Distractions pt11 - Plastering

While everyone else was panic-buying eggs and bog roll, our builder bought all the plaster he could get his hands on. It looks like we now have 4 rooms (of 6 total) completely plastered. My sewing corner currently looks like this:

I have no idea what's going to happen next. Everything depends on people staying healthy and which supplies we can get hold of.

In sewing news, I threw together some gloves to wear to the supermarket. They are shockingly bad quality, but they will do the job and can be laundered easily. No, I'm not posting a photo!

Today I did some overlocker maintenance. I cleaned out approx 6 months of fluff, and replaced the blades. My apologies to the overlocker for letting it get so fluffy.

Work on Burda 6875 continues. I've inserted the sleeves (only took 6 attempts!) and added the shoulder pads. I'm not sure if sleeves in jackets are just difficult or if I always do something wrong. The more jackets I make, the more frustrated I am by shoulders/sleeves that don't look very good on my body. A jacket without sleeves might look great, and then it collapses when the sleeves go in. Then my bony shoulder suddenly moves to a completely different part of the jacket pokes out.

On a different note, I find that a lot of the jackets I make are cut very high in the armpit. I don't own enough RTW jackets to comment whether this is normal, but it's frustrating to feel like there isn't enough room. It might be because I'm too familiar with loose fit/casual clothing and anything different feels weird.

I'm omitting the sleeve vents on this version, but still need to make sure the CB vent looks good. That might be this afternoon's task.

K x

Distractions pt10 - Well, that escalated quickly...

There have been a lot of times over the last 3 years when I've made a choice to post here while absolutely refusing to acknowledge the outside world. While we don't exist or create things in a vacuum, I have always wanted this blog to focus attention on the emotional rollercoaster of making stuff, and to stay away from the deluge of topical content created elsewhere on the internet.

And yet, this week threw all the rules out of the window.

We have gone from a fairly clear timeline on finishing and moving in to the house, to something where (in my mind at least) we can't see two days ahead. The builders are making astonishing progress, but the house still looks like this:

At a minimum, the house is basically safe and sealed. I wasn't sure we would get there earlier this week. Next is the plasterers...

If work continues, I'll keep posting about it.

No photo of my future sewing space this week, I forgot to get one when we visited today.

On Monday night, both B and I were given the 'work from home' instruction from our employers. Eager to find a means of 'closing the door' on one another early on, we needed to rejig the house a bit. We hastily found a new spot to store the dishwasher, piled the demolition tools high in a corner and recommissioned my work area:

You can see that this leaves my sewing machine and overlocker accessible. And you know already that I stocked up my stash to see me through until 2021. Now I just need to find time amongst all of the virtual meetups to actually do some sewing...

First up: Burda 6875, version 2

You might get to see the 2019 projects at this rate

K

Distractions pt9 - The chimneys are out

The builders have smashed up the chimneys and taken them away.

Distractions pt8 - window shopping for a desk

One of the things that has given me angst about this fixer upper has been what my sewing space will look like. The water supply, the structural stuff, the electrics are all, to a certain extent, solvable and nothing special. There are experts and authorities who can help with them too. So, at this point I'm not that stressed about them (there's still time). The sewing space, however, boggles my mind and I have lost dozens of hours already trying to find the answer.

You will know that I'm quite particular about my sewing space:

• I've enjoyed having hanging space for patterns and works in progress.
• I now have a sewing machine and an overlocker, so it's nice to have a work surface where they can both live semi-permanently
• The idea of a semi-permanent and multifunctional space has always been important for me. The machines take priority, but it should be a workspace for other things as well.
• Light is the trickiest thing to get right. When my sewing space was underneath the loft bed, I never bothered to install better lighting, and it was often too dark. In my current lean-to, the sunlight in the summer puts the needle plate in the shade (even when the machine light is on). Natural light is somewhat of a commodity in Victorian terraces, and so I need to find a good artificial solution.
• Storage space is needed for frequently used supplies and for "stock". Different disciplines will life together here and so I need to take into account all shapes and sizes of item
• The stash cupboard needs a home. While it is technically storage space, it needs its own place amongst everything else
• The work surface needs to be the right working height. At the moment I use a rescued gate-leg table, but it is old and wobbly and I should allow it to rest. I like to stand for some tasks, and often sit on a bar stool for others. Bar stools are taller than regular chairs/benches so it can be quite uncomfortable to work at a regular-height table when on the stool.

So I'm still thinking about this workspace. There are bar tables available for sale on the internet (Ikea, Next and Amazon), but I don't need the complementary seating, they are probably flimsy and I don't think the work surface is the right size for my needs. I've been looking at DIY options too and am interested in either an Ana White design (with modifications) or a plywood design by a guy called Brad. The DIY desks have better flexibility for customisation and I will be able to dismantle the desk if need be. The DIY option will probably be cheaper as well - though I haven't done a thorough costing yet.

In the meantime, my future sewing space currently looks like this:

More soon

K