Crochet beginnings

My Nanna, my Mum’s mother, died when I was 7, almost exactly 20 years ago. I have only good memories of her, as does everyone else She made THE best cups of tea, taught me the difference between a weed and a plant and made me eat chickweed sandwiches when I was sick.

MMM…taters!

Nanna made a crochet rug for each of her grandchildren up until she died. She had 11 adult children so that was ALOT of grandchildren! I specifically remember her bringing a big bag of yarn for me to choose the colours I wanted. I chose blue, pink and purple, and this is my rug:

At over 20 years old it’s faded, covered in pilling, and has a hole that will only grow, so it stays safely tucked away. After buying my reading chair recently I decided I need a rug for it, and then when I realised I would be off work for 2 weeks after my surgery I decided that a great recovery would be to lean back in my new chair, watch Supernatural, and crochet a rug, all for me. I once got about 1/3 of the way through a rug the same style as the one above, in dark blue and black. My mum started it for me and I never did finish it, and now the colours just aren’t me.

I’ve decided to start from scratch. For my new rug, I want to do it all myself, do it as a ‘granny square’ rug (a patchwork of small squares instead of one big one), and I have also decided that it would be a reimagining of my original rug from Nanna, using mostly the same colours.

My work colleague, who is a big knitter, has suggested I use real wool from a very reasonably priced supplier who sells it machine washable and almost itch free. Nanna’s rugs were all acrylic yarn (when you have to make that many, they have to be!), but a real wool one appeals to me as my house can get quite cold. So I am going to look at a colour card next week and order from there.

In the meantime I wanted to do a few test squares, to decide the design, colours and size of the squares. My Aunt, upon hearing about my plans, called with some great news. She actually has Nanna’s old crocheting bags, complete with yarn! Better still, some of the colours match my blanket, and were probably actually used to make it. Isn’t that amazing?!

So, after a very quick YouTube tutorial, I set about crocheting properly for the first time. This is the result, and will be the design I use in my rug:

The rug will be a patchwork of ‘mini Nanna rugs’ broken up by the white. I chose to incorporate the white to make the mini versions of my rug pop, and to also break up the colour a bit. If I were making a blanket to my tastes, as opposed to a tribute blanket, the colour scheme would be far more neutral. The white tones the colour down a bit, yet conversely, highlights the design of the original rug….I am very pleased with the way I have reimagined it. The blue and the pink yarn you see in the test squares is over 20 years old and from the same lot as my original blanket! Even though I will only use that yarn in the test squares, it’s still a wonderful feeling

My surgery is still 7 weeks away, so I am going to order wool in a couple of weeks and won’t be starting on the rug until just before the surgery. I’ll be sure to keep you all posted!

In spite of the chill of late autumn, it’s been a very ‘warm’ weekend, full of hanging out with my Aunty, crocheting, baking cupcakes and finding an old 2 cent coin in my chair

Costume time!

I am going to a fancy dress part next month, the theme is ‘S’. I have a costume all planned out, but I can’t share it with you yet as it’s a surprise.

What I can say is that it doesn’t involve a lot of actual sewing but its going to be fun and a little challenging no less. And it includes these:

Bedazzled with RHINESTONES!

It also meant I finally purchased a hot glue gun which opens a whole lot of new creative doors.

Hooray!

Also, I realise I haven’t yet come good with the blog anniversary competition post but I haven’t forgotten and it is coming Once I settle on a prize I will be having a combined “anniversary/reached 50 followers” celebration

Ps: Whilst typing this up I was counting down the seconds to snipe in and win a couple of great sewing things on ebay…and it worked! Bargains were had! Hopefully I will pick them next weekend and post with excitement

Colette on the way!

I haven’t been posting much. It’s a combination of a genuinely busy life, not doing much sewing, and most of the sewing being done having the status of ‘top secret Christmas presents’.

However, good news on the Colette front! Following on from my last post in which I outlined my planned dress makes, my wonderful mum agreed to buy me Lily and Macaron AND The Colette Sewing Handbook. Then Haby Goddess announced a pre-Christmas sale including all Colette! This was such an exciting moment

Mum, continuing in her wonderfulness, told me to take advantage of the sale even though my birthday is still a month away. Colette bundle is on the way! Can’t wait!

As for other sewing, there is mostly secret Christmas magic coming up but there will still be things to post about, and since we are coming to a year since I bought my first sewing machine of my own and started this hobby I am hoping to post a ‘lessons learned and plans for the future’ type post. Maybe I should even have my first giveaway!

The Dress

Well, it finally came, the wearing of my almost completely successful Vogue 1102, my first real fitted garment. I’ll launch straight into the pics I know you are all dying to see, then talk a little about it shall I?

(Thanks to my Mum for taking snaps and giving us a ride! xo)

While boyfriend tucked in shirt and put on tie, Mum insisted I pose wedding style to show off the skirt.

Full front

Full back

Close up of the bow! Yep, that’s my low back bra peaking out. We fixed it before we left the house and it didn’t reappear till many champagnes later. I was just pleased to be able to wear one! The zip is not crooked, but yes, the bodice is uneven here. The only real flaw!

All ready to go

I am so happy with how this turned out!

There is only slightly too much fabric at the top of the bodice as I expected, but this happens in many dresses of this style so it didn’t bother me. It was certainly an alteration that would be beyond my skill level so I’m pleased I didn’t meddle. The bust fits perfectly and I am so pleased I added extra darts. The area of the below bust seam joining the skirt is still slightly too big on me but is better than too small and the density of the fabric meant it didn’t billow out and exaggerate my belly…win! The skirt was perfect and very twirly! The bow was a little challenging to tie evenly, but I am pleased with the final look. I was very glad I had the sense to hand stitch it in place here and there so it wouldn’t come undone….it stayed perky and cute all night! The only actual flaw in the dress is the one inch piece of bodice at the top of the zipper at the back. The back bodice should be one inch at that point, however on the left it is half that. I have an idea what happened and there was no way I was unpicking it all to fix it. It was not noticeable enough! As that was the only actually mistake/flaw I am very happy! The fitting issues were almost completely resolved as well so this was definitely a success!

Any beginners out there wondering, yes I would recommend this pattern. I had a number of fitting issues and managed to make three muslins of the bodice, but that was mainly due to my inexperience in bust alteration as well as my desire to shape the bust a little more than the pattern called for. I wanted to bring the top of the skirt in a little to prevent the “pregnant” look. It complicated things choosing this dress for my shape, but the pattern and instructions themselves were not difficult at all. And I learned so much doing the alterations that I have no regrets about the time I had to put into this. I think it also has taught me not to fear garments designed for shapes different to mine. I am now sure that in most cases I can make it work!

The firsts for me:

•  A fitted garment to wear
• Bust adjustment
• Pattern alteration (shaping bust, narrowing shoulders)
• Adding darts
• Inserting a lining
• Working with satin
• Hemming something larger (much larger) than a pants leg
• Invisible zip (or any zip for that matter really)

How I deviated from the pattern/instructions (such a rebel):

• Inserted side bust darts to bring more shape to the dress, bringing the waist in slightly
• Made the bow ties double sided as opposed to the single sided version in the instructions. This was necessitated by my one sided fabric but I would have done it regardless…it looks much more professional!
• Simplified hem

As always, my sewing books were very, very helpful, as was YouTube and a fantastic tute from Coletterie on sewing an invisible zip.

I am so thrilled with how this turned out, and yes, also thrilled it is over. It was alot of work!

In the pipeline now are curtains for my step dad, yoga cushions and a long list of simple but fab Christmas presents. I am going to have to find sneaky ways to post about what I am up to without revealing too much, but there are sure to be other little bits and pieces to report on. I have some great bargain bin stretch knits I want to turn into summer skirts so I am sure you will all get some interesting rants about my first attempts with that sort of fabric. Hooray!

xo

Sneak peak!

The dress is complete! After a mammoth hemming session yesterday (this thing has alot of skirt!) I finally was done…yay!

It is not without its problems, but I am very happy with the finished product considering this is my first attempt at a real dress and it’s for an important occasion no less. I am going to take nice pics from all angles on Friday when my hair is all nice and my makeup all done, however I think everyone deserves a sneak peak, yes?

This is the back, just beneath the bow, please excuse the slightly out of place low bra:

And this is the full extent of the skirt, pre hem:

Oh the excitement! I now technically have nothing left to do on this, though I may revisit the bow briefly before the main event. Due to the thickness of it and the type of fabric it is difficult to tie evenly. I got it done, and hand stitched it to keep it in place, but I am thinking I need to do it again. The tails hang evenly but the one side of the bow is larger than the other. That’s ok, but it is slightly more noticable than I would like. It’s a pain though so I am leaving it for a day or two. I am also going to test some anti static spray on some spare fabric, and if the watermarks dry out nicely I am going to antic static the skirt…it be clingy.

Can’t wait to show you all the complete do on the weekend!

Sew busy!

Oh my goodness I am just a sucker for punishment I think!

Things are just so busy, and I keep piling it all on lol.

Last night I made significant progress with my dress. It was quite late so no pics, but essentially the bodice is now attached to the skirt and it is actually resembling a dress…who’d have thought it! I am pleased with the fit of the bodice, though it remains to be seen if this dress suits my shape as much as I would like. Regardless, it will be worn Friday week for the awards ceremony I am attending, so as long as it looks half decent and put together then I don’t really mind. Pics soon!

I am very excited for this weekend as it is the Newcastle Craft and Sewing Show, my first since I started sewing! I am scraping money from places I shouldn’t just to ensure I get the most out of this and I can’t wait! The only ‘restriction’ I have placed on myself is that if I buy any supplies they should be for my Christmas present making plans or for my planned yoga cushions for me and the boy, NOT for new projects to add to the list. That means NO buying stuff for making my first quilt. No time for that this year Dani! There will be, however, no restriction on fun learning workshops and “I <3 Sewing” tshirts though. Girls gotta learn new things and announce her passions in her attire!

And yes, I am planning to make some yoga cushions, as I have gotten more heavily into Kundalini Yoga to combat my headaches and assist my climbing. I ordered a pattern online for making several yoga accessories and am impatiently awaiting it’s arrival.

In other news, I started Busy Bees Bookclub on Facebook (see what I mean about taking things on? lol). The URL might say “busygirlsbooks” but it is for all, not just women (unchangable error…woops), so please request an invite if you would like! Basically a new book will be chosen for each 6 week block to be read and discussed by the group. It’s for people too busy to join a face to face book club, but keen to find motivation to read more!

On to charity, I am going to be participating in the Great Strides Walkathon for Cystic Fibrosis. Please consider sponsoring our team (Team Flynn 2012)!

And finally, back to sewing news, once my dress is finished (hopefully this weekend or I am in serious trouble) I have GOT to make curtains for my Step-Dad’s caravan. He bought the fabric ages ago and I feel so slack! Admittedly, I have been dealing with doctors and pain due to migraine and headache, which has seriously hindered my active sewing ability. But I am seeing improvement in that area, so time to get cracking!

What are you looking forward to, and do you take on too much?

I work full time and need to accept it I think haha.

xo

Bodice beginnings

Last night I pieced together the outer bodice of my Vogue 1102. The inner bodice (lining) is next. Darts are easy enough when using the calico of the toile, you can press them in firmly and they just hold. Not so much with satin. And I had added extra darts *sigh*. There was lots of pinning and attempting to mark with a chalk (chalk did not come up well but it was the only option, I have an awesome erasable fabric pen but found it bled through this particular fabric and became difficult to erase). Eventually I just did the best I could and was very relieved the darts came out evenly. I had a headache at the time and it was getting increasingly stressful!

So here we are so far:

The tie backs

The outer front and back bodice, pieced together

Bust darts on one side

 

Getting there!

 

Bow ties!

Progress! Progress! We have progress!

These are the ties for my Vogue 1102 dress:

Aren’t they beautiful?

Tonight, the bodice….eeeeep

 

Toiling over the toile…and a sewing disaster!

WELL. The size 18 toile bodice came together and was too big AND too wide in the shoulders. I expected it, but the struggle was that I then had to DO something about it. The something involved tracing and cutting more pattern pieces in sizes 16 and 14, taking a lot of measurements, doing a lot of visualisation with my giant bodice, my Dani-quin, and the new pattern pieces, and hauling out my two sewing guides and pouring over the pattern alteration sections:

More pattern traces…

Front of too big bodice on the Dani-quin

Back of too big bodice (cute though!)

My saviors

The end decision was to go back down to a 14 because thats the only measurement that fits my narrow shoulders, AND make the following alterations:

• adjust shoulders further to account for slope (I may not have my Mum’s problem of getting shirts to fit her wide shoulders, but I DO have slope-y shoulders that can’t retain a handbag strap to save my life…ironically thanks to the male contribution to my genes)
• Full bust adjustment (first ever)
• Adding a bust dart (this is brave of me, but I think it will work).

Altered size 14 bodice pattern piece

No that isn’t some weird double dart creation on the waist. One of those darts is valid, the other to be ignored

I cut the bow straps from the original toile to use on the second one to save time and am all set to try again. Time is ticking but I am trying to take my time and not stress out.

While we wait for more progress, lets drool at the shoes and clutch I aquired for a total of $50 to go with the dress on the night:

So cute! And a bargain The shoes were only $15 !!!

In other news I had a nice big disaster on Saturday night. About 2 months ago I bought some brand new Mundial Serra Sharp scissors. They are the kind of scissors that you can make last a lifetime. Not in my case though. They slipped right off my table and onto the cold, unforgiving tiles. I just sat there and cried lol. SO unproductive. I think I was even more frustrated because I was cutting interfacing at the time. My cheaper, lighter Triumph scissors are actually better for that particular job. It was a frustrating night with me breaking my new bottle of conditioner half an hour later and going to bed cranky and with frizzy hair because I refused to touch my GHD straightener for fear of dropping it too :/

Anyway all is well today, my lovely Mum must have described my subsequent Facebook outburst to my step dad, because the next day as I measured his caravan windows for curtains he insisted on giving me money to buy a new pair. I again used a Spotlight voucher so picked up some lovely new scissors and a cute remnant, all for $35 Thanks Trev, best dad in the world

The pretties

The parentals

Well, that’s all I have time to post tonight….Wordpress has been playing silly with me and this one has taken ages to post. I have other things to share though so I may post again tomorrow, hooray!

Happy sewing

An update

I need to provide a dress update…it’s been over two weeks! Problem is there aren’t any photos and there isn’t much to say. I have had the busiest two weeks I’ve had in a long time. I have alot of interests, commitments and general all round stuff and between work, climbing, SES, family, friends, sewing, writing, oh and Lady Gaga it has just been all too much!

Anyways I did get a little done over part of the weekend and last night. I finally finished tracing and cutting pattern pieces and as such moved on to cut my actual muslin pieces from some calico. Last night I pieced together much of the bodice, stopping before the lining as I knew my sleepiness was about to introduce mistakes. This part is tedious. Based on my measurements the bodice might fit, and if it doesn’t I have to have a crack at a full bust adjustment. Because the bodice requires a lining (at least the instructions are thorough, I’ve never lined something before!), it is taking me ages to get to the point of a bodice that is together enough for me to try it on and assess the fit. It will all be worth it though, and I am accepting of the fact that I may make this bodice several times before I get to the final product. Not only will it mean the fit is better, but I am hoping to also have the steps and the technique perfected too

My fabric arrived yesterday and it is gorgeous. As I got it from ebay I got down on the floor and inspected it for marks or tears and also measured it. They have sent me 20cm extra! I am very pleased with the seller and the fabric. The picture online just didn’t do it justice so I am very glad I requested a sample. For only the cost of letter postage from the UK, it was worth it!

Hopefully I will post a more thorough update on the weekend with some pictures! I am hoping by then the bodice will be wearable and I can see just how much work I have left to do. Time is ticking fast!!!