Makey - Wordy Sitching

Kia ora,

So I've been doing some more stitching. This is a quote from author of  A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L'Engle.

I just adore this quote and I enjoyed the process of stitching it.

I'm getting rather a collection of big and small wordy stitches... not sure what I'll do with them but I enjoy the process!

love you more than a sense of completing something xxx

Makey - Extrovert Introvert Quilt Top

Kia ora,

This year I am studying part time and for one of my assignments the tutor asked for a personal response to some of the material.

Well, that lead me on rather a journey and one of the things that has come from it is a series of quilts and mini-quilts, or at least they will be if I get them finished on time!

This quilt top is about the extroverts and the introverts and how both are powerful people types, both are beautiful and both are necessary.

The wild colours, which represent me - and many other extroverts all came from my stash, via off-casts of my dear friend Deb. Now that they are all mixed together I feel like I like them much more than I did individually.

What are you making right now?

love you more than a riot of colour xxx

Makey - Stichy

Kia ora,

So part of my prayer practise (I know that may seem an extremely weird sentence!) lately has been finding 'ancient prayers' that I like and free-hand stitching them onto random pieces of fabric with whatever threads I have in my collection.

I really love it. I do so many things at a very fast pace so stitching old worlds is a sort of slowing down and embedding.

This is a prayer I found last year when I was on a 7 day silent retreat and I stitched it recently.

Are you a collector of ancient words?

love you more than a straight line of random stitching xxx

Makery Stitchery

Hi :-)

Part of my creative practice last year as been linked to my faith. Picking up a needle and thread and 

engaging with stitching as prayer.

While we were away over the summer holidays I stitched this prayer that I had found.

I just stitch free-hand and I like the way it's all a bit wonky - imperfect like me, joyful all the same.

It's stitched on old linen type fabric I've had in stash for ages and just using threads in my embroidery case.

A project for taking time with.

love you more than a simple-soul fill xxx

December Makery

Hey Up Friends,

So I've been trying to get some making done and dusted before the year winds down.

As part of Dressember I was sponsored to make two new dresses.

Vogue 8469

I made this in a crazy patchwork look fabric and paired it with a beautiful shot dupion silk sash. Both fabrics  are second hand.

and my totally TNT pattern The Ruby Dress by Simple Sew

I have lost count of how many of these I have made (this isn't the only one I haven't blogged about). I made this out of second had denim I got at the Steiner fair recently. I absolutely love this dress and I'm all kinds of excited about how much fun I will have accessorising it.

I also made to large drawstring bags for my boys to unwrap on Christmas Eve because we had temporarily misplaced our stockings.

Re-sewed several zips.

Made 9 produce bags for my sister for her to use when shopping.

Fixed The Atlas' jeans

and let out the seams in a dress that I had done the wrong seam allowance on.

So, you know, there has been sewing it's just the blogging that's been disappointing!

love you more than mending jobs done xxx

Simplicity 3688 Version 3

Heya Lovelies,

I bought this lovely creasy fabric from Annah Streton fabrics a while ago when they had a big sale on.

I quite this Simplicity pattern. It's high and fitted across the waist and really wide in the leg. Which either makes the pants look more formal or like PJ pants... or both simultaneously.

I'm looking a bit dishevelled in these photos because I've been teaching all day and it's end of year concert o'clock!

I discovered once I'd made them that these pants will only be appropriate with beige coloured giant nana undies. (It's an exciting life I lead!)

Top and necklace also handmade by me.

Done! Now tomorrow I'm into a month of dresses for a great cause.

love you more than the perfect set of undies xxx

Makey - Another Ivy

Howdy,

A while ago I made an Ivy pinafore in flamingo fabric which I adore. As part of my birthday gift this year my boys sent me to see the World of Wearable Arts in Wellington.

It was a beautiful weekend with some lovely friends and I wanted to make a dress for it, as you do.

I've had this fabric in my stash for a few years now - it started as a black and white print which I used fabric paints and hand stitching to embellish.

Since the event I've continued to wear it for day to day, because I believe in dressing up!

I think all the stitching over the 100 days project has really re-ignited a love for hand stitching in me.

The pattern is from an NZ designer called Jennifer Lauren, fabric and paints from stash, lining also from stash... which is good because I recently fell right off the buy no new fabric wagon.

love you more than fabric sale xxx

Makey - McCalls 7286 the Unicorn Version

Heya,

You may remember the whale top I made a while ago using the McCalls pattern 7286. I really liked the raglan sleeves and the general fit.

Then I came across some adorable unicorn fabric in spotlight one day and it somehow came home with me!

I decided to make a dress version, because really a stretch t-shirt style dress is just a nighty in disguise that's appropriate for day wear!

I adore this dress, it makes me all kinds of happy... I think there will be more!

love you more than a stretchy unicorn xxx

The cape!

Kia ora folks,

It would be easy to look at this blog and think I've entirely stopped being creative and I'm only reading books! Surprisingly I think this year has been one of my most creative so far. One of the reasons you haven't seen much is that a lot of it has been creative writing and I'm not sure how to share that aspect.

I've also lost our camera so I'm relying on someone else to take pics and that doesn't always coincide  with when I'm wearing something.

I shall endeavour to do a better job by y'all on this! :-)

A work colleague gave me a large fabric piece that was no longer needed at her place. Bounce has been wanting a cape/cloak for a while.

Things came together.

I adapted an adult cloak pattern, made the XS size and cut the best I could with the fabric I had.

He chose the disco button and he is wearing it all.the.time.

I'd call that a win for very little work. These are the days I feel like I'm mumming right.

(don't ask me that at dinner making and trying to do homework o'clock!)

love you more than fabric used before it even made it onto the shelves of the sewing room xxx

Making - Ivy Pinafore

Kia ora koe,

When I saw the Ivy pinafore by Jennifer Lauren Handmade I was really keen to give it a go. A tent dress + pinafore sounds like the perfect combo to me. Then I came across this fabulous flamingo fabric and it was a done deal.

The pattern requires a lot of fabric 3m and is fully lined so it's not a cheap make by any means. I also chose to print the PDF pattern at a copy shop instead of printing out loads of pages, sticking them all together and re-cutting (prep work is such a bore!). Which meant some serious printing costs as well - thankfully I plan to make this dress again so I can make sure to get my moneys-worth from the printing.

The dress came together really quickly and the instructions are clear and thorough and easy to follow. I decided to forgo buttons in the end liking the yoke just as it was, so I stitched it down instead.

The top stitching really makes the overall look I think.

Worn with a black top I've had for over 10 years and some new shoes that were seriously discounted and make the perfect feet for a flamingo don't you think?

So.... what will the next one look like I wonder???

love you more than a flamboyance of flamingoes xxx

(isn't that the best collective noun ever?!)

Making - McCalls M7286

Hiya friends,

The other day a friend came over for the evening once our littles were in bed and we sewed. I recently bought this fabric (yeah, I kind of fell off the 'buy no new fabric' this year) and wanted to make a simple top.

I had purchased the M7286 pattern a while ago with the thoughts of extending it into a t-shirt style dress. I didn't have quite enough fabric for the raglan sleeve as well so I used some op-shop navy from my stash and I love the finish.

I'm so into this fabric  and this top is so comfy and easy to wear - yay!

I made the straight size medium and just sewed it up my own way except for the neckline where I followed their instructions. I love the neckline - it sits nice and flat and I think it looks great. :-)

I will be making some more of these tops - I had to cut the paper pattern out and the top was still started and finished between 8-10pm and next time it will be faster because the pattern cutting out is always a time sucker.

yay! What yay is there in your world at the moment? Do tell ...

love you more than whales xxx

Making - Lamp Shade

So how's life?

I'm taking a break from books to bring you a make. There has actually be quite a lot of making going on of late but I've been tardy with my blogging!

I bought this fabulous lamp shade making kit a while ago from The Make Company. When I got home I realised, oh joy!, that I had enough of a scrape left of the fabulous Kaffe Fassett fabric Deb gave me to make the shade.

The kit came with everything I needed so I finally pulled it out one Friday morning and whipped it together.

Now it is hanging above our kitchen table and it makes me smile every time I look at it.

Sometimes there are things that need to be made that really are so quick and satisfying you wonder why it took so long. Maybe that explains why I have about 10 months (I may exaggerate slightly) worth of washing I haven't folded!

Anything new come out of your creative space lately?

love you more than basking in the actual glow of a recent make xxx

Pepernoot Coat by Waffle Patterns

Heya Stitchers,

Last year I was thrilled to win a pattern of my choice from Waffle Patterns and I had such a hard time choosing. In the end I went with the Peppernoot Hooded Coat. 

The thought of sticking so many pieces of paper together lead me to the local copy shop to get the copyshop sized version printed out – never going back! SO much better.

This pattern is absolutely not a quick sew. The patch pockets on the front utilise a ‘welt-style’ opening for the zips and just doing those two pockets with their zips, ironing down the seam allowance and top-stitching took me an hour! The coat is fully lined and I overlocked every seam as well. I went through a spool and a half of thread so that’s a good 150m of machine stitching. (Not including all the hand stitched hems or the overlocking).

The pattern itself isn’t difficult per se, it’s more that there is a lot to do and a lot of extra features like the sleeve tabs, a separate panel down the hood, front and back yokes, concealed zippered front with tab, a lot of top-stitching and it is fully lined.

Overall I think the instructions are good and there are heaps of diagrams for the more visual types. There were 2 parts in the pattern where I had to stop, re-read and then apply my own sewing knowledge and look to the next steps. Because of this, I’d say this is a pattern to attempt once you have a few makes under your belt and some personal confidence in your ability as a sewist.

I used some fabulous fabric from IKEA that I have had for a while. I also have a dress from this fabric– which I made for IPM in 2015. The contrast fabric, for the front and back yoke and strip on the hood, is a cotton sateen that I was given recently, I like the way it breaks up the intensity of the pattern. It is lined in a very lightweight peachy coloured cotton with a tiny polka dot. Keeping with my mission, this fabric is all from stash, although I did have to buy the zips.

The sleeve buttons are some vintage buttons I had in my stash. I love the slightly deco style of them with the curves.

When I measured myself I think I came out as a size 46 (or maybe larger) but when I looked at the final measurements I decided to cut a 42. I felt a bit scared about it as I didn’t want to have a final garment that didn’t fit! I don’t tend to be someone that get very cold so I knew I didn’t need a coat with room for hundreds of layers underneath.

I am pleased with the final fit. I needed to shorten the sleeves slightly and the ‘waistline’ sits very high on me as well so if I were to do another version I may lengthen the bodice. (Being brutally honest though I can’t usually be bothered with altering patterns so I’ll probably just leave it as it is!). 

I love this coat. Reading blogs, many sewists seem to start out making all ‘party, party‘ clothes and then work out they don’t really wear them and start to make more ‘wearable staples‘. As y'all know I live in the ‘party, party‘ style of dressing so this make is very reflective of my overall style.

Don’t bee fooled by the ‘black outfit’ I have on under this coat. It’s a top I bought from Zara about 13 years ago and a petticoat. I took off the dress I was wearing over said items (in the carpark after church no less!!!), so that you could get a decent feel for the coat. See how much I love you all?! 

May your top-stitching run straight, your size choice be accurate and your makes bring joy and workability to your wardrobe.

love you more than the sound of fancy fabric scissors cutting through fresh fabric xxx

Philippa Dress by Muse Patterns

Hiya 

Whoop,

 it’s Indie Pattern Month over at the monthly stitch blog, the time we all go crazy making awesome patterns, celebrating Indie design and sometimes win prizes!

My gorgeous sister Naomi and I do a lot of talking, scheming and ‘opinionating’ (it is totally a thing!) together coming up to IPM. A few days before the challenges were announced we did a full Indie pattern inventory (we had more than we realised) and did some sharing, as good sisters do.

I was really keen to make the Philippa dress by Muse Patterns. I like its 60s vibe and as a dress maker and wearer I thought it would fit my wardrobe. This year I have set myself a challenge of buying no new fabric (second hand is fine) so I had to dive into my plentiful stash.

The fabric I really wanted to use turned out to be too small so I dived again and came up with this fun green, lime and aubergine number cotton drill. Last week I was also given some beautiful fabric offcuts so I used a jade green cotton sateen from the pile for the contrast panels.

In terms of the pattern this is the first Muse Pattern I have made. I measured myself and came out as a 40. I used the D-cup panel option – it comes in a B-cup or D-cup and as a 12E I thought the D would give me the most service!!

I am not a toile maker or pattern hacker I just cut and go, which usually serves me well. And when it doesn’t I’m not too worried, the benefits of not being a perfectionist!   (We’re also having ‘where the heck is our camera' issues at the moment so a *very* wiggly 8 year old took these – less than focussed photos on my phone!)

I liked the order the dress was put together in and found most of the instructions very straightforward to follow. I even used an invisible zip and I am really proud with how it went in.

I was careful when doing the pattern placement to try to keep the central design evenly balanced.

Luckily for me the side seams were the last part of the construction with the exception of bias binding the armholes (SO much better than facings) and hemming. The seam allowance across the pattern is 1cm and I ended up taking a 4cm seam on both sides and then pinning the dress on inside out to curve into the waist part as well (up to another 1.5cm+ at the deepest point).

I’m not sure if the pattern is supposed to have a lot more ease than I wanted but it did seem very large enormous on me in the originally finished state. I was glad that the problem was too big which is much easier to fix than the other way! It was good to be able to adjust it with the side seams though and I was glad to not lose any of the main fabric.

I love this dress. I will definitely make another one (not this week though!). It’s comfy, it’s cute and I can imagine myself having fun with using print on print with the contrast panels. Also, pockets! We all, well most of us, love pockets – amiright?! (And the perfectly matching cardi was a handmedown from my mama last week!)

May your thread be matching, your interfacing be enduring and your sewing room be just the right temperature.

Love you more than an invisible zipper foot xxx