Pretty Much Exactly Like Cinderella, or, From Rags to Riches

Hi Peeps,

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. And I apologise because I know you are out there readers, because the most unexpected people tell me they've been reading, and that they've enjoyed reading, which really makes my day. So to everyone I've seen in the last couple of weeks who's told me they've been reading; Thank you! (I am aware of the three repeats of the word "reading" in that sentence, before you berate me for my grammatical ignorance!)

So yes, how much like Cinderella I really do often feel - constantly cleaning, cooking, ironing, mopping... ok, not so much of the mopping; I mopped my kitchen floor on Friday for the first time in... I'm actually embarassed to say. However, it does get swept many times a day! And actually this post is not about my domestic frustrations. I am actually a fastidiously tidy person, and I love, yes, love, tidying, organising and feeling in control of my household. I actually reasonably enjoy ironing, and it also presents an opportunity to listen to a Bible talk or some readings whilst I'm doing it. I hate wasting time, so if I can do that whilst doing domestic chores, so much the better. And cooking. Well everyone who knows me knows how I love cooking. I'm sorry everyone. I know I'm always going on about my weekly menu plans and Monday morning shop, which is not flexible under any circumstances! Haha!

So let me introduce you to the rag referred to in the title.

My skanky old apron

I apologise for using that word, but there really is none better to describe it. It was part of a wedding present, with some other things from the Burleigh collection of various pink prints on ceramic, which were transferred to coordinating textiles. And I have loved it 'til its bitter end. But, alas, the end did come.

  
As you can see, it was used not only for cooking, but occasionally for decorating too, notably Noah's room and the kitchen

 

There was nothing left of the ties...

...and there was a large patch in the centre front which had worn away, and because the fabric under the pvc coating was very thin, I generally had a damp patch on my stomach every time I finished washing up.

Quite some time ago, I spotted a gorgeous pvc fabric in Dunelm Mill, which I earmarked from that moment on to become my next apron. It took a little while, until really the old thing had gone beyond use, but I eventually headed down to Dunelm with the purpose of purchasing the fabric.

Here are some progress shots, into which I won't go into much depth because, you know, trade secrets (haha), but let me just tell you, it is not easy to sew a seam down pvc on a sewing machine with the right sides together! But fear not, I quickly devised a foolproof method involving paper and masking tape. You can probably get the general gist from the photos below.

Cutting the shape using the "old thing" as a template, adding a little length and width

 

Putting the ties in place and holding down the seams 

 

Masking down the curved bib seams

Attaching the neck loop

Ok, so neck loop is probably not the correct terminology for that part, but to be honest, I don't know what is, so it will do. This was a quick project, presenting a small challenge which was quick and easy to resolve, but which also enabled me to learn something new. 

So here is the finished apron; at least now Cinderella can cook and clean in style!

No more falling apart ties!

In situ in the kitchen

"Hmmm, which utensil shall I choose, because I'm really cooking right now, ok?"

"Oh, what could be in this tin? I shall investigate...

 ...ah ha! Some pancake biscuits from Lorna!"

And finally, some gratuitous photos of my new apron swaying gently in the breeze whilst hanging from the apple tree.

Well, at least these photos remind one of the spring sunshine. Perhaps I shall have to make an additional apron to permanently reside in the tree, so well it looks.

Well I shall now remove my tongue from my cheek, especially since I now appear to be lapsing into Pride and Prejudice-esque language, and say goodbye until next time, whenever that shall be. Thanks for reading, readers!

xxx Sam

The first of many..?

Hello peeps (a ridiculous word I know, but I find myself drawn to it of late!) Well, you'll recall that a few posts ago, I showed you the Vogue dress I made, which I think I can say was a success, though one friend who I know will read this - you know who you are! - cannot get over the hilarity of me posing in my back garden wearing my creation. And I must admit, one can feel slightly ridiculous. Should I smile into the camera? Gaze wistfully into the distance? Feign the utmost interest in an imaginary object to my left? Well, I would love to say that I'll have to get used to it, as I hope to be doing a lot more posing in the future, but I'm keeping my plans to myself for the time being, as they won't come to fruition for a few years at least.

However, you'll have to bear with some more posing right here, because, since making Vogue V8469, I have been literally obsessed with sewing. I've been designing clothes patterns in my head left, right and centre and sketching them out, and, after having spotted some gorgeous striped jersey fabric in good old JL, I couldn't rest until I'd designed a pattern (something I've never done before, and I don't know why I thought I could, but went for it anyway, with a bit of help from youtube), cut it out - I fully recommend those rolls of paper you get in Ikea which are meant to go on those wooden paper roll holders, for children to tear off and paint on, if anyone's interested - and actually sew it together. And the end result astonished me! I have a lovely jersey dress which fits my figure perfectly, has pockets (yes, that most essential ingredient of a wearable day dress), and which, to be honest, I can't quite get over. My only qualm is that the pockets are not quite large enough to fully extend one's arm into, but I can remedy that when I make the next one - yes, there will definitely be more!

So, without further ado, I present the grand unveiling of my first, me-designed, dress. And as all patterns should have a name, I have decided to call it  the St Mawes dress. I'll elaborate on that later...

The St Mawes dress

I used a contrast deep pink thread for the topstitching on the neckline and armholes, but it's very subtle

I'm not a fan of headless photos, but I thought this one showed the whole dress really clearly so I decided to include it

...the pockets could probably do with a bit of a press...

So there you have it. The name, St Mawes, came from my ideas behind the dress; where would it be worn, what kind of occasions etcetera. I wanted it to be smart enough to wear, say, to a summer lunch, or wandering around a seaside town, but casual enough to wear with flip flops on the beach, or relaxing in the garden. I was thinking of all the beaches in Cornwall that I love, but decided I didn't want to name it after a beach because that would only encapsulate one side of the idea. I then recalled a visit to St Mawes, also in Cornwall, a couple of years ago, and thought it would be perfect as a name for the dress. St Mawes is a harbour town over the river from Falmouth, and is rather affluent. It has a harbour and various galleries, but also possesses a relaxed feeling of subdued sophistication. This was exactly the feeling I wanted to encapsulate, therefore St Mawes sounded perfect!

So, as you've probably inferred from the post title and my rattling on about my new obsession, I'm really hoping there's more where that came from. But be patient with me, as time is not on my side, as I all too often reiterate.

What do you think of my dress? Where would you wear it, or wouldn't you? And what about the name - does it work? Tell me your thoughts.

xxx Sam

A Boy and Some Yarn

Noah really loves his yarn...

He likes to squish it and rub it against his face (preferably when his upper lip isn't covered in snot, as here!)

He likes to feel its softness...

 ...and see how much of it he can pile onto his lap.

Oh, and of course, he refers to it as "yarn", not "wool." Good boy!

Here, he is admiring 800g of Falkland I finished plying a while ago; the largest amount I've spun so far. Believe me, this was not a quick exercise. It took several months, and I think thats a generous guess, just in case anyone thinks I spend all my time knitting and spinning. The reason it took months is because I spend no time knitting and spinning! I just fit in a little bit maybe a couple of evenings a week when I'm not way too exhausted.This is why my poor blog gets so neglected; because I choose to do the creating rather than write about it.

I had earmarked this yarn, once finished, for a particular project, but I'm thinking more than ever that I'd rather use it for a design of my own. Its probably a 4-ply ish weight, and the singles are one pistachio colour, and the other a bluey-green-sea colour. The difference is subtle but works beautifully.

The last two photos are particularly vivid. I just put them on the arm of the sofa, on a particularly sunny afternoon, with the sun streaming onto them. You can see the colour differentiation best in the second and third photos. I'm pretty pleased overall. Watch this space for the next fifty years to see what it becomes!

An unintentional dress for a wedding (Vogue V8469)

A few weeks ago I was looking through my projects, feeling a little disenchanted with Laar (yes, it's still plodding on in the background - I bought a miniscule 20cm Addi circular needle to do the arms as I'm so fed up with ladder sleeves, but its takes ages because I'm having to hold the needles a little awkwardly as they are so bloomin' small!) when I came upon a John Lewis bag which contained some beautiful, springtime fabric and a dress pattern which I'd bought when I'd just discovered I was pregnant with Laurie, who is now one, FYI. The pattern is Very Easy Vogue V8469, and originally I had intended to make the midriff and bow out of a harmonising but slightly differently patterned fabric, but when I looked again, I decided the harmonising fabric wasn't quite right. I remember now trying to choose it whilst in John Lewis with my MIL and Noah, and having to make up my mind pretty quickly (because of the latter, not the former!).

Anyway, on a whim, I decided to give it a go on a Monday evening. Monday evening became Tuesday evening, and eventually all the weekday evenings culminated in Friday evening, on which I stayed up all hours trying to get it finished to wear for a wedding the following day. This hadn't been my intention at all; I had just wanted a distraction from my knitting, and something completely different to concentrate on, but the more I sewed, and the more progress I saw, the more the little voice at the back of my head said, "Hey, if you work really hard and stay up late every night this week, you could wear this on Saturday!" So I became rather addicted, which has led to some exciting things subsequently, but more on that another time.

So here is the dress. The fabric is Gypsy Caravan by Amy Butler, which is a beautiful, fresh collection of gorgeous, coordinating prints, which was released, I believe, in Spring 2012.

 

I used an orange zip rather than green, to pick out the centres of the flowers, and I love how that turned out. It just makes it a little bit more interesting, especially since I changed my mind about using two fabrics.

All in all, I loved sewing this dress, and its inspired me to do much more dressmaking. I think dressmaking is in a class all of its own, rather than being classified as "general sewing", which I've done a reasonable amount of. Watch this space for more dresses and other lovely garments :)

xxx Sam