Sew, I've Been Thinking ...

First up is M5974 View D - the wrap version with long sleeves. Nothing amazing about this dress, it's just a good easy wear work dress. The pattern is a Palmer and Pletsch, so contains a lot of fitting instructions and includes 2.5cm seams in places, which drove me made at first. I sewed as directed for this one and ended up cutting off all of the excess. I cut a straight 10 and shortened the skirt a full 5cm. I love the pattern and I love the dress. I ended up trimming the extra seam allowance from the pattern for the next one. Next up I made View A of the same dress made from fabric that I've had for at least three years now. Cidell made a fabulous maxi dress from the same fabric ages ago and I loved it so much I ordered some. It's been a hard fabric to work with. One side of the fabric is an uninterrupted print, the other side is panels with a border in between. For that reason alone, I have been hard pressed to make it work. I've laid it up on my cutting ...

But first I must thank Kristy for showing her inspired method for creating labels at home. I have been planning to get some labels made for ages now. Indecision about what I wanted and extreme laziness are the only reasons I actually haven't done it. Within half an hour of reading of reading Kristy's I had bought some transfer paper and ribbon and started work. Part of my indecision was font choice, but then I realised that as I am not trying to create a recognisabe label for sale, I can have whatever I wanted. In fact, I could choose a label to suit the mood of each garment! I downloaded a whole heap of new fonts and tried some of the ones that came with Word. This is printed on pink paper because that is what I had in the printer. After this I printed the labels on transaparency so I could try them out on various ribbons. Now to the back story. I once worked with a woman who was a serious label queen. She referred to everything by its label. Nothing was simply pants, shoes, ...

I rarely, if ever, manage to get around to posting pictures of me actually wearing the garments I make. There is no reason, other than laziness. After wearing this dress all day Monday, I decided to actually take a picture. I look a little stiff and stern in this shot. I blame that on the dash across the verandah from where I wedged my camera on a very sophisticated box to a posing spot I had forgotten. Next time I'll make a mark on the floor, like a sensibe person would. I love this dress! It's comfortable and flattering and made me feel great all day, even though I look like I'm clenching my teeth in this shot! To avoid the frump factor, which worried me with the colour and print, I paired the dress with a pair of funky boots which don't quite make it into this picture (again with the mark on the floor). Here's a really fuzzy shot of my shoes so you can see them.

I'm sorry for not posting in such a long time. Thanks to everyone who asked after me. I seem to have gotten lost a little in the past month or so. Not sure if it was winter weariness or something else, but I seemed unable to get out of my own way. I have been sewing and knitting (a little) so I do have something to show for myself. In addition, I have started studying again and it's taken a while to sort out my routine of work/study/sewing. For those who are interested, I'm doing to a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science. As well as choosing a double degree, I have rather foolishly chosen double majors in both Arts and Science. It may take me until I am 90 to finish, but that's OK. I've also been training every day, so I've been up at 5am 6 days a week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I run the lighthouse at Byron Bay and if you've ever walked it, you know how hard it is. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday is weights. You'd think I'd be in good shape, b...