recently...

I have been planning for the Summer Sparkle Sewalong...I am making a Lisette Traveller dress, view A.  This year Alessa, Sarah and Ali  have come up witht hte very good idea of sewing just one garment in the month of June.  I am making a (hopefully) wearable muslin from a thrifted duvet cover first, then using my "good" dark blue linen look fabric.  I cut out half the pieces in January and then left them.  Since signing up to the sewalong I have been motivated to cut out the rest of the pieces and start on the markings.

A lot of calamine lotion painting onto Little I's spots.  And a peek at my marimekko bowl sent by Lovely S for my birthday.

A bit of sewing of this...Noddy and polka dots...it's... um... for me, not a child, though I have doubts about the possible infantilism (is that a word?) of wearing a noddy skirt.  Can I call it ironic? Can you wear an ironic skirt?  Well, we will have to see.

There's been a new craze for T:he bought a mini monopoly set from the charity shop.  I am looking for a full size set now, the pieces are too teeney weeney for my fingers. 

Mr Minnado donated some shirts to my refashioning pile.

This dress is also awaiting refashioning. 

We all went to the garden centre and spent a lot of time saying "how much???" We left with a bag of compost and some bean seeds.  Back at home we started planting some the seeds we have collected over the last year.  A coffee and cake to go with the planning. 

 

Had to share this, that hair spike was accidental..  I recently got RG a second hand bumbo chair with tray from a Preloved advert.  It's my new alternative to ebay when I want to look for a specific secondhand item.   She's been trying it out, and she seems to like sitting up. 

Oh and finally I need a bit of help.  My dark blue linene look fabric has been washed twice and still runs - any ideas for fixing it? I have a vague idea of using salt and white vinegar but am unsure about quantities.  That's all the news round here for now.  Hope you all have good weekends, any exciting events?  We are going to a jubilee garden fete IF the wind and rain stop. 

Pyjamas and Scrooge-fest

I have the distinct feeling that I am on a sliding scale of time, or maybe one of those airport moving walkways which is speeding up, first stop end of term, second stop Christmas, third stop start of school, fourth stop new baby...eeeek....can't someone stop this moving walkway? I have decided I want to get off. I have recently been having some good days (plenty of energy) and some bad days. On a bad day I lie down a lot...on the sofa, or even when it's really bad on the hall floor. Then I follow my bump to stagger to the school and nursery for pick up time.
Anyone else live in a family where Christmas preparations fall mainly to women? We set ourselves ludicrous goals, rush around getting everything sorted...I keep hearing and having conversations that revolve around "Are you ready yet?" "Have you bought everything for Christmas?" Do you want to put your fingers in your ears and stick out your tongue when you meet someone who has had all her presents bought and wrapped since October?
I decided to drop a few christmas activities this year in the interest of saving my sanity and retaining some energy and a bit of money. Plus cut down on waste. First for the chop is Christmas cards, I am just not doing them, except the mandatory half a dozen for elderly relatives who will ring and complain if they don't get one. (yes, they will and/or sulk...seriously). Second, I contacted various friends a few months ago and asked if we could just not do presents for children or ourselves this year...everyone said yes and seemed relieved, lots of people are feeling a lack of money this year. I am still doing presents for family and a couple of friends, but I feel so glad I don't have to have a long list this year. Am I now an offical killjoy? I have to say I do love Christmas normally but what I love is the lights, trees, advent, decorations, food, and most importantly seeing family...not the grind of hard work and over consumerism. As I am going to be only three weeks off the due date for this baby I cannot go to visit my family this year, they live 200 miles away and I don't think I can manage that car journey! So I plan a simple Christmas meal here just me, Mr Minnado and the children and lots of sitting on the sofa. We have a "Christmas box" which recently came out of hibernation, in it live Christmas and wintery story books and a small collection of festive dvds. It caused great excitement when we opened it on 2nd December. We are currently reading one book a night from the box and plan to watch the dvds nearer the big day. So, I am not completely mean. Anyone else have mixed feelings about Christmas?
Now then, deep breaths....camomile tea....and back to some blogging about sewing.
I've made some super-comfortable maternity pyjama trousers. At the end of the day it is a pleasure to put these on. I am doubly pleased with these as I have used some some stash fabric and every little bit of decluttering gives more space, plus I didn't have to spend anything on them!
The first pair are from an Ikea duvet cover found in the charity shop quite a while ago. I made a skirt in the summer from the matching pillowcase. You can see the big bump panel which I used the scraps from my mariposa dress for.
The second pair in greens and blues are made from a duvet cover I bought in the summer. I had used a large piece of the duvet cover for a skirt I am also just in the process of finishing off a maternity dress. I had other maternity clothes to sew but that running-out-of time feeling means I may just stop here, put my feet up and knit till the baby comes.

FO: Purple and paisley

A finished top and trousers.

Purple and paisley are not usually my thing. But here I am finding myself in ...purple and paisley. This is due to the fact I am trying to sew without spending much money and using second hand fabric where ever possible, so fabric choice is limited by what came out of gifted bin bags. The top is my completed Mariposa tunic by Anna Maria Horner. The fabric came from my Devon bin bags. I started making this tunic back in September as a wearable muslin but got frustrated when it came to trying it on and found it was too big on the top half and the modesty panel was massive making the top very immodest. I took the modesty panel out and decided to wear it with a vest underneath instead (is that camisole if you are reading this in the States?) In September I wondered if the too big top would fit by now, well, the bust is still a little too large and hangs awkwardly. This is partly due to the fact that I lined the front bodice with fabric (again a found free fabric) that is maybe slightly too heavy and doesn't drape well. If I were sewing normal non maternity clothes I would probably take time to alter this but as it is maternity wear for only a few months and I may still get bigger up there (eek) I am going to leave it. The top ties under ther the bust - I have tied it behind my back today.

The trousers are purple H&M cords that I bought in a charity shop last week. I've been looking for some cords to alter for a while now as I wanted some warm winter trousers. Finally I found these for £2.00 in a favourite charity shop in Devon last week. I used the tummy panel from the Burda 8376 trouser pattern and cut a panel in jersey left over from making this dress. Then I cut out the panel from the cords and sewed in my new stretchy panel. I added buttonhole elastic in a casing.

View of the stripey panel...

Verdict: I cut the panel a bit too low so I can only wear long tops with these trousers. These cords are also really very flared. I am considering taking them in a fraction. Any opinions? Or advice on taking in flares? Apart from that they work well and are so much better than the Next maternity jeans I bought on ebay. The maternity jeans I bought are awful, they fall down way too much, they are supposed to be skinny but are too big on my legs so they wrinkle and bag out giving a Norah Batty effect and the feeling of falling down tights. I think I am going to resell the jeans on ebay and stick with my me-mades. Hah....lesson learnt here. I cannot resist finishing this post with a picture of Norah Batty just for those of you who may not know her.

Norah Batty: Style Icon (image source)

Linked to Recycled fashion Finds here

Bumble bee cardigan

This is my bumble bee cardigan. It is dark purple and mustard stripes and started off life as a sweater with short sleeves and a cord threaded through a casing at the bottom hem. The cord made it quite baggy. To me there is something counter-intuitive about a short sleeved sweater or cardigan. I mean, I am either cold enough for long sleeves or too warm for a sweater.

I bought the sweater at easter in a charity shop near Exeter. At the time my mum said I would look like a giant bumble bee if I wore it but I ignored her and bought it. (Do we all ignore our mothers like this?) I had not planned to wear it as a a sweater as I don't particularly want to go out dressed as a giant bumble bee. Are you surprised at that?
It had an open neck and four press studs at the top. It has been lying in my to-do pile since easter and last week I finally took scissors to it. I just sliced it up the centre front and then zig zagged a tiny hem on each side. I left the original four poppers as I liked them and their detail. I think it is mainly a cardigan for wearing open anyway and for layering up. Despite my short sleeved cardigan reservations I like it and how it adds a pop of colour to the greys I have in my wardrobe. (Worn above with me-made anna tunic and me made nora tee shirt from Ottobre magazine, Autumn 2010)
This refashion is shared at Recycled Fashion Finds

Self stitched September Round Up

Day 4 - Simplicity 3835 top made from a piece of fabric a friend gave me.

I missed photographing the first few days of September, if I promise I was wearing me made clothes will that let me off the hook?

Day 5 - Anna tunic pattern by Amy Butler

I was too busy rushing around to take pics but I cannot remember what I was doing...oh, yes, I was mainly being a taxi service taking the children on last minute meet ups with their friends.

Day 6 - refashioned polka dot top

Day 7 - Simplicity 2245 Portfolio denim dress.

This dress is so comfortable I could wear it almost everyday. Right that's it for now...Little I has returned to nursery today so I am going to do some sewing.

Polka dot refashion

Ahhh, what's this? A refashion? It's been quite a while. But I won't bore you with my excuses. Just an apology for poor quality photos.

This started out as a second hand blouse with a zip up the back. It had been handmade by someone once and is made in a synthetic fabric. After I bought it, it languished in my wardrobe for about 8 months. I liked it in theory but everytime I put it on I felt awkward. The neck was too high on me and the sleeves came down past my knuckles. There was just TOO much of the blouse. It seemed to scream "I have an art degree" at me. (Do you know what I mean?) Anyway, I only thought last week of refashioning it while I was having a bit of a wardrobe clearout. (More on that in another post)
I unpicked the zip and the high neckband. Then I recut the neck with a scoop t-shirt shape. I used some yellow bias binding that was at the bottom of a binbag of second hand fabrics. I do like a nice pop of bright yellow against black and white. I made a simple loop fastening with a daisy button and stitched up where the zip had been as far as possible while still allowing myself to get the shirt on. I cut the sleeves and hemmed them with the bias trim about 1/2 inch above the hemline. Then I inserted elastic into the casing to give the sleeve hem a bit of shape.

I am much, much happier now with this top. I mean, polka dots, yellow trim, daisy button...what more can I ask for? I have been planning my autumn sewing (note to self, that means another promise of a future post!) and I am hoping this will fit with my planned grey trousers and also with some of my existing me-mades.

And on a final note, I am signing up for Self Stitched September 2011, but do you know what? This time I am taking the pressure off myself and I am not doing daily photos. I haven't decided yet how I will do it instead. I thought about not taking part this time as I don't have lots of new me-mades to share and it could be a bit dull and repetitive viewing. BUT I do hate to be left out. You will probably be seeing this polka dot top in September.

Me Made June, Days 1 -3

So first three days of Me Made June have passed already. It's half term here and it has been hard to find time for blogging. I hope to catch up next week. In doing the Me Made June challenge I want to try and test out my me made clothes this month and look critically at what does and doesn't work.

An over exposed pic but the only one that shows the length of this dress - see Day 2 for details.
Day One:
Simplicity 2599 top and Tate skirt, sewn from Sew Hip Magazine.

Look - an Action Shot

I made this top at the beginning of May from a brown floral print cotton that came out of my Devon binbags. I have not blogged about it yet, I will try and do that once half term is over. (I do like spending time with my kids honest) The skirt is one I wear a lot. It has big pockets which I love but when I look at it in photos it seems a bit too wide. Especially with this top. But, this was a great outfit for the purpose of a day mucking about with mud, walking the woods. The big pockets are great for car keys and holding the stone collection we always gather in the woods.

Verdict: Yay..goodie goodstein outfit.

Day Two

Hmmm..... where to begin? This dress was refashioned from two t shirts. I based it on the Home Stretch Sew U pattern. It was easy to make but after wearing it I have realised it needs a few tweaks:

• It is too long. That should be straightforward to fix.
  


• When I made it, I took the bodice sides in, copying the bodice shape from Sew U but it still kind of bags out around the bust making me look bigger-chested and much saggier than I really am. This is not a look I am keen on!



• The dress is very dark navy, I think it could be good for winter or season changes.
  
  My main problem with this dress was the fact that I was really aware of my rounded tummy while wearing it! Especially when out in a museum and I took my daughter to a special child and parent toilet with a child height mirror. A child height mirror which started at an adult's waist and went to about mid calf. Ugh, what a perspective. I am considering the possibility of magic knickers now. (And exercise, less cake, etc, etc) If you were to look back at my me made clothes in this blog you may notice that I tend to always sew and wear things that cover my stomach area. Wearing this dress really did challenge my own neuroses. No one else noticed or cared. (Or if they did they are English and therefore probably wouldn't say anything anyway).
  
  So Day Two was definitely a learning experience. On a positive note the dress was really comfortable to wear and felt lovely.

Verdict: Just don't know...seemed good in my head and on the hanger, not so sure in real life.

Day 3:

Refashioned skirt.

I am glad that Claudine in the flickr discussions suggested a spinning pose for today as it meant I wore this skirt solely for its spin potential. I remade it about 6 weeks ago and hadn't worn it. It is fuller than I usually wear a skirt but I really liked it. The photo below shows what it was like originally. It was too long and too narrow for me. (It also came out of my binbags of fabric) It is a beautiful cotton fabric which I loved. It reminds me of lying down and looking up through a tree on a sunny day.

I cut it where it got wider and made a new waistband and side fastening. I was able to keep the hem and side seams.

Verdict? I like it. I just need to find suitable tops for it. I think it could look sweet with a retro style cardigan and blouse...
Off to do some sit ups now...just joking..off to bed really.

Easy Summer Skirt aka pillowcase

I had my birthday in May and recieved this book from my friend Lovely Sarah. I thought I would try the "Easy breezy skirt" which is a skirt made from a pillow case.

It is really simple, you just cut open the shorter seam on the pillow case, try it on to check the length, and make a casing, insert elastic. Bingo...one skirt.

I was inspired by Alessa's links to scalloped hem tutorials to try and add a scalloped hem too. I read both the tutorials and then just traced my scallops onto the reverse side of the fabric using a tumbler. Here are tutorial links here and here

I used an Ikea pillow case that I bought a while ago together with matching duvet cover from the charity shop. Now I just need it to get warmer as it is too damn cold to go out in my new skirt!

Dress to tunic top refashion

This was a UK size 20 dress in the local charity shop. It is a silk cotton mix and the fabric feels lovely, it is also lined in cotton. I liked the pattern and colours and bought it. Though I am not sure about the fabric if it is too old lady or not, I just cannot decide. So I am wearing it and then I will decide!

The first thing I did was to trim the sleeves, cutting off the edging bands. Then I altered the dress to be a tunic using my Amy Butler Anna tunic as a shape and size guide. I drew round the Amy Butler tunic on the inside of the dress using tailor's chalk to show my stiching line. Then I trimmed away the excess fabric after sewing.

I am hoping this will be a good top for summer.

Cardigan refashioned

A hand sewn refashion. The silk and wool mix junper was bought last year at a nearly new sale. It has glitter thread in it, just in case you haven't noticed. I tried it on but I had not worn it at all. So in thrifty 365 thinking this was not so good...it may have only cost £2 but if I don't wear it then that is £2 wasted. I only really wear jumpers if it is very cold. So on thursday I took my scissors and cut it up the centre front, hand hemmed a tiny hem edge on each side. Then I got out my new toy...a pair of Prym pliers (bought half price in a closing down sale) and a pack of pearlised press studs. After some struggling, fiddling and muttering to myself, tah - dah, I have press studs on the new cardigan. It is unlikely I will ever fasten them but I like how they look.

I like my little glittery cardigan, it brightened up yesterday's school run.

23rd March

I am taking advice from the comments left on the last post. We have slowed down here. I put the UP dress away. And the sewing machine.
We have made "prototype one" of a water clock. It worked but was not big enough. We now need more empty bottles to make what I told by T is to be the test model.
I have done some (for me) exciting online pattern shopping. More to follow in another post about that.

We made a cafe in the living room. Some fabric from the bags I bought back from Devon makes a perfect pink and white tablecloth.




"You like coffee? Milk?"


Yesterday's MM March outfit is below.

In the background Little I is getting busy with the tub of mud and water...

Me Made top based on Nano Iro pattern.

I made this top as part of a sewalong last year. It originally looked different with a dark brown neckband. But I felt it looked too much like a shepherd's costume in a nativity play and the brown and ochre combo made me think of Captain James T Kirk in the 70s Star Trek series. So I changed it around and altered the neck adding bias binding made from the remnants of my ruffle top. Then I never wore it. It is light cotton from Kaffe Fssett and is too thin to wear much in colder weather. It has languished in my cupboard until today. And I have to confess it is a good top to wear on a warmish day. It is comfortable and just easy to wear. I didn't take my photos till 4pm and one criticism is that this fabric does crease. I also didn't get the neck binding quite right and it doesn't lie flat. But I got a couple of compliments on it.

16th March

Me made Simplicity 2599 top, Me made trousers from Built By Wendy Sew U. Refashioned cardigan.

12th March

Instead of a trip to the gym yesterday I stay stitched my U.P. dress pieces in preparation for princess seams and tacked them up. Then I left early for school which allowed me walk into the small town centre where

I visited the charity shop and bought this ring for £3.00. Pretty. And more satisfying than the gym.

12th March

Refashioned t shirt blogged originally here,and me made skirt from Sew U skirt pattern.

4th March

4th March - I refashioned this shirt from the XL polo shirt pictured above. I found the shirt on tuesday when I took a bagful of donations to the charity shop. I liked the colour of the shirt, it's a deep red.

I cut the shirt using the Sew U Home Stretch T shirt front and back pattern pieces as a size guide. I cut out the sleeves and ran a gathering stitch along the top before putting them back in as slightly puffed sleeves.

I added lace, changed the buttons and sewed the front neck piece back in as a yoke. It still needs a bit of tweaking as the front neck comes a bit too high for my liking.

The skirt is one I made in December, using the Sew U skirt pattern, I sewed the facing onto the outside and added bias binding and two tabs with buttons. I had originally hemmed it very badly and lumpily so last weekend I re-hemmed it using some grosgrain ribbon, with a much smoother result.

At the time of making, I didn't put in any pockets as I thought it would spoil the line of the skirt. I wish now I had and am considering unpicking the side seam o fthis skirt and the sack dress to put in pockets. I love pockets!