Pattern Review - Burda Style 03-2010-106

Here is the second of the three garments I finished on the Friday Night Sew-In, a pencil skirt with welt pockets.  The pattern is number 106 from the March Burdastyle (sorry I cannot be bothered looking online for the technical diagram - please sort out the archives Burdastyle!), the same issue I used for the black a-line skirt.  That makes this issue a bit of a winner in my book, while I might love a number of patterns in any given issue I rarely get around to actually making two!

I must apologise for the dim photos, it is hard to catch the sun at the moment!

Behind me you can see the future site of my backyard veggie garden - I just have to figure out how to get the soil into it when the only access to the courtyard is through the house, hmmm probably should have though of that before!

Anyway, back to the skirt.  It's your run-of-the-mill pencil skirt but with welt pockets front and back.  These were tricky on the stretch woven fabric, but they came out passable.

I'll have to sew the back pockets closed - not that I would ever use them anyway!  My primary sewing machine has been in for a service and I couldn't be bothered getting another one out, I promise I'll do it before I wear the skirt to work.

Please just look at the skirt and not my ratty courtyard!

As for my previous skirt I cut a 42 at the waist and a 44 at the hip and the fit came out great.  For once I didn't lengthen the pattern as this design is longer than the standard Burda skirt.  It's a smidge shorter than I would normally make but I think it's fine. 

Instead of making the front fly (which always looks a bit wrong when I sit down), I put an invisible zip in the centre back.  I also added a kick pleat so I can actually walk in it.  I took photos of my lovely kick pleat and mitred hem but dark grey doesn't photograph well on a winter's day so you'll just have to trust me that they look really neat!

There is not much sewing going on here atm.  My sewing room is not heated and it is COLD in there!  Instead I have finished knitting the dressage jacket (blocking it today) and am working on a crocheted baby blanket as a gift for a woman at work.

Pattern Review - Burda Style 03-2010-105

Here is the first of the three garments I finished up in last week's Friday Night Sew-In.  It is not very exciting, a black a-line skirt, but I have to say I am very happy with it.  The shape is really nice,  not too triangle-y and it is seriously easy to put together.

(I wouldn't normally wear all black like this but I just slipped the skirt on with the blouse I wore to work today!).

I cut size 42 at the waist blending to 44 at the hip.  The only changes I made were to lengthen the skirt to 65cm so it finishes just below my knee, added a lining and moved the zip from the side seam to the centre back.  My hip curve is quite extreme so zips never sit right in the side seam.

I think I've found my new TNT a-line pattern!

Friday Night Sew In Results

My Friday night sew-in started slower than planned.  I got kept late at work and having had a trying day I had to unwind a bit before I could start sewing.  Fortunately the April BWOF (or whatever) arrived in my letterbox so I was able to wind down with a nice (sewing related) read.  Ever since I saw Eugenia's version of this skirt I have been saving a piece of black fabric so now I have the pattern in my hot little hands then guess what will be coming soon?

I had every intention to start and finish a project but instead I finished off three jobs I've had on the go for the past few weeks.  Full reviews and a proper photo shoot will be upcoming but it's been a grey old day today, I've been to see Prince of Persia with my friend Kate and I am quickly posting this before dinner and then the Australia v Ghana game.

So photos on Dion will have to suffice, bearing in mind that s/he is a little less well padded than me so in reality the curves will be better filled out.  BTW, Dion is my dummy.  The brand name is Diane and I was given him/her as a gift by my former co-workers.  When they handed him/her over one of my workmates said 'now I know this is something you've wanted for a long time...' and another one piped up 'It's a husband!'.  We all laughed and since then my dummy has had a male name.  That was seven years ago and I am still not married but Dion and I have had some good times!

So enough of the ramblings you say, what are these projects you finished?  Well, it was two skirts and a frankendress.  I have been making them on a production line as I thought I'd get done quicker but I am not sure that's true.  Last night I set in all the linings and did the hand finishing.

Skirt #1 is a basic black a-line.  Not much to say here, it's just a basic black skirt, but it is something my wardrobe has been lacking for some time.

Skirt #2 is a grey pencil skirt with welt pockets front and back.  This one needs a tummy and a butt to fill it out.  Luckily I have those, unlike Dion!

I think I'll sew these back pockets shut!

Finally the frankendress is the bodice from one pattern and the skirt from another.  I worry it looks a little prim but if I can find the right belt I reckon it'll be fine (hmm shall I prune the roses or shop for a belt tomorrow?)

So there is my night's efforts.  I am quite proud of myself for finishing all these things off, I'll try to get full posts on each of the garments done this week.

Tonight I am hoping to finish the first sleeve of my dressage jacket.  I love knitting while the football is on - I don't really need to look at what I am doing and when I get excited I go really fast!

Housekeeping

Thanks everyone for your lovely compliments on my houndstooth coat. I am really pleased with how it turned out.

Also, thanks very much for your helpful feedback on the rose tunic. I agree it is completely the wrong length, and I would make this pattern again in the shorter length, but I wanted a longer top for those 'can't be bothered' days. Fortunately, as suggested by Gail, wearing it with sleek black pants and high heels helps a lot and it looks quite presentable. I can live with it anyway!


I have been doing a bit of production line sewing so I have a number of garments in the making but nothing finished to show. This kind of sewing really is more efficient but it does take a lot of the fun out of it. But I NEED new clothes! I hope to finish two skirts and a dress on the weekend.

For the past few months I've been wanting to join in with the Friday Night Sew-In but every time it comes up there is somewhere else I have to be. Not this month, so I've signed up. It is on Friday the 18th of June and I have already told my fella I have a date with the sewing machine that night. Now I just have to think up a project to work on.

Finally, the World Cup starts this weekend and I can't wait. Unfortunately the time difference means that all the live games will be on at 9.30pm (not too bad) or 2am (terrible), but the good news is we have Foxtel IQ so we can tape the games and watch them at our leisure. The only problem being having to avoid EVERYONE at work the next day so they don't spoil the result! I dare say there will be a few bleary eyes at my work over the next month. I love football, but not enough to miss precious sleep! GO SOCCEROOS!Especially Lucas Neill.

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/socceroos/news/1007499/Neill-out-to-make-amends

McCall's 6120 - Rose print tunic

This is one of the other projects I finished while on holidays.  It's okay but I am not wild about it.  The pattern is McCall's 6120.

Wow, I look really broad at the beam!  Here's the review.

Pattern Description:
(from the website) Tops A, B, tunics C, D have front pleats, self-faced front midriff and sleeve variations; top A has armhole stitched hems; top B has short sleeves; tunic C has three-quarter length sleeves; tunic D has self-drape and purchased jeweled applique.

I made the tunic length but with cap sleeves.

Pattern Sizing:
I cut a 12 to the bottom of the armholes, grading out to a 14 at the waist and 16 at the hip/

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes I guess so.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
The instructions were fine but I don't understand why they have you turn under and hand stitch the lower edge of the midriff facing - in a knit???? I just pulled the facing down so the cut edge matched with the outside midriff piece then caught the two pieces in the seam together.


What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I admit I don't love this top. There is something not quite right about it. The length was dowdy and even with a good inch taken off the bottom I am still not sure it's flattering. By contrast I made Simplicity 3678 in February 2008, which I have subsequently cut off to tunic length and it works so much better.  I can't find the pattern on the Simplicity website, so maybe it has been discontinued - anyway, it was one of the Threads patterns. I don't know what it is, the two styles are pretty similar, except the lower front of the Simplicity has gathers. If I was to do this again the Threads pattern would win hands-down.

Initially I cut the longer sleeve but it just looked ridiculous on me - like my hands were floating in a ginormous sea of roses. The cap sleeves work much better, I'll just have to layer for winter!

I must say the neckline does sit nice and flat without any fiddling, so that is a plus (I fused bias tape on the inside and stitched with a twin needle.

Fabric Used:
Polyester knit, nothing fancy, I got it cheap from Spotlight.


Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
As usual I narrowed the upper back, shortened the back above the waist and widened at the hips. I don't usually need an fba in knits.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I won't sew it again, I'll use the Simplicity pattern as above. It might work better on a different body type though.

Conclusion:
It's okay, I'll wear it to work and still look presentable, at least it is comfortable!

BWOF 09-2007-104 Houndstooth Coat

I only have one day left of my holidays *sob*.  As usual I set pretty lofty goals for what I wanted to achieve - clean the house from top to bottom, finish 6 projects, iron everything in the house that needs ironing, have a nutritious meal on the table at a reasonable hour every night etc etc.  I'm sure you can guess how many I achieved!  I guess I am not the domestic goddess I have always dreamed of being.  So back to work on Wednesday at least until we win the lotto!

In my defence I was sick with a cold for the first few days and am still in ongoing battles with the insurance company over my car (guess how I spent 1 1/2 hours today?), at least I have my new car though and as soon as my windows are tinted (tomorrow) and I get the refund on my registration (no idea when that will happen) I can sit down and write a very therapeutic letter to the general manager of the company and tell them exactly why I will not be continuing my relationship with them.

Don't worry I am posting about some sewing today, it's just a particularly winding road today.

So it was my birthday the Thursday before last, and the fact I am only mentioning it now indicates what a non-event it was.  I was sick with the aforementioned cold, spent a good hour or so battling the insurance company, which was just sooo frustrating and then spent the afternoon at the stitches and craft show with my Mum.  It was nice but there wasn't much there that caught my eye this time, pity because it's usually the highlight of my crafting year.  I bought a kit to knit yet another scarf though, so it wasn't a total let-down.

Things got a lot better on Saturday, when my fella and I went out for dinner with a bunch of friends.  It was a great night and I got to unveil the houndstooth coat, which in true form I finished that afternoon.

It's looks okay considering I didn't make any alterations to the pattern.  Ordinarily I would cut a 38 to the armholes, a 40 or 42 at the waist and a 44 at the hip, then would make a 2cm fba, narrow the upper back by 5cm (2.5cm on the half pattern) and shorten the centre back above the waist by 2.5cm.  By comparison, this coat is made from a straight size 38.

You can see the worst of the fit problems on the back, see how it's way too wide across between the sleeves?  And it's quite snug around my hips, but it's okay if I wear it open.

I sewed the buttons on the outside but it is really fastened by large snaps.  I am particularly proud of the welt pockets, something I don't do often, and the spotted lining, which is just cute.

If you have the patience for one more story here goes...

My fella is from the north-east of England, it's very cold there and they seem to stay warm by shouting about football (soccer) a lot.  In this particular part of the country there is a fierce rivalry between two cities, divided by a river.  One side is black and white and the other is red and white, my fella's family is from the red and white side of the river (when I want to wind him up I taunt him with 'blood and bandages').  Even in Australia (he has lived here for nearly 20 years) the passion doesn't wane.  One time I innocently suggested that black and white bed linen might look stylish, my fella replied that I could buy whatever bed linen I wanted, just don't expect him to sleep under a black and white quilt cover.

He was very complimentary about my houndstooth coat, but I knew he would find it hard to truly embrace the black and white.  Because I am a nice girlfriend I bound the hem and facing edge in pink satin bias, so now he can like my new coat without feeling like a traitor to his family!

Playing catch up

Wow, I am really behind on my blogging!
The weekend before last my fella and I went to another wedding for one of his school friends - that's four in the past six months - weddings I mean, we haven't been to all of them.  It was a pretty cold day but clear and sunny so I needed to layer up the Gossip Girl dress since I am always the first to get cold!

The hem looks a bit wonky but I promise it isn't  - it must be the wind.

I also realised that I never posted a picture of me actually wearing this coat.

I made it for my birthday 2 years ago now and have had so much wear from it.  It's McCalls 5525, which has been a bit of a winner all around - loads of people have made it Erica B was one of the first I saw (although I thought she made a fab yellow version as well but I can't find it now), Gertie made a black version which is coincidentally quite similar to mine, and the Selfish Seamstress has made two awesome versions here and here.  And those are just the versions I can remember off the top of my head.  If you don't have this pattern then I would advise you do so, it's so versatile!  I just wish I'd used heavier interfacing in the collar, and made the dinky pockets bigger.  Oh well, live and learn I suppose.

I am on holiday from work at the moment with the aim of having a proper sewcation.  All I seem to have done is housework though...although that is not entirely true since I did finish the houndstooth coat, I'll post some pics as soon as I can arrange a photo shoot. I've also cut out two tops and traced two skirt patterns.   I set myself the rather ambitious goal of completing six projects while on holiday - it's doable, as long as I don't do any more housework!

In other news I think my new car arrives on Thursday.  It is not quite what I had before, since that was a limited edition, but I have had to battle every step of the way.  If the insurance company had their way I wouldn't have even been able to replace my brand new car with 6,000kms on the clock with a 3-year old one with 100,000kms... but I'm not angry - much.

The Dressage Jacket

I am usually pretty good at not having sewing UFOs hanging around the house, of course there is the odd exception but whatever I start usually ends up either in my wardrobe or my bin pretty quickly. I am generally on a schedule which motivates me to finish what I start before going on to the next project and I am able to walk away when things aren't working out (even if I love the fabric and/or pattern).


That is certainly not the case with my knitting projects. I tend to have at least two or three things on the go at any given moment and some projects can hang around for ages waiting for me to be motivated to finish them off. I think one of the reasons for this is that I like to have a challenge in all my projects but in knitting especially this doesn't translate particularly well.


Challenging myself by making a beautifully finished dress with unusual seamlines results in a garment I'll get a lot of use out of, not so much for complicated knitting patterns (see for example the meatball cardi!). On the other hand acres upon acres of plain stocking stitch is not stimulating enough to keep me interested, just like making simple tees and pyjama pants would not keep me sewing long term. This is just me, others are rewarded by different aspects of crafting and I am not making a judgement on the relative merits of one over the other.


So anyway, I am always on the hunt for knitting patterns that have an aspect of trickiness to keep me interested but that are fairly simply styled so they mesh with both my body type and personal 'look'.


Enter the Dressage Jacket, from the Third Sublime Aran book. My featherweight cardigan is still on the go but it's currently blocked in by flood stuff and therefore I can't work on it right now. Desperate for something to knit (as if I ever needed an excuse to buy more yarn!) I picked up some of the Sublime Aran in Wicker at 10% off. Originally I had in mind to make the Peacoat (sorry I can't find a picture of it - it's really cute) but I decided it would be too boxy for me and finally settled on the Dressage Jacket.

(http://www.englishyarns.co.uk/sublime_book_615.html)
The pattern is quite nifty. A single cable runs along the front edges, and the side seams are shaped to form the diagonal wrap fronts. Here is the first front I completed.

Since I took this picture I have finished the other front and am up to the armholes on the back, but you get the idea. Between the relatively thick yarn (10 ply, whereas I generally prefer 4 ply) and the simple-but-interesting pattern I am flying along! The yarn feels beautiful and I have had no problems working with it. I did read one review that complained about the yarn not wearing well - apparently it pilled with only light wear - so i am a little apprehensive, but so far I am loving it.

Houndstooth Coat Part 1

I agonised for some time over what to make for my first project after so long, and finally decided to make something completely impractical but really fun, a houndstooth coat.  It's still warm outside, and won't even start to get cold until late May or early June so it'll be a while before I can wear this, but I do love making coats!  I have had this houndstooth in my stash for probably two or three years.  Every winter I want to do something with it and every winter I get distracted by other projects.  Well, it's cut now so no going back!

The pattern I'll be using is model 104 from BWOF 29/2007.

The only change I'll make is to use the full length sleeves.  Personally I love 3/4 length sleeves but my arms get super cold!  I guess one item that really needs to be practical is a winter coat, so long sleeves it is.

I have done some clever things and some dumb things on this project already:

Dumb thing #1 - I didn't mark the size when I was tracing the pattern (which was ages ago).  I am guessing it's probably a Burda 38 which is my top-half-size.

Dumb thing #2 - I didn't do any of my usual alterations (narrow upper back, short centre back, fba, big hips) so I am hoping the style lines will be forgiving.  Regardless, it'll just fit 'like a bought one'.

Clever thing #1 - This fabric frays like a beotch so I fused the underside of all the pieces with sheer weft (I think it's called perfect fuse sheer in other places).

Clever thing #2 - I stabilised all the curves (armhole and necklines) with fusible bias tape.

Clever thing #3 - I stabilised the hem lines with a bias strip of fusible interfacing, and ironed a patch behind where the pockets will go.  This was in addition to the front facings, welts and collars as directed by the pattern.

Okay, so the clever things weren't that clever and the dumb things were pretty dumb, but give me a break - I am just excited to be able to sew again!

I haven't cut it yet but this will be the lining, isn't it cute?  It's actually satin but I took the picture without a flash.

Wish me luck with the welt pockets - not something I've done a lot of...

The Web Scarf

A few years ago, when I was really broke. I made ALL my Christmas presents. As you can imagine some of these gifts were better received than others (we all learn which of our family and friends 'deserve' handmade!) but overall I think most people liked what they got.

For my work colleagues and friends (I was working three part time jobs at this time so there were a few of them) I made versions of the web scarf. I made individual versions for each person, based on their personality and what colours and textures I thought they would like. It's a bit risky making scarves for Christmas when Christmas here is generally 30 degrees Celsius plus, but I could barely pay the mortgage at that time, let alone spend money on gifts. I used every kind of yarn under the sun, from mohair to ribbons, wool to cotton (a lot of them from stash) and they all came out great. Sometimes I made the flower motifs from a contrast yarn, which also worked well.

I kinda regretted at the time not making myself one, but by the time I finished all the gift versions, I was a bit over it. But when it came time for my latest scarf project I revisited the web scarf...

The yarn is Sirdar Peru. I am a sucker for novelty yarns and quite often buy a couple of balls when I see them, usually they end up as scarves, which explains why I have more scarves than anyone living in a temperate climate should have. The colour is one thread of teal twisted with a light/bright/dark blue strand that results in a subtle variegation (fyi it's shade 555 'pico').

I almost made this into the Cold Shoulders, the capelet from the Stitch n Bitch Happy Hooker book but one row from finishing I came to my senses and unravelled the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, the pattern is lovely but I have to come to terms with the fact that vintage is starting to look a bit silly on me. When you are in your 20's a crochet capelet says 'cute, fun, individual' but when you are in your 40's it's more likely to say 'I want to be home for dinner at 4.30 and in bed by 8'.

Anyhoo, in fear of stepping into nanna territory, I decided to go the safe route and make yet another scarf. I rescued this project from the flood and it's all I've had to work on for the last little while. I should have been able to whip this up in a few evenings but due to tiredness and overwhelmedness (with the house) it took ages. I left off the flowers for the time being but may add them later - I just couldn't be bothered.

Here is a close up of the stitch pattern. It's super-easy, a fairly new crocheter could do it.
So, no more scarves for me. Except maybe one other. Have you seen the Summit Shawl over at knitty? I reckon it'd make an awesome scarf! As you can tell I am very much a 'process-oriented' knitter.

On house news. We got the cheque for the furniture on Friday and went to our favourite Swedish mega-store first thing on Saturday morning to replace our bookcases, only to find that the colour and style we want has been recalled globally because of some quality issue. Some very bad words were said at that point since there will be no news on what is happening until at least June - aaargh! I have since asked the insurance company to cancel the cheque and give us cash instead so we can try and find a suitable alternative elsewhere. So now we are just waiting for that to happen.

Also we are still waiting to hear what will happen with our cars. My insurer alone is handling 13,000 (yes that is thirteen thousand!) write-offs from the storm and presumably the other insurance companies are all simlarly inundated. At least we have transport while we wait though.

In the meantime the need to do ironing and hem pants for my fella to wear to his new job meant that we had to clear a path into the sewing room. Joy! Okay, so it is still mostly filled with cr*p and we now have boxes around the edges of the living room as well but at least I can get in there. Not a moment too soon, I was starting to go a bit funny. Ooooh, what to sew first?

Help! I've gone crafty-crazy!

Things are slowly getting back to normal...the floors have now been replaced with lovely laminate boards and the cheque is in the mail for replacement furniture. I still can't access my sewing room, except for my crochet hooks which I can reach through the door, so I am going a bit stir-crazy but at least we are not living in a building site any more.

I got through my conference without any new clothes and even managed to deliver my presentation to a pretty big audience without falling off the podium or throwing up (even though I felt like doing both)! Just fyi I wore my lucky dress (McCalls 5746 - now out of print, which is a shame) for the presentation.

My fella has finally found a full time job which is the best news! It has been hard for him but finally his persistence has paid off. He is now the head technician in the theatre department of a very posh school not too far from home (your brother school Claire!). He was supposed to start on Friday, the day of my presentation so we both had a sleepless night and were sick with nerves in the morning - and were unable to comfort each other. Unfortunately not long after he got there his new boss rang in to say his car broke down and had to be towed so he wouldn't be coming in. My fella spent some time filling out his paperwork and then came home. So we had to go through the nerves all over again today!

All in all, everything is pretty good right now, although my stir-craziness has morphed rather alarmingly into craft-craziness. As I mentioned the only supplies I can reach are my crochet hooks. I have been making another crochet scarf (although it's been slow going with being so busy moving the house around pre- and post-flooring) but my fella had the audacity to question how many scarves I actually need (one more obviously!) so I have been looking for other outlets. The new floorboards are dark and show dust like crazy, and we will have to sweep every day so I got the idea in my head to make re-useable swiffer covers. A quick search on ravelry revealed a number of free patterns but i chose this loopy version.

A few balls of nasty $2.50 acrylic yarn (best for static apparently) later and I ended up with this carnival of colour:

I have actually made four but one has already been put through its paces. A 100g ball of yarn will probably make at least three covers and they take as much time to make as it does to watch an episode each of Make it or Break it, Addicted to Beauty and Gossip Girl, stopping to fast forward the ads. I am a bit bored of this pattern now so I might make some different ones to see how they go but this design is working pretty well so far.

In fact, it's working in unexpected ways. Apparently men really are attracted to brightly coloured things. My fella actually volunteers to sweep with these, leaving me more time for my craft-craziness!

After the Flood

the clean up continues....

As suspected my car has been written off. Since it is only panel damage (albeit A LOT of panel damage) I have been able to drive around for the past two weeks but now I have to hand it in by Saturday. I don't know when my replacement car will turn up. I hope it won't be too long. We don't know what will happen with my fella's car. It is pretty badly damaged too but we are not even dealing with it until we know what is happening with mine. If you've ever been to Perth you'll know how hard it is to get about without a car.

The house is still a disaster area. We have two holes in the roof and it is a constant battle with my strata manager to get anything done about it. Everyone else in the complex got their skylights fixed yesterday but, since we had the worst damage of anyone, we are on a special priority work order - which we have heard nothing about yet! I suspect we are not being told the truth but there is nothing we can do. Strange how you can own a property but still have no rights over what happens with the building (and pay exorbitant fees every quarter nonetheless). Every day we pray that the wind doesn't pick up and there is no more rain.

Thankfully most of our furniture survived so we have chairs to sit on and a table to eat at. We did lose all of our bookcases, but our contents insurance should cover that. We had to pull up all of the carpet and have now been quoted for replacement flooring. On the bright side, the hideous carpet turned out to be quite expensive so we should be able to replace it with a nice laminate which will be a lot easier to care for - as long as there isn't a flood ;).

However, we can't replace the flooring or furniture until the roof is sorted. I am just so exhausted from constantly being on hold with insurance companies, not to mention the pressure it is putting on my workload. This was already a busy time for me and now it's even busier due to the time I have had to take off. Never have I needed my creative escape more, but I can't get into the room to iron clothes for work let alone do any sewing but, as they say, this too shall pass.

Usually the Easter long weekend is a massive sew-fest for me and I was really looking forward to it this year, having prepared something like 18 metres of fabric for cutting the day before the flood. Autumn/winter is coming, my favourite part of the sewing year, I hope I don't miss it entirely. This year my fella and I spent the entire long weekend painting the lounge/dining/kitchen areas of the house - hard work but it looks great now and it has helped us to start to put it all behind us. We just pretend we are camping - except the kind of camping that I would like, indoors and with proper bathroom facilities!

Sorry readers, please bear with me. I will be sewing again as soon as humanly possible...

Careful What You Wish For!

Wow. When I wished for rain I think I wished a bit too hard.

This story starts with a 20-year old bed. It has nothing to do with sewing so you'll have to get your fix elsewhere today. And to be clear - no one got hurt, so at the end of the day we are blessed!

So back to the 20-year old bed...

My fella and I went out on Monday afternoon after I finished work to pay for and arrange delivery of a lovely new bed suite. It is our council pickup next week so we thought it would be a good time to get rid of the rickety old thing.

We knew a storm was forecast and it looked certain to hit soon so we were keen to get home. After four months without rain the roads can get really greasy and be treacherous to drive on once it does rain. Just as we took off, something bounced off my bonnet. "What the $%^& was that?" we both say. My fella suggested hail, but it was 30 degrees outside so I couldn't see how that was possible. Well my fella was right! The next second the car was getting pummelled by golf ball sized and larger hail stones. My driver's wing mirror was smashed right through the plastic casing and the noise was unbelievable. The ice hitting the hot road was forming steam and we could barely see a thing. We tried to take shelter under some trees but just then the rain started and the ground went all boggy so after a few minutes we decided to press on.

By this stage - about five minutes in but it felt like 45 - the roads were completely flooded and all we could do was keep trying to head uphill to get away from it. Eventually the hail stopped and the rain slowed and we breathed a sigh of relief. We decided to stop off at the local bottle-shop as we both needed something to calm us down after the ordeal (and I rarely drink so that it HUGE!). My poor brand new car is peppered with damage. We think it will probably be written-off but I will know more after the assessor has seen it. Shaken but in good spirits we headed the last five minutes home.

Only to get inside and be greeted by a giant hailstone on the dining table and this gaping hole in the skylight:

There was water everywhere and the terrified cats were hiding under the (20-year old) bed. Unfortunately the bedroom skylight was also smashed so things were pretty damp in there too. We put big tubs under the roof holes and had a hug and said "it could be worse". And then it was!

The rain came back with a vengeance. Pouring down our driveway and straight towards the front door. We tried to bail the water away with buckets but couldn't keep up and soon it was in the house. Simultaneously it started coming in the back door as well. All we could do was lay down every towel we owned and keep moving the furniture further and further away from the door. We were in full adrenaline mode by this time. Finally the rain stopped after flooding our entire bathroom and laundry, living room, dining room and hall. Fortunately we were able to hold it back a couple of inches from TV etc. Oh, and in the meantime the water in the roof had fused the lights so we were in darkness while this was going on.

My fella's friend Clint was nearby and came by with a tarp and he and my fella got up on the roof an covered the holes as best they could, just in time for another round of thunder, lightning and rain - fortunately not as bad as before though, but enough for me to be worried it wasn't going to hold.

It held and all we could do after that was to has a drink and spend a very sleepless night jumping at every sound. The next morning here is how my living/dining area looked:

And my garden:

After an hour on hold I got through to my insurer and was told I could rip the carpet up - thank goodness, the smell was awful already! My lovely friend Sarah came over and helped up pack everything up, move the furniture out, rip up the carpet and move some of the furniture (just what we need) back in. Here is the state the underlay was in:
As I said no one was hurt and I am fully insured. Our loss is a lot less than many homes in Perth so we are aware how fortunate we are. We are also very grateful to have such awesome friends who dropped everything to come and help us. Plus I really hated that carpet anyway!

Here is the great tragedy though. Guess where all our belongings are now stored...

Yup, that is/was my sewing room . So all the patterns and fabrics I prepared last weekend were in vain and there will be no sewing done until the flooring is replaced. Given the scale of the damage around town, who knows when that will be - but I hope it will only be a few weeks. If I had to find a silver lining it would be that my ironing board and iron are somewhere in there so no ironing for me for a while!

Just a Quickie – The Millefoglie Scarf

Well productivity remains at an all time low in this household. At least the weather is finally turning and it has been below 30 all week. We even had a drop of rain – the first since November last year!

I have made another toile of the McQueen jacket, converting it to a conventional armhole and sleeve but it still isn't quite right and I have decided to put that particular project on hold for a little while. It will remain a work in progress until I can work up enough steam to give it the energy it deserves…

On the plus side I did manage to churn out a measly scarf! I am ashamed to admit I didn't make any effort at all with this. The yarn (Millefoglie by Moda Vera) comes with a variety of novelty yarns joined together – a chunky grey, olive/khaki nubbly, copper/silver metallic, black fluffy and white with a black thread through it. I didn't even finish the joins properly, I simply knitted the knots in wherever they fell.

I used 8mm needles and a simple 11st repeat ripple stitch. I am really happy with how it came out. I wear scarves every day in winter and I have loads of bright ones to wear with neutrals but not as many neutral ones to wear with coloured clothes. I love the combination of yarns and feel sure I couldn't have come up with this on my own – I am really not great at combining colours and textures.

This picture shows the various yarns but I probably wouldn't wear it wrapped like this.

Here the scarf is folded in half with the ends passed through the loop. This is great for bulky and shorter scarves.

Here it is wrapped around the neck with one end passed through underneath and hanging over the top. I think this particular scarf works well this way. This was my favourite scarf tie last year. Who knows, this year I may find a new favourite – there have been some awesome tutorials posted by northern hemisphere bloggers – thanks guys!

Up next I will start on a series of outfits for a four-day conference. It is an international event but unfortunately not the one in Vancouver that a number of my colleagues are going to, it's here in Perth. It will be my first time presenting a paper at this kind of shindig in about six years. Am I nervous? Hell yeah. But new clothes will help won't they?

The McQueen Jacket

So my Alexander McQueen experiment is done! I spent all day on it yesterday and while it was not easy by any stretch, it didn't turn out to be all that difficult. The instructions provided with the pattern are a little light-on but as long as you just go with it everything goes together in quite a straightforward way.

I suspect there would be as many versions of this jacket as there are makers - mine doesn't look exactly like the photos, but close enough and I am happy.

Here is the back. You can see that I have sewn down the pleats on the left side and left them open on the right. Unsewn, the pleats made me look really hunch-backed and I am way too uptight to have all that out-of-control-ness going on behind me! I don't even wear linen because I can't control it!!!


Here are the unsewn pleats from the side view.
Here is the front with the bands lifted out of the way. I really like the front bands and pleating. It's a shame the bands hide this nice detail.
Although the bands do look very nice as well. A bit fashion-forward for me though. I'd probably just keep dangling them in my dinner!

Speaking of clothes getting in your food, how about the kimono sleeves? I love them on the model but always knew they'd be a problem on me. I just don't have enough length between my bust and my waist so I need to keep things simple around that part of my torso - dolman sleeves are a complete no-go. And the final back view, all stitched down and with one sleeve. I really do think this is a beautiful jacket and, even though I'm a pretty good pattern drafter (not that I ever do it these days) I would have had no idea where to start with this!
It was never my intention to make this jacket through to proper fabric but I may do with some alterations. I already added 2cm to the side seams as a rough method of grading up from a 40 to 44(ish). If I make this again for real I will make the following changes:

• Convert to a standard armhole and set-in sleeves.
• Tuck out some length in the upper back
• Leave off the collar/bands and come up with another solution.

I know it might be sacrilege to mess with a design like this but I would just keep the details I love and modify the details I don't.

I seem to have got my mojo back, but I have no idea what to make next!

************EDITED TO ADD**************

A note on sizing:

When I said the jacket started as a size 40, I meant a Patrones 40 (ie. tiny) not a Burda 40 (ie. medium)!

You have been warned...

******************************************