Fleece Jacket Done (and domestic goddess)

Sorry about the rubbish photo, but I'm acutely aware there are no photographs of me actually wearing anything I've made!  Here's the Fleece jacket, it's warm, snugly and a pretty colour too. 
I decided not to use the loop/button closure and go for a belt instead but having worn it I definitely need a couple of hooks and eyes at the top.  It was dead simple to make and fleece is easy to work with.  I cut a 10 front and 12 back - don't know what I was thinking as I should have cut a 10 back and 12 front, but I can get away with the "extra" at the back because of the styling with the belt.  I didn't need to follow the instructions however I always have a quick read through just in case.  A walking foot was essential for this project and I won't use Coats thread again! (You can see another set of PJ's in this photo)

I've also been thinking about Christmas party dresses (I need want 2 this year) - more later; brain spinning with ideas.  I don't know about you, but I tend to see a fabric and an idea grows from that.  Plus I've been busy on ebay and etsy looking for vintage patterns again, will let you know how I get on with some of my bids.

Domestic Goddess:  Pin Queen makes bread!  Well, okay someone gave me a bread machine and I bought a ready-mix pack, chucked in some water, pressed a few buttons and 1hour 55mins later this was the result:

It's sun dried tomato and I've just had a slice toasted, buttered and a hot cup of tea - delicious!

Pattern Storage, thread rant and confession....

How neat and tidy do these look?!  I've filed them by pattern company.  Vogue are in numerical order but I gave up on the others because, well frankly I got bored.  I like to look at my patterns when deciding on a new project and I was surprised that there were  no surprise finds, I knew exactly what I had (is that bad, or sad?)

Anyhoo, I need to let off some steam.  Whilst making this

I had some major thread issues.  Now I'm strictly a Gutermann girl, but when I bought this fleece the shop didn't sell my preferred brand so I went with Coats Duet - never, never again.  I was reluctant to purchase it in the first place but you know how it is, fabric, thread, pattern = Go sew.  Here's what happened to it:

Poor quality thread

And even worse, look at it in my machine.  This happened about every 30cms of stitching. 

look at all that carry on at the top!

Now I know I can sometimes be a bit "hasty" when sewing for myself but I had a new needle, altered the tension  (mainly zigzagged), eased off on the foot pressure and speed, but no, that damn thread's just rubbish.

I've had better quality thread from Leeds Market at 40p a reel.

What's your favourite thread to work with?

Confession time:  I just don't like making everyday clothes.  I love to work with silk, chiffon, satin, taffeta, organza etc. etc.  Only problem is, I'm not a big one for going out and I think I'd look a bit odd doing the Asda shop in a corset and full blown bustled skirt!

Picture of fleece jacket to follow, Vivienne is still busy showing off in the shop window.

Have a lovely weekend all.



Pattern Storage & Burda Style

Warning - this post contains the "C" word - twice....

I was up bright and early (5.30am) yesterday to start work - yes, Pin Queen has to work to feed her sewing habit. I work at our local Next 3 mornings a week and yesterday was an early start as we were putting out the Christmas decorations.  Pretty snowflakes, christmas presents and  H U G E  lit up "C"s dotted all around the shop.  Anyhoo, the christmas presents will make fantastic pattern storage boxes - they're really sturdy and come in varying sizes.  I was fortunate enough to take home two of the medium sized boxes that were spare (we had to do a bit of re-jigging to get everything to fit the shop displays) and they are perfect!  I think I will drill a couple of holes in the front and add a handle to make them a little easier to pull from the shelf - What do you think? 

Look how deep those red lids are - I think I'll use them as storage rather than lids.

Needless to say I'll put my name down for a few more when the decorations are ready to come down...... If you work in Next, or know anyone who does, they may be able to have a few at the end of the festive season too.

I used to get Burda years, and years ago (I mean late 80's early 90's) and have recently started to buy it again - goodness how it has changed.  I know many of you have already commented, but I didn't pay any attention until this morning as I traced off a simple top - what the ?)&*!? They are obviously cutting down costs by removing the extra sheet of pattern paper but they have made it very difficult for us indeed.  There's no way I'll be tackling any of the larger coat patterns in the future!

  




I'm not feeling the love for Burda right now...

Mojo's back!

Phew, sewing mojo came back today - at about 6pm though....  Anyhoo I'd already made a start on some pj's and finished the top this evening (just a hem and ribbon to do) and made the bottoms in about 1.5 hours in a soft white cotton, trimmed at the bottom with the same fabric.  The top  and trim is a lovely soft cotton lawn in duckegg blue: 

I got it from ebay at £5.95/meter.  I only got 1 meter as it is 150cm wide.  The top pattern I used came as a download from Burdastyle called "Amanda".    It was going to be a top for the summer but I think it makes me look "top heavy" due to the gathering around the neck - I don't need ANY help in that department!

Vivienne is currently helping me with the window display so she can't model them for me at the moment, I'll add it to the list for later!

Think I need to have a go at a knit top next.  Can you believe I haven't ever worked with knit?!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! TTFN

Knitting and stuff....

So here's the update on my knitting...  all the holes are in the right place!!!  It's such an easy pattern I can sit in front of the tv; only  one row of "pattern" to worry about, and if you can count to 3 and 6 you've cracked it!

  

I did have 4 balls of wool, but a certain dog in my life stole one from my bag and chewed it beyond rescue - before I'd even started any knitting. Should have been a lesson learned, but no.  Jackyboy loves to dig in this particular bag so the same thing happened the very next day - sigh £8 down and only half a scarf to show for it.  A shopping trip coming up tomorrow....  The wool is 4ply 100% wool and can only be described as neopolitan icecream - ie strawberry, vanilla and chocolate!  What was I thinking?  We'll see what it looks like when I've finished.

I did the windows at Cloth of Gold this morning.  Unfortunately I didn't have my camera set up very well so only one of the two pictures is worth showing you today

What do you think?  I didn't want to make it overly fussy.... here's hoping the shop look after all my hard work.  That blue corset has been quilted, corded, hand sewn flowers and beads which took me 

H O U R S!!



Need a project away from the sewing machine.....

I stumbled across this and want to make it!

One of my favorite bloggers is without her sewing machine at the moment and has knitted this to keep herself occupied.  There's some lovely Rowan wool in our local shop so I'm just off to make a purchase - wish me luck - I haven't knitted for ages and am not very good at knitting "holes".  Take a look at the  Selfish Seamstress for her lovely creation..... and LOTS of sewing, where does that girl get the time?!

Underbust Corset - Done!

Here's a picture of my latest creation; an underbust corset made with a pretty strawberry print cotton outer and black coutil inner.  I used 2 row eyelete tape for the front closure rather than a busk and german boning instead of steel spirals - that way it will be washable.  The front looks a little out at the bottom, but it's not, just an odd angle on Vivienne I think.  Oh, and yes it matches the bra I made last month.  I've also got a 1950's gridle to match that I made last year.  I   L O V E  this particular print - if you hadn't guessed?!

Here's a peek inside at the casings:

Look what I found!

With the move from Yorkshire to Wiltshire last year I had completely forgotten about these patterns and found them in the loft yesterday evening whilst organising the stash (yes, it's in the loft, we have no storage space in our house!).

Mum gave me them about 18 months ago.  One of her friends wife passed away in the late 80's and the family were still sorting through her belongings and he very kindly told Mum she could take whatever she liked from the sewing room.  Naturally Mum didn't want to raid the place so she took some patterns that she thought I might like and guessed the sizing (spot on Mum!) along with some lovely old thread and a small quantity of brocade.  I understand there was a huge stash of beautiful wool, tweed and silk and a tonne more patterns. It made me sad to think what the family may have done with it all, but am really pleased with the things Mum picked for me.
It makes me wonder what will happen to all my patterns, notations and stash when I go - hopefully I'll have worked through most of it by then!

On a lighter note, here are a couple of pictures of the waspie.  These photo's don't do the fabric nor colour any favours, but you get the general gist....

I just need to finish the ruffle centre with a row of sequins to match the top trim - but I haven't got those to hand so will have to purchase later this week.  I've fallen back in love with my ruffler - it was well behaved yesterday!

Not sure what the next project will be - I really should make another corset as I haven't done one for a while - what do you think?

Nearly the end of the sewcation ....

Where has the time gone?!?!  Well, I haven't done too badly  - what do you think?
1  Red Needlecord A-line skirt
2 Wincyette PJs
3 85% complete pink satin dress - I've had to put it down, I was getting a bit sick of it and need to have a smaller or quick project on the go at the same time.
4 Pink waspie - will be finished by end of Sunday
5 Lavender bags
6 Chanel Jacket well under way

Does anyone else have more than one project on the go at once?  With bigger projects I need small and quick makes or, as in the case of the Chanel Jacket, I forgot just how much fabric they take and didn't have enough lining - about 60cms short - aarrggghhh......

 

 

I cannot wait to get theses on!  I contemplated putting them on at 6pm, but didn't think it would be appreciated by the other household member (ahem......)

I'm not sure you can see all the piping on these photos....  The PJ's were a doddle to make and I enjoyed the process. 

Chanel Jacket underway

Boy does this fray!!!

Quilting; walking foot required for this process.



The pink waspie has eyelet closure at the back and a small busk at the front (how cute is that?!) and is made "properly" with coutil and spiral boning.  It's part of the "pink" window display for later in October.

Well, two days left.......











Red Skirt - Done. Vogue Dress still underway....

I'm having a lovely holiday!  So far I have finished my red needlecord skirt; here's the pattern I used, late 1960's used umpteen times.  But everytime I use it I over allow on seam allowances so had to take the sides in another inch this morning.... I'll get Ian to take a photo of me wearing it when he's back (Germany again!)

I decided to re-do the Vogue dress bands today - I just didn't like them.  The issue really was the fabric so I re cut the pieces - top sections in satin, bottom sections in white 100% cotton.  They are fiddly to do rather than difficult and having 100% polyester satin didn't make the pressing very crisp.  Also, I didn't like the way the instructions would have you put them together so I used the same technique as you would for the shoulders of a lined, sleeveless shift dress and that was much better:

I managed to squeeze in some sewcation shopping early this morning and bought the wincyette and cotton for the PJs.  Whilst I was there I also got some jersey to make another pair - plain lilac marl for the top and lilac stripe for the bottoms, plus some fleece to make a cardi (I don't want another dressing gown) all on affer at £3.69/m  The photo's don't do the colours any justice, but you get the idea.  I also got a small amount of white muslin to make some lavender bags and some pink netting to finish a petticoat that will go into the window display when I do them in a couple of weeks.

When I got back from shopping a package was waiting for me.  I put a bid in on e-bay for these books and won at £4.99!  All I can say is it's a good job I'm on holiday this week...

The sad news today

Catherine Walker

I was very saddened to hear the news this morning that Catherine Walker has passed away following her battle with cancer.  What an incredible, strong and talented woman she was.  I've long followed her career with great interest and find her designs to be simply stunning, beautifully cut and extremely feminine.  One of the trips I have planned for next month is a visit to the Bath Costume Museum as they have a display of (some) Lady Diana's gowns and I understand a lot of them are Catherine Walkers.

She will be greatly missed.

Sewcation, sew far.....

Right, the Vogue vintage dress is cut out and started.  It's a lovely pattern and going together really well.  The top section is made, but has the most peculiar way of attaching the top bands.  Next time I make this (because there will be a next time with this pattern) I'll do things a bit different.  The duchesse satin is quite light and sewing together well - a new needle and sharp pins were a must to stop any snagging and I am glad I've interlined the skirt section because the hem won't show through.   Pictures to follow I promise; I've let the battery run down on my camera....bad, bad girl.

As I was wide awake at 5 this morning (?! I don't know why either) I came downstairs and cut out the red needlecord and lining so that's ready to go.  It's just a simple A-line skirt but I think I may finish the hem and waist with red and white spot bias strips.  Pin Queen doesn't do waistbands!

Just as I was getting into the swing of things, this came through the letter box.  So I haven't got much further.  Plus I'm waiting for Ian to get organized so we can get over to Hereford to see his Mum and Dad.  There are a couple of fabric shops in Hereford so a "quick look" will be in order.  I don't think I'll get any more sewing done today....

Countdown to my Sewcation

Well, one more day at work and then I'm off for a glorious 11 days.  I can hardly wait!  I should be thinking about decorating really, but I'll be having a selfish seamstress few days.  Here's the plan:

I've already made the toile and am delighted that it fits so well however I think I may lengthen the bodice a little - even if it's just 1cm as the waist does sit quite high. I'm half way through the petticoat already so will post pictures when it's all finished.

Sadly age is catching up with Pin Queen and this week I've had to buy glasses, plus I'm thinking of wincyette pjs - now that's a sure sign of ageing!  Well, to be truthful Ian's going to be away a lot and as the nights are drawing in I though they may be a nice "comforter" (honest!).  I was thinking to use this New Look pattern for the top - the one in the middle with the contrasting bands.

I though I might make them in white (just a simple elasticated, drawstring, waisted trouser) with a pretty cotton print for the contrasts. Now, just need to source the wincyette?

I have some red needlecord which has patiently been waiting to be made up into a winter A-Line skirt so that's on the list as a "quick fix".  I don't know how all you other sewers feel about your projects, but I have to have a few items that I know fit and can be made quickly - ie "quick fixes".  Plus I do like to go out to the shop for missing things - ie a red concealed zip and lining.  Red's not a colour I use a lot! I'll use my trusty self-drafted skirt pattern for this one.

I also need to finish my Chanel Jacket.  It's a beautiful Linton Tweed loosely woven cotton in pale lemon.  It was supposed to be made up for Spring/Summer but never quite got finished - because I didn't purchase enough "Glamour" lining.  It was 115cm wide and not 150cm as the last lot purchased had been.  It's a pattern I've had for years and I love making Chanel jackets - quilting and all that hand sewing.  No wonder I'm having to wear specs these days!

Do you think I'll get all of this done in between dog walking, cleaning, cooking, washing, ironing etc, etc?!

Bra Making - again

I wanted to make this bra for a long time and started it last night and just finished it this morning.  I'm in danger of becoming obsessed with bra making so won't make another for a little while!  This one is a good quality black cotton with little wild strawberries and is so pretty.  It's taking me about 3 hours to make a bra at the moment which isn't too bad.  Here's a couple of photo's - note the school-girl error with the back band - yep, I forgot to take the closure size into consideration so had to add a "design feature" by way of a little pleat - I was thinking about the next project at the time!

Note the "design feature"!

I need a shopping trip into town to purchase some little bows or roses to finish the middle section and will probably add them to the top of the cup at the strap too.  Red ones might be nice?

Right, must go and do some tidying up!

Planning what to do with time off...

Our holiday to Ireland is off - which means I have 11 days at home to fill.  I'm sure it won't be a problem! Ian's busy between the UK and Germany at the moment so I will have to keep myself and Jack entertained (sigh). 

I'm planning a sewcation which will include a trip to Bath and Bristol, sewing pieces for classes, lingerie and a couple of dresses I have at the back of my mind.

Last night I stumbled across accross a lovely vintage pattern site http://www.vintagepatternlibrary.com/ based in the States and saw this dress.  It's something that can be replicated quite easily with a modern pattern - it's added to my "to do" list, but probably unlikely to get done during the sewcation.

I'm also thinking ahead to the party season and have a white satin dress (no honestly, bear with me!) styled with fitted bodice and a fullish skirt in mind.  Not sure my huge behind would look too good in a FULL white satin skirt so it may end up more A-line (ho,hum).   I'll embelish it with black chiffon circles, black grosgrain ribbon belt and black varying sized crystals - it's funny what you think up at 4 in the morning.

Anyhoo ... on with the day.  Must finish new bra and tidy up (again)!

Bra Making...

I've been busy over the last couple of days, grabbing an hour where I could, to perfect my bra pattern so it fits me properly.  In total I've made around 5 bras and have finally cracked it!!!  To state the bleedin' obvious - the fit is crucial, but the UNDERWIRES are the biggest key to getting the cups to fit nicely.  Anyhoo - here's a couple of photos.  You will notice that Vivienne (My tailors dummy) has a much smaller cup size than me so she's been padded out a bit!

Everything came from my stash.  The brown lace undercup is lined with flesh coloured 20 denier.  I get most of my notations from Fabulous Fabrics, Ashby de la Zouch.  The lace typically comes from the wholesaler who lets me have a rummage when I visit!
I will be making a slip from the animal print at a later date.


Parting Note
If you have been out walking recently you will have noticed all the brambles and elderberries this year. I went picking on Friday as the brambles are just about to go past their best and got a bag full!  Crumbles all round for the neighbours.  Also. we have loads of sloes to so I'll be making some sloe gin too .  Think I've turned into a domesticated diva - I made coconut cake yesterday too?!

Sewing School back up and running!

I'm delighted that the Sewing School begins its workshops and classes in October. Following a few changes at the shop we are now back on track and I'm really looking forward to it. All classes are aimed at complete beginners through to the more experienced - and everyone inbetween. From January 2011 we will be running a monthly patchwork class and aim to make a quilt by the end of the year - a new venture for me.

Timetable is availble from the shop, Cloth of Gold, Wootton Bassett or from http://www.whiterosecouture.co.uk/ (by the end of the weekend - I have to type it up again!)

I'll be decorating the windows on a bi-monthly basis too so will post pictures of my efforts.

The "C" Word

As it's September I thought I would plan ahead for Ch*!$&%as. I know it's not a word to be mentioned until about 10th December in our house, but every year I get into a pickle about gifts I want to make, so I've made a plan. Of course I can't tell you what my plan is because then everyone will know what the man in the red suit will be popping down their chimney.

But I can share my plan for a wall decoration: Based on "The 12 Days of Ch*!$&%as" I've embroidered 12 panels in green and red, and one day gold (er - that would be the 5th day then...). My intention is to piece them together into a mini quilt and have a go at freehand embroidery. I've attached a picture of my plan, and one of the pieces in progress.

For Ian

Made a waistcoat for Ian. It's blue/black wool, interlined with a soft woven interfacting, Ivory silk dupion back - and two, yes two(!) welt pockets. The pockets were the biggest challenge as I haven't done any for years - come to think of it, I haven't done any tailoring for a l o n g time..... Tried it on this morning and yes, it's too big (sigh). I need to take in the sides by about 5cms - a job for later in the week. Then it's just a case of buttonholes (haven't done them for an age either!) and buttons. Pic to follow once complete, in the meantime here's one showing work in progress...

Customer's Dress

Hi, sorry it's been a week (or so!). I finished my customers dress and she collected it last Sunday. It's a one-shouldered shift dress, princess seams, with 2.5 circular frills. She had seen Amanda Holden in a similar dress when Britain's Got Talent was on and that gave her the idea. The photo doesn't do the dress any justice; it's a lovely coral colour and a good quality matt satin. The lining was finished with french seams and because I didn't want any hand stitches to show through on the right side, I used a 10cm wide bias strip of lining and made a false hem - which means the dress lining was hand stitched to that, rather than the dress.