I'm not dead!!! Corsets, bras and exhibitions ...

... though you could be forgiven for thinking I was!

Well, what a year it's been (academic year, that is).  Needless to say, I've been incredibly busy, but now I'm back and if there's anyone out there still reading this little bloglet, I'd like to say hello and thank you for sticking around!

What have I been doing?  Mostly sewing and marking coursework for my students.  I doubt anyone wants to hear about the latter of those two (I certainly don't!), but the former, well ... I suppose I need a big long post to really explain and share all that, so that can wait for another day, but for now I'll give you a taster ...

Last week was the final exhibition for my City & Guilds Level 2 in Corsetry (mentioned way back when, with it being no coincidence that my blogging black-out coincided with the start of the course and the academic year!).  It has been an intense course and I've worked hard, because being over-ambitious, I came up with quite a complex design and I was determined to get top marks.  I'm so, so pleased to say that I did indeed get a Distinction (wewt!) and I'm very pleased with my final pieces.

I'm not going to explain all the ins and outs yet, that's for another day, but here's my display:

It was rather fortuitous that someone from a previous exhibition has used this pale turquoise in her display space, so my tutor, the redoubtable and wonderful Linda Lloyd-Willis, nabbed the space for me and my turquoise and teal creations!

For the qualification, we had to produce an overbust corset and a bra, as well as lots of paperwork and sampling (maybe I'll take some photos of that stuff, if anyone's interested?).

Here's my bra, together with some flower samples:

(And yes, it fits me!)

And my corset:

You'll notice it's not quite finished, but I'll explain about that soon!

So, there are lots of new things for me to share with you, new ideas, new knowledge, new skills.  I'll be updating you on 12 in 2012 (not that it's massively late or anything, lol!), giving details and information about the pieces for the City & Guilds, sharing some other bits and pieces I've made (somehow I've found time to make one or two other bits!) and talking about where things go from here and my plans for the future ...

But for now, hello lovely readers and thanks again for sticking around!  Take care and much love! x

(Big thank you to Nikki from the course for taking these photos on her rather swish camera!)

Pretty Things 5: I Heart Stationery

I've been eyeing this notebook for ages, but have been trying to avoid buying any more notebooks.  But I just couldn't resist any longer and I'm starting another class soon, so I'll use this for class notes (at least that's my excuse!).

Even the back is cute!

It's one of Paperchase's stitched notebooks, so there's some sewn detail on the front and back.

Damn you, Paperchase, tempting me!

12 in 2012 - End of Summer Update

After completing a few pieces over the summer, I thought I'd have another update of my 12 in 2012 list.

Priorities and the like have changed, which is no surprise as that's life, right?  The biggest changes in terms of what I have completed come from my oilcloth sewing class, but the great thing is that I've made some really practical pieces that I've got a lot of use from.  I'd been needing the perfect Stationery Bag for ages, but had automatically dismissed the idea of being able to make it myself - far too complicated, right?!  Wrong!  I loved making the bag and am really proud of it, so the lesson from that, I suppose, is that maybe I should think about making the things I need as well as the things I want.

c. 1890 Corset V&A

A new massive factor has also appeared on the horizon in terms of my plans for what I will make over the remainder of this year: I'm taking a Level 2 City and Guilds Certificate in Corsetry, starting next month!  I can't wait to do this course - a friend has just finished it and her sewing skills have come on in absolute leaps and bounds, and she's made some great pieces.  I was considering doing the course, but the clincher for me was meeting the tutor at the fascinator class - I got on really well with her, she's friendly and knowledgeable and - one of the most important things for a teacher, especially in the creative arts - incredibly encouraging.  We chatted and she gave me information about the course and what it involved, and I was sold then and there!  Over the (academic) year, I'll be making an underbust corset and a 'Victorian style' corset (that's the wording on the qualification specifications), and I think I'll also be able to make a bra, as well as lots of samples of various construction and decorative techniques.

So here's the updated list with completed items crossed off and new information added in this mauve colour.

Clothes to Make:

1. Skirt 1 - I've got about 2 metres of the Shoes! fabric left and would really to make a skirt from it ... I've got a peplum skirt in my head, a la So, Zo.
2. Skirt 2.
3. Skirt 3 (high-waisted skirt using Butterick B5466 - started in black silk dupion.)
4. Blouse 1 (anchors fabric, vintage pattern).
5. Blouse 2 - still finishing the silk crepe blouse.  This might be a disaster thanks to my dodgy facings.
6. Cropped jacket (vintage pattern, silver-grey dupion).
7. Dress 1 (New Look 6000).
8. Dress 2 - Retro Butterick 5748 in the Shoes! Fabric.  Done!
9. Underbust corset (this was another dress, but has now been changed as an underbust corset will enable me to wear other dresses I already own!).
10. Men's waistcoat.
11. High-waisted trousers.
12. Coat (McCall's 6442 - the hood, the hood!!).

Not Clothes to Make:

1. House thing 1 - (changed in light of the sewing class I completed over the summer) Awesome Oilcloth Bag of Stationery and Sewing Storage Goodness.  Done!
2. House thing 2 - (changed also because of the class) waterproof picnic blanket.  Done!
3. House thing 3 - patchwork cushion cover.
4. Pattern weights.
5. Apron 1 - for that giveaway I mentioned aaaages ago!  Started.
6. Wild card - flower fascinator.  Done!
7. Wild card - oilcloth tote bag.  Done!
8. Yule present 1 - Kindle cover for lil sis.  Done!
9. Yule present 2.  I'm making a patchwork quilt for a friend's soon-to-be-born baby ... I'd better get a move on!
10. Yule present 3.
11. Yule present 4.
12. Something pretty!  Laptop cover.  Started.

New Things to Try Making:

1. Men's clothing.
2. Trousers.
3. Piping.  I think I might do this on one of my corsets for my corsetry class!
4. Actually completing an item from one of my vintage patterns - still working on the disastrous silk crepe blouse.
5. Actually completing an embroidery item!  Working on laptop cover, which is machine embroidered.
6. Doing some more advanced fitting/pattern altering techniques as needed (eg, grading up one of my vintage patterns that is quite a bit too small).
7. Knit a garment (so far I've made a scarf and a snood). - Still working on that jumper!
8. Outerwear.
9. Patchwork.
10. Making a lining.  Retro Butterick 5748 is lined.  Done!
11. Underlining.  I've changed this because I realised that I've already done underlining (in my 18th century stays!).  So this is now a corsetry-tailored goal, involving something I've previously been a bit scared of: using steel boning!
12. Hand-picked zip (they look so lovely and seem like a relatively simple technique to use for a bit of couture luxe).  Retro Butterick 5748 also has a hand-picked zip, so this is double-done!

First Photos - Shoes! Fabric Dress

So I was up until 1:30am the day before, but I managed to finish the Shoes! Dress in time for my friends' wedding!

Some photos are up on Facebook and I took one on my phone, but I don't have many photos through yet.  I can't wait for more photos, so here are some photos of me in the dress and fascinator.

As usual, I made things harder for myself because I decided it was a good idea to put a shirring panel beneath each arm, move the zip to the back and insert a waist stay.  Why follow pattern instructions, when you can make it up as you go, right?!  Errr, yeah ... maybe not the best idea.  The bodice doesn't fit as well as it did on the toile because of the changes, so I chucked on a belt and I love the fabric so much, I kinda don't care!

Look at me not caring:

I've decided that all weddings should have oversized swings - they're way too much fun!

If I made this again, I'd flatline instead of bag lining the bodice because that would have allowed me to adjust the fit more easily.  I might rip out the bodice lining and instead finish the neck and armholes with bias tape.  But that's for another day - for now, I like this dress a lot!

In fact, I probably will use this pattern again, after faffing about with indecision about it (thank you so much everyone who commented on that post of fabric fear - it really helped me have the confidence to actually do this!) - the bodice fits perfectly (if I don't faff).  I particularly love that the back sits just above the back of my bra.  I can't go bra-less, so low-backed dresses are usually a no-no for me, but not this one!  Isn't that one of the joys of making your own clothes?

Even better, I have about 2 metres left of this fabric, so I think I'm going to make a skirt with the remainder.  Yay for more Shoes! fabric fun!

Stationery/Sewing Bag of Love

So I'm a teacher, as you might already know.  I have to lug lots of stuff around different classrooms - my pens, pens for students to use, scissors, board markers, board eraser, diary, glue, rulers, photocopied handouts, books, blank paper ... and so on.  My colleagues often use toolboxes for all this equipment; I've been using a tote bag, where everything floats around in the bottom so I can't find it!

For ages I've been on the lookout for a bag with different sections, with no luck, so for my final project on the oilcloth course, I decided I'd make one ...

I've mentioned Norfolk Textiles before and as I was pouring through their many pages of oilcloth, struggle to make a decision, I spotted this toile de jouy and instantly knew it would be an 18th century inspired, grey on grey fabric combination.  I played with the directions of the stripes, pieced the bottom of the bag (very 18th c!) and, as patchworkers would say, 'fussy cut' the side pockets to have the main toile motifs at the centre.

I also wanted a pop of colour to avoid getting stuck in 'Greysville', so I went for the dusky rose polka dot lining (yes, another colourway of the tote bag fabric), which I tied in with a grey inside pocket:

I was really lucky to find matching grey grossgrain ribbon to reinforce the top of the bag and side pockets at the local market.  This stuff looks gorgeous in real life - it has a lovely silvery sheen.  (Plus, it helped avoid the oilcloth sticking too much!  Though the stripe and toile are matt oilcloth, so that is less sticky.)

I also made sure it was big enough to fit A4 folders in the main body, as I have those for each of my classes.  (Unfortunately, the bag doesn't photograph so well as a whole - it's a bit floppy!)

The end pockets aren't quite so pretty, but I only had half a metre of the toile fabric.

I'm really pleased with how this came out - it's really pretty and everyone who's seen it has loved it and asked where I bought it!  Even better, it's practical and fits all my stationery bits inside, yay!

Usually there's something about one of my makes that I'm not 100% in love with, but I think this is probably my most successful make so far - love it!

Oilcloth Tote Detail

Here's the promised detail shot from my oilcloth tote bag (and, as promised, without any shots of the horrible top-stitching!):

This was fun and simple to do; I particularly liked following the leaf motif around the edge of the large applique.

You see, oilcloth is evil to topstitch on, but free machine embroidery avoids all those problems ... and it's not so bad to sew normal seams on (though the fabric does stick to itself when right sides together, so it can be a pain to align your fabric pieces).

Oilcloth is fun and cute, just beware that you'll want to curse it if you have to topstitch the stuff!  I didn't get round to trying stitching with tissue paper, which is another tip for sewing with the stuff.

Have you tried out oilcloth before?  Any tips on sewing with it?  Any fabrics you love, but are a pain in the arse to sew with?

Busy with Oilcloth

Hello, hello!  Yes, I have been quite neglectful of my blog recently - the truth is, I've been busy doing, rather than blogging about it.  I don't want to apologise, because I consider that to be A Good Thing!

Plenty of photos to come soon, but for now, here's a quick phone photo of a tote bag I made during a 10 week class at the Textile Workshop - Vintage Inspired Summer Sewing with the lovely Natalie Smith.  It was all about sewing with oil cloth.

You can get some fabulous oil cloth fabrics around, but one of the main things I learnt was that with oil cloth, you do get what you pay for.  Very cheap oilcloths tend to be a flimsy plastic with a non-woven backing, whereas the slightly more expensive ones (around £12/m) will be cotton fabric with a PVC or similar coating.    I got mine at Norfolk Textiles and particularly loved the matt finish oilcloths.

The other main thing I learnt was that oil cloth is a *£&%$&^ to top stitch.  Really.  Even with a teflon foot, it sticks to your machine and itself in an attempt to stop you ever getting any sort of stitch regularity.  So, no close up shots of the straps or top of the bag, hahaha!  I am, however, quite pleased with my free-machined applique, so there will be close-up shots of that, soon, as well as the other bits and pieces I made.

Oh, and the shingle beach ... The other thing I've been doing is spending a week away in Portsmouth with Mr Magpie!  It was such a lovely, chilled out week - I didn't want to come home!

Finished Object: Fascinator

I have been busy a-making, though I've not had much time for blogging about it.

Yesterday, I spent a lovely day at a class run by the Living Threads Group, taught by the fabulous Hannah Wroe of Hannah and Bella fame (who blogs here and is soon to have a new website, which looks like it's going to be rather lush!  [I am very much drooling over the collection of books on that entry page.]).  She showed us some excellent techniques for making wired fascinator bases and flowers from cotton organdy/organdie (whichever takes your fancy!).*

I made the base and most of my petals in the day-long class ... I probably would have finished ALL the petals, but I was having too much fun chatting with the fabulous ladies there (oops!)!!  I finished the petals at home in the evening and made a bow while watching box sets in bed, then today I sewed them to the base and attached the clip and set to modelling the fascinator!

* By the way, I've now decided that making fascinators should be referred to as 'fascinating' - how brilliant would it be to have this conversation:

Friend:   What are you up to tomorrow?

Stitcher: I'm fascinating, daaaarrling!

Fabric of Win

I got this fabric about a month ago.  I saw it in the local market and my mum bought me a couple of metres of it as I loved it so much - I wanted to make a circle skirt with it ... Then I had to go back a couple of days later and buy some more, I love the fabric so much, it needs to be a dress.

But the question is, which dress?  It's actually an impossible decision!

As soon as I saw this fabric, it said to me 'big skirt', so I think I need to obey that.  And it's such an awesome fabric with a lot going on that it needs a simple pattern.

At the moment, Retro Butterick 5748 is winning, but I just can't commit until I'm sure this is the perfect pattern for this amazing fabric.

Am I the only one who sometimes gets frozen by this kind of perfectionism?  

Do you cling on to a fabric because it's just so awesome that you feel that you need to save it for the perfect pattern?  Or when your sewing skills are 'good enough' to do the fabric justice?

Do you get a bit scared of those sacred fabrics?

If you have any ideas for a pretty pattern for this one, please do let me know!

12 in 2012 - How did we get to half way already!?

So yeah, it's June.  How did that happen?!

Some of you may remember that waaaaay back in January (which, to be honest, seems like 2 weeks ago to me, but apparently it's a bit longer than that) that I joined in and wrote my own lists for Suzie's 12 in 2012.

Well, Suzie's just reminded me that we're now half way through the year (!!!) by posting a great refection upon her progress so far.  Quite sensibly, she's also revised her lists to add in her wild cards and adjust according to what she's completed (lots - go Suzie!) and what she wants to do.

Oh dear.  I suppose I should do the same ... though it's a far less successful story, alas!

Here's the situation so far:

Clothes to Make:

1. Skirt 1 (Simplicity 2413, paper bag waist).
2. Skirt 2 (slim skirt from a vintage pattern with inverted pleat at back).
3. Skirt 3 (high-waisted skirt from Simplicity 2654)
4. Blouse 1 (anchors fabric, vintage pattern).
5. Blouse 2.
6. Cropped jacket (vintage pattern, silver-grey dupion).
7. Dress 1 (New Look 6000).
8. Dress 2 (Macaron).
9. Dress 3.
10. Men's waistcoat.
11. High-waisted trousers.
12. Coat (McCall's 6442 - the hood, the hood!!).

Not Clothes to Make:

1. House thing 1 - throw (possibly involving patchwork?).
2. House thing 2 - doorstop(s)?
3. House thing 3.  - Patch! cushion cover.
4. Pattern weights.
5. Apron 1 - for that giveaway I mentioned aaaages ago!
6. Apron 2 - giveaway!
7. Apron 3 - giveaway!
8. Yule present 1.  (Well, my little sister's Birthday present *cough*fromlastyear*cough*) - A Kindle cover.
9. Yule present 2.
10. Yule present 3.
11. Yule present 4.
12. Something pretty!

New Things to Try Making:

1. Men's clothing.
2. Trousers.
3. Piping.
4. Actually completing an item from one of my vintage patterns!
5. Actually completing an embroidery item!
6. Doing some more advanced fitting/pattern altering techniques as needed (eg, grading up one of my vintage patterns that is quite a bit too small).
7. Knit a garment (so far I've made a scarf and a snood).
8. Outerwear.
9. Patchwork. - Yay, hand-sewn patchwork, no less!  Patch!  Cushion cover.
10. Making a lining.
11. Underlining.
12. Hand-picked zip (they look so lovely and seem like a relatively simple technique to use for a bit of couture luxe). - I have, in fact, done one of these now (now my favourite method of zip insertion - it makes sewing a zip actually enjoyable!), I just haven't blogged about the project yet.  It's a skirt from Butterick B5466.  The skirt isn't finished, but the zip is in!

Yep, I haven't finished any of the clothes on my list.  I feel bad about that, but it's not necessarily surprising, considering my fluctuating weight situation.  So I need to try not to beat myself up over this one.  Try.

Looking back at this list, I have noticed some things do need editing, slightly, though - my needs have changed over the past six months, so my list needs to change slightly, too (changes in lilac):

Clothes to Make:

1. Skirt 1 (Simplicity 2413, paper bag waist - hmm, I've kind of gone off this pattern, so this is a wildcard skirt.).
2. Skirt 2 (slim skirt from a vintage pattern with inverted pleat at back - actually, this is a lot like Butterick B5466 (see below), so I'm going to change this one to a wildcard skirt).
3. Skirt 3 (high-waisted skirt from Simplicity 2654 - actually, I've started Butterick B5466, which is quite similar, but I preferred the idea of having a waistband)
4. Blouse 1 (anchors fabric, vintage pattern).
5. Blouse 2 - currently finishing the silk crepe blouse - fabric and pattern to the right, just need to do the button holes and hem.
6. Cropped jacket (vintage pattern, silver-grey dupion).
7. Dress 1 (New Look 6000).

8. Dress 2 (Macaron - actually, much as I love this pattern, with the waist band it's not as easily adjustable as others, so it will have to wait; instead step up Retro Butterick 5748.  I already have an amaaaaaaaazing fabric for this, which I have photos ready to post very soon.  So excited for this one!).
9. Dress 3 (after the lovely weather we had a couple of weeks ago, I'm thinking the very summery Vogue 8184 ... that's if the weather remembers that it's June!)
10. Men's waistcoat.
11. High-waisted trousers.
12. Coat (McCall's 6442 - the hood, the hood!!).

Not Clothes to Make:

1. House thing 1 - throw (possibly involving patchwork?).
2. House thing 2 - doorstop(s)?
3. House thing 3. 
4. Pattern weights.
5. Apron 1 - for that giveaway I mentioned aaaages ago!
6. Apron 2 - giveaway!  I've realised it's probably not the best idea for me to make three of the same thing, that's just going to add to the time it takes me to do a giveaway and it's taken long enough already!  So this is a wild card.
7. Apron 3 - giveaway!  Also a wild card.
8. Yule present 1. 
9. Yule present 2.
10. Yule present 3.
11. Yule present 4.
12. Something pretty!

New Things to Try Making:

1. Men's clothing.
2. Trousers.
3. Piping.
4. Actually completing an item from one of my vintage patterns! - Nearly there, currently finishing the silk crepe blouse (see above).
5. Actually completing an embroidery item! - I didn't specify at the time whether this included machine embroidery did I?  Hmm ... Let's say it does, OK?  ;P
6. Doing some more advanced fitting/pattern altering techniques as needed (eg, grading up one of my vintage patterns that is quite a bit too small).
7. Knit a garment (so far I've made a scarf and a snood). - I have started a jumper!  Well, I've cast it on ... not gone much further than that, though, to be honest!
8. Outerwear.
9. Patchwork.
10. Making a lining. - This is in progress - I'm making a lining for my version of Butterick B5466 in an attempt to avoid the dreaded skirt-riding-up-on-tights curse!
11. Underlining.
12. Hand-picked zip (they look so lovely and seem like a relatively simple technique to use for a bit of couture luxe).

Super-Amazing Organisational Tool - The answer to pattern and project management?!

OK, I'll start this off with a disclaimer: I'm excited and therefore this post is likely to contain many exclamation marks.

Remember my Excel spreadsheet of fabric and pattern management? 

Yeah, it isn't exactly sexy, is it?  Well, it's definitely flawed.  I have kept up the system, but its main failings are:

• I can only view it from my phone if I convert it to PDF, which I therefore have to do each time I update it ... and I'm not saying that I buy a lot of vintage patterns, but it gets updated a lot.
• It's a spreadsheet.  Spreadsheets are, well, boring.  (Sorry to anyone who finds spreadsheets thrilling ... though you might need specialist help!)
• The pictures are quite small and there's only really room for one.
• The inclusion of pictures at all makes for quite a big file.
• Did I mention that it's a spreadsheet?

The first one is perhaps the most annoying, and so I've been looking for a good organisational system, programme or app that I can use equally well on my laptop and my phone.  My criteria weren't exactly demanding:

• Combining and organising text and images with notes on patterns.
• Being able to sort patterns according to how much fabric they require.
• Aesthetically pleasing.
• Being able to group patterns, pictures of fabric and inspiration images by project.

At least, I didn't think it was too demanding, but everything I've tried just wasn't quite right.  I thought of Pinterest, but that seems more focused on the image side of things ... plus I can see myself getting addicted to it and I need to save my time for actually doing things!

But then my stepmother posted this article about Springpad.  The article explains it better than I can, but, in short, Springpad does all those things ... and more!  You create 'notebooks' for each project, which you can use to organise and collect images, notes, to do lists, calendar reminders, alarms, products (with links to places to buy them), videos, bookmarks, recipes, music and more. 

I've only had a quick play around, but already I'm hooked.  I've started knitting my first jumper/sweater (eek!) and I've collected video tutorials for certain sections, pictures of the finished top, as well as a link to the pattern's Ravelry page.  Instead of bookmarking these things and having to search through folders, I've got all that information in one place.  It's simple, but perfect.

And you can share your notebooks or keep them private.  For instance, say you've got a group project - you can all work on it and receive alerts when someone else updates it.

Or if you've got a grocery list, you can share that with your partner or housemate, you can both update it and when one of you goes to the shop, you've got access to it there on your smartphone.  Or, even more bonkers, you can put recipes in your notebooks and Springpad will create a shopping list for you!

I'm still experimenting at the moment with the best way to arrange it all, but I can see myself having notebooks for each of my projects with mood board images, pattern details and pictures, as well as pictures of the fabric and links to tutorials for features I want to try out (like bound buttonholes).  I'll also be looking at how to record all my patterns, but the great thing is that I can tag them with the yardage, so they can be sorted by amount of fabric required.

Is it sad that I'm super excited about this?  Yeah, I thought so.

Patchwork & Quilting Supplies

I picked up some sewing goodies online last week:

Normally I wouldn't post about such an uninspiring combination, but I need to say two things about these products:

• Basting pins (that's bent safety pins to you and me) are amazing.  I only used them on the little bit of quilting for my sister's Kindle cover, but they made pinning so much easier.  Really.  Love them.  Totally necessary.
• Those needles.  They are sharp little buggers!  Much to my shame, this is the first time I've ever bought decent hand-sewing needles, and I can see that they're a different beast entirely to the cheap-o ones I usually use.  I just lightly dinked my finger on the point while sewing and it bloody hurt.  They're so thin and sharp, they sew like a dream.

That is the end of this public sewing announcement.

Finished: Kindle Home

I'm a very bad big sister - my lack of sewing has extended to my little sister's birthday present, which was *grumblegrumblegrumble* months ago.  But over the Easter holidays, I was very productive and made her this sugary-sweet little Kindle pouch from pattern drafting to completion in under 4 hours:

Doesn't it make your teeth ache?

I had a chance to use my darning foot and try out free machine quilting for the first time.

It's kinda addictive!  So my hearts don't look perfect and the whole thing looks a little 'home-made', but I love this fabric (strawberries!!) and I enjoyed making it ...

Plus, I made up the pattern and construction as I went (eek!) when I decided I didn't like the pattern I had found online.  It's quilting cotton with needlepunch cotton batting, lined with some corduroy, which I interfaced with the fusible stuff, just to help the structure along.

Testing for size with my Kindle.  I had to wrestle it out - it felt too at home to leave!

I was so pleased to be able to use this ribbon - I bought it aaaaages ago from Crafty Ribbons (don't go there if you don't want to be tempted to buy ridiculous amounts of ribbon!) and have been waiting for a special project.  Little sis is definitely special enough.  I just hope she likes it - I'm writing this post on Friday night (I'm such a party animal!) and giving it to her tomorrow!!

A Finished Object (gasp!): Patch! Cushion

I know, I've actually finished making something ... anyone would think the planets had aligned and the end was nigh!  (Well, hopefully that's not the case, but if it does happen, I take full responsibility.  Soz.)

In fact, I have finished two objects, but I don't want to overwhelm you and risk your health, so I'll give you a couple of days to recover before I post the next one (plus the other one is a gift, which I haven't yet given).

And so, I give you finished object the first:

It's the cushion cover from the kit in Cath Kidston's 'Patch!'.  Much as I bellyached about the paper piecing, I do like the overall effect ... I might even try it again.

I found being able to hand sew while curled up on the sofa (or even round a friend's house) very relaxing and enjoyable.  And, I have to admit, I'm quite proud of my tiny appliqué stitches:

The boring bit at the back.  Now I need a cushion pad that's the right size - if I can find one, it's a bit of a weird size!

Made With Love for the Home - Patchwork

Patchwork always used to fill my mind with images of slightly ugly, old-fashioned colour-combinations stitched together in, well, a much too traditional style for me.  My aunt is a patchworker and produces some gorgeous work for her lovely old cottage home, but while I've always appreciated her skill and taste and the finished product, it still wasn't me.  And the final nail in the patchwork coffin for me: as a garment-stitcher, I find it plain frustrating to visit fabric and sewing shops and find that they're quilting-focused.  Annoying!

So I've always written patchwork and quilting off (sorry!) ... until now!

I've recently seen some gorgeous examples of quilting through various blogs - things that are brighter, more fun, more graphic and more 'me'.  And with the move, I'm going to try out some patchworking and quilting to help make our new house a home.  

This 'scrap vomit' (hahaha!) quilt-along was one of the first I spotted that I instantly loved:

Scrap Vomit, from Monkey Do.

And I love the applique on this quilt, which has a PDF tutorial on Sew, Mama, Sew:

Butterfly Silhouette Quilt, from Sew, Mama, Sew.

It's really inspired me - I can picture a quite simple quilt with bird silhouettes flying across in a brighter, solid colour.  Yum!

And Monkey Do has come up trumps again with Hexy MF.  Just go and look at it - amazing.  Again, I think it's down to the simple design and when you put that against a grey background, it makes it fresh and new.  The quilting is rather beyond me (it's pretty amazing), but the patching I like the look of.

So, I recently got Patch! by Cath Kidston.  I'm not a Kidston fanatic, but I liked that it came with a kit to make a cushion cover, which is a good way of trying out a new craft.  It's also the closest I've found to the kind of book I'm looking for - modern, simple patchworking for beginners.  It's not perfect, but it's giving me a taster.  Has anyone got any recommendation for patchwork/quilting books that match that description??

I'm part-way through making the cover design and I'm quite enjoying having a hand-sewing project to do while watching films. The thing I'm not loving is the 'English patchworking' with paper - it's just quite annoying to tack through and handle, plus I'm not entirely convinced that it's necessary.  But what do I know?!

So that's what I'm working on at the moment.  Have you ever tried patchwork?  Any tips, techniques, tutorials you'd recommend?

12 in 2012

Su Sews So-So has had a wonderful idea: instead of resolutions for 2012, she's making SMART goals in lists of 12.  12 seems quite manageable - that's one per month - and, of course, it relates to the year (clever, eh?).  Being a project manager, she explains very well what SMART goals are, if you haven't heard of them before, so I'll let you check out her explanation.

Funnily enough, when teaching my team tends to encourage learners to make SMART targets - the system helps you avoid making vague, unattainable goals that you lose momentum with because they will be done 'some day'.

So, I'm thinking about my goals, my plans ... What do I want to do in 2012?  I've already mentioned that I want to sort my wardrobe out in a coordinated way, rather than my usual, magpie kind of clothes shopping and making.  I've also been thinking about the fact that I didn't make any Yule presents this year (and I still owe my little sister a Kindle cover from her birthday - sorry, sis), so I'd like to make some gifts this year (and not have to rush to make loads of Yule presents in December).  Mr Magpie is still waiting for his waistcoat, which I've been too frightened to make, thanks to the fact that it's tailoring (which I have no idea how to do) and it involves some lush wool he chose, which is the most expensive fabric I've ever bought.  Oh, and it's a completely self-drafted pattern.  Scary stuff.  What was I thinking?

As for attainable, Suzie has 3 lists of 12 things (though she's made her list in a way that allows her to cover multiple goals with more than one item - sneaky!), but if to be realistic (and perhaps a little conservative) for myself, I was planning to stick to one or two lists ... but then I started writing them and found I could be sneaky and kill two birds with one stone, too!

Clothes to Make:

1. Skirt 1 (Simplicity 2413, paper bag waist).
2. Skirt 2 (slim skirt from a vintage pattern with inverted pleat at back).
3. Skirt 3 (high-waisted skirt from Simplicity 2654)
4. Blouse 1 (anchors fabric, vintage pattern).
5. Blouse 2.
6. Cropped jacket (vintage pattern, silver-grey dupion).
7. Dress 1 (New Look 6000).
8. Dress 2 (Macaron).
9. Dress 3.
10. Men's waistcoat.
11. High-waisted trousers.
12. Coat (McCall's 6442 - the hood, the hood!!).

Not Clothes to Make:

1. House thing 1 - throw (possibly involving patchwork?).
2. House thing 2 - doorstop(s)?
3. House thing 3.
4. Pattern weights.
5. Apron 1 - for that giveaway I mentioned aaaages ago!
6. Apron 2 - giveaway!
7. Apron 3 - giveaway!
8. Yule present 1.
9. Yule present 2.
10. Yule present 3.
11. Yule present 4.
12. Something pretty!

New Things to Try Making:

1. Men's clothing.
2. Trousers.
3. Piping.
4. Actually completing an item from one of my vintage patterns!
5. Actually completing an embroidery item!
6. Doing some more advanced fitting/pattern altering techniques as needed (eg, grading up one of my vintage patterns that is quite a bit too small).
7. Knit a garment (so far I've made a scarf and a snood).
8. Outerwear.
9. Patchwork.
10. Making a lining.
11. Underlining.
12. Hand-picked zip (they look so lovely and seem like a relatively simple technique to use for a bit of couture luxe).

As you can see, those 'new things to try' can be covered by items in the first two lists.  The clothing and non-clothing lists include things that are relatively quick and simple to make, as well as some more challenging and time-consuming pieces.  So let's see how this goes!

These are my 12 in 2012, what are yours?

Looking Backwards & Forwards

First off - happy Yule to you all!  I hope you each had a wonderful time with plenty of food and drink, cheer and laughter and a huge amount of love.

Rather like a lot of other bloggers at the moment, I'm saying goodbye to 2011 and hello shiny new 2012.  And like Janus, who presides over gateways, I'm looking back over 2011 and forward to 2012.

2011 was a turbulent year, with a lot of hard work towards a teacher training course, the messy business of finding a job (which, thankfully, I managed to do), doing two jobs for a while and then falling ill.

It's strange, but I keep thinking that I didn't achieve anything this year, because I did little to no writing on my novel-in-progress and hardly any sewing, at all.  I kind of forget that I didn't just scrape by on the bare minimum teaching qualification, I actually challenged myself to study for a higher level than the one I needed (I did a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education with some modules at Master's level, rather than the slightly lower level Professional Graduate Certificate in Education) and I didn't just do enough to pass, I bloody passed with flying colours (if I do say so myself).  I worked really hard and that seems to have paid off, with getting a teaching job, despite cuts in funding, and receiving lots of glowing feedback on my teaching.  So to think I didn't achieve anything is, I suppose, being rather harsh on myself!

Let's gloss over the whole sorry business of being ill, because I feel that I've gone on about that more than enough.  I'll just say that, again, I have to be a bit more gentle on myself because of this horrible bump in the road that has definitely affected my productivity.

As for 2012 ... Well, we never really know what the future will hold, but I have plans for my sewing and writing, which should hopefully come to fruition.

Sewing-wise, I've been thinking about that conversation with my manager, looking at what I already have and working out what I need in my wardrobe.  How organised!  I would definitely say that I've been inspired by The Colette Sewing Handbook (love it!) and its approach to knowing what suits you and what you feel comfortable in.  (That might have had something to do with me then buying a couple of Colette Patterns (Macaron and Peony) - I can't believe I haven't tried them before!)

To that end, I've been writing up lists (yay, love lists!) and thinking about colours and coordination ... but more on that soon!  I have loose plans to make the following:

A grey version of the New Look 6000, which lots of other stitchers have been having fun with, making some absolutely gorgeous dresses - I'm feeling very inspired. 

I'm going for view E, but adding in the collar (or you could think of it as view C with darts instead of pleats.  Either way, I already picked up some fabric for this from Franklin's while I was visiting Ipswich, but more on that with photos on another day.

Speaking of this pattern - is it sad that one of the things I love about it is that it doesn't use much fabric?  I only had to get 2m of 150cm wide fabric to make this dress, and it has sleeves and a collar - how awesome is that?!  It is sad isn't it?  Oh dear.  Well, I'm just pleased that it means I'll be making a dress that, including fabric and all notions, is actually cheaper than it would cost me to buy it ready-made!  I even treated myself to some quite expensive buttons, but as you only need one large and four small, it was still cheaper!

I'm also thinking about making a blouse out of view E of this pattern (yellow polka dot on the pattern envelope) - how pretty would that look in silk dupion?  I'm thinking teal, off white or coral pink (lovely for spring/summer).

There will also be one or more Macaron dresses in my life in 2012 - I just can't quite decide what fabric combos to go for.  I picked up 2m of navy and white polka dot stretch sateen originally to make the slim version of this skirt:

But then I got the Macaron pattern and realised that 2m is exactly what you need for the main fabric of that ... so now I'm torn!  And what could I put with it?  I'm favouring shamelessly stealing this idea of using a sheer fabric for the contrasting yoke.  If I can find dark blue silk organza, I might well do that.

I also like the idea of using a dobby spot as the contrast, perhaps with something like chambray on the body for a more summery, laid back vibe.  Or then there's the option of using velveteen for the main fabric and more organza for the contrast.  And what about piping - I'd like to have a go with that.  You see my problem?  So many ideas ...

And as for the paper bag waist skirt, I'd like to make that up in pique, wool or sateen ... not sure on colour, yet.

I've been taking a lot of inspiration from other sewing bloggers during my own sewing drought, which led me to buy a copy of this out of print pattern:

I would never normally have looked twice at this pattern from the beige-y boring cover (Do they actively try to make their patterns look dull and frumpy or does that happen by accident?), but when I saw Handmade Jane's version, I realised that these trousers were The Ones.  I'd been eyeing up the Wearing History Smooth Sailing 1930s trouser pattern for the while, but I can't really afford to ship these in from the US, and I was a little put off by the width of the leg in these - being short, I'm wary that they're perhaps a little too wide for me.  I'm also liking the high waist detail on the front and the straight skirt view.  I think another appeal of these is that they remind me of a pair of trousers that don't fit me any more, which I love - navy blue, brushed cotton with brass anchor buttons.  So that's what I'll be going for with this pattern.  I am a little scared about my first foray in trouser-making, though!  If it works well, I would quite like to try a version in a lightish/medium-weight denim, with more buttons on the front (it's all about the buttons for me, clearly).

I might have to go for a similarly nautical version of the slim skirt in navy with cute buttons.  This would be especially good as I've realised I simply don't have enough skirts and I tend to wear them a lot.  Which means I'm also planning to make a grey or black wool/mix version of this vintage straight skirt with inverted pleat at the back (view on the right):

And to go with those skirts, I've got a couple of blouses planned (some of which I've had in the 'to make' pile forever).  I was thinking of making this vintage pattern up as a blouse:

I can't decide whether to go for the plan version or the one with contrasting collar and sleeves - it's just too cute!

Finally, for spring, I'd like to make the cropped jacket from this pattern in silvery grey dupion:

I don't know why, but that fabric and colour combination is just what I can picture this in.  And self buttons - yum!  Plus, I have a small piece (90cm) of printed haboutai I got in the John Lewis sale ages ago, which I can use as a super cute lining - the jacket only requires 1m of fabric, so I like to think I can afford to go a little luxe!

Phew!  What a lot I have planned!  I'd better get to it!

Wishing you all a fabulous and joyous New Year - love Clare. x