Summer Sparkle Complete

 I have been feeling really tired, fed up and sorry for myself the last few days.  But do you know what has cheered me up this morning?  Well read on...I completed my Traveller dress on friday but today was my first chance to get photos.  I started off trying to photo it in the dining room.  Ironically I have been reading a book called "Cut the Clutter" that I thrifted recently.  I have implemented some of the ideas, and have even planned a post about it.  Well, obviously not in this room.

These indoor photos just weren't working due to excess clutter and poor light.  So I went outside. 




My "butter wouldn't melt" face of innocence.  I always look like this when near copious amounts of alcohol.

 Then I had to go and buy bread and milk so here we are...um..yes...that's the alcohol aisle in my local supermarket.  No, I am not stashing wine in my pram.  I may be struggling with the chaos of everyday life,  but it's not that bad. The booze aisle seemed the least busy for the self timer. 

Look closely and you can just see the yellow hem tape I used

Then I tried the homewares aisle.  And that's it...what cheered me up was sneaking around the supermarket photographing myself!   

Oh and the dress?  I don't want to damn with faint praise but it's comfortable, and I am loving the pockets.  It's so cold here I am wearing cropped leggings under it. I made the sleeves with turned up cuffs because that just seemed better than a plain old hem.  I can't really think of much else to say about it.  But that's good cos it's an everyday dress that fits and that I can wear a lot, I don't need to witter on about it.   One problem though:  eeeeeek, I don't have an orange cardigan to wear with it.  Can I cope with that?

Sparkly progess #2

Thank you for the comments and good wishes for my back and for poorly Little I.  She seems better and is back at school.  Fingers crossed she manages to stay well for the rest of the term.  As for me, the doctor said it would take 4 - 6 weeks for my back to recover....eeek.  Only if I am not better by then can I be referred for physio.  In the meantime she recommended painkillers.  I am trying to do my back exercises in the meantime. 

So, progress update on the sparkly sewalong and I have managed some. 

Simplicity 2246, aka the Lisette Traveller dress, goes together really easily.  It is the kind of pattern that lends itself to being sewn in small bursts of activity. 

Last week I almost finished the placket, sewed the collar and inserted the sleeves.  The instructions suggest hemming at a middle stage of construction - I didn't do that as I want to check the hem length once I have finished.  Monday morning I sewed the last placket seam and wound a new bobbin in preparation for the nine buttonholes...



Tuesday morning I marked out the buttonholes - there is a super useful button hole marking guide in the pattern pieces.  This saved a lot of time and measuring.  Then I sewed six buttonholes while RG slept and the final three with her watching me.





My audience



Phew...just buttons, pockets and hems left, plus snipping and finishing off...I am hoping I can get this finished for the 4th July deadline. I hgave also cut front and back of the proper blue fabric as this brown version was supposed to be a wearable muslin. 

Right, no more sewing,  it is time for this view....mushy pear and parsnip for her, coffee for me.  Let's hope I don't get muddled up.

pear and parsnip? nom nom

sparkly progess

I thought I would do progress reports on how the Summer Sparkle sewalong is going. So far this post is a list of errors and no photos because I cannot reach my usb, the reason why will become apparent:
Week 1: school half term, I manage to cut out the remainder of the pieces and do markings.  It's a busy week so I just read the instructions and plan to start sewing once kids back at school.
Week 2:
Tuesday:
RG asleep in pram, I realise I don't know where I put the first page of instructions.  Have a look, can't find them, curse the chaos, kick a few piles of paper and remember I had to start with darts and stay stitching.  I sewed the bust darts, thought "hmmm, these bust darts are strange...very tricky to line up the marks..."  A friend drops in for a brief visit - I carry on sewing while talking and sew the strange darts...she leaves and then when pressing, I realised I had used the top pocket markings and produced ...um...armhole darts ????  What was I thinking? Answer: I wasn't thinking at all.
Damn, I sewed the real bust darts, pressed pockets into top fold and tuck.
RG woke up.  End of sewing

Wednesday:  Back from school drop off, RG asleep in car seat, quick 5 minutes sewing, sewed topstitch on the pockets. RG woke up.  End of sewing.

Later on, unpick wrong dart, as in, unpick the dart that was in the right place...grrrrr....give up and go to do more endless laundry instead. 
Thursday: RG sleeping, so I resew bust dart, pin on one pocket, realise I pinned lower pocket in place of top pocket, curse, drink some coffee, unpin pocket, press and pin in top pocket. Sew shoulder seams.  RG wakes up, end of sewing.
evening: tack on placket
Friday stitch first parts of placket, pin second - it is starting to look like a dress!
Saturday: Early morning farmers' market, and kids tennis, on our return, crouching to pick RG up out of car seat, I feel an almighty pain in my lower back and cannot get up.  After a while I get on the sofa and can't get up again ...I phone Mr Minnado to come home, I spend two hours trying to find out what painkillers I can take,  I give directions to T, and while marooned on the sofa  I notice the missing traveller dress pattern instruction sheet down the side of the cushion.  Ah, so, is this the bright side?  I put my back out but I find the missing instructions?

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.