Can't believe I'm Crocheting!

Whilst visiting lots of lovely and inspiring blogs throughout the month of May I happened across some lovely crochet.  Now, although I can crochet, I've never found a project that I liked enough to venture beyond sample squares that practice the stitches.
That is until I visited Jo Avery's myBearpaw blog where she has been slowly working on this lovely blanket:

This photo and lovely blanket belong to Jo Avery

Isn't it amazing!  I am really drawn by the idea that they are flowers inside hexagons!  Jo used a vibrant set of colours in Alpaca and Merino wool.
So here is my first ever attempt at my own African Flower Hexagon:

I used a YouTube video to watch this step by step, some colour varying yarn that I already had in my cupboard and a size 4mm hook.  On this one I forgot to do the bottom left corner.

Then I decided to make another one with a slightly larger sized 4.5mm hook but I think it looses it's cuteness.

I imagined my own blanket in lots of muted and natural colours, so decided on 100% Eco-cotton from Debbie Bliss.  Here is my first flower inside a hexagon for my own blanket!  Yay!

Once the yarn arrived in the post, of course I couldn't stop at just trying out one:

Now I am loving the pale ones a lot, but in the future I think I'll only use the darker shades in smaller doses.

Also, I noticed that my flower centres look a lot like the spokes of a wheel.  So I googled a little more and found a photo step-by-step tutorial from Heidi Bear that suggests a different way of making the centres, so I've tried that and I much prefer this kind of centre:

So that is how I will do them from now on.  

I am having a bit of trouble joining the threads and then starting the next row.  I always seem to be too far forward, in front of the hole I'm next supposed to enter, so if you have any tips or can point out any tutorials you may have bookmarked, I'd be most appreciative! I shall google for a few more tips anyway, as it could be because I am left handed and am following right handed tutorials.

Lots to Learn!

Heidi Bear also has a tutorial on how to join up the hexagons as I go!!  ooooh - got to love a challenge!

Have you thought of copying being inspired by someone else lately?

Me-Made-May

It was the final week of the Me-Made-May challenge, and despite some awful and non-Spring-like weather, I have managed to wear 3 me-made items.

Wednesday 29 I wore this to work.  I only made the blouse though.  It is Butterick 5354 meant for knit but I made it with a woven batik.  Really comfortable to wear too.

The neckline has lovely tucks, which I was too lazy to do in a a matching thread, so you can see the white  thread - I'll remember that for next time.

Also, the daffodils are nearly gone but we now have two weeks of bluebells and blossom.  I have blogged about this new make here, which features LOTS of bluebells!

Thursday 30th I wore a dress a made in about 2003.  It is a DKNY Vogue pattern 2683 (now out of print) and the fabric is a linen blend and amazingly it doesn't crease!  I love the colour, but the front split with the underneath triangle piece has exposed me to unwanted attention in the past, I think if I wear it again I will stitch that split together.

Friday 31st, last day of May and last day for this challenge.  When I got home from work I changed into my McCall's 6503 Maxi dress blogged about here.
In the flickr group there is a theme on Fridays, but this is the first time I have joined in on the theme.  Can you guess what it is?
The theme is red and mine's in my glass!














It has been an interesting challenge to document wearing my handmade clothes.  I have enjoyed this month a lot.  The biggest intrusion that the challenge has had on my month was getting all the photos taken in the mornings and then uploading and posting them onto flickr and then onto this blog in the evenings.  I am still in awe of those who did this daily and am relieved that I committed to only 3 per week.

The most rewarding thing about this challenge has been the other members of the flickr group.  So many sewing ladies were very complimentary, helpful and generous with their ideas.  I really value receiving constructive feedback from such knowledgeable women.  And there were so many garments to inspire daily!  I really enjoyed seeing figures similar to my own looking fantastic wearing patterns that I hadn't even thought of trying.

So what have I learned from all these photographs of myself?

• I make a lot of green and blue items.
• Despite wearing a lot of skirts I don't seem to want to make any and I am quite happy with the ones I buy.
• I'd like to make more blouses and tops, oh and I still want to make more dresses!
• I now know how all these blog writers create their photo montages! Picmonkey will be my new time sapper.
• I have a very versatile shoe collection but strangely no black flats.
• I think I will try crochet.

Batik and Bluebells

I am normally not a fan of batik fabric, but last year I went to Indonesia and saw with my own eyes the amount of work that goes into creating the intricate and colourful batik fabrics and so I bought myself one metre of a leafy, purple wax-resist batik.

But what to do with a 1m by 1m piece of fabric?  I finally found a pattern that I could squeeze a summery top out of my batik, Butterick 5354.

 

I made the yellow version because I didn't have quite enough fabric for the longer version or the sleeves.

This pattern is meant for a knit fabric, but it worked perfectly well with this woven fabric.  I did change the side seams - I didn't curve the pattern in towards a waist, instead I drew a straight line from the bottom of the armhole to the hem line.  I also extended the hemline 2" to accommodate my current figure.

I really like it!  So my obliging Mister and I went up the hill where a bountiful bluebell display occurs for two weeks every May.  I hope you enjoy the photos he took.

So that is the final of my 3 new handmade items for the month of May!

Me-Made-May-Mondays

It is still May and I am still endeavouring to wear three handmade garments per week and to make 3 new things by the end of the month.

Monday 13 I only work a half day so went a bit more casual.  The cardigan is the only item I made.
I can't find the pattern but it was one of those ones that had a man and a woman on the cover in matching cardigans - ahhh - my dream to wear matching jumpers with a love!
This was a long time ago, in my early 20s and I was in love.  So of course I knitted a matching blue one for my then-boyfriend, despite having heard the warning from wise knitter-types "don't knit for a boyfriend as it won't work out."  I was young and hopeful and gladly knitted him one anyway - of course it didn't work out.
But I still love this cardigan! and am happily married to a man whom I've only knitted a scarf for! eek

Has anybody every knitted for a boyfriend who ended up being a keeper I wonder?

Tuesday 14 spent the day in and out the car on errands, so a comfy cardi was called for.  I have blogged about this cardigan, a Debbie Bliss pattern and yarn, here with all the fit issues that I am still planning to resolve some day soon.

Wednesday 15th I wore my newest make to work.  It is Butterick 5523 and is blogged about here.  I wore my orange/tan shoes to go with the dress, as there is a dominant orange stripe in the print, even though it isn't terribly obvious from a distance.



So that is my 3 me-made items for this week. The only things I have left are for sunny weather, so here's hoping we get some warmth, otherwise I'll only be wearing me-made scarves for the next two weeks!

Me-Made-May-Mondays

May is still here, and at last I am seeing some sunshine and feeling some warmth.  We even have the blossoms on our apple trees just starting to arrive.

Monday 20th I wore my Sally shirt dress to work.  The pattern is from Serendipity by Kay Whitt, I have blogged about it in the past.  I don't wear this dress very much at all.  I think it is because the waist and hip section just isn't very flattering.  Possibly the pattern spanning across my width doesn't help either.  But there is also strain on the buttons which creases easily.

So here's another photo - with Mr Bingley hiding the offending button strain.

Tuesday 22nd I spent dying out my grey roots, ironing and mucking out the hen house, so comfort was needed.  This is my version of the free download Sorbetto pattern.   I've blogged about this before, but it isn't very interesting, but I'll include the link anyway.
 Oooo Arty pose!

Thursday 23rd wore my first ever attempt at a stretch knit.  This is McCall's 6713 and it is very comfortable.  I am wearing a thermal long-sleeved t-shirt underneath still as it is still windy and cold here.
And in garden news, check out how much our hedge has come into leaf since I started these photos at the beginning of May!  And we now have blossoms on the apple trees!



This week I also wore a me-made blouse and another me-made dress, but as I have already counted those as part of this challenge, I won't repeat them in photos.
It has been fun logging and recording my handmade garments, but I am so glad not to have the pressure of photographing myself every day like some of the other members of the flickr group!  Everybody is doing so well to keep up the constant photo-calls.

A Gathering of Stitchers

In August I am attending a Stitching day in Edinburgh.  I haven't done anything like this before, and am looking forward to meeting so many ladies who are skilled at patchwork, quilting and hand-stitching.
There were only 65 available places at £95 each, which is a lot of money for me.  I really hope I get to choose the workshops that will be most useful to me and I'll be able to learn a new skill or two.  (I have a link on the right hand side bar if you are interested to know more)

We were sent a square of fabric with a printed medallion in the centre that reads Edinburgh 2013 The Stitch Gathering.  We are to embellish the fabric in any way we like and hand it in as our ticket on the day.  They are planning to create a quilt out of everybody's square and use it as a charity fundraiser, which is a nice idea.

Here's mine: I used the word gathering as my jump-off point, and chose a fabric that matched the colours of the centre circle.  I gathered a strip on the machine, then needle-turned the edges down.

We've been asked to post them onto a flickr group, but I'll wait until there are some others there before I post mine.

We have also been asked to stitch a name tag for another person going to the Stitch Gathering.  Again we are asked to post them on flickr but without the name so as to keep it secret.

I've hand appliqued a loose representation of Beinn a'Chlachair, which is a hill / mountain in Scotland.  I will now embroider the lady's name upon it and attach a brooch fixing on the back.
It's fun to think of somebody out there busy trying to think of making a personal name tag for me!
August seems like a long time away, but hopefully it will soon fly by.

Highland Tunic

About a month ago, I had been gifted a large collection of a friend's mother's tapestry and embroidery sundries in a box, and in amongst all the unlikely-to-be-used items was some khaki patterned, heavy knit fabric.  Lucky me!  I knew exactly the pattern I wanted to try with it:

Butterick 5523

I used my usual preparation format for this make: cut out the paper pieces on a Friday, the fabric on a Saturday and then do the sewing whenever I get a chance through the week.

 

Here are a few detailed photos of the front cowl and pleats and the back with tab and buttons.

The photo of the close-up button is the closest to the true colour of the fabric.
The only alterations I made to the pattern were to add 5" to the hem and the instructions said to press a fold into the collar, but I wanted it to flop/drape wherever it fell, so I just left out the pressing part.

The Highlands near our house

The colours in this fabric really remind me of the hills around my house, so I am naming this dress after the Scottish highlands.  And to that end, these photos are all taken from the hills above our village (on a day filled with intermittent sunshowers mind you!)
I am trying to blend in with the moss and lichen and my camouflage dress.

My mister REALLY likes taking photos of waterfalls, and this is really close to our house, so I indulged him in return for a few photographs of my new dress. 

We had sunshowers all day today, but it does make for an atmospheric scene.  In the photo on the right  you can see some of our village.

    

So that is my second new-make for this Month, and only one more to go to complete my challenge.

Below is my pattern review

Pattern Description: 
A tunic style knee-length dress for knit fabrics. It has a cowl neck, long sleeves and empire line waist with pleated skirt.
Pattern Sizing:
The pattern goes up to a size 24, which is the one that I made.
Were the instructions easy to follow? Make any changes?
There is only one page of instructions inside this pattern envelope, as it is a fairly easy make. It does say to double stitch everything, but I just used the stretch stitch on my machine instead, as it is very reliable. The one thing I did change was to add 5" to the hem, as I wanted it a little longer, but the pattern as it was would have hit me on my knee, and I am 5'7" so this would have been fine too.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I really like the neckline. The instructions say to press the fold into the doubled over neckline, but I chose not too, I am going to leave it to hang and drape how it falls. I like the piece on the back with the tab and buttons as a feature. The pattern also suggests putting 1/4" elastic around the waist, and I wasn't going to at first, but once I had tried it on I decided that I would. Without the elastic the dress looked a little too maternity-friendly on me. Encasing the elastic into the seam allowance helped to bring the dress in a little underneath the bust. 
Fabric Used:
I used a fairly substantial knit, it only stretched in one direction and perhaps only 20%.
Would you sew it again?
I would sew this again, but I'd try it without sleeves so that it was wearable with a top underneath, just to provide a bit of variety.