Making for my Man

This was made before Christmas as a present. 

While working my way through my donated fabric, I felt this super thick satin lining as I thumbed through the diminishing pile in the cupboard. I decided to use it to line a new waistcoat for Andy.

The brown wool and lining was donated stash so I was pretty free and easy on the waste in order to get the pattern matching correct.I invite you to swoon at the lined up and fully balanced pattern...

My new Brother machine has automatic buttonholes which makes every one the same after you have set the first one. Those sorts of tricks turn sewing from looking handmade to bought in an instant. 

On his last waist coat I chickened out on pockets because the wool/tweed was too thick to make the welts but this was a little finer so I went for it. Beautifully lined pockets ensued - for what, I have no idea - what do men put in those tiny pockets?!

It looks really rather dapper.

Thanks for dropping in. 
Have you ever made anything for a man in your life?

2018 Resolutions

Happy New Year!
OK folks, I have had a little think about my crafting resolutions for 2018 and they are:

1. To learn to use all the sewing machine feet in my little pot. What are they all for? Do you have some of these? Are they a help or hindrance? Are they even all for my machine, I am wondering!

2. To knit a pair of socks with a pattern on. I am hoping to knit a pair of these from Christina's pattern on A colourful life. I have got the hang of plain socks now so I want to 'dip my toe' into some other patterns.

A photo from her blog - these are Christina's feet!

3. To make a Dresden star quilt for Andy and I - a whopping big double bed one!

I have made a little start over the holidays in the moments when I didn't feel like talking to anyone. I have been making the templates and collecting some starter fabrics from my cupboard. I need 252 of them... I have 37!

At present, they are all stored in my new HUGE cake tin.

I treated myself to some primary colours which had varying dark/light values for the contrasting star shape. They have lifted my scraps to a new level and I'd say there is no harm in polishing a turd.

Finally, as a side dish, I have made most of my Vintage pattern collection now so I want to try out a few more indie pattern houses. I am not sure I am going to like all of them but I would like to do a few reviews - are they worth the extra money, what is the sizing like, what are the instructions like, that kind of thing. Any recommendations?

Wish me Luck. 
What are you endeavouring to do this year? Do tell.

Winter Rainbow Knitting Ta Dah!

Thank you for reading my year end round up. I am still thinking about 2018 but in the meantime, holiday hours at home have helped me produce this gossamer beauty.

This yarn is called Winter Rainbow. I have been stroking it and admiring it since August. It is a 'single' meaning the dyer only made one which enables it to be sold more cheaply rather than a yarn dyed in multiples that can be bought to make bigger items. I think £16 is an awesome price for such loveliness...and I chose it!

I broke my stash diet embargo at the Shrewsbury Folk festival to buy it from a lovely lady at felt fusion. The hunt was on to find a one skein wonder pattern and I chose to knit One and Done from Casapinka on Ravelry. It will showcase the beautiful fusion of rainbow colours but will probably be more of a Spring item than a cosy winter wrap.

I cast on and looked forward to some restorative knitting. All in all it took me about two weeks of evening knitting. The rows got so long eventually that I could only do about three a night but I tried to 'knit in the moment' and enjoy the process. 

From the bunched up knitting on my needles, I came to the end of the border row. The pattern called for 400m and my skein was 366m so I did a few less rows of the rib section. In the end, there was plenty left over but with the cast off row taking me a full two hours I did not want to play chicken. Andy came into the room after I had blocked it and said 'Wow! it gone from a lumpy caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly' 

The pattern is well worth the purchase. The only muddy area was the picot cast off which I did but my bobbles appeared a little small so maybe I didn't do that quite right but at least it was a good stretchy bind off.

The ends have a beautiful drape with a cobweb quality. Wet blocking is essential to gain this effect.

The drop stitch section is immensely satisfying. You drop a stitch and then run it all the way back to the knit edge. This means the knitting unfurls and creates the fan shape before your very eyes. It was like magic. A fluffy yarn would have been a nuisance but this merino silk mix was just perfect.

I am going to wear it in the summer with my white linen top. 

This is how I like to wear my shawls but the image below shows the yarn off with aplomb.

I LOVE this shawl. It is called One & Done but seriously, I could knit ten of them. 

I will no longer be frightened of buying that special skein of yarn in an independent wool shop now that I know I will always have the perfect pattern to enjoy knitting them with. Thank you for encouraging me to treat myself and use my best merino. 

Jo xxx

Resolution Success

If you are follower of this blog, for which I thank you, you will know I make crafting New Year resolutions because they are more fun than promising to eat less cake or run 5K. 2017 has been the year of the stash diet. 

I made three resolutions. The first one was to find a knicker pattern. This has been a bit of a mission with lots of experimenting and learning. I can report success all round and can now whip out MY own knicker pattern and make batches of new knickers without even leaving the house.

The second one was to make another quilt. Again, lots of learning and new skills. I made Megan a sampler quilt trying out new techniques and blocks which I shared with my sewing group. It tied in well with the stash diet because I used up lots of scraps.

And finally the mammoth number three. Limit buying new craft materials. I must say that it was very liberating. I have used up many pieces of donated fabric and wool along with sewing notions without actually making any less items this year. My favourite free yarn project being my hat, cowl and glove set.

And my most worn free dressmaking project is my Cleo dungaree skirt from donated cord.

Of course I did buy new materials and I listed them throughout the year to keep myself in check:

4 balls of patons smoothie in red for a school jumper (need)
2 balls of alpaca wool for a baby knit (caved in)
1 10m roll of bias binding to finish the quilt (need)
1 skein of rainbow Merino (too darn pretty)
1 sockwunder circular needle (to try)
1 stitch ripper (lost mine)
1 roll of dressmakers tracing paper (ran out)
3 balls of stylecraft white DK (to finish a baby blanket)
1 bale of quilt wadding (need)

*Adrifil yarn for my big girl to crochet so not for me!



There was a double edged reason to do this task. Financially, we used the money I would have spent on frivolous craft stash to fix or replace things which we have been living with that are broken or no longer working. Our ten-year-child-rearing dip without doing any house maintenance finally caught up with us. I listed these each month too:

JAN - replaced broken yarn winder, paid for our holiday to France

FEB - new frying pan, jug, microwave and stick blender

MAR - New shower head and serviced my overlocker blades. Paint for three rooms in the house.

APR - Bought drawers for our recycling, windows 10 software, bobble buster for saving knits, replaced 3 cracked drawers in the freezer

MAY - a new cooker and a new cutlery basket for the dishwasher, a new hose that reaches the part of the garden we need to water.

JUN - A new grill pan handle, drawer knobs for all the ones that have fell off on our bedroom furniture.

JULY - Had the carpets cleaned - all of them!

AUG - An adult mattress for our 10 year old girl instead of a toddler one, a sisal rug to cover the worn bit of carpet in the front room that the cleaning couldn't save.

SEPT - A new hoover that actually works

OCT - Garden shrubs to replace the ones the dog has eaten. New garden fence from a neighbourly driving accident!

NOV - New shower taps which were dripping, painted the kitchen.

DEC - Repair the spin on the washing machine and Christmas!

I know it doesn't make for riveting reading but I wonder how many of us put up with broken things and finally decide we have had enough, we made it our 2017 mission. 

So I have to make some new ones don't I? Well I will have to have a little think about that. 

Thank you for following along this year. I have loved having you here to cheer me on in my crafty shenanigans. Jo xxxx

...ing Christmas

Making - lovely things with lovely yarn, like you all said I should

Cooking - from a new cookbook, Jaime Oliver Super foods

Drinking - Ginger Wine, I LOVE it

Wanting - the dog to stop trampling down the garden

Deciding - where to plant two new rose bushes given as wedding gifts in light of the aforementioned

Considering - My new years craft resolutions

Wearing - My Aftur sweater almost daily

Returning - to milder weather

Enjoying - That both girls still believe in Father Christmas

Wondering - why people buy so much food and then throw it away

Watching - Any comedy as an antidote to everything else in the world

Disliking - How women, not men, get frazzled at Christmas

Thinking - about my dad a lot

Buying - a weekend break in Bath which we thoroughly enjoyed

Loving - Time off work

Getting - better at Yoga

Eating - sensibly

Feeling - grateful

Sending - You all the very best of Christmas Wishes!

Love from all of us xxxxx

Vintage Pledge Lined Jacket

My final big challenge of the year ready for my final day of work yesterday. After the success of my vintage coat last year I wanted to immerse myself in another challenging sewing project. This year I wanted to make a jacket and pledged my wish on the 2017 Vintage pledge. This project has been on the go since the end of September. I bought this pattern in a charity shop and fell in love with the collar. It is from 1969. 

The fabric is a light wool suiting which is lined in cream paisley jacquard lining from Minerva. The cutting out was easy because there was not any pattern matching to contend with. 

The button loops were supposed to be bias binding rouleau loops but I saw this natty idea embedded in the Tilly and the Buttons tutorial. No words just look and the pictures and it tells the whole story.

 

Brilliant eh? As an aside to how easy it is to sew on hair bands and then cut them off, it is great when wearing the jacket because there is some ease across the bust; great for driving. This style front has a Beatles-Sergeant-Pepper-album-cover look about it. I find it hard to believe that a 50 year old pattern can still have such appeal today.

I took 1.5cm out of the body length on the shorten line to help it sit right on my hips but other than that it is sewn as instructed. It has spent many an hour on my mannequin Clara, waiting for the lining to be made - five weeks in fact.

  

I eventually finished it and wore it to work at the education centre where I work on my last day. This fabric would make any (lined) smart skirt or jacket. It wasn't hard to make, I just read each instruction and followed it through to the next one. Essentially, I did as I was told.

Make no mistake this jacket is olive green. I have a skirt cut out to make it a full suit which I will sew up soon. 

Thanks Minerva. This is a beautiful understated winter fabric.

This make also fulfills my personal Vintage Pledge this year to make a lined jacket from a Vintage pattern...just in time.

Thanks for looking

Jo xx