Sewing Plans

I don't usually make sewing plans, I'm more see pretty fabric, see pretty pattern, buy, sew, or all too frequently buy add to stash.  That's not to say I don't make lists, I just don't usually do very much with them. 

 

I don't know about anybody else, but I was very tempted by the Sewing Indie Month Pattern Bundle 1, ten lovely patterns at a nock down price, plus the bonus of to donating to charity, all very tempting.  But on this occasion I did not succumb to temptation (probably because I know I'm going to be more tempted by Pattern Bundle 2).  There are ten great patterns here, but would I actually make and wear them?  For the majority of them, the answer is actually no, and that's not to say they are not fine patterns, just not for me.

 



 

 

I am tempted to buy the Saltbox Top from Blueprints for Sewing, and I already own the Melissa Dress from Muse patterns, but the other pattern would have sat on my hard drive, not being sewn, and that shouldn't be the fate for any pattern.  I currently have 25 Indie patterns that I already own, but have yet to sew, go check your own hard drive and see how many impulse pdf purchases you have, I can't be the only one to give into temptation, can I?

 

Another example of giving into temptation is this selection of lovely fabric below.  This is a remnant bundle from the Organic Textile Company.  £39.50 for 10 metres of lovely surprise fabric.

 

 

 

These fabrics have jumped to the head of the sewing queue (I know it's not fare, but it happens).  Most are 1 metre lengths, but as I am a consummate Tetris player, I can squeeze quite a lot out of 1m 

 

There is actually 1.5m of the navy, so it's will be a pair of trousers.  The colour of the fabric on the right hasn't come out very well, it's more of a shot beige/burgundy and has a bit of weight to it, so will be a skirt.

 

Both of these are much brighter in reality and I can definitely see an Onyx top in the orange.

 

The stripy fabric on the left is quite bright, so I think it will be a pair of pyjama shorts, and then I only have to scare my husband with them.  I know the other two do look disturbingly like table cloths, but the yellow one has a lovely drape and will become an Onyx top highlighted with red bias trim.  The blue and shit check, will be a skirt, pattern to be determined.

 

The biggest piece of fabric in the bunch is this red/blue/beige/green check, as I have about 2 metres.  I was tempted to make some kind on pinafore dress, but then realised that I am 45 not 5 years old and I'm going to try and adapt the Onyx top into a dress.  The green and pink retro print I think may become a Brumby skirt, so that it can be toned down with plain tops. 

 

Will any of these things get made?  Some of them probably, all of them, probably not.  Come back to find out.

Me Made May'12 Days 25,26,27,28,29,30 and 31

So the last week of Me Made May'12.  Apart from having my photo taken everyday, I've enjoyed the process.  I've made some new clothes, worn several things I haven't worn in ages and of late bemoaned the horrible hot weather(I have to complain about the weather, I'm British).  So here are the final week's clothes.

Day 25

A thrifted Wallis skirt and my 1970's style t-shirt with my new gladiator sandals.  I don't know why I am pulling that face?

Day 26

This picture was taken late in the day (not at 7am like most of the other pictures), so my blouse is looking a little the worse for wear.  Helped in no small part by Hagrid giving me a through soaking when we gave him a bath.  He is such a good boy, in so many ways, we just have to get his behaviour with other dogs under control.

Day 27

This may not be the most flattering dress in the world, but it is very cool.  Comfort definitely was more important than style here, have I complained about the weather enough yet? 

Day 28

I made this blouse from some thrifted vintage fabric a couple of year ago and I think this may only be the third time I've worn it.  I have a White Stuff tunic top that I love and keep looking for patterns to replicate it, but this pattern was not it, the sleeves are a little tight, I may try to rectify that so that I will wear this more often. 

Day 29

An entire Me Made outfit here, both refashioned.  The top was originally a pillow case and the skirt initially a man's shirt.  There was a trend a couple of years ago of converting men's shirts into dresses, but for women far more petite than me.

Day 30

A repeat of my outfit from Day 16.

And Finally Day 31

The ubiquitous purple chambray skirt and my new Wiksten Tova blouse that I finished on Tuesday. It's a lovely pattern and fairly straight forward to make, this is really a wearable muslin and it's made from a sheet I bought for £1.29 (and that I have enough left of to make another 2 garments).  I was slightly depressing to have to make the XL size, as I don't think of myself as an XL person, but that minor quibble is not going to stop me making it again.  I have quite a few pieces of fabric that I can use to make this top.

As I said earlier I have enjoyed the challenge of Me Made May, but I probably need to create my own challenge rather than follow someone else's.  I definitely could do with utilising better what I already have, before I go out an acquire more stuff.  And even though the above shirt was made with a thrifted sheet, it did require the purchase of a new pattern. I have more fabric and patterns than I will probably ever need, so what I probably need to do is impose an embargo on  buying any new fabric or patterns for a while and try and use what I already have.

Watch this space and see how that works out... 

Instant Gratification

I've just bought a downloaded pattern for the first time, talk about instant gratification. The only downside is you can't save the PDF provided, you just have to print it straight off, instant might be a slight overstatement when you are printing off 40 odd pages on a little inkjet printer.

Yes, the picture above is of the pattern I bought. I've been meaning a make a coat for Bonnie for about a year now. I'm not one of those scary people that usually dresses up their dog (the pink aisle at "Pets at Home" truely disturbs me), but Bonnie is camoflage dog. She blends in so well with the leaves at this time of year that it very difficult to see her. So I am going to make her a nice blue coat that is easy to spot and will keep her warm. I am predicting she will try to shake it off within two seconds flat, but what is a Doggy Mummy to do.