A new year...

As I sit here on this cool, (18C) rainy, new years day (it's supposed to be Summer here) pondering the last couple of years and asking myself why I haven't been indulging in any creative activities I've come to the conclusion that I just haven't had the time.  Well, I've decided that 2017 is going to be different.  I've decided, that this year I'm going to revive by little blog here, I'm going to 'make' time for sewing and I can't wait to get started! In fact I have already started and you can get a sneak peek on my instagram.

Now... I don't make new year resolutions because lets be honest, who keeps them after the first couple of weeks anyway. I know I don't. That's why I don't make them!  So putting all that aside I will tell you that I do have a plan, and that is to 'SEW'!! I'm not going to make plans like, for example that I will make 3 tops, 2 dresses etc. using specific patterns. I'm just going to go with the flow and see where my journey takes me and I hope you'll come along for the ride.

And to finish off, I just want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and creative 2017!

Decisions - How will it work?

Having resolved to make my wardrobe work better for me this year and I've now evaluated what I actually have to work with, it's decision time.  If I want this to work I must consider what I like in terms of what kind of styles suit me that I like and also the types of fabrics and colours I feel comfortable wearing.

  

{ Source} 

I like styles that are easy to wear.  This doesn't mean it has to be sloppy but it does have to be comfortable.  I like fitted and semi-fitted styles; styles that skim the body without being too tight nor too loose.  I love trousers and absolutely adore vintage styles, particularly dresses.  I also like skirts and tops but I'm not so inclined to wear them.  Being short-waisted they tend to make me look out of proportion.  Dresses are much better as they give an uninterrupted line making me look taller.

What about fabrics and colour?  Well, this is something I know and am very definite about.  I don't like stiff fabrics nor bulky or shiny fabrics, to my eye they just make me look fat and I feel uncomfortable when I wear them.  I like natural fibres but I'm happy to wear fabrics blended with polyester.  What about colours...  I've previously written about the colours that suit me here.  Luckily these are the colours I like to wear, they always have been.  (I think we are all drawn to colours that suit us instinctively.)  Then we have prints versus plains?  I love prints!  Particularly geometric prints however, recently I've taken a liking to florals.   I'm drawn to prints whenever I enter a shop.   My wardrobe and fabric stash are testament to this but I need plain solid colours to make things work together better.  This is one thing I need to give priority to.

Thinking about how to make the best of this evaluation I have come up with a list of criteria I need to consider each time I want to add new garments/items to my existing wardrobe which is, in no particular order:-

• It must be comfortable
• More plains than prints
• It must work with other items in my wardrobe
• Does the style suit my figure
• Is it 'glamourous'
• It must fit well

So where do I start?  Do I start with something that I really need to fill a gap, or something I want?  Obviously I should start with an item I need but then I'm not necessarily rational like that.  We'll see...

During my wardrobe overhaul it became very obvious that I don't  have many dresses, in fact only a couple that I actually wear and only one that I like.  Recently I've been wanting more dresses so keeping in mind that I want to glam myself up I've decided I need to add/replace a few.  Using my criteria as a guide I've chosen a lovely vintage dress from 1948 - Simplicity 2617, to start implementing my plan.  As it's summer I will be making the short sleeve style.

Now I know I said more plains than prints, but this pretty navy and white print was already in my stash and I think it will look lovely made up as this dress.   (I promise I will make something in a plain colour next time.  Really I will.  I promise.)  Working still with my criteria, I have at least three cardigans that will work with this fabric.  I've already cut it out and hope to sew it up this weekend.

Do you have any criteria for adding garments to you wardrobe?  Or, do you add things because you like them without giving any thought to how they work with the rest of your wardrobe like I've been doing?

Wardrobe cleanout and evaluation

I had no idea I was taking on such a mammoth task when I decided to evaluate my wardrobe.  I have so many things in there I really didn't quite know where to start.  It all seemed so overwhelming, so I thought the best place to start was by looking at my wardrobe as a whole.  What does it consist of? What do I see when I open it?

I see a lot of random items.  Heaps of black and a mish mash of colour and prints.  Some made by me and lots of RTW.  Some things I love and wear all the time.  Some I like but hardly ever wear, some that I don't really like but still wear and yet others I don't wear at all.

A mere portion of my wardrobe

Breaking it down seemed like the best way to really evaluate whats in there.  First we have colour and prints.  OK, black is good.  It works with everything but it can become extremely boring when there is no other choice.  I love colour and I always gravitate towards prints, but I don't like mixing prints.  I know others mix and match different prints and most times it looks great but lets say, it's just not for me.  Solid colours are good basics but they are not very exciting if the only things I have to wear with them is black.  You'll notice I have lots of colour in my cardigans but the problem is that I don't have anything to wear them with that's not black.

In order for my closet to work everything in it needs to work together therefore, when I make something new it must either fill a gap or I need to make an 'outfit' (ie. several pieces - a bottom and top, dress and jacket) to prevent those closet orphans from taking over and above all else the colours must work with those already in my wardrobe.

Now lets look at the styles I currently wear.  Mostly I wear trousers and jeans.  I mean. really. lets face it. I live in jeans!!  They are the first thing I reach for when I open my closet; my go to item.  I also wear t-shirts/knit tops and cardigans and the odd dress or two.  My Summer styles include jean shorts and tank tops.  As you can see my current style is very casual.

What about the things I don't wear? Why don't I wear them?
I've given a great deal of  thought to this and decided that most of what I don't wear is either not flattering or doesn't fit me well.  For those of you who don't know, I'm quite short and along with that I'm also short-waisted so all my RTW items are too long in the waist or just plain too long altogether.  The rest I feel just isn't "me" anymore.

How does my lifestyle affect all of this? 
I work part time in an office and at the time I was to start my employment the decision had been made that uniforms were no longer required.  Being a somewhat casual workplace I am able to wear my beloved jeans, however I don't feel they are suitable attire.  Everything else that occupies my time is similarly casual.  So, even though I lead a relatively casual lifestyle I really want to move on from that casual 'surfer chick' kind of look and try to start adding some glamour to my wardrobe and include some vintage styles as well. 

{ Image source }

How can I make this happen?  What needs to change in order to achieve this?
First and foremost I need to stop wearing jeans and jean shorts all the time and start wearing my trousers instead.  That's not to say I won't wear my jeans; just not all the time.  Add a pretty dress or two (vintage of course) and some blouses as well.  Today I've taken out all the garments I don't wear, after all I wont miss them because I never wore them anyway, and this has allowed me to see where there are gaps.  I've also put things aside for re-fashioning in the hope that they will become more wearable.  And, I've considered how I can extend what I do have by pairing different combinations together.

In conclusion of today's efforts I can now see several gaps and only wonder how I have ever survived without owning a white button down.  This is definitely on my list of things to make, sooner rather than later.

Now, just to choose a few patterns and fabrics to make a start on my goals for 2014 which I will discuss later.  If you have any suggestions of things that are great items to include, please let me know so I can consider if they will enhance my plans for extending my existing wardrobe.

Till next time, happy crafting.

Thoughts for the new year

Happy New Year everyone!

{ Image source }

Whether quietly or at a raging party, however you chose to welcome the New Year in, I hope you all enjoyed your celebrations and I wish you all a wonderful and creative year.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I must confess that in recent times I haven't been motivated to sew or in fact, for that matter do any type of crafting other than a bit of knitting (which I might add I haven't even finished, just added to my pile of UFO's).  I didn't want to blog as I felt I had nothing to blog about and wasn't even sure where I was going with it anyway, so I decided to take a break for a while to see where it lead.

During this time I've been giving some thought to what I really want to blog about.  Will I continue to keep it strictly about my sewing (which was my original plan for the blog) or will I include other things like the many types of craft I dabble in or my thirst for knowledge about the 1940's, especially the WWII era.

My decision: Both!  I will keep this mainly about sewing but I will add other snippets of things that occupy my time as well.

 

{ Image source }

OK, where do I go from here?  I was reading a recent post by Tasha sharing her thoughts on having a full closet with nothing to wear in which she stated exactly how I have been feeling about my wardrobe, giving me the boost I needed to consider what I should do about it.  So to start the new year, I will be doing just that; going through my wardrobe first, to learn what I like and do not like.  What I wear, what I don't wear and why I don't wear it.  Does it work with my lifestyle?

I will look at ways of extending the items I do have by pairing them in other combinations; things I would not normally choose together, ie instead of wearing the same top with those brown trousers or that pink cardigan with my little black dress.  Next I will decide what I want but don't have to make my wardrobe work for me.  Do I need a new necklace or earrings, maybe a new pair of shoes?

I will choose patterns and fabrics and only make things which will work for me that I will wear.  No more making things that languish in my wardrobe for one reason or another.  This will be an ongoing project; one which will take a lot of consideration but will be worth it in the end.

So what are my goals for 2014?  Simple really.  Only make things I will wear and make my wardrobe work for Me!

What about you, do you have any goals for the new year?

The postie's been

Look what arrived in my mailbox over the past week!  I'm pretty excited about it too.  Some new patterns I can't wait to try.

I have long admired the Sewaholic patterns and every time I see one of them made up I just love it.  Tasia designs styles that I think are great basics and suit my fashion personality.  There have been so many great versions of all the Sewaholic patterns popping up around the blogoshpere that I finally decided I really did need to get me a couple of them to try (like I need any more patterns - not!!)  They appear to be well worth making too 'cos most of you make more than one version as Winnie has with the Renfrew top.

Trousers are something that I've never attempted before and the Thurlow trousers really attracted me as they are designed to sit below the waist.  I hate pants that sit on the waist; they feel really uncomfortable on me.  It could be that I'm short-waisted and they feel like they are choking me :)  Again there are many examples to showcase them such as Lauren's.  She has made both the trousers and shorts a few times as well.

Then we've got the Tofino pants, the latest pattern in Tasia's range.  Now who doesn't want a great pair of pajamas.  I know I'm always on the look out for that perfect pair and Karen is currently hosting a Tofino Pajama Party to help us along but I think I'll wait until summer to make this pattern though as I've recently made a couple of new pj's for winter.

Another pattern I've seen a bit of lately is the Tiramisu dress from Cake patterns.  You can see some terrific variations here, here and here and a wonderful maxi version here.  I love the wrap style  of this dress, it's such a flattering style, don't you think?

I'm sure you've noticed, I know I certainly have, that our sewing community seems to be growing with quite a few independant pattern designers/labels popping up and they do a wonderful job helping us pursue our hobby so I decided to join Kat and many others and show my support for these designers and try out some of their patterns.

I don't know why it's taken me so long to add these patterns to my collection.  I've got my eye on a couple of others as well like the Robson coat and the bombshell swimsuit but first I want to sew the ones that just arrived.  I think I'll start with the Renfrew top.  I've got plenty of fabric to choose from to satisfy my stashbusting pledge too; I just need to decide which style to make.

What do you think of the Indie patterns, are they as good as they seem?

Do I or don't I

You may have noticed the recent slump in my blog posts.  I thought I was getting back on track with my sewing and blogging. By joining in with the Stashbusting and the Sewlutions challenges and blogging about it I had hoped to stay motivated.  But as luck would have it, I did the most reckless stupid thing and tore a muscle in my leg back at the end of February which left me out of action for over a month.  (Wow! As I get older I find it's so much harder to recover from injuries, especially silly ones like this)  Turns out sitting on the sofa for a couple of weeks with my leg elevated not being able to do anything was just plain boring and there goes all my good sewing intentions, but I did have plenty of time to think whiling away the hours, and came to wonder whether I really wanted to continue blogging.  I mean, after all I've been awfully inconsistent lately to say the very least - not just with my blogging but my sewing as well.  It's hard to write a blog post when you've made nothing to blog about.

Image Source

Sooooo...I'm thinking, do I or don't I?  I began to carefully consider all the reasons I do blog and all those reasons that keep me from being consistent and came to a very gratifying conclusion.

As selfish as this sounds - I do it for myself!

I love to sew! It gives me so much joy when I sew but I find it hard to allocate time for sewing when there are other things to be done (like housework and such) without letting it take over my life and become my sole purpose, leading me to neglect my home duties.  I like that there's a record of what I've made even if that doesn't amount to very much; after all that's why I started this blog - to keep record.  I love that I can see where my journey has taken me, how I've grown as a sewist and how my likes and dislikes have changed over time.  I like that I might be encouraging others to start sewing and making things for themselves.  But you know what the absolute best thing about blogging is - it's the camaraderie of the blogging community.  The feeling of belonging and encouragement of like-minded people; people I've never met but somehow feel I've known forever.

In a nutshell; that's the reason I blog.  That's the reason I will continue to blog even if it is spasmodic.  (Note to self...must try to organize a routine/time line for blogging, i.e. set days to post, it might help.  Making something might help too!)

Why do you blog?  Do you ever feel that it's too hard and not worth the effort?

A day out

Last weekend I visited a beautiful old property developed in the 1840's, Tarndwarncoort in a small country town called Birregurra about 2 hours from Melbourne.  It's an historical homestead and sheep farming property.   A tour through the homestead revealed some beautiful insights as to what life was like in the 19th century with a wonderful array of furniture and knick knacks.   The Dennis family, who are descendants of the original owners, still own and run the farm.

After having a short talk about how the property was developed, a wander through the wool shop revealed some wonderful eye candy.

The wool which is from the Polwarth Sheep, a breed developed from the Merino sheep by the Dennis family, is dyed using natural organic dyes.  Aren't the colours superb?

There were a few knitted items like this delightful tea cosie.
 

A demonstration was given spinning wool on some antique spindles. 

There was even the old Knitting Nancy.  Do you remember these?  I do, but mine was certainly not this elaborate - just and old wooden cotton reel and four nails with a hair pin to work it.  Aaahh... the good ole days.

I purchased a few skeins of wool.  Hopefully I have enough to make a vintage short sleeve jumper from the aqua and white.  The multi-coloured wool will become a scarf from the pattern I was kindly given when I was trying to choose the colour.  I even got to wind it into the balls myself using this winding contraption.  I don't know what it's called.

It was very easy.  You put the skein over the collapsible wooden clothesline thingy and thread the end of the wool through a guide and onto the spindle which is attached to the other side of the table then you just wind till you get to the end.  Easy as!

Then to finish off the day they were having a door prize and I won this little pack of alpaca fleece and some bay leaves from their own garden.  A terrific prize but I don't know how to spin.  Maybe  I should try to learn one day.

Another childhood memory - I had a swing just like this, chains and all

In the meantime, I promise I am working on my sewlutions and stashbusting but everything went awry and I have to practice my reverse sewing techniques :(   Hopefully I will have something to show you soon.

Past, present & future

I've been reading with much interest reviews of the past year.  Things you've made, how you've learned new techniques, the changes in your likes and dislikes and it lead me to think about my journey and where the year had taken me.

I've had many changes in 2012.  Firstly, I relocated.  I commenced a new job and lived separately from my husband for the first six months of the year.  These three things combined made my life extremely hectic, what with traveling back and forth to Melbourne and always being at work when David made the reverse trip, life just seemed to pass me by.  Where did this leave my sewing?  Practically non-existent!

Soooo... what did I actually make?

Liana's Christmas gift - not yet blogged

When I look at it like this I'm ashamed to say, a very poor effort on my part for a twelve month time frame but as they say 'life got in the way'.  Well, that's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it!  

So what now?  What lies ahead for 2013?  Well, I'm not one for making new year resolutions, I never stick to them anyway - do you?  What, really, you actually stick to them...

OK, I have made one resolution.  I have challenged myself to make at least one garment per month during 2013.  Right - that's 12 items for the next year.  Now, that's do-able isn't it?  Surely I can achieve that - well we'll see, remember I'm not good at sticking to new year resolutions.  So just to make sure I give it a really good try, I've put my name in the jar with Karen over at Did You Make That hoping to shame myself into submission and get sewing/knitting again.  I'm not sure where I will start but things I would like to make this year include:

A coat
Trousers
1 or 2 Vintage dresses
Knit a vintage jumper

I've found that my likes and dislikes have also changed in regard to the styles I want to make and wear.  Where I once wore mostly surf-wear I now prefer a more classic style and I feel very under dressed wearing sweats so I have decided that I will start to add some vintage styles to my wardrobe. I've also come to the realization that my love of vintage goes much deeper than just clothing.  I love all things vintage right down to the lifestyle and want to incorporate more of it into my everyday living.

What else?  Have I discovered, learned or realized anything during this time?  Yes.  I discovered learned that I need to make more time for craft in my life.  I will burn out without incorporating any 'me' time into my routine - to chill out and do something I really love.

So where will 2013 lead me?  Hopefully on a path to more sewing and knitting, delving into vintage history and more thrifting.  So watch out 2013 I'm here to stay!

Liana enjoying her first Christmas

On a final note - by far the best thing of 2012 was becoming a Nanna to Liana.

Thinking about it...

I've realized in the past week how our clothing needs change with different lifestyles.  While trying to select handmade outfits to wear for May I find that my clothes are no longer appropriate for my new lifestyle.  Instead of working in an environment where I wore relaxed business wear I now wear a uniform to work which leaves me with very few causal clothes.  A situation which needs to be given some thought over the next few weeks.  Mmmm... what do I need?

Here's a recap of my last few days wearing handmade things.

Day 5

I missed the fun on Flickr taking a photo incorporating food/eating/cooking yesterday so thought I would catch up today.  This is yet another top from Kwik Sew 3617 but I think it's time to move on as everything is starting to look the same.

Details:
Top; Top; Kwik Sew 3617 details and my review of this pattern here
Cardigan; Target
Skirt; Cannabrava bought from Unik
Tights; Bonds
Boots; Target

Day 7

I was making this top for my DIL's 30th birthday back in September but unfortunately I ran into a fit issue and it wasn't finished in time.  I have worn it several times since but haven't blogged about it.  The fabric is some I've had for years and every time I saw it in my stash I thought to myself  "I can't imagine why I bought this" but it seemed so perfect for this top.  I have no idea what the fabric is but I can say that it doesn't need ironing.  It's quite a thick woven fabric and has the feel of microfibre or something similar and it was a dream to sew.  You can't really tell the colour from this photo but it's black white and coffee.  There's also a black ribbon belt that goes with it but somehow didn't seem appropriate for casual wear.

Details:
Top; New Look 6808 - not blogged
Jeans; Target, had for several years

Day 8

OMG!! Obviously having a bad hair day, something I didn't realize until I uploaded this photo but meh... we all have them, don't we?  I wish I had known how bad it looked before I went to an appointment this morning 'cos I would've tied it up to save embarrassing myself. 

Details:
Top; Kwik Sew 3338
Cami; Target
Jeans; Sussan, had for several years
Thongs; Havaianas

So many things

So many things to make... so little time in which to make them...

With my first grandchild due in about three weeks I really need to get some sewing done.  I've been planning what I want to make, have purchased a pattern for one project and fabric for another but haven't even made a start yet.  Panic is setting in.  Will I get anything made before the impending arrival?

The pattern I've chosen is McCalls 5963.  It's sooo cute - don't you think?  I'm going to make view A, the bunting but can't find any fabric suitable when I don't know if it's a boy or girl.  I will make a decision as I can't leave it any longer or it wont be done in time.  Mmmm... Better get to the shops!

Bunting for 'Jellybean

I have also been going through my wardrobe, as you do when the weather starts to turn and found that I'm really in need of some more winter pajamas.  I really don't think the ones I have would qualify as winter pj's any more... most are more than a little thin and falling apart but meh...they're comfy!

Cosy Flanelette

Anyways, I purchased me some lovely warm flanelette to make the pants.  Ya know, I do love the warmth flanelette gives for the pants but I much prefer a t-shirt top to wear with them, don't you? I think it's much less restrictive but I had no luck with a cotton t-shirt fabric for the tops.  Hey, there's no rush - at this rate they'll be finished by 2013 - maybe. lol.

In the meantime Karen from Did You Make That decided to have a "Pajama Party" and I'm thinking I wanna go to this party - what a great way for me to get them made.  If only I can find some fabric for the tops.


And what's more... I've been waiting with anticipation for Me-Made-May '12.  I enjoy the challenge of wearing items made by my own hands every day.  And... lets face it, I need a kick start to get some sewing done. What with moving and a new job I haven't done any sewing since before Christmas.  I have however, bought fabric with good intentions but nothing to show for it yet.

Sooo........ without further ado I pledge

I, Shelly of Shelly's DIY Style, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '12. I endeavour to wear at least one item made by me each day for the duration of May 2012'

Now, I really need to be getting some sewing done not sitting here at the computer.