Red Casual Top and a Positivity Blip

After cutting this top out last week I left it to simmer for a while, mainly because I wanted to add something to it but couldn't decide what.  The red is a good colour with a very faint sweatshirt distressed sort of look that it is hard to see in the images, think of the effect on denim blue but this is red?  Well maybe you get what I mean, I had seen a few t-shirts about with the little triangle detail at the neck so I decided to do that, I also used some mock piping on the sleeves  half way up for interest.

 As usual I only bought a metre so it was just £4.70, I also bought some binding but ended up making my own neck edging as I wanted it a particular way. Here it was straight off the machine, I have tried it on already and didn't feel like modelling it today it is too cold to keep getting changing and I am nesh as we say here.

The pale blue that I used is a piece from one of my husbands old shirts (they do get some use) and the mock piping on the sleeves is the same.

I like the effect of the little embossed stripe being on the diagonal, I just cut my sleeves out as two pieces, sandwiched it in and then topstitched.  I think it has added a bit of something rather than just a plain sleeve.

This is prior to ironing where it has sat on the worktable all week, it has been pressed now, Sunday is my ironing day anyway.  This used to bother me but now it is an opportunity to watch TED talks or listen to documentaries while I do it, it has given it a new meaning.

The fabric on this top is nice and soft and it just pulls on easy with quite a loose feel for me, just what I need with jeans because really these are the clothes that will get the most wear.  Now I am on the lookout for more little details  that I can add to tops to make them a bit different.  There are quite a few nice ideas fro Pinterest that I have save a lot of those involve pleating in different ways so this may be my next experiment.

It has been a funny week, and not in an amusing way.  I know we all have these weeks where it feels like buzz words and new phrases,  for things that have gone wrong pop up  I am trying to remain positive, reframe situations, see them for the passing phases that they are but sometimes I do wonder about this.  Are we just constantly making the best of things, convincing ourselves that this is just the way it is and if only we had the right 'mindset' (there's one for you) we wouldn't bother with these problems

Well I think perhaps not, if we only ever framed anything in a positive light then we would never move forward with anything, we would always have a shut up and be grateful attitude.  While I am not disputing the merits of being grateful there are times when we do feel enough is enough and at those times maybe we should be exploring something else.  I came from a family where it was very apparent you should be grateful and not rock the boat, my first job was a dreadful low paid factory where I stitched machine buffers that gave off plastic smoke, I had no mask and was often coughing.  I left after three years for a bar job that I enjoyed at the time, my parents were horrified that I had left a steady position even if I hated it and it made me feel ill.  They had always worked the same job and the thought of change or taking that chance were very alien concepts to them.  My mum is very different these days and will often say no, no I wouldn't have that do something else.  It is as if in retirement she suddenly has all the answers she never did when in the workforce herself.  I suppose everything is easier when you are looking back.

 I would like to here your thoughts on positivity, reframing  and just keeping on.  Are we just burying our heads in the sand and avoiding the necessary action needed for real change, or is it the only sane way to keep going when faced with nonsense day after day?   I would love to hear any opinions you may have and I will respond to all comments.

Sewing, Charity Shop Finds and Books

I know, I know I am supposed to be decluttering but seriously there is more going out than coming in at the moment and St Lukes had everything for a pound today so we had to have a look while passing.  So glad we did too because I found a smart little jacket and a monsoon skirt (the skirt is too long for me so I will shorten it) then my husband spotted a shirt he liked.  That was our spending done so we came home, we were only there because we had been to the opticians to make an appointment and passed the shop.

It has just been washed here and I am using the mannequin to hang it on as it dries so it retains a bit of shape then I will lightly iron it, but £1! brilliant I think and looks nice with jeans.

Everything has been has been washed and is ready for an iron, I just thought I would take the pictures before they are put away otherwise it wouldn't happen. The skirt is a better shade than in the picture it is darker in reality.

Really though some of the momentum at the start of the declutter has wavered so I need to get back on that, the idea being that I only bring in things I love and use occasionally (modest purchases)    but something needs to go out when that happens.  If I stick to that rule it should create some order and a habit I can stick to, in the  future adding good habits is something to work towards I think.  Is it just me or do we focus too much on trying to break bad habits rather than trying to acquire good ones?

Recently I mentioned I was reading the Essex Serpent, I really loved it.  There was a good assortment of characters and I really felt you got to know each of them, also the questions raised and the conversations between the Reverend and Cora the naturalist were fascinating.

It may not be for everyone but if you like historical fiction and books that focus on ideas and relationships between people this may be for you.  I will not go into it too much as I feel some stories are best left to unfold as they go.

Last week I read The Silent Companions, this was another good read but at the start I felt it was a bit silly.  It was just one of those you  just have to get into, maybe not on the same level as The Essex Serpent but entertaining, more the type of book to read curled up by a lamp while it's raining and just going dark.  A really interesting cover too, I know you can't judge a book and all that but I do enjoy good cover art. All of the books mentioned here are from the library so I have to admire them then return them.

Slightly spooky but not the kind of thing to give you nightmares, I really have no interest in reading anything that is going to unsettle you to the point of keeping you awake, do we really need that? With all the horror that goes on in the world and I want books that entertain, educate or lift my spirits, not scare me half to death!

At the moment I am reading The Ice by Laline Paul, it has an environmental edge too it, only just started this one so we will see how it goes.  There was another book picked up and discarded this week among my selection from the library, it was a crime thriller but I just knew after forty pages I didn't like the style of writing and reading for pleasure is not meant to be an endurance test so I put it down.  I will not say who it was by here as it may be someone's favourite author.

Yesterday I got a red top cut out and ready to sew, it is on the sewing table as I write this but I am undecided whether to leave it plain or add detail at the neck and maybe a pocket.

Writing this post is my thinking time (procrastination time?) I don't know but sometimes I feel if I add too much faff to a garment it spoils the look but then if I leave it too plain it will be just like any off the shelf top you could buy.  If you are like me you probably like your handmade items to look a bit different.

On a different theme we had some new visitors to the garden last week.

These fieldfare arrived on the front garden of my neighbour, stripped a bush of berries then flew around the back. Here they are perched on a hawthorn before disappearing again,  I had to get a book and look them up, my husband and I were in the window with a camera each trying to get a photo.  Sorry this was the best we could manage, but here below is an image from the internet of one close up.

So that's a bit of my week hope you are having a good one.

There are a few weird formatting issues going on above, sorry about that but no matter what I did I couldn't get it to line up properly on a few paragraphs!

Eve Jacket

Well one good thing to say about snow days is that it gives you some extra time to get on with things.  Saying that it is only possible if you managed to stay home and not get stranded like all the people we have been hearing about on the news.  My son has a hotel booked in Scotland for the weekend and still thinks he is going, er I don't think so!  People sleeping in cars and on trains it is just awful, we don't get snow very often but when we do it always brings us to a standstill.  I hope everyone gets home safe and warm soon.

Anyway back to the jacket as I mentioned a few days ago it is a Pattern House pattern that came with Sewing World magazine.  I added a lining and had a few different ideas about the sleeves. First they long, then three quarter and finally now they just come to the elbow because really that it where I would end up pushing them if they were three quarter as they felt a bit odd at that length.

The sleeves would probably have been ok at three quarter if I hadn't added a lining, I would imagine on a simple jersey make of this that would be fine.

I am wearing it now so I feel like I should be going somewhere but the whole idea of this make was to have something to slip on around the house that was a bit smarter than a hoody when it was cool.  It certainly feels warm enough especially with the lining, if just goes in the wardrobe for an 'occasion' it would not get worn.

It doesn't have any fastenings and for my purposes it doesn't need any, I think you could add some sort of frog fasteners or edge to edge closures like hook and eye on the inside if you felt it needed to remain closed outdoors.

Here you can see the lining inside which makes for a nice look and ensures it slides on and off.  I hand stitched it all the way around, along the hem and at the sleeves.  For me hand stitching is quite a nice activity.

My version of this jacket has this little cuff at the elbow, it is not on the pattern but as I mentioned in  my last post I was trying to make this out of just one metre of fabric so I had to put a join in my sleeve.  There is also a join on the inside front facings, it worked and I literally had tiny bits of fabric left but if  you are a beginner I wouldn't recommend doing this as one mistake and you won't be able to finish your project.

I am happy with it now it is finished and I am wearing it with something more neutral.  This morning I came down and got on with the hand stitching straight after breakfast. Then in my impatience I tried it on over my pyjamas and thought oh no I don't like it!  Well is anything really going to look any good over your pyjamas? So maybe next time I'll hold out judgement until I am actually dressed for the day.

On the Mannequin

At the weekend I did something quite unusual and bought a sewing magazine, much as I like to flick through them there isn't usually much to grab me but I took the plunge and bought sewing world.  It has a nice shift dress pattern but I already made my own pattern for one of those so that is no real gain.  With it came a paper pattern for a three quarter jacket so I thought I'd make that for a change.
When I got it out though it was printed on both sides so I still had to get tracing paper (read baking paper!) out and mark out.    As these magazines are quite expensive for what they are I feel for many people getting the proper pattern is the bonus of them, so I think this might be a disappointment  for a few people.

When I had a read through it did have a few nice ideas but not a lot I want to make, cross stitch, a bag  and some coasters. I then read it was it's last issue after twenty two years, this is a shame because although it is not quite for me I am sure there will be plenty of fans who will miss it dearly, not to mention the staff who produce it.

So the pattern that came with it was a Pattern House one, and maybe this tracing off thing is the way a lot of patterns are going but I still think a full pattern for the main event would have been better.  It is called the Eve Jacket, I like the grey on the cover so I bought a nice medium jersey at the weekend. When I cut it out I also cut a lining which is not stated in the pattern and the jury is out on that at the moment as I keep faffing with it on the mannequin thinking it is pulling out of shape.  So we will see, it may not stay.

 Now the fabric that I bought has a reverse side of sparkly silver or maybe that should be the right side but the bolt was rolled the other way.  If it was near Christmas maybe I would have used it that way but as it is I have gone for the plain grey side.  I thought a lining would give it more substance so that is just on trial.  I did also cut the sleeves full length on my jacket then changed my mind and lopped them off.

Here it is so far while I decide on the lining, I also need to press all seams and put the interfacing on.  I am still not sure if the style is for me but you don't know unless you try something different and I do tend to stick to the same things.

I really like the look of the Knipmode magazine but you can't just get it direct here without contacting them and then waiting for a response, it looks a bit like Burda magazine where you do have to trace off but it looks it bit more modern.  I may have mentioned it before but it seems a shame they are not more accessible,  I watched a YouTube  review of some French magazines too and they all looked really exciting.  Maybe I am just intrigued because they are not available here and it is a case of what you can't have.  If anyone has any recommendations for worthwhile publications let me know. I don't like it when they always feature a basic t shirt or a dress with a few pleats in the skirt.  I pulled a few off the shelf when I bought the magazine last week and they all seemed to have similar patterns on them.  As I have said I don't use many patterns but I though it would be good this year to try some new things.

Today was a snow day, I have probably squandered it but never mind.  I watched the news, had a slow breakfast and pondered what is in the freezer so that I don't over food shop this week.  This is not because I buy huge amounts I am quite good with this usually it is just last week there was stuff for the bin which drove me made as I hate waste. We then went shopping and spent more than usual so I was grumpy when I got back, I am shopping alone this week so I will stick to my plan.  I also saw some potatoes in the cupboard which may not last the week so they have been par boiled and frozen to save any future waste.  There were also a few  potatoes chopped ready for tonight's stew for the meat eaters, I'm also making a tofu and spinach lasagne, trust me that tastes better than it sounds.

So I will go now and have another look at the jacket and get the dinner started, keep safe in the snow everyone.

Zebra Shirt

This weekend I made another shirt with my burda pattern, it is one of the few patterns I own but as I know it works I return to it.  Each time I use it I try to do something a bit different with it but at the end of the day a shirt is a shirt so I don't really think you need more then one pattern.

I bought the fabric back in November and had thought I would make yet another skirt, however this year I am trying to fill the gaps and make more tops as for the last few years it has been mainly skirts and dresses.  It comes to light when you dress in jeans at the weekend and realise all your tops are quite old and you need  a bit of variety to go with them.

For this shirt I decided to do three quarter sleeves, make it quite a bit shorter than the pattern and also make the collar a bit slimmer.

I also wore it straight away as another theme is not keeping things for a 'best' that never comes and actually get wearing the items.  My only niggle with shirts is I feel they make your bra straps fall down, am I imagining this or is it a real thing?  It doesn't seem to happen as much with jersey tops, maybe it is just me.

Yes I know not great pattern matching down the back but it wouldn't have been possible with the small amount of fabric I had and I really do hate the fact that it can waste so much if you try to do this at every point on the seams.

Things do line up better at the front, the pattern was quite random too, it appears to be three zebras down just below along the row then every fourth row down they are in a straight line.

I also did a little turn up on the sleeves so I folded it to the reverse, stitched it in place then folded it to the right side and pressed.

I always put pins along where my button holes are going to go then a tiny mark for the button once these are complete.

Here is the old faithful pattern if anyone is interested, as I stated I only own a couple so if you are buying a shirt pattern it is good to know one that is tried and tested.  This is not biased in any way it is simply one I have owned for a while.  I bought more fabric today that will become another shirt dress from this but that can wait for a later date.

I also cut out a little slip on jacket from a pattern that came with a magazine, I will share more on this as it progresses.

Shirt Dress

This is a short post today, I have been busy decorating all day and still lots to do.  I have a new shirt cut out and ready to sew up but that has to wait until all spring decorating is done, I do have a shirt dress on Minerva crafts blog this was lovely to make and I will be making more just as soon as I choose the fabric.

The pictures are really badly lit I know but hopefully that is coming to an end as the evenings are getting lighter hurray!

Today as I was moving the bookcase to paint I had the idea that maybe I don't need most of my books, I know it is nice to keep favourites but really there is a lot of stuff on there that I will never read again and to be honest I never really liked the first time around.  So there will probably be another large charity shop donation this week.   Sometimes it takes a bit of decorating to make you realise why do we have all this stuff?  It took a while just to empty the bookcase so that I could lift it, then you think why am I wasting time doing this, are these things needed? When my husband came home I said well it makes you understand the minimalist lifestyle when you have move everything.  He didn't quite get it, he pointed out where I've missed a bit :( . I always do the decorating during half term, I may be off school but it is still work and I know decorators get paid a packet for the hours I put in. A good job love would suffice!

Rant over and more to do tomorrow.

Story Bags

Well I found a use for the printed fabric from the weekend, while I was at work yesterday I had just printed off some images for the children to work with to create silly stories and thought these need to be in little bags.  It just so happened there was enough fabric to make them and one is a bit bigger than the rest but that is ok, I wasn't aiming for perfection with these it was a quick sew up last night so that I could use them today.  The ribbon for the tops came with a throw a while ago, you tend to get a long piece of ribbon around throws, so they are completely recycled and the words I just wrote on an old piece of curtain fabric with a sharpie to make a label.

The children enjoyed using them, so that's good and they can't peek in the bag so it makes their selection more random than just putting the cards on the floor.  I have done similar things before so I must remember for future that even just adding little  bags makes the activity more exciting for some reason?

Yesterday I had another quick blitz in the wardrobe and now have thirty five items for charity shop and six in the bin, it doesn't look that different but I do have some spare hangers now.  How is it even possible to accumulate all this and not notice?  I do have an odd attachment to things at times I feel.

There is a dress in the bag now that I bought from a charity shop about two years ago it has never been worn, I do like it but it's way too dressy so why leave it sitting there when someone else could be wearing it, someone with a more formal life or just has reasons to dress up more often.  I thought it would be nice for a wedding but everyone I know is married or separated and in no rush to repeat, my friend got married four years ago the was the last wedding I went to, before that it was fourteen years!

  So yes I am working hard on this, I read that you shouldn't hold onto things for fear of the future. Well fellow dressmakers you will know it is not fear of the future that makes us hold on but the idea that should you get rid of something the very next week you will have an amazing idea about what you could have made with it.

I have also got things that I have made myself, bags and so on.  Even if I don't use them it seems to be harder.  Here it is not money spent but hours put in and even though the time is long gone there is that silent tug.  It seems more ridiculous now that I put it into words so there is some free therapy right there.