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. 

Spring Sewing

 I know it is not spring yet but I am optimistic that it is not too far away, also don't you get fed up with having to think how warm a fabric will be before you buy it I know I do although there are still a few warm makes in the pipeline.  I am however determined to start making things for the warmer days to come and if you remember last year in the UK that came quite early.  So with that in mind here is my first spring dress, a little different to what I usually make but that is a good thing, I am trying to make a few different styles as we all get stuck in our ways with our sewing sometimes and work with the same tried and trusted patterns.  I think a part of that is that we don't want to risk our precious new fabric on a style that will not suit us.  I also feel like you get to a certain age a feel you know what suits you best but of course that can also mean we stop being as adventurous.  

I love the fabric and all the little details of this dress, the piping is made from scrap shirting, I did look at buying some in a lilac shade but it didn't look as if it would show up very well as it was very pale.  I decided to make my own and of course it is always useful for using up all those little bits of fabric.

I was lucky that this fit as I did not allow seam allowances on the pattern cutting!   How can I have made so many Burda magazine dress makes and not know to add seam allowance.  Anyhow it all came good in the end.  The pattern stated snap fasteners on the cuffs but I chose to add buttons and button holes.

The most challenging part of this make was getting all the piping to line up in all the right places, so as you can imagine it was unpicked a few times.  Also the concealed zip not like all the bulk where the piping and central bodice part is so you have to take extra care when unzipping.  It tends to go up easier than it comes down.

So just last week I was making hats and now I am onto the light wear, you have to look ahead.  that said there are some plants I bought a few weeks ago when I was feeling optimist still sat on the windowsill.  We had to keep them in to shelter form the frost it is supposed to get warmer so I am hoping to plant them out.  I also bought myself some rainbow carrot seeds so that will be interesting.

I am currently reading The Glass Woman. I ordered it from the library and I have really enjoyed it, I only started it at the weekend and I am close to finished, put it on your to read list.  Historical fiction set in Iceland so something a little different.

Well bye for now and take care everyone.

 

Making and Mending

 Hello I hope you are all doing well this week and managing to keep busy at home, we had a snow day at the start of the week and it is not looking good for this coming week.  I hope it doesn't settle as it is such a pain worrying about how to get to work and wishing for a closure to make the decision for us.  I live quite a way from my work so walking is not an option and to take the bus would mean two provided they  are running so it can be a nuisance.  Now if we are at home it all looks rather lovely so it just goes to show how your perspective differs depending on responsibilities doesn't it?  

I whipped up a quick top yesterday with a lovely piece of jersey that I bought a few weeks ago, I have been wondering what to do with this and then remembered I am supposed to be making more simple long sleeve t-shirts to go with jeans so that is what I did.   I made the Freya dress into a top again as I know this is a good fitting top, I am very happy with it and wearing it today. 

I loved this fabric when I saw it but wondered about it not looking right with my hair, too similar perhaps but now I am ok with it.  I am trying to branch out with my colour choices a bit.

I made the neck a bit taller then folded it down again as it looked a bit odd on me, I also think a high collar is a bit irritating and I know I would be pulling at it all day.   It has been freezing in school recently so we have been leaving our scarves on and that has been annoying me so I think this was the right decision for me.

There has also been more crochet, I made another hat for myself in a different colour combination and then my friend said she would like one to go with   her new coat so I am currently working on that.  Though I have to say this will not become a regular thing doing crochet for others as I am not fast at it so it is a lot of time for me.  

I made this cowl last year, or maybe it was the year before I forget!  Anyway I think it goes quite well with the new hat.  The colours for my friend's hat are teal and yellow and I am currently up to the middle yellow band.

That picture does not do the lovely teal colour justice but I will share when it is finished.  I have just seen a pattern for a little top but it may be a little beyond my crochet ability for now, I will have to think on it.

I have also done some repairs for my clothes and others, patching things, redoing a few hems, darning tights and a patch on a dress for a colleague, I actually sandwiched some denim between two layers of the top fabric from above as the dress with the hole was a similar mustard colour, you can't actually see it now I have done the repair but should it open in future she will have some pretty fabric showing behind it.  

We have just had a very cold walk but before we left I had just put a nectarine and blueberry crumble in the oven so it was ready when we got back, it was very nice and just what we needed.  This week I have been trying to avoid things that may aggravate my tummy now I cook a lot with onions and garlic so going without those has been hard, I have to say no stomach ache all week.  Now if I have to go without those I will have a very sad face indeed, I may have to introduce small amounts and see how I go as a gf vegan I need to have some flavour!

This week we have been watching a lot of Marcella, in fact we may have watched too much I think I need a little break from it.  We watched the last series then went straight onto the current one, we also watched a film Friday night called Greenland, a disaster film of all things I mean that is just what we need right now!  It was watchable though nothing to crazy about. 

Well I have a workout and a pile of ironing to do so I will say bye for now, take care. 

A Crochet Hat

 I finished the crochet hat this week, as I mentioned last week I am not very fast at this so it was just a case of doing a little each evening.  I didn't follow a pattern although I did see an image I liked and that has three coloured striped so that is what I aimed for.  It was also made up as a flat piece and then gather at the top so perhaps not how may of you would do it but like I mentioned I was just making it up as I went.  The colours look well together and they are just odd bits I had from a few years ago, my main hassle was making the pom pom!  Oh my I have not made a pom pom in so long and the way I remember it with two pieces of card did not come out right, then I tried it around my hand and that was big and messy so finally I settled on a fork as I saw this on you tube.  Now there was still unravelling when I came to tie it but I did get a shape that is not too bad.  I know you can get pom pom tools, are they any good? The thing is I don't feel I will be making enough to warrant a special tool, I have started another hat though as I found the process very relaxing.(Apart form the pom pom! ;)

I didn't plan on matching my hat today it just happened. 

It had a road test when we went for a walk yesterday and it did keep my head warm, so that is the main thing.  I am sure it could be neater but I have not had as much practise with this skill.

There was some more baking yesterday in the form of cake, I did say I wanted to try a new cake each week so we will see how  long it takes me to run out of reasonable bakes.  I say this because the ingredient lists for some cakes are ridiculous and would cost a fortune to make, I am also not a fan when they state about three different sugars in a recipe in large quantities.  Cake is a sweet treat yes but I don't like sickly sweet.

So the recipe I chose to try out this week was from one of my Aine Carlin books The New Vegan, now the cake is called gluten free Orange Polenta cake but that went out the window straight away as Asda did not have any polenta and an assistant saying they had never heard of it and don't have it but I have had it there from before! So they do have it just not that day, so the first substitute was coconut (Ok it is nothing like polenta but I thought I would try it anyway)  Then they had no agave so that was quickly changed to maple syrup.  On the whole my changes worked just fine and I still followed the recipe but I have to admit to halving the sugar, we are so used to less sugar now none of us would be able to  eat it with the stated amount in.  The cashew frosting worked out super too and I might add looks very pretty with the pistachios.  In all it feels like a very posh coffee shop cake that I would normally not be able to eat because they never have gf vegan and this one is so it is one of my prouder bakes.   As usual fading daylight in the photo's and lets face it I am never going to be a food photographer. 

Another job for the weekend was finishing up this bag, again this is continuing the folk art inspiration.  It is actually based on a doodle on my notepad from some art I saw on pinterest but with a few changes and bits left out.  Sewing everything down is the most time consuming bit.  I think these ones are a little bit quirky so I hope they appeal to someone, I certainly like quirky so lets pray that others feel the same or I will have one large handbag collection.

I hope you are all well and have a good week ahead, bye for now. 

January Dress

 I have made my first dress of the month for myself this time, I had this lovely quilted jersey from minerva and wanted to make something practical but fun.  I have made another dress like this in the past, it is a sweater dress  with a big pocket at the front but this time I decided to add a  pocket in a different fabric to make it more interesting.   If you want to know  how I made this one have a look at my post on the Minerva site as this one was posted there.

I was hoping to get a few photographs in the pristine snow but as you can see the dogs had just run all over it with their little paws by the time I got outside.

This was very easy to make and is comfortable and practical so I know I will wear it a lot.  I also have a dress to alter for someone and a few more masks to make.  I have had a bag cut out on the sewing table for a week but I have changed my mind about three times as to what to put on it, so there it will sit until I make a decision.

We have been watching a new drama called Lupin, it is French and I have been enjoying that we also watched a film the other night called Perdida, that one was set in Argentina it was ok but not great and husband thought it was a load of rubbish ( it wasn't that bad).  I think I enjoy the different languages and picking out words and phrases I know while following the subtitles of course, I don't think he enjoys that side of it so even when these things are not great television I still feel I am getting something from it.    We always watch something together from about nine onwards, before that I am doing other things so most of out viewing is on Netflix or iplayer.

We have enjoyed walking in the snow while it lasted briefly, the dogs were  very excited and one of them had a limp the other evening I think he over did it a bit.  He is ok now and has been walking normally today, I think it is because they seem to bounce over the snow he must have just pulled it a little.

I have started to crochet a hat, I saw a picture on pinterest but didn't have those colours so I am working with what I have but it also wont look like the image in that I am just doing double crochet (at least I hope that is what I am doing!)  I haven't done this for about a year and I had only just started then so stay with me this is just an experiment.  I am basically making it as a rectangle that I will gather in then make a pom pom for.  I will share in a few days when I have added a few more rows, I know many of you would do a hat in an evening but I am  a novice at this you see, sewing is my first love. 

This afternoon I made  this Lemon tart from Best of Vegan, I had to adapt the pastry so it was gf so my pastry had gram flour, gf plain flour, flax seed and pure vegan spread in it.  It came out really nice so follow the link if you want to make it, if you are not GF you could just make the coconut crust from the original recipe.

We had alpro soy cream on it, it is very tangy but I like it like that, I am going to try and do a new desert each weekend until I run out of ideas.

I hope you are all keeping safe and have a lovely week. 

A Year of Sewing

 It is an odd start to the year but then I could be wrong and maybe this is just the new normal.  We have all been in school as it is open for key worker children so we are in as a full staff currently. Everyone is feeling a bit put out as lessons were planned and people were feeling ready for a fresh start, let us all hope this is the last push and we will see the back of this thing soon.

I put together a couple of photo grids last week of some of last years sewing makes, one of clothing for me and the other two of my bags.  Of course there was other sewing throughout the year in the form of cushions, accessories, alterations and a few other bits but just looking at my bags and clothes makes me realise I was more productive last year then I thought.

So I ran away with the bag making this year!

This next grid I made first so it has the watermark on the bottom and I have since discovered another way to do this without the writing across it.

We started the new year watching a new drama called the serpent, it was shockingly based on real events. After just a few days we have watched all of it so we now need something new for the dark evenings, any suggestions appreciated.

I have seen a beautiful pattern on the Dee Hardwick page, I looked on there after I made my hare dress in fabric by that designer.  I feel it is stunning but far too ambitious for me, having knitted in the past, it takes me a while and then if don't like the finished garment there is also the cost as materials are not cheap.  I know there are a few of you out there who could whip this up no problem, it is lovely...

So it is from a knitting book, here is the link to the page.

If any of you decide to try this I would love to see it completed, it deserves an accomplished knitter. That is all for today so take care and enjoy the rest of the week.