Pretty flowers

I have not done anything exciting today, so I thought I would share with you something pretty instead.

These pictures were taken during a recent trip to the Eden Project. I may do a post on that place soon, but for now I will let the colours do the talking   :-)

Beautiful eh ? I wish I had such pretty flowers in my garden !

I love this 'meadow' look - we have a side bit in the garden which cant really be used. I would LOVE it if we could make it look like this....

Pretty in pink...

Lovely lavender (I absolutely love lavenders !)

Mr Bee looks super happy

Beautiful bird of paradise...

So, what are you all dreaming about today ?

In other news, its only one more sleep until the official start of the weekend. And you cant get better than that. Woop Woop !

K xxx

P P P Pilton !!

Friends,

Well, its been a while since I posted - but I have been sooo busy ! Not sewing, unfortunately. My Ginger skirt remains unfinished. Boo. But I fancy I will have more time to sew once my current OU course finishes, and then I will be creating wonderful garments left, right and flippin centre, lol.

I have been busy studying and getting ready for Glastonbury. But I am back now.

I love festivals, but I must admit, I don't enjoy them quite so much when its been raining and the ground is all boggy. Its difficult to walk about as your boots get stuck, and sometimes you find yourself sinking ! (I think its a little bit to do with the fact that I am getting old now too !)

Here are a few pictures to illustrate my point... (and this was only Wednesday afternoon).

And check this out for an ironic sign   :-))

ha ha - as if !!  ;-))  I dont see any grass, other than a sad little circle around the base of the sign.

Le camper was a dream - and to be fair, the field we camped in was pretty much OK, not too boggy as its on a hill. And, it was a glorious day on Sunday, I got quite a tan !

I love festivals, but its not just the music, its the atmosphere and the camping. And I love all the creative aspects of it too.

You couldn't NOT have a spin of these prayer wheels.

And I loved having to be outside pretty much all of the time as I love sitting outside.

The moon chair was a definite hit - and resulted in much 'chair envy' from fellow campers.

Pimms anyone ?

We didnt get to see as many bands as I would have liked, but we recorded them on the telly box so we can watch them again.

In other news, my mini orchard arrived, and I planted the trees up. To be honest I thought they were all dead. But after getting back from Pilton, 3 of them have revived. I peeled back a tiny bit of bark from the cherry tree and its brown inside and dead as a matchstick. So, I am hoping it will be replaced. The rest of the garden is coming along nicely (compared to how it was) but there is still plenty more that needs doing.

Since we received our new garden furniture, the weather has been appalling, and so I have not really had a chance to use it as yet. But I am hopeful for some nice weather over the next week. I could study outside, if only the sun would come out, and then it would not seem like such a chore.

I have also been VERY impressed with everyone's 'me made June'. Wonderful job ladies. I hope to be able to partake in one of these challenges one day, but at the moment its hard to find the time to finish even 1 garment !! (remember the crepe ? blue flower top ? ginger ?)

I hope to have some sewing news soon. Meanwhile, I will get my creative kicks by checking out all of your wonderful blogs, I really love reading them all. Keep up the good work people !

K xxx

Addicted.

Friends, I think I am addicted - to buying fabric.

I am already planning not just a trip to Tiverton in 2 weeks. But also a phone call.

To the shop (no online retail store for Heathcotes).

Tomorrow (as it is too late today).

To buy more fabric (Yipppeee !!).

This is a bad state of affairs (for my bank account), and if anyone knows the cure - please share.

:-)

K xxx

Bad girl !!

Friends - I need locking up !!

I must NOT be allowed to roam newly found fabric stores unsupervised !

Look what I came home with today.....

I already have plans for the black and yellow :-))  oooh and the brightly coloured flowers too.

I went to Heathcoat fabrics in Tiverton, my word I thought I had died and gone to heaven. There was almost too much and I didn't quite know what to buy as I wanted ALL OF IT.

I will be going there again, for sure. Tiverton is quite a distance from where I live - but I work there at the CAB one day every 2 weeks. I can see a real future for this particular shop and me.

I also bought plain navy buttons for the Sencha and a few zips and spools of threads.

I know you probably all think I am a little mad - all these lovely patterns and all this lush fabric, and not a 'me made' garment in sight. Readers - have faith ! I will get there in the end, and I cant wait to have a wardrobe bursting with handmade delights (not that I have a wardrobe - my clothes are all piled up on the floor like one big massive jumble sale - but you know what I mean).

Maybe having beautifully crafted clothes will give me the push I need to actually purchase a wardrobe !!

No other news today - I didn't do anything else except work and hang around the fabric shop !

Le camper is still at the Dr's, I hope to have a diagnosis soon.

Hope you are all fine and dandy,

K xxx

Garden bargains

Lol - not of the green variety ! Friends my tomato plants are ALMOST DEAD. And its not because I have more yellow fingers than green (in fact I have neither coloured fingers, but you get my drift).

Look what arrived today !!  A gift from Mr P's lovely mum and delightful uncle ! All pour moi !  :-)  (actually they are joint xmas and birthday gifts for Mr P and me - but I have wanted garden furniture for soooo long, Mr P was not so keen). Mrs P to the rescue ! She said we could have garden furniture as a joint gift and I get to choose !! I liked her reasoning, and her wickedness. Yipppeeeee   :-)  Mrs P is indeed a legend - and look what has been erected during my day at work.....  (by the legend, Mr P)

Delightful non ?.

I have already been sat out there - and I must say I LOVE IT.

AS IF IT WERE A CHILD AND I WERE THE PARENT.

And that's that. Now come on sun !!!!!

In other news, Bella (AKA Le Camper) decided today would be an excellent day to break down and not work. AT ALL. I nearly cried. Friends, Mr P and I are off to the Vale of Pilton on Wednesday and now our mobile home is mobile no more.

I have been reliably informed by N from the brilliant W's garage that all will be ship shape and hoi poloi by Tuesday, and readers I am hopeful that this will be the case.

I'm asking you all to keep your fingers crossed that Bella makes a speedy (and cheap) recovery !

I trust your weeks have been ticking along nicely.

Love,

K xxx

Fusible interfacing.

Who knew that using an iron could be such fun ! My first attempt at fusing - and I liked it alot. In fact I LOVED it. Probably my bestest part of making clothes so far.

So, now I have fused the interfacing to my waistbands, as well as all the jobs mentioned in my previous post. I have to go study now (dratted university course) so I cant get the interlining finished, nor start to sew the pieces together. But friends, I am excited. And, I am ever hopeful that I may have a finished garment to show you in less than a week.

It is still raining here - boo. But it matches my mood.

I hope you have all had happy weekends, its a shame they fly by so fast eh ?

K xxx

It's wet outside

In fact - its absolutely P133ING down !!!

And I have a stinking cold.

Friends, today could be better (I could feel well, it could be 80 degrees and Friday evening), but I am going to make it better. Yesterday I worked on the Ginger. I cut out all of the pieces from the fashion fabric (and sewed around the edges of each piece with a weird zig zag stitch -which took forever - I defo need a serger), I pre shrunk my fusible interfacings, and I interlined 2 of the 4 skirt sections with an old Egyptian cotton sheet.

Today I plan to finish the interlining (which I am having a little difficulty with as the sections don't appear to be exactly the same size), iron on the facings and get the pieces sewn together. I may even attempt the zip. This will all be dependant on time as I also have studying to do, and washing for the week, and its already 1 pm here in good old rainy blighty.

I will share some pictures with you later of the Ginger construction.

In other news - Mr P and I tried to fix the many leaks in 'le camper' with gaffer tape. I will surely see when I step outside and into the van whether our efforts have been rewarded with a dry van.

***update - alas the van still leaks around the windscreen. DRAT !!***

K xxx

EEK !!

I am going to cut into my fashion fabric for the Ginger ! I am feeling frightened, but I am pretty good with my seam ripper so I am going to go for it ! Gotta take the plunge sometime right ?

See you on the other side (and happy Friday by the way)

K xxx

Candy !!!

Hello lovely peeps.

Look, look look what I came back to today.  It's like sewers candy !

I know it seems like loads, (it is loads!), but I bought all of them for like 90 bucks from the Vogue website. Each pattern was soooo cheap -  the postage cost the most at 50 bucks. Can you believe each pattern was like 3 bucks. I was too excited and slightly overloaded my virtual shopping trolley.

Man I am EXCITED !!  And some of these even say VERY easy on them. Readers, I am hopeful that this may mean a completed garment. Woop Woop !

Other news - I think my gardenias arrived today - but its hard to tell. Especially as there is no delivery note. I must say I am disappointed with the tomato plants - they arrived looking half dead, and don't seem to have perked up as yet. Ah well, there is still time for them to revive I guess. I must admit, I don't think I would buy anything more from this particular place. Very disappointed thus far. Hey ho, maybe my mini orchard will turn things around (if it ever actually arrives !).

Hope you are all well, and enjoying the peek of sun we are getting this evening.

Love,

K xxx

Belated free pattern month

Hola people

Further to the free pattern from the wonderful Colette patterns - mentioned here, I have trawled the net and discovered that the free pattern was part of a month of kindly blog folk sharing a free pattern every day during that month. You can see the luscious freeness here   :-))  

http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2006/04/free-pattern-month.html

In other news, as I am totally frightened of cutting into my fabric for the Ginger, I have decided to make one more muslin, it cant hurt, and also I want to try lengthening the patten in 2 areas as Sunni suggested, rather than just adding 4 inches in one place. I will trace out the pattern, and cut the muslin tonight; and maybe have a go at the fashion fabric at the weekend.

Its lucky I bought 15 meters of (hideously patterned) white cotton at £2 per meter. So far I have not managed to make any wearable garments at all, and if this muslin making cotton was not as cheap as it was, I would have spent a fortune on muslins, with nothing to actually show for it.

Ahhhhhh I dream of the day when I can actually wear a 'me made' garment !

Happy 'hump day' everyone !

K xxx

Thank you and welcome !

Just a quick post to say 'hello and welcome' to my new followers. Thank you for joining me on my adventures.

 :-)

Looking forward to the start of a long and happy sewing relationship.

Love,

K xxx

Sorry for my absence !

Hola beautiful people,

Sorry its been a while - I have had other things to do before I could even consider finding time for blogging. But - the assignment has been submitted and I feel I may well be up for a little sewing action tomorrow.

I think I may cut the fabric for my Ginger - and although I may not get it sewn up tomorrow - it will be a step nearer to an actual finished garment ! Tres excitemon ! I am in court tomorrow so as I am in Barsntaple I may well call into the newly found fabric shop ! I will share any purchases with you   :-)

I have decided to add a waistband on my Ginger, but it will be a narrow one - I am not sure that with my body shape, a humongous waistband will be the most flattering of styles - and as such I will hopefully design my own thin waistband. How hard can it be, right ? (Famous last words I know). I have been checking out some tutorials on you tube and making a waistband looks pretty easy. I am just trying to make up my mind whether to use sew in facing or fusible ? As I have never used either before it is sure to be a lesson whichever I choose.

Other news, my mini orchard STILL has not arrived - but I did receive some (rather manky to be fair) tomato plants and 3 blueberry plants. The garden is definitely getting greener.

I hope you all had cracking weekends, and the week so far has been kind to you.

K xxx

Free colette pattern download from their wonderful website !

Hola people,

I know I was not going to blog for a couple of days, but I have to share this with you. I found this cracking FREE top pattern to download on the Collette website today - and you can get yours here   (click to see the licenses)

Even if you dont want the pattern - take a look at the site - http://www.colettepatterns.com/. Colette patterns are and pretty and modern, but with a retro twist, and their site includes helpful hints and tips for the sometime seamstress  :-)   Colette patterns - I officially love you !

Its called the Sorbetto top, and I am excited about making it !It looks pretty easy and could be quite pretty me thinks. Perfect with the Ginger and a cardi !

I have submitted my assignment today and as such I hope to cut out the ginger fabric tomorrow and start sewing it up. I think I am going to add a thin waistband, rather then have no waistband at all. Friends, I am excited. And, if it goes well I already have the fabric to make up a second ! Probably wont be anywhere near as good as Sunni's versions, but hey ho, everyone has to start somewhere right ?

Anyway, be sure and download the top - can you believe its free ?! I love Colette patterns sooo much, I think I now own most of them (although thus far only in pattern form - but I am working on changing that).

I wish I had some handmade garments so I could join 'me made June'. I am loving seeing all your blogs with your 'me made' wardrobes. There are alot of talented people out there in blogland !

I hope your week has been kind to you so far.

Love,

K xxx