French Red Scarf

One could be mistaken for thinking that after taking 7 years to finish my last scarf, I would be reluctant to start another. But no - I wanted a red scarf, and found two balls of silky, smooth French wool at the Fabric-a-Brac earlier in the year.

French merino mix wool

Unfortunately, while it seemed lovely and smooth all wound up, once knitted it turned into an itchy scratchy kind of scarf. Guessing as I did the number of stitches I would need for a scarf, the first version was a wide as a jersey.  I decided to be an adult and unpick the 5 inches I had done, and reduce the number of stitches. Version 2 is still a bit wide, especially given that I only had two balls of wool.

Under construction - Version 2

It's now a completed short fat scarf that I can wear as long as its not close to my skin. But at least it was completed within a couple of months - I'll take my successes where I can!

The final scarf

Blue knit top KWIK SEW 3741

I made this top out of a lovely blue knit. Its Kwik sew 3741 view A.  There is not too much stretch in it, so I added in some darts. This is the first time I've tried this type of neckline and it turned out quite well. Wasn't that complicated, more the thought of it that scared me.

I was quite proud of them as I drafted the pattern changes on my own but in reality they don't sit that well (slightly too pointy darts). My sewing group friends suggested that I turn them into gathers, which I think I will do next. I'll also fit it a bit better on the sides.

Trying to get fancy and failing

Some  of the really fancy sewers I know actually have ideas about the patterns and material that they own. They take photos of the pattern by the material and make a list. I thought that sounded like a good idea so I started. First I had to drag my patterns up from the floor below because they hadn't moved to the new sewing spot post move. Then I decided to sort them into piles by type of clothing - tops, bottoms, dresses etc.

 

of

 The piles toppled over so I had to start again.  I resorted the dresses into woven and knit and that helped. 

 

I discovered my fear of making knit tops and trousers had resulted in me trying to find the perfect pattern (all without actually making any trousers).  I think at 10 trouser patterns I should be fine.  I should point out that the excess of patterns was not helped by the recent closure of a favourite sewing shop, selling off patterns for $3.50 each. 

I also discovered I had awful lot of fabric that I had no idea what I was planning to sew from it! After a small amount of hyperventilating I took photos where I had a match already planned, and then filed everything back in its place. Actually, who am I trying to kid - that took another two sessions!

Vintage cushions from Fabric-a-brac

I know the next Fabric-a-brac would be soon, and that photos of what we had made with our stash/purchases would be needed. So that inspired me to finally make up some more cushions for our dining room bench seat.

 Cushion 1 was bought (on sale for $4.00) which I had to get as even buying the inner costs more than that normally. I hand sewed the two beautiful crochet doily that I bought at the last Fabric-a-brac. Next time I'd position the rounds with the cushion stuffed, as the doily did get a bit lost off the edge near the bottom.  
 

Cushion 2 was a silk green scarf from Fabric-a-brac. Nothing is ever going to go with the faded stripey bench seat covers, but we will replace them eventually. Was too impatient to wait to buy a zipper that would fit, or a bigger inner cushion, so used what we had and stitched it closed. 

Making my own Jeans - the first three months....

My Original Jeans
Muslin Back

Muslin Front
I bought the craftsy class www.craftst.com jean-ius by Kennith d King on how to make jeans a while ago and have been making these for a while now. The first issue was that I bought the denim in a hurry so forgot to check if it had stretch in it like the jeans I was copying. so then I had to buy more denim. The next issue is the class - watching the class, even when you select as lower resolution still eats our broadband allowance. So I feel really guilty when I am watching the video. Also there is little in the way of written instructions, so I now have to rewatch the videos, as I've forgotten half of it! the photos above show the process to 'over stitch/baste on the seams' of the current jeans, then you make a copy onto organza, then you copy that onto a muslin and try it on. This is my third muslin fit. Of course in the meantime I've had no jeans, so finally unbasted these jeans to start wearing them again. The saga continues, as now I have realised I need a higher waist so will add some more material to the muslin and try and refit....

My 7 year knitting adventure

My black fluffy scarf is finally completed (don't you love our original carpet).  Obviously this one has taken a while. Its now out of my UFO (Unfinished object) pile and in my wardrobe. It struggled to finish this one, for a couple of reasons, firstly because for all the effort I was using a cheap acrylic wool and it didn't feel that nice to knit. Secondly because a stylist told me I didn't suit black that close to my face. Also I was knitting this when sad stuff was happening, and I kept remembering that when ever I saw it. But pleased to get it out of the way. Don't think I'll be buying any wool anytime soon, especially as the knitting needles have become swords for the 3 year old.

Mostly unpacked

I've finally got most of my sewing stuff unpacked. Still waiting to find room for my dress dummy, and my patterns.  I was going to go for shelves along the back wall, then decided to try using up what I had.

I did buy a trestle table for my sewing machine, and a rimu table with drop sides for my cutting out. Just need hubby to raise the table a bit more so I don't get a sore back from cutting out at a low level. Find the ironing board is at just the right height.