Playing with yarn...

Since the holiday to Kingfisher Bay Resort my sewing mojo has really flown out the window.  I did get all enthused and made up a little wardrobe capsule plan to move my wardrobe into the cooler weather, but have only managed one piece from it so far (which still requires some work). 

I loved my little capsule of clothes I made for the holiday and loved how everything coordinated so well together, so I do think the capsule idea is worth pursuing.  I will show you my capsule plan here, but please don't expect to see all these pieces turn up any time too soon :)

What have I been doing instead of sewing... playing with yarn.  During our holiday it rained a bit, so I had one afternoon and a ferry boat ride to start crocheting...

This is a Jenny King pattern - the marigold bolero and the pattern is really well written ... up until the last round.  I think JK ran out of steam at the point, but I put a question up on a forum on Ravelry and got a reply the next morning from Jenny herself.  You can't ask for better service than that!

I must have had a brain snap with crocheting on holidays and my motifs came out too small (when I thought I had measured them) so once again my bolero looks a little smaller than the one on the pattern, but after some steam blocking I am happy enough with the fit.

I am on ravelry as quiltsewsewsue so please friend me there if you use this great site.

Since then I have got bitten by the knitting bug.  I have left many comments on people's posts about their knitting, wishing I could knit the great garments they make and have decided that now is the time.  The Internet is a great resource and via YouTube and craftsy's class Knit Lab I am making progress on the knitting front also.  I highly recommend this class if anyone is looking to learn to knit BTW.

Pictures of my knitting next time... Ciao!

Kingfisher Bay Resort... piccies

Photos of my mini-vacation (including some of the resort wear collection)...

Big bad banksia man...

Blue linen shirt over togs...

Crocodile Sung choi bao 

Pandanus roots

Dinner outfit (note shortened top...)

Rain on the way...

Sytelearc top back (to be reviewed)

Style arc top front (to be reviewed)

Sunset on the beach...

I wasn't by myself... :)

Another sunset shot...

the pool...

A review of the stylearc top to follow... Ciao kittens!

WIP... finished ... Burda 7579 Jacket

I haven't been blogging but I have been sewing.  A project that has taken me weeks to finish.  It is Burda 7579, the jacket.  I started this jacket in Winter 2010 and never finished it.  Since we had the renovation the next year, it didn't come out of the cupboard.  This winter I have been busy sewing, meaning to finish this jacket and I have ... finally... now the weather is warming up again!

I am not going to say a lot about this jacket and will put the details in the review.  The jacket is made from wool purchased at Bargain Box in Ipswich and lined with a silk charmeuse purchased from Gorgeousfabrics.com.  I think I had planned to make a blouse, but the print was too busy for me so I decided it would make a perfect lining.  The buttons were the hardest part to source and I eventually found the ones I wanted at Sckafs in Brisbane.  I really love the buttons!

Lots of piccies for you...

First on Diana...

Then on me...

With the vagaries of photographing black... my pants are black but have come up brown in these photos???

Some details...

and of course, my sewing helper assisting me...

Ciao kittens! 

2010 year in review

Everyone is looking at what they have achieved in the last year and I hadn't planned to do this, but had the time, so sat down and worked out what I made this year.

First up I made a grand total of 50 sewn items and 3 crochet. Pretty happy with that! It can be broken down by category to:

Tops - 14
Dresses - 9
Skirts - 8
Pants - 7
Cardigans - 3
Active wear - 2
PJ pants - 1
Men's/boy's t-shirts - 4
Dog coat -1
Scarf (hand sewn rolled edge) - 1

2 crochet scarves
1 crochet vest

I obviously love sewing tops most and much watch I don't make too many! I also enjoy dresses and skirts. Pants - not so much and it was my least successful category as only 3 of those 7 pants still hang in the wardrobe. That is mostly due to the fact I have lost weight and changed shape this year and pants are the first thing that show that changes have happened. A few skirts have also gone that way! The good side is that I gave them to a friend, who gave them to her daughter's playgroup and a few of the girls were very happy to get some new clothes (as they mostly shop for second-hand).

I did have one major flop which is Burda 7580, however I still have this outfit and when the weather cools I will pull it out and see what I can do to make me happier to wear it.

In terms of success, these have been my favorites this year:

Jalie 2796 - the skort. I made two of these and they get a lot of wear.


Burda 09 2008 120 - skirt. I made two of these as well.


The brown skirt is pictured with my favorite blouse McCalls 5522. I wear this one a lot and always feel good when I do.
Dresses - the pick would have to be Jalie 3024

I love the Jalie cardigan I made to go with it, but haven't worn it much as yet as the weather has warmed up, but I am hoping to get lots of wear from it this year (and plan to make another).


I had a couple of others I loved as well - Kwik sew 3740 - cowl neck top - I made 4 of those!

Overall I think I had a good year. This coming year I am planning to try a few different things - lingerie and swim-wear. I also plan to finish some jackets, including the lined jacket I cut out at the end of Winter.

Stash-wise I plan to sew as much as I can from stash and only purchase when I have a fabric need that cannot be found in the stash (for an immediate project). The stash build-up bothers me as we started renovating our house at the beginning of November last year and as I packed all my fabrics away, I was quite mortified at how much I had!

2011 will bring things to look forward to - when the renovation is finished I will have my own sewing studio - a dedicated space for craftingness and sewing fun!

I hope everyone had a great 2010 but an even better sewing 2011!

In reply to a few questions I have had on my posts,

Gail the orange top pictured above with the floral skirt is RTW.

Alison & Janine The yellow top in my previous post about the crochet vest is Jalie 2788.

Butterick 5495 - the start of Spring!

Well, after the singlet tops, I am still making more Spring/Summer tops. Not sure why really as it is still too cold to wear them, but they seem to be helping me get back to the sewing machine, so it is not all bad.

This is Butterick 5495. I made the sleeveless version at the shorter length. The fabric was on sale at Spotlight. Down from $17 to $10 per meter and I picked up a meter and still had fabric left over!

This shows the detail of the gathered front, which is a bit difficult to see in this busy fabric.

And the back...

The only variations I made was to cut a size 10 at top and taper to a 12 at the hips and like a lot of other people I raised the neckline a bit. I think I may have raised it too much, but this fabric is a bear to unpick, so I think it will stay that way.

I love this fabric and I really like this top. The review is here and I will have to keep hoping the weather will warm up enough soon to wear this.

Michelle O dress

I have jumped on the bandwagon to make my own version of one of Michelle Obama's sheath dress.

Statistics:

The pattern used is Vogue 8593, View C. I prefer the 3/4 sleeve but have decided to be practical and made the full length sleeve to make this a dress for the coldest days. However the sleeves can be pushed up to get the 3/4 look.

Fabric is from Kerryn's fabric World and is a thick spongy blend of rayon/nylon/spandex. It may have been a little heavy for this pattern as the pattern calls for a lightweight double knit. However the neckline still seems to sit well, even with all the thickness of the pleats and the fabric means it is a lovely warm dress for the coldest days. The fabric was not loved by my machine either, I think because of the sponginess.

The only real variation made was to widen the sleeve at the bicep. I made a size 12 and it fits really well except for the sleeve width. However this seems to be a common alteration for me lately.

I was very happy with the invisible zip. We snapped these photos this morning before the Saturday chores started and my DH tells me I really need to wear hose with this dress as my legs look so white with this dark dress. When I wear it out, I plan to try a pair of skin-tone fishnet stockings.

I like this dress and think it will be a good, useful addition to the wardrobe. It is comfortable to wear and warm. I plan to wear it to a work dinner and a photography club dinner (DH's hobby) this month and think it will be vastly suitable for these occasions. I don't think the neckline is the best line for me but that would probably be my only quibble with this pattern. Not sure if I will make any more. If I get to like the neckline as I wear it, I may make a summer sleeveless version.

Review here .

McCalls 5522 - take 2

This top has been the most long-winded project I have worked on for ages. It is McCall's 5522. I made the 3/4 sleeve with ruffle earlier for the mini-wardrobe contest and you can see it here if you are interested.

This one I made the long sleeve, no collar and no ruffle. From memory the only alteration I made was to shorten the sleeve length by about one inch.

These photos were taken after an afternoon in the office, followed by drinks and dinner after work, so you will have to excuse the wrinkles. I did try to get the photos earlier in the day but DH was run off his feet, so it had to wait for the end of the night.

I am not as pleased with the fit of this one compared to the last one. The collar band is sitting a bit funny....

I didn't trim the armhole before inserting the sleeve this time, as I didn't feel it needed it but now I am not so sure... I think the back looks a little wide at the shoulder and the sleeve fit doesn't work so well at the back.

Anyway, it is not so bad I won't use it but I think I will leave this pattern alone for a while and use another shirt pattern next time.

At least now, I am free to move onto something new. Time for a frock, I think!

Burda 12-2009-112 plaid skirt photo shoot

Not many words here, mainly photos. However here is a link to the pattern (thanks Mary Nanna!), and a link to my review.

You can pattern match on one side, but not both!

Photo shoots of the other skirt and my McCall's blouse (which is now completed!) still to come...

Deco Vibe Flippy Skirt ... take 2

I have not had much sewing success lately - in that I haven't finished much lately (as you can tell from the lack of posts!)

I am still working on the MacCalls top (and the ruffle isn't on the agenda any more). My reason for not finishing this top is my thread mysteriously vanished (think brown cat) and after I bought a new reel of thread, it did re-appear!

However in the meantime I started sewing another Deco Vibe Flippy skirt. Pattern cover pictured at the end of this post or can be found here. This one in a 'cheaper' double knit (than the last one). Ponte de Roma from Spotlight in a lovely dark brown.

Also in a size smaller (woo hoo!) The fabric seems lovely but is quite spongy and that made it difficult to match the seams. I do not have any detail photos of this skirt here but you can see details of my previous version here. See the puppy working his way into the photo..

I made the yoke lining in a rayon lining called Gold liner from Gardams Fabrics. This time though, instead of stitching it down to the yoke I used a rayon seam binding to finish the edge and left it loose. It has a more RTW feel - I will try and get a photo for you (sorry, still wearing the skirt now).

Back of the skirt (excuse the wrinkles - I have been wearing it at work all afternoon)...

and the pattern in case you don't remember it...

I love this skirt and will be making at least another black one in a double knit (yes, like the last one BUT a size smaller). Hopefully my next post will happen much sooner and I will show you my finished McCalls top (which looks like it will go very well with this skirt. After that a Burda skirt - I would give you a link but since they changed the site - I cannot find one)..

Tell me - the shoes I am wearing are cream and brown - can I wear them with this skirt, even if the brown in the shoe is lighter than the brown in the skirt?

When you are on a good thing...

Well, you probably knew I liked this top (and I got a lot of comments on Pattern Review for this top too, so I guess others liked it also). It is Vogue 2980.

Yesterday I wandered into Gardams (very innocently I was just going to say hello!) and discovered they had a remnant bin sale. So I picked up this gorgeous gold ribbed polyester knit for a bargain price and I knew straight away I needed to make another V2980 top.
It was fate, as today was a Show Holiday locally it was my chance... and I love it!

Mini Wardrobe - Hot Patterns Deco Vibe Flippy Skirt

Item two of the four needed for the mini wardrobe. The review is here if you are interested in reading it (it has the same photos as here, so don't bother clicking on all the links).

In summary, I think this is a lovely little skirt and I think I will wear it a lot and I really think I will be making more of these! As well as being cute, it is comfortable and easy to wear.

The front - I do think it fits me better than Diana (I still really need to spend some time making Diana resemble me a little closer!)


The side showing the nice lines of this skirt.

The back - the top stitching was done with regular thread using a triple stitch.

The zipper - as the fabric is so thick the top of the zip is isn't finished as crisply as I would normally like, but I think that is just part of using the double knit fabric. However saying that I really liked working with the double knit and will use it much more now. Making the seams match through the zip was tricky. I basted, marked it and sewed it many times with no luck, so remembered that I had recently received some Wonder tape from an American friend, so used that. It worked! It does seem a bit gummy on the needle though so I am not a huge fan and will probably only use it as a last resort.

I used Bemberg rayon lining which I interfaced to make the inner yoke piece. I also added my usual tab instead of a hook and eye. However I didn't think it through and should have put it the other way as I naturally reach to undo it the other way. Next time...

I also covered the end of the zip with a piece of the lining fabric.

I twin-needled the hem using Steam a Seam lite 2 and the tips form Sandra Betzina's Vogue 2980. Basically apply the Steam a seam, use woolly nylon in the bobbin (hand wound) and loosen the top tension by 2. I was very happy with the hem finish.

As before the modeled by me photo shoot is to come...