Goodness me - it's already 2015

Where has the time gone ... I still have lots of things to post that I did in December, but never got around to posting ... sigh

I think I am giving myself an amnesty and just post them as I get the pictures done and uploaded :-)

I think I'll pass on the New Year's Resolutions, because I am still working on the ones from last year and this year I have even less time. I have purchased less fabric this past year then before, BUT when I did, I bought more of it. However, according to my motivator, I have sewn 31 items and used 39.5 meters of fabric, so all in all not bad. I have no UFO's this year, another improvement to previous years. I have mended 11 things from the never ending pile and done 8 refashions. There is plenty more where this came from :-)

Although I don't really want to do a hits 'n misses post, I have to point out a surprise hit New Look 6803. It has been worn countless times, it wears well, washes and dries within a couple of hours, it feels like you are not wearing anything and it is not see through ... perfect for Queensland summer ... yes, it is another 35 degree day with some 60% humidity. I wish now that I had marked down all the changes that I made to the pattern so I could easily make another one, but alas since I didn't like the dress when I was making it, there is no record ... live and learn.

I hope you all had a lovely start to the new year.

lots of sewing and nothing to show for

SIGH ...

the stash is overflowing thanks to some well meaning people giving me stuff that they don't need anymore and me buying some more. I really have to go through it all and THROW STUFF OUT, because instead of inspiring it is making me want to run away from it as fast as possible. Some of it was purchased before I started sewing, before I had any idea about what fabric composition and what I like to sew with and wear. Other fabric was given to me and I really don't need to keep everything people give me, doubly so if it's actually stuff that was given to them by somebody else ... sigh again.

I do have some big projects lined up actually.

Firstly, I am going to make some work trousers for my husband. I picked the Jochen pants from Burda for no other reason then price. I had no great expectation regarding the instructions and there was little surprise. For example I thought that basting was temporary, but the instructions tell you to baste the sides and if you think that that is to check the fit or whatever ... well, you'd be wrong ... it just uses term basting instead of sewing it seems :-)

The front pocket piece looks weird, but I ended up drafting my own using the exiting workpants as a guide and my husband is really happy with the new pocket ... yeay. Thanks to Grainline's Studio's fly front tutorial the fly worked out okay ... double yeay.

I am still debating what to do with the single welt pockets on the back, because the fabric is a double layered twill thus quite substantial, so in addition to my inexperience with these type of pockets I wonder whether it wouldn't be too bulky. When checking with Mr Giggles, he pointed out that he's never used those back pockets before and that he's never noticed the back pockets on other guys work pants before, cause he apparently 'doesn't spend his time at work checking out other guy's backsides ... who knew, right ???

Anyway, I am mentally preparing myself for muslin #2 to give myself another chance to practice on a cheaper fabric.

Secondly my daughter requested a 'Frozen' costume for Christmas, so once more I have considerable amounts of tulle and other costume fabric laying about. I went looking for the fabric now just in case it would need to be ordered from the US, but my local Spotlight had everything right down to the snowflake sheer costume overlay.

The cutting lady was saying that it was flying off the shelves and she wondered why, but it all made sense when I mentioned Frozen and Queen Elsa.

Also my son needs new shorts. He's gained some weight and feels bad about it and I think some new clothes that are not too tight would go some way to alleviating his fears. He's at the age where boys seem to grow outwards and then upwards. The boys in his year are all still boys and a bit chubby, but the boys a couple of years ahead of them are starting to become men and are all significantly taller and thus slimmer. It seems like yesterday when I was afraid I might break him just putting on his clothes after he was born and now he is approaching my size ... awwww

Before starting all this though I wanted to have a quick satisfying project for myself. I was tempted by another Colette Crepe dress, but I am still struggling to get the bodice to fit right. I think one issue is that it clearly has wearing ease, but when I wrap something, I don't tend to leave an inch or 2, cause then I think it'll fall off. Since making the dress the last time I have lost some weight around my bust, so despite all the previous alterations it is still too big. I have now started anew with a US size 2 bodice, but I am starting to have doubts about this project, because it is clearly not quick or easy. Add to that the fact that I always think wrap dress are nice, but in the end don't actually wear them. The original Crepe dress I have worn twice, maybe. On the other hand I bought the fabric specifically for this dress a couple of years ago and I think it would look really nice.

So in short ... lots of sewing muslins and not much to show anybody :-)

why I fail at MMM

Me-Made-May ... sigh ... I actually signed up this year ...

I pledged to wear 5 me made things each week ... I wore on average 6. So 'what is the problem' I hear you ask ...

Well, it's the pictures, I think. I took pictures for about 10 days, intending to post them every week, but as the first 'deadline' came and went without a smidgen of a post, my enthusiasm for taking the pictures waned considerably. Then the camera ran out of batteries, then I realised I really only wore the same clothes over and over again, then the second deadline came and went and my sewjo took a nose dive and the machine was starting to gather dust ... eventually I just gave myself permission to quit and carry on as normal and I felt so very relieved.

It is funny, because I do actually wear Me Made items most day, yet I was stressing about it to no end. The lesson that I take away from this particular experiment: If you don't enjoy something that is not necessary for your life, well-being or family, then for goodness sake just stop doing it.

So MMM is joining the ranks of fast-paced sew-alongs and perhaps self-imposed tight deadlines, something to avoid next time around :-)

the Quilting Exhibition - or what to do when stuck in a sewing slump

I haven't really been doing much sewing lately. I have been working on some mending, but nothing noteworthy unless you want to hear about the home in my jumper that I haven't fixed yet and a coat  button that fell off in the most inopportune moment. I got started on the cape, but that deserves it very own blog post of when I highlight all my mistakes so far :-)

Anyway, the Queensland Art Gallery is having a quilting exhibition and my wonderful friend Anne suggested a visit. It was a great day out ... the sun was shining, the quilts were exquisite and my friend is great company. Only a year ago I wouldn't have truly understood the work and the concentration that went into these works of art. I am not going to regurgitate everything I saw, because pictures just don't do it justice, however there is one quilt that I feel needs mentioning.

I felt that the most outstanding piece was actually the Francis Brayley Military quilt. Soldiers were encouraged to take up sewing instead of drinking and gambling, so some time around 1870 this quilt was born in the British barracks in India (admittedly, he may have bought it, but that doesn't sound nearly as romantic now, does it) .

Each little wool hexagon is 1.5 cm across and the entire quilt measures 238.7cm x 238.7cm.

That's a lot of little hexies and some dedication :-)

what to wear and what to sew

I am pear-shaped. I have been pear-shaped ever since I got curves and it is most likely that I'll stay pear-shaped for the rest of my life. Even when I got really ill and lost like 15 kg and became underweight, I was still pear shaped, although to a lesser degree I suppose. However judging by the women in my family, if I gain more weight I may also turn into an apple ... hmm

When I look for what I could wear as a pear (teheehee ... it rhymes) they often show pictures of celebrities to illustrate their point of view, but I think it is safe to say that that somewhat defeats the purpose. Most of these celebrities are barely a pear. They haven't exactly what you'd refer to as good birth-giving hips or thunder thighs.

I think, for Brisbane, I need to move away from the wardrobe to wear all year around (like in the UK) and move towards the distinctly seasonal wardrobe to suit the hot 'n humid summers and the cooler windy winters. I also have to become more sun-smart as I react to most sunscreens unfavourably with a rash, so less exposed skin would be good.  Maybe a floaty dress like this for Christmas that skims the thighs ...

I do have plenty of clothes, but I do need to start replacing some of the more worn ones. I frequently run short of consumables like jersey tops - last summer I really only wore plain t-shirts, but I now have a few patterns to spice this up a little - and I have no linen pants, which I think would suit the weather here really well. I have got Sewaholics Thurlow trousers for that, but I have never made pants before and I am SCARED. 

In order to direct both my fabric stash and pattern hoarding I am trying to make a plan and stick with it. I have no problems with the first part, but the second .... :-)

I am currently finishing of a jersey top, another Lekala 4099 this time with long sleeves. I have bought the Woodland Stroll Cape pattern and I have all the materials, so really I should do this next before the winter ends.

After that however I have many options ...

1, I have the Hummingbird pattern. I intended to do this with a piece of denim I had, but it is not substantial enough, I think. I have other fabrics such as an embroidered linen, but it would be more of a spring skirt and I can't quite motivate myself to start with that yet. Although, who knows how long it'll take me to 'whip up' that cape, for all I know we could be talking summer here.

2, I do have some fabric to make up a trumpet skirt, which suits a pear shape. However it requires a careful muslin as it is way too long and the flare has to be just right for the petite figure. I have two patterns there and the first muslin of the first pattern was a bit of a disaster, so I put it on the back burner. Perhaps it's time to look at it again.

3, a cardigan of any description. I have a few patterns in mind, but nothing definite. All things being even, cardis are my favourite type of clothing and I am a little gutted that I can't wear them in Brisbane for like 6 mths a year.

4, in August, I need to make a couple of boxer shorts for the husband and the son to sleep in, after which the daughter is likely to let me know her dissatisfaction on being left out, so I'll be making her a dress as well.

5, in September I'd like to make myself a dress for spring. I have like 5 different patterns that I could do and I have various pieces in my stash for those. I did for a moment toy with the idea of Colette's new Hawthorn dress, but I found the last Colette dress rather difficult to fit, so I might just stick with something I already have.

There are many more options in my stash ... we shall see :-)

gardening endavours and lemons

Ever since I moved to Australia I have had this fascination with growing my own food. We don't have a backyard, but books like The Edible Balcony keep this flight of fancy alive despite its varies issues.  My maiden name was Garden and for some reason, I carry this idea that I can do anything garden-related if I just put my mind to it, because, you know, with a name like that, how could you not :-) Oh, what I would give for a balcony like this ... (it's from the book)

We had a variety of plants on it over the years, but the strawberries have always gotten some sort of mouldy disease, the tomatoes also struggled, and the lettuce is bitter. On the herbs side we were slightly more successful. Thyme, Oregano and Dill do really well. Basil is a bit temperamental, but okay. Rosemary always dies eventually and coriander, when it actually germinates, gets eaten by something.

My husband dream of an orchard, so for 3 years we had a dwarf avocado tree, that eventually died due to some type of grub eating it's roots. I tried to get rid of the grubs, but they always came back. Eventually I bagged up the tree and the soil and threw it out. Not to be defeated, a year ago, we bought a lemon tree ... inspired mostly by Carolyn's lemon tree.

And looksie ... 6 lemons survived to ripen. 5 on the little tree ...

and we picked one ...

for our lovely Greek inspired lamb roast on Sunday. Disaster struck when our internet went down on Saturday and we had no recipes printed out ... only a shopping list. We decided to improvise on the recipe (a mix of oregano, rosemary, thyme, mint, lemon, garlic) and defer the baking part to a later date, but the leg of lamb looked and tasted great. It made for wonderful leftovers that were put in some pita bread with some yoghurt, garlic and cucumber mix :-)

Mother's Day Baking - Spiced Pumpkin Scones (egg and dairy free)

When I first started this blog, I had intended to also write about my adventure in cooking. You see, I knew how to cook in my youth, but, to be honest, I preferred take-aways or just already prepared food like fresh pasta where all you had to do is put it in hot water for 3 min and heat up some sauce in the microwave. Then I had my son and at 6 months, he all of a sudden started choking at the dinner table and it turned he was allergic to dairy and eggs. My finely crafted dinner plan was all of a sudden shot to pieces ...

Prior to my son I had always left baking to Marks and Spencers, but alas, at 4 my son wanted a Dinosaur cake just like his friends ... so the journey began. We had some spectacular mishaps especially with baking, but now I can't imagine going back. We were pleasantly surprised to find that last year, 7 years after his first trip to hospital, he had outgrown his egg allergy.

For Mother's Day today, they baked me some pumpkin scones ... and I thought I really need to share, because they are just soooo awesome. I have already eaten 3 :-)

The are both egg and dairy free and we usually use Jap pumpkin for it. It is a particularly sweet pumpkin and I had first found here in Australia, but it is also sometimes called a kent pumpkin.

To make the pumpkin purée, you cut the pumpkin in half , clean out all the seeds, put it cut side down on the baking tray and roast it in the oven at 180C for about an hour. It really depends on the size of your pumpkin and your oven, but it is really not hard. After it is cooled, you purée or mash it. Any that you don't use, you can freeze for later.

For the scones, you'll need:
1/2 cup of brown sugar
3 1/2 cups of plain flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of bicarb of soda
3 tsp of ginger powder (or mixed spice if you prefer that instead)
1/2 cup of dairy free margarine (in Australia we use Nutelex)
2 cups of puréed pumpkin

1, in a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients well
2, cut in the margarine
3, add the puréed pumpkin and mix thoroughly

Please note that if the puréed pumpkin was stored in the fridge, the dough is less gooey and can be kneaded by hand on a floury surface. If the pumpkin is still a bit warm, it melts the margarine a bit and the dough can't really be kneaded as it is too sticky (as you can see above). In this case just use a spoon and mix it well. The end product tastes great regardless.

4, form the scones and put onto a baking tray that is lined with baking paper. Some people form a rough circle and then cut 12 triangles, others just form 10-12 rough circles. In our case, the kids added some more pumpkin and it was a bit sloppy, so we used  metal spoon and put blobs unto the tray.

5, bake at 200C or 425F for 12-15 min or until done (our oven always takes longer)

In the mean time, amuse your children with the left overs to prevent them from climbing into the oven :-)

I like to eat mine as warm as possibly ... maybe I could have another one for desert.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone.

the lost month of April

after the production of the Gridlock dress I was a bit at odds with what I wanted to do next. I needed a pallet cleanser - the sorbet of the sewing world - but I struggled making my mind up.

I bought and downloaded the Audrey C dress from Maria Denmark. As far as PDF patterns go it was a pleasure to put together and it all went well until I got to the neck binding/facing and somehow it all didn't work. I ended up doing my own neckband and now it has been patiently waiting to be hemmed ... and it is still waiting. I am undecided to the exact length and how to do it. I bought myself a twin needle for just that occasion, but ...

As it got colder here in Brisbane I was reminded of my New Years Resolution: to knit myself a jumper. It'll be a short-sleeved top I think as I messed up the sizes. The pattern is from a book and whilst I was reading it, the 2 inches wearing ease made perfect sense, however once I got to the bust and I tried it on I realised that I NEVER EVER have 2 inches wearing ease in my jumpers, because I like it more fitted. I couldn't bear to start again, so I omitted some of the increases and added some waist shaping and it is not too bad now. Also it'll serve as a test case as to whether the cotton will shrink and how it wears. It's like a muslin really and I have an awful lot of the yarn ... 12 balls to be exact and I only need 2 per top (it's the Bendigo Woollen Mills Cotton 200 gr balls and they go far)

About 6 nights ago, I was fortunate enough in that my daughter started to sleep through the night, after waking up 2-3 times every night - she is 4 years old so take note people without children sometimes they don't sleep through at 6 months. I am sure it won't last, maybe she is coming down with something, but you know what they say about gift horses, anyway after 2 nights of uninterrupted sleep I felt much more energetic and started to declutter my stash.

I donated about 10m of fabric to my daughter's Kindy and 15 balls of yarn that I was never going to use. The fabric were pieces that were given to me or that didn't survive the wash or that were plain ugly - what were you thinking Giggles when you bought a yellow/orange/pink piece of mostly polyester seersucker. I still have more to do, but it feels much less oppressive now ...

creativity needs to be encouraged

I have a confession to make. I have quite a few projects that I have been trying to get to and then I get distracted by something shiny. Take this one for example. Last year my son came home rather excited. He had finally finished his embroidery project and couldn't wait to show everyone.. I was beside myself, because embroidery and my son were not 2 words I would have imagined to put together in a sentence ever, so yeay for this unexpected surprise.

In order to preserve this great work of art, I offered to make a pillow out of it and we went to Spotlight the next day to choose the fabric and the pillow. He finally settled on some dark green drill and then he waited and waited and waited, so this morning I finally decided enough is enough and quickly got to it. Who knows what his next creative project will be and when ... :-)

an Award - how cool is that

see my son, I CAN use the word cool just fine, I merely don't limit my vocabulary to only that word :-b

Jacq C of A Good Talking To nominated me (yes, little old me, woohoo) for a Liebster Award. Thank you, thank you, thank you :-)

Now, the Liebster Award is awarded to blogs with less than 200 readers to bring them into the limelight and hopefully increase their readership. The rules:

• Post 11 random fact about yourself
• Answer 11 questions posed by your nominator
• Nominate up to 5 other blogs for the award and ask them 11 questions of your own

Hmmm, random facts, well

1. I l-o-v-e the weather, I like looking at weather channel websites, I read about it, I talk about it, I think it is great
2. I absolutely adore vanilla ice cream with hot raspberries and whipped cream
3. My favourite season in Autumn, something we don't really have in Brisbane, but, in comparison with the UK (where we used to live) winter here is like Autumn over there, so it is all good
4. Hurricane Charley hit the US coast two weeks before my son Charley was born and we had decided on the name and spelling months before, so the weather-loving nerd inside me was beside herself with glee
5. I haven't really watched anything on TV for myself for 4 years.  The kids and husband do, but I when we moved 5 years ago my favourite shows where at different places here in Australia, so I had missed some episodes and eventually I lost interest
6. I am always puzzled that the spellchecker for blogger does not recognise 'blog' as a word
7. I was in a classical girl's choir for 8 years when I was a child
8. my favourite country to visit is Egypt
9. when I left High School I wanted to study Geophysics, but I had to take a break, because I had no money and eventually ended up studying Criminology, because I thought that Geophysics wouldn't have been very useful in the UK. Of course, Criminology is soooooo much more useful and now I moved to a mining country ... anyway
10. once I had kids I discovered that I actually really like children. I enjoy being around them, I love their questions and they make me laugh
11. my father doesn't drive and he lives in the German countryside (a house in the forrest) 2 km from the nearest bus. He either takes his bike or walks everywhere

now to answering the questions

1. You have enough money in your purse for one project - yarn or fabric? neither ... it's notions only this year
2. How did you learn how to sew? Books, more books and blogs, oh so many blogs, and still learning with each item
3. What is your 'turning point' garment - the one that made you think you might actually be able to do this? The dressing gown/Jedi Robe for my son 
4. What is the most unusual material you have used in a garment? well, it's not unusual, but the dark brown flannel was certainly the most frustrating. It kept dulling the needle sooo quickly.
5. Where is the one place you have always wanted to visit and why? as I am sweating along here during a heat wave, Alaska seems like the place to be, but in reality it is probably the rest of Australia. We have lived here for 5 years and we have really only travelled to my husband's mother in northern Queensland.
6. Would your teenage self have imagined your life now and, if not, what would it have been like? During my teenage years I had what people describe as ' an unhealthy family situation' so during that time I just tried to keep keep my head down. I really only lived from day to day, the future mattered very little. However, my teenage self now thinks she won the lottery of life :-)
7. If somebody asked your advice about learning a new craft, what would you recommend? Figure out your style of learning i.e. books or demonstrations and just keep doing it.
8. What piece of equipment is on your Wish List and why? It is a large cutting mat and a good rotary cutter. I lost my cutter and I only have a little mat. Ideally I'd like a sewing room, but that's not really possible right now.
9. Do you have the telly or radio on in the background when you sew and, if you do, what is on? There is usually some kids stuff on, but my New Years Resolution for them was less TV, so blissful silence it is (well, you know, as silent as 2 children can be)
10. What is your favourite snack when you're crafting? cucumber and hummus
11. Do you enjoy making things for yourself or others and why? I enjoy it both equally. My children love wearing mummy made stuff, and when I make things for myself I feel great about myself.

AND NOW, my nominees for the Liebster Award are ... drum roll please ...

1. Megan and the (Sewing) machine I really like her and wish she would blog more often :-)
2. Girl, Guy, Dog, Cat Her pictures are just wonderful (her latest with the bird party in the snow make me want to move back to snow, despite not liking the cold) and she is just learning to sew too, like me.
3. How good is that? She is very good and she sews for her elderly mum, which is very awesome in my opinion.
4. Dennis Marquez at Unbound Knits. He's had various blogs, but I do really enjoy both his knitting adventures and travel photography (he works on a cruise ship), so this is his newest adventure.
5. Sew Brunswick she is like wonder woman in the sewing world. She's done over 90 items in the past year and it's not like little things either, it's proper garments. How she manages to do it all is beyond me, but she is great :-)

Questions ... or the section that shows I have no imagination ...

1. What is your favourite craft?
2. How do you learn a new craft?
3. Have you ever lost interest in a craft and why?
4. How do you make time for crafting?
5. What does your family think of your crafting?
6. Would you do your crafting for a living?
7. How did you get started crafting?
8. What is your favourite item you have ever created?
9. and already I am starting to run out of things to ask, so what is your favourite weather or season?
10. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
11. frosting or cake? Do you create more basic items in your sewing/knitting/crocheting that get used a lot or do you have a tendency to go for the special occasion items?

This is, I think, the longest blog post on this blog to date, so thanks again to Jacq C of A Good Talking To who nominated me. Till next time ...

Burda splurge

In an effort to spend less on sewing (because really what I do most in regards to sewing, is buy things for it) I went to my local library to have a look and I walked away with some Burda magazines.

To be honest, I didn't expect much and 4 or the five magazines I got confirmed that quite nicely. A lot of lines, a lot of colours ... the need to take some paracetamol after looking at it for a while.

However the 06/2008, instead of just having everything on 4 sheets, they had 8 and it was much much easier.

So the last couple of weeks were spend tracing and sewing up muslins ... in short I feel like I did a lot, but have NOTHING to show for ... hmmm

However, I am finishing up the last muslin today, and then I will have things to show you, I think. Here is a little teaser :-)