Purl and Seam

A deadline is a wondrous thing!

July 4, 2013

We’ve had a busy day Chez Stitches, which always happens when I’ve set myself a deadline. It’s like some crazy cosmic law smacking me upside the head for being smug. I had planned to sew all day but Ma was looking at a bungalow as a possibility for moving home, so I moseyed along for moral support. The bungalow is gorgeous and she’ll be moving in within a month, so we headed off to the coffee shop in the park for a celebratory coffee.

Happy news sorted, it was back to the sewing room. And by supper time tonight the Pavlova was finished. Woot!

So, please excuse the shabby phone photo, but The Husband had pizza and a tall glass of something cold awaiting my last stitch. Who was I to refuse?

I’m out all day tomorrow but hopefully this weekend I’ll be able to get some proper photos of the whole outfit for you and I’ll post a full review of the patterns.

Have a great weekend…rumour has it the sun will shine here in the UK. That will make a lovely change.

The skirt is nearly done!

July 3, 2013

In my usual fashion of making the most simple garments a little less simple, I decided to add the patch pockets to the back of the skirt and quite a bit of top-stitching too!

Despite that, all I have to do is finish the waistband and stitch the hem.

The hem will be top-stitched, but the waistband will be hand-sewn on the inside to allow for easy alteration later should I need it.

And best of all…I really love this skirt. It comes together really nicely and is slightly pegged so is a super flattering shape.

So tomorrow, I’ve a little hand-sewing, a little top-stitching on the hem and I can crack on with the top! Woot! I always did work best with a deadline…even if it is a self-imposed one!

Hello again Kitty!

June 24, 2013

Whilst it took me a couple of months to embroider the Kitties, Ma was much more efficient and had the Puss in a Corner patchwork blocks whipped up in no time.

How amazing is that?

I LOVE this quilt.

And it’s not even finished yet!

There’s a pink border to add around the edge of the quilt and it will be bound in a floral print.

Thankfully there is no rush as we’ve three other rooms to redecorate before we get to Button’s.

To my husband

June 17, 2013

When I fell for you I thought I couldn’t possibly love you any more than I did right then. Little did I know what would happen when we became parents. Watching you love, cherish and protect your children took my love to a different place. Watching them love and adore you back is a beautiful thing.

We lead busy lives Chez Stitches and we are a boisterous family. I work hard amongst the crazy to remember to express our gratitude everything you do for us and for the wonderful life we have together. I don’t always make it.

So today I get to tell you, my wonderful, amazing Husband just how much I cherish you. Darling, you are my rock. I am grateful every single minute to share my life with you and to raise our children with you.

Yesterday we celebrated, as is our tradition, with a lovely family lunch.

Photos like this one always remind me that there is a person missing…but still very close to all our hearts…

…they also prove my point. I am one very lucky girl indeed.

Aislinn – casting on at last

June 13, 2013

I haven’t been going to my Thursday night knitting group regularly for absolutely ages so this is something I’m really looking forward to rectifying now that The Husband is settled in his new job and is home at a civilised hour every night. It’s lovely to have our evenings freed up as this something we’ve never been able to rely on.

With this in mind, and knowing that I’m planning to head off tonight and don’t have a knitting project on the needles, I thought it was time to tackle the modifications for Aislinn so I can finally cast her on.

image from amyherzogdesigns.com

This is the first of Amy’s patterns that I’ve tried and already I’m smitten.

Look at that schematic. So much information. Amy is really walking the walk with this pattern. It gives you all the information you need to easily identify what’s going to work for you and what isn’t. Together with the worksheet provided by Amy in the Craftsy class it didn’t take me very long to work out that I only needed 5 modifications to the pattern:

Add bust dart shaping
Reduce waist shaping
Increase sleeve to full length
Reduce the size of the cuff
Start the waist shaping a little earlier than the pattern states.

None of these are super complicated, and I have the luxury of being able to run my modifications by the designer to ensure I’ve not completely missed the mark. But, whilst I wait for that response, I am finally ready to cast on…

It will be a while before I complete this garment…I’m not the world’s fastest knitter after all. But if the instructions are half as clear as the schematic, I’m confident this will be a pleasant project. And who knows, I may just have a well fitting cardigan at the end of it!

That’s the plan anyway. Wish me luck!

Pillar of the community tee – FO 12/2013

June 10, 2013

I’ve mentioned before how much I use my local library to access sewing, knitting and cookery books. It’s a win-win situation. I get my grubby little mitts on all the latest books for 60p a go. They have another regular customer, which can only help to keep the library open for the whole community. Use it or lose it, no?

I find the fact of my community spirit faintly hilarious. Before I met The Husband I worked in Soho in London and between commuting, working and spending far too much time in bars with colleagues and the odd glass of Jack Daniels or several! I wouldn’t have given two hoots for keeping the library open for the community.

Now…I’m an active member of the PTFA at Button and The Boy’s school and I sit on Adoption Panel every month. So when I was recently by our village library to put together a little display about sewing I was happy to oblige. After much thinking I decided to talk a little bit about how simple it is to start sewing, using the Beachy Boat Neck Tee as an example, and upcycling a t-shirt donated by Ma SIL. Three birds with one stone…or t-shirt!

Of course I left it rather to the last minute. I suspect no one is surprised by this.

Thankfully the Beachy Boat Neck comes together in no time whatsoever.

He looks like he’s about to board a clipper for adventures on the high seas!

I used Photoshop to make a load of speech bubbles which lead the reader through a simple “how to” upcycle a shirt. That was the hardest part as I’m not particularly technically minded and have never done anything remotely graphical. On Monday I pinned everything in place, added a selection of available and relevant library books to complete the display, et voila!

I don’t think it turned out to badly and the ladies at the library were pleased. I suppose if just one person decides to have a go at sewing, or to come back to it, or even to try something new, like upcycling, then I’ll be able to consider this a real achievement.

That The Boy got a new t-shirt is not to be sniffed at, either!

Little Red Riding Hood – FO 11/2013

June 5, 2013

The Boy’s nursery recently asked me if I’d be willing to make a Red Riding Hood cape for an activity pack they were putting together for the children.

Of course I said yes. They are an amazing nursery and have been fabulous with both our kids.

I used a really great tutorial I found over at Make it and Mend It and although I only grapped a quick snap as I hustled everyone out to school/nursery yesterday, I think you get the idea.

I suspect I may have to make one of these for the home dressing up box as Button was rather doleful when she realised it was for nursery. If I do I think I’ll add a little elastic in the front of the hood, sewn into the seam allowance, just to add a bit more shape.

And maybe Miss Button should have her fringe cut this week! 😉

Got the blues – Made by Ma!

May 19, 2013

Oh, could my post titles be any cornier?

Ma has been busy with the needles again, so here are the last couple of knits for the kids for a while. They are all set up for the summer…it being England, and all! Not renowned for it’s glorious sunshine and soaring temperatures! You’ll see what I mean with these pictures…it was grey and rainy yesterday…and it shows!

You’ll probably recognise this pattern from last year. It’s Little Montoya from Kate Jackson Knits. Button had rapidly outgrown her cream version and it’s too pretty a pattern not to revisit.

The Boy also has a sweater in the same yarn, Hayfield Bonus Aran.

I suspect this pattern is from the Jolly Beachcomber book. I suspect Ma will comment if it’s not.

I had the Devil’s own job getting these photos yesterday…they were both full of beans.

And I’m not pointing fingers, but Daddy was stood behind me at the time…. 😉

Goodbye Kitty

May 17, 2013

Oh yes…having sat up till half past midnight the other night in a Revenge fuelled frenzy of determination to finish…the last Kitty has been stitched.

I’m really rather pleased with how they turned out.

And there are definitely enough of them! This will be a really good sized quilt when its pieced with the patchwork blocks.

It’s over to Ma now… 😮

Book Review – Sewing Machine Secrets

May 15, 2013

I don’t know about you but I use my local village library a lot. As well as a great resource for novels so that avoid adding to our already overcrowded book shelves, I use the online ordering service to get my mitts on books that I’d like to take a look at before deciding whether or not to buy. These are usually sewing, knitting or cooking related.

Big surprise there!

The latest book to come my way is Sewing Machine Secrets by Nicole Vasbinder.

I’m always pretty dubious about new sewing books as I often find they tend towards a younger, less experienced seamstress. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for anything that encourages new sewists, but they don’t really have much to offer me.

This one, however took me, quite nicely, by surprise.

It’s broken down into two main sections. Section 1 is “Choosing Machines and Accessories”. I found the chapter about sewing machine needles to be really informative and useful.

I didn’t know, for example, that there are specific needles for machine quilting. As I’m about to embark on the quilting of the Gardener’s Journal quilt ( *cough* finally *cough*), this was a timely piece of information!

But, for me, it’s in Section 2 that this book really shines. “Sewing Machine Feet and How to Use Them”.

I love this section! It’s eminently practical without being too basic. Perfect for newbies as well as gals like myself who’ve sewn a stitch or two but still have much to learn.

Each chapter covers a particular type of foot in detail giving:

clear photos or illustrations of different foot designs in each category, for example, zipper feet,
a brief description of the foot and what you will use it for,
step by step instructions of how to use the foot,
a great photo of the finished product,
and extra tidbits of information in “insider secrets” such as:

You can use the rolled hem foot as a guide for sewing on narrow trims…slip the trim through the scroll…it will feed through…making it easy for you to stitch it on straight

And whilst it covers all the basics, such as zipper feet and buttonhole feet, it also looks at some of the more unusual ones too.

Circle attachment anyone?

Who knew?

I am seriously covetous of this little beauty.

But not entirely convinced I can justify it!

Especially when I fess up a little guilty secret!

You see, my current sewing machine and overlocker were replacements for my original machines which were lost when my house flooded years and years ago. They came with several boxes of feet and attachments that have been tucked away in the sewing loft for forever without being used. Every now and again I’ll think something along the lines of “I could really use a 1/4″ foot”, which will lead me to rummage though the boxes to see if I have said 1/4″ foot or if I need to buy one.

It’s a ridiculous waste of specialist feet and accessories so yesterday, armed with this book, I pulled them all out.

Good grief!

Half of them are overlocker accessories, which aren’t covered by this book, but the other half are sewing machine feet and ALL of them I could use on a regular basis.

Sadly there isn’t a circle attachment hiding amongst them. But they are all nice and tidy now and ready to play with. I think there is a side project of trying out all the overlocker feet, too, and finding out exactly what each of them do.

But in the meantime, I can heartily recommend Sewing Machine Secrets. I certainly learned something new from it…I suspect you might too!

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