Is it too early to say Christmas?

I have been having a play on the embroidery machine recently and making lots of new Christmas designs with a view to getting registered out here and selling some for Christmas.

Here are a few of the designs I have tried out.

Angel wings from Memories in Thread

 This could be altered in colour as a memorial decoration too I thought.

Little Footballer from Memories in Thread

 Again his kit can be changed to suit personal teams.

Reindeer from Memories in Thread

 My children ordered a family of Reindeer for our tree.

Pencil Toppers from Embroidery Garden

Alpha banner or cane holder from Memories in Thread

This guy is getting a brother and going off to my nephews for Christmas.

I know it's early but after half term it all gets busy and suddenly Christmas is upon us.

What have you all been making?

More adventures in jersey.

I had bought a length of jersey in Lisa's in Rheda back when we lived in Germany. My son choose it and thought i could make him a t.shirt from it. This was rather a long time ago so I didn't expect him to still like it but when I showed him he said he would like a t.shirt from it please.

Our printer is out of ink so I decided that the 'winging it' option was the best way forward here. I found a fairly well fitting t.shirt and folded it in half, I cut the fabric on the fold back and front leaving seam allowance and then did the same with the sleeves. I used the sewing machine as the overlocker is still not being my friend. I will get around to figuring it out at some point. 

It sewed up easily enough and I hemmed the sleeves and bottom. I used a strip of the fabric for the neckline, I made a loop which I folded in half and sewed to the neck opening. It worked well enough.

Here it is on my dress form looking a little stretched. He loved it and has worn it many times.

I think my fear of knits is subsiding gradually. I must make friends with the overlocker again and that might make things even easier.

Until next time.

When winging it works

I had been looking for maxi dress patterns for some fabric my aunt sent me one Christmas. I hadn't been able to decided what to do with it and it looked like it might be just right for a maxi dress now we are in the right climate for one. However I failed to find a pattern I like and on opening the stash cupboard I found another piece of fabric I have been harbouring for some time. It's a knit and I am not overly confident with knit but I decided it was either try it or it would sit in the cupboard for another four years, waste of a good fabric really. I believe it was from fabric.co.uk originally.

I also decided that I was going to wing it. If it didn't work it would be salvageable for something else.

I measured my waist and added seam allowance. I had a meter of the fabric, I folded it and marked half the measurement toward the top of the fabric, I then cut it out in a gradual A line the length of the fabric. After stitching the back and front together I discovered I should have made the waist rather a lot smaller so I pinned myself in it and then re sewed it, trimming the excess off after. There was just enough fabric left to fashion a waistband. I measured the strip to the waistband and sewed a loop, I then sewed the loop to the skirt. It's quite wide so I think folding it over works best, to stop the top rolling when it was folded I added a row of stitching to hold the seam flat.

You can see it on the right of the photo over the butterfly. It seems to have worked.

I didn't try pattern matching and I didn't hem the skirt, the first as there would never have been enough fabric, the second as I was happy with the length and as it wont fray I thought why bother.

Overall I was happy with the finished skirt. I haven't worn it out yet but I will and I have had a hankering for a maxi for a while so this should fill that urge for now at least. As the weather should be starting to cool down slightly I think it will be perfect for the school run.

I am slightly more confident with knit and with just going with an idea when it hits me. That used to be how I sewed all the time, then I got all hung up on patterns and doing it 'properly', but there is something satisfying about just doing it.

GBSB Box Pleat Skirt -

After reading a few posts on another sewing related blog knitwitsowls by Frankie Baldwin I decided it was time to use my GBSB book as more than a book end. Don't get me wrong I've been through it on several occasions but nothing has really jumped out at me.

I had first thought of making one of the dresses Frankie has blogged about as I could do with a few more dresses, the ones I have seem to have shrunk around the ribs, or perhaps I have grown, though I am still wondering how my rib cage has grown. But when I went into the cupboard I found my measuring tape fabric which I have been holding onto since I went to Knit and Stitch with my dear friend in 2015. We went on a recci to Goldhawk Road and came away with a few choice purchases.

It called out box pleat skirt to me after again seeing Frankie's versions of the skirts. Now also being in a Facebook sewing group with Frankie I asked her about sizing from the book and she thought it was fairly true to size, so I measured my waist and got cutting.

I am not sure quite what happened next as after basting my box pleats, adding my pleasing zip, went in first time for a change and attaching the waistband I found it was too small. I think I made a mistake on the back pleats. So after a day of muttering to myself for not checking before sewing I unpicked the waistband and redid the pleats. This time checking and checking again before basting. I had enough of the fabric to lengthen the waistband but I didn't pattern match it, I am assuming no one will be getting that close to my waist to notice. And I reattached the waistband, backwards leaving a row of top stitching on the outer of the skirt rather than inside. By this point I decided it wasn't a big deal and went to the hemming. This however I did unpick after the first few stitches and decided to hand sew it, (for the first time), as I didn't want the stitching being too obvious and with the shades of the tape measures being so different I couldn't find a shade of thread that would work. I finished with a black kam snap rather than a button on the waistband. I know it's a bit lame but I have to admit to being done with this project after the hemming took so long. (There is probably a faster way but I have yet to find it). So for me a kam snap will suffice. 

Apologies for the awful picture, we don't have a great picture spot in this house.

All in all I think I am pretty happy with it. I have yet to wear for anything other than the photo but it's been so hot it's been vests and shorts for the last few days. I do need to wear it before I decide if I will make another, but it has opened me up to the possibilities of using the GBSB book more.

Bedtime for the smallest person is calling but I shall be back soon with some more summer sewing. Perhaps some experimenting with knit this time.

Some making and some remaking.

We have finally settled if you can call it that into our new home and new routines, well except that it's the holidays and routines are all out of the window. However we are getting used to the heat and the sun and the heat. Sorry for those of you in currently less warm and dry areas.

And more importantly our stuff is here. All the little things you don't realise you will miss as much as you do. It's still strange not having everything here but the main thing is I have my essential sewing things. And they have proved useful. I found myself fashioning a WW2 top and flat cap from a donated jumper for the school play, I needed to create two outfits for a dress up day, I had the small people order cushions for a couple of birthday parties and the little miss was desperate for a skirt.

One of the cushions.

 This was partly because I bought her a dress for 20c in the thrift shop. But it was too big. I took the straps off thinking to revamp it for her and was caught by the thought I might just try it on myself as a skirt. I did have to take it in an inch as the shirring was completely shot but it's had many an outing since. I was impressed with the result for 20c. Hence the need to make her a new skirt. 

Before

After

. 

The make up skirt.

The skirt went down a treat, it was worn to nursery and she received several compliments so that was me out of the doghouse for using her dress to make something for me.

Come back soon for some more new makes and a bit of winging it with knit.

Living in limbo

It has been four weeks since the movers came and packaged up our world into two sections. And we have been living in limbo ever since. We started out with a week in a chalet style self catering place with a laundry and all the basics. This was where our children attended school for the shortest period of time ever. An afternoon! 

Then we were taken to our new accommodation. It's furnished but lacks stuff. We have one pillow too few, a box of dolls lent by the neighbour who felt sorry for us and a tiny TV also on loan. We have no car and it's half term so we are starting to go a bit stir crazy. Our allowance until our own stuff arrives is a frying pan and two saucepans, not even a baking tray. But we are managing to get by and it should only be another week before we get a call to say out ship has arrived.

However we do have these beautiful views to keep us going for the time being.

I can't wait to unpack my sewing machine and craft boxes. And the children are looking forward to seeing their toys again. And the luxury of cooking with proper utensils.

Hope you are all having a grand day.

Another adventure

I know it has been forever since I posted and there is no real reason. I have been checking in on the blogs I follow and following a few new ones not on Blogspot. I keep thinking about posting and then not getting around to it. To be honest I should be doing other things right now but I thought I would take a couple of minutes just to say HI.

We are on the move again. I know, I know we bought our house not that long ago, but this is a work thing for my husband not because we don't love our cottage anymore. We do very much. We have put so much work into it I am sorry to be saying Goodbye but we are not selling it just yet. We will keep it until we come back in a few years. If we still love it it will still be ours, If we are not as enamoured we can sell it then for something new.

So we are off to Cyprus for our next adventure and the children are all very excited about it. Wobbles are starting to set in now and again, making new friends is always a worry and leaving old ones behind. But on the whole they are counting down the days until our flight. Me, well I'm wishing I could sleep until we are there. There is so much to do in the interim and it feels like time is slipping away from under me. But I suppose it will all fall into place. Well one way or another it will have to.

So that's me for now. I hope to be a bit more active when we are settled in our next home.