tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70694605458450673812024-03-05T05:12:59.615-08:00Sew CeliaLizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-72615971843515065052015-10-10T17:27:00.000-07:002015-10-10T17:27:19.175-07:00Shorts Comparisons: Thurlowrts Vs McCall's M5391<br />
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Half a lifetime or more ago I used to get rather irritated at my Mum for saying things like "Just the other day..." to timestamp something that had happened about a year and a half before. When you're about 12, 18 months makes up a considerable proportion of your life experience. At least an eighth! When you're pushing 40, 18 months makes up a considerably smaller proportion. And I find myself now saying things like "But that was just the other day" in the process of realising that that was MONTHS ago.<br />
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Which is all just a long-winded way of saying that I can't believe we're halfway through October! I mean, I've actually been sewing. I've actually finished quite a lot since all I've been doing is working, rather than working, studying and renovating. Photographing it has been a bit tricky without a camera, but with a little clothes peg action a few snaps have been had of a pair of <a href="http://www.sewaholicpatterns.com/thurlow-trousers/" target="_blank">Thurlow shorts</a>, which I shall here-on dub as Thurlowrts, and a pair of <a href="http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m5391-products-8759.php?page_id=114" target="_blank">McCall's M5391 (View C, from memory)</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBtKcL8ZsZBRnJpPm1CNOWSNDbNXxLwcpsaTE8VUWubEhsHYc06lIy5XAXzXToPZd0w-AAT3FjqDDV7yKNqrK4nPxLYRmvK44LomUWRgE-keKlzdajHumLittZLG29AY7CtCW7bDR8n_z/s1600/2015-10-09+07.07.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBtKcL8ZsZBRnJpPm1CNOWSNDbNXxLwcpsaTE8VUWubEhsHYc06lIy5XAXzXToPZd0w-AAT3FjqDDV7yKNqrK4nPxLYRmvK44LomUWRgE-keKlzdajHumLittZLG29AY7CtCW7bDR8n_z/s320/2015-10-09+07.07.16.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frontsies.</td></tr>
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The Thurlowrts were cut from an almost big-enough remnant of Cotton Duck with yellow zig-zagged stripes that came from a bin at Spotlight. I did need to shorten them ever so slightly, but with a little careful arrangement the zig-zagged stripes could be matched. A remnant of cotton voile from my own bin (which I admittedly probably got from Spotlight in the first place).<br />
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Rather embarrassingly, the M5391's were started several years ago. So many that I don't really remember anymore. At least 4, I reckon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWg7hf04do0bmf9WeJdOeIvk8csS1axT5_uMtTma_VulGHrkADUBsGE7tkfYQhMbHfDnv4yEcAoWl9DlCUQQ1kzYtCguW-C2tcFLbNHf3otc-1gSTRPrljXRDLpyIBdl_SJgNv_b61jQQl/s320/2015-10-09+07.08.26.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Backsies.</td></tr>
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I had a much larger piece to work on with these. It was some left-overs from a rather large piece that I picked up on sale somewhere, and the plan was to perfect the fit. Then I met Thurlows (and got caught up in a degree and home renovations and generally staying upright) and forgot about them. I had originally planned to make the version with the little tabs up the side - View B. I even cut out the tabs to button it up with. But then I couldn't be bothered.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9UCyif3gkxP_7ibe8_Zrrzrn22HCl7oIrI546QREN1_5xYEQA0zgJDgbSiOWPvYtZxXZWJyFg0BUsJTo3vKragxBj-obO1TscQLgWxUI_u02HssSDcqNhFHKU6_J0XOV-M8HbTlIvqhk/s1600/2015-10-09+07.11.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9UCyif3gkxP_7ibe8_Zrrzrn22HCl7oIrI546QREN1_5xYEQA0zgJDgbSiOWPvYtZxXZWJyFg0BUsJTo3vKragxBj-obO1TscQLgWxUI_u02HssSDcqNhFHKU6_J0XOV-M8HbTlIvqhk/s320/2015-10-09+07.11.16.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McCall's M5391, pegged left-ways.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Given there was such a large piece to cut them from, the pattern matching ended up being spot on. Unfortunately, the matching didn't work quite as neatly at the back of the Thurlowrts waistband, or with the pocket tabs, but never no mind. Life is too short* to get stressed about such things.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">* No pun intended...but it's good to see that the Dad-joke gene has started to take hold.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rather wrinkled view of stripe matching.</td></tr>
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And possibly slightly off along the side-seams, but given how small the piece I was working from, I think we can dip it in the river and call it good enough.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0Ro-QqzOMKqXdA2zKlRtXGTIJRvU2qqMq1gslhyphenhyphen5v5L_ZZT84EkZc4DJQFs0ylJiAmNCl9cJ9leX4sjtr91tg299mWuWJ42Dj_pniD3yqlg3vtvO9TyzhG_7dW_P3EzQpgbT2rO70Xj2/s1600/2015-10-09+07.11.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0Ro-QqzOMKqXdA2zKlRtXGTIJRvU2qqMq1gslhyphenhyphen5v5L_ZZT84EkZc4DJQFs0ylJiAmNCl9cJ9leX4sjtr91tg299mWuWJ42Dj_pniD3yqlg3vtvO9TyzhG_7dW_P3EzQpgbT2rO70Xj2/s320/2015-10-09+07.11.21.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thurlowrts, pegged right-ways.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdorA7pJ1sWNYQp_xKWah4oV1WXpl_tlePgWPwzc_p8lk_xNe7nQwOjmaqv-abxKhgxmC6oQsmQCgnJw79GFNoUAci54duD81UjtIj-Zf6dHGAVByIxDbqCcnZzfjQ0-QTPDv4D2swlYa/s1600/2015-10-09+07.11.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdorA7pJ1sWNYQp_xKWah4oV1WXpl_tlePgWPwzc_p8lk_xNe7nQwOjmaqv-abxKhgxmC6oQsmQCgnJw79GFNoUAci54duD81UjtIj-Zf6dHGAVByIxDbqCcnZzfjQ0-QTPDv4D2swlYa/s320/2015-10-09+07.11.57.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And thus, a fascination with snaps is born.</td></tr>
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I actually finished these a while back, and put them aside to do the button holes later. Because I don't like doing button holes. I always manage to stuff them up somehow, and undo all the work that went before. But <i><u>then</u></i> I used jeans tops-stitching thread for the Thurlowrts and it went so smoothly, and I figured I might be on a roll. I was converted to loving buttonholes.<br />
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But be still with the excitement. Because THEN my machine got stuck stitching the buttonhole with the M5391's, again, and again, and AGAIN! I lost my cool after the forth un-picking and took myself off to Spotlight in a huff to by bang-in snaps. Well, they went in so easily that then I was sold!! And I'll write about this for the next post, but I put a whole bunch of them in my overalls too. So quick! So simple! I <3 them!! And no, I am no longer in love with button holes. It was a short and shallow romance.<br />
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Anyway, now I shall take myself off for a wee holiday in the middle of nowhere. There will be no sewing (that I know of), but there will be all sorts of other fun stuff, like fixing fences and driving tractors.<br />
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Peace out! XOLizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-80157242322038853772015-09-11T08:41:00.000-07:002015-09-11T08:41:14.836-07:00Puppy Sunsets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAfkK1Tk2UrfTyJbIWkav7XG9qofQICu0yKExOD2Pm6noKEmFJNc5i4sZaTnq84ePRSin1916Y2nJM0daVTrWFARHxY25qHurMRSjygUWp2SN8259_HJUYWSz4dj1j9hbBulAzX8dkm-Ml/s1600/2015-05-12+17.05.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAfkK1Tk2UrfTyJbIWkav7XG9qofQICu0yKExOD2Pm6noKEmFJNc5i4sZaTnq84ePRSin1916Y2nJM0daVTrWFARHxY25qHurMRSjygUWp2SN8259_HJUYWSz4dj1j9hbBulAzX8dkm-Ml/s320/2015-05-12+17.05.22.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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This week I said good-bye to my dearest, furriest friend, Penny. In the past week her congenital heart condition cranked up rather quickly, and despite medication she started to gasp for breath as fluid filled her little lungs. On Tuesday she slid peacefully into a green dream as she snuggled in my arms. She didn't quite make her 14th birthday, and I wept like a toddler who'd lost its Mummy.<br />
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She<strike>'s</strike> was totally hilarious with her attitude to grooming. She would submit without protest, but with great disgust to the horrendous habit of being bathed (what the hell are you humans thinking??).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQM36M9SBUwX3xD8DUN4jxa1poogVpEaQtIUVkVDDWJuKRX_spQenGmJTtL031zqqUOpx5SvHyKswog6NQXrpHwjfI4BUUXCk9xV4ViBiK9rmhBlsf1RA_JwaaY6Ngsed2H889erOuPWtg/s1600/2015-06-11+12.23.00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQM36M9SBUwX3xD8DUN4jxa1poogVpEaQtIUVkVDDWJuKRX_spQenGmJTtL031zqqUOpx5SvHyKswog6NQXrpHwjfI4BUUXCk9xV4ViBiK9rmhBlsf1RA_JwaaY6Ngsed2H889erOuPWtg/s200/2015-06-11+12.23.00.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh440K7E4GGIMeYPFfV3dT_tGRY2BdWLlfeGZjlimkCeNT1N4xA5W_1bskr8pthwGZ9u3sh2E-fnBG4Qk9U8vxh9vq2L1nurRcuPLmiyaxI3kaWz9smOilc7ZDiIJg6RmqOrEkpeQBASo9r/s1600/2015-01-13+09.21.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh440K7E4GGIMeYPFfV3dT_tGRY2BdWLlfeGZjlimkCeNT1N4xA5W_1bskr8pthwGZ9u3sh2E-fnBG4Qk9U8vxh9vq2L1nurRcuPLmiyaxI3kaWz9smOilc7ZDiIJg6RmqOrEkpeQBASo9r/s200/2015-01-13+09.21.53.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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And yet, post bath and trim, she'd come out all flirtatious and incredibly happy from loosing a few degrees of heat in stinky weather. </div>
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She LOVED a good ear scratch. What dog doesn't, really?</div>
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The fluff that would crop up between her toes was fast-growing, and used to leave her struggling to stand on the slippery floors. It always felt like I'd only just trimmed them last week. I could probably have felted a coin purse from the fur fluff that she shed everywhere, and I almost wish that I'd saved a bundle or six of it to try, now that she's gone.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMFvE1kgWiyP9srXS53MbwNYsm1nNIQNBf23nTOAXWXrbyHiKvF4yUzkFG8BoH7TNs1-n3SPyOt8pb-o7RdSa1NMNInV-veyv1B7xrW-Xa1Siygd6s9VcY4VdfeqkiZMbEgDH0Rx_O4n_I/s1600/2015-04-29+15.49.31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMFvE1kgWiyP9srXS53MbwNYsm1nNIQNBf23nTOAXWXrbyHiKvF4yUzkFG8BoH7TNs1-n3SPyOt8pb-o7RdSa1NMNInV-veyv1B7xrW-Xa1Siygd6s9VcY4VdfeqkiZMbEgDH0Rx_O4n_I/s320/2015-04-29+15.49.31.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">She has been my loyal companion and comfort through some very challenging life experiences, and I both feel very lucky that our paths crossed and totally devastated that it can't go on just a few more years. She was incredibly brave and friendly, and always polite to people, even when she didn't like them (and she didn't really like everyone - she had some rather specific favourites).</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"> The outpouring of love and memories from friends who knew and loved her has been wonderful; not quite as wonderful as if she's lived a few more years, but as good as it gets in a sucky situation. </span></div>
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Sweet dreams, Miss Penny.</div>
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Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-38840830951139910622015-07-10T03:44:00.001-07:002015-07-10T03:44:56.883-07:00Working the List: #1 - Arielle's mermaid cocoon<br />
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The theme of completion continues with the first item on the list of UFO's being crossed off - <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/85402943/mermaid-tail-cocoon-knitting-pattern" target="_blank">Arielle's mermaid tail cocoon</a>. It even takes on a satisfyingly fishy shapes when you smooth it out flat on the table.<br />
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Knitting in the round wasn't nearly as tricky as I imagined it would be. The instructions were delightfully easy to follow, although I still managed to make a few mistakes here and there (which I've managed to forget to photograph - oops!). The wool is acrylic (easy to wash and dry...important when you're dealing with a small person), and when I went to buy the 5 <span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span>/<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span> mm needles for "in the round" knitting they didn't have any. I rounded up to 6 mm, so it's all probably a bit on the large size, but this it's meant to be.<br />
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This "closer" up is meant to show the scales, which are a result of a nifty little stitch slipping technique. Now, as I mentioned earlier I've never knitted anything more complex than a knit-purl kind of pattern, so in the process of doing this I've learnt how to slip stitches to lay a loop and then lift the loop to create the appearance of a fish-scale on the tail.<br />
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Oh, and grafting. I learnt about grafting too, although I'm not sure that I actually did a decent job of grafting the two halves of the tail together. It looks okay when you dangle it over the back of the chair, so it can't be too bad. The point is that she has something fun to snuggle in, and hopefully something that will be a fond childhood memory.<br />
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And this time we wrap up with a skyward view of some fuchsias that are all dangly and pink and pretty. There's something particularly pleasing about fuchsia pink and that bright blue together.<br />
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May your weekend be fabulous and lovely! XXLizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-75105191686743667862015-07-01T07:14:00.000-07:002015-07-01T07:24:13.820-07:00CompletionA decade long journey has pretty much come to an end (corrections pending).<br />
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Last week I handed in my thesis for my Bachelor of Engineering, marking the end of a journey that started with half a bottle of red in my tatami-matted bedroom in Japan after a particularly challenging day of teaching small people*. I think it was a repeated kancho** from one kid who had so much fun that he forgot I was his teacher rather than his classmate. Anyway, long story short, I decided I'd like to grow up and become an engineer who could help to fix the energy supply needs of the world. That was the Japanese autumn of 2005, so we're a few months early, but nonetheless here we are; ready to start the next leg of the journey. (And if anyone reading this happens to have a gig in the Renewable Energy industry that's based either around Perth or South-East Queensland, feel free to get in touch!)<br />
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Anyway, getting back to the theme of completion...<br />
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After a few days of catching up on lost sleep, and washing up (I have clean dishes!) and doing laundry (I have clean sheets!) and sweeping the floor (there's no sand on it anymore!), I've started to clear all the surfaces and dust; and compile to-do lists. Among these being the list of UnFinished Objects in my home. This it the sewing/knitting specific list, and I somehow seem to have accrued 10 UFO's. One of them is a quilt that dates back years. I have other lists for renovations and job-hunting, but they don't really belong here. Although there's one that I managed to finish out of sheer pants-less desperation (thesis weight gain makes it difficult to do your pants up).<br />
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10 projects to finish! Sheesh. I've lined them all up along the bench. I've even managed to add a shiny gold dress to it (because I'm too fat to fit into any of the ones I've already got hanging in the wardrobe, and Friday night is going to be Whiskey & Jazz at a secret gig...HELLO! Social life :-) It's nice to see you still exist.)<br />
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In the mean time I've been gently pursuing the one at the top of the list: a <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/85402943/mermaid-tail-cocoon-knitting-pattern" target="_blank">Mermaid Tail baby Cocoon</a> for a friend's new baby. Her name is Arielle, which I've probably spelt incorrectly, she's now 6 weeks old, and her mother has been obsessed by mermaids for as long as I've known her. So I'm knitting a toddler-sized Mermaid Tail Cocoon that she can grow into while I'm lying on my bed and watching old episodes of Dr Who. Because I can do these kinds of things now!<br />
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It's going surprisingly smoothly for someone with newly acquired tennis elbow, who hasn't knitted anything more complex than a knit2-purl2 scarf using giant needles. With any luck it will provide a nice cosy little snuggle pouch for a few years, anyway.<br />
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And just for sitting through all that chit-chat that has little to do with sewing, here's a puppy dog luxuriating in an amazing sunset we had on the west coast back in May.<br />
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I'll torture you with stories of ill-fitting Thurlows at a later date. In the mean time, enjoy every moment of chilling out that you can.<br />
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*Small people being my general description for anyone under the age of 12.<br />
** Just google "kancho" if you're not familiar with the term; a cultural experience I could have done without.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-54681241699820506632015-04-27T21:37:00.000-07:002015-04-27T21:37:00.109-07:00It's been...0 days since my last fabric purchaseAnd a couple of weeks since my last post. I'm afraid I've been buried under mountains of paper for uni, and very little sewing has happened except for the odd bit of quilting.<br />
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Some time ago, I cut up a bundle of old T-shirts that held sentimental meaning for me and stitched them into the front of a quilt. I backed it with an old sheet and put a bit of batting in between, then carefully folded it up and put it in a bag.<br />
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A month or so ago I go sick of moving the bag to sweep and started quilting it with an odd assortment of embroidery silk that's been loitering in my sewing box since Moses was floating about in a basket. It's become a slow process that has acted as a kind of meditative process to relax me when I'm stressed and can't part with more that 15-20 minutes for sewing. It's one of those things where you need to concentrate just enough that errant thoughts can't make it in, or if they do they float through briefly and then bugger off.<br />
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There's only another 6 weeks of insanity left until I'm hopefully all done with this study caper and I can do things like find people who live near me to sew with, and play team sports and not work the equivalent of a 70 hour week (if you count study-load and work-for-pay together). And I've only got about 20'000 words total to put into a variety of assessments. Totally do-able, right?<br />
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In the meantime, I've been appeasing my desire to sew by loitering over sewing blogs like the dodgy guy in the dirty mag section of the news agency. <a href="http://lladybird.com/" target="_blank">Lladybird Lauren</a> has, as always, been completing the most amazing array of projects even though she's just moved house. And <a href="http://handmadebycarolyn.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/fractal.html" target="_blank">Miss HandmadebyCarolyn</a> trotted out this beautiful quasi-quilted dress last week...not quilted so much as pieced from pieces of old T-shirts, but <u>mind-blowing</u>! And <a href="https://katiewritesstuff.wordpress.com/2015/04/27/delightful-dozen-project-march-april/" target="_blank">Miss Katie Who Writes Stuff </a>made some pyjama shorts out of some of the fabric I sent her, and that was also cool. They're really pretty! So, you know, the loitering around other people's pretty projects keeps my inner sewing-addict happy in the short term.<br />
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But then sometimes I walk past the op shop and they'll have new fabrics in and even though I swore that I wouldn't buy any more fabric until I'd emptied my current stash a bit...<br />
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But...well...I had to! Because ribbing is so expensive, and handy to have about, especially for the Free-Tee-Patterns project that I'm planning to do.<br />
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And where else are you going to find such mad retro paisley goodness? Besides, I was only in there for 5 minutes, so it's not like I lost a lot of study time or anything.**</div>
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**That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.<br />
<br />Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-46281074881380864012015-04-10T23:14:00.000-07:002015-04-10T23:52:46.765-07:00 Thurlowed denim should be deeply pocketed, no?I meant to post this a week or so back, but somehow I managed to collect one of those delightful vomitty-bugs that make you wish you didn't exist...and then I had assignments...and now here we are...<br />
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Some time ago, after falling in love with <a href="http://lladybird.com/2012/11/12/thurlow-sew-along-my-completed-thurlows/" target="_blank">Miss Lladybird Lauren's Thurlow's from the Sew-Along</a> I broke my promise to not buy anymore patterns* and invested in Sewaholic's Thurlow's. It's been nearly a year, I think, but life's been busy.<br />
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Anyway, so the other week I was in Spotlight and the denim was on sale. And my pants have all been getting tight, so I picked up a role of something I liked the look of and did a guesstimate of required length to bring home for Thurlation. It's been a steady process over the past few weeks: adjusting the pattern here, loosing a pattern piece there, cutting them out, putting them together, adjusting them. But overall, I'm quite in love with the pattern and I've already embarked on the next pair. There shall be many.<br />
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Two things struck me heavily upon inspecting the pattern:<br />
<b>1) </b>The finished length of them is normally 34". OMG! This is unheard of in the world of a woman with a 36" inseam who has to buy most of her clothes from specialists like <a href="http://longtallsally.com/" target="_blank">Long Tall Sally</a>. For once, I only needed to add 2", not 6". It was a delightful <strike>shock</strike> change.<br />
<b>2) </b>Tiny pockets are not to be had! You're talking to a woman who hates handbags and wants to lead an existence sans them so she doesn't end up sans them. The back pockets were deepened by about a Samsung's length and the front ones by it's width.<br />
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That done, it was time to start cutting out the pieces.<br />
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Except muggins here had decided to do this on the back patio in the sunshine to cut out her Thurlows. A little gust of wind came along and departed with the pattern piece for the belt loops, whisking it away much like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r91jVeyFl4I" target="_blank">the dancing plastic bag from American Beauty</a>, before depositing it into the top of the neighbour's tree .<br />
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So I wrote to Sewaholic with my tale of woe. And in the mean time I clipped on regardless, learning that my fabric purchase was a little bit on the short side, but adequate. And I fossicked through my off-cuts bin for some left over cotton lining for the waistband and deepened pockets. Luckily Caroline took pity on my tale of woah and furnished me with the dimensions of the belt loops piece. I ended up having to cut it in two half lengths, but since the piece gets cut into six even lengths this wasn't exactly a terrible emergency.<br />
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The pants went together beautifully, although I made a couple of changes to the process. One was to cut out both the front pieces and the waistband out using only the right hand pieces and trimming off the excess later. This was partly because I'm lazy and partly because of the history attached to the whole girls/boys button opening thing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdu5I9K9YMAoZNdIeZYE-Y2CsMhIY6hYhLySbEle_C4srAx8CjSKpopH1Y2y1hrfq_7XYWQqF8ni_qe5nkhPg8tmYfv4y8_BjxR1PcnQdkGmeVa4FFbMLEtuWM2NSuFOTG7NodFl1tFgq/s1600/2015-04-11+11.43.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdu5I9K9YMAoZNdIeZYE-Y2CsMhIY6hYhLySbEle_C4srAx8CjSKpopH1Y2y1hrfq_7XYWQqF8ni_qe5nkhPg8tmYfv4y8_BjxR1PcnQdkGmeVa4FFbMLEtuWM2NSuFOTG7NodFl1tFgq/s1600/2015-04-11+11.43.11.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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My objection to the left/right thing falls to <a href="http://www.quora.com/Why-do-mens-shirts-have-the-buttons-on-the-right-but-womens-shirts-have-buttons-on-the-left" target="_blank">the bit about class and who dresses me</a>. Way back in the day, ladies clothing opening to the left and men's to the right. This was supposed to indicate that the lady had a maid to dress her (whether or not she did). Now, with delusions of grandeur summarily binned, I do dress myself, thank you very much. And I do detest having to twist my wrist at a weird angle to do up my pants.<br />
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Ergo, these Thurlows are a little bit bisexual in the details. What, with their pockets large enough to hold a phone, keys and a wallet AND their opening suited to a right-handed gal zipping and buttoning instead of a left-handed one. There is no point making things for your own needs if you don't actually sculpt them to your own needs. And next time I like to think that I won't have issues with buttonholing the waistband.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVSXzGn9YblZE6VaIdEDAHgJIUImuY4Jxr3vMRSnM878NQrId61NS9KXAKX77ELDw2qsESytNVaDcLIWB6mxdGJ5AkV9pgy2uwTdBqeaz9e_4XRXp-pGHkiOmZmipGHUEnUlhmoPT5w7V/s1600/2015-04-11+11.44.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVSXzGn9YblZE6VaIdEDAHgJIUImuY4Jxr3vMRSnM878NQrId61NS9KXAKX77ELDw2qsESytNVaDcLIWB6mxdGJ5AkV9pgy2uwTdBqeaz9e_4XRXp-pGHkiOmZmipGHUEnUlhmoPT5w7V/s1600/2015-04-11+11.44.02.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The one thing I really did get a little tricked up with was stitching up the back, but having now managed it, I must say that I quite like it. It allows for future fitting adjustments - adjustments that I intend to need. I misjudged the back seam at first, and the pants were a little too loose, and I so I got to test this whole concept straight away. It was nothing a belt couldn't fix, but it's not the way you want them to be forever. So I unpicked <i>Round 1</i> and adjusted to what is now a fantastically comfortable pair of pants.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPnJ-aE8vhQTumIMx1TRlmRt282vz9MDXSulSowvR1_YQ2db3ZG6mH5XZh18tupTIHtzSpolpFkp2CMy9scn9_boiEB4NWgcBajdDIbJWLDJtMNaafOGerCe8yWmlpVgPDpQuQJRnun0T/s1600/2015-04-11+11.42.41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPnJ-aE8vhQTumIMx1TRlmRt282vz9MDXSulSowvR1_YQ2db3ZG6mH5XZh18tupTIHtzSpolpFkp2CMy9scn9_boiEB4NWgcBajdDIbJWLDJtMNaafOGerCe8yWmlpVgPDpQuQJRnun0T/s1600/2015-04-11+11.42.41.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwB9cllGoIpEQk3b_bhMVqu1u3iFr7BlJuvj2neQjR4MV50MqHGLX1cDHtgS8zwT-bU6Roasrc-X7d0cAii8yoWbbWu8eLiLiq5xdBTsg-4d_L1NLOk2HrsZsAZbWzDEuPDF4p5SFCiWQK/s1600/2015-04-11+11.42.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwB9cllGoIpEQk3b_bhMVqu1u3iFr7BlJuvj2neQjR4MV50MqHGLX1cDHtgS8zwT-bU6Roasrc-X7d0cAii8yoWbbWu8eLiLiq5xdBTsg-4d_L1NLOk2HrsZsAZbWzDEuPDF4p5SFCiWQK/s1600/2015-04-11+11.42.19.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Besides! Look at all that pocket!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDj_tnMt12S4MFSD0qQxXHhcVnk7xZ-7ra7XvUiLnwEkpFrOEW5Ux7oqVUrSXy6wnPjQ4aGmgL66DcKnS0hFf-Q-RzYii4dxSR8FgIGfLvIN6sBkgSSobUwPBiXBIltq1yDPhqHYRnBrT2/s1600/2015-04-11+11.44.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDj_tnMt12S4MFSD0qQxXHhcVnk7xZ-7ra7XvUiLnwEkpFrOEW5Ux7oqVUrSXy6wnPjQ4aGmgL66DcKnS0hFf-Q-RzYii4dxSR8FgIGfLvIN6sBkgSSobUwPBiXBIltq1yDPhqHYRnBrT2/s1600/2015-04-11+11.44.42.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Dare I say, I 💓 them. Even though seeing photos of myself in them indicates that I'm not nearly as fat as I thought I was when I cut them out. They're ridiculously comfy, and when I'm wearing them I feel like my inner Katherine Hepburn is rising to. Besides, I've always been a bit of an arseless wonder. It runs in the family.<br />
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I've cut out a pair of yellow chevron Thurlow shorts as <i>Take 2</i> already, although I might go back and shave a little off the hips so they're not quite so hangy.<br />
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* I know, right! It's hilarious that the thought makes it even halfway across my brain. HahahahahHAHAHAhaaha.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-12004536656250850112015-03-28T06:44:00.001-07:002015-04-12T19:22:58.654-07:00Denim Spaghetti <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0Nx71dsrMcHX2fi1wiGUJWzkYWE1CCSWatLauVhnaTQiRlIuMsreBsPdMmG-jbg3gQgi1q_VTpjM6pGsMnNV9yGvT8wqXkbQcZ9kPsvRu2kRdmIXzFCIj2NfrGwB2_uCCWliwxQ2P53P/s1600/2015-03-24+17.33.31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0Nx71dsrMcHX2fi1wiGUJWzkYWE1CCSWatLauVhnaTQiRlIuMsreBsPdMmG-jbg3gQgi1q_VTpjM6pGsMnNV9yGvT8wqXkbQcZ9kPsvRu2kRdmIXzFCIj2NfrGwB2_uCCWliwxQ2P53P/s1600/2015-03-24+17.33.31.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anyway, this is what it looks like when you take several pairs of jeans and cut them into little strips about half an inch wide with a view to turning them into a mat. A mat like zeeeeees....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6eh9Vr86XFu8yqfroJvo3uo9nUvlAzpUgf2HYS2338WyuOB2NwegHHBIoCdaEA23zXkhELWhn0xfhGoykhP7osKpjxqg9vpsuwKwx4DknG4ddtyyDvdqtfK4RmnMLYqeH9JGX_x9a6-X-/s1600/2015-03-24+17.40.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6eh9Vr86XFu8yqfroJvo3uo9nUvlAzpUgf2HYS2338WyuOB2NwegHHBIoCdaEA23zXkhELWhn0xfhGoykhP7osKpjxqg9vpsuwKwx4DknG4ddtyyDvdqtfK4RmnMLYqeH9JGX_x9a6-X-/s1600/2015-03-24+17.40.23.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is of course a work in progress. I started this a couple of years ago, and times flies while shit is going wrong. I got as far as the bit with the cutting up of another 3 pairs of jeans. It wasn't until just before Christmas last year that I finally sat down with a No. 10 crochet hook and twisted it all into what you see above.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-_Qz9Bww4lQc5AqdG1xCVEWklMB4sFCizllfZ0YnqhqMQkdyCCUdWz1C_BjzSzo1w0_GQf426g8zECsKFxzXrbJlyGzF9N2RceLT854BbDVbS_ad6pDU0slmrjlMZXQyRk_birS5eoU0/s1600/2015-03-24+17.35.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-_Qz9Bww4lQc5AqdG1xCVEWklMB4sFCizllfZ0YnqhqMQkdyCCUdWz1C_BjzSzo1w0_GQf426g8zECsKFxzXrbJlyGzF9N2RceLT854BbDVbS_ad6pDU0slmrjlMZXQyRk_birS5eoU0/s1600/2015-03-24+17.35.34.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Turning all that denim spaghetti into a great long string to be crocheted into a mat is quite a straightforward thing. You just cut a little slit in the ends of two pieces, like so.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_-ePHIsms3BBaBf1_LvsTnZpUydvcQjW9dUvpmBTaNMPkJPdmMQgdG9LL4XVkG4xKuUx_oskzk4vgg0WSl1m3y4kc7NjgYcLboMtPI5__VitFLHWHFMnzXjvrrbZF_je8fTJTB_nalsZ/s1600/2015-03-24+17.37.03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_-ePHIsms3BBaBf1_LvsTnZpUydvcQjW9dUvpmBTaNMPkJPdmMQgdG9LL4XVkG4xKuUx_oskzk4vgg0WSl1m3y4kc7NjgYcLboMtPI5__VitFLHWHFMnzXjvrrbZF_je8fTJTB_nalsZ/s1600/2015-03-24+17.37.03.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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And then feed one through the other like so...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMwg8nv18A0YYw3nXq5LhTnr10FPz4TIMuztjSyiup1pMKUQhyphenhyphenlrfAydmoxC2TPxBLaIU8xH6C1u7jeXNwFKkgqkMiFdzFsNhrC2EWror-j_jEggzogbZhbAWtIl9gxB0T-NE1fbMKEqF/s1600/2015-03-24+17.38.29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMwg8nv18A0YYw3nXq5LhTnr10FPz4TIMuztjSyiup1pMKUQhyphenhyphenlrfAydmoxC2TPxBLaIU8xH6C1u7jeXNwFKkgqkMiFdzFsNhrC2EWror-j_jEggzogbZhbAWtIl9gxB0T-NE1fbMKEqF/s1600/2015-03-24+17.38.29.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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And the feed the end of the other back through the first one like this...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinEBq80YrNcTV6cQFC1mqLGL9NthHHYXZDxbF8VkXyfv7fEsO-URvYw4Juz2qxmQQKyHds6AWLZpx3qYyH659tBe2f-B9exOCMDXj6SOBk18CEtB54TafyL4MikJaEDckAV6hjPTL9RziT/s1600/2015-03-24+17.38.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinEBq80YrNcTV6cQFC1mqLGL9NthHHYXZDxbF8VkXyfv7fEsO-URvYw4Juz2qxmQQKyHds6AWLZpx3qYyH659tBe2f-B9exOCMDXj6SOBk18CEtB54TafyL4MikJaEDckAV6hjPTL9RziT/s1600/2015-03-24+17.38.40.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Et voila!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-2-XDdwyZzREBSzZaffrN3IbE4Ak1BQ_o_6UtkJnxDSdmoZM0qHBMpsu2S4xocn4zSC3jDGclpzdVx1Zx43SUCv-my04LOnHJmIanYIYYqoZ0FMQJFGmxwg7Fo2QHnOSGxQdoatX7wJq/s1600/2015-03-24+17.39.05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-2-XDdwyZzREBSzZaffrN3IbE4Ak1BQ_o_6UtkJnxDSdmoZM0qHBMpsu2S4xocn4zSC3jDGclpzdVx1Zx43SUCv-my04LOnHJmIanYIYYqoZ0FMQJFGmxwg7Fo2QHnOSGxQdoatX7wJq/s1600/2015-03-24+17.39.05.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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You have a cute little denim knot, and a much longer piece of denim-spaghetti to crotchet into a mat so comfortable that L'Poochio actually prefers it to her multiple other locations for the purposes of naps and working those big brown puppy-dog eyes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0lzur4keIG1cabgItZv07lvumNR1ZuKyzlRGnbJ-9uSTAeOgviF2EBWIWifndEIU9OJ7wQahJEhLTZJ-XCjUDi6HVlgsnOGGkru9m8RsRGtjdmSFvkL2msX_pVqghgB7F2tNLBzPyy0Z/s1600/2014-12-10+09.30.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0lzur4keIG1cabgItZv07lvumNR1ZuKyzlRGnbJ-9uSTAeOgviF2EBWIWifndEIU9OJ7wQahJEhLTZJ-XCjUDi6HVlgsnOGGkru9m8RsRGtjdmSFvkL2msX_pVqghgB7F2tNLBzPyy0Z/s1600/2014-12-10+09.30.21.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Of course, this is the mini-version. That's 3-jeans worth there, so by the time I've No.10'd through the rest of the denim-spaghetti it should be substantially larger.</div>
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Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-24703242934963643612015-03-22T01:05:00.001-07:002015-03-22T01:26:41.540-07:00A map with pockets leads to Carolyn Pyjamas. Where else would it lead?<br />
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Not so very long ago <a href="http://closetcasefiles.com/introducing-the-carolyn-pajama-pattern/" target="_blank">Closet Case Files launched the Carolyn Pyjamas</a>, in honour of one of my favourite bloggers, Carolyn, who <a href="http://handmadebycarolyn.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/carolyn-pyjamas.html" target="_blank">made some fabulous pyjamas from her namesake pattern</a>.<br />
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Their launch was perfectly timed to coincide with my non-religious version of sewing Lent. I'd sworn that I wouldn't be accumulating any more patterns or fabrics until I'd used a fair chunk of the ones that I already have. I'd even started to divulge myself of some of my fabric stash by <a href="https://katiewritesstuff.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/the-mystery-parcel-in-the-mail/" target="_blank">exchanging it for a promise of shared images of the end projects.</a><br />
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But this pattern has pockets!<br />
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POCKETS!!<br />
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And if there's a way to my little sewist's heart, I suspect it could be through pockets, for that pattern launched itself into my Downloads file and out of my printer so fast that you'd think it was cash.<br />
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This of course led to the conundrum of "What do I make it from?" now that my fabric collection had shrunken. As luck would have it, I had a piece of op-shopped rayon in what is now "The Remains Of The Stash".<br />
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And guess what?<br />
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It was covered in a print of little Caribbean maps. Yes, maps! More maps!!<span id="goog_1614437681"></span><span id="goog_1614437682"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMM-h1AoHTmcq1C4w_Ke8iWQgFiJ6OZu495hyJdo2eHdbwTbFl9bDtQod8HsuFMimddP2WIISxLBmQdNQnZcxdNLCvcdQblmmiD3K0B8JkkcuifkutVLzAJ0xiIXnLLWybn9m_JRu5utaD/s1600/*2015-03-20%2B12.23.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMM-h1AoHTmcq1C4w_Ke8iWQgFiJ6OZu495hyJdo2eHdbwTbFl9bDtQod8HsuFMimddP2WIISxLBmQdNQnZcxdNLCvcdQblmmiD3K0B8JkkcuifkutVLzAJ0xiIXnLLWybn9m_JRu5utaD/s1600/*2015-03-20%2B12.23.25.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><Here we go again.></i><br />
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So I give you several pocketfuls of Caribbean Carolyn Pyjamas.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInzX943yvYl6dNKYCKKXPVTrKEL6IszPXNhDjrQvs-8HROR5C4a3kuvpeNH826H2ekLKL_vByO1RANPu2aQCW2p2JLV2RUnZWm8KpWq_iRif2V_YHhxF_c1x1SXIRVWGUFmt_14oVCG2A/s1600/*2015-03-20%2B16.21.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInzX943yvYl6dNKYCKKXPVTrKEL6IszPXNhDjrQvs-8HROR5C4a3kuvpeNH826H2ekLKL_vByO1RANPu2aQCW2p2JLV2RUnZWm8KpWq_iRif2V_YHhxF_c1x1SXIRVWGUFmt_14oVCG2A/s1600/*2015-03-20%2B16.21.32.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The pattern goes together so quickly and easily, and with some careful consideration you can actually squeeze them out of less fabric than recommended. It turned out that barely 2 metres of 1.10m wide fabric left me a little short for cuffs, so I picked up some contrasting plain rayon from Spotlight and that seems to have done the trick.<br />
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The pants pockets are made from some cotton in the rag bin.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvkBVPoaVj80tzmgk-VMQiu6lXQNKJfByHFGuK0iqHAYygBHlTrmd6nXGIbhyphenhyphencbakhkiDdxR8U_lyvg9owtgLtR9kYzi2CpnyvsU_hxH6tgtGzJj4_RD9RkqygSA2CLARwJ5QP12Wkw8e/s1600/*2015-03-20%2B16.22.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvkBVPoaVj80tzmgk-VMQiu6lXQNKJfByHFGuK0iqHAYygBHlTrmd6nXGIbhyphenhyphencbakhkiDdxR8U_lyvg9owtgLtR9kYzi2CpnyvsU_hxH6tgtGzJj4_RD9RkqygSA2CLARwJ5QP12Wkw8e/s1600/*2015-03-20%2B16.22.57.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Even adding the piping wasn't as much of a hassle as I'd always thought; although I did skip putting it down the front facings, and stopped at the edges of the collar.<br />
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The pockets are a style that I've never made before, cut in one piece. Apparently this is quite common for Closet Case Files patterns, and it flows together quite nicely. I <i>did</i> lengthen her (already generous) pockets by about an inch, only because you can never have enough pocket. Well...also partly because my hands are rather large and I want to be able to slouch with my hands fully in my pockets.<br />
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A quick rifle through my button collection turned up some perfectly sized and toned pink buttons that I probably wouldn't have looked at twice otherwise. They're from a jar of buttons I picked up from an op-shop years ago for just a few dollars. The ladies who ran the shop used to cut the buttons off non-saleable items and sell them in jars. The faux fly turned out to be the perfect place to keep the spares for future losses.<br />
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Another nifty thing that I tried out on these is an elastic band tip that <a href="http://lladybird.com/2015/01/29/tutorial-an-easy-elastic-waistband/" target="_blank">Lladybird Lauren</a> blogged a few months ago. Now, I didn't stitch it in exactly as per the instructions; I stitched the casing rather than the elastic, but it was a much faster approach for getting everything together.<br />
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I believe that I can credit this pattern with breaking my sewing-drought. Will I be using it again? Absolutely! I've got a smooth old pair of golden-coloured sheets that are too worn in the middle to use on the bed anymore, but have oodles of fabric for making a full length pair (a la <a href="http://sewcelia.blogspot.com.au/p/sew-celia-bloggy-bit.html" target="_blank">Celia-style</a> recycling). And they're thousand thread count cotton sateen - you just can't turn that into cleaning rags.<br />
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At one stage I had intended to give these to a friend as a present. But she doesn't seem to be keen to come and collect them, and its been a month, so until she does...<br />
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<br />Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-52190487351082911282015-03-20T00:17:00.000-07:002015-03-20T00:17:07.562-07:00What's that? You're still alive??Time flies, it appears, when you're busy being busy. I didn't mean to leave it a year and a half between updates. I just...I was doing an Engineering degree. And I lost my camera. I mean, I still made stuff (stuff that I no longer fit into because, as it happens, I was also busy increasing my girth).<br />
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Anyway, at some point across that missing 18-odd months, <a href="http://handmadebycarolyn.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/on-map.html" target="_blank">HandmadebyCarolyn </a>made an amazing skirt from some world map fabric that was passing through Spotlight. She used one of her favourite patterns: <a href="http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v1247-products-14158.php?page_id=866" target="_blank">Vogue's V1247</a>, and adapted the skirt pattern to cut the map all in one piece. She did a brilliant job, which I shamelessly ripped off (I promise I'm not a stalker).<br />
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Then last week I was delighted to discover that despite the fact that I'm now a little more Joan Harris is shape, it still did up! That's right. I could wear it, and I did. I'm afraid my self-portraits end up a lot more like this, than like anyone else's beautifully snapped images, so I may go back to the bit where I leave me out of it and just take pictures of the garments to share.<br />
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This was a bit of a throw together job, so the pocket was made using some white cotton something-or-other from the rag bin, and the skirt was hemmed using a bit of orange biased binding that I'd picked up god-knows-where.</div>
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All in all, I'd like to make another one, when I'm slightly less rotund and likely to do this to the back seam:</div>
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and the back fastening do this:</div>
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Next time, I think I might iron on a little interfacing to help stabilise that particular seam. To be fair, I was stitching right on the edge of the fabric, and it isn't the most ...it's inclined to fray, but it could still do with some help. </div>
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All in all, I'm rather happy with this skirt. I'd never have glanced twice at this pattern had Carolyn not done so many incarnations of it. It turns out that it's a great base pattern to play with; and it also turns out that the placement of those pockets is totally worth ripping off for other patterns. </div>
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So, there may well be more pocketed skirts in the future...and hopefully more posts, now that I have a relatively organised home and life from which to make things.</div>
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<br />Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-84083011921001201282013-10-27T19:10:00.000-07:002013-10-27T19:10:00.085-07:00Getting There...Oh, semesters. How they impinge on the creative process. I've done very little sewing for the past month. Mostly just assignments. And following sewing blogs.<br />
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Yet, somehow I've managed to stumble across a new source of patterns and I wonder if anyone has tried <a href="http://www.stylearc.com.au/stylearc/" target="_blank">Style Arc patterns</a> (assuming anyone ever looks at this blog apart from me). If nothing else, there's a fantastic jumpsuit pattern on there, and a pretty neat Tuxedo Jacket pattern (although, I have one in a Burda magazine that I want to try out first).<br />
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Right. Until after November 18th, sew well, sew happy. xo<br />
<br />Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-81115218743376776142013-09-26T20:09:00.001-07:002013-09-26T20:09:09.559-07:00Hanging On By A ThreadGood Morning!<br />
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Uni started back a few days before my last post, and somehow nearly two months have <i>flown</i> past in a whirl of study balance with work and spring-time illness. I haven't given up on sewing though.<br />
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All the blogs that I love to sew lean heavily towards making dresses (particularly <a href="http://dollyclackett.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Dolly Clackett's</a>. Oh, howI love her creations. And Oh! The shoe envy!!). But I have a wardrobe full of dresses that are too lovely to part with but that I rarely wear. I'm really a pants wearing kinda gal. So my latest project is working towards making some <b><i>Giant Bug </i></b><a href="http://kwiksew.mccall.com/k3897-products-20430.php?page_id=3040" target="_blank"><b><i>Kwiksew Dungarees</i></b>...which we call Overalls in Australia</a>...out of some duck cloth that I found in Spotlight the other day. It has GIANT BUGS all over it. They are brilliant and awesome. However I am doing a practice run on some cheap, garish blue plaid suiting that I picked up for a few dollars a metre for just these kind of things. It's the kind of fabric that screams Private School Uniform, although at time of purchase I had an image of Dr Who floating around in my head. I don't know why!<br />
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There are no photos to share of the Giant Bugs at this moment, but I'll add them in later. I'm trying to be a good girl and not spend money on fabric (that I don't have time to sew) while I have an ever-growing stack of bills on the fridge. September seems to have been designated Annual Bill Overload Month.<br />
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I can however update on two earlier planned projects:<br />
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<b><i>Project 1: The Practice Dress</i></b> is currently still a disaster. I need to completely unpick it and then recut it. Or turf it altogether (which would be a shame, given the fabric is so lovely). Although I've gained a bunch of weight in the past few weeks, so maybe the looseness is not so loose anymore. Sigh. I've never loved unpicking things.<br />
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<b><i>Project 2: The Perfectly Pleated Manequim Blouse</i></b> is stalled due to a wee translational issue. That being that I missed the point that the pattern is about 3 sizes smaller than will fit me. The result of a cross between my blind enthusiasm and lack of attention when reading pattern sizings in Brazilian.<br />
So I need the time to make serious adjustments, and more butter paper. Curious Kiwi pointed me towards <a href="http://www.jacksons.com.au/" target="_blank">Jackson's</a> in Fremantle for Butter Paper which is brilliant for tracing patterns, but I ran out after tracing off my Elisalex pattern. So I'm contemplating buying an industrial length roll of tracing paper and installing it into one of my bookshelves on a little curtain rod.<br />
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Alright. I just wanted to do a quick update for the whole month of September (slim as those pickings may be). I'm desperately keen to make a <a href="http://www.sewaholicpatterns.com/product/1301-robson-coat" target="_blank">Robson Coat</a> after seeing <a href="http://thecuriouskiwi.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/fo-wellington-specd-sewaholic-robson-coat/" target="_blank">Curious Kiwi's purple model</a>, but I'm hanging out for Spotlight to have one of their ridiculous sales on Vogue patterns to see if I can get my hands on <a href="http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v8884-products-44856.php?page_id=265" target="_blank">V8884</a> for a fraction of the price instead. I'll probably fold and get a Cambie and a Robson in one hit, but the logic saves my bank account for a bit.<br />
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In the mean time, Happy Sewing!<br />
xoLizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-23959392687631999962013-08-08T23:54:00.000-07:002013-08-09T16:38:27.204-07:00Completed: Elisalex #'s 1 & 2<div style="text-align: center;">
Well. I've been on a bit of a <strike>procrastinatory bent</strike> sewing purge this week. My impulse purchase made it from bolt to machine in record time, AND I busted my stash for one of my planned <a href="http://sewcelia.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/elisalex.html" target="_blank">Elisalexes</a>. I LOVE THIS PATTERN. No wonder everyone's been making 500 versions of it. The fit is immaculate, and even if I'm a shitty photographer and look like a total looming squint-machine, I feel fabulous in them. I also think I look pretty good in the mirror. If only I was like Garbo, and transformed into a magically gorgeous being before the camera lens, but alas, it is not so.</div>
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Goldilex:</h3>
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Goldilex is the result of giving into the shiny pretty <a href="http://sewcelia.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/my-name-is-liz-and-im-addict.html" target="_blank">fabric buying impulse last week</a>. Turns out that metallic fabric is almost as difficult to sew as slippery silk! Because of the way the little hearts were woven in, I turned the pattern 90Ëš and cut across the grain, so that the hearts would sit upright and flow around the body. Matching up the little lines is not one of my strongest suites, but I think I did ok.<span id="goog_59951761"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bY_b2V7fdz_jkZZbEI-p_jMP8qZCgxP-dSgLh2GQo_U_SZRwzKN1p4px2z4y9PP6Bq1Z1lcmolaNt24I_NXrK3ISmORmW0g2BeSZhC7y5tFhV06X9eZcUyl7NRH24gY77x6XJAfXCkfy/s1600/IMG_0394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bY_b2V7fdz_jkZZbEI-p_jMP8qZCgxP-dSgLh2GQo_U_SZRwzKN1p4px2z4y9PP6Bq1Z1lcmolaNt24I_NXrK3ISmORmW0g2BeSZhC7y5tFhV06X9eZcUyl7NRH24gY77x6XJAfXCkfy/s320/IMG_0394.jpg" width="212" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTudIvJj6hPQX44XzdaWxuVOthqh2XI0aaYCotSXYNNZMpqFDfZW2vrtTkMUq-COmO8EMGhqrdlpsCaF-5omTKKhfKYB522eNn287-ar5hqa56LEb4-do0ne6m3LaCt_BCpNfGvQ7Qee2/s1600/IMG_0398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTudIvJj6hPQX44XzdaWxuVOthqh2XI0aaYCotSXYNNZMpqFDfZW2vrtTkMUq-COmO8EMGhqrdlpsCaF-5omTKKhfKYB522eNn287-ar5hqa56LEb4-do0ne6m3LaCt_BCpNfGvQ7Qee2/s320/IMG_0398.jpg" width="179" /></a><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">And look - Cowboy print pockets!</span></i></div>
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I apologise for my terrible photography. But I do love the shiny, pretty! Partly because it is (a) shiny and pretty, and partly because anything (a) makes me think of (b) a Jimmy Neutron episode where Jimmy's brains get totally fried and he says <i>"Shiny. Me like shiny."</i> And besides that, I feel like the femme fatale from a Bond movie (and I always did think they had the most fun of anyone, death be damned).</div>
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The bodice fit was beautiful, and easy as to achieve. Hemming the skirt was less so; but damn it was long! Not a problem I often encounter (in all my 6'2"ness). This particular fabric frays like hell, so I having carefully lined the skirt up with the selvage I was want to trim it up to reach the desired length. In the end, I kind of rolled it, and stitched it in place every two inches, which preserves the gold-foil effect somewhat. I'll probably only wear it a handful of times, so what the hell! I also adapted a pocket from one of my New Look patterns, and stitched it into the side seams with a couple of little furfies. 1) I really should sit it down the hip a little, and 2) I stitched the pocket onto the side seam at 5/8" instead of 3/8". Stumbling across Charlotte's fabulous <a href="http://byhandlondon.com/2013/07/18/victoria-blazer-sewalong-3-setting-in-the-pockets-v1-3-only/" target="_blank">pocket sewing tutorial</a> lead me to think about all the things I'd done wrong and correct for the next version...da-da-daaah! </div>
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Adriaan-alex:</h3>
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Having tested on the Elisalex pattern fit with my shiny pretty slipper fabric, it was time to crack out the <a href="http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/793735" target="_blank">Starry, Starry Night fabric from Spoonflower</a>. I bought this fabric to make something that I could remember my friend Adriaan by. <a href="http://seevinckmetals.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Adriaan was a blacksmith</a>, and a complex and wonderful friend whom I've known for 13 years. Last year, he took his own life after a long battle with depression, and his family chose <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wrNFDxCRzU" target="_blank">Don McLean's Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)</a> as the funeral song to reflect his life. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu7ZeQH8bJuhjXbqgHyHtKv7xK8YazDlgJolhLBtioHG6myn6S0q9n5xlGVePNOeW8NOsQrNMKTBvm_dbPHfAoLZGAD8MAUzytBAdlcaL9lk5EaGIIlKEnfIACqqMkgGNtFM47-jwvxDa4/s1600/2013-08-09+12.54.00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu7ZeQH8bJuhjXbqgHyHtKv7xK8YazDlgJolhLBtioHG6myn6S0q9n5xlGVePNOeW8NOsQrNMKTBvm_dbPHfAoLZGAD8MAUzytBAdlcaL9lk5EaGIIlKEnfIACqqMkgGNtFM47-jwvxDa4/s320/2013-08-09+12.54.00.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrqHkqy1juDpCqO3UjZ61nL91qpsB9bCQphhdmvWIQuhRx6ukFs_k8AJXM7AHYX4Sc9iJEol6WjTqiC8iI_fiA5gmW19adlaVF7GS7XjXOVlycD8tVrJqXqBqJvYxswtVG0lGHVZQzq0b/s1600/2013-08-09+12.55.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrqHkqy1juDpCqO3UjZ61nL91qpsB9bCQphhdmvWIQuhRx6ukFs_k8AJXM7AHYX4Sc9iJEol6WjTqiC8iI_fiA5gmW19adlaVF7GS7XjXOVlycD8tVrJqXqBqJvYxswtVG0lGHVZQzq0b/s320/2013-08-09+12.55.02.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzbQhYWGtgGZjQB8O_AHWg0M4I3kqNhkujwCpJVIhjLUrxpretYOgB5v5McVK4Q5zMyk5A40jr4htyi770whD3FZGeKuiQz4JOkvLnfjq3Od-i-xOCmGW5i4FQuEV9VrDHYuToaAvi7Sq/s1600/2013-08-09+12.55.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzbQhYWGtgGZjQB8O_AHWg0M4I3kqNhkujwCpJVIhjLUrxpretYOgB5v5McVK4Q5zMyk5A40jr4htyi770whD3FZGeKuiQz4JOkvLnfjq3Od-i-xOCmGW5i4FQuEV9VrDHYuToaAvi7Sq/s320/2013-08-09+12.55.22.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">I apologise for my own goofiness, and somewhat half-heartedly for my pocket obsession. They're Pockets! You're surely aware of how few dresses actually have them. Apparently it's got something to do with not making women's hips look bigger. </span></i></div>
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I'm afraid I got a little over enthusiastic and stuffed up the patten matching in the bodice-to-skirt direction. <a href="http://www.spoonflower.com/spoonflower_fabrics" target="_blank">Spoonflower's Cotton Sateen</a> is BEAUTIFUL to sew with, but expensive, so I had to squeeze this dress out of only 2 yards. It was quite a challenge, and I did manage to match the pattern around the bodice, if not skirt-to-bodice. If I were doing this again, I think I'd cut the bodice first and patch the skirt together to work a better flow; and possibly invert the pleats. But then on the other hand, it does become something of an example of the disjointed nature life experiences of mental illness. And in a similarly disjointed segue, I did not stuff up the pockets this time. (Win!)</div>
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For future reference, I think I'll not wear it with the thicker belt again. It just makes me look too top-heavy.</div>
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Overall, I'm quite in love with <a href="http://byhandlondon.com/" target="_blank">By Hand London</a>'s patterns. This one goes together so quickly! I suddenly need all of their patterns. And the tutorials are fabulous. </div>
Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-78574999418668770012013-08-01T08:03:00.000-07:002013-08-01T19:08:09.136-07:00My name is Liz and I'm an addictI should be shame-faced about it. I should hide the plastic bags under my bed until such time as I can complete the dreamed of project and show it off. I should bust my stash before adding to it.<br />
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But it was shiny and pretty and had little hearts woven all through it. And it was 40% off!!! Not only that, but I can literally see it as a long sleeved Elisalex looking very, very sexy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQYCmbIrecRdBqU1wWhj-YlCneYf8pH3VcHGYqFhQXylHkmgiPeeN4UhNSmQro4PeG7HvOG03KvzIuNsJDc8sl3rtgUh7EyN6GqiXVLHmx6wz31eiKswSLNbc8vqyN3b5jE67Lp32xj4n/s1600/2013-08-01+23.55.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQYCmbIrecRdBqU1wWhj-YlCneYf8pH3VcHGYqFhQXylHkmgiPeeN4UhNSmQro4PeG7HvOG03KvzIuNsJDc8sl3rtgUh7EyN6GqiXVLHmx6wz31eiKswSLNbc8vqyN3b5jE67Lp32xj4n/s200/2013-08-01+23.55.22.jpg" width="112" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jILsgDQRJvxLYvIOQj-4wdxvvXMJhhJ2cTu5b9xph5FP7NxC0C7Jld15TegBBYLKfNhOvml2Oi7-aCO_eEet1cDI0B1PMZF8RNJumfTfsMBkR7yRp7cUra2rEdegcxZfk1wqo-Xf7LL4/s1600/2013-08-01+23.56.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jILsgDQRJvxLYvIOQj-4wdxvvXMJhhJ2cTu5b9xph5FP7NxC0C7Jld15TegBBYLKfNhOvml2Oi7-aCO_eEet1cDI0B1PMZF8RNJumfTfsMBkR7yRp7cUra2rEdegcxZfk1wqo-Xf7LL4/s320/2013-08-01+23.56.32.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUO8pNPsnKeSnuE3e2KY9qfYeYWXR-2kBloRtqyUCbxx6Xd7ckdLg2Gtpsr6peliBDFzXULoeQubQ6t2oEz1BnmXvNNJv_KTuIfR9szl19YUvBSr9sB_zCKzaphOH3vB7iLhUxpDTeL1s/s1600/2013-08-01+23.56.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUO8pNPsnKeSnuE3e2KY9qfYeYWXR-2kBloRtqyUCbxx6Xd7ckdLg2Gtpsr6peliBDFzXULoeQubQ6t2oEz1BnmXvNNJv_KTuIfR9szl19YUvBSr9sB_zCKzaphOH3vB7iLhUxpDTeL1s/s200/2013-08-01+23.56.47.jpg" width="112" /></a></div>
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What else can a girl to do?Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-85376550663041106162013-07-29T17:23:00.003-07:002013-07-30T09:04:59.540-07:00Fi, Fo, Foe, Fum!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
For reasons known best to itself, zee blog is having trouble saving and this is about my fifth attempt, but never no mind!</div>
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I've just come back from a proper long holiday at Mum & Dad's, where I had meant to finish off Practice Dress 1, possibly an orange gingham shirt (I had gingham envy after I saw <a href="http://lladybird.com/2013/06/19/completed-advance-8511-gingham/" target="_blank">this</a> little number <i>and</i> <a href="http://handmadejane.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/1950s-hillbilly-blouse.html" target="_blank">this one</a>), and definitely The Giant Jacket for my Dad.</div>
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In reality, I got the huffs with Practice Dress 1 because it was all baggy like a sack even though I've managed to gain weight in the process of making it. So I've slung it across Celia until I can be bothered hemming it and either gaining more weight or unpicking the damned thing and stitching in all that ease. </div>
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So instead, I give you: The Giant Jacket, from<a href="http://kwiksew.mccall.com/k3123-products-19821.php?page_id=4497&search_control=display&list=search" target="_blank"> KwikSew's K3123</a>.</div>
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My Dad is 6'6", you see, and has a life long issue buying clothes that fit him properly. At least, he did after his Mum (that'd be Celia) stopped making things for him. His sister has the same issues, and apart from Long Tall Sally, so do I. So when I rocked up at Spotlight to buy the fabric, the lady behind the counter was all "This is enough o make a dressing gown you know. Is he a giant or something?"</div>
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"Yeah. He kinda is."</div>
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Not that you can tell from these photos, but check that arm length! I stuffed up the arm extension a little because I forgot that the shoulder seam actually drops down the arm a little, extending the arm length already. The toile (AKA lining, coz I can't bear to throw it away if I can use it ;-) touched his fingers!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAG6xFGjMzw5fG8VvOjA2PS5FoCTxPZG9Lf2nVnsCFwBPYbvMdSWYvq9_k_1_uobzQP-awLd6Gq6po8AHMTfcsM7eypGayGmIxwsvtDHyUau-J8R-7SkzRKX5lWBjFblf3-1qVfJWfoKQL/s1600/2013-07-18+13.21.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAG6xFGjMzw5fG8VvOjA2PS5FoCTxPZG9Lf2nVnsCFwBPYbvMdSWYvq9_k_1_uobzQP-awLd6Gq6po8AHMTfcsM7eypGayGmIxwsvtDHyUau-J8R-7SkzRKX5lWBjFblf3-1qVfJWfoKQL/s320/2013-07-18+13.21.52.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61M2PWIBqmo3YyIP5ysaQwFK73xVvs6J_9qx7MDAXSoluEnEGbdnoobOOpCqvSYwc1KJJ-5m4HCLzhTaJzwxR1N_1pPUmNrsbSQhybdX8Bpq8H33uUoHciEHQ4mFnQI8glzWKbyoB6Got/s1600/2013-07-18+13.21.31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61M2PWIBqmo3YyIP5ysaQwFK73xVvs6J_9qx7MDAXSoluEnEGbdnoobOOpCqvSYwc1KJJ-5m4HCLzhTaJzwxR1N_1pPUmNrsbSQhybdX8Bpq8H33uUoHciEHQ4mFnQI8glzWKbyoB6Got/s320/2013-07-18+13.21.31.jpg" width="180" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RLm3qmJmiAL5baMak7BLC2e-zf47nDsLaKn8I9ByqOfqj9kjJIKHTliyfCByBX6Ufc3WDK_ShSY-1X3za1GjYYtPv2Z72cSjDEk6v5CdgGOnp-DEQSjJijYcSTTSSohu-PfQxmMVpsNB/s1600/2013-07-19+18.59.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RLm3qmJmiAL5baMak7BLC2e-zf47nDsLaKn8I9ByqOfqj9kjJIKHTliyfCByBX6Ufc3WDK_ShSY-1X3za1GjYYtPv2Z72cSjDEk6v5CdgGOnp-DEQSjJijYcSTTSSohu-PfQxmMVpsNB/s320/2013-07-19+18.59.10.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="180" /></a></div>
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The buttonholes proved a bit of a challenge, as I hadn't buttonholed before. Naturally I stuffed up the first one, which by dint of poor judgement was the top one! But it's not too noticeable, really. Pocketing it up was a bit of fun too. The welt pockets sit perfectly, hands in place. And I pulled out my handy ol' <i>Reader's Digest Guide to Sewing & Knitting</i> from eons ago for a how-to guide on doing those sneaky inside pockets, as they weren't included in the pattern.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_GpaRHexfcNJLy8gOUwbqDaFx0vr-wivwPqccB_gf7EA0iIBNC3e1jOmNHJ5OkTcOYLm5UlbARi-HZa8Lx3x4BcUf6L78H4hOy56QS-r0EJvHUQio9DMBqjcQJcKNj0M4KqvFSnSgnXX/s1600/2013-07-18+13.21.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_GpaRHexfcNJLy8gOUwbqDaFx0vr-wivwPqccB_gf7EA0iIBNC3e1jOmNHJ5OkTcOYLm5UlbARi-HZa8Lx3x4BcUf6L78H4hOy56QS-r0EJvHUQio9DMBqjcQJcKNj0M4KqvFSnSgnXX/s320/2013-07-18+13.21.40.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZHH_3YuigNd-AIh_Axk4tsvFEtoBuUpHBUyyia3IhRRNSFodH14QgI0CrnnHScq5731SmXYpAv4_nNYufUCrLDLsrNHZX9hvexStW5t6oPlvQQAUZOHqPpIwjdjYSM03qudcuqlRmsfm/s1600/2013-07-18+13.21.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZHH_3YuigNd-AIh_Axk4tsvFEtoBuUpHBUyyia3IhRRNSFodH14QgI0CrnnHScq5731SmXYpAv4_nNYufUCrLDLsrNHZX9hvexStW5t6oPlvQQAUZOHqPpIwjdjYSM03qudcuqlRmsfm/s320/2013-07-18+13.21.45.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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My topstitching went a little skew-whiff in places, but it always does with thicker fabrics. I'll have to work on that.</div>
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All in all, this is a really easy pattern to sew, even with extra secret pockets, and I'm fairly pleased with the result. I'm most pleased with my Dad's reaction though. And I might make another one later. We'll see. </div>
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Oh, and I did cut the gingham out...I just need to stitch it together. Maybe next time ;-)</div>
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Giant Seamtress, out. </div>
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<br />Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-66331185158662728212013-06-28T05:58:00.001-07:002013-06-28T05:58:26.597-07:00Elisalex!!!<i>OMG! OMG! OMG!</i><br />
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<i>It came today @_@</i><br />
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<i><weeeeeee!></i><br />
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I literally jumped up and down next to my mailbox and said everything I just typed above.</div>
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And I have two versions planned:</div>
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1: Using a cotton fabric from <a href="http://www.aboriginalfabrics.com.au/9-Fabrics-113cm.html" target="_blank">Aboriginal Fabrics</a> in Alice Springs printed with a design called Bambilah by Nambooka. The fabric is soft and silky and kind of poplin-ish. Bambilah are also known as sugar gliders, which are the cutest things out and unfortunately illegal to have as pets in Australia.</div>
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2: A beautiful cotton sateen from spoonflower.com, printed with <a href="http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/793735" target="_blank">Vincent Van Gogh's <i>Starry, Starry Night</i></a>. This I am making in honour of a dear friend who passed away last year. The song his parents chose for his funeral was Don McLean's <i>Starry, Starry Night</i>, and while Jeff Buckley's <i>Hallelujah</i> will forever be the song I associate with my Adriaan, it makes this fabric is a poignant choice.<br />
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But I guess I should finish Practice Dress 1 first!<br />
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I'll probably disappear for the next three weeks. I'm going on holiday (and making my giant Dad a jacket that actually fits him).<br />
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See you in July<br />
xoLizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-16779384247952622702013-06-24T10:36:00.002-07:002013-06-24T10:38:57.084-07:00FBA AKA Full Bust AdjustmentI am what our beloved Gertie calls "bodacious of bust", and since my Nanna lost her marbles well before I developed this particular attribute I've never really learnt how to do a bust adjustment. I used to just throw together a larger size, pin it in a bit in places and be slightly annoyed that the shoulder seams stuck out so far past my shoulders or so much armpit flesh and side boob gaped. Then I'd go travelling and not give a rats' aluminium nut about it.<br />
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Which is what I did with <i>Project 1: The Practice Dress, Take 1.</i> Chop-chop, stitch-stitch.<i> </i>So when I'd pinned in and placed it on Celia, I went "There's got to be a better way." All these blogs I've been following have convinced me that I really must learn to do these things properly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneFmfwKxnY0qmNl1x6sqrBJRgVdxVGhmIZ_EPNAs_wRsbP-aEd6jp6lEoZ76fgoWbQlVJjsD7x6-_VbcB7mu92TLFq16A3R5tL-y1Bdg-7KPXm0aOIiZqwVSy19eXWAnDIh8cW_wNNW77/s1600/2013-06-17+23.26.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneFmfwKxnY0qmNl1x6sqrBJRgVdxVGhmIZ_EPNAs_wRsbP-aEd6jp6lEoZ76fgoWbQlVJjsD7x6-_VbcB7mu92TLFq16A3R5tL-y1Bdg-7KPXm0aOIiZqwVSy19eXWAnDIh8cW_wNNW77/s200/2013-06-17+23.26.22.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="112" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmI9LA38G1VwzC8NGXSYFh6-zK8T0X6fuQI7rNmmDiIhK9KhMvM9MVh8C6Ob03sR0kjVrXS-6nuE_X__pGdOw3EFg9Xqys7Vd-N3IL-r3BpYPTx1a0SQEqIDgpkavvUqRtxTNG4IUOLpL/s1600/2013-06-24+23.45.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmI9LA38G1VwzC8NGXSYFh6-zK8T0X6fuQI7rNmmDiIhK9KhMvM9MVh8C6Ob03sR0kjVrXS-6nuE_X__pGdOw3EFg9Xqys7Vd-N3IL-r3BpYPTx1a0SQEqIDgpkavvUqRtxTNG4IUOLpL/s200/2013-06-24+23.45.45.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="112" /></a></div>
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Enter <a href="http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2010/12/helpful-links-for-bust-alterations.html" target="_blank">Gertie's guide to bust adjustment</a>, which lead me to a bunch of how-to's on standard bust adjustments. The tiny little wrinkle being that I completely stuffed up my pattern selection and picked one with princess seams <sigh>. So google "full bust adjustment princess seams" I did. <a href="http://byhandlondon.com/2013/03/15/elisalex-dress-sewalong-2-full-bust-adjustment-for-princess-seams-fba/" target="_blank">By Hand London's</a> guide for the Elisalex seemed the easiest to pull off. As luck would have it, I'm waiting for an Elisalex pattern to drop into my mailbox. <i>Please by Friday! Please by Friday! </i><i>Please by Friday!</i><br />
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After several false starts (one looked a bit like Pacman) I found myself with a workable pattern that I whizzed together, taking care to do a little easing-in stitch on the extra bustiness, and slung on. It fit beautifully on me, except for when I attached it to the skirt for <i>Project 1: The Practice Dress, Take 2. </i>Triumph turned to self flagellation as I discovered that I had a inches of extra fabric at the waist. <FACEPALM!> Madame Brilliance had skipped Step 8. Ee-gads!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-a7OvVkfahfi4KRJWFPe14Yi6ibCYmt-2FbDuR3l0YJufjBI-eZv-_Jyx7ObxGZZBJZcx_2QtN-s6egiqJyq2prT20GY7BrwOBqS1wL7bZsjdK55EKT1790CCIXP6zfg19qyH4fTQFs-/s1600/2013-06-24+23.18.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-a7OvVkfahfi4KRJWFPe14Yi6ibCYmt-2FbDuR3l0YJufjBI-eZv-_Jyx7ObxGZZBJZcx_2QtN-s6egiqJyq2prT20GY7BrwOBqS1wL7bZsjdK55EKT1790CCIXP6zfg19qyH4fTQFs-/s200/2013-06-24+23.18.27.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh14NaBG9DSdZV1T3iXg5k7KHmLsdG30rKYwU-k_44Bmh3plalRlaTx4IuKRxrNWQkBkwnmMhf1TH3fMXfe32BVDmAMfJDQNm2ksZDJ5YrI_ag8OmQCJu1RJH09pQSeCirQX7OwQRqfP_Zv/s1600/2013-06-25+00.04.08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh14NaBG9DSdZV1T3iXg5k7KHmLsdG30rKYwU-k_44Bmh3plalRlaTx4IuKRxrNWQkBkwnmMhf1TH3fMXfe32BVDmAMfJDQNm2ksZDJ5YrI_ag8OmQCJu1RJH09pQSeCirQX7OwQRqfP_Zv/s200/2013-06-25+00.04.08.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a> </div>
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So after a little line drawing, I yield at this particular midnight. I had hoped to blog the entire finished <i>Practice Dress</i> today. But I shall push on tomorrow instead. For it is a brand new day! And I am on holiday, after all ;-)<br />
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Sweet dreams all xo<br />
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<br />Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-21049149371459153012013-06-16T09:28:00.000-07:002013-06-16T10:43:51.091-07:00The Burgeoning BlogDearest Readers Who Aren't There Yet,<br />
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I am very nearly ready to blog my first project. There have been a few bits and pieces to sort out, because my now-sewing corner has undergone a little transformation from stash of everything to somewhat sorted:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwS_1Qm6314dI5H9qw9JhWJFVL3_cDP-wE07-nrGIgvyqG4hMZhl6gQqfbUeDyOZi721IgTxHW_gBzLnZRP9pyBT3339vyZQbEY0W2-sOZrSRd71xoMZ92WWTDyIkDR66jAhg0G-0IVmlE/s1600/2013-03-06+15.53.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwS_1Qm6314dI5H9qw9JhWJFVL3_cDP-wE07-nrGIgvyqG4hMZhl6gQqfbUeDyOZi721IgTxHW_gBzLnZRP9pyBT3339vyZQbEY0W2-sOZrSRd71xoMZ92WWTDyIkDR66jAhg0G-0IVmlE/s200/2013-03-06+15.53.21.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3261hyphenhyphen0fhCVZvD-116TyVdCAcLC1gaxlibPMr6UVWrZuNgXPOp61NAy0SZGodiv4zQQ54l5edrtzu722lJhT5v-qYd4VmK2YgZ9P49ft-n4-vo4qSXHjkJIRwVqS_xXFBgxZGVKm2WkbP/s1600/2013-06-16+23.41.56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3261hyphenhyphen0fhCVZvD-116TyVdCAcLC1gaxlibPMr6UVWrZuNgXPOp61NAy0SZGodiv4zQQ54l5edrtzu722lJhT5v-qYd4VmK2YgZ9P49ft-n4-vo4qSXHjkJIRwVqS_xXFBgxZGVKm2WkbP/s200/2013-06-16+23.41.56.jpg" width="112" /></a></div>
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The journey to this stage has felt like an eternity, but not to worry. Somehow the hell which is renovating has<i> only just</i> managed to dampen my fabric and pattern habit (I submit the top shelf full of patterns in the right hand photo as exhibit A). And as soon as I've whipped up some calico curtains to hide my shame (that would be the aforementioned Exhibit A), there's going to be some regular stash busting.<br />
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Which brings me to the pleasure of introducing a couple of intended projects:<br />
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<b>Project 1: The Practice Dress</b><br />
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As ever, there is Back Stash for this one, but I've been searching for a basic shift pattern in two parts (bodice & skirt) that would allow a <strike>little</strike> lot of play. And thanks be to Spotlight's end of financial sale, I found a $3 gem: New Look 3824. It's a bodice with darted back & front, different sleeves and two styles of skirt. It's actually the skirt that I intend to play with the most, but a good fit is required on the bodice and this is a style of pattern that is incredibly easy to adjust for my bust.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmcLiQVZisTBA11DDxkNZOgP1ZVrCo85mIXhTluA6Nj07Lh2n-RQ9n9WjGjJrhumCtVMBJkPNCR7rdCSNSNQy8uyi-f0QOO7aWa45US_t-wRGQ8ffkE0UnbBqo25Arl9d4b8L_6EiscSl/s1600/NewLook3824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmcLiQVZisTBA11DDxkNZOgP1ZVrCo85mIXhTluA6Nj07Lh2n-RQ9n9WjGjJrhumCtVMBJkPNCR7rdCSNSNQy8uyi-f0QOO7aWa45US_t-wRGQ8ffkE0UnbBqo25Arl9d4b8L_6EiscSl/s200/NewLook3824.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="138" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAlSQjllpAnBKfe-tbCAsZMNWSkqmHGE-y68Yp46IPYrFWo0gJERCvFgfERrIWHNIlbqLnqs5kFOxjm5Ff7avJhpppXh9dwDwH5tJpNJc9lWhZBdfVjKn2cHoeIdnHa7NxiUksvh9_lNfZ/s1600/2013-06-16+23.53.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAlSQjllpAnBKfe-tbCAsZMNWSkqmHGE-y68Yp46IPYrFWo0gJERCvFgfERrIWHNIlbqLnqs5kFOxjm5Ff7avJhpppXh9dwDwH5tJpNJc9lWhZBdfVjKn2cHoeIdnHa7NxiUksvh9_lNfZ/s200/2013-06-16+23.53.02.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="112" /></a> </div>
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So I'm going to do a practice version with a beautiful Japanese print cotton that I fell in love with. It's a great fabric to work with when you haven't sewed for a while, and has a consistency similar to calico.</div>
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The end goal is to create a <a href="http://www.tedbaker.com/women%27s/women%27s_clothing/dresses/list.aspx#-&styCode=104320&colRef=95-NATURAL&path=/women's/women's%20clothing/dresses/" target="_blank">Ted Baker</a>-inspired lace number (that's his Aliana dress in what they call Natural down below) from this gorgeous moss green lace that I picked up in Madrid about a decade ago. It's one of those fabrics that I just haven't been able to find the right pattern for.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzr3wOrwRIjm43IJPeAsGJ7GBhu-KVT3f3brS7EpmMcQrAo3pRWLABMulhRcDu8tdEH-xV5xoGoEqwnJlqaUfR1szZpKCaYRrCytNbnEJioDETzw-ZKzuUkI0LSoYLbLfYMII7mDsAXAx/s1600/Ted+Baker+Aliana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzr3wOrwRIjm43IJPeAsGJ7GBhu-KVT3f3brS7EpmMcQrAo3pRWLABMulhRcDu8tdEH-xV5xoGoEqwnJlqaUfR1szZpKCaYRrCytNbnEJioDETzw-ZKzuUkI0LSoYLbLfYMII7mDsAXAx/s200/Ted+Baker+Aliana.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="160" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_-X8PRaFqtjnOgTnU12Gd_vADL-8_-rXA9N4B2zHP2NeYtkRMHBk8AV-XGY3hLwh_XibboqQRayoH2e4ALgZNBykOugA4I1TA3dFf8iRnWC7Tc0fqvM6x818g8sPN71xuqXUpR-PNtDJ/s1600/2013-06-16+23.52.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_-X8PRaFqtjnOgTnU12Gd_vADL-8_-rXA9N4B2zHP2NeYtkRMHBk8AV-XGY3hLwh_XibboqQRayoH2e4ALgZNBykOugA4I1TA3dFf8iRnWC7Tc0fqvM6x818g8sPN71xuqXUpR-PNtDJ/s200/2013-06-16+23.52.17.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="112" /></a></div>
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<b>Project 2: The Perfectly Pleated Manequim Blouse</b></div>
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I've been following a bundle of sewing blogs this year, and sucking up information like a sponge. It's been great fun. Along the way I got wind of Manequim magazine from the illustrious Melissa over at <a href="http://thecuriouskiwi.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">The Curious Kiwi</a>, and managed to get hold of the November 2012 edition from eBay. Oh the excitement!!!<br />
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I'm sure that Blusa 460 isn't the easiest of choices, given that I haven't done a button hole for some time...and that the instructions are all in Portugese. But it's the perfect style to test out my brand new <a href="http://www.crafttownhobbylandusa.com/proddetail.php?prod=CL-2015" target="_blank">Clotilde Perfect Pleater</a>, as the peplum is fully pleated. I've dragged out a red and white striped shirting cotton from my stash that I'm not overly attached to with this end in mind. If I stuff it up "Meh! Doesn't matter." And if I don't, I hopefully won't mind wearing it anyway.<br />
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I promise to try to be a good little blogger and show pictures of each project underway. And I'll see if I can work out making these pictures a little smaller so they don't take an eternity to download.<br />
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Much love,<br />
Liz & Penny (the long suffering companion hound).<br />
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Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069460545845067381.post-58969392808931910702013-06-10T06:57:00.000-07:002013-06-10T06:57:05.254-07:00Getting Organised.Getting organised is a wonderful concept, and one that I've long struggled with. Apparently being in the midsts of renovating doesn't help, nor does living in a one-bedroom unit.<br />
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But I've been going through my sewing paraphernalia and coming to the startling realisation of just how many patterns I have amassed over the years. I really need to make every single one of them! And I need to finish a couple of projects that are currently...stalled, shall we say.<br />
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But sew we shall! In the nearish future.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251748183391057564noreply@blogger.com0