Pendlestitches, Author at Purl and Seam

Picture perfect purple for a prickly party princess – FO 30 & 31/2012

December 16, 2012

Well we almost didn’t make it to the party today…but that was more to do with Madam Button von Stroppypants having a major attitude problem and Mummy foolishly rising to the bait!

However all was resolved 5 minutes before the allotted hour and following a quick change, our prickly party princess was ready to go.

You may remember this dress from That Bloody Wedding…the pattern is New Look 6881 and it’s a pattern I just love.

The fabric is a poly duchesse from Abakhan lined with poly habotai also from Abakhan.

As the dress is sleeveless it really needed a cardigan and this is the finished Langston

knitted in Debbie Bliss Rialto DK.

I did a very cursory block of this cardigan hence the frill isn’t lying as flat as I’d like, but this doesn’t really detract from the overall loveliness of this little cardie.

As you probably know by now, I’ve never met a cable I didn’t like, and this is no exception.

Such a lovely pattern…one I can definitely see myself making again.

And madam had a lovely time at the party and is now, finally asleep. Don’t be fooled by those big blue eyes! I’m off for a very stiff drink 😉

Purple panic for Poppy’s party

December 13, 2012

Button has an invitation to her little friend Poppy’s party.

It’s on Sunday.

With my usual organisational skills this was my sewing table yesterday.

Good job I work well to a deadline!

December

December 3, 2012

Good grief…21 days to go? How did that happen?

Fortunately, whilst there isn’t a great deal of needlework going on here, the Christmas gift list is slowly being ticked off.

Last weekend we stirred up cake and pudding.

On Wednesday I filled the house with the scent of spices as I gave the pudding its first steaming.

Yesterday we surprised the kids with a visit to see Father Christmas in the Hall at our local park.

Whilst The Boy wasn’t having any of it (except the proffered chocolate…he’s not daft), Button marched up to FC, bold as brass.

The conversation went something like this:

FC: Hello little girl. Have you been good? What would you like for Christmas?

B: A Barbie, please.

FC: (In an incredulous tone) Is that all?

B: Yes, thank you.

FC: Speechless!

Having snaffled her chocolate as well, we went off to explore the Hall, and in the kitchens found two lovely ladies set up to make pomanders from oranges and cloves.

A quick turn around a little craft fair garnered so many compliments about the little jacket that Button commented “why are all these ladies looking at my coat?”. I, on the other hand, was really rather pleased with myself.

We all had a pretty lovely day.

A little winter dress – FO 29/2012

November 24, 2012

Oh it’s been wild here. We drove to Basingstoke on Thursday to visit our beloved friends Jani and Ian (of whom we don’t see enough) and could only manage about 50 mph, if we were lucky, due to the high winds sweeping across the motorway.

Today is very chilly and I’m thankful that I recently finished another iteration of Heidi and Finn’s delicious cowl neck dress for Button.

She’s on a bit of a growth spurt at the moment so she’d grown out of the navy striped one I made, but the next size up is a little big…although I don’t think it will be for very long.

The fabric was a dress of Ma SIL’s which I cut into with gay abandon, but explains why the sleeves are 3/4 and the cowl a little shorter that the pattern…I simply didn’t have enough fabric so made these little modifications with surprisingly pleasing results.

This is a dancing dress…

…and great for twirling in…

…and just fabulous for jumping, too!

I think she likes this dress…and wasn’t in the mood for standing for photos this morning!

Thank you to Nana for the makings of a lovely and cosy new dress.

Upcycled t-shirt tutorial

November 16, 2012

It’s official.

I’m the world’s worst blogger.

I promise and I don’t deliver.

Because I forget.

Yep…I forgot that a bajillion years ago I promised you a tutorial about how I upcycle adult t-shirts for the kids, using the existing neckline and hems to reduce the amount of sewing you do.

And then today I saw this splendid tutorial at Elegance and Elephants.

photo by Elegance & Elephants
click on photo for source

Which explains it far better than I could do.

And with the cutest dress as an alternative outcome to a t-shirt.

photo by Elegance & Elephants
click on photo for source

So, I’d go there and check it out instead of waiting for my pitiful offering.

And maybe accept my profuse and profound apologies for being so flipping rubbish!

Oh Suzanna…you’re back again. FO 28/2012

November 4, 2012

Here’s Button in another Oh Suzanna smock.

This was once one of The Husband’s shirts, so looks super cute with the button placket up the front.

Hey…it’s not only the top that’s cute!

I also changed up the sleeve a little. The pattern calls for elastic or to use the cuff from a long sleeved shirt. I decided to play with the existing turn up and stitch a little inverted pleat into each sleeve.

All in all it’s another adorable little top. Button couldn’t wait to show it off to her Grandma today, which I’m taking as a good sign.

The knitted dress is almost done…just the serger tails to sew in.

And the jeans are on the table.

I’m sewing these production style, so hopefully they’ll come together really quickly. I’ve got an impatient client!

PS…you may have noticed the light is grim here today

…but I really wanted to share!

A whole lot of nothing except a cute cardi!

October 24, 2012

The thing about having nothing that you have to do, is that the temptation to do nothing is rife.

As there’s only a whole load of sofa surfing going on, I thought I’d share the most recent Made by Ma, which, of course, features cables.

What can I say…I’m a sucker for cables!

Cute. No?

The Small Print

Pattern Book: Patons Play Days Book 4

Design: Harriet

Yarn: Patons Cotton Tropicano DK

I will get my butt into gear soon. Maybe.

W is for Washi – FO 27/2012

October 21, 2012

Following the exam fiasco and the operation-that-wasn’t, this week has been decidedly quiet. And I’ve spent much of it doing not very much except taking a breath and relaxing.

I did however find the energy to finish the hems and binding on my first Washi top.

I love it!

I know it makes the girls look ridiculously humongous…but, what can I say, I’ve got boobs…nothing’s going to change that!

Anyway…moving on…this is a great pattern. The downloaded pattern pages match up really well, making taping them together remarkably painless. Rae has written such clear and comprehensive instructions that you’ll have no trouble putting this together.

My only alterations were to add a bit to the length and a FBA. I was glad of the additional length when I carried out an impromptu burn test with my iron that confirmed that this fabric is, indeed, polyester!

The fabric is from Ma’s stash. It’s one of those that comes under the category of “what was I thinking” as this isn’t the best colour for either of us. But it just about works and it’s a very wearable muslin.

The Husband thinks its a lovely top…I can’t imagine why. I’m planning to make the dress version with another piece in my stash, but the next one will have the sleeves variation that Rae is teasing us with at the moment.

And then there’s the black cotton that would make a fabulous maxi…

I may have Washi fever!

The small print:

Pattern: Washi from Made by Rae. $16

Fabric: Polyester print from Ma’s stash. £0

Notions: Thread, interfacing and shirring elastic from stash. £0.

Total cost: $16

kcwc – days 6 & 7 – FO 25 & 26

October 14, 2012

Phew…made it! I actually finished the outfit.

But before I share can I just say thank you for all the kind comments on my last post. You are all just so very kind.

For my first kcwc I was planning to make one of Heidi and Finn’s Cowl Neck Jumper Dress

image courtsey of heidi and finn

and Stitch and Whimsey’s Oh Suzanna Smock.

image courtesy of stitch and whimsy

Both patterns were in my pattern library and I planned to upcycle one of The Husband’s shirts for the smock and a dress donated by Ma SIL.

However, this plan changed at the beginning of the week when Button was invited to a birthday party today at a children’s play centre. She needed something new, but not a frock. I wanted her to be able to run and play and have fun without being encumbered or losing her modesty.

Muuuuuuuum! Let me go and play!

So I went with the Oh Suzanna Smock and Peek-a-Boo skinny jeans.

As the top was made from new fabric rather than an upcycled shirt I went with the elasticated sleeve:

Button loves the pockets:

Speaking of pockets…I lined the jeans pockets with the same fabric:

It’s these little details that make me love sewing clothes.

There are cute little back pockets too:

These are just begging for embellishment! Maybe on the next pair…

I used a triple stitch and good old Gutermann thread to do the topstitching:

It’s the first time I’ve used this technique and I’m really rather pleased with the result.

As is Button. She got to run and climb and slide and jump in complete comfort, with room for cake. Which, in my book, makes my first attempt at kcwc a success.

These two patterns are going to get some use over the next few weeks. I’m planning to upcycle those shirts, and I have a pair of Daddy’s jeans to use too…she has outgrown her current pair of denims so these are a priority.

But, I still owe her that little knitted dress, so tonight I downloaded and taped the pattern:

This should be a quick make. I think I might be on a roll.

kcwc -days 4 & 5 – no sewing but a great result

October 12, 2012

Lawks a lordy…still no flipping pictures of sewing progress, but yesterday I did make it to the sewing loft. My progress is thus:

Oh Suzanna smock – sewn but awaiting elastic at the neck and sleeves to finish it.
Lilac jeans – I have the back yoke attached and topstitched. I have the front pockets almost finished.

When you write it down it doesn’t seem like much but I did spend several hours in the sewing loft yesterday. I think it will all come together tomorrow.

Today…well…today was a very different sort of day. I’ll tell you about it but if you’re only here for the sewing do feel free to duck out now and come back tomorrow for a kcwc update.

Between parent/teacher meetings at school and hospital appointments that ran way over time I didn’t make it to the machine today. And we’ve had a bit of news at the hospital that has me feeling faintly exhausted, so tonight I’m not sewing…just a few gentle rows of knitting and a movie.

You may have noticed from pictures of him that The Boy has divergent squints in both eyes. This means that both eyes tend to turn out towards the side of his head.

Another little gem of a sweater Made by Ma!
Edited thanks to Ma to say this is Pattern 2338 from Jolly Beachcomber Knits (a great book), knitted in mystery Aran weight donated by my lovely friend Liz.

As well as this he has little to no binocular vision. So he has very limited 3D perception, which affects things like walking up and down steps, catching a ball, even walking from a carpeted floor to a tiled floor can make him pause whilst he works it out.

He has amazed us with his ability to develop splendid coping strategies… so much so that unless you knew he has a problem, you wouldn’t be able to tell.

So the surgery that we thought was today, but wasn’t, is a small operation to straighten his squints.

Today we met with his surgeon who noticed that he had a bit of an eye infection. This is nothing new. He gets them all the time. Turns out he has a problem with a blocked tear duct.

At this point I threw in a perfectly innocent question about whether this would have any connection to recurring problems he has with runny and blocked noses. Problems that we’ve spent 2 years trying to get someone to take seriously and tell me something other than “he’ll grow out of it”.

Yeah…he might…but in the meantime he’s miserable every time he gets a cold.

The surgeon promptly decided that when she operates to sort out the blocked tear duct, she’ll have an ear, nose and throat surgeon in theatre with her, who will check out that side of things and do any treatment necessary.

It took less than 10 minutes for her to decide this. I cannot tell you how grateful and relieved we are.

So, the upshot is that before Christmas our little man will have a surgery to resolve his issues with his continually sore eye and his problematic, if exceptionally cute, nose.

His squints will then be fixed at a later date.

It means another surgery, which I’m anything but thrilled about.

But I am thrilled that finally someone has listened to us and is prepared to help The Boy.

So I’m drained because a two year struggle to be heard is over…and I’m not sewing…and I’m OK with that.

PS…apologies for crappy iPhone pictures.

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