Ditto roses

Here are two dresses which I've made using the same fabric in two different colourways.  I love this print and have got it in another two colours as well, although I haven't made them up yet.  I bought these two from Ditto Fabrics in Brighton - a lovely shop in the North Laine area with lots of gems and well worth a visit.  As is Brighton of course - I love it.

The first one is an Elisalex which came together very quickly since I've made quite a few of these now.  Not much to say about it other than I love it! 

Lime green roses Elisalex

The second one is from a vintage Simplicity pattern, although I've cut the skirt 8" shorter.

I love the cover art on this, the finished dress not so much sadly.  I feel a bit meh about it although I can't quite put my finger on why - I'll give this some thought!  It's been nearly finished for ages and has been sitting waiting for me to hem it for weeks.  I've finally got around to it though, and so now it's finished.

Turquoise roses dress

 I think I'll put it away for the winter now and maybe the passage of time will endear it to me more.  I hope so!  And now I have another dress to hem...

Away with the Pink Fairies and Moody Blues

Having just blogged about baby knits which I've made quite recently I thought it was high time I blogged about two cardigans for me which I made earlier in the year.  The first (the blue one) I made during February and March and the second (the pink one) I started immediately afterwards and finished on June 1st.

I'd decided that I needed a blue cardigan and couldn't find a pattern that ticked all the boxes in my head, so made this one up.  I knew the finished length that I wanted, knitted a tension square with the wool I wanted to use (Drops Baby Merino), and then went in search of a lace pattern to use.  I have two of the Barbara Walker treasuries - they are great books although it's a shame the patterns aren't charted.  Anyway, I decided I liked the look of the Palm Leaf Lace which is in the second book, did some sums and away I went with the knitting.

I used the pattern on the left

This cardigan featured in one of my me-made-May outfits here and has been really useful. 

The second cardigan also featured during me-made-May as a wip which I was intending to finish during May - was only a day late!  This came about because I decided I wanted a pink cardigan and found the perfect yarn on Fyberspates' stand at Unravel in February this year.  Having now got a formula for knitting cardigans for me out of 4 ply wool, I did the same with this one as with the blue one - I went off in search of a lace insert and  I found the one I wanted to use when I was leafing through my vintage knitting patterns. 

Shell pink cardigan and flamingolex dress

The knitting was pretty straightforward and I really like the finished article and have worn it a fair bit since it goes with quite a few of my me-made dresses (and rtw ones as well actually).

Just writing this post has given me itchy fingers to start knitting another cardigan for me so I'm off now to get out my swift and winder and find a pattern. :-)

Baby knits

The sewing has slowed down a bit at the moment, particularly since the weather turned autumnal.  But I have been doing some knitting.  This first cardigan I actually made in the summer and it was too big when my grandson was born, but fits him now.  I used a vintage pattern - one of several my mother gave me when I was a new mum, but omitted the flowers which meant I had to put the shaping at the side seams since it was part of the flower design (and I knitted this cardigan with the flowers for my daughter so there was a bit of deja vu knitting this).

Do you have to take my photo right now?

The next item is a jumper, which I also knitted for my daughter, but in pink and purple stripes, and is from a Debbie Bliss baby knits book which I bought when she was a baby.  The pattern has stripes of equal width but I decided to do a Breton inspired version instead.  Looks like there is still some growing room in this one!

And the third one is from a pattern booklet that was free with a magazine, and is supposed to be 0-6 months size.  When I knitted the sleeves I thought they looked a bit short so added a bit of length to them, and here it is on my grandson aged precisely 9 weeks.  I don't think he'll be wearing this for long! 

These last two were knitted with Drops Baby Merino yarn which is lovely and soft and nice to knit with - although not so nice if you need to unpick and then reknit - it's quite splitty.  This is a minor niggle though and won't stop me from using it again.

I've got another stripey jumper on the go now which is ideal TV knitting and should be finished soon.  And then it will be time to knit something for me.  Cardigan or dress though?  Or both?...  And I have some sewing to finish too.  And I recently bought more fabric.  Just aren't enough hours in the day - anyone have a timeturner I could borrow?

SewBrum meet up

Last Saturday I went to Birmingham for a sewing meet-up organised by Charlotte of English girl at home.  This was the first time I'd participated in one of these events and I really enjoyed it.

Fabric shopping in Birmingham city centre had been arranged for the morning, however having been there recently I decided to give this a miss and went instead to The Cotton Patch which was only a couple of miles down the road from the afternoon part of the meet-up at Guthrie and Ghani and was somewhere I'd never visited before.  It's a shop aimed at quilters rather than dressmakers, but that didn't stop me!  I bought three dress lengths of  fabric which the sales assistant cut using a rotary cutter and self healing mat rather than scissors.  Oh my goodness.  So quick!!  I was won over and bought a cutter and mat to take home with me - this will save me quite a bit of time when I have my marathon cutting out sessions I think.  I also bought a flexible ruler and a measuring gauge whilst I was in gadget-buying mode. 

Rotary cutter, self-healing mat, flexible ruler and a measuring gauge

The three fabrics I picked out were a lovely sunflower print, a helenium print and a leafy batik print.  The first two can wait until next year to be sewn up because they're a bit too summery for me to think of sewing with them now, but the third one - on the right in the picture below - I intend to make up quite soon.  I love this combination of colours and I'm looking forward to turning this into a dress.

Sunflowers, heleniums and leafy looking print

I had a very enjoyable time browsing around The Cotton Patch, there was a tempting selection of fabrics in there, the staff were friendly and I imagine if I were a quilter it would probably be able to supply everything I need.  But I'm not, nor ever likely to be.

Then it was time to go to Moseley for the meet-up.  Guthrie & Ghani is a lovely shop and I had time to have a browse around before everyone started to arrive from their city centre shopping. There were lots of people - some of whom I'd met before, some who I recognised from their blogs but most were new faces and I spent a very enjoyable time sitting drinking tea and chatting to several of them - I even discovered that I share a birthday with one of them!  It was lovely to be in a room full of people who were so enthusiastic about sewing.

There was tea (which was very welcome) and cakes and a raffle with some great prizes, and after that a pattern and fabric swap.  I took three pieces of fabric and one pattern with me and came home with one piece of fabric and three patterns (must remember to add them to my pattern page - now done).  I was so engrossed in the chatting - and a little bit of shopping - that I completely failed to take any photos of the day at all.  However, Charlotte has already blogged about the day and others who were less forgetful with their cameras than I was have too.

This is the fabric which I got in the swap - there's about three quarters of a metre which is enough for me to make a straight skirt.  It's a stretchy cotton and I really like the colours and vintagey look of the print.

These are the patterns - I'll almost certainly lengthen the skirt pattern on the left, the dress pattern in the middle I've hummed and ha'd about buying before so I think it was meant to come home with me, and the artwork on the vintage pattern on the right caught my eye.

Finally this is the fabric I bought - a Japanese double gauze which was a bit spendy but I'd seen it online and coveted it and it was even more beautiful in reality.  This photo doesn't do it justice - the background colour is a beautiful deep teal.  I love it.

All too soon it was time to go - I could happily have stayed longer and chatted to more people the time seemed to go so fast.  Roll on the next meet-up!

Kaffe Fassett exhibition

Kaffe Fassett exhibition entrance

I visited this exhibition in Bath the weekend before last and OMG... the colour. everywhere. on. everything!! 

The tree outside the exhibition hall had been yarnbombed

 There was a riot of colour right in front of me as I walked into the exhibition

 

 Even the floors had been decorated

 There were quilts - this one looked as though it was emanating  light, but it was entirely down to the fabric choices, there wasn't a light shining on it - I checked!

 And vegetable crockery



 













and cushions (not a very good photo - flash wasn't permitted and this came out rather dark so I've had to edit it - not very well it seems!)

There were beads, bottles and buttons

 

 

One way to use the button stash ;-)

Inside the main part of the museum was a lovely box of knitted and crocheted flowers

Carved statues in the folk art exhibition

and a prophecy which caught my eye...

I loved it - and now want to completely redecorate the entire house although realistically that probably isn't going to happen anytime soon.

The exhibition was held in the American Museum and is on until the beginning of November.

Carmen Miranda

I didn't make this dress until the August bank holiday weekend and was hoping for an Indian summer during September so that I could wear it before the weather got too cold and it got put away for the winter.  This isn't a print that I would wear when it's freezing cold outside.  Well, the weather gods smiled on me and we have had some lovely sunny and really quite hot days this month and I've worn it twice.

I can't remember exactly how I came across this fabric - possibly a google search for pineapple fabric - but I bought it from The Polished Button earlier in the summer and I absolutely love it!  The bodice of this dress is Butterick 5748 and the skirt is Simplicity 2444.  I think I'd recently made the blue polka dot dress and couldn't face another circle skirt so soon so decided on a pleated one instead.  However... the bodice darts and skirt pleats don't line up with each other, which I don't think matters particularly with this fabric because it's such a busy print, but I don't think I'll use this particular pattern combo again.

Carmen Miranda dress

Despite the mismatching, I'm very pleased with this dress - the fabric is very soft and I love the colours and the print.  And it makes me smile whenever I look at it. :-)

Autumn and winter knitting plans

Originally this was going to be one post together with the sewing plans but I decided to split it into two shorter rather than one loooong post so, here are my knitting plans.


I've got some baby knitting on the go at the moment - a cardigan - and then I have two hats planned and also a cuddly toy, but haven't decided what to make after that - but I will be using the yarns below in various combinations.

The toy will be a lion and I've bought a pompom maker for the tail - I'm now wondering what else I can make pompoms for...

Drops Baby Merino

For myself I really want to knit the Icon dress.  I love this and bought the pattern and yarn at Unravel in February 2013 after having seen the dress on the Purl Alpaca stand  and tried it on.  I started knitting this last autumn but ground to a halt because of a hemming construction issue, but I think if I start soon I should be able to get it finished in time for Unravel next year.  Since it's knitted from the bottom up the most time consuming knitting will be at the start and then it should, theoretically at least, get quicker.  And no sleeves, yay!  I don't like knitting sleeves, for me it's the worst part of cardigan knitting.

Purl Alpaca Icon dress and Purl Alpaca yarn

However, I do want to knit several cardigans, but realistically am unlikely to make more than a couple simply because there aren't enough evening and weekend hours to get through all the knitting and sewing I want to do.  In my head I can knit much faster than I can in reality.  So, I'd like to make one or more of the following  Paulie, Love Potion and Funky Grandpa

Paulie, Love Potion and Funky Grandpa

and I've sorted out the following yarn combinations as possibilities...

Handmaiden Casbah

Malabrigo Sock

Handmaiden Casbah again

Then I'd also like to make Audrey in Unst in some lovely mushroom coloured wool which I bought in Loop,

Audrey in Unst and The Uncommon Thread BFL light DK yarn

I'd also like to make a green cardigan and a grey cardigan in the wools below, I have ideas in my head for how I want them to turn out, I just need to work them out on paper.

Madelinetosh sock in Grasshopper and Drops baby merino grey yarn

I just need to pick a final stitch pattern for each one from one or other of these books - they are a great resource, which would be even better if the lace patterns were charted - although it doesn't usually take me long to write out a chart it would be nice if I didn't have to!

Barbara Walker Treasuries

And finally on the cardigan front, I bought the mini-skeins below at Unwind in Brighton back in July, and would also like to use these in combination with probably either some grey (again) or maybe navy wool for cardigans too.  Although not all the same cardigan.  They may end up being used for one of the stripey patterns above...

Madelinetosh Unicorn tails and fivemoons mini skeins

Then finally finally, I also really want to knit this jumper in Excelana Land Army Green, but with long sleeves.  I can't see the point of a short sleeved jumper for me, my arms would get cold and I've got enough wool for long sleeves so I just need to work out the shaping and away I go (yeah right - loads of enthusiasm too many other calls on my time at the moment!)

Pattern in A Stitch in Time Vol 1 and Excelana yarn from Susan Crawford

 
I'm also kinda missing lace knitting, so a shawl or two may end up on the needles as well...

And just like the sewing plans I know that this is a hopelessly over-ambitious list...