Progress report

Been feeling poorly bard as they say in these parts so not much sewing going on but have managed to make a start on one of the patterns I picked up at the charity shop the other day thanks to a speedily posted fabric purchase care of M is for Make.  I keep forgetting to take a picture of the fabric when it arrives as it's so prettily packaged in two tone blue butcher's style twine with luggage tag printed thank you note...but the fabric is soooo gooooood I have to take it out and caress it!  I bought 3m of Anna Maria Horner voile in Shattered and you know how I love voile, it's just so soft and drapes so beautifully.

Thus far I've almost finished the bodice of the dress and will need to put in a zip and add the skirt, which won't be quite as full as the pattern dictates partly due to miscalculating the difference between yards and metres and partly due to me deciding I didn't want acres of fabric in the skirt.

Sneaky peak of bodice

What has really fascinated me with this pattern has been the little discoveries I've made along the way, namely the seam tape I found from the original owner of the pattern tucked inside the pattern pieces in a little paper bag.  It made me all misty eyed to find it as it felt like a link to the past together with the little notes written on the pattern packet.  It's also a little strange to me that the lady who owned this pattern only ever made view A and never B or C as the pattern pieces were uncut.  I find it strange as I think all the patterns I picked up were from the same owner as they were all the same era and those that have notes on are all in the same handwriting and there were dresses that were similar that she must have made, but maybe that's it, she had those type of patterns already.  I wonder in years to come when I pass on my patterns what someone else will think of how I've used them.

The left over seam tape, wonder what the dress looked like?

The other interesting thing I found about the pattern is the fact that when it was new you could iron the pattern onto the fabric much like Sublime Stitching embroidery patterns and could be used upto 3 times, neat eh?  Assume it didn't work so well as don't think there are clothes patterns you can iron on nowadays, correct me if you know better!

Instructions on how to use the 'Easy Mark' pattern

I also love the early 60's style advertising!  Pattern is from 1962.

Ah, if only you could get 7 issues of a pattern magazine for $1.96 nowadays...*sigh*

Love the stylish silhouette of the sassy seamstress!

And since I'm a bit behind, here's some other fabric I picked up when I was only supposed to be getting some thread and a zip for the voile dress...naughty naughty

Turquoise jersey

Pink and purple flower print

The jersey will hopefully become a dress, I'm thinking of using an existing crossover front jersey top as the pattern for the bodice and then winging it with the skirt!  I want a dress I can just pull on with no fastenings and thought this would be perfect...we shall see if these are my famous last words.  The floral print will be a sleeveless 60s style dress that I think this print lends itself to naturally.  The pattern is one I picked up in the same haul as the one on the go now.  I initially thought this was a notion less pattern too but sadly not. 

Thankfully I've started to make a list matching patterns to fabric in order to get a hold on my spending and use up my stash.  I'm not going to transpose this list to here as it's all a bit 'if I've got enough fabric or maybe this fabric for this pattern or this pattern' as it was done whilst feeling too poorly bard to go measure anything and just from memory.

It does go onto the other page...this is how naughty I've been buying fabric and hoarding patterns

So here's hoping I get some new items of clothing to show off in Me Made June as I'm feeling a little under prepared as before...whoops!

Thank you Mr Postman!

Horray!  Talk about buses coming all at once!  I had three lovely parcels today!  Yay!

Customs and excise, otherwise known as Fizz the cat

Package number one:

The long awaited 100 self cover buttons!

Which has already been turned into these:

7 covered buttons

So I can now finish my shirt dress and hopefully wear it tomorrow!  Yay!

Package number two:

Charlaine Harris 'Dead Reconing' book

The latest in the Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood series of books.  I'm absolutely hooked on these and have been waiting for this on pre-order for ages so really glad it's here now and may need to start reading it...reading or sewing...tough decision.

And last but by no means least, package number three:

Anna Marie Horner Diamond Mine voile

Ordered this from M is for Make and must say it was the prettiest package of fabric I've had in a long time, all tied up with string and everything!  She even puts cute little luggage labels on them!  This is destined to be an Amy Butler Lotus cami for Sarah.  The colours look a little washed out here but it's a beautiful soft turquoise colour.

Hope you're all enjoying your weekend, long or not!

The internet is deadly dangerous...

for my bank balance anyway.  Since things haven't been going to well here this week (the buttons still haven't turned up, Mr Postman where are you!!!!) and when my boyfriend took me out fabric shopping yesterday and all the fabric shops were closed due to the wedding I started to get really grumpy.  So here's where the internet comes in...it was like fate and serendipity got together to make me happy!

I was up late watching dvds and surfing the net when a new email came in from the Anna Maria Horner site saying she's got a sort of sale if you spend over a certain amount you can get a free pattern!  So since I can't find the lovely Innocent Crush velveteen range anywhere other than her site I thought it was the perfect opportunity to treat myself and get a treat too!  Yay!

So this is the fabric I went for:

Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush Velveteen in Romance Revisited

and for my free pattern I chose:

Anna Maria Horner's Proper Attire Skirt pattern

I am so looking forward to this fabric and this pattern arriving to make everything all better!  Got a few other things that should turn up too in the post that have been ordered on the internet, hence why it's deadly to my bank balance!

Thanks to everyone who put up with my moaning and gave me encouragement and support (and even a virtual kick up the butt) to keep me going.  I'll try not to whine and moan any more this week!

Me Made March Day 14

Well, still haven't finished anything new after yesterday's disaster and am wondering whether to take that apart or start something new...hmmm decisions decisions.

Anyway, here's what I wore today:

Me wearing Lotus cami in AMH fabric, dark green bolero, Random Vintage chrysanthemum green lucite earings as they're my favourite at the moment.

It's Monday morning and I'm a bit bleary eyed, still bleary eyed if I'm honest!  Oh well, better get on with something!  Have made some progress on my present to my sewing buddy though so not such an unproductive sewing day.

Hope you have had a fun day, or at least made it through Monday alive!

Me Made March Day 4

Today I had the foresight to take my camera to work and forced an unsuspecting victim, ahem, work colleague into taking a photo of me.  This is a favourite top of mine blogged more about here.  It's just so darn comfy, I love cotton voile I've decided.  I've got some more Anna Marie Horner fabric that I've ummed and ahhhhed over what to make with but think it's just got to be another one of these tops but I think I'll put some cap sleeves on it this time and do the contrast top bodice piece, like on the tunic version of this cami.

Me wearing my Anna Marie Horner cotton voile cami made from Amy Butler Lotus pattern, old pair of jeans and a green Primark cardi that I've got two butterfly brooches from a charity shop but you can't see them as my hair is covering them.

Close up of top and my handmade necklace from bits of old necklaces, beads and charms, one of my favourites as it's jingly.

On a bonus I've made good progress on the raspberry cotton dress as got to finish work early and bought some light blue cotton with a white outline pattern of small flowers that I'm thinking of making into a dress too.  I've given up on the skirt I was trying to work out yesterday, I'll come back ot it, but for now it's a stitch too far.

Finished Lotus cami

Hurray!  It's finished!  I paired it with the skirt I made here.

I haven't fitted it as closely as the dress as wasn't certain I'd be able to do the buttons up on my own if I did.  I'm a little disappointed with the facings as the one on the front of the bodice keeps riding up at the moment, so might see if I can wonder web it down or something.

The fit is a lot better than this, but this is what you get when you can't see what you're taking a photo of and forget to check that it's all sitting nicely at the back.  I did remember to pull my hair round so that you could see the back, so one point to me!   Sorry it's a bit dark, wanted to get it done earlier in the day so I could have photos outside but I had a few technical difficulties with the buttonholes.

After getting very angry at the machine for chewing up the scraps I was practising on, I searched the web for some videos and realised that my manual for my sewing machine hadn't told me that I needed to use a special foot as well as the guide for buttonholes.   A few deep breaths later and with some more practising I made all seven buttonholes on the top with the machine.  A lot quicker than my alternative which was to make them all by hand.

I had fun choosing the buttons for this top as it meant I got to search through my button jar!

Look at all those lovely buttons!

These are the ones I chose, they're smaller than the 1" prescribed by the pattern instructions, but I like them and I can do them up without too many contortions!


I'm thinking of changing the pattern a bit next time and instead of buttons at the back I'm going to put a zip on the side.  I want to make two more tops like this one, one out of yellow and one from orange cotton to go with the orange tree fabric that I want to make into a skirt.  Really like this pattern and glad I tried the sleeveless option.  Might need to do a wardrobe sort out now though as I've really got the clothes sewing bug!  Are you addicted to sewing anything in particular at the moment?

So far so good with the Lotus Cami

Just a quick update on the Amy Butler Lotus pattern cami I've been making from the lovely Anna Marie Horner fabric I got from Raystitch.

The pattern instructions state that you need 2 1/8 yards of fabric for the exterior to make sizes large and x-large but I managed to cut out everything for the sleeveless version from one metre of fabric.  I made sure that I placed all the pattern pieces as close together as possible and once I'd cut the main pieces I refolded the rest of the fabric to be able to cut all the facings from the left overs.  So I'm going to get the top I want from the expensive fabric I like, but for a fraction of the cost it would have if I'd followed the instructions.  I suppose I won't be able to match the pattern but as it's so busy I don't mind.

Fizz is overseeing the quality as per usual

This is as far as I've got tonight, sleepiness stopped play.  I'm hoping to get it all done by the end of the week, but as this will be my first time tackling buttonholes it might take me a little while.  Hope you're all having a good sewing week!