The need to loose weight!

Here we are at a recent event Steam punk Saturday at the library! It is all very well for me to sew and make pretty things but I really must loose a bit of cushioning. Both Steve and I are getting too comfortable. Less sitting and more doing is called for! I am beginning to resemble a cottage loaf which has always been a dread of mine. Well ,less wine,less food and less honey I guess. When I was 16 what I would have given for the bust I have now! I feel like a ship in full sail  now,where did it come from? So the odd man says,you are cuddly well I want to be a bit less cuddly think

Could this be the remedy? 

or this perhaps?Futher bulletins  on flab fighting to come!

Latest finds

This is what I am going to do with an old white blouse. Quite easy I think. I have some white broderie anglaise and some dainty buttons. I think it might flatter the tummy!! 

This is the last thing I have made ,it is a pinny for my Mum who is 92 but insist on wearing aprons to match her outfits. 

I used a bit of antique lace to make a pretty drawstring pocket. She has now given me my orders for 3 more,I am half way through a blue on!!

Last year I made three frilled slips for the summer and now the pattern is so simple I think I would like to make some winter underskirts. I am looking for red flannel or brushed cotton for this. It seems sad to be thinking of warmer clothes especially as I am off to Baziers in southern France soon for warm break. I just can't wait to trawle the markets for fabrics. Last year Toulon market yielded some treasure

What  has been going on in the sewing room

I have made two slips with frills and a long lacy dress and am now in the middle of a quilt for the small guest room. I love lavender and this is the theme for the room.I am putting the top together and will have to buy the wadding. I bought some very wide material in Toulon Market when we were on our last holiday and this has sprigs of lavender on a plain back ground, it  was 4 euros a metre amazing!, This will be the backing. I made some good charity shop finds for this room,a  deep lilac single sheet and two pillow cases that still had the label on for £3. I will add some dyed lace to these.

Some lovely things have caught my eye and they are a never ending source of inspiration!

This is lovely and timeless!

I like the simplicity of this.

This too is simple and it  would be quite easy to copy this look

I love the idea of contrasting panels and I would love to wear this.

This is really dainty,love it.

This is really nice,looks so easy to wear!

Lovely summer dress by Ewa y Wallla

Must get back to the sewing!

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New Inspiration

This is a simple but I think rather attractive wrist band.

Easy to do too!

I just love this blue dress and want to make

Lovely upcycled dress !

An outfit by Pucerone.

I love this patchwork skirt ,real log cabin wear!

Lovely,mystical coat, the stuff of dreams and fairytales!

Think I could make one of these,love the pockets.

Well that is a little inspiration,I am in the middle of an experiment  with a pattern at the moment.  and hope it turns out well!! Since I have had my sewing room I am making less mistakes. the feeling that I can get up and leave everything were it is and then return to it later is really liberating. No more hysterical must finish itis!

I just want a tailors dummy and everything will be perfect,I am sure that one will materialize if I think and wish hard enough!!!!!

Sweet Disorder: Christmas is over and New Year startedThe sewing r...

Sweet Disorder: Christmas is over and New Year startedThe sewing r...: Christmas is over and New Year started The sewing room is no longer a guest room for a while and I have been able to get into my retreat...

Christmas is over and New Year started

The sewing room is no longer a guest room for a while and I have been able to get into my retreat once again.Virginia Woolf wrote that every woman should have a room of her own. Sadly most people do not have this luxury but at the moment I am lucky to have my own space. When things get me down I go and look at my collection of fabrics and sit on the sofa getting lost in a bit of whimsy! I love old fashioned illustrations and sewing instruction books,fantasy and inspiration for me.

This is a nice idea to embellish sleeves !

You can collect lace edgings from tray cloths and doilies,they look good dyed  different colours or steeped in tea to get an antique look.

Here is another idea,making bloomers out of old white cotton  trousers! I love bloomers they are great fun!

At the moment I am making a white silk slip in this style and I will post the finished result. The material is light as gossamer and I was wary of using it as it is so delicate.

Think I will try this on an older cardi,,my house is getting swamped with doilies as I search charity shops for them and buy them impulsively!There is something so delightful about them ,so dainty and small but made intricately.I like the hand made ones best as I imagine their stories, the hands that made them and the homes they were part off.

I like this idea as well. You can customize and update jumpers using favorite  scraps of fabric and lace.

To make my sewing room complete I am looking for a tailors dummy that is adjustable,they are expensive new so perhaps I will find a  second hand one,anybody got one they want to be rid of? I have this idea that if I had one it would make me more  adventurous!

 Back to the sewing!

Some more inspiration !

I love this dress,it is called a prairie dress and is based on the practical clothes worn by women in the early colonization of the American west.

 This is from Ewa Y Walla and I like the idea of making my own version of this.It would lend itself to summer or winter fabric and look good in a layered look.





Maybe will these lovely bloomers?

I like Magnolia Pearl ! The use of different types of fabric and recycled lace .

Some examples of  Robin Brown's designs for Magnolia Pearl.

Great winter skirt!

Pretty idea.

Well these are just a few of the things that have caught my eye recently  and that have given me some inspirational ideas. The trouble is I can't make things as quickly as I can download the pictures !!!

 

Spending Time in the Sewing Room

Spending time in the Sewing  Room

My old  friend Sally who is a an accomplished performance poet from London came to stay so sewing had to play second fiddle for a week as Sal was sleeping in my sewing room .Sally and I enjoy nothing better than trawling the charity shops for bargains,I look for clothes,fabrics and anything with old lace and Sally loves outrageous necklaces and beads. She also loves loose tops and warm woolly things! During her visit my sister in law Deborah and my brother Andrew were having a break in Penzance so Deborah joined us for a day of ferreting about. Deborah loves china and found a gorgeous plate in her colours, green and yellow in a  floral design. All this was huge fun rounded off with afternoon tea in Uneeka a really lovely shop in Truro which has a quirky cafe as well.

Anyway good things come to an end and I now have time and space to get some sewing done. I thought I would have a go at "upcycling" a top I bought for £1.99 in one of the charity shops.

This is my favourite room in the house,girly to the point of twee maybe but it is a soft haven and its all mine!I can leave my sewing out and some how that makes all the difference not having to put it all away to make room for other things.

The top of this dress is the recycled blouse,I liked the red embroidery and wanted to use it somehow but the bottom of the blouse was rather worn. I happened to have a piece of red fabric that seemed to be perfect match.
I cut off the worn parts of the blouse and added the skirt I had put together.

In my basket of antique lace I found this piece of beige crochet lace that fitted into the  background colour scheme of the top. I used the embroidery stitches on my sewing machine to embellish the cuff.

I am pleased with the result and am now attaching two frilled cuffs to finish the dress.
I have tried the unfinished dress on and it looks fine,it is really Christmassy and I think I will wear it with a long petticoat and boots on Christmas day.
Now I have to find the fabric and match the lace for the petticoat!
There is a real satifaction in recycling and I think this will be the first of a lot more garments.

Bye now,happy sewing!