My first teaching lesson

Yesterday I gave my first sewing lesson.  Don’t get too excited, it was only to a friend, but she is an absolute beginner.  I mean a proper beginner.  She could barely thread her machine.  Her name is Lynne, and she purchased her new lady off eBay and taught herself how to load her bobbin and machine the few days previous to our lesson.  Well actually she couldn’t manage it and her husband of all people, actually read the instruction manual and they sat down and figured it out together.  Awwww what a sweetie.
After reading many hilarious facebook posts I offered my expertise, or my experience and said I'd give her a lesson.  Now i could have just gone to her house and given her a boring lesson on this and that, but i wanted to share the love of sewing with her so i had to think of something to actually teach. 

I thought there are three things you need to begin a love affair with stitching. 
One – enthusiasm to sew
Two – great fabric.   Now this doesn’t have to be the finest silk, it just has to be fabric that you love and want to make into something beautiful.  It could be an old tea towel or fabric from your favourite dress as a child.  As long as you love it, it qualifies as great.
Three – great project.  This has to be something that you are able to do.  It has to be at the right level with just enough of a challenge to make you feel like you have achieved great things, but not too difficult to turn you away.

After a little thought, I thought a bag was a perfect project.  It was easy, and wouldn’t take too long to complete, and Lynne would have a beautiful bag at the end of it.  What more could a budding stitcher want right? Off to the Burda Style website I went, and downloaded this pattern from Novita from Very Purple Person blog.  I stuck it all together and cut it out, and then I went and bought some gorgeous fabric from my local shop.  I also bought her a few goodies to get her started. Some pins, dressmaker's carbon paper, marking pen and every stitcher's best friend – the unpicker/seam ripper!!!!!

I went through all the basics and taught Lynne a few little shortcuts and introduced her to the automatic needle threader on her machine…. Then I taught her all about fabric and selvages and warps and wefts (without using the words warp and weft).  I went through basic lingo and pattern markings and she made her first cuts into fabric and her first steps to making a bag.

Next we went onto marking the fabric and pinning and sewing darts.  Yes… my beginner learnt darts in her first lesson.  She is a champion student. Then we began sewing.  I took Bert along and we worked side by side.  With some misdirection from me she even learnt how to use her seam ripper.  The most valuable lesson of all i think

. 
After much pinning and sewing and quite a bit of gossiping…. we had both made a fabulous reversible bag each!  Lynn had gone from an absolute beginner to an accomplished bag maker in a few hours.  And all because of me!!!

It was so much fun, and I can’t wait for more lessons.  I thought we could make a pincushion for her stash, and a little purse and introduce the delightful zipper like Flossie or Tilly.  Any thoughts or ideas?  Maybe a cute little retro apron you know I’m so fond of and then  eventually we will make a cute vintage dress!!!!! 

A date with the unpicker

Well I guess you could say I’ve definitely got my sewing mojo back.  I was given this most beautiful fabric from my girlfriend Ness in Australia for Christmas (or birthday – they are very close together and in my old age it gets difficult to remember), and have been wondering what to do with it.

I wanted something to show off the fabric, and thought a shirt would look too busy and there wasn’t enough for a dress (would have made a perfect ‘Alice dress’)… so a skirt – with pockets!!!  I love pockets, and I miss pockets, and am going to put pockets in every dress I make, except for the slinky ones. Why do they take out the pockets once you’re a grown up?  It’s just not right.

It’s been a long time since i self drafted a pattern, so I adapted a vintage ‘style’ (1400) pattern I bought off eBay in a 70s lot pack.  Some of the others are just priceless.  It had a 13inch waist!!!!!  Who has that apart from Victoria Beckham?  So I made the waist bigger, the skirt less full, and added pockets. 

This should have been a one to two hour job from start to finish, but in my haste and lack of practice, I didn’t even try it on before I finished off the seams.  Stupid I know, but I really wanted it done NOW.  Alas, the skirt was way too big (or I’ve lost more weight than I thought), and the pockets were set far too low. 

So, many hours with the unpicker later, I eventually fixed my errors, and sat down and thought about what I was doing, tried the skirt on, pinned appropriately, and now I have one finished skirt (minus the hem – Nameless Cat isn’t too good with a ruler and pins). 

Ness I hope I made you proud.

Cheers, Cyd

A little bit of springtime in the home

Thanks for everyone’s lovely comments and love.  I’m still suffering from the lovely BB but I am feeling a little better, and hopefully on my way to recovery.  Thankfully I don’t have to be back at work for another week, so I plan on being healthy and having some new home made goodies by then.

I have been using my time wisely and sewing my granny squares together to make two lovely cuddly cushions.  They aren’t finished yet so I have no pics to share.

I have, however been busy making some new lovey cushion covers for my sofa.  After watching Mamma Mia whilst on holiday in Scotland last year, I discovered and fell in love with Josef Frank textiles.  After a quick internet search I realised his fabric was too far out of my budget and too hard to find. 

I realise this fabric is nothing like Josef Franks, but it is lovely and bright, and fit my budget and urgent time frame.  I really wanted to get rid of the fluffy faux fur covers I inherited from my lovely friend Ness when she left me here in the UK to move home and find her dream man (in 6 months!!). 

I have not used the most perfect sewing techniques to make these, and for that I am a little ashamed, but I am an impatient stitcher (I am also my mother’s daughter).  This I am trying to rectify, but when I want something NOW my 'slow sewing' goes out the window. 

Bali Belly

Hey there folks.  I am back from my amazing trip to Bali, but I have brought back with me a delightful case of Bali Belly and am in my second week off work.  I have spent many hours watching old movies and catching up on my favourite TV programmes.  I am trying to build up the strength to get some sewing done, but with the cramps and continuous trips to the loo.... the sofa is a much more preferable place.

So until I get my butt into gear (in more ways than one) and do some sewing I am going to share with you my sick purchases.  Today I was very naughty and feeling sorry for myself, bought myself some lovely new shoes and a pair of gorgeous earrings from Irregular Choice.  These are my absolute favourite shoe brand so I thought I'd share them with you in hope that you tell me how lovely they are and lucky I am to have made such beautiful choices in shoes. 

I can't wait to wear these with all of my retro dresses

These are the most beautiful shoes

Perfect for spring and summer wear



and these..... they will look good with EVERYTHING!!!!



I've been coveting these boots for a very long time

New Year, New Me!

So it’s a new year and a long time between blogs.  Unfortunately I begin this new year (I’m starting with the Chinese New Year) alone.  Yes it’s just me and the Nameless Cat and one  hero sized hole. 



My little helper



So although I find myself alone for 2011,  I begin this year with my beautiful sewing machine (fixed by the lovely Brother people)  and considerable stash of patterns, fabrics and notions that would not have come to be without Hero Boy. My plan for 2011 is to spend as much time hooking and sewing lots and lots of lovely pretty things with the help of the Nameless Cat . 

During some of my recent un-blogging time, I watched  United States of Tara and Being Erica and have many Alice frocks and wrap dresses planned.  and who knows maybe it's time to move back home to Australia, so lots of pretty dresses will be perfect.

Toni Collette as Alice in United States of Tara

Gorgeous Alice dress with chording and pockets

Fabric for the first Alice dress

I do have some things to show you, it hasn’t all been sad love songs, chick flicks and wine…..

Lately I’ve progressed on a few hooky projects like my granny squares.

Basic plain granny squares

Grannys with flower centres

 and a baby blanket for the not yet born Hugo.

 

And I’ve sewn a few things too....

........a cute blue and white dress.

.....“Porridge Bear” for baby Jessica

..... an apron for my sister (a really late Birthday present)

.....a  tea cosy of my own design inspired by my lovely friend Shakira during a very girlie, very crafty weekend here in Devon. With some other little patchwork thingies waiting to be sewn up.

And, yesterday I finally made a maxi dress out of some fabulous fabric my mum 'The Fairy Godmother' sent me for Christmas.  I am off to Bali for two weeks next week, so I wanted to get it done by then.  I have one more dress to do, and one day to do it in…. I’m not holding out too much hope.  I have been spending my sewing hours doing other not so happy things of late.

the fabric



the dress

On a Happy note
Three work days and six sleeps to go until Bali.  I plan on gaining many freckles, reading a book or two, spending a lot of time on the beach, and coming back with some lovely fabric to add to the ever growing stash. 

Oh and as 2011 sees two of my beautiful girlfriends head down the scary road of IVF, and another friend with baby Hugo due in March, so hopefully there will be many lovely cute baby things made by me too.

So a Happy Chinese New Year to you all, and may 2011 be creatively prosperous.

Cyd

Guilty

Hey everyone.  I just wanted to say sorry for the lack of blogs.  I have actually been doing some sewing and crochet but I feel guilty for not doing the other.  Does anyone else feel this way?  I still have some christmas sewing to do, but everytime i think of doing it i just want to make more stuff for me.  Too many things on the to do list.  That is my problem.  After all the Christmas stuff is done, I am going to try to do one project at a time. This of course will not happen, as I love making stuff for other people.  But less stuff for them and more for me..... that's the plan.  And more blogs. 

My first granny square

Look!!! I've made what I hope is to be the first of many granny squares.

I should have been sewing my christmas presents, but I was so tired I didn't trust myself with a machine that has a sharp object going at a very fast speed, so wook and a wooden hook did it, and I must say I'm quite pleased with my first attempt.

For more crochet inspiration check out Lucy's blog.  She has really beautiful hooked lovelies.