Finished Crescent (wearable) Muslin.

It's finished!! Phew that took a while! I cut a size 8 but it's a bit too big, I can get my arm between me and the waistband quite comfortably! I think I'll make another wearable muslin, possibly in navy in a size 6 and, assuming that's not too small, I'l make yet another in my kingfisher fabric.

Apart from the roomyness, I'm very pleased with this make. I struggled with some of it at times but  persevered  and it's all turned out well.

I used a cheapo cotton (which I don't think is all natural, probably a poly blend) that was only £2 a metre. It was really easy to work with and I really like the colour. As with my Lonsdale dress, I'm documenting what I learn from each project (totally forgot to do that with my PJ's, oops) so her we go.

Lessons learnt making the Crescent Skirt.

1. Gathering: I really like the gathers on the skirt and I'm so pleased to have learnt this, relatively simple, technique. It's amazing what tugging on a few threads can do!

2. A new zip technique: I don't know if there's an official name for this technique but it terrified me at first. After a little patience and some trial and error, I got that zip installed and I was so proud.

3. When sewing is making you angry, walk away: As I mentioned, the zip took quite a but of patience. When I first read the sewalong posts I was baffled and cross about being baffled. So, I left it alone for a few days. I know if I hadn't I would have ended up making, potentially un-fixable, mistakes. After that I took it super slowly, stopping for a break every time my brain was finding it all a bit too much. I really felt like I'd achieved something when it was finished.

My proudest sewing moment to date!

4. Using bias binding on the hem might not always be best...I think in this case it made the hem too heavy so it doesn't hang perfectly. Next time I'll try ribbon or bias binding that's ironed out to be single fold. I do like the way the contrast of the black binding looks though!

5. Facings: I had no idea what a facing was until I made this skirt. Now I do. Score.

I'm a big fan of this pattern. I think the waistband is really flattering (probably even more so when it's the right size!!), the pockets are really handy and the fullness on the skirt is lovely and girly. Plus, it's classed as an intermediate pattern so I feel VERY smug that I, a proper beginner, managed to finish it, although I should mention there is no way I'd have done it without Tasia's fabulous sewalong. Thanks Tasia.

Cheerio for now. Alice x

Party Time...

Here it is; time for the big reveal and more importantly time to talk about boys, get makeovers and eat chocolate. This is a pyjama party right?

I really enjoyed making these PJs. They were so simple but so satisfying and I am super happy with how they've turned out!

I added a couple of embellishments, a bow at the front of the waistband and some shiny ribbon trim at the bottom of each leg. I think it makes them a little bit fancy and you always wear your fancy clothes to a party, am I right?

Bows make everything so pretty.

I was a little concerned I'd cut them out a size too big, especially after I held them up (pre-waistband) next to a pair of my ready to wear PJ's and my pair seriously dwarfed those from Primark! Once the waistband was done they looked a little more my size but I think, now that I'm wearing them, I could have cut out a size smaller and still been very comfy. Speaking of comfort, these jim-jams are so comfy. The fabric is slightly fluffier on one side so I made that the inside and, oh, it's like a big cuddle.

Now, onto component number two of pyjama party participation...what is my bed time reading?

I'm still working my way through 'A Suitable Boy', by Vikram Seth. At times I will admit that it feels like I'm wading through treacle in some parts of this book, but in others it's a breeze and I can't read it fast enough. The review on the front of the book says "make time for it...it will keep you company for the rest of your life"  and I'm pleased I have done just that. I still have 500 or so pages to go but having read over 900 already that doesn't seem so many, I will be sad when it is over but I'm sure I will think of it often in times to come.

Thank you so much to Karen for hosting this brilliant sew-along. Her posts were really clear and easy to follow and filled with her charm and wit. I laughed a lot while sewing along with her. It was so much fun.

Karen's Awesome Pyjama Party

Wahoo, I'm joining my first sewalong. The lovely Karen of Did You Make That is hosting her first sewalong and I am so excited to be joining in.

This morning I was out the door like a shot to buy the pattern (there was a pattern sale on at my local shop so I got it for a mere £2) and some fabric. I knew I wanted some plaid brushed cotton, I already have 3 pairs of PJ bottoms in this fabric and I love them.

Now, as I say, I love these 'jamas but I'm sure you'll agree they're not in very feminine colours, so my other fabric rule was girly colours. Look what my other local fabric shop had in store for me:

The picture doesn't show the pinks and purples in the fabric very well but I promise they are there! There was also an exclusively pink plaid available but I don't think my manly PJ collection is quite ready for that yet! 

Is anyone else joining in? I'm so pleased to have found a sewing community event that I feel my levels of ability can cope with and the deadline of 28th April feels attainable.

In other sewing news: I've been working on some muslins for both the Salme Kimono Top and a Sewaholic Crescent Skirt. The Kimono top is pretty much finished short of fixing an upside down cuff but the skirt is proving pretty taxing, well it is an intermediate pattern. It was going well and I was tearing through Tasia's great sewalong posts but I've hit a snag at the zip insertion, I just can't wrap my head around it at all. I'm going to take a few days away from it and try again with fresh eyes/brain! Although I originally intended to sew this skirt up in grey denim I haven't had any luck finding the right fabric and today in the fabric shop I  saw this beautiful cotton poplin and I just knew it was desperate to become a Crescent Skirt. I kindly bought it home and promised that one day I would fulfill  all it's skirty dreams.

Isn't it lovely? I just love the bird (I think they look most like kingfishers) and bow print and it is grey so I haven't veered too far away from my plan.

What a nice Kingfisher he seems. I shall call him Kenny. 

Cheerio

Alice x

The 'Spring in my Step' Lonsdale Dress

I MADE A DRESS, like, a whole dress all by myself! Hurray for me! It only took, oh, about a month and a half, but, I did it. 

I am so very proud of this dress. That's not to say that it is anywhere near perfect, there are plenty of things that could do with being fixed, like the waistband, my mortal enemy, is not straight. The bodice fit is a bit off, if I make this pattern again I will probably shorten it. The hem is a bit of a mess, It doesn't hang quite right, I still need to master folding and pinning a curve. However, none of these things bother me too much because this is the first real pattern I've ever sewn and it is definitely wearable. Yay! 

Sarai of Colette Patterns fame wrote a great post about documenting the things you learn with each sewing project, not to mention the finished slip project featured in the post is just too gorgeous for words. I shall take a leaf out of her book. As a beginner I hope this will help me to remember the things I have learnt and show, over time, how much I am learning and improving (I hope!!) So here goes:

Lessons Learnt on the Lonsdale.

1. How to cut out a pattern: seems obvious? Not to me it didn't, I mainly used Tasia's great post on cutting fabric from the Pendrell Sew-Along, it was super helpful. I had no idea what a grain line was, never mind how to utilise it! 

2. Keep the iron on low when working with synthetic fabric: ah, lessons learnt the hard way...melted lining was a low point but at least I learnt something from it!

3. Markings and notches are there for a reason: having sewn the wrong edges of my bodice pieces together I realise how important it is to make notches and pattern markings clear and to take the time to match them up properly.

4. The seam ripper is my friend: fast becoming my best friend. I am a beginner, I will make mistakes, probably quite a few of them. Without my friendly seam ripper I can't fix those mistakes. All hail the seam ripper. 

5. How to sew french seams: I love french seams, I don't have a serger and i don't really like using zig zag stitches for finishing seam allowances, french seams are so lovely and neat and, where appropriate, I will be using them as much as I can.

6. How to hand pick zip: this one is a work in progress, I originally hand picked the zip for this dress but it came out bumpy and rubbish so I ripped it out and tried something else.

7. How to use the zip foot on my machine: the zip insertion in my muslin of this dress was a big ol' mess, because I used the regular foot not the zip foot, I didn't know such a thing existed! Looking in my machine's manual I found the instructions for the zip foot, gave it a go and hey presto a much neater zip. It's not perfect but it's an improvement. 

It's not perfect, but it's mine!

8. How to slip stitch: I slip stitched the inner waist band and the hem (although the hem could do with a bit of a re-work). It's a nifty little stitch that one.

Phew, lots of things learnt there, probably a few more I've already forgotten! 

I think my favourite part of the dress is the pockets, I'm really pleased with how they turned out and I think they're a great design feature.

Love them pockets.

I've named it the 'Spring in my Step' dress because spring has well and truly sprung around these parts and the joy of finishing this dress had made me all bouncy!

Hurray for spring

I hope there are lots of things putting a spring in your step. I'm off to do some spring cleaning!

Alice x

I Love the Weekend (no.2)

Oh, weekend, where are you so brief? This was the weekend of lamb.

On Saturday chap and I spent the morning pootling about the shops in Balham. I made friends with the lovely man in a local fabric shop, he gave me 4 metres of cotton (bought to make a few, hopefully wearable muslins) for the price of 3, new best friend. He has a huge selection of block colour cotton for £2 a metre, this is where I will shop for all muslin fabric from now on!

In the afternoon, we headed off towards the country side to have dinner with chap's family. Having forgotten to have lunch, we had pasties on the train, I love a good pasty.

YUM!

Dinner was, as it always is with chap's family, lovely. We had slow cooked lamb shanks: delicious. There was also a lot of wine, which resulted in very silly board game playing and the wearing of animal masks!

Apparently wine turns chap into a tiger, who knew?

On Sunday I had a long-overdue catch up with and an old friend, she only lives down the road but somehow we never see each other! She also made lamb, the roast kind, with potato daupinoise (my sinful favourite), it was so so yummy.

It was so lovely to see her and we had a great time catching up, giggling, reminiscing, and stuffing our faces (we had strawberries and ice-cream for pudding).

On Monday morning (my weekend doesn't finish until I go to work on Monday afternoon), chap left for the Wales leg of his tour, which made me sad so to cheer myself up I made some serious progress on my Lonsdale dress. I had been putting it off because the waistband was giving me attitude, but I showed that waistband who's boss and we worked it out (well who wouldn't do as they were told if I stuck a tonne of pins in them!)

Take that, waistband.

Then I moved on to the pockets, which have been my favourite bit of the whole project so far, there's something super satisfying about producing pockets. Not to mention I sewed beautiful, neat (as in not my usual wonky disaster) french seams, on a curve, without any chalked on guidelines; a major achievement for me.

Hurray for french seams. 

So now my skirt front pieces have pockets, and I'm enjoying making this dress again.

Look! Pockets!

I hope your weekend was delightful, full of yummy foods and achievements great or small.

Alice x

24 before 25...

I've been meaning to do this for a while now, and now I've done it I would like to share my list of goals for the coming year with you.

1. Get an acting job: I graduated from drama school last summer and I haven't worked as an actor yet, this needs to change.

2.Learn to crochet: I love crochet blankets and throws, I really want to make some for our house.

3. Decorate the lounge: this is the room I have the most ideas for so it seems like the best one to start with.

4. Try all the 'The Beauty Department' Hair Tutorials: I love doing new things with my hair and this website has some great tutorials for some great hair-dos.

5. Complete my Book Stash Bust challenge: I hope I will have time to read more than these 6 books but at the very least these must be read.

6. Join a dance class: I loved the little dancing we did at drama school, it's a great way to keep fit and it's so much fun.

7. Fill up my recipe book: for Valentine's day, my chap bought me a lovely recipe book binder just itching to be filled with yummy recipes I have tried and tested. I've gotten a bit lazy with my culinary exploits lately, I hope this will change that.

8. Go on 6 'non-standard' dates: this means not the cinema, the theatre or a restaurant. 6 might seem like too few but as Chap's away on tour for 50% of this year I think it's a realistic number.

9. Take a photography class: I take pretty rubbish photos and I have no idea what all the buttons on my camera do, I would like to change this.

10. Try writing a play: it might turn out to be terrible but i'd like to give it a go.

11. Go to the Edinburgh Festival: I have technically been, once, but I was 15, with my parents and only saw one (amazing) dance show. I want to do it properly.

12. Run 5km: I am not a runner. I should be, I live opposite a beautiful and rather large common, it's the perfect place to go for a run and it's free! Once the weather warms up I'll be dusting off my trainers and getting out there. I think 5km is a realistic goal given that I am not at all in shape at the moment!!

13. Go to the Lido: the common also has a giant outdoor swimming pool (apparently it's one of the biggest in Europe) and in the 9 months we've lived 30 seconds away from it we've never been. Come summer time this will change, there will be a picnic involved.

14. Sew at least 8 garments: I'd like to make more but 8 seems achievable.

15. Explore more of London: because my job doesn't require me to travel more than a 15 minute walk from my home, I don't get out and around London much and there is so much to see and do. I'd like to explore more.

16. Do some volunteering: I have a fair amount of free time at the moment and I'd like to use some of it to help out some worthy causes.

17. Go to the National Portrait Gallery: I love portraits, I think because I'm actor I like to create characters to go with the faces, but I have never been to the NPG!

18. Go wine tasting: I love wine (I am currently enjoying a lovely glass of Merlot) and I'd like to know more about it and stop automatically ordering Merlot purely because I know I'll like it. (I will, however, always love Merlot)

19. Make a cheesecake: I don't make desserts much but as a great fan of the cheesecake I should really know how to make one.

20. Learn Grade 2 on the piano: I'm not planning to take the exam (that requires a teacher and money) but I have some old grade books and I'd like to be able to play the level 2 pieces well. Perhaps by 28 I'll be a grade 8 pianist!! HA!

21. Make Marmalade: there is nothing better than marmalade on toast and a good cuppa. I bet it's even better when you've made the marmalade yourself.

22. Visit 5 new places: this can include places I went as a child, as it's such a different experience when you make all the decisions! I'll be visiting Chap on his tour a few times over the coming months so that will help me to achieve this one.

23. Take a photo a day for a month: i don't think I'm ready for a 365 challenge but perhaps a mini one later in the year after I've accomplished number 9.

24. Read all of Shakespeare's plays: ok so this one has rather a lot of room for interpretation, I have already read, studied or seen 27 of them, my goal this year is to get to know the ones that have so far evaded me, either by reading them or seeing them at the theatre. Hey, Alice, don't go and see King Lear for the 4th time, try Pericles of Timon of Athens...

Phew, all typed up like that it seems like a lot, but it's definitely doable and I think it'll be a lot of fun.

Alice x

Goldhawk Road Goodness

After a disappointing trip to Dorothy Perkins to exchange a dress with a broken zip for one that , you know, I could actually wear only to discover they'd completely sold out in my size, I decided to take a trip to Goldhawk road to cheer myself up. I've read about this magical fabric land on many a blog and it was finally time to go and explore. I had planned to only but fabric to complete items on my list of sewing plans but that so didn't happen. My oh my there were some beautiful fabrics. Here's my newly acquired little stash.

I did manage to acquire one fabric from my list. It's for my 'Laurie outfit blouse'. I simply asked the man in the shop (I forget which one) "Do you have anything floaty, navy blue with white polka dots?" and he said "yes!". Hooray. I have no idea what kind of fabric it is but it fits the bill.

I couldn't find any grey denim for my crescent skirt anywhere, everyone said they'd had some but it had all been sold! Bummer. 

In one of the shops I found a whole row of satin for £1.99 a meter in just about every colour, I immediately thought of Sewaholic's Pendrell Blouse, and then fantasised about a rainbow of pendrell's in my wardrobe, but I controlled myself and only bought one colour (this time). I went with navy blue, for no other reason than I like navy blue and want more of it in my wardrobe.

Next up a floral cotton. I'm not sure what I'll make with this one but it's very pretty and makes me think of summer, perhaps a sundress for picnicing.

Finally, my favourite find of the day: this beautiful horse print fabric.

Again, I have no idea what kind of fabric it is but it's very see-through and seems pretty delicate. It will definitely need under-lining. As soon as I saw it I was reminded of this gorgeous dress tutorial from A Beautiful Mess. I really want to hand stamp a dress of my own some day, but for now I have plenty of pony fabric to play with. I'm planning to turn this into a Meghan Neilsen Darling Ranges dress, I've seen loads of these popping up all over the blogosphere and I can't wait to have one of my own. Although I think I will be waiting a little while as I need to find the perfect buttons (would horseshoe buttons be equine overkill?) and build up the courage to conquer this 'intermediate' pattern.

I am so excited to start these projects.

Alice x