UFO#2 the Space Shorts

When I started these shorts in February I was so proud. I did both inseam pocket and back pocket and it was fiddly and hot and I persevered ... and then my son tried them on ... and ... and ... and ... they were TOO SMALL.

I was somewhat crushed, okay I nearly cried and my son, my beautiful baby boy, offered to go on a diet to lose some weight so I didn't have to change them. Since at that point he was positively underweight, I made some cake instead and put the shorts away to alter another time.

Well, the time has come ...

One of my issues was that I didn't actually know how to make them bigger in the best way. That was solved when Sewaholic released her Tofino Pants that have a panel on each side. It is hardly noticeable and I was able to keep the inseam pockets.

Each panel is about 4 inches across so in fact I added 8 inches to the original waist size. It wasn't that much too small in February, but he gained considerable weight on his last asthma drug and I wanted there to be room from growth.

Sadly that cheering is not for me, but rather the Ashes and a golden duck. I am not even quite sure what that is, with cricket not being my thing. My husband has tried to explain the various details on the game many times, but it just hasn't captured me at all. I have this theory that if you are not into sports then cricket may as well be an instruction manual written in Swahili for some doohickie that carpenters use. :-)

UFO #1 the 'break the hiatus' dress

This was originally supposed to be a wearable muslin for my birthday dress. I started in August and then September rolled around and it changed it's name to the birthday dress. And then October came and it changed it's name to the 'tax return' dress. And now ... sigh ... it is November and I used it spurn myself on and break this unintentional hiatus from sewing.

It is New Look 6935, but I added little cap sleeves to make it more wearable in the harsh Queensland sun and to protect my shoulders a little.

I did a 12 throughout and it fits very comfortable with plenty of ease. The only alteration was adjusting the back (same as last time really).

It's a little shorter then my usual, mainly due to my husband pointing out that I am not over the hill yet and I thought why not. I wear flats most of the time and I am short, so I don't really need to finish everything at the knee.

I feel really pleased with this dress ... actually I am beyond pleased, I wore it today and 2 people wanted to know where I bought it ... hehe ... and I feel like making at least 2 more right now, but alas, there are more UFOs ... many more :-)

down with the UFO's ... again

hey y'all, it's been a while ... I am still alive, but I got side tracked by things like birthday parties (yeay ... another year older), tax returns (again? I swear I just finished one of those) and a school fete.

Also, since I started sewing I have become hyper aware of my shape and weight and it definitely had an upwards trend. My doctor very tactfully pointed out to me that I had gained 6kg in winter and that it was perhaps a trend that I didn't want to continue - the pictures I took in my stripy skirt and that I didn't post, did not help at all. Having been much more overweight before I had children I definitely didn't want to go back to that, because I don't carry it well at all. So instead of doing something crafty when I had a spare moment, I went for a walk.

Now 4kg lighter and on the right path, I took a look at my sewing and I didn't like what I saw. UFO's everywhere ... just like last November actually :-)

My table of shame - each little pile a started project - I feel a little sad just looking at it.

Anyway, last November I had a similar situation and I did actually get somewhere after making a similar post, so here it goes: .... For the rest of November I, Giggles in the Sun, solemnly swear to work on all 6 UFOs as listed below.

1, the Birthday Dress - actually it is a wearable muslin for the birthday dress, but I have forgotten what fabric I actually wanted to use, so this fabric will do. Bodice is made, rest is waiting ... sigh for the last 4 weeks.

2, the Short That Were Too Small - I did them in February for my son and accidentally made them too small and I hadn't been able to face them since

3, the New Years Resolution Pullover/Tunic - it's supposed to be my first garment properly knitted from start to finish for me ... all I have left is the arms, but for some reason I keep stalling

4, the Check Mate Hollyburn Skirt - left over from the Sewalong in January, only needs the zip and hemming

5, Newlook 6803 - all cut out and patiently waiting

6, a Burda skirt (forgot the number) - desperately needed to fill a hole in my wardrobe. Pattern was traced in October 2012, muslin was made and fitted and ... and ... and ... it's been in it's little plastic baggy ever since.

I leave you with a picture of the local wildlife that came to visit us. I do love stick insects. Their wings are very beautiful when the fly, they don't bite, sting or otherwise maim you, and they are not poisonous (this is Australia, a lot of things are regardless of their beauty). My husband is trying to rescue it from the ceiling fan.

Quick update

been sewing for the kiddilies, but somehow never got around to actually posting anything. I took some quick pictures, obviously only after they've been worn to there are already stains on them, but if I didn't do it now, who knows when the next opportunity would have come along :-)

First of a pair of shorts as my son gained significant amounts of weight on his new asthma drug (6 kg in 4 months or 20% of his overall body weight), but now that he stopped, he is slowly losing it too. I had hoped it would translate into a growth spurt, but I am still waiting for it.

I have at least another 3 pairs to make, so be prepared to see some more soon.

Now for the little girl I had cut up these small pieces last year to make a little skirt, but never got around to actually sewing it. At first I was intimidated by the gathering, then I worried about proportions and finally I realised if I don't sew it now, she'll grow out of it before I get to it. The solid pink is her hip circumference times 1.5, then divided by 2 and then added seam allowances. The flowery tier is her hip circumference times 2, then divided by 2 and then added seam allowances. However, I don't think there is any need for precision tbh. An inch too much isn't going to ruin it, I think.

So 2 more pieces stash busted, but I really need to start on some of the bigger pieces in order to free some room :-)

when in doubt ... make bunting :-)

We had a working bee today with the mums of my son's school to make bunting for the school fete and it was wonderful :-)

We laughed, we talked, we cut, we sewed, we pinked, and we ate cake.

It was a reminder to me how much fun social sewing can be. Yes, I feel connected through the blog world, but seeing people and interacting with them makes me feel alive. I loved it so much I went home and cut some more triangles from my stash, thus busting 5 pieces (some pieces were so little I didn't count them) and being back on track with stashbustin' :-)

well ... about those plans

hmm, it seems that every time I make plans and talk about them here, something happens and it doesn't quite materialises. Case in point ... last year we went to Tangalooma 3rd week of September and it just started to warm up here in Brisbane. Last week (2nd week of August) was beautiful and on the weekend we had 27 degrees, I might be jinxing it, but I am struggling to see the late cold snap Queenslanders keep going on about.

Anyway, due to this rather warm weather (and the fact that I procrastinated as if they were having a world cup for procrastination all throughout July) the cape of course did not get finished. It's now all packed away and I shall give it another go next winter. Instead I have finally finished a skirt from my Burda Splurge last November.

The skirt was inspired by the cataloguer's green stripey skirt although I used just a cheap Spotlight drill for it. It shows a little as the colours ran, so now the white has bluish tinges to it, but it is doable and I think when this wears out I'll see about getting some better quality fabric. The pattern (Burda 06/2008 121 B Skirt) had a pleat within a pleat on the front, but that was too much fabric for me there. Also it sat on the waist without a waist band, so I lowered it and added a curved waistband for my comfort. I don't tuck my shirts in, so I wanted the pleat to be visible even when I was wearing a shirt. I am debating of taking the sides in a little, but I need to wait and wear it a couple of times, before making anymore changes. I feel that sometimes you need to let thing settle a while and then look at it with fresh eyes.

I am not a great fan on the pictures of me wearing the skirt. Of all the photos I took, this one was salvageable with some cropping, but in all others I felt like I look absolutely huge tbh. It is actually the part I dread most about blogging ... looking at pictures of myself. It doesn't help that I have had a really bad run health wise and I think my already dented self-confidence cannot take anymore. So instead I thought I show you a picture of my first buttonhole made with my vintage Singer buttonholer whom I'll introduce officially in a later post :-)

I am starting to think that I won't make my annual stashbustin' target of 26 pieces of stash this year unless something drastic happens. I should be on 16 pieces by now, but actually I have only done 12.5. I did give a considerable amount away to charity and the stash seems to be getting more controllable. Also since the clear out I have purchased a lot less fabric, because I guess I realised exactly how much I have. Well, on other news, the mending is going well and my son needs more shorts so onwards and upwards :-)

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 :-)

Lekala 4099 - ahoy there, mateys :-)

I am finally getting around to posting about my newest Lekala 4099. My husband has been occupying the computer lately with his desire to learn SQL.

I had originally planned for the jersey to be used for a Humming Bird top, but it is more of a cosy jersey that was asking to be made into a winter top. I had been thinking about making a long sleeved top like this for a while although as I finished it I realised that it might be a bit pirate costume like ... never mind though, everyone needs a bit of adventure in their life ... so ahoy there, me mateys. (I realised after I had taken the pictures that I had forgotten to press the shoulder seams, so ooops)

This version has a centre front seam as I couldn't fit is otherwise. I wasn't so sure about it at first, but it seems unobtrusive, so I'll see how I feel about it in a couple of weeks. I made it a little tighter then the black one, because the jersey relaxed and I need to resew that one as part of my next mending Monday maybe.

I am not very good at this taking pictures of myself business really. I am looking at my back thinking 'Why oh WHY, for goodness sake, didn't I smooth out THOSE wrinkles in the back"

Onwards to the cape ...

Monday mending

I have realised that a big part of my stash problem are clothes waiting patiently to be mended, shortened, or fixed in some other way. You know what it is like ... you find something in a thrift shop that only needs a seam restitched and you are going to do that the very next day and then it just sits there waiting and waiting and then 2 years later (or 4 ... sigh) it is still sitting there. Well, not anymore ... I shall spend each Monday in July and August fixing those things up, provided I don't get side-tracked too much ;-)

Today I mended a duvet cover for the kids (seam ripped 18 months ago), I fixed a dress for my little girl (been waiting for this one 6 month ago), and sewed a vent shut in a jeans skirt (bought 12 months ago) that was so indecent it could have given Sharon Stone a run for her money in Basic Instinct.

It was a nice beginning, but my crown jewel so to speak, was the refashion of an old flannel shirt from my husband into a scarf. It is sooooo soft, exactly what you want to wear in bed when you are sick and vapour-rubbed. I cut the shirt into squares - 3 from the back, 1 from each front, 1 from a sleeve, sadly the other sleeve was too ripped. I then sewed the 6 squares together, folded it lengthwise and sewed it, and lastly finished off the ends ... voila ...

Over the weekend I also whipped up another Cowl 4.2 (you can't imagine the joy it gives me to say whipped up, cause usually everything lingers a little longer in the Giggles' household), this time in dark blue. I still have some black yarn as well, but I really need to be concentrating on finishing the top, so maybe later.

Cowl 4.2

I have wanted a slim cowl for a while, because ... now don't laugh ... whilst doing the dishes in the winter, I can't wear a scarf as it inevitably ends up in the water. Since I knitted some of it during my son's athletics carnival, this reasoning had plenty of people in stitches (ha ha) ... especially non-knitters ... in reality I thought it was a perfect project - I had a clear idea what I needed, it wasn't beyond my skill level and I had the yarn just sitting around as a left over from other projects :-)

I had been looking for a while, but couldn't really settle on any pattern, so in the end I just made my own. It was a really fast knit, so I didn't feel too bad (and only slightly frustrated) when I had to undo it all over and over and over again to get the size right.

The yarn is Moda Vera Shiver in grey left over from the cardigan. The yarn is very bulky, so I didn't want a cowl that needed to be looped around the neck. Firstly I cast on 92 stitches and worked in the round, but it was clear after about 5 rows that it would be beyond massive. Next I cast on 80 stitches and I did the whole cowl and it turned still way too big. Version 3 was slightly better with 66 stitches, but was still gaping at the top. I needed it to be somewhat snug fitting, otherwise my neck would get cold, but not too snug otherwise it wouldn't fit over my head. Slightly frustrated I then cast on 42 stitches and started with that. I did 3 broken ribs and then cast off. All the way through I thought it was going to be too small, but I stuck with it and ended up with the top half of this.

My cast off is tighter then my cast on, so it was barely big enough to fit over my head. I wore it all day around the house, and whilst it was snug and warm around my neck, my décolleté (the part of my torso above my bust) got cold. So off I went and undid my cast off. I increased and increased and ended up with a kinda triangle shaped tube. Despite it being slightly odd looking, it is perfect for my neck. I call this a win. Maybe I'll make another one in blue .. hmmm.

Pattern for working it in the flat:

the Moda Vera Shiver yarn on a 9mm needle was 3 stitches and 4 rows for an inch square

Cast on 42 stitches (40 for the rib and 2 for the seam as my round needles where too big)
rows 1-5: knit 3, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2 ... until there is only 1 stich left, knit 1
row 6: knit all stitches
row 7: knit 1, purl 40, knit 1
row 8: knit all stitches
row 9: knit 1, purl 40, knit 1
row 10: knit all stitches
rows 11-15: knit 3, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2 ... until there is only 1 stich left, knit 1
row 16: knit all stitches
row 17: knit 1, purl 40, knit 1
row 18: knit all stitches
row 19: knit 1, purl 40, knit 1
row 20: knit all stitches
rows 21-25: knit 3, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2 ... until there is only 1 stich left, knit 1
row 26: knit 2, M1, knit 4, M1, knit 4, M1, knit 4 ... until there is only 1 stich left, knit 1
row 27: knit 1, purl the rest until there is only 1 stich left, knit 1
row 28: knit 5, M1, knit 5, M1, knit 5 ... until there is only 1 stich left, knit 1
row 29: knit 1, purl the rest until there is only 1 stich left, knit 1
row 30: knit all stitches
row 31-35: knit 3, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2 ... until there is only 1 stich left, knit 1
row 36: knit all stitches
row 37: knit 1, purl 40, knit 1
row 38: knit all stitches
row 39: knit 1, purl 40, knit 1
row 40: knit all stitches
row 41-45: knit 3, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2 ... until there is only 1 stich left, knit 1
cast off in a very loose cast off (I didn't have enough yarn for the full last rib, so I cast off after row 42

finish off by sewing the seam to form a tube.

On other news, I made a chocolate cherry brownie, where I didn't melt the chocolate, instead added it as chucks and then added a jar of heated cherries (without the juice). It melted the chocolate slightly and was very yummy.