Jubilee jug …

I love it when I see something and a) I think ‘ooh, that’s lovely’ and b) it’s for sale and I have the cash in my purse to pay for it!

I saw this jug sitting outside a new shop that sells lovely vintage things (heaven) in my town. As I passed it on the way to Tesco, I thought to myself, ‘if that’s still there when I come back past, I’ll buy it!’. It was still there, hooray (in Tesco’s I rushed impatiently through the checkout and gave myself stitch with the speed walking to get back)! It was £10 but I love it,  I’ll have it forever and can put lots of pretty flowers in it over the summer. Oh, and I bought the tin in M&S for a fiver, couldn’t resist it I’m afraid! You can’t see the full beauty of it in this pic, it has a 1950s style about it that I find very appealing. I have a 1977 jubilee tin which has some of my many buttons in and so once the biscuits are eaten, this will serve the same purpose!

We are having friends for the weekend and a jubilee theme it will be … now where’s my bunting?

 

Ta Dah! My finished Hazel … and ok, another Sorbetto!

Phew! It is finished and not without a little bit of blood and sweat I might add. After a whole day of unpicking and re-sewing various parts of my Hazel, a mini tantrum and  some pathetic tears, I have completed The Dress. It’s not really my colour (I’m so silly to think green and white stripes would flatter my wintery complexion) but I’m hoping a little black cardi will transform it into a summer favourite.

In the end I took in the bodice by at least an inch and adjusted the position of the straps a tiny bit too. This wasn’t actually too difficult but I found it tricky to finish off the invisible zip and ended up unpicking it and re stitching it quite a few (grrrrrr!) times! I think if I were to make it again in a striped fabric, I’d make the stripes vertical on the straps as it was quite fiddly lining them up so they looked symmetrical. In fact I found the stripes a bit difficult to work with but that’s probably down to my lack of know how! I also added quite a bit to the length so that it sits just above my knobbly knees. Overall, I love this Colette pattern, the challenge really got my brain working and the satisfaction in working through the hiccups and making something fit me properly is brilliant.

Thank you to Sew Busy Lizzy for your wise words of encouragement, it’s lovely to have such comments! I’ve always been a bit of a recluse in the blog world and kept myself to myself using this as a sort of personal diary for the creative bit of me. I will try and make more of an effort to comment on other sewers blogs now I realise what a boost it can be to be the recipient!

But that’s not all … Whilst in the flow, I binned the floppy, worn out looking Sorbetto that I made as a gift for my friend Linda (it’s actually gone in the duster basket) and went crazy with the Hazel fabric by making a new improved version for her.

I think the fact that I would like to keep it for myself is a good sign. I even made some rather successful bias binding with my new Clover gadget! The sleeves and a couple of vintage buttons from my button tin finish it off a treat, she’s going to look lovely in this and being far more photogenic than myself, I will attempt to get a picture of her in it when I see her next week and post it (please let it fit)!

Hiding from Hazel …

Let’s not talk about the Hazel dress … not just yet anyway.

On a brighter note,  I wore my Sorbetto in the sunshine today!

Goodness, what on earth am I doing with my hands? I’m obviously trying to look cool whilst hiding my face and it’s just not working! Oh well, it’s all about the top and I’m very pleased with it. I will definitely make another but maybe a size smaller next time as unlike Dotty Spotty, this one’s a tiny bit boxy. I still have to make one for eldest teen and a new improved version for Lovely Linda who I have decided will not be receiving this one after all!

Have a lovely weekend x

The Hazel Dress part 2 …

Oh dear, my Hazel isn’t going according to plan and my blatant inexperience of dress making means I’m not sure why. It seems that a size 2 is also too big, even though I measure a 34 chest, perhaps I have a narrow back or perhaps my sad lady bumps are the wrong shape? I just can’t fathom it!

You might notice that this isn’t my toile. Having (thought I’d) mastered it, I impatiently started on this brand new Ikea duvet cover (still in it’s packaging!) that I found in a charity shop – £5 for a double cover and two pillow cases, 100% cotton, so many projects! (I wisely thought that it wouldn’t be so bad if this went wrong rather than my ruin my somewhat more expensive Clothkits fabric).

So today, despite a long list of other important jobs to do, I am going to unpick this and try again. It’s a shame because I am very happy with other elements of the dress like my pockets, the invisible zip (yes, I know I was silly to put it in before trying it on!!!) and the point at the front of the bodice is rather spot on too.

I’m learning such a lot doing this dress and despite it going a little bit wrong, I’m enjoying the process immensely. The Colette instructions are great and I love having the Coletterie website to refer to for further tutorials (the invisible zip one is very helpful). There’s nothing like a good puzzle to sort out and it’s all experience so I’m remaining positive.

Hopefully I’ll soon be able to post the finished Hazel and fingers crossed this unexpected warm weather will mean I can wear it too!

A Hazel nut makes progress … part 1

Spurred on by my enjoyment in making the Sorbetto top, I have started to put together a toile for the Hazel dress. It is meant to be easy so why is it driving me nuts? This is day one and I’m struggling with the size of the bodice already …

After yesterdays post, I have changed my mind about tracing patterns, it is a good thing after all! I have made up a toile only to discover that it’s too big across the back (I think my back is quite narrow), the bust fits well but there’s too much fabric at the back and the side seams are in the wrong place. This is from a size 4 which I cut because although my bust is 34″ (which would mean I am a size 2), my waist is 27″ which is size 4. This isn’t as simple as it should be!

Back to the drawing board. I will cut out a toile for the bodice in size 2 and see if that’s better. I don’t think I’ll alter the skirt as I can just add some more gathers to make it fit. Thank goodness I didn’t just plough on ahead and cut out my fabric for this or I’d be in tears by now!

I have also realised that a proper dress form would be helpful. This poor thing has to lean against a wall and falls over at most unhelpful moments like she’s constantly plastered! Part two soon … hopefully.

 

To give or not to give …

In the past week I have finished another (I can’t stop myself!) Sorbetto and received a parcel with fabric to start the next pattern in my pile, the Colette Hazel dress. The new Sorbetto is meant to be a birthday gift for my lovely friend Linda, only I’m slightly worried that a) it will be a bit too big for her and b) that it looks like a pyjama top with missing bottoms. This might be because I made the piping from an old duvet cover (many metres of fabric for a couple of pounds!), so I’m not sure whether to pass it on or not. If you’re thinking to yourself ‘That’s not a Sorbetto!’ you are wrong, it is, honest.

I made it from a men’s shirt that I found in a charity shop for £1.50. It was in perfect condition and I like to imaging some lovely lady buying it for her husband who (out of touch with his feminine side) decides he will NOT wear lilac and voila … it becomes mine! All I did was cut the pattern without the fold at the front, kept the button band and changed the buttons. The sleeves are the original but of course I cut them to the correct shape, inserted them into the new arm holes and added a few gathers. I will let you know if Linda likes it when I see her in June … if I give it to her!

As for my parcel, how sweet is this?

I’ve had such a job trying to find affordable fabrics, I could spend hours trawling the internet (and often do) when I should be being creative. Anyway, last week I finally made a purchase on Clothkits and two beautifully wrapped parcels arrived at the office on Thursday. The orange and pink paper bags made my day (I’m very easily pleased), one contained the stripy fabric I intend to use for the Hazel dress and the other is a (not so interesting) foot for my machine. Look at the sticker it’s so lovely!

So, today while my teens revise (I hate exam season almost as much as they do) and my husband shows youngest teen the beauty of  drawing mind maps, I have been tracing my Colette pattern and wondering why. I’ve done it now, but I don’t think I’ll do it again!

The fabric does feel very fine and so I think to avoid any embarrassing mishaps I will have to line it (something I’ve never done before). Anyway, I will make a start and keep posting my progress … or shall I just make another Sorbetto?

Dotty, spotty Sorbetto with sleeves …

Finally, I have some photos of my finished Sorbetto and jolly pleased with it I am too. Today is this tops second outing, in fact, I think it will be one of the few things I’ve made that I won’t be ashamed to wear out! I know, my head is missing … wet hair, no mascara and a case of catching Jimmy with camera in hand, just as he was leaving for work this morning. “Don’t get my head in!”

Does it look a bit odd that the band at the bottom cuts off the panel? It looks OK in real life but just a little weird in the photo. Definitely an essential addition for me to add this band (of course if I’d had enough fabric I’d have just added a bit to the bottom of the pattern), a stubborn bit of tummy that likes to hang over my jeans needs to be hidden so a bit of patch work was in order!

The sleeves (see last post) worked a treat too and I’m really pleased with the contrast binding. I did sew a couple of buttons on but actually it was a bit much (ric rac, spots and buttons?), so they were whipped off in a jiffy and just in case you’re not sure of my feelings towards this top, I’m very chuffed!

I wore this last week to Oxford to see Bonnie Prince Billy and the Trembling Bells (excellent gig) and today I’m wearing it to see a lovely friend for lunch. Usually, a trip to Kate’s house is combined with a trip to H&M, but all my consumer yearnings have disappeared lately and I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the satisfaction you get from making your own clothes.

Here’s to a productive, home made weekend, have a lovely one x