Staying on Track and The Gertie Bow-Tied Blouse

Hello everyone how are you all doing? Also how are your plans holding up into February? Well for me it is so far so good I have been sticking to my intentions and I find for a few thigs this works well if I do them straight away when I get up. Now I know this is not ideal for everything or even everybody come to that. For example if you have to be at work early you don't want to have to cram in a lot of habits before you even leave the house. Although I do have a book that says you should get up at 5am to do just that! Well I could see my husband loving it if I disturbed his rest everyday to do that, also you have to go to bed really early to get up at that time and that is just not for me. However a few things do work well first thing and this has made them a habit for me, does anyone else prioritise anything first thing in the morning? Please let me know if you do and how it works.

I have made  these knicker this week  from the free Megan Nielson Pattern on  the website for the acacia knickers.  I didn't have enough of the elastic so I used stretch lace on the legs.  One pair is cotton Jersey and the other is frech terry I will let you know if they are too hot to wear ha, ha.  I have ordered more elastic so more on the way  and also made my own pattern from some favourite fitting knickers.

I made the Bow-Tied blouse from my Gertie Book yesterday and I am very impressed with how well her sizing works for me.  I used some of my gifted fabric and another odd selection of buttons, this time various purple ones. 

I made a video so if you would like a peak here is the link. video here

 I am going to have to go as blogger keeps auto changing my words and I don't know what I have caught!  This has taken me ages to keep correcting.  Back soon making more sense I hope.  Take care.

January...ing

 Hello everyone I thought I would do an ing pist for the end of the month and try and get back into that habit.  I hope you are all having a good week it certainly has been a lot brighter these last few days and that makes all the difference.  Here goes..

Starting a spring quilt, so I follow Frugal Queen in France on her facebook group and she has organised a spring quile along.  Everyone making their quilts to be ready for spring.  So I thought this was anice idea to join in and also to do some each week will keep it progressing nicely.  Now I certainly would never do these for work as Quilts take so many hours and I wouldn't want a strict deadline or have to try and explain the manhours but as a thing to plod along with it is a nice change.  She shared her block and then everyone is digging out their colours with the aim to do six a week for six weeks and she did say not sashed. So a sofa size, now I am really liking the blocks I have done so far so I think I will sash mine and then that will add quite a bit to the finished size.  Here is a block...

I am not a quilter so I am finding I am not that precise, so having to try and be more so because the seams allowed are tiny on this design. A few pieces of the gifted fabric are being used here so the cream and green, the rest are little scraps I am digging out.

Reading more, now always a reader but trying for a definite book a week this year and so far so good.  It is not always easy when occasionally the book is huge, but enjoying what I have read and also trying to vary the genres.  This last week I am reading Pandora and the previous week I read Fevre Dream by G.R.R Martin and I enjoyed it but had to skip a couple of grisly paragraphs as my brain will not let me forget somethings!  That is why I am not into horror, but this was an old fashioned vampire story and I did enjy Game of Thrones so I thought I would give it a go.

Eating out so we have taken advantage of a few lunch time deals this last month usually at the weekend.  We found a pub not too far from us that did a lunch deal wed - Fri so went on my husbands day off a few weeks ago.  Then a walk last Friday and a meal at the Plough Bradfield agian lunchtime special.  Then last night we met family for a teatime drink and a curry then home for 8.30!  We have never been people that go out much and this is over the course of a month so we are just enjoying it.  It is also nice to see that more places have vegan and vegetarian options now too.

Keeping with my sewing scrapbook so that has been fun.  Now when I want to know what this top is I am wearing for a work video I just flick back in my book and I have all the information I need, very useful.

Watching 1883, that was the origins of the Yellowstone drama we have watched and I thought it was good.  My husband was not a fan of the main character narrating all the way through it, he does not like that effect in drama or films so for him that spoilt it.  Maybe keep that in mind if it is something you don't like.

Listening a lot this week to songs from New Jersey by Bon Jovi.  These were my favourite group as a young teen and I had forgot just how much I love this alsbum in particular.  I have been playing it on spotify, which is somewhat different to how I would have listened back then.  I had all their albums on cassete, then Album and later CD.  These Days,  eh!  That's a Bon Jovi song in case you missed that!

Enjoying walking our dogs and appreciating that I can amuse myself.  After a few conversations with various family members I am left confused as to why so many of them do not know what to do with themselves if they don't have work to go to.  I am talking about jobs they are not enjoying here as well, so we are talking people at retirement age here. Now if you love your job I can imagine never wanting to stop but going just because you are afraid of the free time is something that I cannot fathom.   Therefore I am grateful that I have never been bored, if I don't have work to do then I always have lots to fill my time.

Looking forward to spring, we have a few little holidays booked in our caravan so it will be good to get back into that.  We are returning to a few tried and tested sites and a new one we have never been to before. I think everyone starts to feel the need to book something to look forward to at this time of year.

Making clothes of course  and here are some of this weeks projects...

New Look 6632 dress

This Marlo Cardigan will be made in future in the cropped version.

Well have alovely weekend whereever you are and I hope you manage to get outside and make the most of the weather. Back soon.

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.