did intend to spell it like that!)

I have a dress picked out of my magazine that I want to start this week, I just need to check my baking paper supplies first as I may need more.  It is from this months Burda and the image in the magazine she has it in plain black with a very fussy blouse underneath.  Well I am trying to move away from buying so much black so I have gone for a print and I may do the sleeves a little longer.

We have gone from excited back to a bit disappointed again this week planning our trips in our caravan, as now they are saying they won't be able to open sites at first due to shared toilets and showers.  Yet pubs will have far more people using their shared toilets all day long than say a small farm campsite with only a few pitches, or service stations??

 Who knows because the logic has not really made any sense all along and I use shared toilets at work every day as do many other people.  The issue with the cleaning well you take it as a given that you will wipe it all down as you go in as well as when you come out, just in case the person before you forgot.  That way it is up to each of us to keep our selves safe but maybe that makes too much sense.   My husband is busy booking a few in now as he has noticed the free cancelation option just in case. 

I hope you have a good weekend, take care. 

My Patchwork Sweater (Scrap busting Sweater)

 This weekend I decided to give an idea I saw on another post a go, I don't know how many of you follow Made by Leisl but she is just the queen of upcycling  clothes if you ask me.  This idea is super thrifty and great if you want to save money on your sewing too.   Made by Leisl has made some amazing biker style jackets out of blazers and bits of denim, embroidery and all sorts so I do like her style.   I just saw this post she had done on colour blocking and I loved her sweatshirt, she had used paler colours than mine so I was  not sure if my colours would work but I gave it a go anyway. So the idea is to make a sweater using all your offcuts, so you really get an extra sweater for free and the fun part is it is completely unique to you.  I think this is an idea you could use in all sorts of ways and I will be looking for more ways to incorporate colour blocking in my makes in future. 

If you go on her link on the Bernina Blog here she not only tells you what to do but there is a pattern I believe that you can print.  Now my printer is not working properly and I like to do things on a whim so I didn't use that. However I did copy her front and design, I used the freya dress to make a sweater pattern, then I retraced the front of that pattern to cut up and make the patchwork design.

I did that by sketching it first on a notepad, then I went over my pattern with tracing paper and drew the lines all over it. Next I added numbers next to the lines that matched so that I wouldn't get muddled putting it all back together again. 

As my colours were all a bit red and black I was a bit worried that these colours would be a little jarring together.  I needn't have worried as once it was all together it made all the difference. 

It all looked a bit uncertain at this point, I think it is just because it is pieces pinned on a table!

I thought a definite cuff and matching at the bottom would tie it all in .

The back is plain and one sleeve is floral, so maximising all those bits.

So there you have it, I do have other remnants in some shades of blue so there will be another sweater like this to make the most of them.  Why not give it a try and don't forget to have a look at the original post where I got my inspiration.  Have a good week. 

Burda Long Sleeve T-Shirt

 As it has been half term this past week it has given me a chance to do more sewing, always my favourite thing to do.  I had a subscription for Burda magazine over recent months that my husband talked me into as I was always looking at it but never buying.  We got it at a good price and I have made a number of things from them and there are still a number of things on my to make list.  I do find a lot of the patterns repeat though, I suppose in a way they have to as new people buying if for the first time won't have the back patterns and also there are only so many ways a garment can go together!  So much as I have enjoyed having it arrive each month I do wonder is it worth having it for a second year or have I already got everything I will ever need?  the main thing being that i always used to work without patterns anyway and also if I see a Style that is slightly different I can usually modify what I have to make the garment.  What are your thoughts?  Does anyone else have an ongoing subscription or do you just buy occasionally if there is a particular issue that takes your fancy.   That was what I was going to do originally  but then lockdown happened and we couldn't go in any shops to buy it anyway, they don't stock it at any of my local supermarkets. 

So after that little commentary on that, here is my make from the magazine dated August last year. I put it on my to do list then I bought this piece of jersey last week and thought it would go really well with the style.

So one thing I did do was to bring the shoulder in a little at the neck because in the magazine image it looked like the v would be really wide, now I don't know about you but in our cold climate here in the UK having my neck that expose would mean that I wouldn't be reaching for this top very often.  I wanted a top I can wear a lot so it needs to provide some warmth ,I   have summer clothes for warm days!

I was really happy with the rest of the fit of this pattern and as you can see the v neck sits well, I will be using this pattern again for sure.

The jersey is only lightweight but it holds the shape well, I thought it was going to be thicker when I ordered it but that was just me not reading the description properly.  It is soft ad comfy.

So that is another little make off my to do list and I have to say a relaxing and enjoyable one, it didn't take long at all.   I do enjoy pottering about in my sewing room with the music playing, but back to work tomorrow and that will cut into my sewing time;)

I made another nectarine and blueberry crumble this week it is a favourite at the moment but I will have to try not to over do it.  I also made vegan ricotta cake , you make the ricotta with cashews .

My sister in law has sent me over lots card, and bits for card making that is not getting used, I have already put them to use this week.  There is so much in there I have no idea where to start but for now I have just used the borders and cut out my own images for the cards that I sketched on the card before cutting out.    There are lots of ideas out there I will have to get a bit more adventurous with this I think.

Here is the crumble bubbling over, there is a full large tub of blueberries in there and four nectarines, it served three of us two days though and was very nice.

Well have a lovely start to the week everyone, back soon.