Arrggh not The Birds

Ohh no it's attack of the killer birds! Haha

I got around to deciding what to make with my fabulous fabric, a skirt! To me the weight of the fabric was too thick for a top so a skirt it had to be.  Although whilst I was making it I wasn't sure if I would wear it once it was finished.  But I have one thing to say to that... AM I MAD?!? This skirt is freaking awesome, I'm so in love with it! Strangely enough I'm not the only person who loves this pattern Miss Zoe has a bit of crush on the pattern (Simplicity 2451) It is easy to put together, it has pockets and it uses less than a metre of fabric. What is not to like?

Speaking of the less than a metre of fabric, does anybody else wonder what pattern companies are thinking when they give you the cutting guidelines? According to the back of the envelope I needed exactly one metre to make a size 12, Well that is exactly what I had and by not following the guidelines I have this much left over

It does bring up something I have been pondering for a while now and that is - Do you religiously follow the pattern envelope when it comes to buying your fabric or do you try to wing it and see where it gets you?
I followed the envelope for my London dress and ended up with twice the amount of fabric that I needed!

Anyway enough jabbering, more skirt pics

I've still got to sew the facing down on the inside, but did that stop me from wearing the skirt to work today? Hell No!  I hope this is the start of a beautiful love affair with prints :)

The Lowdown:
Pattern: Simplicity 2451 View C 
Material: 1m Birds Cotton Voile £5
Notions: 1 light blue zip £0.79
Total Cost: £5.79 (with left-overs!)

Challenge canonical?

This weeks theme at The Sew Weekly is about Hitchcock films, which all of the other ladies seem to be really ecstatic about. However as the only Hitchcock film I have seen is The Birds I'm finding this challenge a bit, well, challenging... I have been scouring the old brain for ideas, and the only thing that has come out of it was

Brain - Ermm... Kirsty don't you have that fabric you got from London
Kirsty - Which one are you on about Brain?
Brain - This one you idiot!

Kirsty - Oh yes the one with the birds on it, and less of the idiot you!


So after that brief insight to my inner-monologue I have some birds fabric which I would love to use however I cannot decide what to make.  It is a thick cotton lawn, there is 1 meter of it and the gold is shiny, but my brain is stumped! (I blame it on work!) Any ideas?

P.S. Don't leave the iron on the floor and then walk into it, it hurts!

Busy Busy

Wow, I just can't believe how busy I've been over the past week, its been crazy!  So what have I been up to?

I've started my Sorbetto, not sure about it at the moment but I'll reserve judgement until it is finished, here is is so far

Also my soon to be Sister-in-Law has asked me to make some bags for her wedding so quite a lot of my time this past week or so has been dedicated to that. She's asked me for 4 clutch bags, 1 for her and 3 for her adult bridesmaids and also 2 drawstring bags for her young daughters.  The clutch bags are very nearly done , just a few finishing touches to go but I'll treat you all with some sneak peeks.  They are my own design based on the lines of the bridesmaids dresses and incorporating the butterfly theme for the wedding.  The butterfly embroidery on the ivory bag mimics the butterflies on the girls dresses.

I'm really pleased with how they have turned out so far, hopefully I'll be able to get some action shots on the day :)

Jumping on the bandwagon

I'm sure you've probably all seen or heard about Colette Patterns fantastic free pattern Sorbetto by now as there are so many popping up all over the blog-o-sphere right now.  I have been loving everyone elses versions and ravings about the top but have been unable to make it as I don't own a printer (and I won't use the work one for such things).  But today I have been to my parents house for lunch (Dad does the most fantastic Sunday lunch EVER!) and stole their printer for five minutes to print out the pattern so I can jump on the Sorbetto bandwagon.    

I'm off to go and see if it lives up to its reputation

Also after a discussion on The Sew Weekly I've been chatting to my mum about natural dying, and guess what?  She has a book about it (I should have known really), I've borrowed it and may be experimenting at some point in the future

Refashionista

This weeks challenge over at The Sew Weekly is all about re-fashioning, I've been a bit lax with the challenges recently so in determination to complete this one I delved into the box of clothes we had put aside containing things that are no longer worn.  In that box I found these black jeans

I don't really know why I don't wear them anymore but they were in the box so they were getting used!
I knew as soon as I saw them that they were going to have a new lease of life as a denim skirt. So I tootled upstairs grabbed my un-picker and began to take the inside leg seams apart. Once that was finished I had two triangle pieces in the middle where I needed to decide if they should be filled with the surplus denim from the bottom of the trousers or to use a funky fabric as an insert.  Instead of deciding all by myself I asked B for help, he immediately picked the funky fabric option and I'm glad he did, I love how it has turned out.

I also managed to finish the pillowcase challenge - et viola

One pillowcase shirt complete with paisley collar details.  My only regret with this shirt is that I didn't interface the bit for the buttons so it has a tendency to pop open, eek must remember to wear a vest under this as I had serious paranoia all day at work when I wore it last week...

Treasure!

It is official I have overcome my fear of Ye Olde Charity Shop. We found some most awesome things today.

Knitting Machine £3.99

Knit Radar £1.99 Not really sure what this does but it looked cool

99p Patterns - Loving the 80's one

I also got about 1 metre of fabric but I put it into the wash before I remembered to take a picture...
Doh! Oh well I have plans for a skirt for it so you might see it at some point soon :)

Ginger the 2nd

Last week I finished my other Ginger, its the exact reverse of the first Ginger but I added a lining (Faux silk too, oooh the luxury!) and the pockets to this one. Now I don't know which one I like best...

 The Lowdown

• Pattern : Ginger by Colette
• Material: 1.2m Blue Floral £6.60 p/m, 0.75m Faux Silk £2.80 p/m, Blue Polyester scrap for piping
• Notions: White Zip £1.35, 2 Red Buttons £1.00, Interfacing from stash, Piping Cord from stash
• Total Cost £12.37