Peace Out MMJ and June 4x1

So here we are!

The end of 2 challenges. Zoe's Me Made June 2011 and Stephanie's June 4x1 challenge.

I am so happy I did these challenges, although strictly speaking I did not completely follow the rules to the letter. For MMJ, I had a week when I did not wear me made outfits, which I explained in this post, and my picture taking kind off became jerky towards the end. For the June 4x1, I was supposed to make 4 summer dresses in 1 month. I only made 3.

 I could take the easy way out and say I was sick for 1 week so I could not sew in that time (and yes I did not sew), but I know I was just plain lazy, and I could have made 4 dresses within 3 weeks. In my defence( I am always blameless), I did not anticipate the surgery when I signed up for these challenges, and how it would affect my pledges. So there. I failed my challenges, but technically speaking ( pay attention, this is a masterclass in being a politician), I succeeded.

Day 28




Hibiscus dress from day 1

 

Day 29

Now this is a new dress. This is my third entry for the June 4x1 challenge. I used an Italian cotton fabric I bought from goldhawk road. It was from the remnant bin. I bought about 6 different fabrics for £15 so I would say this was about £1.50/metre as I had 2 metres of this one.

I used the same Lisette pattern I used for the 1am dress. I really love this pattern. The bodice fits me really well too. I used bias binding on the neckline and armholes, then used a lace trimming I bought when Melizza and I went to Rolls and Rems.




Picture taken at the end of the day, so dress looks rumpled.

 

MMJ Day 30

My MMJ item today is my necklace. Hope you can see clearly in this picture.

Like I said before, I'm really happy I participated in these challenges. They've made me realise that I really can have a self made wardrobe and that it is not as difficult as I thought it would be. I have been so proud of myself this month, skipping around in things I made myself, and getting praises for it.

 I think I got high (on more than one occasion ) on the reaction I got from people when they found out I made my own clothes. hihihihihi. I think its a good thing I am no one famous. If I was one of those famous peeps, I know I would have been one of those really annoying ones prancing about with my nose in the air like Jerusalem women of old ( and no I have never been to Jerusalem).

I have also been really happy with the creative freedom making your own clothes gives you. I can decide what colour of dress I want, or what trimmings I want to use, and there's nothing the high street can do about that. So liberating.

I still have 2 challenges in the pipeline. My self imposed holiday wardrobe challenge, where I make ALL the things I will be taking with me to Marjoca at the end of July......

....and the Summer Essentials Sew-Along, where I have to make 5 things or more that I would rather not live without this summer from June to August.

The good thing about doing the MMJ and June 4x1 challenges is that I have already made a couple of summer things which I will use as my entries for these remaining challenges.  I could say I am already 60% done with these two challenges. For the SESA, I still need to add a pair of shorts and a tankini. Same goes for my holiday wardrobe challlenge.

What about you? Have you got any personal challenges coming up, or other community wide challenges?



Where is my Camera?

I have been going round and round today, looking for my camera. The last thing I remember is taking it out of my bag to take a picture of my latest pattern drafting exercise, which ended, as I ultimately knew it would, with me shaking my head furiously and wondering if I was really so thick, and reaching into the fridge for a new tub of Hagen Daaz Vanilla and chocolate brownie ice cream. This is a new flavour, and its the first time I was having it. I LOVED it so much, I finished it in one go.

I still don't know where my camera is!!

Yesterday I went to Brighton for the Me Made June meet up organised by Zoe. However, I can't show you any pics at this time because I can't find my ""#$"@^%$# camera!!!

Where is my camera?

I don't know to be honest. I still have not taken my MMJ outfit of the day. eek!!!

I had so much fun yesterday in Brighton. It was my first time going there, and I had such high hopes for my time there. The weather forecast had been quite promising, however, when we got there, it was anything but sunny!!! but the sheer excitement of being in the presence of talented people made up for the weather.I would have shown you pictures, but as you would have read by now, I can't find my $%^#^%U^$^&^$$ camera!!!

Where is my camera?

I've just looked under the bed, though to be honest I don't recall putting it there. But a gal has got to look where a gal has got to look. Now where was I? Oh yes, Brighton!! but first....

Where is my camera?

I think i will stop looking for it now.  If you want to see pics of Brighton, Tilly and Suzy have pictures of us grinning like little muppets.

I will have to do another post when I do find my camera, so that you can see the pictures from my own angle.

So, I am off again, on another search and rescue mission for my camera.

have a nice week everyone.

MMJ day 22: Hanging out with House of Pinheiro

Hi Everyone, guess who's back????

Yup, Moi!!

So the last couple of days have been interesting. Sitting at home ( sometimes venturing out bravely, and crawling back home in pain) and thinking of what to do with myself. Its funny how you think you have so much time on your hands when you are off work, but you end up doing nothing, not because you don't want to, but because you can't....literally.

I've been so touched by the level of support and well wishes I've received from you all. Thank you ever so much. It feels nice to know that out there, in the neverland that is the internet, and of course, the physical world, there are people who think of you. Even if you have never met them. Which brings me to the conclusion that sewing makes the world go round ( and to the greater conclusion, and proof, that the world really is round.) I don't care about all those scientists with all those formulas and equations, screaming at the top of their coarse lungs, willing to die and in many cases dying, just to prove that the earth is a circle. Why go through all that stress to prove something like that when all they could have done was buy a sewing machine, sew stuff, post it online, and look at google analytics to see the location of your readers to know that? Granted there was no internet in those days, but still? Ha, I know i might be spewing rubbish now, don't blame me. Blame the morphine. I think its muddled somewhat with my brain.

So, what have I been doing with myself?

First things first, I went crazy on ebay, and bought loads of jewelry making stuff (its the morphine you see), then I hung out with Rachel of House of Pinheiro. Her bday is on saturday, and me being the littlte busy body I am, decided to meet up with her. I'm starting work tomorrow, so I wanted to at least have a little fun before going back to spreadsheets.

So first off, we met at Euston station. I had made a necklace, and decided to use it as my MMJ item du jour. I was running late, so i decided to run to the station, and of course, next thing I knew, my necklace came off, and my beads went scattering around. So  I had to pick them up, one by one, peeping around me to make sure no one was watching before bending down and looking under a car to see if any of my precious beads had rolled down under. Of course they had, so i had to go halfway under the car to get them. Having scooped all my beads, I continued running to the station, just to get there, and the train was late. Typical!

We met just after 6pm so it was not possible to hit any fabric stores, so we went eye shopping, dissecting clothes we saw, opening them  up to look at the fabric content and railing against the shops for having the  gumption to sell a polyester item for 99 pounds. Can you believe it? or was the price higher? can't remember now....morphine!!


In Uniqlo, we saw this pleated t-shirt that reminded us of the Sorbetto pattern, and decided to make our own versions.

Zara was the guilty owner of a very expensive polyester frock. I was not remotely amused.

We made our way to John Lewis because they have a haberdashery and fabric section, and we just had to have our fabric fix. Of course we did not buy anything because Rachel is going through a "no buying week", and I am saving my few coins, to be unleashed on the Brighton fabric shop owners on Saturday during the Me Made June meet up organised by Zoe.

Interesting fabric display in John Lewis.....

....followed by the pattern ......

............and a shocking realisation of how short I really am. In my defense though, Rachel is very tall. Conclusion, I am tall, but Rachel is taller....I dare anyone to say otherwise!!

I loved this little machine. My sister wants a sewing machine, so I might gift her with this for her bday.

Food time....YAY!!!!!
We rushed into the first restaurant we saw just opposite John Lewis, give a few steps. At this point, conversation had simmered down, because hunger was the order of the minute.

yum yum!!

My fave, chocolate fudge cake and vanilla ice-cream.

time for a pic. You can see my me made necklace a little better here.

A fascinator I made for Rachel. Its not finished yet, but I just had to show her. lol. I need to buy  millinery elastic and attach it so she can wear it sans main, as she is doing in the pic....

a little tilting of the head gave us a view without hands.

And she gave me this lovely soft cotton fabric which came all the way from Brazil. See how sewing makes the world go round?

....and this holder for my scissors. Isn't that cute? and it even has my name stitched on it. I can't show it because it was made with white thread, and my camera's flash does not permit a good picture.

MMJ Day 15: Sorbetto top and Burda July 2011 preview

I finally got myself to print out the Sorbetto pattern offered for free by Colette Patterns. So many people have already made this top, but I was especially impressed by Marie of A Swewing Odyssey, who has made 3 already. Yes you read it right. 3!! And they are all awesome.

When making my version last night, I finally understood why Marie fell in love with the pattern. It is such an easy make, and the instructions are very simple to follow.

 I decided to opt out of the bias binding for the neckline and armholes, and went for piping instead. My earlier attempts to use piping had been disastrous, as I i did not have the right machine foot for the job. My Pfaff's zipper foot is not like that of other brands so it was quite difficult to use it. I ordered a seperate piping foot, and that made the insertion so much easier. There really is a reason for all those extra machine feet. I will never, EVER, question the wisdom of seperate feet for different techniques.



Piped neckline



To finish the seams, I decided to try my hand at Hong Kong seams. I've decided that on small projects like these, I will try to make the insides as beautiful as possible. So I used bias tape to bind the seams.



Hong Kong seam



I also checked the German Burda site, to see if I could find any previews of the July issue. From what I could see, this issue has a take on black city style. Which is good, for a stylish office wardobe. A bit dark for me now, but definitely a go for the wintery months,with colourful detailing of course. I love these black dressess.

For beach lovers....



As usual, the plus sized outfits steal the show.  I love this little red number. Is that red?

America clearly inspired the following outfits. Did they have to put the flag in the background as well? lol

For the romantics....I love the way the model poses in the lace dress, as if she is trying to drink some tea and calm herself down after having just read a letter from her lover, saying he is sorry, but he won't be able to meet her later for their secret rendez-vous.......

So she decides to do some gardening.....

.....and goes out by herself anyways, to show him that she does not need a man to make her happy.....

This edition should hit the stands in about 2 weeks I think. I don't know if I will make anything from this edition anytime soon, as I have a long list of projects I want to make from the previous editions, but I think I will  buy it all the same.

Have a nice day everyone.

MMJ day 14: Simple embelished top

The sun is out today, and I am feeling much better. The BBC weather report says its going to be nice this week, but Thursday will have some showers.  So for now, I am enjoying this sunshine.

This morning, I decided to embelish my top, and give it a different look. I have not really felt like sewing lately, so I thought I should just do a refashion, and save myself all the headache. So here goes:

1. You will need an old top or new one, depending on your personal tastes.
2. A purchased embelishment. You can make one yourself if you are so inclined.
3. Matching thread and a needle



Lay your top down




Take your embellishment






Place it on your top, re-arranging it until you are satisifed with the placement.




Handsew it in place and trim the excess tulle



Wear it to work, and be proud of yourself !!!

I know its a lazy man project, but I like it. Its suitable for days when you really want a new outfit, but you don't want to go through all the hassle of making one from scratch.

Have a nice day everyone.

MMJ Days 12 & 13

Day 12

Hi everyone. Sorry about missing a post yesterday. I just could not be asked really. The weather was just plain horrible. K went out in the morning to play golf, and I think the highlight of my day was knowing that the rain messed up their game abit. I know I'm being mean here, but I really was happy the rain got them. lol.

I spent all day curled up, doing nothing, well except going to Waitrose for groceries. It was such a lazy day. I had intended to make two skirts for work this week, but my mood was ultra low, so I just chilled out.

I wore my Simplicity 2638 maxi dress, with a cardigan, and covered myself with a blanket for most of the day. Stuffing my face with Hagen Daz Dulce de Leche and chocolate fudge cake.



I could not even muster a smile!!



DAY 13 

The bad weather continues today, but fortunately its not raining, just cold. So I decided to take today's picture at my desk.

I hope I can sew something tonight.  I don't think I'll be able to finish anything because of the way I'm feeling, but it won't hurt to at least start something. I don't even know if I'll feel like sewing by the time I get home. I hope I do. If I don't, there's still some left over ice cream and chocolate cake. That should be more than enough to cheer me up.

Today I wore the Simplicity dress I made using a 1980's pattern, blogged about here. I did not tie a belt today, preferring to leave it loose, and it was really cormfortable.

MMJ Day 11: Blogger meet-up

Today I hung out with the beautiful Melizza of Pincushiontreats, wearing one of my assembly line tops.Her birthday was a few days ago, so we decided to celebrate by doing what we both love best...yep..you guessed it all right...FABRIC SHOPPPING!!

She decided to take me to one of her favourite fabric joints called Rolls and Rems. It's located in Holloway road, which is on the Piccadilly line, for anyone interested.

When I woke up this morning, I spent some time trying to think of the best way to tell my husband I was going out fabric shopping without receiving one of those didn't-you-just-buy-more-fabric-last weekend looks. So the conversation went somewhat like this

Dibs (with the most nonchalant look ever invented) : "oh, I will be going out shortly" 

Mr. Dibs (eyebrows arching): " ok, where to?"

Dibs: "Its my friend's birthday, so we are just going for lunch, and we might check out some fabric  

            shops. but i already bought some fabric last week, so i'm not looking for anything

Mr. Dibs( with a comical look of undisguised relief): "ok dear, have fun"

Oh, and what fun I had!!

Its amazing how quickly your steps widen when you see a fabric shop on the horizon. I met Melizza already there, with a latte in her hands, looking very chilled out and relaxed. Not me. I was on fire, and ready for some action. I quickly asked her where the remnant basket was ( as I always do when i enter a fabric shop). 

This was a proper remnant basket (box actually), with proper sized remnants. Measuring anything between 1.5 -5 metres of fabric, with the most expensive being £6.99. Now how awesome is that. And they kept adding to the pile, and we kept picking them up, almost snatching them from the poor guy's hands. Fabric shopping is fun, but its so much more fun when you are with someone who loves fabric shopping as much as you. 

Melizza with her purchase

This is how satisfied people smile..trust me, its true

Part of the shop

From there we went to the market, where I got some bias piping, and other stuff. Next stop was this car boot sale.

I surprisingly did not see anything I liked here!! SHOCKING.

At this point, our energy levels had plummeted to a not-so-respectable zero, and we headed to a Spanish restaurant for some much needed nourishment.

Melizza tucking in to delicious tapas

Taking a break from eating to pose 

Main course

So, what did I buy?

4metres of blue satin for, 4.5 metres of black taffeta, 3.5 metres of cotton lawn, 4 metres of blue flowery cotton, and 1.5 metres of green and cotton for the respectable sum of £29 !!

After I left Melizza, I headed off to Goldhawk road in search of a particular stretch cotton fabric. I am using it for Faye's Summer Dress Challenge, and I forgot to cut the bodice front, and I ran out of fabric. So I went to the shop I got it from, and as was expected, it was sold out!! Shawnta suggested I use another fabric for the bodice, which i think is what i will do.

As usual, I could not come out of Goldhawk road empty handed. I found these in the remnant basket in one of the shops. They are all Italian cotton, and the least is about a metre, so these can give me 2 tops and 4 dresses. The cost of them all? 10 quid, thank you very much!!

I also got these, all six for a pound, which I will use in various projects, to embellish tops, or add sleeves.

So that was my day in review. 

As for Mr. Dibs, I took back a couple of beers for him. This was enough to draw his attention from the other bag in my left hand, which had all my fabric. smart non?

What have you all been up to?

Have a pleasant evening.