Just a material girl

Well it's official I have a new obsession .... making clothes!  Well actually the obsession is more about thinking about making clothes than actually doing anything, but a girl can dream!  Obviously inspired by The Great British Sewing Bee and enjoying making trousers and 2 skirts over the last month, I have been really excited by the possibility of future sewing.  I happened upon Debi's blog at My Happy Sewing Place and I've had a wonderful time reading right from the beginning of her blog where she started in 2009 with her first dress.  She is a hard-core sewer producing fabulous vintage outfits from original patterns  in very short timescales.  I have definitely been inspired.  So what am I going to do about it.  Well I have quite a collection of patterns (many coming free with magazines) ...

and what do you need with a stash of patterns ...... a stash of material.  I went for the first time to Abakhan in Preston.  Whilst it was a bit hit and miss there were some real bargains to be bought and all this material cost about £60.  There is  enough for a wool jacket, wool skirt, dress, 2 blouses and 2 pairs of trousers - now I just need to get sewing.

In the meantime I have made an outfit! I finished the stripey jumber which I had made to go with my pleated skirt.  It's turned out OK, but rather baggy in the body even though I only knitted the size 34".  I don't actually check my tension when I knit because I find it boring, though I think I really need to learn to do this and possibly switch to smaller needles!   Next time! 

The dog broach is one of my vintage fair buys, I love it, I think it is a pretty old one as it doesn't have a safety catch (and scotties were very popular in the Art Deco period).

I've wanted to photograph the outfit on and the only way was in the mirror - so excuse the poor quality,  the flare from the flash and the admiring doggy!

 

This is quite a good beginner's pattern as it is  juststocking stitch and there is no picking up stitches around the neckline, rather you sew-up 3 seams and knit the stitches in a straight row - you might get the idea from this piccie

The pattern is from Debbie Bliss Spring Magazine and this is how it looks on the model!

I have another completed project my crochet cushion this week, which is adding a bit of colour to my settee.  I stitched the crotchet circle to some lovely material (Moda Walk in the Woods) which I really like.  Infact I could see a really nice blouse made out of it, but unfortunately it seems to be unavailable in the UK now!

 I enjoyed making this.  If you make one yourself make sure that you pull the crochet part quite tight when sewing up to get a nice plump cushion.  I learn something every time I make something!  (By the way the round cushion inner was a bargain from Dunhelm Mill at £3.95).  Here it is with my favourite Kiss tapestry cushion and my ripple blanket.

Finally, in case you are keen to see the progress on the Crochet Scarf here it is .....

Yes, all I've done is sort out the wool and wind a third of it and this took more than 4 hours!  So beware if you go for this yourself there is a lot of preparation.  Anyway, I'm going to give the crotchet a go now  (by making a tension square of course!).  Enjoy the rest of the week and thanks for visiting.  What have you been working on this week?

A final word from Jessie who has exhausted herself this weekend with all the fun.