Friday Fancies

A return to my semi-regular round up of some of my favourite things this week.  Enjoy!




This tutorial for a draped-shawl cardigan has me searching for some nice jersey fabric to make one for myself.  I love this type of cardigan.




Another sewing pattern I'd like to try - the Anita ponte pant from Tessuti.  I've seen loads of this type of trousers/leggings in the shops recently and fancy trying to make some of my own.  I'd probably go for plain black though!




This recipe for 3 cheese baked ziti.  I've made it a couple of times and it's awesome!





An online fashion illustration mini-course.  I really fancy trying this, I spent many, many hours drawing clothes in my teens and I'd love to know how to do it "properly".

That's it for now.  Have a lovely weekend.

Made by Me: Vogue 1194

Thank you so much for your get well wishes after my last post.  I'm pleased to report I'm feeling much better.  I think a few days of rest have done me the world of good.  So much so, that I managed to finish my red Vogue 1194 dress last week.

This is the pattern envelope:


And here is my finished dress.


I wish I was as tall and slim as the model, but I'm really happy with how this has turned out.

I had to make a few alterations, but it went together pretty easily. 

The first alteration - and one I always do - was to take about half an inch off the width of the shoulder.  I find almost every pattern is too wide across the shoulders for me, so I generally do this alteration as a matter of course now. 

I sewed the rest of the dress exactly as the pattern, then made a couple more alterations after I'd tried it on.  The first was to the V-neck.  This neckline is LOW!  I re-stitched it to be 2 and a quarter inches higher, but I could really go even higher than that.  I'll have to be careful when I bend down in this dress so that I don't flash my bra to everyone. 

The second size alteration I did was to take the waist in about half an inch on each side seam.  It was OK as it was, but this alteration just gives a bit more definition, which I like.

One thing to bear in mind when making this dress is that at the waist there are lots of layers of fabric.  The front twist is double layered, as is the back waistband.  When you add in the seam allowances of both these pieces, together with the front and back pieces there are 10 layers of fabric!  You'd want to choose quite a lightweight jersey for this dress otherwise this area could become really bulky.

I'd consider making this again - with a slightly higher neckline - maybe a bit shorter to wear as a tunic with jeans or leggings. 

I'm sorry I don't have any more photos - the light here is really strange today and I always find red really hard to photograph anyway.  You'll have to take my word for the fact that the back looks exactly like the pattern photo.





Catching Up

Wow, it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post.  Sorry about that!  I thought I'd spend this post telling you about what I've been working on since then.

Although in truth, not huge amounts!  I've had a sinus and throat infection and to be honest, it's wiped me out and I haven't really felt like sewing that much.  I think feeling ill combined with the intensity of finishing the wedding dress meant I needed a bit of a break from slaving over my sewing machine. 

I have done a little bit of sewing though.  I've almost finished making some more appliqued pictures, which I hope to finish in the next couple of days so they can go in my shop.

This is what they look like so far: 


There are 2 armchairs, 2 teacups and saucers and one set of cutlery.  They just need some details painted on, then they can be mounted.

I have started making a dress in the last couple of days.  It is Vogue 1194, and I'm making it in red just like the pattern envelope.

On Monday evening I cut the fabric out, then yesterday I managed to sew the front.  I can tell I'm still a bit under the weather because by the time I'd done that yesterday I'd had enough.  Normally I would have continued much longer than I did.  Never mind, I'll hopefully get more done tomorrow - might even finish it. 

Mostly I've been knitting.  I'm making excellent progress on my Meridien, I just have the sleeves left to do now.



I'm really pleased with how this is turning out.  I can already tell that it will be something I'll wear again and again over the winter.  

My next sewing project will be a dress to go with it.  This will probably be a Washi dress in this fabric.  I'll be using the downloadable long sleeve pattern from Made by Rae's blog.


That's it for now!  Hopefully it won't be too long before I've got something properly finished to show you. 

Friday Fancies

Here are some of the things I'm loving this week.



The feeling of Autumn in the air.   The leaves haven't started to turn here yet, but there's a definite hint of Autumn the last few mornings.  I have to say, I can't wait for it to arrive fully.  We've actually had a pretty good summer, but I'm ready for a change now.  I'm looking forward to pretty dresses, cosy cardigans and boots. 





These structured baskets.   I could definitely do with making a few of these to store all the components of my current projects while they're on the go.





It's a little bit early yet, but I'll be making some of these Christmas pudding cookies in December.




Michael J. Fox.  Being a teenager in the 1980's I always loved Michael J. Fox, but I've recently read both his autobiographies and now I love him even more.  The way he has dealt with his Parkinson's disease is positively inspirational.

And finally, a cat in a scarf.  How cute is this?


Have a lovely weekend!

Purple and a Present

I've finally finished all the sewing I've been doing for other people, so I'll soon be starting on some Autumnal things for myself. 

In the mean time, I have been knitting.  I'm making Meridien by Joji Locatelli, which I mentioned recently I wanted to make for Autumn/Winter.


It's knit in an unusual way - you knit the entire "skirt" the flared part of the body first, starting at one front edge and going right round to the other, then pick up and knit the upper back section.  Once this is seamed to the top of the "skirt" pieces at the shoulders, you pick up and knit the sleeves downwards. (I think I've got that right!).

So far I'm just over halfway through the "skirt".


It's looking pretty good so far, even though I say so myself!

My knitting has a new home too.   It was my birthday on Monday, and at the weekend I received a very exciting parcel, which I managed to resist opening until late Sunday evening.

Inside was this gorgeous project bag made especially for me by the lovely Jacq from A Good Talking To...


I'd admired this fabric some months ago when Jacq posted about it on her blog.  Little did I know she then put it to one side to be made into something for me!  And the bag itself is the perfect size for my current knitting project.


Here it is with the yarn all tucked inside, and enough room left on top for the piece I'm currently working on - although that is usually draped over the sofa next to where I sit!

The bag came all wrapped up in this lovely sewing themed paper, with matching birthday card.  Of course, I unwrapped it very carefully and will be keeping the paper.


Thank you so much Jacq for such a gorgeous and thoughtful birthday present.