May Day Early

...I know that is now late, but it has been madness here, so this is really just an excuse to hop in, say 'Hi!', let you know I'm still in the land of the living before I crack on with my bonkers week!

We decided ages ago that as we were both working half term that we would really make the most of our May holiday on Monday and have a BBQ, sadly, the weather was forecast to be not so great *sad face*

Undeterred, we simply moved our feast from Monday to Sunday (and had roast dinner on Monday!)

So here are my BBQ moments from a day filled with sewing, a walk and some play-park fun with Little Lady......

Can you believe that the trucks she is playing with belonged to Mr Musician (now aged 23!)....and yes...those are her pyjamas!  She wanted a Jama Day....why not?

The Hubs slaving over a hot BBQ cooking the home-made burgers to perfection........mmmmmm!

Our spread...small but delicious....a salad made from not a lot left in the fridge but cress, pointy peppers and carrot (and some herbs from the garden!), potato and egg salad with chive from the garden, The Hubs favourite coleslaw (from Lidl!) and Batts Tomato and Chilli Chutney (also Lidl!)

All washed down with a glass of the chilled stuff (Australian Chardonnay 2014...you've guessed...Lidl!) with iced lemon.

Does life get much more simple better than that?

Are you up to anything special this half term?  Or is this not half term for you and yours?  I get the feeling that Heather over at The Patchwork Heart will be filling her week with hooky creativeness....if that's your bag pop over and take a look, her work is beautiful....and fast!!

I keep promising to return, and I shall....but just not sure when!

See you soon

Nora

xxxx

Crochet finish up!

Whilst de-cluttering I not only found unfinished knitting projects, but crochet projects too.

Do you remember me making these.....

Well, shortly a after I started making another one but never finished as I ran out of yarn.

With my cushion order I told you about here, I ordered some yarn......

 to finish of this UFO.....but it was the wrong yarn!

I use some to finish this....

And I decided that, despite the colour being out and the wrong brand (!), it is still cotton and a similar colour so I will plod on and finish the crochet cushion it was bought for.

My OCD is shouting at me not too....BUT..... I have ignored it and finished!

Look......ta-Dah!

...gracing my Ercol find on eBay.

I can tell you I haven't really jarred my eye on the colour change and I'm suitably over the moon having this finished and out of my UFO pile.

Have I learnt anything? Yes....don't leave stuff unfinished, don't faff about ordering, just do it (so that you don't miss the boat on colour changes as I did with this!) and don't always listen too closely to the OCD!

Not sure what's coming next as I have 4 party gifts to make for Little Lady, her party to organise, a heap of stuff to copy and send to Ofsted, a house to run, a family to feed, a Teenage Daughter starting her GCSE exams this week...you get the picture!

See you soon,
Love
Nora
xxxx

Bunting for Party Gifts

Little Lady was invited to a party and we had the inevitable struggle to think of a present.

But then I hate buying 'stuff', surely a handmade gift has to be better than an off the shelf, same as everyone else gift..doesn't it?

I had half decided to keep up with the making, but go for something both boys and girls might like and settled on Tooth Fairy Pillows or Bunting.  I like to make gifts but I'm never sure if they are appreciated or whether people think you're being a bit of a 'cheap-cheat' because they don't realise how much work goes in to it.  As yet I have only received one thank you, from a parent, for a child's handmade gift having made Elsa and Sofia Felt Crowns & Crayon Rolls.

I asked if Little Lady knew what colours her friend liked, she went for the inevitable pink but also green, blue and purple, so although pink is the main colour in various shades there are also splashes of green and blue and purple.

I also ran into the child's Mum in the playground when she apologised for not getting back to me about our acceptance and suggestions for a present, but that she was struggling with what to buy too....so here goes....

I said, I make stuff, how would you feel about some personalised bunting?

I am glad to say that her face lit up and she said that she loved bunting!

Sadly it was all a bit of a rush and the camera was playing up so I have no photographs of that particular one....HOWEVER!

The Mummy of this little girl was SO pleased with the present that she asked me to make 2 more sets.....and for these I have photos!

Ready....

TA-DAAAAhh!.............

Sorry I wasn't able to get a hanging picture, but the light and weather hasn't been that great (until after I gave them to her!)

She was delighted and therefore, so am I.

I loved making them and at a very stressful time they have been a welcome distraction.  It also means that instead of paying 69p per metre for the tape, I invested in a 50m roll from eBay  for about £6-7 and it can also be used as apron ties.  Not bad at all.

I have also learnt...ask....and if you feel you get a good response....go for it, and if it seems a bit luke- warm then immediately say....or is there something the child is interested in...craft, dinosaurs and move on.

I might try putting together some felt sewing kits and seeing how they go down...not sure.

Anyway I digress!

I have another low fat recipe coming soon and some more crochet...a finish-up no less.

So until the next time,
Cheerio!
Nora

Sparkly repurpose

My daughter was given this lovely River Island top a few years ago and whilst we both admit that its pretty, she's not a pink girl and being the wrong side of 40 its sadly not really appropriate for me to be seen out in!

Just look at that sparkle!

I didn't want to just get rid of it, so it was hanging around (flirting with my stash) and being used for dressing up by Little Lady.

To have it on show and get some use out of it I decided (in a mad moment) to turn it into a cushion!

Bonkers eh?

But who wouldn't want this little bit of sparkle in their lives....OK, don't answer that!

Well here is my re-purposed ta-Dah moment.......

Ta-DAH!..........

Here it is gracing my made-over chair and I had a plan that when I get to my Ercol Sofa Makeover, that cushion is going to look so good popping out of a grey background, but no, it has been claimed by Little Lady who has barely let it out of her sight since it rolled off the sewing machine yesterday!

I'm not sure what's up next on the purge come clean out come finish up!

Depends what I find on the next leg of my journey!

Hope to see you soon,
Love
Nora
xxxx

Good fortune or skill?

Finishing the last few stitches of a project with your heart in your mouth.....will you have enough yarn?

And then breathing a sigh of relief that you did it......just!

Phew!

Got a few ends to sew in and then will be the big reveal!  Woohoo!

Until then, see ya!

Nora xxxx

Vintage Simplicity 4238........... Ta-dah!

Oh, I just can't believe it....blimey I sound like Victor Meldrew!

But seriously...I am pretty blown away by my achievement and I have to say a HUGE thank you straight off to....

Jen over at My Make Do and Mend Year for the nudge into actually getting started on clothes making with her challenge #mmaw2015 (Make Me a Wardrobe 2015) which I signed up for back in January.

And also to....

Jane over at Handmade Jane whose blog I discovered whilst on holiday last year and who has inspired my handmade journey and greatly influenced my first EVER Sewn by me Me-Make....woohoo!

Thank you both so much from the bottom of this skippy-hoppy-happy heart!

I bought Simplicity 4238 from a lovely lady in the US and was so happy, excited and terrified when the pattern arrived.

I popped to our local fabric shop to snaffle up 1.5m of gingham to hack at.....don't want to ruin my lovely lawn and if it all worked out then I would have a fab gingham blouse to wear!

I did have a bit of a mare with the collar which I told you about here and the solution very soon after which I retold here.

Up to the collar was fine, after the collar was fine and the comforting words of Jane to say that she had had the same trouble with the collar made me feel more confident (well, it wasn't just me!!)

Once made I did make a few adjustments to the fit:

1.  It sat too low....my darts were too low.... My solution was to lift the blouse at the shoulders.  I cheated by graduating the shoulder seam out rather than fiddling with the collar.  When I make the next on I shall most definitely take out 1cm back and front on the shoulders. (note to self....remember to change the collar!)

2. it was a bit too baggy round the back.  My solution was to extend the 4 back darts to about bra strap height (13 inches down from the shoulder to be exact!).  On the next one I think I shall sew the side seams as far as the waist with a larger seam allowance to bring it in a little....it really didn't need much!

3. It was a bit gape-y around the midriff.  My solution was to search wildly through the button box to see if I had 1 more of the vintage buttons...phew!  Yes...so I made another button hole!

4. I didn't like the look or the feel of the armhole facings.  My solution was to do what it suggested for the hem and finish with bias binding turned to the inside and top-stitched.

Lovely!

I haven't matched checks and other fussy stuff as this was just a practice run...but I'll tell you what...it's OK and I can bear the odd stray away from the lines...why...because I made it!

Want to see what all the excitement is about?

Come on then.....ready.......

Ta-daaaaaaaaaaaah!........

It was a bit windy so the collar flapped a bit and The Hubs, acting as blog photographer, couldn't quite get what I meant about holding the camera more at waist height and pointing it across at me rather than down....so now I look like I'm bending forward and the blouse is really quite 'waisted'.

Bless him...he's done the same with this one but it does show off the neck darts and the lovely pinched in waist....shame he didn't tell me that the collar was a bit crumpled before he took the photo!  I can see he needs more training!

So there you have it...one Vintage Simplicity 4238 blouse.  A bit rough and ready but a good first blouse and practice piece for more to come!

I'll be back soon to share more of my doings, in the meantime,

Take care, 

Nora

xxxx

And cheerio from Victor!