I am Made Up

Phew.... I made it.

A month ago, Karen of Did you make that launched a sewing community initiative to raise money for the National Literary Trust.  The aim being for people to donate funds, and pledge to make something within the month.

Well I've been sitting with lots of shirting fabric in my collection, and a plan to replace all my old work shirts with copies of Butterick 5526 (after seeing other bloggers raving about the pattern - e.g. Lauren and Erica), and I decided that would be my pledge.

And here it is. View D bodice (princess seams, love) with the long sleeves from views B/C/E, and lots of topstitching....  It nearly didn't make it to completion in time.  I had a week away with work and then Mal was over for 10 days from the UK (and we went and played in the mountains) so that all ate into my sewing time.  I'm trying to take more care with my sewing, not rush to get it finished but aim to take my time and improve the quality. I seem to be more relaxed about it these days, if I don't make a deadline I'm not staying up late and stressing myself out.

The fabric is a lovely light cotton with a slight stripe and sheen, and was one of my haul picked up in the fabric market in Ho Chi Minh City.  I can't remember how much it cost, but it wouldn't have been much, and I have high hopes of its longevity as the quality feels excellent.  The only problem was that it frayed really badly, which didn't cause any issues but I'm now prepared with Fray Check if it happens again!

I cut a size 12, and added an extra half inch to the side seams on the front and back pieces (so total extra 2 inches) but didn't make any changes to the princess seams.  Sorry, I don't have any means to take photos of me wearing the shirt (no tripod in Canada!) but I can report that the fit is spot on.  Usually I have to make adjustments for the armhole being too tight at the front but this feels perfect.  The only thing I might change is to make the cuffs a little wider as with the button done up they are a little tight (if you're wearing a watch).  The length of the sleeves is perfect though.

To make the shirt a little bit special (and because I can, after all that is the whole point of sewing your own clothes) I used some leftover patterned cotton for the inside of the collar stand and the cuffs. I love how it peaks out. Hopefully it looks quite stylish?!

All of my seams were flat felled. This is only the second time I've done flat felling and I think I'm improving a bit. It looks a little tidier than last time!  However, I do need to practise more on the sleeve seam, it could definitely be neater...

Sunday Sevens - 16th August

1:

My wonderful neighbours have done so much for me since I moved to Canada, so I'm repaying them by dragging Mrs E out on a bike ride every now and again. They have a 5 month old daughter, so she can't go far or for too long. But she appreciates the break from baby (hopefully!). We ended up out for about 1.5 hours heading north out of the city....

2:

I spent money on a posh mattress. Anyone who's stayed at our place knows I haven't done that for a long time.... The floor is more comfortable than our old mattresses (and North American King size vs UK double? No contest! Also not shipping the beds over will mean more space to bring bikes, fabric etc etc!)

3.

I went hiking. On a school night. I think this the first time ever!  Prairie Mountain is near West Bragg Creek out to the SW of Calgary. It's a favourite for evening jaunts and an excellent get fit/training walk, as it's only 3.5km to the top but with 700m ascent (that's a lot, some sections are over 45deg). The path is very well defined, there are no route choices, and the risk of meeting bears is very low (lots of people, no berry bushes).

I proved my fitness by making it to the top in 1h04, and then my stupidity by running down in 40 minutes. Cycling does not make you fit for running down hill, I couldn't manage stairs properly for the following two days....

4.

Tracing patterns and cutting fabric. Why does it take so long? I just want to get on and sew!!! This is going to be my first Butterick 5526 shirt (for work, in white , although there may be some hidden surprises....).

5.
In preparation for Mal's next visit from the UK in a couple of weeks time, I've invested in some hiking trail guides.  This is not your average guidebook, this is "Don't waste your time in the Canadian Rockies".  It grades the hikes on how good they are, the intros are informative and entertaining and the hiking guides are very well written.  It even comes with pamphlets for each hike that you can take with you (so you don't have to lug the book around).
This hike is from the "Don't bother" section....

6.

It was raining (people in Calgary aren't used to rain, they stop - much like Brits do when it snows).  So I went shopping.  And I bought Tea.  This is very important. I am after all from a nation of Tea drinkers.  This tea is very nice and quite expensive.  The Irish breakfast is quite a strong blend (think Yorkshire tea) with a deep bitter flavour, and the Kenyan is weaker but still has more to it than what you'd get in the supermarket out here.

7. 

I was hoping to finish my Onyx top this weekend, but I got distracted (I'm not very good at finishing things...). All I need to do is sew the buttons on to the cuff tabs.  Isn't it the prettiest Liberty fabric though (for those of us not into twee florals)?

The Made Up Initiative

The brilliant Karen at DidYouMakeThat is kicking off a fundraiser for the National Literacy Trust, where we all donate and pledge to make something (anything!) in the next month.  Any promotion of books is a.good.thing. I devoured books as a child, and regularly "couldn't get to sleep" (code for staying awake all night to finish a book....). In fact, that may have continued into adulthood when I'm home alone... If anyone notices me falling asleep at my desk....

I'm in real need of some new shirts for work as my current (old) RTW ones are looking very tired and past their best. I bought the Butterick 5526 ages ago as I really wanted something that looks a bit more tailored and I think the princess seams give the effect. Then I saw all the excellent versions made by Lladybird Lauren and I was sold.

I've been collecting light coloured fabrics with this plan in mind. The top and right ones came from Croft Mill and the left I bought at the market in Saigon. You probably can't see it here but the top one is white and pink in a kind of brink effect, and is more Oxford shirt weight. The right one is a bit lighter and has a herringbone type weave. The left is the lightest of the three and a slightly shiny stripe running down it (which you would have seen if I'd taken a picture of the right side of the fabric!!).

Anyway, given that this pattern and fabrics have been languishing around for a while, I'm pledging to get one shirt made up in the next month. It's going to be tight (my last shirt took ages)! This  month I already have a week out for a work trip to the U.S. and Mal is here for a week so I won't get anything done then (too busy out doing things together yay!) 

Now in Cow Town....

I've been gone from the blog for a long time (again) and that's due to the massive changes going on around here!  In the last 3-4 months I've up sticks and moved country!! Now coming to you from Calgary, Alberta, Canada!

This change really kicked off last year. We had our fantastic biking holiday to Indochina, then one of my colleagues moved to Singapore, and along with that there were significant changes going on with my place of work (which hasn't been a pleasant place to be for the last few years).  I had itchy feet, was bored, and truly dreaded getting up in the morning to go to work..... So when a job opportunity came up with my employer in the Calgary office, I applied.  And probably because our software is so specialised, and importing a Brit is cheaper than training someone from scratch - I got the job!

Because of the situation (customer relations and visa requirements), there was a very quick turnaround between me leaving my UK job and starting the Canada one.  So my poor long suffering boyfriend is stuck back in Blighty trying to sell the house, while I'm swanning around in the mountains with bikes and hiking boots.

And now my mother (Hi Mum!!) is complaining that I haven't been updating the blog, so she can't see what I'm up to (she didn't get on with Facebook, and doesn't use Instagram).  I thought I'd better start back up.  What better way to start, than with a western style shirt....

In honour of Calgary Stampede (ok, that was a month ago but I'm prepped for next year now) we have Simplicity 1538.  Lots of people were wearing plaid shirts at the Stampede (and at work during Stampede week - it's a uniform really....), but I wanted to make a more traditional style and I already had this pattern with the front and back yokes.

I bought the fabric here in Calgary, it was only $6pm and is quite a loose weave cotton so will be great for summer wear.  I cut a size 12 and graded out to 14 at the waist.  I often find the cuffs on shirts too tight so I cut a size 14 cuff and graded the sleeve out as well, but I think now they're a bit big - I'll try and get pictures at some point but I don't have a tripod here at the moment....  It might be a little tight around the top of the sleeve now - I have ex-climbing muscles at the front of my shoulder (pectoralis major? anyway that bit that creates the hollow of your armpit) that often create fitting issues.  So I might need to swap the sizing and do the sleeve head in a 14 and cuff in a 12.

I really like the yoke details, pockets and flaps in this pattern, and the general shape of the shirt, but I'm not so keen on the cuff placket.  It turned out quite neat, I just would like to have the placket visible - so I'll hunt around for different methods when I make this shirt again. Oh and if you look closely at the left cuff in the back photo below, you can see that I got the placket the wrong way round....

The instructions tell you to gather the excess in the back before attaching to the back yoke, but I didn't like the look of the gathers so created a pleat in the centre instead. The yoke pieces are all cut on the bias as well, so you get that diagonal plaid.

I did manage to match the plaid across the front and almost at the side seams, but the button placket is 'upside down'.  I haven't decided if I like that, or if I'd prefer all the lines to match across the front. I really should have got the pocket flaps in line as well I suppose.

I did try to flat fell all my seams, which was easy enough to do (plenty of tutorials if you search on line).  For the next one, I'd prefer to have the two rows of stitching on the outside though, so I'll need to remember to sew all the seams wrong side together first.  All the double rows of topstitching are in the pattern instructions as the 'Western Style' design feature,, and I even used Tilly's trick of moving the needle over (I used position 5) and lining the edge up with the centre of the foot to get the neater line.  If you look really really closely you can tell which were the first wonky tries, and what came later with more practise!

And just because I felt like it, I added a loop to the collar on the inside of the shirt!

More flying birds! (aka the In Flight QAL...)

Hello! Is anyone there?! Oh dear, I've been a bit slack - its been a couple of weeks since the last post... That resolution didn't last long!

After the challenges of the Swan paper piecing for the first block of the In Flight Quilt along I got a bit addicted! I really enjoyed having to think a bit more about what I was doing and not mindlessly just sewing squares together...

Seagull

Each block/bird for the quilt is divided into four or five sections which are pieced individually then the sections are joined to make up the block.  With my Swan block (as it was my first attempt) I did each section in turn, completing one before starting the next.  As there was lots of running up and down stairs between the sewing room and the ironing board/cutting board after each bit of piecing this meant it took ages!

Once I'd done the Swan and had a bit more understanding/practise on what I was doing, I managed to piece each of the sections in parallel leading to a lot less stair running and faster block completion.

Swift

I'm still not convinced about when to remove the paper and the joining of sections.  I find that trying to join the sections with the paper still attached is just too thick and unwieldy, so I've started removing the paper first and marking/pinning the joins so they match up. I still managed to get the poor seagull out of line though, so had to unpick and re-do that one.  I should really tack the seams first, but I'm too impatient!

Curlew

As well as birds, I've also completed a March block from last year's Vice Versa QAL.  I would have done the opposite block for the month as well, but I seem to have misplaced a bear claw (one of the half square triangles) so I'll need to cut and sew another one before I can complete the block (or find the missing one under the sofa....)  

Swan in flight

It may have been mentioned before but this year I am trying to do new things, and one of those is paper pieced quilting.  I can't remember whose blog featured or provided the link, but somehow I came across the In Flight Quilt Along with the pattern designed by Juliet from The Tartan Kiwi.

Copyright The Tartan Kiwi Source

I was literally blown away by the design. I think it just looks amazing, and the challenge to create something like that couldn't be resisted so I bought the pattern straight away!

Juliet has lots of tutorials on her blog for paper piecing so I devoured them all, and then got stuck in to the cutting and sewing and pressing and trimming....

There was a fair amount of swearing and unpicking going on - mainly when I was being stingy and using bits of fabric that ended up being too small, or getting my brain confused with back to front mirroring of the image.  I even had to unpick one of the seams that join the four main sections as the swan wasn't lining up perfectly (trying to perfect the perfectionist approach rather than the usual 'its good enough approach).

Eventually, I got to this:

I am very proud of myself (big smiley happy face!).  Although I probably should have pressed it again before taking the photo.... Oh well.

A hot off the press Jasper Sweater!!

I know I'm not supposed to be buying fabric, but last week Paprika patterns released their second design, and it's the one item of clothing that I wear the most.

Enter the Jasper Sweater.....

Copyright Paprika Patterns - source

Isn't it the cutest ever? A fitted princess seam hoodie with tube pocket? That just ticks all the boxes!

Unfortunately (or fortunately) the release coincided with a crazy early day at work which meant I finished at lunchtime and was able to pop in to Abakhan on the way home.  Rooting through the fabric bins I found 1.85m of thick sweater fabric in blue/teal (my favourite colour, so destiny!) for the grand price of £11.

I cut a size 3 and graded out to a 4 at the waist (my usual type of adjustment), deciding on the sweater with hood version as that'll get the most wear (I do love the cowl and dress as well though!). Not having done princess seams before I wasn't sure which bits to grade so I left the size panels as standard and graded the front and back pieces.  I forgot about the pocket though!

Fortunately I realised before cutting the fabric, so cheated and laid the pocket and front bodice pieces on top of each other to cut around....

Usually I'll add an inch or so to the bodice length as I'm long in body/short in leg, but this is drafted for 5'7'' (I'm only 5'5'') and the quoted finished bodice length seemed fine.

The instructions were really clear with additional photo tutorials on the website for the tricky bits - welt pockets and hood construction. I was paying extra attention for these so it all went swimmingly. I could see where it would be easy to get confused when attaching the hood/cowl to the bodice, there was a lot of fabric!  Seems I wasn't paying attention the whole time though as I sewed the top of the pocket and lining together, but also sewed the front bodice.  However I really like that curved line of stitching across the front so it's staying (and unpicking from thick sweater fabric? Na, too hard....)

I did add some twill tape to the shoulder seams, which I've started doing to my knit projects to stop them stretching out of shape.

Before adding the cuffs I tried it on (as recommended in the instructions!!) and decided to take 1" off the sleeve length.  I think they're spot on now.

I'm still not sure about the seam finishes.  There were a couple of options suggested in the instructions but they involve pressing the seam open.  The problem is the knit stitch on my sewing machine (which is fantastic BTW) means that you can't open the seam.  For the back hood seam I sewed a straight stitch so was able to open the seam and then topstitch the seam allowances down.  But for the neck and front hood/cowl seam I used the knit stitch. In the end I pressed it to one site, and then used the twin needle to topstitch it down. It's not my finest work, but I'm happy enough with it (but not happy enough to take a picture and show you!!).

I'm not sure looking at these photos if the hood is a bit too big? It looks fine on the Paprika patterns shots so maybe mine just needs a wash to soften up a bit.

The only thing I might change on the next one (other than sewing the pocket correctly) is to add a little width on the bottom edge. It's not too small, but there's not a lot of ease so I'll see what it's like paired with jeans.

Vice Versa catch up...

Last year was a bit of a write off in terms of quilt making, I'm not really sure why and what went wrong.  I joined the Gen X Quilters Block of the Month club to do the Vice Versa quilt and bought the pattern and fabric but never got into actually making up the blocks.

So I've decided to do it a year later! This is January and February's blocks, and I have March fabric cut and partially sewn. The plan is to finish the March blocks this week and then put it all away for a month or so while I concentrate on other items on the task list...

Well that's the plan anyway...

Linking up to WIP Wednesday from Freshly Pieced and Needle and Thread Thursday from My Quilt Infatuation

Little Julia

I decided over the course of last year, whilst wearing my makes and during MeMadeMay, that I needed more second top layers - jumpers and cardigans.  So when the last Perfect Pattern Parcel came along I jumped at the chance as there were a couple of patterns that were already on my wish list, one of them being the Julia cardi from Mouse House Creations.

I'd already seen loads of versions on the blogsphere (like Scruffy Badgers one) and decided in was the right kind of slouchiness, and I'd purchased some dark grey ponte roma jersey from Abakhan for exactly this purpose.

I don't know why but I completely ignored all the pattern sizing information and blithely cut a small, as that fitted on the bust.  As you can see, it's a little small for my hips.... Hopefully it'll be fine wearing it as due to the slouchy fit and the lack of front closing. I do really like the style though so I'm going to make another in medium (when I'm allowed to buy more fabric....)

As you can see (!) I cut the long sleeved version, but I also went with the doubled over collar as the inside shows and I didn't want a visible hem.  It was really easy to sew everything together, the instructions are clear and there aren't any complicated steps - the ballpoint needle and walking foot make sewing knit fabric an absolute breeze! I was so lazy that I didn't even press the seams after sewing.  The only change I made was to add some twill tape to the shoulder seams to stop them stretching.

My machine has a couple of decorative knit stitches, so I used one to stitch the collar pieces together and neaten the cuffs. I ended up doing this in black thread (as I ran out of grey!!), but I really like the way it shows.

Mabel in Black

My favourite red jersey skirt (M&S for a fiver in the outlet shop, worn here with my biker jacket) has been worn every week and is looking a bit sorry for itself. Fortunately the Colette Mabel pattern was purchased when on offer and I picked up a metre of lovely heavy black jersey (probably Ponte Roma) for about £7 at the Vietnam fabric market last month....It was always going to be!

I cut a small, grading out to medium on the waist and added an extra 1.5" to the length. I don't like things too short and I wanted this skirt for work. This pattern is so economical that with some creative folding I managed to get it out of half a metre of fabric (so yep that's a skirt of £3.50 then....I win!!).

I sewed the main skirt first and found that it gaped a little in the small of my back so took the back seam in by 3/8" at the top. To make it a bit more snug I sewed the side seams at 4/8" on the waistband and 5/8" on the lining. All the stitching was done with the knit stitch on my machine and a ballpoint needle.

For the hem I turned up by 1/2" and used a decorative stretch stitch on my machine (because I couldn't be bothered to wind another bobbin to use twin needles!).

All the sewing took 1.5 hours...

I love this pattern. Simple, quick and economical. And I think the waistband makes it look much nicer than my tatty red skirt (not to mention the fabric being much better quality)!

There's going to be many more of these to come, it's just so quick and easy to make, not to mention comfy to wear.

Oh, and the spotty pink top. That's an unblogged Colette Sorbetto that I made for the Vietnam holiday - cotton poplin left over from lining my Kwik Sew jacket, and a bit of bias binding... And the model. That's Hetty. She arrived at Christmas. I think I still need to do a little bit of adjustment to get her to my size...

Super Apron...

I made an apron as a Christmas present last year for my Cousin's little girl (piccie here) and her big brother requested his own as he's quite into baking!

There's 5 years or so difference in age between the two of them and I wasn't sure how much to scale up the one I'd already made, so I went hunting and came across this tutorial - http://yardsandyards.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/yards-and-yards-original-best.html

I found some cool Superman fabric from Frumble, and to make it a bit more robust used some old jeans for the backing! But the leg of the jeans wasn't really wide enough to follow the measurements on the tutorial so I just made it as big as I could with the material available. When I tried it on, the apron seemed big enough for me so I think it'll be perfect for him.  Hope he likes it!!

The Battenburg Quilt

I bought a fat quarter pack of 8 fabrics from Cotton Patch of the Dan Bennett Cosmos Daydream range ages ago when they were first advertised and the plan was to make a quilt for the snug.  I also got some plain cotton sheeting in a purple/pinky colour from Abakhan to go with it.

I didn't really decide on a design at first but I had some ideas about a trellis type pattern (squares on point).  Then I saw some pictures of a disappearing 4 patch  - this one in-fact, and fell in love with the design so had to start straight away!

From each FQ cut 3 strips 5'' by 22'' then cut these into 4 5''x5'' squares so you end up with 12 squares from each FQ. Also cut 3 strips 1.5'' by 22 - you might only get 2 strips depending on how well the FQ has been cut, these will be used for border.

Cut the same number of 5'x5' squares from the plain fabric, then join each patterned square to a plain one, and join two of these pairs to make a square.

Then to make the disappearing 4 patch, cut an inch either side of the centre seam in both the horizontal directions, then rotate each of the middle strips so you end up with something looking like this:

Then join everything back together!

And you end up with a stack of 48 disappearing 4 patch squares...

These I joined into 8 rows of 6 patches. Then I cut 1.5'' strips from the plain fabric for the first border.  The strips I cut from the patterned fabric were joined together and used to create the second border. I had just about enough fabric to make these 2.5'' wide and be long enough to get around the entire quilt.  I would have liked a wider outer border but there wasn't enough fabric - I used up every last scrap of the FQ's, so much so that if you look closely you might see a tiny bit of selvedge!!

Once I'd finished the top, I got distracted with making other things (clothes, and quilts as presents), and this sat languishing in the drawer for nearly a year.  But this spring, I decided to clear out some of the backlog of planned projects and WIPs so this top came out and was pinned and quilted.

I've gone with free motion quilting on the 4 patch centre as I need the practise!  My speed of movement/speed of needle still isn't perfect so the thread tension is a bit off on the back but I'm definitely getting better.  For the borders I quilted the ditches and 0.5'' from the seams, then bound the quilt with more plain fabric.

The backing fabric came from the fabric bins at Abakhan (the teal block-work one is left over from the unfinished/unblogged Wintersmith quilt, I really need to crack on with that one!)

This one is mine.

Linking up to Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts