Lost mojo

Has anyone seen my mojo (sewjo?)

After a week of skiing at half term, a week of staying in bed with a flu-like illness, and two weeks of feeling that I should be better by now, I'm feeling a bit flat in the sewing dept.  I did do a little bit of sorting out in my sewing area the other week, after Husband had put together my new Expedit shelves:

Previously, most of that stuff had been carefully arranged on the empty boxes of my dressform and overlocker, in the same place as the shelves are now. This looks a tad more organised! 

Whilst organising all this, I rediscovered a small stash of buttons that my Mum gave me some time ago.  She had been going through some of her stuff and though I would like them.  As you can see some of these are on their original cards and would date from the seventies (most likely!) I also have some fab buttons printed with the Union Jack, which didn't seem to make it into the photos.

I did make it to my sewing class last week, having missed the first 2 of this half term.  I finished basting my Burda trousers together and found that they were enormous. Hammer pants would be an understatment!  We started taking them in various places, but I decided that it would be easier to take them apart and re-cut them in a smaller size. I originally cut a size 40 and then cut down to a size 36. Now back to the basting....

Geometric jersey

 Also on my sewing table recently, has been a top for Eldest. Some time ago (probably this time last year), she saw a leopard print top the she liked, but wasn't available in her size.  She then saw some leopard print jersey in John Lewis for something like £22 a metre, so I found something 'similar' at the Fabric Fandango:

 

She really liked my New Top, tried it on and it almost fit! The neckline was very similar to the original  top she had seen. I recently traced the smallest size on the pattern sheet - only one size smaller than my top. I cut it out last week, possibly forgetting to add the seam allowance on the back neckline.... hopefully not.  I followed Fehr Trade's tutorial for sorting out the neckline again. I had to do the shoulder seams a couple of times to get it to look right, but I finished the whole thing a couple of nights ago. Eldest was pleased with it when I asked her to try it on, but a bit concerned about the rather low front, hence the white t-shirt underneath.

I was a bit cheeky and tried it on myself... I'm not sure I want to let her have it now!

On the intended recipient:

On me!

 

(I have realised since I wrote the New Top post, that I got most of the details of the top wrong.  It is in fact from MyImage, topM1152 from the fall/winter 2012 issue).

Burda trousers #105 11/2012

Well, so much for more regular posting!

I have actually finished Husband's Christmas shirt recently.  I had four seams to finish off which, although I had been putting off doing them, were not as fiddly as I was expecting. I also top stitched the seam allowance of the armholes which looks rather neat.  The shirt has now had a good pressing, and is hanging in the wardrobe waiting for it's next wear.

I have been to 4 of my sewing classes since my post pondering what I was going to sew.  I have decided on some trousers (#105) from Burda magazine issue 11/2012,

 in bluey grey polyester (probably) crepe:
 

I spent the morning before my first class going over the correct pattern pieces on the burda sheet with a highlighter (I'm sure I read this on Tilly's post on sewing tips, but it doesn't seem to be there). In the class I did all the tracing  and cutting out of the pattern pieces. We have lovely large cutting surfaces there, which means my paper doesn't slide off the table all the time! The second class I spent pinning out the pattern onto the material very carefully, then noticed that one piece was pinned on the wrong way round, so had to redo. I had to cut everything out before the next class, so I was crawling around the floor in the spare room. The fabric had to be in a single layer so a lot of floor space was used up!

Last weeks lesson was spent starting to baste all the pieces together to assess fit.  I thought when I was cutting out that I may have cut the wrong size, but I think I'll be alright (she said optimistically!) I spent today basting everything except the, er, crotch area.

I'm not sure about the trousers really.  They are not a style I normally go for, but they will stretch my skills somewhat. They have invisible zips at the bottom of the legs, a welt pocket at the back, and a flappy wrappy bit at the front, which will make putting the in zip interesting .  The fabric is going to be tricky to work with I'm sure, so both of these will be a good test. (That reminds me that I need to order an invisible zipper foot for my machine!).  I have nothing to go with these, should they turn out ok - but I am sure that could be remedied.

Husband's Christmas shirt

This post is somewhat overdue, I was having problems on Blogger, which lovely techy Husband has solved for me!

Some time ago (May 2011), I bought some gingham to make a muslin for a shirt for husband:
I cut the shirt out sometime in June, using McCall's 6044, and then it stayed put for some time. I vaguely remember promising to make a shirt for Husband whilst we were still in New Zealand (and we even chose some material during a trip to Wellington), so I thought that I would try to get a muslin underway before Christmas.

I interspersed the sewing of this with my Denim Portfolio dress, so that I wouldn't get bored with either project and I could swap between my sewing machine and overlocker appropriately, in theory.

This shirt was supposed to be a muslin, so I basted it together to assess the fit. Once Husband tried it on, we decided that it didn't need anything in the way of alterations, so I decided to make it a proper shirt. I did not take any construction photos, unfortunatley, but I did decide to make it a little different. I have often admired the shirts that Carolyn has made for her husband and sons and have thought in the past, that I would steal her idea of diagonal buttonholes.

I didn't do that on this shirt, but instead used bright yellow bias binding to make certain features pop. I emphasized the front button placket, cuff, and pocket, which even though I say so myself, looks pretty good!

I'm not sure why I had such a colour hidden away, but it may have been something to do with this!

Husband expressed a desire to wear this for Christmas day, which I was well on course to accomplish, until taking to my bed with some horrible illness, on the Thursday before Christmas. By Christmas eve I was just about upright, and managed to sew on the many buttons, and wrap up the shirt. Any grappling with machinery was not on the cards, so the card on the parcel read 'I owe you one label and some seam finishes!'

My girls were keen to buy buttons that looked like pencil sharpeners as Husband likes properly sharpened pencils. Unfortunatley, even though the shop had the perfect matching blue, they only had three and I needed nine - shame.

So, this now has the label and nearly all the seems finished (two more to do).  Yes, I know they should have been done as I went along, but it was supposed to be a muslin, and I got carried away, and I wish I had done them earlier, but hey ho... Once we get heating back - the boiler is being replaced and hot water tank moved - I will venture back into the sewing room and finish it completely.  It's a little fresh up there at the moment.

The shirt tucked in:

and un-tucked:

I'm pretty pleased with this, and I'm fairly sure Husband is too! The shirt got lots of comments (all positive) from family over the Christmas period. 

For my reference, if I were to make another one, we decided that it would need to be a bit longer in the body to maintain it's ability to stay tucked in.  

Lists...

Some time ago I mentioned that I had written a list of all the things that I would like to make. Here is my list:

I realised the other day that I had completed the first three without even thinking, and mostly before Christmas. I have spent a long time thinking about what to sew next and looking at what other people have been up to, and strangely, mostly avoiding my sewing room. My sewing class starts up again tomorrow and I have no idea what I'm going to tackle. I think I'll take a bundle of fabric and a bundle of patterns and see what happens.

Slippertastic

Slippers for middlest

This is a guest post by husband.

This crochet nonsense is getting out of hand.  Wife stupidly mentioned that she would actually wear some slippers if I made some.  No problem I thought, but these ones have got to be special.  I'd made slippers for eldest, which were rubbish and have already fallen apart, but completed much better ones for middlest and youngest (see below).  I was much happier with these, particularly the built in stripes for youngest that I completed in one evening.

Slippers for youngest

Crochet Slippers at Etsy

Wife's slippers were going to be special.  I decided on a whole new design.  I was now an expert, I was getting ambitious. I found a lovely pattern at etsy (that I had never heard of, but wife is a regular apparently) that should have looked like this.  I paid real hard cash for them.  They were going to be a big surprise and they were going to be great.  Looking at Etsy now, I found another view of the slippers that I think would have made me think twice before making them.  As it was, I beavered away, making and remaking the sole with entirely inappropriate fluffy wool that drove me to distraction as the pubic twirls got caught on my hook when they shouldn't have.  The blind test of the slippers (wife had her eyes shut) looked like this, and I was so unhappy I asked her to check.

Hmmm

First pair, looks a bit odd to us

We decided that they were a no go (though they look remarkably like what they should look like, a big step for me!), and I would go with the traditional design from my original book from the library, Simple Crochet by Erika Knight.  I knew I could knock them off, so made a start and then forgot about them until the last minute panic before Christmas.  Wife tried them on plain but had no idea what decoration they would get.  I painstakingly created a stitch perfect copy of our family shield and crest.  I am sure I don't need to explain that one is a "falcon rising" and the other is three swords with a crescent Moon.  I was delighted to give them to wife, and a tear was in my eye after all the pain and suffering that went in to them (I might have had a stray eyelash).  She had nobly put them on her feet more than once and says polite things about them, so I dare say they are a success.  Ideally I would like to find something sensible to put on as a sole to make them last a little longer.  I am open to suggestions.

Finished item on Christmas day

Weeks later, note the wear on the bottom!

Relaxing

The next project will either be some crazy amigurumi (wife gave me this funny book), slippers for eldest that will last more than a month or a hat for me (I bought £20 of merino today in preparation).

Backwards, Forwards...

I have spent a lot (ahem, too much) time recently, reading other peoples blog posts reviewing 2011 and looking forward to 2012, so, here is my twopen'th...

I have greatly enjoyed my sewing in the last year and feel that I am getting better at choosing things that suit me and that I actually wear, my favourites being:
Turquoise top :
Denim Portfolio Dress
New Top
I have noticed that all three of these are blue, and a large quantity of my stash is blue. I never thought that I wore much blue, and still don't, but this could prove me wrong!

My silliest make was:

Medieval Madness

particularly the Cockscomb and Liripipe ( hat!) - sorry no picture of it on its own.

For 2012 my aims (not resolutions!) are to:

• keep sewing, with this, hopefully, the
  
• quality of my makes will continue to improve, and I will eventually (long term, not necessarily this year) have a whole wardrobe of me-made-clothing.
  
• I am planning to make some trousers soon
• take part in Me-Made-May this year
• Comment more on the blogs that I read. It is so inspiring seeing what other people around the world are sewing, and know that even if you are making the same pattern as someone else, you will both end up with completely different items
• blog a bit more regularly and not take forever to write a post!

So that is about it I think...

Happy New Year and happy sewing!