a small sewing list

I find that my memory is not so good these days. It seems to me that as I get older, I forget recent things very easily (like where I put my keys and who I voted for in our last presidential election!!! Somehow that last one bugs me a lot!) and remember detailed but frivolous things from a long time ago (like what I wore on my first date with my husband 31 years ago). I have lots of things that I would like to knit, sew and crochet. They are swimming in my head, but then I forget them in the blink of an eye. And then when I want to start a new project, I lament that I can't find anything to knit or sew. Recently, I came across a useful blogpost on mapping your wardrobe and sewing your wants. I don't have any clue as to my wardrobe needs or wants, so I need to sit down and work it out in an organised way. My daughter, on the other hand, is very clear on her current "wants". Her wants come from clothes that she wished she had. She has been asking for 2 items.

1. First "want" is a skater skirt, a swingy circular skirt. What a coincidence! A long time ago, I saw a lovely photo of a skater in a circle skirt in Victoria magazine and I have always wanted to sew something like that. I have referenced some weblinks on how to make circular skirts.

http://blog.caseybrowndesigns.com/2010/09/make-your-own-50s-circle-skirt/

http://www.patternschool.com/?page_id=526

http://boredandcrafty.com/?p=3221 - for a lined elastic waist circle skirt

http://www.danamadeit.com/2008/07/tutorial-the-circle-skirt.html

http://www.grosgrainfabulous.com/2011/05/free-pattern-month-day-18-vivat-veritas.html

She wanted her skirt specifically in a wine red colour. After weeks of fabric hunting, I finally found the right fabric from a shop in People's Park. It's a heavy stretch crepe that would fall nicely with the right amount of drape and would not need to be lined. Instead of sewing a waistband, I am thinking of using this maroon elastic band that I have been saving.

2. Second "want" is a lace tank top with a contrasting black peter pan collar. A basic top to wear with shorts or skirts. I already have lace fabric and black satin in my fabric stash. As for the pattern, I am thinking of modifying the self-drawn pattern I used earlier for her cat tank top.

I recently added a small personal touch to one of my daughter's tops. The back has this interesting design. I sewed a bow to one of the bars. Why only one? Because that tiny bow was such a pain to make and one bow was all I had patience for :)

the knit goes on

I have 2 new knitting projects that I haven't told you about. The first is the swallowtail shawl that I am knitting with black misti alpaca yarn. I have always wanted to knit that shawl since the pattern was  published and I had the recommended yarn, so I don't really know why it took me so long to get round to it. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of it. It's very difficult to take a photo of a black blob of crinkly lace knitting at night. Anyway, it really isn't much to look at for the moment.

As for the 2nd knitting project, I'm not sure what to call it. Some sort of wrap? It's from Keitodama 2012 No 153. The poor model looks quite stunned (or is it alarmed?) to be wearing this wrap or maybe it's the blue flowers they pinned to her high top knot. I should bear this top knot in mind should I ever need to add 4 to 5 inches to my height.

Here's how my version looks like a few days ago. I'm now knitting the stockinette part and it is zipping merrily along even though I only have time to knit it at night, after dinner, before bed. I am not using the recommended yarn. You can hardly see it, because the yarn is amazingly psychedelic and shiny, but the sleeve border in the photo below, is moss stitch. Anyway, I am using 4 mm needles to get gauge of 24 stitches and 28 rows. This is ancient yarn from the stash. It's the "what was I thinking?!!" yarn from my stash. I do recall that at the time I bought the yarn, I was trying to embrace more colour into my knitting. Obviously I must have been trying too hard because I think I managed to include almost an entire rainbow all in one yarn. As I knit though, I'm beginning to think that the crazy colours are quite pretty, in their own way (although I suspect that's the voice of rationalisation).  

Happy Mother's Day!

"A woman who fears

the Lord is to be

praised"

Proverbs 31:30

lace heart insert

I have been collecting lots of DIY inspiration and since I finally have time this week, I sat down and looked for a quick and easy project. This is what I did. I inserted a lace cut-out into the back of my daughter's tank dress, last seen here. I positioned the heart lower down the back as my daughter has long hair which would cover up the heart if it was higher.

If you want to do something like this, you can view a nice pictorial how-to here. I cut out a heart shape from lace fabric, pinned it to the wrong side of the back of the dress and tacked it down with small running stitches so that it wouldn't move when I sewed it. I machine sewed 2 rows of stitches, then carefully cut out the heart shape from the right side of the back leaving the edges raw.

dressed down: EBEW nautical

First time I'm linking up with EveryBody EveryWear Nautical. Hi to visitors from EBEW! This month's theme is nautical = navy blue, stripes, pants and sailor collars. Sadly I don't have anything with a sailor's collar. But I have a striped t-shirt that my daughter bought for me recently. I'm dressed down today because I'm off work this week. Enjoying my time off, doing nothing, taking long afternoon naps. Probably going to the hairdresser's tomorrow to have my hair dyed and spa'd. Wondering if I should get a perm.

tshirt: uniqlo linen pants: marks and spencer black flats: mimosashoes

Snapshots of my day. Sweeping the front yard.

Lunch at Sushi Tei

sashimi salad with sesame dressing and grilled salmon head (does the fishead look scary?)

thank goodness

Thank goodness for long weekends! This past week was a busy one, so I'm glad that we're having a 3-day weekend. I am extending it to a week's holiday by taking leave from work. I'm long overdue for a break! I completed a project at work and felt like celebrating, so my daughter and I baked lemon blueberry cupcakes on Thursday night. We used our usual cupcake recipe and added 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, some lemon zest and a box of blueberries. We ate half (a dozen) of these tiny morsels and my daughter brought the rest to school to share with her friends. 

Meanwhile, here's a quick re-fashion I did. I have this bubble-sleeved t-shirt. Those bubble sleeves weren't "me". I unpicked the elastic shirring that created the bubble effect. I like this t-shirt so much better now. 

Wherever you are, have great weekend!

knit jersey pjs for the pyjama party

It's my party and I'll wear pyjamas if I want to :)

I had to change the pattern as the previous one I selected had darts and other complicated stuff, which I didn't need for pyjama pants. So the revised sewing details: pattern from Cotton Friend Winter edition 2009-2010 vol 33. The pattern is actually for elastic waist and drawstring linen pants pictured on page 32. I compared the pattern with a pair of my elastic waist pants and it seemed more than roomy enough, so I cut the fabric without adding seam allowance to the paper pattern. Do you sew from Cotton Friend? If you do, can you tell me if their patterns include seam allowance? I once sewed a tunic from a Cotton Friend pattern and added seam allowance and it turned out too big. Sorry for the blurry photos, my photographer forgot to wipe the camera lens first!

I almost decided to sew pyjama shorts instead of pants because I usually wear shorts to bed. But I am glad that I stuck to sewing pants because these are the most comfortable pants ever. I can wear them all day! And they sewed up in a jiffy, so I should sew more. Many thanks to Karen for hosting this fun party!! Now hop on over there and see all the cute pjs!

P.S. I am reading Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell again, after watching the BBC tv series recently.