Yeah, I know it's already 12th January! My children didn't finish school and college until 23rd December, which means they only went back to school and college on Monday...is it really only four days ago? Why am I so tired?
Poor Eden had to go back to college on her birthday! She was less than impressed to say the least. I now have two adult children, since Eden turned 18 on Monday! It's a strange feeling.
Christmas was quiet (well as quiet as it gets around here!), and I did a lot of cosying up on the sofa, a bit of crocheting, but not a lot of anything else, which felt good. In fact so good I'm finding it rather hard to get back into the normal routine. Grey January skies certainly don't help.


I've been working on updating my wardrobe with clothes that feel good lately. I designed this dress to wear to our WI Christmas party. The bodice is princess line, and the skirt is full circle with extra panels and box pleats at the hips. The fabric is a waxed cotton. The dress uses a full 6 metres of fabric, most of which is in the skirt! I am also wearing a full petticoat in these photos and a store bought bow belt.
This feels fab on, really swishy and feminine. I love it! Of course as usual I want to tweak certain things.( but that's for another post)



I used the same pattern to make this dress. This time the bodice is lace underlined with black jersey for the main bodice, sleeves just lace and the skirt is made with some gorgeous vintage pinstripe suiting.
Again worn over a petticoat and with a belt.



I put in an exposed zip this time to juzz it up a bit. I think this is the least successful of the two dresses, but it will be a good addition to my work wardrobe.

I'm trying very hard right now to stay body positive while writing this. The reason I need to update my wardrobe is quite simply that nothing much in my existing wardrobe fits me anymore. I could easily (too easily) sit here and write an entire blog post about every flaw I can see when looking at these photos, but I wont.






Happy New Year lovely readers. Don't forget to follow me on instagram

After around 12 years of loyal, if sometimes temperamental service my Brother 1034D has finally called it a day. That machine certainly earned it's keep, sewing hundreds of cloth nappies back in the days I was running a cloth nappy business, (Good old Tiddlybums.), and stitching countless other items over the years. I only paid £150 for it back then, so that works out at a fraction of a penny per item. It went out with a bang and a crunch, and now nothing is working. Sadly it's barely worth repair costs, and so here I am in project , "fund new overlocker".
My faithful old overlocker will no doubt be making it to Ebay to sell for parts (wow! that sounds cruel doesn't it? ), and I've been stashbusting, running up skirts for my Etsy shop with dreams of a shiny new overlocker.



I love a circle skirt for glamming up my everyday. On a rainy dull Manchester morning when I have one eager child running ahead to school and one dragging his heels behind, I take solace in the swish of fabric . When you've been mumming as long as I have a pretty skirt and a slick of lipstick can go a surprisingly long way to improving my day. Add a petticoat and I'm in heaven !



Of course, I've kept one skirt for me too.

 

There has been little time for sewing lately. There was the decorating, children going back to school and Ernest starting school, and then this weekend we deposited India at University! The day is one we'll never forget, I'm sure her first day at University would've been memorable enough, but about 10 miles away from Nottingham, our car started to do some very odd things, the dashboard was lighting up with various warnings, and we practically limped the last 5 miles to the campus car park!
Thank heavens for the RAC, who turned up quickly, but couldn't fix the car, so we had to come home in a tow truck with our poor car towed behind. A very bumpy ride home!
All the chaos meant we didn't get the time to thoroughly settle India into her new halls; instead it was a case of hastily unpacking as much as possible before the tow truck arrived.



India has begun to settle in to her new home, and make friends, it's very quiet here without her, but we are so proud of her and happy for her to be doing the course she really wanted to do, at her first choice of University. She is doing Primary Education at Nottingham Trent.

Yesterday, I finally had some time in my shed to sew! The weather has been lovely lately, but yesterday felt colder than it has in a long while, turning my thoughts to my Autumn wardrobe. I bought this lovely printed viscose a few months ago, with intentions to make a summer dress, but I think the colours transfer nicely into Autumn, with the mustard and grey mixed in with the brighter blues and pinks.



I decided to make a skirt, I wanted something full and floaty, but something a bit more than a full circle skirt. So I cut out three full circle skirt pieces and made a simple wrap skirt . The viscose is horrible to sew with, and the waist stretched out lots, which worked out ok really, because the skirt wraps around me once and a half, giving lots of fullness and floatyness.
The tie belt has no interfacing and is very long, so it wraps twice around my waist and ties in a lovely big floppy bow.
A very girly skirt. Today I'm wearing it with a t shirt and leggings, but I think it will work just as well with tights,boots and a sweater once the weather cools more.
A quick and mostly satisfying make to take me into Autumn.

Some days I need to sew, I'm certain I've mentioned that here more than once before. I sew for lots of reasons, because I prefer the fit of clothes I make to that of ready to wear, because I like having a wardrobe of clothes that are not like anyone elses, because I like the challenge and the process of making, and often because it is like a meditation, it calms my spirit, and eases my soul. Those are the days I'm so very glad I was taught well, and can make up simple garments without thinking. Those are the days I most need to feel the satisfaction of blades cutting through fabric, and that comforting hum of the sewing machine.

Yesterday was one of those days. This time of year is full of ghosts, bittersweet memories and too much sadness. I don't run away from the sad, it needs to be sat with sometimes, and I can do that better if I just sew.

 

I'd been thinking of making the Colette Sorbetto for a while. I had a small piece of the gorgeous cotton lawn I used last summer for my Hawthorn dress and thought I could squeeze a simple blouse out of it, luckily there was enough to also add sleeves.

I cut out a size 12, did my usual full bust adjustment (FBA), and removed the centre pleat. (If I make another I think I will add the pleat back in and make a faux placket, or perhaps pin tucks instead of the pleat.

The lace collar was salvaged from a ready to wear blouse I've had for several years and was getting rather tatty. I used bias binding made from the blouse fabric to finish the neckline.

 

Having finished the blouse I realised I had nothing much to wear with it, so fishing some lightweight wool suiting out of my fabric stash and using the By Hand London circle skirt app
I whipped up a simple circle skirt with a wide waistband, and left it to hang overnight in my shed.

 

This morning I nipped out there in my slippers and nightie to hem the skirt so I could wear the whole outfit today.

 

I'm really pleased with both items. How great is it that sewing helps heal my mood and I get something lovely to wear too? I know I can't be alone feeling this way, I'd love to hear from others out there who use sewing as their safe place.

Of course a circle skirt demands a certain amount of twirling too!

Almost a year ago, I upcycled a vintage cotton overall into a skirt. I was never completely happy with the skirt, it just didn't fit well and consequently never got worn. I love the fabric though and couldn't stand to part with it, so a couple of weeks ago I cut it into a dress bodice, using Simplicity 2444 (again!). I didn't have enough for sleeves which is a shame because I really don't like wearing anything sleeveless.



I was initially going to add the bodice to the mustard linen I used on my tablecloth dress, but the colours really didn't work, so I bobbed into Abakhan in Manchester and picked up this lovely teal linen blend.
I used the brilliant circle skirt app at By Hand London to draft the circle skirt, which I wish I had cut slightly longer, it feels a tiny bit too short. (Especially with my very white legs!)

The fit on this bodice is probably the best so far using the 2444, I think I have finally, maybe got it right..well nearly anyway!
I'm afraid I just wasn't brave enough to wear the dress without a cardigan today, so popped this short sleeved cardy on top.