Project selection - mid- 2019

Maybe you don't acutally care when these were made. Maybe my system of bulk-drafting and queueing posts helps to plug the gaps. This post was drafted in autumn 2019, but I'm only just getting pictures of the projects. Thanks for your patience!

I'm currently on a comedown from several horrendously busy months and am going through all of the standard behaviours of introspection, grumpiness, achiness and tiredness. All that jazz.

I won't bore you with details (yet). There has just been a lot going on, and for longer than usual.

The main thing you need to know if that it did involve makery. I have some amazing stuff to show you over the next few posts. Today is just a batch of quick and simple projects. These were mostly made to scratch and itch or to blow off some steam.

Star Fleece Hat and Snood

On the eve of the hottest day on record in the UK, I just needed to make a cosy winter hat and snood. These are Empress Mills scraps, leftover from a 2018 Xmas gift. I was so impressed with the weight of the fleece that I kept the scraps to see what I could make with them. Plus, I quite like the stars pattern.

The snood is a rectangle with the ends sewn together. Not sure if it's optimal, but it does work. The hat is the Skull Cap from Amy Butler's Blue Sky Hats pattern, plus a band of arbitrary thickness.

They both have blue loops inside. It wasn't necessary, but it makes me smile.

Vest Tops and Pants

No photo. I keep churning these out when needed. One day I won't be stitching mismatched scraps to do so.

Repairs to B's Quadras

Here's an interesting thing: B hoists his trousers up by the belt loops. Does anyone else do this? Anyway, this led to one of the belt loops bursting its stitches. So I sewed them back down and reinforced the others. I also trimmed some stray basting threads.

True love is not repairing something, folding it up and putting it tenderly away in the recipient's wardrobe. True love is doing the repair, chucking the item on the floor on their side of the bed and treading on it a few times so they don't suspect that you've touched their stuff while they were out.

I'm genuinely beginning to think these jeans are cursed because the stitching has burst on the inner leg as well (similar to a rip on B's RTW jeans) recently so the jeans are back in the repair pile. I guess I should be glad that they get worn a lot.

Plain Grey T-shirts

The dark grey one is made from the loose fit block from Metric Pattern Cutting for Womenswear. I really like it and think I nailed the neckline on this one.

The light shirt is the Strip Tee from Madeit Patterns. I got the pattern to make a gift and was keen to try it for myself as well. I've been practicing my overlocker flatlocking and I think it came out really nicely on the t-shirt. The pattern is simple and fun,but a bit of a fabric hog. I just got my size out of 1m of fabric. The drawback of this pattern for me is my own lack of big boobs or wide shoulders. I can feel like I'm swimming in it. It is very comfy to wear.

Culottes

Another "hottest July on record" make. I made some blue shorts during the summer of 2019 and though they see quite a lot of use, I was getting quite grumpy about wearing too much blue. The pattern is Kwik Sew 3384, which I made once before back in 2010? (Eurgh). It's actually a knit pattern, though it does have a a woven sibling which calls for a zip (Kwik Sew 3433?). I only own the knit version. My fabric here was a woven fabric so I just redrew the side seams to fit over my bum and kept the elasticated waist. I think it worked pretty well. The fabric was part of a gift haul brought back from India.

Orange Cardi

At some point in 2018 I got a bit excited about zero waste sewing patterns and bog coats. Don't ask me why.

I had some leftover Christmas fabric and Threads posted a link to an old tutorial for exactly this kind of thing. I tried it out - nothing to lose. I made this at a time when I thought I was spending an unhealthy amount of time wearing my dressing gown. The big advantage with this orange cardi is that I can also wear it beyond the end of the garden path.

That's it for now,

K

Distractions pt16 - Here comes the sun

Time for another quick update. My future sewing space looks like this:

The electrical cabinet has been built and we just need to paint it. You may remember I was calling the old one my nemesis. This one is a bit smaller and looks like a useful sideboard, but it does mean I need to rethink the size of the obstacle in my work area. I'm still no closer to making any decisions!

Some of the sockets are still hanging off the walls and I am hoping someone will come and fix that. The floor is in, but it has a protective plastic on top. I'm really glad we specified a lot of electrical sockets in this house!

We have a planned moving date, and so now we just need to balance the needs of painting etc with the packing needs. Our lives are about to become a lot more cardboard-focused. We also ordered our wardrobes and had to do a bit of maths to see if we could actually get them up the stairs. Probability is in our favour, but it could all go horribly wrong.

In sewing news... 

I can't remember whether I've ever complained here about the conservatory sewing space in the summer. I do love it, but it gets direct sunlight all day. It was difficult to deal with in previous years, but I would only spend a couple of days trying to work in there (either sewing or at my desk job). Lockdown over March/April was okay to deal with but the move into summer has become unbearable. The heat means the room is constantly 30+ degrees c, plus the direct shine of the sun has been pretty brutal. The brightness was also making me squint constantly. I spent 3 solid days in a hat to try to cast some shade on my face. Basically, for the past week it has been unworkable from about 11.30am - 4pm everyday. 

So yesterday I cracked and made a sun shade...

I announced I would be late to the daily team coffee break call and pulled a length of thermal curtain liner (it has a plasticky coating on one side, but is breathable) and a roll of cotton webbing from the stash. I stitched ties on to each corner, and at the midpoint of each long side. Basic zig zags, I didn't even trim the threads. This was literally a 10 minute job. Then my bemused colleagues watched me rig it on the video call.

The room is still warm, but this is a huge improvement.

In other sewing news, I have finally managed to take some project photos and you should be due a bunch of actual sewing posts shortly. I need to give a disclaimer that I am very pleased with all of these makes, but I look very grumpy in the photos. I just hate getting in front of the camera to shoot them like this - but it feels like a necessary evil. Please don't be alarmed, and try not to look too closely at my face.

K x

Distractions pt15 - In which we start to think about the move

This weekend we painted the kitchen. Painting is still slow progress, but hopefully it is still good progress.

I've realised that I should bring my workstation to the new house, repaint it in a lighter colour, and keep using it as it is. I am still struggling to think of how my future desk will look/function, and having a freestanding storage unit with hanging space is useful. I might modify it slightly with some more scrap wood. Watch this space.

K x