This is a gift I made for a girl at work who has left to have a baby. She was only with us for a few months but we got along really well and she made such a contribution that I felt I really wanted to make something nice to give her as a leaving gift.

I used the Li'l Monkey pattern from Stitch and Bitch – The Happy Hooker as a base but made plain granny squares, did 5 rows of 5 (instead of four rows of four), and added quite a wide border. All this was essentially because my yarn was finer than the one specified in the pattern.

I chose the yarn primarily on colour availability. It was pretty reasonably priced at around $3 or $4 per ball (I can’t exactly remember). Unfortunately I managed to throw out all the ball bands so I can’t tell you the brand. It is 8ply and cotton-y in texture, but very soft.

I’ve never made a baby blanket before but I quite enjoyed it. I crocheted some of the border in the car on the way to my mini-break in Margaret River which passed the time and allowed me to make good progress without getting too bored.

I love how it turned out. The colours are lovely and cheerful and it’s a pretty good size – about 65cm square.

I am now working on another blanket, this time for my stepsister-in-law. This blanket is a knitted one and is all in one piece. Aside from having a lot less ends to darn in, which is a plus, I am finding it quite tedious. I need to find:
a) some free time, and
b) a couple of lightweight dvds
so I can get over the hump on it!

Here's a close up on a few of the squares.

New Look 6588: The Birthday Dress

So here, finally, is the review of my birthday dress…

My original plan was to use Vogue 2978 but on reflection I decided this dress would not be the best choice for me because:

• I think the gathered neckline would make my full-ish bust look lumpy,
• The puffy sleeves could be a little ‘young’,
• Raglan sleeves are not always the best choice for narrow shoulders,
• The low armholes would do nothing for my short torso, and last but not least
• Since my waist is a full inch higher on my left than my right (thanks to my sciatica) putting an elastic band around this part of my body would only highlight my lopsidedness.

After careful consideration I decided to go with New Look 6588 (which seems to be OOP now) instead as I didn’t have time to stuff around getting a muslin right.

My colour choices were chocolate brown, rich purple or navy blue. Navy was the only colour I could find in the shop so that’s what I chose! I knew it would be really cold on the night so I would have to layer up. This was always going to involve a long-sleeved black tee and black opaque tights. That’s why I chose to make the slip in black rather than matching it to the dress, I figured that one consistent colour in the under-layer would look better than having a navy slip.

You've already seen it on me so here it is on the dummy.

Pattern Description:
Dress with flutter sleeves and elasticated empire waist with bias cut slip.

Pattern Sizing:
8-18. I cut a 12 tapering to a 14 on the hip.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes except for the change I made to the elastic placement.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, they were pretty clear, I'd rate this a fairly straightforward pattern, the difficulty would lie in making it in a temperamental fabric.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

The slip was a complete freakin nightmare to make! It doesn’t fit very nicely on the bust and the pleats are quite bulky for an under-layer.

Mostly the fabric was just terrible to sew. I’ve worked in bridal and had a fair amount of experience with silk satin but this one has such a tight weave it repelled the needle. I tried a couple of size 60 microtex, which snapped from overwork, but the size 80 microtex made a terrible noise as it punctured the fabric (and no, I didn’t have any 70s on hand to try). In the end I finished the lower edge of the bodice (where it joins to the skirt) with zig zag instead of trying to bind it and I finished the bottom edge with an overlocked rolled hem.

I made French seams on the sides. When I tried it on at first it looked like a sack, so I took in the side seams, forgetting in my haste that it would get shorter so it is a smidge shorter than I would like. That will teach me to make things in a hurry I suppose.

If I wear the dress again I’ll definitely make a new slip and probably not from this pattern (or fabric).

The dress was a dream to make in comparison. It went together easily, fit nicely (mind you there isn’t much fitting involved) and looks great (imho). I used very fine French seams throughout (about 3mm) except the armhole seam which I zig zagged and trimmed back, rather than bind and topstitch as in the pattern instructions. I hemmed the bottom with a straight stitched rolled hem.
Fabric Used:
The fabrics were silk chiffon for the dress and silk satin for the slip.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
The only alterations I made were on the dress:

• I used the selvedge instead of hemming the straight opening at the top of the flutter sleeve,
• I took 3cm out from the back neck, tapering to nothing at the bottom of the bodice seam, and
• I used the elastic guide from the vogue pattern to space out the rows of elastic and bring the lowest row down to the bottom of my rib cage (the lowest point before I go wonky).

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

I would actually. The style lends itself to a range of fabrics and occasions. In a print it might be okay for work in the summer.

Conclusion:

So what do you think? It’s a bit different for me, not really being the floaty type but I like it.

Here is my fella helping with the photo shoot.

My Mini-Break

Okay this is another non-sewing post, but I promise I'll catch up soon. I really wanted to share some pictures of my mini-break in Margaret River.

Not only is Perth a beautiful and livable city (if somewhat isolated), we are lucky enough to be only 3 1/2 hours drive from the most amazing region, referred to as 'Down South' or 'Margaret River' (which is actually only one town in a much larger region) by locals. Pretty much anything you would want to do on a holiday can be found in the area. There are beaches to swim or surf, untouched forest and bushland to explore, wineries, breweries, gourmet food, arts and crafts (such as potteries and glass blowers) - you name it you can find it! I don't get there nearly enough and I was so excited about going away this time. We only had a short break (two nights) but we managed to pack a lot in. We decided not to do the wineries this time and focused on really chilling out and exploring.

This is the cottage we stayed in. There are eight in the group but you cannot see or hear any of the other cottages, there is 100m of bush between each one. The decor was a little dated (this might just be me as I am not a fan of the 'country' style) but it was spotlessly clean and comfortable and quiet - all you could hear was birdsong and creatures rustling around in the bushes (I admit the city girl in me got a bit freaked out by the quiet!).

Here are a couple of shots of the bushland around the cottage:

When we arrived we saw probably 30 kangaroos grazing on the paddock at the top of the drive - normally I am not a big fan of roos as I am terrified of hitting one with my car - it would be very bad for the roo, my car and me!

The owners encourage you to leave out veggie and fruit scraps on the back porch and leave the light on. We did this one night and had a great time watching a pair of possums coming up to the house and snacking on the food. They were so cute!

As we were driving along at one point a Kookaburra swooped right in front of the car, fortunately we didn't hit it but it gave us quite a fright. Finally as we were leaving to come home, 3 emus ran across the driveway in front of us so we certainly had plenty of wildlife adventures!

The weather was perfect, sunny and in the low 20's (Celsius of course) in the day and cold at night. Luckily we had a pot belly stove we could crank up as we settled in for the evenings.

This photo is of Prevelly Point, a surf break near the mouth of the Margaret River. There were a few surfers out but it was pretty flat.

This is a photo of Leeuwin, where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet.
We visited the Margaret River Chocolate Factory - and exercised remarkable restraint! I don't know how they get the chocolate so creamy, it really is wonderful. We also visited Providore, which is associated with the chocolate factory, I was less restrained here stocking up on Raspberry and Rhubarb jam, English style marmalade and a grainy tomato mustard - but there was a lot of other stuff that could have come home with me!

Out the back there was an organic veggie garden complete with chicken coop. Here is my fella with some happy organic chickens.

Our final stop was the Bootleg Brewery, this is a view from their beer garden.

Overall, we both had a fantastic relaxing break and can't wait to go back again. If you ever get the chance to visit Western Australia, do try and get to the South West you won't regret it!

Lovely Blog Award

Thanks to Rose who has awarded me the "Lovely Blog Award". I am touched, particularly since I've been a little slack about my sewing projects lately!

Rules:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award on to 5 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggeers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here are my five:

Barrientos Couture

Couture Pioneer

Emily Kate

Sew I Do

Make it Smirk

Recovering from a Week of Festivities

So I am over my little pity party! There's nothing like an illness in the family to remind you of your priorities. My Dad has had a scare this past week and after numerous tests they have decided that, while still serious, his condition is nowhere near as bad as it could have been - Phew!

Anyway, thanks for the birthday wishes. I ended up having a fantastic week. On Wednesday, my actual birthday, we went out for dinner with my Mum, my sister and her boyfriend to an Indian restaurant in Victoria Park. On Thursday my friends Sarah and Cam took us out to dinner at a posh restaurant called Opus. Friday night was my party, it was a great success (IMHO) and on Saturday we watched a stand up comedian Adam Hills (who hosts one of my favourite shows, Spicks and Specks).

After a relaxing Sunday, my fella took me away to Margaret River for a couple of days. We stayed in a cabin surounded by untouched bushland with a spa and pot belly stove. If you can bear to see holiday snaps I'll post some in the next couple of days.

This is the dress I wore to both the dinners. It's the dress I made last year to wear to my friends' wedding. It's McCalls 5466. I know there have been some problems with this pattern but a simple alteration to the front armhole curve seems to fix it.

This is the dress I made for the party on Friday night (review to follow). Unfortunately it was freezing so I wore a coat over it most of the night but it still came out okay. I think this must be a bad photo as I don't remember looking so portly on the night! You probably can't see them well but I think my shoes were the star of this outfit - they are Fetish by Melissa in a copper/bronze colour that is not shown on the website. I heart Melissa shoes - eternal thanks to Claire for introducing me to them!

I am woefully behind on posting projects and writing reviews, but I will do my best to catch up soon.

I should be like Desmo

This is Desmo. She and her foster sister Bodine are really good to me. They let me live in their house, wait on them hand and foot, sit on their chairs and sleep in their bed. And they know how to relax.

Relaxing is what I should be doing since I am on holidays for two weeks (yay!) but I am beginning to think that I am incapable of relaxing, even a little bit and that the zen-like level of contentment demonstrated above by Desmo is something I will never come close to.

Tomorrow I will turn 40 and to say I am apprehensive is an understatement. I know milestones such as these should be celebrated but I can't see past all the doors that are closing to me. Marriage, babies, raising a family - all I've ever wanted for my life is just probably not ever going to happen now. Of course it's not like flipping a switch, I've known my chances weren't good for a while, but 40 just seems so final!

So, if I have to have this birthday (and apparently I do), then I shall make the best of it. I am having a party on Friday night and a whole bunch of friends are coming, including a number that I haven't seen for many years. I'll be making a dress (of course) but I haven't started it yet (also of course).

And I'll try to practice being more like Desmo.

BWOF 01-2009-124 Herringbone Waistcoat

One of my favourite TV shows is The IT Crowd. In the third season Jen, the female character, wears a really cute blouse and waistcoast combo.

I re-created it in my own way. Here's the front:
And the back:

You'll recognise the blouse from my previous post. The waistcoat is from the January 09 BWOF.

I cut a size 38 down to the bottom of the armholes, then graded out to a 42 at the waist and I made an FBA.

I used fusible bias tabe to stabilise the neck and armholes and pretty much followed the instructions except for the armholes. I never get a nice finish when I join the shoulders after sewing the armholes so this is how I did mine.

Sew the waistcoat shell and lining, leaving a gap in the centre back of the lining. Sew the lining and shell together all around the outside, turn through and press well. I didn't topstich as I thought it might look a bit weird on the plain back.

Now on to the armholes, turn in the raw edges on an armhole (I did it at the side seam) roughly and pin them together (don't worry this is just a marker, not for construction):

Reach inside through the hole in the centre back and pinch the raw edges you just turned in. Pull the edges out through the whole and remove the first pin.

Now start pinning around the armhole as far as you can. You might need to start over if you get a bit confused - it takes a while to get the hang of it. I usually sew from the side seam to just past the shoulder seam on the first go. This is after the first pass, see the opening in the upper right hand side of the armhole?

Then untangle your waistcoat, go in through the hole again and sew the remainder of the armhole. Trim and press your seams.

The finished armhole:

Overall, it's a pretty cute outfit. I'm not sure how far into winter I'll get before I have to change from a cotton blouse to something warmer, but it will do for a while at least!

Attitude of Gratitude

Thank you McVal for nominating me for the 'Attitude of Gratitude' award.

The Rules of Accepting and Sharing this Award
1. Put the logo on your blog or post
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an attitude of gratitude
3. Link to your nominees within your post
4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award
5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award

6. Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude

I hope you don't think I'm copping out but I really can't choose only 10 blogs to nominate to pass the award onto. If you read this and want to respond then consider yourself nominated!

I have to say it was really nice to receive this award, especially since recently I have found it hard to maintain an 'attitude of gratitude'. It has made me remember the things in my life that I truly am grateful for:

• That I have a job, even one that doesn't make me very happy, when so many around the world are struggling right now.
• My fella, who is a rock for me when I need it, and makes me laugh the rest of the time. Oh yeah, he cooks and washes dishes while I sew too!
• My friends who are always available for long chats about frivolous or serious things.
• My family who I love and who love me.
• That after months of insomnia, I am finally getting a reasonable night's sleep on most nights (without medication).
• That in less than 2 weeks time I am on holiday!

Latest Knitting

I've been knitting the February Lady Sweater from Flint Knits for a while now and was getting a bit bored. Nothing to do with the pattern, I think it's mainly frustration because I can't find the right buttons to go on it! Here's where I'm up to:Here's a close up of the (unblocked) lace pattern. The pattern is really pretty and the I love the colour. I'm not sure we are going to have a winter this year in which I can wear it since here we are towards the end of autumn and it's 28 degrees (celsius) and sunny every day.
Anyway, to stave off my boredom I started the entrelac scarf from Knitting Daily. The yarn is called Kaleidescope from Cleckheaton. I ended up having to buy extra wool so it is turning out to not be a terribly cheap project but it is super fun to knit and I would urge anyone with a bit of knitting experience to give it a go. If you can pick up and knit stitches you won't have any trouble.
Here's a close up (unblocked). I love how it's turning out.

In closing I'd like to give a big shout out to all those clever people who create (knitting/crochet/whatever) patterns and then generously share them with those of us who are only clever enough to execute their instructions.

New Look 6407 - Teal Blouse

This is a basic blouse made from New Look 6407. I am a little obsessed with blouses this autumn/winter, I'm not sure why as I am certainly NOT obsessed with ironing! I haven't made a blouse in quite a long time but I am reasonably happy with how it turned out.

I like that it doesn't have a traditional collar fastening, but opens to a v-neck - much more flattering on me. However it's quite low, even for me who doesn't generally have a problem with cleavage! Not indecent, but you might not want to bend over in front of anyone.

The neckline looks a little buckled on the dummy but I'm pretty sure it's fine on me.

I made the version with the 3/4 sleeves and split cuffs.

For the collar I used the method I saw described a while ago, where you cut the collar in one piece and join it at the centre back of the under collar. I have been dying to try this out and it turned out so nice! I'm very sorry but I can't find the link to the original tutorial, so if you wrote it or know who did, please let me know so I can give credit.

I didn't make an FBA, and didn't need it. If you are not well-ish endowed then you might want to cut a smaller size or reduce the bust measurement if you want a close fitting blouse.

The fabric is 100% cotton voile and is sheer, which is why I am not modelling it. I have made it to layer under a waistcoat so you'll just have to wait to see the two pieces together.

Finally a Finished Garment

I decided on Vogue 1099 for my first post-slump project. The thought of matching bias cut plaid in my fragile state was just too much, but it'll happen soon. This is the only photo I could get of it on me before the camera battery ran out, so apologies for the poor quality. You'll have to believe me when I say it fits well and is very comfortable.

Here's a dummy shot of the front:
The back:

And the side:

Here is a closer detail of the sleeve:
And the bias collar and contrast upper collar (which you can barely see on the pattern envelope). I used black polyester organza.
This pattern went together a treat. Even though it's definitely not for beginners, with patience and accuracy you can get a really nice result.

I added bias strips of lightweight knit interfacing to the hems of the body and sleeves to give them some body (I'm glad I did). I also treated the bottom edge of the front facing in my favourite way, which give a much nicer result than the method described in the instructions.

First I apply bias binding to the lower edge of the front facing. I press out the fold on the underside and just attach it flat to reduce bulk.

Once you sew across the bottom edge of the facing and jacket, you get a nice finished edge that can be hand stitched down.

I hope this means my mojo is back to stay. I thought seriously about entering the vintage pattern competition on PR, but I am so far behind and so lacking in clothes ATM that I have decided to churn out some more practical garments and save the vintage stuff for I time when I can give it the love and attention it deserves.

On a parting note, I didn't do very well in month one of my stash reducing plan. March was an unproductive sewing month when new seasons shirtings came into the shops. What's a girl to do?