Fabric for January/February 2017 projects

Some days just work out well.

Today is one of the those days and its only the afternoon.

The alarm went off at 7.30am, I'm trying to gradually wean myself back to the early starts required for going back to work next week, and made me leap out of my skin as it was so 'unexpected'!  I didn't actually crawl out of my pit until 8am though, well...I am on holiday today technically.

Made my morning cuppa and thought I'd sit in the living room to pull myself together properly.  I was apprehensive and more than a little reluctant to pop the telly on and watch the news as I wasn't sure I could face more bad n sad news about another 'celebrity' death (2016 feels like its been a little unrelenting this year and totally merciless over this Festive Season!), so instead I thought I'd wake up properly to the merry twinkling lights on the Christmas Tree.  However, the briefest of flickers was all I was allowed before they 'popped' and twinkled their last! 

To be fair, I'm a bit of a baa-humbug so it was quite nice to dismantle it all, pop the broken lights into the bin, the decorations back in their box, put the tree (all 2ft of it!) into its bag and return it all back to the loft for the next 49 weeks! 

This early morning 'de-christmasing' had me dashing up n down the stairs for a couple of hours 'pottering' around the house and finding all sorts of 'recycling' to put out for the bin men next week.  Two big recycling bags later and I've got quite a tidy house - for a change!

All this was an attempt to stop me clock-watching as I'm also waiting for a 3 deliveries of sorts today.

1. Fabric Haul
2. Yarn for knitting project
3. Food delivery in preparation of my family coming over for New Years Day

I'd also got a text message from a friend first thing with some not totally unexpected news and who will be in need of a shoulder to cry on (I'm good at that) over the next few weeks, and offered her an 'open-door' over the next few days.

I was also invited out to lunch with my niece and my godson - which I've had to decline while I wait for my deliveries. This is disappointing as I rarely get invited to lunch with lunch and it would have been nice...still, I should be seeing them on New Years Day.

Then, just as I settled down with a cup of coffee and my last slice of chocolate cake at midday, there was a knock at the door.

In front of me stood a very jolly looking postman, parcel in hand - I'm not sure who was most pleased to see whom!  It was quite a heavy parcel (considering he was having to carry it around in his post bag!) so I think he was very happy I was in so he wouldn't have to lug it around the rest of his route and take it back to the sorting office! 

I'm now the proud owner of 4 different fabrics:

top left: 8 Wale Cotton Corduroy - black
top right: Broad Stripe Stretch Jersey - ivory/marl grey
bottom left: Floral Viscose - blue
bottom right: Circles print poly sateen - brown, aqua & cream.

I've already got plans for the black Corduroy - another Kwik Sew A-line skirt for work, and I'm thinking about making a longer sleeved version of my Christmas Day dress (New Look pattern) with the Floral Viscose....probably...maybe...its sooooo comfy but not entirely sure this very soft fabric will work....I need to give it more thought.

The Circle print poly sateen goes exceptionally well with the tan corduroy skirt I made the other day....so that will almost certainly be turned into a coordinating top of some kind.

And then about 40 minutes later my next parcel arrived - much lighter yet delivered in a van by a much less jolly man! 

I've now got my wool - King Cole Riot in Dude to knit up another King Cole 3316 V neck jumper/tunic.  I knitted it only a couple of months ago in Domino colour and loved it, however, it shrunk horribly in its first wash (and I'd followed the washing instructions faithfully! - I suspect my washing machine might be (is) on the blink) so I thought I'd try it again but HANDWASH it only! The yarn was on offer at Deramores so its everso slightly less painful ... slightly! 

Once its knitted up, it should go very well with the black corduroy skirt shouldn't it?!

Just as well I declined my lunch offer as I'd have been sad to miss this lastest delivery, its not often I'm home during the day and 'courier' deliveries are so difficult to re-arrange!  So, all in all, a very good day for me so far...just one more delivery to go and that's been booked for 6pm, just enough time to start casting on...

And a very Happy New Year to anyone who happens to read this!!!! roll on 2017

 
 

Well, that's put a small spanner in the works...

While I'm busy lounging around the place doing nothing very much in particular over my Christmas break, I thought I'd do something I've never done before, and pre-wash a whole bundle of fabric ready for sewing up into various bits n pieces over the next few weeks.

What a good little beginner seamstress!

Oh my goodness, just how pleased am I that I did.

Amongst the bundle was 2 meters of black and white polka dot polycotton, stiff as a board before washing, and beautifully soft after.

The only problem was the awful marks left ....

I know they don't show up too well in the photo, but trust me they are there...lots of spidery white crease marks.

I've checked the washing instructions and they were followed to the letter.  The only thing I didn't properly read when I placed the order, was the best use for the fabric - craft, children's wear, costume and theatrical wear, patchwork....  but not dressmaking!  ooops

Should have paid far more attention to that - my bad.

So, its unlikely that I'll be using this fabric to make the shirt I had planned - but hopefully, when I take delivery of my next (and eagerly anticipated) fabric order from good ole Minerva Crafts, it'll have the black corduroy in, which I'm hoping to make up into another A line work skirt....and I might just pop some black and white polka dot insert pockets into it .... got plenty of fabric after all, and it just goes to show how important it is to PRE-WASH fabric...can't tell you how annoyed I'd be if I'd done my usual - leap in and make something - only to find that it would be ruined on its first wash!!! 

A good lesson learnt.

Hark, is that the sound of one's own trumpet blowing?!

Why yes, I believe it is!!!

So I took delivery of a lovely bundle of goodies from Minerva Crafts a few weeks ago after deciding I wanted to make my Christmas Day outfit this year.  I'd bought the November issue of SEW magazine a few days earlier and it had a free New Look K6411 pattern that I knew was just the dress I'd been looking for.

I measured myself up (taking into consideration the amount of 'merry making' that was going to happen between starting the sewing project and actually wearing the finished article on Christmas Day!) and plumped for the size 16.  I was probably nudging an 18 on the waist and hip, but only a 13 at the bust (almost a perfect pear!) but as the pattern gives some ease and considering there are no darts, so the least 'fitted' dress I've ever made, I thought a 16 the best bet.

I used approximately 2m of the beautiful beige/blue tartan with appliqued rose detailing and gave myself a headache worrying about 'pattern matching' .... which I should have realised far sooner wasn't going to be a problem at all, considering all the lovely vertical and horizontal straight lines given in a tartan pattern!!! - fool !!!!

I've never really given too much (any) consideration to pattern matching in the past, either because I've used plain fabric, or, such 'busy' material that pattern matching becomes obsolete!  So I can't begin to explain how chuffed I am at the finished result of this dress.  Other than a couple of tiny 'sewing' wobbles, the pattern matching on this dress is almost 100% bang on, even down the to the front and back seams of the raglan sleeve - who knew successful pattern matching could be so satisfying?! 

I opted for a shorter sleeve and what a good decision that turned out to be, Christmas Day down here in Kent was unbelievably mild, not at all cold, I think I might have melted had I done longer sleeves.

This dress was a pure pleasure to sew, simple, quick and in my humble little opinion, looks pretty darn good!  

 look at that awesome back seam pattern-matching

 comfiest dress with Christmas Day eating 'growing' room

 with my handknitted Stylecraft Alpaca Tweed scarf - just in case the weather turned more festively chilly - it didn't!

In fact, I'm so happy with this dress that I'm going to make at least one or two more for work.  I've got to work out in my head how to 'tweak' the pattern so it fits better across my back shoulder (I'm quite narrow...) or maybe I just need to 'tweak' my festive eating and drinking habits so I can grade the pattern down to the size 12 - 14 at the bust ?!?! In a fabric with a bit of stretch....just in case I relapse - it is my birthday in January after all.