Showing posts with label fabric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fabric. Show all posts

Tuesday, 24 May 2011

One shower in a drought

Hello strangers! I seem to have been taking a little unplanned break from blogging of late, so this is a little update to tell you what I've been up to and to help me get back into the swing of writing.
Sewing photo shoot
A couple of weeks back I went to the Sew Weekly London meetup. Debi, Karen, Tilly and many other people wrote really good accounts of the day back when it happened so I won't bore you with my own! Needless to say, meeting a group of lovey ladies with so much in common and going for a museum visit, followed by a fabric shopping trip was just wonderful. My only regret is not getting to speak to everyone - in particular the bloggers who I've been reading for the last year with whom I came over all star struck and couldn't think what to say to...smart moves eh?! I feel I should also thank Steph from Little Miss Twitchy who very kindly accompanied me on our jaunt round the shops as all the other shoppers outpaced us. I was hunting for wool and doing so very slowly but Steph stuck with me all the way to the pub at the end. Thanks Steph! I was too busy to attempt the Horrockses dress what we were supposed to make and then I just couldn't face starting something new the day before the meetup, so I wore my old faithful bow blouse (which I did make, albeit a while ago) and Freddies of Pinewood jeans (which I had to keep telling people I hadn't made, sadly).
I did get a good haul though. I won some lace sent all the way from America in the raffle and picked up these patterns in the swap.
 These are some of the fabrics I bought - Top to bottom;
Seersucker check with metalic threads, soft cotton - the flowers remind me of the Flower fariy illustrations and came from the swap, a cotton/silk mix and a gold fine cord.
 Grey wool, I have this lined up for trousers, some aubergine crepe, red viscose (I think) and a very light cotton lawn.
No more shopping for me for a while!
I also bought a lot of wools and linens to make mroe viking period kit with. The stuff I've made so far has gone down well and I am seriously considering making a few bits and pieces to ebay.

I also took my history exam last week, that's Nazi Germany done and dusted! I think the exam went quite well but I'll have to wait until the 18th August to find out how I did. It's torture. It's a relief to have my free time back actually, though it's only a few weeks until I start the second year's studies. Still, I'm going to make use of the time while I have it and finally make some of the clothes I've been planning for months. I'm loath to make any skirts or trousers for the moment, the weight is still falling off me and I'm worried that it'll be too big in a month if I fit it well now! Tops are, therefore, the order of the day - a good job actually as I am a bit lacking on that front at the moment...

Friday, 21 January 2011

More stock for my stash

I took a trip to my local fabric shop yesterday to pick up supplies for Casey's Swing dress sew-along and came home with a little more than I'd bargained for!

My first purchase was the dress fabric, which I chose some wine red wool crepe for. I was looking for something with a good drape and not only did this fit the bill, being medium weight and very soft, but also because of the wonderful colour. It's very close to Mac's Russian Red lippie which is my favourite, so I know I'll be coordinated!
The fabric only cost me £16 for 4m (which will be more than enough for the dress) so including the pattern and findings, should cost less than £30 to make. Good stuff!

While I was browsing, I came across this black net. It has a slight stretch to it and is very soft. I figured I could use it for sleeves and maybe a collar on a blouse at some point. I only bought a meter so I'll have to be a bit creative about what I use this for!
The other net I picket up was this millinery net. I bought a brown hat a while ago which is very 40s other than the very chunky net, which looks very 80s to me. I figure I can replace it with this and make it look a bit older. I'm going to be a bit careful how I do this though, as millinery is a totally new art for me!

Finally came this lovely cotton. It's very light and not the finest quality fabric but I couldn't resist the print. There was a whole batch of slightly different rose prints to choose from and I had a really hard time deciding. I think if the pattern grows on me I might go back and get another colour. At only £3.39 it won't break the bank! All I have to decide now is what to make with it. My first thought is a dress, but that's all I've made for ages and I have several more lined up, so I'm not sure. I have 4m of the stuff. Maybe a circle skirt? Any suggestions?