Stealth quilting

When I took up sewing again, my other half was generally encouraging, but there was one proviso: "If you take up quilting, we're getting a divorce." Now, I've never had any interest in quilting, it generally seems to be a bit fuddy duddy and twee. When my new sewing machine came with a free quilting kit I wasn't that bothered other than by the appeal of the walking foot, which I could use for knits. Remembering my husband's words, I put the quilting kit somewhere out of view just in case he started divorce proceedings, but I had no intention of using it.... Until now.
Friends have just had a baby and I wanted to make them a gift. When my son was born, a friend gave me a lovely cot blanket, simply sewn with a lovely vintage print. 

It has been so useful and even 7 years later it sits at the bottom of The Boy's bed. I thought it would be simple enough to make one and then I started looking at pics on the internet and my idea sort of grew from a simple blanket to something a little more... Quilty. Uh-oh.
After much browsing, I ordered a pack of fat quarters from Plush Addict and picked up some fat eights at my local quilting shop in Warwick. This was unknown territory for me and it took me a week before I dared cut into the cloth. After much deliberation I cut the fabric into 23cm squares and arranged them in a 3 x 4 pattern. I stitched them together in rows than stitched the rows together and finally backed it with some purple fleece blanket from Ikea.

I'm really pleased with the result and hope the recipients like it too. 

And I've got enough fabric left for 2 more blankets. The walking foot and extension table are awesome and will definitely be getting more use. Just don't tell the husband...

Dolly Clackett sewalong - Car Fest Simplicity 2444 dress

I have to admit I have been Blog-stalking Dolly Clackett since I took up sewing.She lives nearby in Leamington, her blog style is very engaging and she is both prolific and talented in the dress-making stakes. I do envy her ability to rock a quirky looking retro dress, even though the style doesn't particularly suit me. And the shoes! Man, I love the shoes.

So I was excited to see the sewalong her friend has organised for her forthcoming wedding. The perfect opportunity to finish and showcase my CarFest dress! This is truly a Dolly-inspired dress, from the retro print fabric to the use of her old favourite, Simplicity 2444.

I have made this dress in preparation for CarFest, which is, oh, 6 months away! I'm so excited about it though, as The Boy is a total petrol head. The fabric is from Ditto Fabrics in Brighton and I also bought some other car-related fabrics from Fabricland to make The Boy some funky shirts for the festival. That's the next project.

 

So, with this dress, I lengthened the bodice and graded it between a couple of sizes for a better fit (although it's actually a bit looser than I planned - I've had a stomach bug and I think I've lost weight - better get back on the cakes!). I also scooped out the neckline at the front and back to make it a bit more summery. I lined the bodice as the fabric is quite sheer, but I haven't got round to lining the skirt as I ran out of lining! I'm even toying with a proper petticoat to give the skirt a bit of oomph. I managed to insert an invisible zip between the lining and the main fabric, using this tutorial. Overall I am pretty happy, although I will need to insert some bra strap holders as the neckline is a bit wide across my scrawny upper chest and my straps keep poking out.



I've said before that I don't feel quite right in this style of dress as it feels a bit too girly and young for me. But at festivals anything goes, so I'm looking forward to wearing this. I just hope the sun shines!

Car Fest Simplicity 2444 dress in progress

So I have made a start on the Car Fest dress. It currently looks a big of a shapeless sack, but I haven't inserted the zip or seen up the side seams yet. 

The eagle eyed among you will spot the coverless cushions on the dog behind. The Boy spent last night throwing up and then finished off with a quick barf on the sofa this morning. Not good as we are about to try to sell it before our new sofa arrives. Anyone fancy a slightly puked-on sofa ?

Back to the dress, which is Simplicity 2444, of course. It's been coming together okay, with a slight lengthening of the bodice. The fabric is quite thin, so I have lined the bodice. I haven't got enough of that lining to do the skirt as well so I will either have to get some more or maybe go for a petticoat to give the skirt a bit of volume. That would be a bit of a departure for me, so I will try the dress on once the zip is in and have a think. 

I realised that I'd bought a standard zip rather than an invisible one for some reason. And I was about to bung it in anyway as I'm so inpatient... but I decided to hang on until I can get an invisible one because I am trying to make a bit of an effort with this dress and not eff if up like I usually do! Fingers crossed...

Is it wrong to want a Mexican wrestler dress?

I'm a conservative dresser. I don't really do patterns or bright colours. Every Christmas my husband buys me another grey v-neck jumper for my collection.

But having bought some retro car fabric for the planned Car Fest dress I am finding myself drawn to increasingly outrageous fabric. Like this:

I bloody love this. But I think everyone who knows me would think I'd gone totally insane.

I am also hankering after this little number:

I have a longstanding obsession/phobia of sharks.

And finally:

Some intergalactic craziness. Is this a midlife crisis or should I just go for it and see what the reaction is? Fabrics are all by Fancy Moon (www.fancymoon.co.uk) who also have some very nice, tasteful fabrics too!).

In other news, I am knitting what seems to be the world's longest scarf. This is a commission from my brother and I'm hoping to have if finished before the summer!

Sew Over It sulk!

So I haven't blogged for ages. I did some sewing and this resulted in some serious sulking. Having invested in 2 patterns from Sew Over It, I spent ages sewing up the Ultimate Tea Dress. I had to recut the bodice as when I tried it on it was crazily tiny. That meant I had to fudge the skirt panels with really tiny seam allowances and leave out the dart in the back of the skirt. I finished all my seams properly (normally I'm way too lazy).and then when I went to hem it the skirt was really short, so I ended up with a 0.5cm hem.  The finished dress has some issues with the neckline gaping too. 

Anyway, just as I hemmed the dress an email popped into my inbo. Saying that the pattern pieces had been printed too small! Aaaaarrrrggghhhh! 

I have a lot of sympathy with small businesses but I was so cheesed off that I've been in a sewing sulk ever since!

Anyway, here's the finished item:

Next... A retro dress for me and some shirts for The Boy in a car print fabric in preparation for CarFest in the summer! I'm attempting to draft my own Frankenpattern along the lines of the Anna dress that is currently the blogosphere's favourite. It could be a mash-up too far...

Little monsters

It It's been a while since I blogged, but I have been busy making these little monsters for the Boy's classmates:

Each one is made from a single sheet of cheap Hobbycraft felt (50p) plus white and black felt for the features. 

I also made this:

It's a handbag organiser made out of 2 bits of felt and some interfacing. There are pockets for my purse, phone, diary, pens... And when I change bag I can just lift the whole thing out. It's made it so much easier to find my stuff in my capacious bag! If I make another one I will do a little tutorial.

Spend spend spend

Ah, the dangers of a glass of wine and internet access on a Saturday!

So far I have bought a book: 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1408170884

Recommended by a friend, apparently it is the answer to all my fitting  problems.

I have also been over to http://sewoverit.co.uk and purchased their wrap dress and the dress pattern. Reckless. And that's not mentioning the luxury holiday to Norway I also booked tonight. Yikes.

The tea dress pattern is for this fabric :

Which is actually slightly lighter blue than it looks in the picture. At £2.50 per metre from Tahim's in coventry, it doesn't matter too much if I mess it up! And I still have some Drape Drape patterns to attempt... Going to be busy.