Something made, and something to give (away) !

Hello people,

I hope you are having lovely weeks.

I have not progressed with my Sencha, I am going to continue with that at the weekend. But I am feeling very smug as I wore my Ginger today ! I love it sooo much. It is quite a feeling, wearing something I have made myself.

I do need to do something with the waistband, as its too big and flares out. But this is a minor hitch, hidden well by a wide belt   :-)    I cant wait to make some more, and have been looking at my fabric stash to see what to make my next Ginger with. Its very exciting !

I did finish a patchwork cushion though.It was actually made with the intention of gifting it to an old work colleague. I even made it with fabrics she would love (they are so not my own choice).  However, time is a great loser of things, and sadly I have not spoken to her for well over a year due to changes in jobs etc. As such I am going to keep it ! Wow is that selfish ?!

Here she is (the cushion, not the colleague !)

(please excuse her un-ironed state ! The creases don't seem so bad until you photograph them !!)

Uh oh ! even my fresh bedding looks slightly worse for wear ! Note to self, must put the washing away FOLDED, rather than just shove it in the cupboard in a ball !!

I do like this though  :-)    I made the patchwork in strips, and the sewed them together along the length. Turned out pretty good, but was quite time consuming.

To make amends for my selfish behaviour, and rebalance karma I AM going to give something away !

Ta da !

She's a piece of Cath Kidston, measuring 21 inches x 18.5 inches. (is that a fat quarter ?)

I know she is not massive, but she IS pretty  :-)   I love her alot, but feel that she could do better than just laying about in a bag. I want to see her used in a fabulous way ! (or at least used).

Here is another pose

Again - please excuse my crumpled bed.

I know its not the most ground quaking give away, but it does mean lots to me as I LOVE this little piece of fabric.        :-))

All you need to do to win my pretty is leave me a comment on this post by midnight (UK time) on Saturday 10th September.

The winner will be picked at random, but it would be nice if you felt you could share what you might use a small, pretty piece of fabric like this for. I would love to hear what you might do with it.

I am happy to post to anywhere (obviously within the realms of possibility - aliens need not apply !)

Please also leave your contact details if they are not on your blog.

In other news I am busy working on my last assignment for this uni module, and am looking forward to October when my exams are done and I am FREE TO SEW !!

I also had my bank account hacked a couple of days ago, and I tell you, the person who used my details certainly had fun ! I'm guessing MUCH more than I have had trying to get it sorted.  (oooops is it Karma for keeping the cushion ?)

To be fair, my bank has been pretty good about it, but it is a pain not having access to my bank, or a debit card ! People, look after your details !!

Right so, off to work on my assignment, see you on the other side,

K xxx

Give away at Debi's place

Hello people

You have to head over to Debi's blog and check out her super generous give away. :-)

Can you believe the generosity of the sewing community ? I am totally bowled over.

K xxx

Happy Bank Holiday !

I hope you are all having a wonderful bank holiday.

This is mine.....

How was yours ?

K xxx

Sunday afternoon trip to Padstow (and ice creams at Widemouth)

Hello people,

I hope you are enjoying this bank holiday weekend, I know I am !    :-)

Mr P and I decided to take a trip to Padstow (Cornwall) this afternoon, its only 60 miles away, so we thought we could go there for the afternoon. We are so lucky to live where we do, so many beautiful places within easy reach. We are properly spoilt by it really, and have decided to take a few more afternoon trips when we are lucky enough to have a day off together.

I must forwarn you that this post is going to be picture heavy !

                                                                Save the date !

                                       
                                    Just heading into Padstow

Such a pretty place ! Look at these pretty buildings....

Mr P enjoying the views.......  Dreaming xxx

(In  my view - old guys rule by the way)

Well, who wouldn't dream with views like these....

Of course being a harbour there are boats a'plenty !

Ship ahoy !!

You can even take a ride if you like....

Colourful buckets

Chatting friends

And of course Mr Rick Steins Fish and Chips.....

Unfortunately no pictures of the fish or chips. They were inhaled pretty much straight away ! I can assure you though that they were DELICIOUS !

Not sure after all the fish and chips that this taxi will work for me...

But I liked the sentiment.

We decided to head back after all that excitement...

Check out the views on the drive home....

We stopped at

for....

YUM !

This was our vista as we enjoyed them.

And then we headed for home.

One more quick flash !

Wowsers we are lucky !!

In other news, I have traced the Colette 'Sencha' and cut out a muslin. I am yet to sew it up, but I will share some pictures of this with you in my next post. I have the feeling its going to be too small, so I am pretty positive that I will have to start again with this one.

I hope you are all having a cracking Sunday.

K xxx

Happy Friday !

Happy Friday people !

I hope its a good one, whatever you are up too.            :-)

K xxx

I won ! I won !

Woop woop !

Dear friends, I am especially excited today as I won the Belle Blossoms give away on the totally divine Casey's blog ! You can see more here.

I totally love Casey's blog, and I was astounded on my blog rounds this evening to see that I had won the very blog give away that I have coveted the most.

You can check out Belle Blossoms here to see what all the fuss is about.

Thank you Casey ! xx

Readers, I would like to give something away in return, I do believe in Karma after all. I shall look into this and post about it later.

I hope you have all had as lucky a day as me !

K xxx

Colette sewing book

Well readers - lookie here.

I found a new book for release by Colette patterns ! How excited ?

You can check it out here

Looks good non ? AND it comes with 5 patterns to make up.

I personally LOVE Colette patterns, and they are a dream to make because of the clear instructions. If the book is as good as the pattern instructions, Dolly and I will be happy ladies indeed !

K xxx

Sunny Monday

Hello people !

I am enjoying a Monday off work ! Very nice  :-)   The weather is super sunny and I have been sat out in the garden studying.

I will be wearing my Ginger again tomorrow and I hope to be able to take some better pictures of it to show you. I also want to show you how neat the inside is thanks to the serger !

I have decided to work on the Sencha for my next project, and I am going to use the red and white star fabric and the red buttons. I am also going to use red ribbon for the ties instead of the fabric. Just going to trace the pattern so that I can start work on the muslin. Very exciting !

Just to check, I should measure my high bust, right ? to work out what size to cut ?

K xxx

Finished Ginger

Hello all,

As promised some pictures of my Ginger. Sorry they are not that great, I been wearing it all day at a wedding, and she is a little wrinkled now ! I wanted shots in the day, but it just didnt happen. Ill try get some better snaps of it tomorrow to show you. I basically got up at the crack of dawn this morning to hem her and serge the hem. I must say I LOVE MY NEW SERGER !!!

I love this skirt, but I am going to need to sort the waistband - its too big around the top and is irritating me.

But - more importantly no one said, wow your skirt looks a bit home made. In fact one lady was giving it the eye in a 'oooo I like you' kind of way !  Perfect !

So, all in all pretty pleased with my first attempt at grown up dress making ! I really do like this outfit.

Now I have finished one garment, I can think about what to make next !!  Exciting !!

Hope you have all had great weekends.

K xxx

It's done !

People. Its 2.17 am, UK time, and I have just finished the Ginger ! It needs hemming, so I have just put it on Dolly to hang overnight, then I will hem it in the morning.

Oh its been a battle, this is my first proper 'me made' garment. There are things I could improve upon, the zipper for example. I need to practice my zipper skills. Really.

I did start to hand sew the facing down, but got bored and top stitched by machine instead. I need to work on finishes. These skills will all come in time though, of that I am certain. I am certain because even Mr P was impressed with my first bona fide homemade garment. This means I now have the confidence to blast forward; and all because my first garment is actually wearable !

I don't know what's happened to the waistband, as it appears to be wider than the skirt waist (although the pieces were cut and pinned and at that point matched perfectly). I'm blaming the loosely woven furnishing fabric for that one. I have a wide belt which I always planned to wear with the skirt, but now I pretty much wont have the choice NOT to wear the belt. Never mind.

Friends, the skirt is not perfect, there are things I will do better next time. But you know what ? I am EXCITED ! I literally cant wait to wear it tomorrow at my brothers wedding. And, making this skirt has saved me the bother of having to go and buy an expensive outfit in the morning. I am OFFICIALLY THRIFTY.

So, I bet you cant wait to see it right ? Well you will have to wait until tomorrow, I will get Mr P to take a snap of it in an ensemble. Then you can see the good overall picture, rather than the individual small imperfections.

I so cant wait to share with you.

Until then,

K xxx

I bet