The Vintage Shirtdress … at last

Posted by Clarinda Kaleidoscope in sewing and tagged with blogging, cloth kits, Sew Over It, sewing workshop, summer holidays, Vintage shirtdress 12/07/2015

Hello sewing chums,

I normally try to post each weekend with an occasional mid-week post but the combination of end of term madness and Wimbledon has meant that I have fallen behind with my self-imposed schedule … now I get why the more sophisticated bloggers schedule posts. Still, I have been active on Instagram and am very pleased with just how frequently I am wearing my own makes these days. Anyway, the only reason I am bothering to give you this little explanation is just in case you were following my progress at the Sew Over It studio to make my Vintage Shirt Dress; I blogged Week One, then Week Two – were you having restless nights worrying about what happened on Week Three? Well fret no more – it’s finished!

I have to admit the final workshop was not a happy experience for me. Following the problems of the previous week I had done a lot of work at home to get back on track and arrived at the class with only the neckline facing, buttonholes and hemming to go. The first task we all had to do was choose fabric for our next shirtdress. Lisa had kindly arranged for each of us to have a new pattern and fabric so that we could make another shirtdress (if you read about week two you’ll understand this). I picked a floral in deep, rich colours which I thought would make a great layering shirtdress in the cooler months (what is the matter with me thinking about autumn at the start of the summer holidays?) but yesterday when I was wearing my Gabriola and thinking about how much I enjoy wearing a maxi, I suddenly realised what a great maxi it would make.

Anyway, back to class. The neck facing went on swiftly and I began to get excited thinking I might actually be able to wear it to see The Importance of Being Earnest later that week (a theatre trip with colleagues to see farewell to a lovely lady who had been at our school for 29 years). Well, that was SO the wrong thing to do. Once I had had that thought, nothing went right. I spent about two hours faffing about with the buttonholes and didn’t get a single one finished. It turned out my machine was at fault but by the time that was established I was in a complete strop and left the workshop in tears. Apologies to Julie if you read this. I must repeat here what a wonderfully patient sewing teacher Julie is.

Our school library is actually much better appointed than this photo would indicate!

Another frustrating feature about this is that my own machine had a fault with the button hole function and as I haven’t got it fixed, I couldn’t finish my frock at home. Hoorah for working in a school – I went to the textiles room after work and finished my button holes.

My not very good buttonholes – I need to work on this

I struggled to get decent photos – tried to get a few in the garden but it was overcast and the others were taken at school on my first day of wearing the dress. It was Prize Giving day (linked to Y13 leavers) so it was actually worn under my academic gown (no photos of that piece of ridiculousness). Thanks to my colleague Liz for taking photos in the library for me.

A silly picture of me twirling – it seems to be the rage in blogs at the moment

I will definitely make the dress again – I actually really like it and it fits well after all the alterations but next time I will make it in the right size.

I really must comment on the gorgeous fabric. It’s Liberty Tana Lawn bought in Cloth Kits, Chichester. They always have a good selection of Liberty including some on sale (which this was). The design is Winter Dreams of Spring and if you study it closely all sorts of lovely things come into focus but from a bit of a distance it looks rather subtle. I bought three metres as the pattern suggested I needed and managed to also get out of it a Sorbetto (of course I did) and made a tie for my colleague to celebrate him passing his NQT year.

Sorbetto worn at work with chinos

I think it works really well as a tie

I haven’t seen the tie on yet as I only gave it to my colleague on Friday – the last day of term – but he seemed pleased with it.

Well, it’s been a picture heavy post and not too many details about the actual shirtdress. I think that’s because the making process was fraught and not a happy experience for me so I didn’t want to dwell on the detail but I am certainly pleased with the outcome.

And so begins, seven happy weeks of holidays with much reading, sewing, running, tennis, cooking and hopefully blogging planned.

Toodle pip,

Clarinda x

A tale of two Wandas

Posted by Clarinda Kaleidoscope in sewing and tagged with Eliza M, Liberty Tana Lawn, Lourdes Cropped Jacket, Named, New to me, Queue for the Zoo, Sew Over It, The monthly Stitch, Wanda dress 20/06/2015

Hello sewing chums, I hope you are having a good weekend? I am LOVING being part of The Monthly Stitch during Indie Pattern Month for a number of reasons: so many talented sewistas are joining the community and sharing their makes; every time I check my blog feed I see more gorgeous things which I want to make; it’s FAB that everyone is getting so involved with the challenges and last but not least ….. I was a winner in the first week Dresses category! More of that later …. It all kicked off for me by reading about the inaugural secret santa style pattern swap. It’s the first time I had participated in something like this and it was really good fun. I know that the person I bought a pattern for liked it because she has made it up and written a blog post about it – I thought she looked gorgeous so have been congratulating myself on my excellent choice (it’s actually really hard not to comment on the post and say “It was me” but then I’d be just as bad as my Y9 form who do Secret Santa each year and everyone knows who has got who!). I was chuffed when my pattern arrived – my partner had organised for it to be sent directly me to and the company addressed it to her so I do actually know who my partner was! Anyway, you know who you are and you made an excellent choice for me so many thanks. I decide to make the dress up in some lovely floral cotton I had bought at Badger and Earl when I was doing a workshop there. I measured myself and went for 12 on the bust grading out to 14 at the waist. The paper is really study, i.e. not tissue and the instructions are OK. The pattern is described as beginner but to be honest, if I hadn’t already got a couple of frocks under my belt I might have struggled a bit with some of the instructions e.g. pleats. Anyway I made the dress up and … was hugely disappointed. The dress was too big – I didn’t need to have graded out at the waist after all. Unlike Wanda the yoke did not come immediately beneath my boobiloobies (although in fairness the line drawing does show it as being more on the waist but that version doesn’t include the bust pleats/gathers) and my floral fabric looked positively frumpy. All in all I thought it looked like a 1950s utilitarian type frock you might have worn to do the housework! I really was hugely disappointed. However, I decided to try and put a positive spin on it and congratulated myself on having made my first wearable muslin. I felt I owed it to my swopsie partner to have another go – I did not want to just blog about a failure so I immediately set about making another. I bought some cornflower blue linen at Sew Over It whilst doing my first Vintage Shirtdress workshop and decided to use this for the dress part and use the last of the scraps from my Liberty Queue for the Zoo left over from my Belcarra. I spent a stressful Friday night trying to eek it out … and failed. In the end I had to give up. It was only the interfacing I couldn’t squeeze out so I had an idea! I decided to use the linen as a full lining. Having made a couple of BHL KIMs recently I was familiar with this method. The is a real departure for me – I normally stick to the pattern because I haven’t got the knowledge/confidence to deviate but this time I really went off piste! I did a full lining in the linen and it worked! To be honest I am not sure if the delicate tana lawn would have held up the linen base anyway. I even made alterations so that the dress would fit me and was more like the Wanda of the pattern illustration. I chopped off an inch and a half from the bodice and took the sizing down too. It looks so much better with the yoke ending just under the bust rather than at the waist – don’t you think? Sorry the photos are not great. The sun wasn’t out and Mr CK was not in the mood for taking photos – how I need a blog manager! There is still some pooling at the back which I will attend to next time. I wore the dress to work this week and lots of people commented on it; it really is a work dress I feel. Anyway, I decided what I needed to finish it off was a little cropped jacket – made in the blue cornflower linen. Which brings me neatly onto my exciting news. I was one of the winners for IPM2015 dresses contest. My prize was a Tia Dress Craftsy Class and a Named pattern of my choice so I have chosen the Lourdes Cropped Jacket to join Wanda. I am not sure when I will get round to making this up as my sewing TO Do List has just gone off the scale this month. So, here it is then …. my entry to the New to Me contest. Thanks to my swopsie partner for choosing the pattern for me in the first place and I also want to say a special thanks to Elle from Laura Loves Pugs whose clever ideas for using precious fabrics inspired me for the second Wanda. Toodle pip, Clarinda x

Vintage Workshop week two and a bit of a Glitch!

Posted by Clarinda Kaleidoscope in sewing 18/06/2015

Hello everyone,

Hope you are enjoying the sunshine? I did wonder if everyone’s sewing output would decrease during the summer but it seems the opposite – I can hardly keep up with my blog feed with all of the new makes which is BRILLIANT – daily inspiration!

Last week I wrote quite chirpily about my first session at the Vintage Shirtdress workshop at Sew Over it – blogged here. I commented, with exclamation, that I certainly wasn’t a size 8 which the toile indicated. Well dear reader, it is true… I am not a size 8 and that’s why I felt so dis-spirited at my class on Tuesday. Having completed my homework diligently, the bodice barely met across my (flat) chest so I knew that it would not cope with the seam allowances for button bands/facings etc.

My dress pinned on after the alterations – I’ve chopped my head off because I was not looking happy!

When I arrived at the class others were in the same position. Full marks to our teacher Julie who remained calm and professional throughout – instead of joining in with the “how could this have happened?” wailing, she focused entirely on what needed to be done to put things right. For me, this involved unpicking and then re-sewing the seam allowances on bodice and skirt etc. I was really gutted because my fabric is Liberty and as you know, it’s not cheap. Anyway, a salvage was achieved and we all went on to enjoy the chatter, tea and cake as per usual.

The lovely shell buttons I bought this week to go with my frock

Post the workshop, we all received a lovely email from Lisa who explained what had happened. It was clear that the issue had been investigated thoroughly and we have all been offered a replacement pattern and some fabric (the toiles had stretched so please don’t worry if you have bought a pattern). I think this is the mark of a great business – how it deals with complaints. Actually, everyone in sewing is so lovely that I don’t think anyone actually complained – we just looked a bit sad!

I only really managed to add the collar on Tuesday – I can’t quite see how it is all going to fit with the facing because it looks inside out to me but the redoubtable Julie assures me it is correct!

Anyway, just before I go, I wanted to show you how I cheered myself up. I made myself a little something with the leftovers … can you guess what it is?!

Toodle pip,

Clarinda x

Yet another Sorbetto!

Vintage Shirtdress Workshop – week one

Posted by Clarinda Kaleidoscope in sewing and tagged with Liberty Tana Lawn, Sew Over It, sewing workshops, Vintage, Vintage shirtdress 10/06/2015

Hello all, I hope you’re having a good week?

Yesterday I went to the first of three workshops at Sew Over It to make their Vintage Shirtdress. It’s my fourth workshop there and I really can’t recommend them enough. My favourite make EVER is the 1960s coat I made – blogged here. The studio is gorgeous – tea and (homemade) cake permanently available and best of all, a brilliant teacher to take you through the pattern and help with all the fiddly bits.

Took both fabrics to the workshop but eventually decided on the charcoal one – a Liberty Tana Lawn called Winter Dreams of Spring

I was really pleased that the teacher was Julie who is super patient and highly experienced. There were six of us. A lovely generational divide: three young women in their twenties and another three who I would estimate were at least twenty years older (I hope I haven’t offended anyone by writing that!). That is one of the lovely things about sewing – it unites people who might otherwise not appear to have much in common. There was a little bit of chatter but everyone was really busy measuring and cutting out – we didn’t actually get to do any sewing at all.

Only roughly laid out here to check I had enough fabric.

It does seem that most patterns over-estimate fabric requirements. I had bought three metres and was worried that I would have to eek it out but I had a considerable chunk left over. I wonder if you can guess what I plan to make with that?! Sew Over It have toiles made up in all sizes so that you can check your fit first. The last few things I have made at home have been too big – I do always measure myself but perhaps I just don’t hold the tape measure tightly enough? Anyway, I decided to try on the 10 toile instead of my usual 12 and that was to big so I ended up with the 8 …. which I am surprised about because I am definitely not an 8!

It is going to be an expensive couple of weeks – I am incapable of going into a fabric shop without buying something and last night was no different.

Cornflower blue linen and my very own ham!

I was really excited to see that Sew Over It have expanded their fabric range and put more shelves in to accommodate the additional choice. This weekend just gone I made a dress (yet to be blogged) which I was really disappointed with. However, I resolved to call it a wearable muslin and have another go. I have a little bit of blue Queue for the Zoo Liberty leftover from my Belcarra (blogged here) so I thought I would use that for the yoke and make the dress with this contrasting linen. What do you think old hands – will a bodice of tana lawn (one thickness – it has interfacing rather than being fully lined) hold up a dress of linen?

I bought my goodies before the class but then at the end Julie gave us our homework and to be honest, I am not sure I will get anything else done. I jotted down what I thought were the couple of tasks on the top of my instruction sheet but the list just kept on growing!

My homework

I said to Julie, “I’ll be bringing in a complete dress next week at this rate” and she replied that it was just basic sewing and then we could concentrate on the fiddly bits such as fitting and doing the collar: good point, well made!

I’ll let you know how the homework goes – as a teacher myself I am very diligent about such things!

Toodle pip,

Clarinda x

When Frida met Kim …

Posted by Clarinda Kaleidoscope in sewing and tagged with BHL Kim, Frida Kahlo, Indie pattern month 2015, parham, Sew Over It, The monthly Stitch 07/06/2015

Hi all, welcome to my June post for The Monthly Stitch which is also a contest entry for the dress competition. The focus for this month is Indie Patterns but as I have only ever sewn Indie patterns I am on familiar territory!

During the first week of Me Made May when I was managing to keep up with all the IG posts, I spotted one garment made with a fabric I found so fabulous I immediately set about tracking it down – thank you Fondant Fabrics.

Isn’t is fabulous? Just in case you too want to buy it, here are the details:

I wish I had made a note of whose IG I saw the fabric on so that I could say a huge thanks. My plan was to make a BHL Kim with it to wear on the last day of MMMay15 as a sort of grand finale – also coinciding with my husband’s birthday. I made it by the skin of my teeth – sewing the bodice lining in whilst sat in bed having my early morning cup of tea on the 31st.

Regular readers of my blog Clarinda Kaleidoscope will know I have a bit of a love affair with Colette Patterns Sorbetto and usually manage to squeeze one out of my scraps. I did things a little bit back to front this time. After I cut out my Kim, I eeked out my Sorbetto – no pleat and made that up first. It very quickly became a favourite.

Anyway, back to Kim. I spent ages cutting out. I wanted a centralised Frida on the bodice – tick.

I also wanted to do the same on the back – sadly I made a right ole booboo. Can you spot the obvious mistake?

Retrospectively, I think it may have been too much having two centralised Fridas.

This is my third Kim; my first was for a wedding (a Flamingo Border) and the second was a fun, nautical version. I am not known for my muslins (naughty girl) but I have made adjustments. I chopped off about an inch from the shoulders to save them slipping down and I sewed a wider, sweeping arc for the seam allowance at the Princess seams because my boobiloobies don’t fill the bodice. I think this is the most I have altered a garment in terms of fit.

Anyway, if I say so myself I think it is an absolute glory. I am SO chuffed with it. The Kim is a great pattern – the instructions are really clear and if you need extra help with fiddly bits, the details on the Kim Sewalong give all the detailed advice you need.

It is such a glorious day we decided to visit Parham – an enormous country house with massive parklands, formal gardens and today, a craft fair. I thought it was a fitting location for my new, favourite dress and was delighted when one of the “crafty” ladies told me that she thought my dress was the best one she’d seen this year!

Anyway, let’s hope the sun continues to shine on us. I think I might even have a mid week post this week, as on Tuesday I am starting a three week workshop at Sew Over it to learn how to make their new Vintage Shirtdress – can’t wait. Will close with a couple more pics from Parham but please feel free to skip if you have Frida/Kim/Clarinda fatigue!

Toodle pip,

Clarinda

Portugal, Tennis and the final days of MMM15

Posted by Clarinda Kaleidoscope in sewing and tagged with belcarra, BHL Kim, Colette patterns, school trip, sewaholic, Sorbetto, tennis camp 02/06/2015

Dear all,

It has finished and I have been avidly reading everyone’s round-ups and admiring how they present their photos etc. I must be honest and say that I found it a little hard to keep up with everything. I usually like to comment on the blogs I read – I genuinely think of some bloggers as my friends and it seems rude not to drop by and say “hi” etc but everything was coming through so fast and for six days I was in Portugal on a school tennis camp and the internet access was restricted to a little café which we walked past twice a day so I had to use that slot to do what little I could in about thirty seconds and post my daily IG pic.

Day 24

early morning walk on the beach

My photos are all completely unrepresentative of my time on Portugal because I was constantly in the company of thirty lovely girls but obviously I am unable to show any photos of them so each day I had to quickly get one of my colleagues or one of the girls to take a pic after I had shooed everyone else away. This is my Sewaholic Belcarra in Liberty Lawn – you’ll see a close up of the fabric in a later photo because I wore it on the way home.

not bad for a scrap

The girls had two hours tennis coaching each morning and then again in the afternoon. In the mornings we watched them and in the afternoons we played doubles ourselves. This is a favourite of mine – usually used for running. It is a Sorbetto minus the pleat. It worked well with my tennis skort.

Day 25

Another pre breakfast stroll – this time along the cliff path and I am wearing a much worn …..Liberty Sorbetto. This was the first one I ever made and before I made my standard alteration of adding three inches to the length.

cliff walk

Day 26

I appear to be alternating – back to a Sewaholic Belcarra – this time in Queue for the Zoo – at least the Liberty remains a constant.

back to the beach

Day 27

Our last full day and no less than three separate me made items!

Morning beach walk in Liberty Sorbetto

Playing in the tournament in my “tennis” Sorbetto

a close up of the fabric and tennis ball buttons

For the final evening we took the girls to Villamoura for a Pizza. I wore my Kim with anchors on.

seaside themed fabric – suitable for a marina!

The girls had a great trip (so did I) but I was still pleased to get home.

Day 28

Forgot to take a photo with all the fretting/travelling but I wore my Belcarra in Isle of Wight fabric from earlier in the week.

my favourite 1950s button

Day 29

I met up with one of my Yorkshire cousins who I hadn’t seen for 21 years! Already we have arranged to meet up again for a couple of days before I start a boating holiday in July. It’s famine or feast! I wore a Sorbetto from earlier in the week.

Almost hidden under a cardi

Day 30

I went for a double whammy. Absolutely loved how these two garments went together. My “Birds” Sorbetto paired with my Sew Over It Ulitmate Trousers.

Very 50’s

Day 31

This was supposed to be my triumphant finale to a really enjoyable month. I literally finished hand stitching the lining whilst having my early morning cup of tea in bed! Sadly in was a cold, rainy day and my new creation spent most of the day hidden under a cardi. I am only giving the sneakiest of peaks here because it’s not blogged yet but this is my Frida Kahlo Kim.

to be blogged … soon

So I did really enjoy the challenge. I think next year I will try for no repeats. It wasn’t as tricky as I thought – what I really loved was how the girls got behind it. Everyday they would say “Did you make that miss? It’s amazing!” Good fabric is certainly worth it. I don’t think I am especially skilled – the patterns I make are very straight-forward but people do seem to be astonished that you can make your own clothes. I need more plain basics – that is clear. Everything I make is highly patterned …… but that is what I love! Best of all was seeing my blogger friends rise to meet the challenge – I certainly have added lots to my To Sew list.

Enjoy the rest of the week – I am looking forward to sharing details of my dress with you!

Toodle pip,

Clarinda x

Liberty – Alice in Wonderland collection

The Birthday Tie

Posted by Clarinda Kaleidoscope in sewing and tagged with childrenswear, clothkits, handmade tie, libertytanalawn, monthly stitch collective 31/05/2015

Hello all on this rainy Sunday,

I made a tie for my husband’s birthday which is …..today! I completed this as part of the May’s Menswear and Childrenswear Challenge for The Monthly Stitch Collective. So whilst it was made in good time, I held on until today in order to try and get a photo of him wearing it but before that ….. Childrenswear.

I have not had a lot of success with this. Sometime last year in my early sewing enthusiasm I made the little people matching dresses in fabric which I thought was gorgeously nostalgic (for me) called Making Paper Planes. I really messed up the yokes and ended up having to get the textiles teacher at school to give me a hand.

My brief foray into kids wear enabled me to use this wonderfully nostalgic fabric called Making Paper Planes

Making Paper Planes

Would you like to guess how many times these dresses have been worn? Twice and one of those times was to take the photos. So I was dubious about attempting another childrenswear pattern but I do like to attempt the challenge so I bought what I thought was a funky Oliver and S pattern for the Seashore Sundress and decide to make it a joint enterprise.

My enthusiastic assistant

Annoying I decided not to cut out the pieces for the pockets but when I went to sew it up realised that without the pockets there would be a big gap in the ruffle skirt- Grrrr. At that point we both lost enthusiasm and sadly this is the current state of the dress.

I will come back to it but not sure when!

Anyway, the menswear part of the challenge was more successful. I had already made a tie at a Clothkits workshop in December so had a pattern. I really like tie making. I used some glorious Liberty Tana Lawn from this season’s Alice in Wonderland collection.

Liberty Alice in Wonderland collection

I decided to use some little offcuts from another design in the collection and am very pleased with my placement.

I think ties make lovely gifts and I find them very calming to make. There is a fair bit of hand-sewing with a tie and I even did some on my morning commute!

Beats reading The Metro

So here is the finished tie …

…. and here is the Birthday Boy wearing it – not happy that it’s raining or that he has had to put on a shirt on a Sunday for me to take a photo!

Next month’s challenge is Indie Patterns – the Big Four would be more of a challenge for me because so far I have only sewn Indie.

Toodle pip,

Clarinda x

Week three of MMMay15 – almost more of a OWOP

Posted by Clarinda Kaleidoscope in sewing and tagged with colettepatternsdahlia, MMM15, Sorbetto 23/05/2015

Hi all,

I was a little bit disappointed with myself having to go heavily into repeats. Had we had glorious sunshine I think I could have done an original on most days. Anyway, I managed to knock out a scrap sorbetto with my Frida Kahlo fabric on Sunday and wore it to school Monday – oddly enough it was bizarrely appropriate.

This week it is school exams weeks for years 7 – 9 and the Y10s are currently cavorting around Europe on a Language Immersion Week in either France, Germany or Spain – apart from 22 little sweeties who did not want/could not afford to go so we have been running a Language Immersion Week for them in school. On Monday they spent the day researching Surrealism and an artist from their country as preparation for Tuesday when they went to Tate Modern. I was the “Spanish” teacher for the day and we were supposed to research either Dali or Miro but I decided that we should do Kahlo and the girls absolutely loved her. So, my top was greatly admired and I have to say, I think it is one of my favourite makes – it’s very me. I hope to make up the dress to wear on 31st May as some sort of grand finale to the event/challenge.

On Tuesday I wore one of my Scraps Sorbettos to work and forgot to get a photo but…..

Scraps Sorbetto 2

….. in the evening I met my artist friend Annette for a drink in Putney and because I knew she would appreciate it, I changed into my Frieda again!

Not at all flattering

Wednesday was a really hard day at work. I’ve been beavering away at a project I needed to hand in and stayed at work until 7pm to do it. Really couldn’t be arsed to cook so met Mr CK in Pizza Express on the way home. For a day when I was really busy it seems appropriate that I was wearing my “bees” – another favourite.

I do look knackered here

Ok, now this is getting silly. I was at our Head Office at Thursday i.e. not with my colleagues who had seen me all week but with a bunch of randoms so guess what I wore?

Of course, my new favourite Sorbetto. I finished my course early so arrived at ABO to meet my friend Mark who is over from Australia for a couple of weeks. As I was there a good hour early I settled down with a nice glass of PGB, Love Sewing magazine and Virginia Woolf. Is anyone planning to make up the Bardot? I think it looks FAB – it fact, the neckline is exactly how my Dahlia turned out! It’s so funny now to think that a woman can just go and sit in a pub by herself and feel absolutely relaxed – it wouldn’t have happened in Clarissa’s day!

Thank goodness we finished the half term. Had forgotten to get a photo at work so we took a quick one up on the riverbank before going down the pub – a regular Friday occurence. By coincidence I wore the Dahlia which my Tuesday Scraps Sorbetto had come from.

Today I am off to Portugal on a Tennis Camp with 30 girls from years 8,9,10. I am “in charge” of the 9s. When my colleague asked me what I was wearing to travel in I replied ” high polka dot clogs because I can’t get them in my bag, Capri jeans, a top covered in tennis racquets with tennis ball buttons”. She laughed and continued to wait expectantly for my answer so I had to say, “seriously, that’s what I’m wearing.” I don’t think it looks too bad!

I usually make my Sorbettos out of scraps but I bought this fabric especially when I knew I was going on the trip. One night I woke up at about 2am thinking I wonder if they make tennis buttons so I had a quick internet search and got lucky! Anyway, I am just about to leave – I have a number of Me-Mades in my bag but none are sportswear.

I hope you have a lovely half term – looking forward to posting my final week’s round up with many sunny shots! Also looking forward to seeing what you all wear for the final flourish.

Toodle pip,

Clarinda x

Frieda Kahlo joins in with Me Made May – Week Two Round Up

Posted by Clarinda Kaleidoscope in sewing and tagged with BHL Kim, Colette patterns, maria from denmark, Sorbetto 18/05/2015

Hello all, hope you are enjoying the sunshine?

I am well and truly into MMMay15 and managed to do two whole weeks without any repeats so I think my challenge for next year will be to go the whole 31 days. Anyway, here’s how week two went:

Day 10

It was slightly overcast in the morning. Wore my Maria in Denmark top to play tennis. I don’t know if you can see it but the print is of Marilyn Monroe.

At the tennis club

In the afternoon we did a 5K charity walk for the Snowdrop Trust. It was a really sunny afternoon and although there was the promise of tea, cakes and ice-creams at the end, the little people were quite weary for the last part of the walk. Didn’t really get a good picture of it but wore another one of my “Scrap Sorbettos” with leftovers from my Lemons Lilou which was my first ever blog post; now I’ve done fifty!

Snowdrop Trust Charity Walk

Day 11

Back to work in a Tilly and the Buttons Delphine. Almost forgot to get a picture today so this was taken in some lovely early evening sunshine.

Strawberry and Ants Delphine

Day 12

Another work day and this time I wore one of my Belcarra’s – this one made in Liberty Lawn Queue for the Zoo. I do love this pattern but think I need to go down a size.

Looking very serious

Day 13

A gloriously sunny day – this photo was taken at school at about 7.45am Decided to be brave and wear my BHL Kim with a little cardigan. Wanted to look a little dressy as I was going out for supper with a friend I haven’t seen for a couple of years as he has been in Australia.

Kim – the design has little anchors on (it is really a beach dress)

Day 14

Another day I almost forgot to get a picture. This is me slumped in a chair at the end of a long day. I do love my Sureau – one of my students asked me if it was “White Stuff” so that made me smile. It is funny quite how interested they are in your clothes!

Super comfy Sureau

Day 15

Thank goodness the week is over – here I am at home before going out for a curry, I wore another Sorbetto, also made in Liberty Lawn. I don’t know the name of the design but the lovely orangey hues really lift my work suit.

With Charlie, next door’s cat

Day 16

Big excitement – this gorgeous fabric arrived in the post. I had seen it on IG on #MMMay15 but annoyingly cannot remember whose it was. Anyway, I tracked it down and bought two meters. I did a little poll on IG to see what I should make with it and had a number of helpful suggestions. I have now cut out a KIM and guess what? I had enough left over to make a “Scraps Sorbetto” which I am wearing today but you’ll have to wait until next week’s round up to see it – on check out my IG.

Behind here I am wearing my Maria in Denmark/Marilyn Munroe top again for tennis

Day 17

A day of pottering: local market and then sewing. I only finished the bias binding on this little top the previous day. It is made in this season’s Liberty Tana Lawn Alice in Wonderland fabric.

Inverted pleat Scraps Sorbetto

What I have learned this week: I am OBSESSED with Sorbettos – I manage to squeeze one out of practically everything I make. In the case of Frieda Kahlo, I have actually made up the Sorbetto ahead of the dress which I had bought the fabric for. This week I wore three and made two!

Will aim for more variety next week but as I am sat here in my new Frieda Kahlo Scarps Sorbetto don’t hold your breath!

Toodle pip,

Clarinda x

Things I have discovered during Me Made May 15 Week 1

Posted by Clarinda Kaleidoscope in sewing and tagged with delphine, Francoise, Gabriola, MMM15, Sewing, Sewing blogs, Sorbetto, Sureau 09/05/2015

Hello all, I hope you are set for a FAB weekend? It is a bit windy here but I have shedloads of marking to do so the weather is fairly irrelevant. So, my first time of joining in with MMM15 – as I only started sewing in April 2014 it is quite exciting for me to be able to join in.

Day 1 – Wearing my Colette patterns Dahlia – this dress was such a struggle to make (details here) – I had so many problems with the neckline. There is an inverted pleat at the back scooping up four inches of surplus fabric (which is why I am wearing a cardigan). The first thing I’ve realised during MMM15 is that it is quite tricky finding someone to take photos for you/of you without feeling deeply embarrassed. Friday was the last day for our Y11s so we were outside having a class photo and I got one of the students to take this – I hadn’t realised at all that I was being photo-bombed till the girls all started shrieking with laughter. I do like the Dahlia but have yet to brave making another.

Being photo-bombed

Day 2 – this is part of my Saturday routine. I do the shopping (you can see it on the floor next to me) then I finish up by popping into a local coffee shop for a latte – it is here I usually catch up on blogs. This is another thing I have discovered – MMY15 is an absolute time thief. I am only doing Instagram (I did think about Flickr and Pinterest but thank goodness I abandoned those) but it is taking all my time to keep up with everyone – I actually feel anxious that I might miss something! I have seen some lovely makes over the past week and found some new blogs to follow which is really good. Here I a wearing one of my early Sorbettos – made with leftovers from the dress I made for the work sewing bee.

At GROUNDS our local, independent coffee shop

Day 3 – I was pottering about at home trying to finish my Gabriola and popped down to my friend Ali’s for her help with fitting. She was busily adding the finishing touches to her FAB Map Dress (a collar which was apparently later discarded). I am wearing my Tilly and the Buttons Francoise which was my Christmas Day dress (another neckline problem for me). What is so odd about this dress is that it looks as if it should be fairly formal/uncomfortable being made in wool but it’s not at all – I am wearing it as a comfy, slob about in, sweater dress. And here is another thing I have discovered – all my garments are too big for me. I clearly do not measure myself properly.

Map dress credit to my friend Ali

Day 4 – Bank Holiday Monday and a glorious day for a walk. We went off in search of bluebells as I had just finished my Gabriola and thought it would make a great location shot – it was quite fun lurking behind a tree to whip off my Sew Over it Ultimate trousers and change into skirt and heels. Before we came to the bluebells we passed these gorgeous fields of Rapeseed – I saw three other MMM15 participants on Instagram similarly photographed.

Gorgeous fields of Rape

Day 5 – back to work and here I am in one of my Y13 lessons. You can hardly see it in the photo but I made the shirt at a workshop at Sew Pretty and it is covered in little bumble bees. I would say this is my most frequently worn garment – not sure why I haven’t tacked another shirt yet – I certainly have bought patterns. I think it is to do with a fear of buttonholes.

This is how I spend my days

Day 6 – I look a bit of a mess here. The skirt is new from Seasalt and even when I bought it I was thinking I could easily make that but I was really drawn to the fabric and then struggled to team it with anything. My Me Made item here is the cardigan which has a cable edge and a single button. I was a knitter before I was a sewer but not a very advanced one and I had never heard of blocking until I started reading blogs. I have really enjoyed seeing all of the sophisticated knits being proudly worn for MMM15.

back to the tree shot

Day 7 – Election day. I was waiting outside before the Polling Station opened and asked the guy next to me in the queue if he would take my photo. I explained it was for my blog and he asked what I blogged about – he certainly was not anticipating my answer! I am wearing another Sorbetto made in a fabric with beautiful garden birds on it. One of my students said I looked very “FatFace” which I take as a compliment. I posted this pic on my Facebook and a number of people asked if I was standing – I guess it does look like it. Anyway, not so smiley the next day as my team didn’t win.

Election Day!

Day 8 – I realise now that the scarf doesn’t go! This is my Tilly and the Buttons Delphine. I have made two now and I have to say – very functional work wear.

At the Juniors

Day 9 – and so to today! I am home alone which led me to take my first ever mirror selfie. I am wearing my Deer and Doe Sureau which is clearly far too big for me: a shame because I love the denim and antique brassy buttons. I’ve taken far longer over this blog post than I intended – clearly operating as a displacement activity for what is waiting for me!