That’s Better* October 14, 2009

So, I’m back to trying to spend less time on the computer and more time actually doing things with my life.  I’m back to exercising again after stopping for no apparent reason (and then having that bad cold that meant exercise was pretty much out as I was coughing and too tired to bother).  I’m also trying to eat better again.  All of this means that I’ve been slack on blogging what I’ve been doing, I need to try and find a balance where I can keep up to date with my blogging along with my making and doing!

This is Simplicity 3568 made from a synthetic knit that I got from Abakhan.  It was pretty easy to put together until it came to the cowl.  The pattern says that you attach the cowl right sides together with the shirt.  This means that the inside of it shows at the front and I couldn’t quite figure that out.  I did it the way it said thinking I was missing something but I wasn’t so I took it off and sewed it on the other way.  Thing is that it doesn’t quite lay right and slips back and forth a lot.  Luckily the slipping is at the sides and the back which tends to be covered by my hair so it’s no big deal, just annoying.  Also the facing refuses to stay put, I have tacked it down at the sides and then went back and tacked it down at the back and front and it’s also understitched but still it flips up from time to time.  I’m not sure if it’s the fabric or the pattern to blame.  Anyway, this top fits really well so I’m tempted to go back and make the cowl-less version if I can find a suitable fabric in the stash for it.

This is Onion 5022 made using a t-shirt that Jodi sent me an embarrassingly long time ago.  She screen printed her artwork on the front of it and when I commented how much I liked it she offered to send me one.  I asked for the largest size she had knowing that I would want to make something from it rather than wear it as is so this was an XL t-shirt.

This is a close-up of the artwork

Isn’t it great?  The pattern is a tried and true standard and I used black FOE around the neckline and sleeves and double stitched the hem with black thread for some contrast.  It lies flatter around the neckline than it looks in the picture and I’m really happy with the way it came out and to finally get it done!  Thanks so much for sending it to me Jodi and I hope I’ve done it justice.

Piggle still has a thing for Bob The Builder, although he’s stopped singing the song day and night which is nice as it was getting a tad wearing!  The duvet cover I made simply by measuring one that he has already and ripping the fabric to size.  It’s backed with some white sheeting I bought last year to make Jim’s Halloween costume from.  There aren’t any fastenings on it as I don’t have reliable snap press and didn’t feel like doing buttonholes, but neither of his Ikea duvet covers have fastenings so it fits right in.

The pyjamas are Kwik Sew 3126 once again and are the last winter pyjamas for this year.  He was so happy when he saw both these things and excited to have Bob on his pyjamas and bed.  It’s so lovely when your time is rewarded by smiles and laughter and reminds me that I must keep making the boys things while they’re still young enough to appreciate Mummy’s work and not be put out that I didn’t buy them something from a shop!

I didn’t have enough patterns to justify shipping for whatever sale Sewing Patterns dot com had on one time I ordered so I threw in some New Look patterns.  This skirt is from 6811 and was the reason I bought the pattern.  As soon as it arrived I went rifling through the stash to find something to make it from even though I won’t get to wear it until Spring!  It has some nice slanted pockets on the side which you can’t really see in this picture and I don’t know if you can see clearly in this one either.

It’s a lovely flippy summer skirt with a drawstring waist made by sewing the casing onto the outside of the skirt.  I’ve had this fabric for ages and had no idea ever what to make with it but as soon as I saw it and had this pattern in hand I knew they would be a good match!

I enjoyed making that one so much that I right away made a second one!

This is another piece of fabric that I loved but didn’t know what to do with and I think it looks fab as this skirt!  Trust me to get into summer sewing now that the weather is cold!

I’m sure I’ll use this pattern a few more times yet, I had to stop myself from using it a third time right away, it will probably be like the year that I used the Betsy Ross A Line Skirt pattern over and over again and you’ll all be bored of seeing them!

Oh look, I knit too! This is the Frock Camisole from Interweave Knits Spring 2008.  I used Rowan Bamboo Tape in Storm which I got from Kemps for dead cheap.  As you can see by the way it fits my dressform I should have perhaps chosen a larger size!  It’s got lovely drape though and if I can keep watching what I eat and doing those exercises I may fit into it sometime.  I intend to wear it over a t-shirt like a vest rather than on it’s own.

The lines on the front of it are from hanging it over the radiator.  When I soaked this before blocking it literally turned into a board, very very strange.  As it was so stiff there was no way to ring it out and after 4 days of it laying there blocking and it still being soaked I got a bit worried about it going moldy or something so I unpinned it and threw it on the radiator.  I don’t think the lines are forever, I’m sure they’ll go away next time I put it in water.

I’ve finished the major knitting on the Sienna Cardigan, just realised that I meant to start blocking the fronts earlier, will get to it later on tonight after the boys are in bed.  Once it’s all blocked there are the front bands and the collar to do and that will be another one off the needles.  My Dad has suggested another jumper for Christmas so I will have to get knitting on that soon as he’s about a 46″ chest!  Luckily it’s a simple enough stocking stitch pattern so it hopefully won’t take too long and my older sister is chipping in towards yarn.

And finally, blanket check as of last night (and I’ve not touched it today)

That’s 14 complete stripes and about a third of the 15th.  I ordered 4 more colours online which arrived today, I’ve got a yellow, mint, light blue and another green.  There’s also a burgundy to do from the first lot of yarn so when I’ve done those 5 stripes I can start repeating colours.  I am hoping that will be enough yarn to get me to the end, I think I can get 4 stripes per ball but I won’t know what size blanket that will give me until I finish the first colour repeat and can measure it.

I’ve slowed down slightly with it due to the fact that someone in the house (and I have no idea who, it could be me for all I know!) snapped the end off my crochet hook!  I bought a Brittany one on Ebay and found it impossible to use, I just kept dropping stitches all the time and it drove me mad.  It also seemed to be a different size to the one I was using even though they both claim to be 4mm.  The old one is still useable but it does dig into the palm of my hand after a while which is irritating.  I will buy a replacement some time.

Over and out!

* This is one of Piggle’s favourite expressions at the moment, along with ‘all done’ and ‘there we are’.

Poorly Sick September 28, 2009

I’m not feeling so hot, I have picked up a horrible cold that’s been going around and Piggle and I are both coughing and sneezing and blowing noses which is not much fun.  I’m feeling so out of it today that I haven’t sewn as I don’t want to mess anything up and didn’t feel like I was thinking clearly enough not to make a mistake.  I did cut out 2 t-shirts though and hopefully I will feel well enough tomorrow to actually sew one of them.

I did manage to get some sewing done prior to being ill though so I will show you that!

Kwik Sew Sewing for Children pyjamas for Jim.  The top is from some thickish unknown knit that I got from someone online free for postage, the flannel is actually from a pair of pyjama bottoms I made myself several years back.  I was fed up with the huge ass baggy style pyjamas but the fabric was still in really good condition so I saved these to use for one of the boys and here they are re-purposed.

I had a problem when I was cutting the top, I was merrily cutting away and suddenly discovered that I didn’t have enough fabric to cut a second sleeve…  This pattern has you cut the sleeve on the fold which I find really irritating so when I get around to it I will trace the pattern again and stick them together.  One of the sleeves of the top has a nice seam down the middle of it, but I figure he only wears them in bed and I’m the only one it will bother so I’m not going to sweat it.  I gave these to Jim and asked him what he thought to be told ‘they’re nice Mummy, but I don’t like frogs’…  You win some you lose some.

Same pattern but this time without the sleeve seam!  I also remembered to straighten the legs of this pair of trousers which I forgot on the others so they look a little bit dated.  Jim liked these a lot better as they have signs and vehicles on them which he’s into at the moment.

This is Simplicity 4076 view C.  I got this pattern last week in a batch of patterns from the Sewing Patterns dot com sale and really liked this version.  I bought 3 metres of this cotton/synthetic knit off Ebay a few months back and the pattern called for half of it so I can use the rest for something else in the future which makes me happy as I love the print.  I did my usual scientific ‘hold the pattern up to myself and judge how much length I need to add’ which usually works out ok.  However, being ill as I was, I really misjudged and added 4 inches to the bottom of it when I probably could have gotten away with 2.  I will wear it a few times and see what I think of the length before cutting anything off it though.  I’m very happy with the way this came out and with the knit, it’s got good weight to it and is quite thick so it will keep me warm this winter.

I have been having problems with the chest of drawers that holds my sewing patterns, problems like this

That would be the back of the drawer collapsing under the weight of the patterns and dumping them through into the drawer below.  You may remember a while back I fixed one of the drawers by taping it back together.  That repair seems to have held quite well so I decided it was about time I did the other 2.  So, away I went, emptying them and taping, putting them back in and refilling them.  Happy with the job I’d done I went to put away a pattern only for the front to fall out of one of the drawers I’d just fixed.  So, I emptied it again, taped the front together, put it back in and refilled it.  I then opened the other drawer I’d just fixed and the same bloody thing happened with that one.  At that point I shut the drawer and ignored it, I’ll get around to fixing it at some point but as it’s the bottom one it’s not catching on anything when I open it.  I’m a bit disappointed with the chest of drawers I have to say, I know it’s Ikea but it’s pretty bad quality if it falls apart so easily.  The weight of the patterns isn’t that much more than if I had filled it with t-shirts so it really shouldn’t be coming apart the way it is.

To spread out the weight a bit I had a bit of a reorganisation of my yarn stash to get it out of the top drawer.

I was using the striped chest of drawers for storing cloth nappies in the boys room but it now fits very nicely in my sewing room.   I had to move a few bits around to get it in there but it doesn’t look too bad I don’t think.  The baskets on top also hold yarn and I have a few bags stuffed down the side too!

Just a lot of stacking up going on!  The baskets on top of the chest of drawers hold my elastic, ribbon, bias binding, appliques etc, the baskets were stacked where the striped chest of drawers is now.

This room is tiny and stuffed full of my things, besides reducing the amount of yarn and fabric though there isn’t much I can do about it, even if there is less of those things I will still have the storage that I have now to hold what’s remaining…

Hopefully I’ll feel well enough to sew tomorrow, I’m excited about the next few projects I’ve got lined up and want to see them done.

And in case you’re wondering, here’s the blanket check as of right now

That’s 6 and a half rows done.  My knitting has been suffering due to the blanket as I haven’t really been working on much else.  Trouble is that I have to watch when I’m crocheting so I’ve only been half viewing anything I want to watch on tv too!  I’m really happy with the way it’s coming along and I figure that soon enough I’ll be bored with it and have to make myself work on it.  There’s one hell of a long way to go yet so I may as well get as much done on it as I can now when I want to work on it!

Because I Really Needed a New Hobby September 22, 2009

I really enjoyed the crochet that I did around the neckline of Annette and I was intrigued to see if I could manage to do anything more complicated than a single/double crochet (depending which country you’re in!).  I’ve loved the look of the ripple blankets that have been popping up all over blogland so I went on a hunt for a free pattern and ended up here.

Not only has Lucy from Attic 24 written out great plain and simple instructions but she’s also included a ton of photos showing you where you should make a stitch and what it should all look like when you’ve done it.

So, off I set to my favourite online supplier (my stash has grown hugely since I found this site so I am not to be held responsible for any purchases you may make!) and bought 6 balls of Patons DK 100% cotton.  I just grabbed the first 6 colours they had and I’ll go back and pick up 1 of each of the others that they have there as and when I’m ready for more.  I then found a shop with cheap postage and purchased 2 of the mulitcoloured Knitpro crochet hooks as I wasn’t sure if I wanted to use a 4mm or a 4.5mm one (I refuse to pay huge postage for needles, and now hooks, I think it’s a total rip off, this shop has a flat rate of £1 so I will be using them again).

This morning the postman handed me my two packages and I sat down to have a play and see if the Annette neck finishing was just a fluke.  About 10 minutes after I Twittered that I wished my Happy Hooker book had arrived from Amazon a courier brought it to me!  After the school run I played about but kept making mistakes that I couldn’t figure out.

Once the boys were in bed I tried again and on my third attempt I managed to get the pattern into my head (it’s not hard, you only have to count to 4, but sometimes simple things are beyond me!) and I am now the proud producer of 3 small ripples as so

Sorry about the flash, it’s late and dark here and ignore the odd hole in the middle of the first ripple!

So, tomorrow I will rip out what I’ve done and attempt to do it again about 6 times as wide!  I’m not quite sure what size I want to make, I would love a double bed sized blanket but the amount of yarn needed for that is pretty staggering (about 4,500 m plus), although now I do the math on that it’s only 14 balls of this yarn and I already have 6 so……

Anyway, I’m pretty happy with myself, I still need to work on my tension a little bit and how to hold the yarn, the wrapping it around my fingers thing just isn’t natural to me at all, but I’m sure I’ll get there in the end!  Obviously this is yet another long term project but hopefully it will be fun and I will get my crocheting confidence so I can try a few of the other patterns from The Happy Hooker!

Busy Busy Me September 16, 2009

Since Jim went back to school last Monday I’ve been trying to get myself into some sort of routine.  When Piggle and I get back from the school run he goes down for a nap (lord I hope he keeps napping!) and I do some exercise and then I hit the sewing room until it’s time for lunch.

Ok, I should have warned you to sit down before mentioning the e word!  Yes, I have actually been exercising for the last week and a half and it’s not killed me yet!  I have been using the 10 Minute Solution dvds which come in a huge variety of different types.  A lot of the ones I’ve bought contain the words ‘belly fat’ or ‘abdominal’  in the title as this is the area that bugs me the most about my body.  Well, that’s not true, it all bugs me really, but having a huge belly really gets me annoyed so I’m targeting that area the most.

These dvds work for me as I have a very short attention span when it comes to exercise.  There’s no way I could do a whole workout looking at one person and the repeat that workout every day.  I need variety and to do different exercises and try new things.  What I’ve been doing is 10 minutes of some cardio and the 10 minutes of toning a specific part of my body (this morning the instructor informed me that I’d done a ‘great arm workout’ which I achieved by holding 2 tins of baked beans as I don’t have hand weights).  The fact that I have been feeling muscles ache in various parts of my body that I didn’t know existed suggests to me that I may be dong some good and see some results at some point in the future if I keep going.

I have bought a couple of the dance 10 minute ones and also a kickboxing one, these are totally hilarious as I have no co-ordination, can’t dance and can’t every remember what I’m supposed to do next so I spend a lot of time asking the instructor on my television ‘you want me to do what?!?’.  I have managed not to break anything yet and I haven’t fallen down either so things are going well.

The only issue I’ve had with the dvds was when the instructor on a belly fat one told me to use my lower abdominals.  I’ve had 2 c-sections, I don’t actually think I have any lower abdominals to speak of anymore and I really don’t seem to be able to feel or control them…  Maybe this will change with time and if  I keep doing the exercises that are supposed to work them, but for now those muscles are simply refusing to come out and play…

My plan is to do 20 minutes 5 days a week until the end of the month and then I will go up to 30 minutes, either adding another toning session or a cardio one depending on how I feel that day.  The toning ones make me sweat as much as the cardio anyway so it’s all good.

I’ve been leaving the computer off until lunchtime and have found I get a lot more done that way, I’ve not missed it at all either which is a bonus.  Sometimes I wonder exactly what I spend all the time I’m on the computer actually doing as I never have much to show for it…

After I finish sweating, giggling and tripping over my own feet I’ve been making stuff and it feels great to be back in the swing of things every day rather than just here and there when I can get away for a few minutes.  This first project I made over the weekend while the boys were with their Dad and it’s from a Simplicity 6436 which is from 1974 and looks as so

That dude is trying to be too cool for his own good…

You may have noticed that I have a thing for vintage shirt patterns, particularly those from the 60’s and 70’s.  I just love the styling of them (although I will be avoiding the turtleneck/belt combo going on in that picture).  This shirt wins the prize for the largest collar I’ve ever sewn on anything.

This fabric was from Abakhan sometime in the distant past and I’m really happy with the way that it worked with the pattern.  I think it looks a little retro without looking like I’m about to break out singing Night Fever or something similar.

The next thing I finished was actually another knitting project.  I know, I don’t know how I’m doing it either.  I think I’ve just reached the point where I had so many projects on the go that something was bound to be completed at some point.  It also helped that it has no sleeves and I used 6.5mm needles…

It’s from a Sirdar pattern and I will have to check what my Mother is wearing before meeting her anywhere as she knit one in a different colourway of the same yarn.  It’s an acrylic yarn, James C. Brett Marble Chunky and it’s ok but a little too shiny for my liking.  The great thing about it is that it cost about £6 to make the thing so even if I don’t wear it that much or it goes all bobbly and ugly it won’t have set me back very much.

It was a really easy knit until it came to the front ribbing.  The collar is knit in halves using short rows and all that was fine once I’d managed to pick up the right number of stitches.  It was a complete bitch to pick up and in the end I picked up the number needed for the next size down as there was absolutely no way I could see to get what the pattern called for, I’d picked up from every single stitch along the front.  It doesn’t seem to have pulled up too much though so I think it worked out ok.

Damn, now I’ve got Night Fever stuck in my head….

Ok, moving on.  I cut this t-shirt out in April right after I made the short sleeve version which I wear all the time.  For some reason I just didn’t get around to making it up though until Monday when I pulled it out and got it done in one sitting.

It’s Onion 5020 using a cheap thinnish knit I got from Abakhan ages and ages ago.  It probably won’t last longer than the winter as the fabric isn’t the best of quality but I’m happy with the way it came out and I’ve been wearing it today and it’s really comfortable.  I decided not to do the small v bit of sewing at the centre front to turn it into a v-neck as I like the way it looks with a rounder neck.

As I said in a previous post it’s time for pyjama sewing again.  The temperatures have really dropped here at night, so much so that I got out the winter duvets last night.  As Piggle has grown out of his flannel pyjamas from last winter I started with him first.

I only had enough of this flannel to make some bottoms so I dug about in the stash and uncovered this blue rib knit that is a pretty good match.  Threw in some red ribbing and an applique on the front of the shirt and I’m really pleased with the cute factor of these.  I’ve moved up to a T3 in the shirt (from Kwik Sew Sewing for Toddlers) as Piggle’s t-shirts always seem a bit short for him in the T2 size, I figure that even if it is a little large at the moment he’ll grow into it and also the cuffs will stop the sleeves falling over his hands.

Then this morning I cut out and sewed this pair using Kwik Sew Sewing for Toddlers patterns.

The blue ribbing is quite close to the rhinos colour in the fabric.  I used the T3 pattern for the bottoms of these as well as the top, again figuring that the cuffs would hold them up out of the way if they’re too long for him.

Close-up of the fabric in case you’re wanting to see it

This was another one from Abakhan picked up on my last trip there.  Abakhan has a lot of roll ends and seconds in their fabric stock and it turned out that this was a second as in quite a few places the ink from the tigers had smudged.  I managed to find a piece with no smudges for the front of the t-shirt and after that I let the smudges fall where they may as they’re not too bad and he’s only wearing these in the house afterall.

So, that’s what I’ve been up to.  Plenty more sewing planned and to do, three more pairs of pyjamas to get both the boys covered for the winter.

In my knitting I’m on the final piece of my Sienna Cardigan so that should be done in the next week or so, I need to remember to start blocking the other pieces while I knit this final front so it’s almost ready to sew together when I’m done.  I have been working here and there on various knitting, I really need to pick something out and concentrate on it to get it done, I’m thinking perhaps the Tree Pullover I’m making for Jim so he can wear it for this winter before he gets any taller!

End of the Catch-up September 10, 2009

This is Annette from Knitty.  It’s absolutely my favourite thing that I’ve knit in a while.  This is my ‘Big Love’ sweater as it was knit whilst I watched all 3 series of the tv show!

When I saw this pattern on Knitty I immediately went looking for yarn to make it from which is odd for me as I tend to let things brew a bit before going on a yarn hunt.  I bought more of the Twilleys Freedom Gorgeous bamboo/acrylic for it in the imaginatively named Bamboo colourway.  I used way less yardage than the pattern called for even though I added 2 inches in length to it so I have 2 and a half balls left of the yarn to figure out what to do with in the future (1 and a half less than the pattern called for as I always buy an extra ball).

These are the buttons I had in my button box, sorry it’s a bit blurry but you can see that they have flowers on them.  I had exactly the right number which was good luck.  I was informed at the knitting group that I bought them in Boyes, I couldn’t remember where I’d found them!

I finished the knitting of the sweater and then it sat in my knitting basket for 3 weeks waiting for me to be able to go to the knitting group so someone could show me how to do the crochet around the neckline.  When I finally got to the group the lady who’d said she would show me wasn’t there that week (of course!) but a very nice lady called Helen taught me in a very clear way (I’m not the best at picking up new techniques) and after she got me started I finished the neckline and sewed in the final ends that night.

I think I can remember how to do it should I need to again!

Back to the sewing!

These are Butterick 4946 and are more chef’s trousers for my brother in law to wear to work.  He picked the fabrics himself in Fabric Land in Brighton.  I got these finished just in time to take with us when we went camping together so I didn’t have to post them down to him!  The only change from the first pair I made him was to take an inch and a half off the length.  It’s basically a pyjama pants style pattern with pockets added so not too hard work!

What I didn’t get finished in time to give to him in person were the surgeons caps.

I finished and posted these on Monday, 2 of each pattern so that should keep him going for a little while as it’s 10 total with the first ones I made!  These are pretty easy to do really and I sewed them batch style which I’m not a big fan of but it didn’t make sense to do it any other way.

Tuesday I finished off a project that I’d meant to get done before Monday when Jim started back at school!

We finished off the bag of sandwich bags in the last week of last term and I was determined not to buy another box!  This is a free online pattern for Sandwich Wraps (from the book Sewing Green) which you can find here.  I had to scale up the pattern myself as my printer won’t print at 200% (well I can’t make it anyway!) but it wasn’t too hard as there are only 2 pieces.

This PUL has been in my stash since Jim was a baby.  I bought it intending to make cloth nappy wraps for him and did do one or two of them which was enough to make me realise that I hated sewing them and mine didn’t work as well as the ones I had bought!  I’ve never found another use for it until now so I’m glad I hung onto it.  It’s made from a PRR jersey which means it’s thicker than most PULs and has a really nice feel to it.

I made two of them because Jim has been known to stick a half full carton of drink back into his lunchbox and in the winter with the jersey on the outside I probably wouldn’t get it dry.  Soon I want to make some bags to put other bits in his lunch like carrots for his humus etc, I bought a pattern off Etsy for that so I’ll get to it one day!

And bringing me right up to date this is what I made this morning

OK, so Piggle probably won’t get to wear this this year as it took me far too long to get around to making it but I did have enough foresight to cut out the next size up so he should be able to wear it at least at the start of next summer!  It’s Ottobre 3/07 #7 and it’s been on my mental list of things to make ever since the issue came out but Jim was too big for the pattern sizes.  The fabric was one of the few I specifically bought for ‘the baby’ before Piggle was even conceived!  Being PRR (it’s a soft twill) I could dye the background any colour so it was suitable for a boy or a girl but they had to be young as it is quite a babyish design I think.

In case you can’t read it the writing says eat, sleep, play and while I was sewing this I thought ‘they forgot poo’!  It’s little rhinos and very cute.  I dyed it a limey green with dylon in the washing machine.  The grey t-shirt I showed earlier is to go under this.

It was pretty easy to make even with the facings front and back and only took about an hour and a half to put together.  The buttons are from Boyes and I managed to sew 2 of them on back to front so I had to cut them off and try again, I was glad I use the machine to sew on buttons, I would have been furious if I’d sewn them by hand!

When I finish a project I’ve begun to get myself ready for the next one if I have a few minutes to spare at the end of my sewing time.  If it’s not cut out I either cut the pattern or trace it to get it ready and if the pattern is ready I’ll try and cut it out.  If it’s already cut out then I do any interfacing and/or marking that needs to be done and then I overlock the pieces.  I’ve found this makes me a lot more productive as the fiddly dull bits are out of the way and when I get in there tomorrow I can immediately start sewing the 70’s shirt that’s my next project instead of messing about finding everything and ironing on interfacing.

I’m done with the summer sewing I had planned for the boys and believe it or not we’re back around to pyjama sewing again!  Jim has a few pairs he can still wear from last year so I will do him 2 more pairs.  Piggle has grown out of his winter pyjamas from last year though so I will do 3 or 4 pairs for him to take him through.  I got out fabric for the flannel ones the other day (2 pairs each), amazingly I am almost at the end of my kids flannel stash, I will have to buy some more for next winter as there is only enough for 1 pair each!  I still have a little summer sewing for me that didn’t get done, 2 dresses that I cut out and never got around to and maybe one or two other bits that are hiding in the pile, but I’m happy with what I did get done!

Totals for August were 15 3/4 y/m sewn and amazingly only 1 1/2 metres bought (some lawn from Boyes).  I made a good leap towards catching up with my sewn vs bought and I’m now ‘only’ 15 y/m behind so I may well make it as long as I don’t see any good deals and Boyes don’t have any nice fabrics in their sale next week!

Where Did August Go? September 9, 2009

Well, I guess I can answer that, it was full of School holidays and trying to do one or two things a week with the boys.  I did get quite a few projects done using the ‘little bit here little bit there’  method of sewing and I managed to get some knitting projects finished too whilst watching the boys play.

So lets jump right in with some pretty dull looking grey t-shirts for the boys

These were Kwik Sew Sewing for Toddlers and Onion 20035, both of them had some length added as I have tallish thinnish boys who grow upwards much more than they grow outwards.  Jim’s was to go with the car shorts I showed in the last post and Piggle’s to go with a romper suit that I’ll be working on this week.

This is Simplicity 5099.  I was surprised to find when I pulled the pattern out that the view I wanted to make was already cut out!  After going through my records I figured out when and with what fabric I’d made it and realised that I’ve never worn it as it was a bit small, it’s still in my suitcase of clothes to shrink into so maybe one day!  In lieu of that I made this one a size bigger and I think it came out really well.  The fabric was from Abakhan and it was the leftovers from a vintage dress I made a few years back (maybe not that long).

This is the back of it, I didn’t do the ties last time around but I liked them with this fabric.  I added 2″ to the length of the yoke at the front and the length of the back and I’m happy with the way it came out.  Unfortunately I made it too late in the summer and it’s not been warm enough to wear it!

These are shorts for Jim.  Same pattern that I used for the car shorts which is Ottobre 2/03 #30 but with no front pockets added this time.  The fabric is PRR denim which is really thick.  The print is of tools which made my Bob The Builder fan pretty happy!

I’ve been saving this camping print for when we finally got around to going camping and we went with my sister and BIL and my parents over the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of August.  The patterns for these were the Kwik Sew Sewing for Toddler and Onion 20035, I think I’ve got my moneys worth out of both those patterns by now!

I mentioned in my last post about knitting that I was working on Lavalette and I finished it up and am really really happy with the results.

The yarn is Bamboo Cotton from Yarntopia Treasures on Etsy and the colourway is Garden.  I think the simplicity here really shows off the gorgeous colours of this yarn and it’s lovely to knit with too, I will be buying some more very soon!

This is most likely how I’ll be wearing it, it will add a little bit of warmth and a whole lot of colour!

Again with the t-shirts!  Jim’s to go with the tools shorts and Piggle’s to go with the alphabet trousers I made a while back which he’s finally grown into but had nothing to wear with!

Monkey Socks!  I haven’t knit anywhere near the amount of socks this year as I normally do. I was trying to figure out why the other night and I think I cracked it.  The Ex watched a lot of rubbish on television that I didn’t like very much and wasn’t very interested in so I would just sit and knit socks.  Now that I am in control of what’s on the tv I watch things that I actually want to watch which means that I don’t get the time to concentrate on sock patterns anymore as I’m paying attention to what’s going on on the screen!  I’d like to get another couple of pairs made this year so we’ll see how I get on, my sock yarn stash is too big to leave unattended for too long!

The yarn for these was Panda Cotton in the Blueberries-Grapes colourway and I don’t think the pattern needs much explanation, it’s Cookie A’s pattern from Knitty a looooooong time ago!  I did one repeat less on the leg as Panda Cotton doesn’t have great yardage and I only have short legs!

And another knitted FO!  This is the very dull sounding Vest With Lacy Shoulders pattern which is in a booklet from Twilleys for their yarn Freedom Gorgeous, a bamboo acrylic mix.  I bought the pattern and the yarn at the Knitting and Stitching Show last November (just got our tickets in the post for my Mum and I to go this year!).  I had knit the front and the back up to where the pattern starts but knew that somehow I’d messed up the front and couldn’t figure out why.  Cue it sitting in a bag for about 6 months waiting for me to pick it up again.

Turns out I’d read the pattern incorrectly and had knit the armhole too short (I took a partial measurement as the finished measurement somehow) so I ripped out both sides and corrected it which wasn’t all that hard (it never is when you put off fixing it, when you try and fix it right away it’s always much more complicated!).  Really the ‘lacy’ bit of the pattern is just yo’s which aren’t hard at all.

Once the knitting was finished it had to have the obligatory month or so in the bag before I got around to picking up and knitting the ribbing.  I abhor picking up and knitting, it drives me crazy and I can never seem to get the right number of stitches or do it easily.  At the moment I’m fighting with another project that requires a lot of it and it’s going really slowly.

Anyway, the colour for this is Acorn and I am very pleased with the way it came out.  I tend to sew a lot of brightly coloured things so I fancied something quite plain to wear over them.  I intend to make a lot more vests over time as I really like them a lot.

I think that is enough for one day although I’ve still got stuff to show!

Trying To Break Even August 8, 2009

I’m still working on breaking even with my fabric in and fabric out, I’m running out of months though and have quite a long way to go!  My totals for July were 9 1/4 y/m sewn and 12 y/m bought…  6 m of that came from someone I know online clearing out some fabric free for postage, 2m for a really cute polycotton from Boyes for only £1.99 a metre and 4 metres from Ikea where they were having a sale on some of their fabric.  Total bought for this year is 86 3/4 y/m and total sewn to July is 57 1/2 y/m so I need to keep sewing and try not to buy!  This month I’ve bought 1 1/2 m from Boyes which was some nice lawn that was only £2.50 a metre but I can’t see myself getting anything else unless another online person has a clear out!

I had a week to myself while the boys were with their Dad but it took me until the end of the week to find my sewing mojo again.  Once I had it though I’ve hung on for dear life and have been cranking things out as best I can.  If I can keep the momentum going I should be done with my planned projects in the next few weeks (kiss of death saying that!).

First up was a shirt from this pattern

It’s the men’s version of the pattern so it’s not as fitted as the women’s would probably be but as I intend to wear it open over a tank top I’m not worried about that.  The fabric I bought in Brighton from Fabric Land specifically for this shirt and I’m pretty happy with the way it came out

Here’s a close-up of the name badge which I got off Etsy and the buttons which I found in Boyes

I haven’t ironed on the name badge yet as I’m not sure that it’s in the right place, I need to have a look online at bowling shirts and see if the names go above the pockets or on the other side like I’ve placed mine.

Next up was some chefs ‘whites’ for my Brother in Law.

Again the fabric is from Fabric Land in Brighton.  When we were down there he and I went in and I got him to choose which fabric he liked.  I’m making them for his Birthday present (late as always!) and have another 2 pairs to do now that I’ve posted him these and he’s confirmed that they fit.  On top of the dressform is a surgeons cap, I made 2 from this fabric for him.  I have plans to make quite a few more of these hats for him in various fabrics from the stash so that he has enough to wear all week and some in the wash.

Close-up of the fabric

Then I moved onto stuff for the boys

Kwik Sew Sewing for Toddlers t-shirts for Piggle in size T2 with an inch added to the sleeves and the length.  They’re fitting him really well with a little bit of growing room so this is the size I will keep using for a few months more.

Summer linen-type trousers made using Kwik Sew 3126 and 1556.  Yes, those are pyjama patterns!  I really like the way their pyjama bottoms are fitting them at the moment and how loose they are on them so I made the trousers from the same patterns.  Again I straightened the legs of Jim’s to bring them a little bit more up to date.  They wore these the other day and they looked both cool and smart in them, they’re a little bit nicer than jeans and a lot more comfortable to wear on muggy days.

Back to me again

This is Simplicity 3835 which is a Built By Wendy pattern.  I had trouble with the bust sizing on the last BBW shirt I made and it’s struck again with this one, I think it needs a full bust adjustment but as I don’t know how to do one it doesn’t have it!  The sleeves and neckline are done with elastic which made it really easy, no gathering!  I left the sleeves quite loose as I hate it when they cut into my arms and I pulled the neckline tight enough to cover my bra straps.

This is a terrible photo

I’m not sure why they are hanging so badly but I couldn’t be bothered to take it again as they’re only pyjama bottoms!  Again it’s Ottobre 4/05 #36 with 9 inches added to the bottom to make them full length.  These pyjama bottoms are so comfortable I will be making them on and off as I find fabric I want to use for a while yet.  They’re incredibly simple as well which is nice!

Finally we have some shorts for Jim

The poor boy is wearing the same shorts for the 3rd summer as I made him long baggy ones and although he gets taller he never seems to get any wider!  These are Ottobre 2/03 #30 with the front pockets from Onion 20035 (the pattern has back pockets already).  I was going to use an Ottobre pocket pattern piece but I’m making Jim a t-shirt from Onion 20035 and the trousers pattern is in the same envelope so I figured I’d use what was there and already traced!  I did realise after I’d folded the waistband that the Onion pattern has a waistband so the pockets aren’t folded over at the top.  Luckily there is still room for Jim to get his hands in and out of these pockets though!  This is one of my favourite PRR prints I think, I have some sweatshirt fleece left and maybe some other types in it (this was the twill dyed with Dylon).

Jim will be getting another pair of shorts from this pattern without front pockets as well as some plain t-shirts to wear with them.  I’ve also got a Ottobre romper that I want to make for Piggle soon in case we have a few nice days where he can wear it!  We’ve had some muggy days and quite a few cold wet days this summer!  I was going to make Piggle a few more summer things but when I found the box of Jim’s old clothes in this size there were about 6 pairs of shorts in there so he doesn’t really need them!

So, I’m getting through my lists and liking what’s coming out of the sewing room. Today’s goal is to finish two grey t-shirts and then overlock the shorts pieces ready for sewing tomorrow.  I’m trying to sew some as well as tracing and cutting whenever I can sneak upstairs for a little bit.  Usually I’m ok for some of Piggle’s nap as Jim will watch a DVD or play on the PlayStation for a bit alone before hunting me down!

Hopefully I will have more to show you soon!d

So, I Promised You Some Knitting August 7, 2009

This is Ishbel, it’s a very popular pattern at the moment and I can see why, it’s pretty easy and a good introduction to lace for people who haven’t knit much of it before.   It took me 2 weeks to make (obviously not knitting it as my main project as I never seem to have a main project) and it was a present for one of Jim’s helpers at school.  She seemed to really like it so it was worth the effort!

I used some cotton from my stash, I have no idea how much of it I have as it’s on a huge cone and I’ve hardly made a dent in it with this!  It’s a 4ply cotton from the look of it and it’s in nice pastel shades with a steelish blue added in.  I have a second cone of the same yarn in more pinky shades, both of them came from Ebay several years back.

I don’t know if the sizes on the pattern are a bit off or if my yarn just had more stretch in it than the one used in the pattern but the blocked length of this was the size of the medium shawl rather than the small one.  It looks fine to me so I’m not worried about it!

In order to get Ishbel done in time I had to put down Caricia, but once I was done I picked it up right away and finished it off.

The yarn for this is Bamboo Cotton Sock from Yarntopia Treasures on Etsy.  I have a few more of the colourways of this yarn which I intend to use for shawlettes and one skein that I’m making some socks from.  When I have some spare funds I will go back and get some more as the colourways are lovely, this one is called Emeralds and has tons of different shades of green in it.

Like the Diamond Fantasy Shawl you knit the border of this at the same time as the main body so there’s no picking up to do at the end.  There was a little bit of grafting for the border which wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be and for which I used my first ever provisional cast on.

The shawl took most of the 420 yard skein.  Mine came out smaller than the pattern specifications, I think it’s because bamboo and cotton don’t stretch as much as wool does when wet.  The finished size is 46″ wide and 22″ long which is plenty big.

The instructions for knitting this are a bit confusing I think.  I read all the help in the notes on Ravelry from people who had made it before and I have written my own notes as none of theirs made much sense to me either!  You have to repeat bits of the chart in the middle and it took me a few rows to figure out if I was doing it right or not.  Once I got the hang of it I was fine but for a little while there I was totally confused.

And would you believe it, it took me until August to finish my first sweater of the year!

The pattern is Peppermint Twist from Stitch and Bitch.  I used Rowan 4ply cotton from my stash for this, I only had to buy 2 balls for the entire project.  I’m really happy with the way the blues worked together, I was a little concerned that it wasn’t going to blend together at all.

I made the largest size and as you can see from the dressform shot it’s a little bit too small for me at the moment.  I knew it would be so I’m not worried about it, it will fit one day!  It’s also a little shorter than I usually knit my sweaters but I think a bit of variety is ok.  It will look nice with a pair of jeans and I think once I get into it I’ll be wearing it a lot.

In other knitting news I am charging along with Annette from Knitty, I’m almost done with the yoke now and then there’s the small amount of sewing for the sleeves.  It won’t be a FO completely for another 2 weeks though as I need to take it to the knitting night I go to so that a lady there can show me how to crochet as the pattern calls for a row of single crochet around the neckline.  I have 2 lots of buttons picked out of my button box to look at on it and I’m really happy with how it’s looking so far!

I cast on for another shawlette as well, again with the Yarntopia Tresures bamboo cotton sock yarn, this time the colourway is Garden.  It’s such a pretty colourway that I wanted something simple that would let the colours show but wasn’t completely plain.  I stumbled across the pattern for Lavalette and cast on the next day!  I’m about 2 repeats into it so far and it’s looking really good, it hopefully won’t take too long to finish either.

The other project that I’m trying to concentrate on is the Sienna Cardigan.  I’ve knit the back and both sleeves and am a few inches into the first front.  It’s on 5.5mm needles so it goes quite quickly.

I’ve decided to try and concentrate on 2 projects with a bit of lace on the side to try and work through things and get them finished.  I have a few things that are stupidly close to being done and I just got lazy and left them.  I have so much yarn waiting for specific projects that I’ve decided that I can cast on 1 new thing for each 2 I finish, so once Annette is done I can go and pick something fun and new whilst still hopefully having the second project I’m working on be something older.

I’m feeling the knitting buzz again now and am enjoying seeing things grow and be done.  I guess this is my knitting style, cast on for a ton of things and then work away at finishing them off before starting all over again!  I guess I’m happy with that as there’s not much that doesn’t eventually get done and it’s fun to start new projects!

Next up, more sewing!

Hey, how you doing? July 24, 2009

I’ve been making stuff but just not telling you about it, which is a bit mean, but when I get the time to sit down and do something I’d rather knit than type a post which means that I’m actually making progress on things but you just don’t know it!

A bit of sewing from a while back, this is the Wind Tunic from Ottobre Woman 2/09, it’s #2.

The fabric is a thin poly knit from Abakhan ages ago and I thought I’d finally found the right thing to make with it, a simple t-shirt with a nice drape.  Mine really doesn’t look much like the magazine shot or the line drawing though, it’s not as flowy at the sides.  Also I didn’t inspect the photograph well enough as I didn’t realise how wide the neckline is on it, the woman in the picture is wearing a tank top over the top of it which hides her bra straps…  I used lastin in the neckline and I’ve only done that once before so I’m not brilliant at it yet but I’m getting better.

My notes for this pattern in my folder say that if I make this again I should make the neckline narrower and also add length to the sleeves as they came out a really odd length, I only used a 1cm hem on them so they are just about full length.

Next up was this shirt which is from Prima Magazine August 08.  I don’t actually get the magazine, I found this pattern in a Drs waiting room and as no one else had ripped the pattern out I figured it was fair game!

The fabric is lawn which I got from Boyes specifically for this blouse.  It’s got lovely drape and it’s really comfortable to wear.  I added 1 inch to the front and back of the yoke, I’ve been reading about people doing this for ages on blogs but I’d never tried it before and it worked really well to stop that ‘yoke line right across the boobs’ problem I get with some patterns.  Next time I will add one and a half inches as it’s still not quite long enough but I’m happy enough with it.  I also added an inch to the length of it as it was an odd length even with the extra on the yoke.

I’m in the middle of cutting this out again but as a knee length dress which I think will be nice and cool for the summer (if the ’sunshine and showers’ ever clear up here).

Hey look, I made some trousers!

I forgot to turn the photo before uploading it, sorry about that.  These is Burda 7988 view A which I used to make a pair of jeans from a few years back and still wear all the time.  I used a dark grey cord for these and some of the pirate fabric for the pocket linings.  I took 2 inches in length off the bottom of them and turned the hem the same depth as the pattern called for.  My jeans are a bit short so I knew I wanted these longer and I’m happy with that length.  Perhaps it’s the fabric but these are a bit looser than my jeans, but they have belt loops so that’s not a problem.  I kind of flew by the seat of my pants putting the zip in, I was trying to follow the instructions but wasn’t quite getting it for some reason but it looks ok and works so I didn’ t bother to unpick and try again!

Last sewing project!

This is Simplicity 8331 View C.  It was a present for one of Jim’s ‘helpers’ at school ( he has full time support now, one lady in the morning and one in the afternoon).  I used some more of the denim that I used for my bag and the lining is leftovers from a pair of pyjama bottoms, both fabrics came from Abakhan.

I only made 2 changes, I used a magnetic snap instead of velcro and I also left off the top stitching that you’re supposed to do at the end up the sides and across the bottom.  I could just see it going totally wrong and didn’t want to risk it as the bag had turned out so well.  On the inner pocket I got Jim to write (using a fabric marker) Dear Mrs X, I love you, from Jim.  He writes her notes the whole time and they always start out saying that so I figured it would be nice to have a more permanent record of it!  The top stitching is Jeanstitch pastels.

So, that’s what I’ve sewn but I haven’t done much for a little while now.  It’s now the school summer holidays so I don’t get to sew during the day and come evening I’m often too tired to do anything.  The boys are with their Dad all of next week though so I will be spending as much time in the sewing room as I can to try and catch up with myself and to get a few summer bits done for the boys in case we do get some warm weather at some point.  I’m shelving shorts for Piggle as he has about 10 pairs already but Jim could do with another pair and some trousers and there are still the hoodies and plain t-shirts to do too plus the chef’s whites for my BIL and some things for me.

I have knitting to show too but I’m hungry and want some lunch so I will try and post about that soon!

365 Days July 5, 2009

After thinking about it for far too long I decided just to get on with it and join in with the 365 Days project. For those of you who’ve not heard of it the bare basics are that you take a self-portrait everyday for a whole year.

I’m hoping that it will help develop my photography skills from the basic point and shoot level I’m at right now and also document a year of my life where I’m going to try and make some changes to the way I’m living.  I guess it’s a pictorial diary for me in a way and I’m excited to have stopped talking myself out of it!

If you’d like to follow my set you can find it here on Flickr!