Ariadne Tunic by Tanit-Isis

I have lost all witty inspiration for a title ... perhaps something will come to me later.

Not so long ago I bought a Jersey bed sheet for my son, but after 2 washes it had shrank to the size of a cot sheet. What better to practise Jersey sewing skills on :-)

It is a thin 4 way stretch so the Ariadne Tunic by Tanit-Isis seemed perfect. I do feel I look a little pregnant in it, but when it is hot and humid it is nice to wear something loose.

I omitted the band around the bottom, because my hips are the largest bit of me and I felt that the band would draw extra attention to that bit. I also didn't do the keyhole in the back due to personal preferences.

My jersey hemming skills need to be improved, but I have no doubt that with time that'll come. Overall I am really happy with it and I am sure I'll wear it lots this summer. Thank you Tanit-Isis for providing this lovely pattern :-)

Birthday haul

A while back I got to the ripe old age of ... hmmm ... 33. I had been telling my son 27, but he is dreadfully attached to telling the truth, who knew :-)

My sister, sister-in-law and mother-in-law all decided to feed my habit. How great are they?!!!?

I now have Dana Willard's Fabric A-Z to assist me with buying fabric online and in the store. I also have Wendy Gardiner's Sewing Machine Accessory Bible Machine which has already been a great help in deciding which extra feet to order for Christmas.

My lovely sister-in-law gave me The Sewing Book Step by Step which is just fabulously detailed in every way.

And last but not least my baby sister got me my very own picnic blanket skirt fabric. It won't be exactly like Tilly and the Buttons version, because I am a bit triangle/pear shaped and a gathered skirt like that makes my hip look enormous.

Anyway, today it is 35 degrees in Brisbane and I am taking back everything I moaned about being cold :-)

Summer sewin' - had me a blast

I shall never ever list to Grease again (maybe) - that song just doesn't want to go away. I dreamt of it last night :-)

After something for my son I thought I make something for myself. Firstly I made another straight skirt, this time made from blue cotton sateen - another remnant that was languishing in my stash.

It is a bit more baggy then the previous versions as I lost a little weight, but I shall see whether that stays this way before changing both the pattern and the skirt.

I also experimented a bit with a T-Shirt pattern from one of my favourite (very old) T-shirts. I used the flowery interlocky material that I used for the Dolman Sleeve Top, but it is a bit tight as the material is not as stretchy as jersey.

The front looks okay, but the back seems a little tight. I shall go back to the pattern and see about the seam allowances and whether I did actually add them. On the whole I am quite pleased with it, because T-shirts and skirts are what I mostly wear. Yes, I'd like to do more difficult things like dresses and pants, but if I just get the basics right and wearable and durable then I feel I have already achieved a lot.

When taking these picture I came across something slightly odd - granny squares around a tree in the playground. I wonder what it means :-)