Summer Holiday - Day 18

Little Lady and I went to the Frozen Sing-along back in February...it was one of her Christmas Presents along with the full Queen Elsa dressing up costume.

She knew we were going and counted down for weeks.

What she didn't know was that her totally bonkers Mummy had made a Princess Anna outfit!

This time she didn't even know we were going!

So she didn't suspect a thing when I suggested she don her Princess Anna costume (her present to herself from our trip to Disneyland Paris).

Until that was Daddy popped her into the car, I got in in my costume and we headed off the 10 minutes to our local theatre! 

Clackers ready, snowflakes ready, crown unfurled and ready for the coronation and grey balloon inflated and waiting for the troll moment!  If you've never been to a sing-along....you won't get this AT ALL!

Here we are in our seats, waiting for the start of the performance......

You get the words to the songs on the big screen, an Anna or Elsa to help you sing and in our case......snowflakes in August!.....

Here's a snap of us when we got home......what can I say....it just had to be done!....

But it was a quick change as we were out for lunch at ASK Italian (Little Ladys choice, her favourite place to eat out!)

And here am I in my newly finished Cherry Dress from the Sew Mag Bette Dress pattern....TA-DAH!!!!

I hopped on-line to some forums about this dress and there were lots of discussions about how awful it was....too large....too long......I followed the pattern to the letter (1.5cm seam allowances), shortened it to fit me (by about 12cm) as advised in the instructions and hey presto....fits brilliantly!  It was a useful lesson to me in...Follow-the-Instructions!

The meal was lovely by the way!

We're off for the next few days, so I'll catch up with you very soon with another fun day out!

Until then, toodle-oo,

Love

Nora

xxxx

Naughty Bargain!

Oooops!  I couldn't help it.....well, OK I could...BUT!!!!

I've been on and off eBay, Amazon, Gumtree and brand sites looking at dress forms (also know as tailors dummies, mannequins, dressmaking dummies), boy are they expensive!

Even the ones on eBay might start with no reserve but regularly go for excess of £75.  There is certainly LOTS of interest in these at the moment.

Well, I was wandering with my Crafty Friend and happened to see a torso in the window of a charity shop. I popped in to find that it was £35!  Yes, £35!

Having just had a conversation with my husband about how much money is leaking out of our account and needing to cut down and all that jazz....I felt too guilty to buy it BUT, I did say that if it was still there on my return a couple of hours later that I would succumb......and succumb I did!

So here is a sneaky shot (sadly it has no stand but I'm working on that!)............

How chuffed am I?

Does The Hubs know yet?!

I'm off to source some instructions as I can't find a YouTube video to tell me how to adjust it.....that could be the next post!

Until then.....toodle-oo

Love

Nora

xxxx

SAILOR PANTS!

Yes! *punches the air in a most un-lady-like manner*

Do I feel great right now?  Yes.

Am I proud of myself? Yes.

Am I proud of my Little Lady's photography skills?  YES!

Grab a cuppa, make yourself comfy....we're up for a TA-DAH!

This journey started last June whilst on holiday when I stumbled across the blog of lovely Jane at Handmade Jane..wow...is she inspiring!  And so willing to share her knowledge and be of enormous help to allow those sewing-ly challenged amongst us to get a leg up in the dressmaking stakes.

I love her style and also her colour choices (I love a bit of red myself!).

She lead me on to many other wonderful blogs and sites like Gertie's Blog for Better Sewing, The Little Tailoress, But it Can't Be From Dolly Clackett, The Vintage Pattern Files, Jennifer Lauren Vintage, Burdastyle.....*breath*..... and so I could go on...and on, and on!

What came out of this holiday rummage was that I REALLY wanted to sew something for myself.

I like unique things, and I'm happy to buy from charity shops so that I'm less likely to wear something someone else is sporting and there are some unusual finds too.

Problem?

Fit!

Solution?

Make it yourself for a better fit!

OK.  Here we go.  By the end of the holiday I had bought Colette's Jasmin Blouse, Jennifer Lauren's Bronte Top and Burdastyles Sailor Pants.

Weirdly, I later looked for the Vintage Simplicity 4238 and made that first....told you about that here.

I've also made an apron based on a pattern I found on Pinterest (more about that here...)

And some PJs which I told you about here, (but haven't yet updated you on another 2 pairs!!)

So, FINally I get around to those sailor pants!  Tentatively!

I can't tell you much about the fabric other than I got it from Fabricland for around £5 per metre, it is navy blue and it is trouser-y stuff...what exactly I have no idea!

You'll have to PLEAse excuse the state of the trousers as I had worn them all day at Little Lady's party when we went bowling and picnic-ing in the park....well worn and crumpled!

So...ready....here we go.................

Little Lady didn't quite get the shot right, so let's try again.......

Not bad at all and for a front detail shot.......

....and a side shot to show the fit......

I L-O-V-E them...what's not to love?

I'm putting them up as my May Make on #mmaw2015.

I am sooooo inspired!  I have the Retro Butterick 5605 out at this moment, instructions being absorbed, bodice cut and I'm also contemplating cutting a shorts version of these Sailor Pants in a lovely floral fabric I found in the remnant stack at my local fabric store.

I'll keep you posted on progress......finally, sorry for the radio silence and finally, finally...thank you Jane xx

Love

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!

Little treats have arrived.....

I was all despondent and tired after a slog of a morning on the computer...I needed a pick me up and as I got to the sewing machine realised that I couldn't get on with the project I wanted to as I had no white cotton!

How did that happen?!

At that precise moment someone knocked on the door.

I went and opened it.....

Who stood there but our postman with 3, yes 3 parcels!

Oh JOY!

I  excitedly ripped the wrapping from the first.......

A real naughty treat!  I wasn't going to buy it, but it did look like my kind of book and I haven't really bought magazines for months as they are all same-y...can't wait to get stuck into that tonight.

Next parcel....ripped the wrapper off and......

24 pastel Moon Threads from Coats...deep joy...now I can get on with that project...happy-skippy-me!

Next, the plastic wrapper was shredded off of this...........

The hubs has bought me subscriptions to this and Sewing World, so they are the only mags that cross this threshold at the moment....very excited, no idea what's in there!  But both are the only mags that really get me making stuff so that's why I continue with them.

So there we are!

Pressies for little ol' me *grin*

The making I was able to get on with will be hitting your screens in the next few days, until then happy sewing, knitting, baking, gardening...or whatever your bag is.

Love

Nora

xxxx

Doh! Now I get it!!!

Yesterday I told you about my brain-warp misunderstanding of the instructions to make this blouse....

No matter how many times I looked at the sketches and read the instructions, nothing made sense!

What do you think?...... 

I sent a message to the wonderfully kind Jane of Handmade Jane (kind, patient soul!) who has made this blouse numerous times and went to work hopeful that she could help.

I returned from work to find a young lady in our house who is shortening my daughters prom dress.  We got chatting about my new journey into making clothes and I showed her my blouse at the 'needs the collar on it stage'....it was all pinned but I was unconvinced....and rightly so as she popped a pin out, popped the buttonhole facing the other way round and said 'there, that should do it'!!

So simple when you know how and understand pattern construction!

Moving from the right hand picture of 'a.' above to the left hand picture of 'b.', I had folded the facing to the untidy 'inside' of the blouse (away from me) rather than the tidy 'outside' of the blouse (towards me)...couldn't believe how such a simple mis-read of instructions could cause so many hours of painstakingly reading and re-reading the instructions...knowing something was wrong but not seeing the most simple of solutions!

I did faff a while longer to build up the confidence at then thought.....'ah!  Jane!!'.

I hopped on here and sure enough, kind and thoughtful Handmade Jane had directed me to this link on her blog.

What a cracking explanation with photos.....

It confirmed that what I had done so far was correct and that the correction by our guest was quite right (not that I doubted her one iota!)

I wanted to share this story for 2 reasons...

Isn't it amazing how 1) a chance encounter and a common interest  and ...

2) a begging comment on the blog of someone I've never met....

could not only solve my issue and give me confidence BUT more than that, give me a warm and fuzzy feeling about the kindness of strangers to want to share their knowledge to help me learn with no benefit for themselves except for.....a warm and fuzzy feeling!

Thank you to both ladies...I'm off to sew!

Hope to see you soon.

Love

Nora

xxxx

Is there a seamstress to help with pattern translation?!

I'm on a journey with my first ever blouse.

It's the gorgeous Simplicity 4238......

The choice was inspired by Handmade Jane who has made some beauties using this pattern.

I'm going for View 2 without the false pockets.

Anyways.....I'm getting there...BUT......

I have now got to this.....

...and I'm telling you...it may as well be written in Serbo-Croat for all I know!

If you can help me get my head around this Rubik's Cube of a blouse I'd be really grateful!

I'm not being thick (really!), I have just never put a collar on anything and I want to get it right so that I can do this again and not be put off.

Back soon with some easier makes!

Until then, have a great day!

Love

Nora

xxxx

Make Me a Wardrobe 2015..........#mmaw2015

So you may remember back here, I made the very rash decision to join this challenge set by Jen over at My Make Do and Mend Year.

Jen completed her MMDaMY back in 2012/13 and has continued her blog with recycling, up-cycling, reusing, re-purposing and generally using up and putting to good use things that would otherwise go to landfill OR prevents landfill being used for packaging by reducing what she buys packaged AND being healthier by cooking from scratch (hope that's put it in a nutshell Jen!).

She most recently threw down the gauntlet for herself, to use up her stash of curated fabric and reduce the need to buy new by making herself clothes from said stash.

She very kindly (and probably for company if she's like me!) opened up the challenge to other disgraceful hoarders her faithful followers and named the challenge Make Me a Wardrobe 2015 or in true hash-tag fashion.... #mmaw2015.

In January I submitted a stash-busting reversible pinafore made for Little Lady and in February my Pyjama bottoms.

This month comes a make that isn't so much 'wardrobe', but it is something that I have been promising to make myself for literally 3 years!

I bought some fabric from the clearance stack at my local C & H Fabrics...about 3 years ago!  It was intended for a dress for Little Lady, but then she grew quicker than I could find a pattern I liked and then I wasn't sure if the fabric was really her anyway!

I've been coveting aprons on Pinterest for so long....I've now popped them on my Afternoon Tea board...why not!

And that is what bought me to this make...

This Saturday I am holding a Red Nose Fundraiser in the form of A Lazy Crafternoon Tea.  I'll be serving all the usual fare and helping friends out with craft makes for a donation to my cause.

Well, every self-respecting Afternoon Tea Hostess NEEDS a suitable apron for the job!  So armed with my fabric and a couple of spotty fat quarters for the trim and pockets I set to work on a reversible apron.

I took the basic pattern from here, changed the neck and used this pattern for the pocket.

So here's mine.......

Sorry about the non-smiley, concentrating face!

And here's the other side.....

The smile's better but the light's not!

I can also bring the ties to the front like this....

....and this also shows the pocket detail.

Here's a close up of the pocket on the other side......not perfect but not bad for a first attempt and just right to pop a tissue in!

Because I fiddled to get the pattern I wanted, it took longer than I thought, but I LOVE it!

That's my entry for Make Me a Wardrobe 2015 for March...now to think about April.....

Until the next time.

Nora

xxxx

Saturday Project

For quite some time now, my Saturday has been breakfast in bed courtesy of The Hubs followed by a lovely relaxing bath and all cooking on a Saturday by The Hubs!  So fortunate.

(I don't escape as I get to do it all Sunday so that The Hubs gets a rest-y day too...love him.)

Today is different as he and Little Lady went to stay with his parents on Thursday and return tomorrow, so no breakfast by The Hubs and the rest of the day was falling by the wayside too.

I had decided to have a relaxing day, but I haven't felt too bright so it was rather an enforced rest.

BUT...you know what it's like.....bit boring.....mind is racing......you get restless....

So out came the brushed cotton fabric from this post, and the Simplicity 9871 pattern from the same post and off I went.

I've not made anything like this before and thought it would be a good practice of basic bottoms before I embark on my longed for Sailor Pants!

I did mix the waistline marking with the placement of a buttonhole for the waistband cord and the space to leave the gap for the elastic, but I realised what was what (not clearly marked on the pattern!) and saved myself from total disaster!

So there is no tutorial or anything much to say that hasn't already been said, so all that is left for me to do is.........drum roll please.......

....say TA-DAHHHH!

So it'll be a nice hot bath tonight and my lovely new, comfy pyjama bottoms...woohoo!

This is my February contribution to Make Me A Wardrobe 2015 so I'm off to share on My Make Do and Mend Year and catch up with Jen's world.

Until the next time, take care,
Nora
xxxx

Birthday and Christmas presents......only the craft ones!

My birthday and Christmas are only 4 weeks apart, so a years worth of wishing comes to fruition in a short time!

My husband very wisely refers to my Amazon Wishlist for present ideas and usually picks a good selection like, a book, something practical for sewing and something unrelated to craft.

This year was no exception.  I'm still getting the subscription to Sewing World which I love.

In addition I also received a new blade for my rotary cutter.....

A French curve to help my journey towards making clothes that fit.....

He also got me a make your own knickers kit by Flo-Jo......

... from the Fluffatorium (couldn't resist showing it to you) when we visited a couple of months ago....

I also got this fabulous book.....

A quilt book which is not my style at all, but is very lovely and has sparked lots of ideas.....

And from Crafty Friend, this book......

I used an excerpt from Prima Makes to make this little rag doll for The Hubs newest cousin for Christmas.....

(Bad quality photo taken on my Hudl, in bad light on a 

hotel bed as we were rushing out to a Christening (as I remembered

 that I had forgotten to photograph of it at home!) Doh!)

It was such a lovely project that Crafty Friend thought I might like the whole book....she's not wrong!

With my birthday money I treated myself to a Zàkka book.............

And also some yarn for a special project (using Mums money)......

I also decided to get back into reading so bought myself these (using Mums money)...........

And to brighten my day (as I had LOTS of flowers for my Birthday and too few vases to put them in, Crafty Friend also bought me this lovely jug........

Look at the colours.........

The peach coloured flower reminded me of my hand embroidered runner picked up on eBay, look...............

.....and on closer inspection, the dark green leaves and red and blue flowers!

I was truly spoilt rotten.....and loved it!

Thank you, thank you, thank you lovely peeps xxx

I shall be getting on with some clear outs, updates and Ta-Dah's very soon but for now I'm off to get on with some more crafting, I'll catch up with you soon.

Love
Nora
xxxx