Wednesday 1 April 2015

The irony of a broken sewing machine giving you more time to blog...about sewing...

So, I find myself with a little more time on my hands. Why? Because, of course now that I am getting into my sewing groove, my dear machine decided to start playing up. I've been having a great time relishing the ability to produce finished (not perfect, but finished) projects in just a few days, rather than the weeks a similar garment would take through knitting. I should have known that my usual luck with engineering was about to start mocking me and generally putting a stopper on it all. It's now in with the repairs guys in Eccles, but there's a three week wait at the moment :( I suppose that is the price to pay for sewing having been neglected and then having a sudden renaissance: there isn't as many technical folk out there anymore.

Anyway, there are a few things that I have been meaning to blog about on here, so I should use my free time wisely. Or obviously continue with the Netflix/knitting winning combo. First up is a Buchanan dressing gown from the lovely Gather Kits team. I still have a Mortmain pattern that has been waiting patiently since Christmas, and I swear it is next on the list, but Mama Knitty's birthday was earlier this month and I decided to try and make her something this year. I'd been eyeing up the pattern for a while, but because their fabric choices were so delicious, I decided to go for one of their kits. And I am so pleased I did. I loved making this, and the purple edging is so nice. The fabric is super soft - I am half tempted to email and find out where it's from. I have a feeling that most of the family will soon be wearing one of these lovelies...




I try and go on a bit of a 'one for me, one for them' loop of making stuff, and so my make for me was a Sorbetto top with some scrumptious lotus flower print from the recent(ish) John Lewis sale. I have absolutely no idea if the fabric is supposed to be for quilting and not dressmaking, but I figure at the moment, every project is helping me improve, so I don't really care. It's not like I look like I've got a tablecloth on or anything. Well at least I hope not... This was my first time making and using my own bias binding. I love the finish of it, but I am not sure my cutting/ironing/stitching was particularly precise. There's a bit of a megabump at the back of the neck, but overall, I'm really pleased with this.


Fancy new specs and my first attempt at bias binding

And finally, a little summer dress for the littlest Miss Knitty, which is a Burda BD9460. I found this beautiful fabric in The Fabbadashery in Halifax where I grew up, and I couldn't resist it. This sadly was the dress that broke the Brother's back. Having gleefully made the dress in a couple of evenings, and proudly showed off my straightest seams to date, I started on the buttonholes, only to find my machine would do the first side just fine, but the second side either unthreaded the needle halfway through, or was far thinner than the first. Let's just say the unpicking nearly destroyed me. Thankfully the husband heard my cursing from the next room and volunteered to unpick them instead. That, reader, is why I married him.


Still waiting for buttonholes

So, for the foreseeable I am going to get as much stuff as I can cut out, and get to work on the next knitting project. I am also planning on entering the Simplicity Bloggers challenge (hey in for a penny, in for a pound with this whole blogging malarky), so I am just hoping I'll still have time once the sewing fairies have done their work.