Tuesday, December 08, 2020

A Bit of a Sewing Catch Up

Well hello my lovlies!  I'm back with a post I've been meaning to write for a few weeks now!  I've been busily posting my projects on the new Minerva site.  

Now it's no secret that I LOVE Minerva and they're one of my first stops when I'm looking for fabric, even though they're based in the UK, so shipping is sometimes a bit of a wait (but if we're being honest, where isn't a bit of a wait these days?  I'm currently waiting on things from the city only an hour away, so...).  Their  new site is AMAZING!!!! It's a "one stop shop" - a fabric shop, craft shop, and social media platform all rolled into one.  Have you checked it out at all yet?  You absolutely should if you haven't!  

You can follow fellow makers, see what projects have been made from fabrics you're looking at and search hashtags.  And buying fabrics is as easy as it ever was (And don't worry!  Customer service is still top notch too.  I know, because I already have ordered fabric from the new site.  LOL) 

First things first!  If you want to follow me, just click here and it will take you to my profile.  Next, I want to give you a few glimpses of what I've been posting lately .  Some of these projects I've had in the wings for a bit and others are brand spanking new, straight off the machine a few days ago.  Fun! Fun!!

Let's get down to show and tell without any further rambling from yours truly.  I'll link the projects to my posts on Minerva so you can read all the details!

First there's my Helen's Closet Pona Jacket!  I love how this turned out! I'm definitely planning another version of this for next spring!


My next project was a two for one deal.   I made a Sew Over It Emma dress and then had enough fabric left over to make a Halla Patterns Agnes dress.  Win.  Win!



Next up was a super fun collaborative project I did with the boys.  Having them so involved with the project was awesome!


Then there was the Paper Theory Zadie Jumpsuit.  It is as good as everyone claims.  Seriously!!!!



And the list goes on...  my next make was a project that honestly turned out to be my favourite dress this summer and fall!  It's the Itch to Stitch Anza Dress* and there WILL be another version made.



Which brings me to my two most recent makes!  The Closet Core Patterns Amy Jumpsuit was supposed to be a sneaky last minute summer project, however, one thing led to another and I just finally got the finishing touches done and the jumpsuit photographed the other day.



And last, but certainly not least is my brand spanking new Suki Robe from Helen's Closet.  It is glorious and I love it!  I feel so fancy swanning about the house in it!



So there we go!  Thanks to those of you who are still with me at the end of this very long list.  I'm excited to have all my projects up now and am working away on a new one as we speak.  It's such an honour to be part of the Minerva Makers "team" - a huge thanks to Minerva for generously providing all of the fabrics for these projects!  I can't wait to update you on my newest project when it's finished! 

Until next time, stay safe and healthy and happy crafting!








Friday, November 13, 2020

Sew Beautiful : Fortuna Joggers

Well, its another day and another pattern being featured from the upcoming Sew Beautiful book by Kennis Wong of Itch to Stitch*. 

Sew Beautiful cover photo

Today's pattern is the Fortuna Joggers and Shorts.  Back when we were initially testing the patterns for Kennis, I sewed up the shorts version.  I made them in a heavier ponte and wasn't sure how I really felt about them at the time because of my fabric choice, but come summer I wore them quite often.  They never got photographed and probably won't because they were my favourite shorts for gardening in this summer and as a result aren't in the best condition anymore.

Anyway, Wednesday turned out to be quite cool.  The unseasonably warm spell was quite obviously gone and I was so chilly all day.  So that afternoon I grabbed some french terry I had in my stash, my Fortuna pattern and my scissors and got to work.

Full length view of the Fortuna Joggers

This pattern, like all the patterns in the book, goes together quickly.  There's a few special details, such as the finishing of the pocket edges with a woven fabric that take them up in interest and skill level from a basic elastic waist jogger, but they're certainly not an overly involved project.  They are pants though, so of course I had to do some fine tuning in the fitting, but they're joggers, so it wasn't too bad.  Just the basic swayback adjustment of taking a wedge of out center back, scooping out the back crotch curve to eliminate some under the butt weirdness, and taking in the thighs a smidge. Nothing too labour intensive or crazy at all and I didn't let myself get dragged into the rabbit hole of overfitting. So in fact by the time I went to bed that night I had a new pair of joggers to my name. 

I did leave off a few details - I didn't put in a drawstring (Kind of regretting that now - the drawstring would have been a nice touch) and I didn't do back pockets because I simply didn't have enough fabric.  I'll let you in on a wee secret - even my front pockets are pieced together on the inside from smaller scraps, I was that short on fabric.  Try as I might there was no layout in the land that was going to result in enough fabric for all the pattern pieces, so something had to go and the back pockets were the only logical thing that could.   I suppose I could have skipped the cuffs at the ankles and used that fabric for the pockets, but I really, really wanted cuffs. Also I really only had enough length for the pattern pieces as drafted so without cuffs my joggers would have been too short, so to me it was a no brainer and no back pockets.


Fortuna Joggers seated view

These joggers are so comfy and cozy.  Not going to lie... the minute I got in the door from work last night I changed into my Fortunas and I'm pretty sure that's going to become a fairly standard routine for me this winter.  Now I understand why joggers are so popular. 

I paired them with my Carlsbad Cardi that I told you about yesterday, one of my Isidro tops and my favourite Manitobah Mukluks moccasins because did I mention the comfy and cozy factor???  

Sew Beautiful Carlsbad Cardigan and Fortuna Joggers

I hope you've enjoyed my glimpses into Sew Beautiful!  If you're wanting to pre-order it, I've provided all the links below for you.  And if you missed my other projects from the book you can find the Taktsang Dolman Wrap here and the Carlsbad Cardigan here.

Here are all the links to pre-order:

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Sew Beautiful : Carlsbad Cardigan

 I'm back again today with another make from the soon to be released "Sew Beautiful" book by Kennis Wong of Itch to Stitch designs.

Sew Beautiful Cover Photo

If you've followed me on social media at all, or know me in person, you've probably seen this cardigan a million times over because it is one of my ultimate favourites!  I knew it was going to be on heavy rotation in my wardrobe as soon as I tested the pattern and I wasn't wrong.  It's the perfect layering piece.  

Sew Beautiful : Carlsbad Cardigan Side View

Mine is made from a lightweight viscose blend jersey knit that was purchased from Minerva.  It's got a great drape and was the perfect weight for the Carlsbad!  I like that it's lightweight enough for warmer temps when there's a bit of a chill in the air, but with the cascading fronts I can wrap myself up in it when it's suddenly chillier than expected.  I've seen a few testers that made longer versions and I'm eager to try that for myself too!  (I do so love a long cardi!!)

Sew Beautiful : Carlsbad Cardigan All Wrapped Up

At first glance I thought the front corners would be hard to do, but I quickly realized they're not at all!  The whole cardigan goes together so easily and quickly just like all the patterns in the Sew Beautiful book!

Sew Beautiful : Carlsbad Cardigan Front View

Have you pre-ordered your copy yet? It's gone straight onto my Christmas wish list! As I mentioned the other day, there are eight patterns to make (from sizes 00-20) and most have more than one variation.  They're all designed with a beginner sewist in mind, with no zips or closures to worry about, but more advanced sewists will enjoy the designs as well!

It's on pre-order through Amazon in Canada as well as many other countries around the world!  

Here are all the links to pre-order:


Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Sew Beautiful : Taktsang Dolman Wrap

 You all know how I love Kennis Wong, the designer behind Itch to Stitch's, patterns right? Did you hear the exciting news??  She's got a brand new book about to be released!  Sew Beautiful is available for pre-order right now (release date is December 8th!!).  You can click this link to order it in Canada, but it's available all over the US, Europe and beyond! It would make the perfect Christmas gift for the sewist in your life (ie: ME!!! Just in case my hubby is reading this...)  Sew Beautiful features eight easy to sew patterns in sizes 00-20 and most designs have more than one variation.  

Sew Beautiful Cover Photo

I've felt really honoured to be able to test several of the designs over the last year (although it's been so hard to keep them secret because I really love them!).  I'm always so impressed with the Itch to Stitch designs and the attention to detail that Kennis puts into them.  

Today I want to show you my version of the Taktsang Dolman Wrap.  This pattern is so versatile! You can sew it in a woven or stable knit.  Choose a heavier weight fabric for a snuggly warm outwear piece or a lighter weight fabric for a great alternative to a cardi, or an even lighter weight fabric for an alternative to a blouse.  I chose to go super floaty and lightweight and use some silky polyester I've had in my stash for approximately forever.  


The pattern is super simple to sew - front and back bodice pieces, facings and a tie and belt loops.  That's it, that's all.  I cut mine out one evening before bed and sewed it up in a couple of hours the next afternoon.  It's an almost instant gratification type project.

Taktsang Dolman Wrap seated view

Mine doesn't have belt loops because, well... I forgot to cut them out and I tossed all my little scraps I had left.  Because I was using fabric from deep within the stash bins, there's no way I can get more, so I had to leave them out.  I'm thinking about doing some sort of thread chain belt loop using embroidery thread maybe just to wrangle that tie a bit better, but really it was fine without them.  I was just annoyed with myself.  I NEVER throw out scraps until I'm finished a project and even then I'm such a packrat that I normally keep anything larger than microscopic.  I've no idea what possessed me to suddenly be all minimalist in my fabric hoarding.  

Taktsang Dolman Wrap

I like wearing it closed over a cami (The Itch to Stitch Cartagena Cami* makes a perfect choice!). As I mentioned earlier it makes a great alternative to a blouse!  But I also love to wear robe style tops as a fancier alternative to cardigans so I wondered if the Taktsang Wrap would work that way too, and it turns out I really like it open as well!




So congratulations to Kennis and Itch to Stitch Designs for getting her first book published!  It's such an exciting accomplishment and I know it will be well received by beginner and advanced sewists alike!





Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Sometimes You Just Need A Blackwood... Again


Well hello dear readers!  It's been a bit again hasn't it?   I've had one hell of a month quite frankly.  I headed back to work at the end of August which, if I'm being honest, was exhausting.  It's chaos.  It's overwhelming.  But it is also so damn good to be back with kids in the classrooms.  The kids are so happy to be there too so that makes each and every long and tiring day worth it.  I have revamped my whole library program to become the "travelling librarian" and I swoop in and out of classes, bringing the library to the students instead of them coming to me.  

To add to the exhaustion of being back to work I ended up having some dental work done that went rogue.  It started out a year ago when I went to the dentist complaining of pain in my tooth when I'd bite down on something.  He xrayed and couldn't really see anything so told me to come back if it started really bothering me.  I actually took that to mean I was basically silly and a hypochondriac and so kept telling myself it wasn't that bad.  Except it was getting pretty bad and by the time everything shut down in the spring it was really bad.  But being ridiculous I kept thinking maybe it wasn't "emergency" bad.  Which brought me to August and it was hurting pretty much constantly, waking me up at night, and I was taking advil around the clock.  

So I got into see the dentist (not the same one) who did an xray and said he couldn't really see too much, but "maybe there was something down towards the root of my tooth" and then he did some sort of sorcery with a blue light of some kind and discovered there was a fairly large crack in tooth.  The plan was to take out the ancient (since I was a teenager I think) filling, drill down, then start filling up my tooth, and finish it off with a crown.   

A week later on a Monday afternoon I walked into his office, sat down in the chair, and had the filling done. I was pretty amazed that I didn't have any discomfort during the filling.  Usually at some point they'll hit a spot that isn't frozen enough and I'll be miserable.  This seemed so easy.  I thought I was going to get off easy. He warned me it was deep and that the nerve had been disturbed and that I should take Advil before the freezing came out.  He also mentioned it might take seven to ten days to heal.  Long story short it did not heal.  Instead I ended up with a massive infection in my jaw bone, the worst pain I've ever felt in my life (worse than childbirth, surgeries and broken bones, no joke) and lockjaw.  On the Friday afternoon I sat in the chair again, this time for three hours getting a root canal done.  The root canal was over three weeks and two separate rounds of antibiotics ago now.  I still can't quite open my jaw all the way yet and there's still a tiny bit of swelling along my jawline, but pain wise I'm doing ok and I can eat food again, which is a huge plus.  

It was truly AWFUL though. All I could manage was to go to work, come home and go to bed, usually in tears. So let this serve as a public service announcement.  Don't leave things go until they're really bad.  Especially because you feel silly or embarrassed.  You'll feel a whole lot worse in the end.

Anyways, as a result, all my grandiose plans of sewing all sorts of things for fall fell by the wayside.  I'd had plans for a couple of last minute warm weather makes, some Lander Pants, a Tami Hoodie, and some new tees for fall.  None of it got done.  My crafty to do list is as long as it was at the beginning of the month. But I did manage one simple project to make myself feel better.   


There is nothing like a TnT pattern to get a sense of accomplishment, and what better tried and true pattern for fall than a Blackwood Cardigan.  I've been wanting another long length Blackwood for ages and I had a nice cozy hacci sweater knit that I knew would be perfect for it.

The pattern and fabric pairing did not disappoint.  Its snuggly warm which is perfect for this time of year.   The grey and black marled knit makes it so easy to pair with pretty much everything in my wardrobe (including this Elliot Tee I made last winter).  I think this might be my fifth time making a Blackwood.  Or is it my sixth?  I feel like I'm forgetting one of the ones I've made...  Whatever the number, there is a reason I keep going back to it.  I enjoy sewing them and I love wearing them. Really, what's not to love about a TnT pattern you can cut out and sew up and be wearing in a matter of a few hours on a quiet afternoon?


I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things down in my sewing room again now that I'm starting to feel better.  My to do list has grown again.  I still want to whip up those warm weather makes. (I have them cut out and I hate to leave projects cut out and not sewn), but now I'm also itching to make another coat.  I've been wearing my Ellsworth Coat that I made for the Minerva Blog almost every day this fall and I love it, but I want something a little more traditional in terms of fabric I think.  I do have some lightweight coating/lining in my stash and I have a couple different coat patterns I'm debating that are also in my stash - the Love Notions Octave Coat* and the Sew Over It Dahlia Coat.  So watch this space... maybe, just maybe I'll get something checked off that ever growing list before the next time we talk!  Until then, I hope you and your loved ones all stay healthy and happy! 









Tuesday, September 01, 2020

The Antrim Dress

I can't quite believe it's already the end of summer.  I still have summer sewing I want to do, but the temperature is definitely cooling down.  It's all ok though.  I have a brand new dress that's going to be a perfect one for fall.


I love everything about this dress, from the surplice "faux wrap" style bodice, to the gathered waist, to the flowy half circle skirt.  It even has pockets and I don't think I need to tell you how much I love a pocket!


So now that I've gushed about the dress design, I should probably give you some details.  The Antrim Dress is the latest release from Itch to Stitch* and the really exciting thing about it, to me, is that Kennis has increased her size range with this pattern!  The sizing for Antrim is  00-20 with A through DD cup sizes and size 22-40 with B through DD cup sizes.  I really appreciate the designers who are taking the time and effort to make their patterns more accessible.  In our tester group we all felt that the dress really suited everyone so well.  It's rare to find a pattern that actually does that (and quite frankly I'm always so skeptical when someone lays claim to a pattern looking good on all sorts of body types.  I normally will mentally roll my eyes and think, "uh, huh.  Sure it does..."  So I'm always really pleasantly surprised when it actually does work out that way!)


I feel that this pattern is fairly straight forward, sewing it didn't take a whole lot of time even with my "sew in small chunks of time" method that I use these days.  The only bit that I could see being a bit tricky would be the fact that you're working with a fairly stretchy knit and you'd want to be careful not to stretch out the neckline at all while sewing. (I inadvertently avoided all risk of that problem by adding length to my bodice and completely forgetting to add length to the neckline binding piece. Win win!  Ha ha!)  It is listed as an Intermediate pattern, but I would think that anyone with some experience in sewing with knits would be more than capable of sewing this dress pattern.

If you're wanting to get a copy of the Antrim Dress, it is discounted for the release week!




Monday, August 10, 2020

Questioning My Life Choices Or: I Sewed A Swimsuit

I haven't been sewing a whole lot lately. I've been spending my days outside working in the garden and hanging out with my little boys in the pool, going for walks and generally just enjoying life in the sunshine. However, the sewing I did do had me questioning all my life choices and contemplating throwing all my machines and fabric out the window and finding a new hobby...

All that is to say I sewed a swimsuit.


Now, I should probably preface this by saying the pattern seemed great. Well thought out, the instructions were good, the sizing seemed fine and there was all sorts of helpful info along the way. So I can only surmise that all difficulty lay squarely on my shoulders.

The swimsuit in question was the X-Factor from 5 out of 4 Patterns. I should have bought the pattern for the RipTide bottoms too while I was at it, but noooooo. Why buy a pattern when you can hack one? Why indeed...

The pattern I used to hack was the Ohh Lulu Hilda Bike Shorts pattern that I got off of Craftsy a million years ago. (I can't seem to find a link that will work for them, but maybe you'll have better luck than I did.) I knew they fit well and that I could probably achieve a pretty close look to what I was after with a few simple changes. Oh reality you are cruel. They ended up being a bit more of a head scratcher than anticipated and after the saga of the swim top, I had hoped the bottoms would go together like a charm.

So. Let's get down to the nitty gritty for a bit. We'll start with the swim top and why I started questioning my life choices. The X-Factor uses about a million miles of binding to get a really nice finish along all the edges.


I thought I'd whip through it all with my cover stitch machine and have it done in no time at all. Clearly that did not happen. What did happen was a lot of frustration, a lot of seam ripping, more than just a few threads breaking and a whole heck of a lot of bad words being used. It also involved me thinking that maybe this sewing gig just wasn't for me as well as some serious contemplation on giving up, trashing the project and heading the store to buy a swimsuit. It was becoming very much a decision on which was the lesser of two evils. I can tell you wholeheartedly that bathing suit shopping rates right up there in the "things that I avoid at all costs" category normally so I think that is a pretty strong testament to how badly things were going.


I tried double sided tape.  I used about a thousand clips.  I went as slowly as I could, at some points just hand cranking the machine.  Nothing I did seemed to matter. It was a gong show.



It's not that I haven't sewn swimwear before. I made my Roxy Suit two summers ago and it was a great project. I have worn it to death (which is why I felt it high time to make a new suit) and it made me feel like a champion sewist. Although maybe I'm looking back through the haze of the rose coloured glasses that time away from a project provides. Re-reading my post about the Roxy, I did struggle with the bottoms quite a bit. But the X-Factor was almost my undoing. Although other than the binding it's not an overly challenging pattern and really, had my coverstitch played nicely, maybe it wouldn't have been challenging at all.

Because of all the frustrations I had, I kept putting my suit to the side and walking away from my sewing room. It was the only way to deal with it. So the top took far longer than I would have ever imagined. Eventually I finished though and moved on to sewing the bottoms, which in my mind were going to be so, so easy. hahahahahahahahahahaha. I am a funny, funny lady. Of course they weren't. First off, my Hilda's don't have side seams, so I had to figure out how to do the channels for the side ties I wanted. Then there was a matter of length. They were way to long for swim bottoms as designed or at least far too long for the look I wanted for my swim bottoms. So I had to cut them down.

 Then I wanted to add a waistband but I know with my figure a straight rectangular waist band is not going to work. So I planned to draft my own curved waistband. But, you know, why take five minutes to draft a waistband on your own when you can spend 45 minutes searching the internet for a pattern that might have the waistband style you want. Then realize 45 minutes into searching that you're a complete dolt and that you have access to a perfectly good curved waistband right in the sewing file on your computer. There are days... Aggghhhhhhhh.

So, in the end I printed off the waistband pattern I had for a pair of leggings I've never made and it worked out brilliantly! I did end up sewing a channel at the top of the waistband for elastic, because they felt just a touch loose without and no one needs to have me jump into the water and lose them. (Laugh all you want - but I've suffered that particular wardrobe malfunction with ready to wear bottoms a few years ago and that is a big huge, NO THANK YOU! All I can say is thank goodness I was in the privacy of my own backyard pool when it happened)


So a swimsuit that should have taken an afternoon or two took closer to two weeks to accomplish, but I did it! And hey! At least it's not winter yet like I feared it might be before I ever got it finished! LOL!

 I am really happy with the result. It is a better fit than any ready to wear suit, it's the look I was wanting and it's so far stood the litmus test of actual swimming it it. It took a lot to get here, but it's a definite win.

I had planned to sew a second suit this summer, but you know what? I think I'll just leave it at the one and maybe next year give another pattern a go. I'm not sure my brain can handle sewing another one anytime soon...



Wednesday, July 22, 2020

The Celeste Dress

Celeste Dress #sewnshownseated

Hello all!  So it's been a few weeks since I've posted, but all is well.  We've been having a good summer so far here - lots of sunshine lately and not quite as ridiculously hot as it was at the beginning of July so it's been livable.  The first bit with the heat warnings every day got to be a bit much for my liking, especially when the house gets so hot and then just will not cool down, but thankfully we seem to be past that and into the just enjoyable kind of summer weather.  Mind you if the mosquitoes could take a leave of absence for a bit, I'd greatly appreciate it.  Also the deer... I have a resident deer that lives a lot of her life in my yard and seems to firmly believe that I planted the garden for her personal dining enjoyment, which is getting rather annoying to say the least.  She was in there again yesterday noshing on the beets and chard.  The only thing she's left untouched is the corn, the hot peppers and oddly enough the lettuce.  But other than those two aggravations, we've been really enjoying summertime.  It's such a relief to have the crazy learn from home school year done and not have to think about it for a while!

Celeste Dress photo one

I've also been doing some sewing in small chunks of time.  If you follow my Instagram you'll know that right now I'm in the midst of sewing a bathing suit that has given me all kinds of headaches and fits, but before starting that project, I had the opportunity to test a new pattern for Itch to Stitch* again.  I've declined all testing opportunities since late winter because I just didn't have the time nor the brain power to do a proper job of it, so I was really happy to be able to jump in when the testing call came out for the Celeste Dress!

Celeste Dress close up

The Celeste is an easy breezy kind of summer dress.  It has princess seams, short sleeves and a v-neck along with fantastic pockets and an interesting gather detail at centre front.  You have the option of putting in a side zip if you need one, but I didn't think it would be necessary for mine and I was happily right.  (I did baste the seams and try it on first to be sure I could go without the zip.  No need to get completely stuck in a dress!  LOL)  It goes together quite easily, which is always lovely. I had a bit of an issue sewing the facing in the front, but that was more down to me being stubborn to the point of ridiculous.  Once I used some common sense things went much better.

Celeste Dress in the breeze

For my Celeste, I used a linen blend with a slight crinkly texture to it.  It had been labeled as linen/cotton, but it really does behave and feel far more like a linen/viscose, so I have my suspicions that the tag may have been incorrect.  It gave my dress a more drapey look to it, which I'm absolutely fine with!  I did lengthen the bodice on mine, which in hindsight maybe I didn't need to do or do quite so generously at least, but the curve at the waist would've hit in a weird spot for my actual waist had I not I think.  It means my gathers seem to sit a bit lower than most other testers, but I don't mind.  I like where it sits for me.

I will definitely be wearing this dress a lot.  It's cool and comfortable and as a bonus can withstand strong winds without the skirt blowing over my head.  (Always such a bonus here on the prairies where it seems to be windy almost all the time lately!)

If you're wanting to pick up a copy for yourself, you can head on over to the Itch to Stitch site.  Celeste is, of course, on sale for the release week!

Celeste with a hat



Tuesday, June 23, 2020

New Summer Staples

My Helen's Closet Suki Robe finally got made in May!  A couple posts ago I was telling you how I had purchased the pattern and ordered some embroidered cotton from Minerva almost immediately after and then I sat on it for the last few years.  Like so many projects I have NO idea what took me so darn long to make it.  I was obsessed with the idea of a shortened Suki as a summer cover up for over tank tops and tees after seeing Helen's version on her blog. Really, it's a bit silly to say, but the thing that held me back was deciding on the length I needed to make the robe.  (Told you it was silly! How do I let things like that hold me back?!?!).  

 
This spring I took the fabric back out of it's pile it had been languishing in and put the pattern pages together - oh yes. I'd even printed it out as soon as I bought it.  My ridiculousness knows no bounds.  Ha ha!   It was such a quick sew once I got started.  And I was so happy to have it done!  I'd planned to wear it during Me Made May but alas.  I had absolutely nothing that looked good with it.  My love of florals can sometimes be a problem given almost all my tops are in some sort of bold floral print or another.  I really wanted a solid coloured top underneath so that the embroidery on the fabric could really shine.



Took me a few weeks more to get around to getting some solid coloured linen-look black fabric and whip up a modified ITS Crystal Cove Cami, but I got it done eventually - not in time for Me Made May of course, but whatever.  My Suki is done, I love it, and I certainly don't need to wait for an occasion or event to wear it.  I'm going to sew up a pink Crystal Cove as well so I can have a couple colour options to wear.  I bought a metre of it as well when I bought the black, I just haven't got around to actually making it.



Oh! And all that fear I had about the length?  Well - actually it turns out I cut it too short really.  Ooops!  But the world didn't come crashing down on me, nor did the gods of sewing punish me, so I guess it's alright. Ha ha!  I just used some really wide 2" bias binding I had in my stash and created a facing type hem instead and made a note on my pattern to add a bit of length for my next one.  Did I mention how much I love my shortened Suki Robe?  I might splurge on some pretty fabric to make a full length robe for lounging at home too down the road, but I've not had anything catch my eye just yet.

My other project that I am super happy I got made is another Helen's Closet pattern, the Ashton Top.  I sewed it up on the last day of Me Made May and immediately put it on for the rest of the day. I definitely need more in my life because it is getting a bit embarrassing how often I wear mine.  I hadn't sewn anything with linen in so long that I'd forgotten what a joy it is to work with and how amazing it is to wear, especially in the heat of summer.  The Ashton Top was another pattern that I've sat on forever.  I think I got it last summer when Helen started talking about "Ashton August" and all the hacks she was planning for it.

I joke that this past winter was the "Winter of Elliots" because I made and wore the Elliot so often - actually I just realized I'm wearing an Elliot tee as I type this!  I'm thinking I may have to dub this the "Summer of Ashton" because I continually wear it... see comment above....  It's just so easy to throw on with jeans, or shorts, or palazzo pants and it's cool and comfy and if it wrinkles I do not care because it's linen and that's what linen does.


I'm currently putting linen in and taking it out of my cart online because I know I shouldn't actually buy fabric.  I don't need fabric.  But I want fabric darn it.  I've even braved going to the fabric store specifically to look for linen.  (Didn't find anything I loved for an Ashton so it was kind of a disappointment - although I did find a great bargain on a linen blend for some floaty, breezy Winslow Culottes...) What I do think I might do, is take apart a dress I made forever ago when N graduated from high school and use the skirt of it for an Ashton.  It was a black and white linen blend print that I loved but lets face it.  I'm never going to fit into the dress again, so I might as well enjoy what I can of it!


So that's been my two - well I guess three with the Cami - new sews for summer that I'm going to be living in.  If you see me wearing either of them on constant repeat, just pretend you don't notice.  I'll try to at least make sure they're clean...

Oh and as for Me Made May?  My pledge was :
I challenge myself to wear at least one me made garment each day and to assess what the holes in my me made wardrobe are and to try and fill those holes by sewing some new garments.
Well, I did wear at least one me made garment each day and as it turns out, without a single repeat.  Which tells me I have a heck of a lot of clothes and not a whole lot of holes in the wardrobe.  Although, I did notice it was tops, tees, cardi's, hoodies etc.  Other than a few pairs of me made shorts, I haven't got many bottoms to go with the tops.   So I guess if I'm meaning to fill holes, that should be where I start.  I mentioned a pair of Winslow Culottes, but I also want to make a pair of cropped Lander Pants and I have fabric put aside for the Arden Pants as well.  We'll see how it goes though.  If nothing else, I tend to be pretty fickle with my sewing plans.  "Oooh look at the shiny new thing... I want to make that instead!"

Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other.