A stash busting giveaway

I am taking a short break from my new strange compulsion of pinning images of other peoples' colour co-ordinated lego collections to have a stash giveaway.  Seriously I have three things to say,:

1. pinning is weirdly addictive,  and

2. WHO has time to colour co-ordinate lego? 

And 3.  WHO has children that keep it so unaturally organised? 

 Though it looks lovely, I guess the problem would arise when those pesky children play with it and mess up the system!  I can imagine the cries of  "Don't touch the lego, darling, I just arranged it all". 

Anyway, enough pinterest-fuelled wittering. on with the fabric giveaway,

this giveaway is partly inspired by Alessa. She recently had a stash busting giveaway which I was lucky enough to win some fabric in. I used it to make my dotty tee shirt seen above.

So I felt it was only just and proper to share my luck and hold a stash fabric giveaway of my own.

 It is checked cotton, 60" wide and 144" long, originally from Strawberry Fayre  It has sat in my mum's stash for a few years.    I can envisage this as a lovely Tova blouse or tunic or a sweet little plaid dress, maybe a Sew Lisette Traveller?  If you are interested in winning it, please leave a comment - I would love to hear what you would make from this fabric - with details of how to contact you if it's not linked into your commenting name. I will throw in a couple of other little surprises with the fabric.

We used the fabric as a backdrop for T's scout photography badge work. 

Giveaway closes next weekend, Sunday 31st May, good luck. Ooops!  Is it just me? Were you too polite to mention that I don't know my dates?  I mean Sunday 2nd June.

Recently, and Me made May days 11 - 17

Recently, we seem to have had a lot of minor  illnesses here. Two days ago , I dropped my camera one time too many and it's no longer working. 

So I will tell you that:

17th May Simplicity 3835 in spotty Amy Butler fabric

 16th May I was in me made stripey tee and V1247 green skirt.  

15th May was purple renfrew and denim tate skirt.   

13th May was a repeat of my spotty staple dress. 

11th May BBW/Simplicity 3835 top - this just turned out to be a crappy day and terrible picture!

14th May A line dress from BBW Dresses book

Little RG has been doing some crazy teething, plus had a cold,  and I could hardly put her down for a few days without lots of screaming.  I have almost lost my voice this week due to a cough.  I have done no sewing for a week or more. 

12th May Amy Butler Anna tunic with added patch pockets, unseen, underneath is a pink and white BBW Home Stretch tee.

Good news though - thanks to a certain supermarket chain voucher trade in I have ordered a new camera at the cost of only £9!  I await getting it in my sweaty little hands this weekend.  And I will not drop it I hope.  Plus it was recently my birthday and I was given £20 by my sister in law so I almost immediately bought the Sew Liberated skinny jean pattern....waiting for it to arrive before I buy any fabric.  Yay.  

Tova 1 and 2

I was thinking about Tovas for about a year - then when the pattern was released as a pdf  last year, I bought it.  I planned to make a tova for so long it was almost anti climatic once I did.  I printed the pdf off,carefully filed it away.  So carefully that when I finally came to make it I couldn't find my print out so had to begin again.  I finished my first tova blouse in March.  I used some dark grey linen or linen blend from my mum's stash.  My mum is unwell and can no longer sew.  She was a formidably talented quiltmaker and since the late 1980s that was her passion.  But, before that she also used to do dressmaking, knitting and lacemaking.  Slowly, very slowly, each time I visit,  I have been dismantling some of her stash, accrued over twenty years.  I give some away to other sewers, donate some to charity and keep some to work with.  I have a rule though that I have to USE these fabrics.  I cannot bear to unearth one stash only to fill up another of my own. 

It is an emotionally draining chore at times.  But also a chore that yields hidden treasures.  Like this lovely dark grey fabric.  It is a lovely weight and hangs well.

There was only enough fabric to make the blouse not a dress version.  The pattern went together straightforwardly.  I followed the instructions mostly.  I have worn the top a lot but find it really frustratingly hard to get a decent photo.  The fabric creases a lot during the day and it is tricky to photo dark colours.  The one adjustment I would like to make to the blouse is adding a couple of buttons to the placket.  I wear it over a cami or vest currently as I don't like too much chest on show, plus the flappiness kind of irritates me. 

Almost straight after finishing Tova no.1, I made a second.  This time in a white polycotton with little flowers on.  This came from my friend's clear out of her 93 year old mum's stash!  It had sat in my stash for a year...time to move it on. 

The problem I have with this is it is almost transparent fabric, so has to have a cami underneath and I have no pretty pale ones.  And I feel it looks a bit like a nightie on me. 

But it is a nice summery blouse for those not-too warm/not-too-cold days we seem to have a lot of.  Once again I plan to put a button or two on the placket, just waiting for the right button inspiration to hit me. 



A placket just waiting for the right buttons

Me Made May, days 7-10

So here is another Me Made May round-up.  I think it's obvious I am struggling with my photography!  Life seems to be on fast forward at the moment.
7th May

Plaid Simplicity 2259 top made May 2011. frankenportfolio/ Simplicity 2245 trousers - made July 2011

8th May - Staple dress by April Rhodes, a new make as yet unblogged.  I was fiddling with my camera's white balance and couldn't get accurate colours.  This dress is in fact black with white polka dots. 

9th May - Tova blouse, another unblogged make

10th May - Marisota wrap dress in jersey knit- pattern from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings book.  Made September 2011

Me Made May day 2 - 6

2nd May, Sew Lisette Portfolio dress Simplicity 2245
Made May 2011
Behind me is our almost finished rebuilt house.....we hope to move in this year

Here is my Me Made May roundup so far, days 2 - 6.  I have been enjoying the novelty of the fab weather.   



 3rd May  - Simplicity 2259 top - made August 2010
Vogue 1247 skirt - April 2013

This is on the way home from school. 

As I  was labelling the photos I thought it would be interesting to date the garments to see their longevity.  There is a lot of emphasis on novelty in sewing - always a new pattern craze or new fabric....but i want to see how much I already have.  

4th May - Renfrew tee shirt - February 2013 and Tate denim skirt - 2010.  It was Little I's birthday party this day and I didn't have much time for photos.  

5th May - Recovering from the day before!  A lazy day at home.
Amy Butler Anna tunic -
made May
2012







6th May - Simplicity /Sew Lisette Traveller dress - March 2013



FO: Alessa Tee and 1st May

A little while ago I was lucky enough to win one of Alessa's fabric stash giveaways.  It was a piece of blue and white spotted jersey knit and a piece of stripey cotton.  I decided right away that I would try to make a tee shirt from the blue spotty fabric.  It has a lovely drapey quality that I liked. 

The piece was not very big so I thought of sleeveless and initially wanted to try an Ottobre pattern but  didn't have enough fabric.  Then I remembered a charity shop find from a couple of months ago - Butterick 3070.  Please take a moment to enjoy the full eighties splendour of the pattern illustration. S'great, isn't it?  

 I went for view A, it reminded me of current kimono sleeve tees I have seen patterns for.  I cut a medium but think I will go for a small next time. 

The more boxy shape is a departure for me and I like it with fitted trousers.  I am not sure I would like it with anything else.  I am still debating whether to run a piece of elastic round the hem to gather the fabric and play with the way it hangs.  What do you think?





Spot the baby...



A back view to show you the full drapey quality

So this was my 1st May wear: Me made tee shirt and rtw jeans which I dyed from beige to indigo. 

Thank you Alessa for your generosity.  I am planning on a stash giveaway here soon to spread the good fortune. 

Oh, and look who's walking...