Sew, I've Been Thinking ...

Although I have so many more garments I want to make for this collection, I have more than enough to travel with.  I just looked at the rules for this years SWAP and I realise that a lot of the things I had planned for the Shetland Collection, along with things that match but wouldn't work for this trip, will form the basis of a SWAP, so I will leave them for that. I had a short break in New Zealand last week, so some of the garments shown have been finished for a while now. This coat is BWOF 10-07-119 and is shown here sans buttons, which have since been added.  I've had this fabric in my stash for a few years now and in my mind it was charcoal, but when I pulled it out it was more brownish than I recalled.  C'est la vie.  I love this coat and although it's out of the colour range of the Shetland Collection I don't think anyone will notice! It looks a little shapeless on a naked Vera.  When I wear this it will have several layers underneath (a...

Somehow 3m of this crimson knit appeared in my stash.  I have a really vague memory of buying in the Lismore Spotlight this time last year, but I can't be certain.  It must have been cheap because I bought 3m of it! I made View C of M5975 .  I've made several versions of this over the years, but I love it.  It's a great pattern and works really well for me.  As I was taking this photograph, I remembered a slim fitting wool crepe dress in this exact colour that me and a friend bought in a op shop in about 1975 and shared until it fell apart.  That op shop, in the suburb I grew up in, was in the electorate of Gough Whitlam .  Ironic that I should be remembering those happy days of my childhood in the week of his passing. I had plenty of leftover fabric and so while I was threaded up I made another version of KS3888.   I love the simplicity of the binding on the neckline. I have more fabric left so I wil...

  In a ridiculous moment of self-deception, I managed to convince myself that this was the right skirt to make.  It fails on two levels.  Winter white?? On me??  Then there is the style.  I have a waist and hips, wrap ANYTHING does NOT work for me.   For those less curvy, this pattern is BWOF 09-2011-110 and it's a lovely little skirt made from a piece of lovely winter white wool.  The pattern calls for a facing but given the coarse nature of this wool, I knew it would be irritating so I lined it edge to edge with some leftover white bemberg.  I'm happy with the skirt but it just doesn't work on my curvy body.     Feeling slightly disillusioned, I went on to make some palate cleansing knit tops, which aren't very exciting at all, but will be useful.   This first one is BWOF 02-2013-127 which I've previously made as a dress (I think that was style 128 but with long sleeves??)     I like ...

This pattern is the jacket from Vogue 2989 wardrobe pattern (now OOP) that's been in my collection for five years or so I think.  So far I have only made the dress, which is my favourite knit dress EVER.  It's flattering and comfortable and the raised neck at the back is perfect for me in winter. The jacket, however, is not my favourite.  I'm not sure I like it.  I thought the peplum might be flattering, but it just makes me look fat.  The front is held together with a large hook and eye (the kind used on furs) which I didn't photograph, sorry.  The sleeves are a little looser than I would like, but as I will wear this over layers, it might be OK.  It's hard to sew winter clothes on a hot day when all you want to wear is underwear!  The fabric is a multi colour knit, and I've taken a flash free pic below to give you a better indication of the colour.  I bought it for the pink and it goes with a lot of things I already own....if I ...

I thought of many bad jeans related puns... These are based on BWOF 05-11-116 skinny jeans which have funny little slit pockets.  I morphed the traditional jeans front pocket from the old Burda Anita jeans that I downloaded free many years ago.  There is no button yet as I ran out of silver jeans buttons, but the rivets are on - you can just make them out.  They started as a size 38 but I lengthened the back to match a pair of Levis Bold Curve skinny jeans (another genius invention) and changed the shape of the crotch curve so it covered my fat middle-aged-ass.  I took about 3 inches out of the waist to make it fit.  I tried to take some pictures of me wearing them but it was a bit of a disaster (as you can see from this shot in which my butt looks as big as cow) and a waste of time, so you only get flat shots from my crappy camera. In a moment of drunken madness pure inspiration I decided to reference the Shetland flag in my pocke...

I hadn't planned to make this garment, but the fabric was there, the overlocker had pink thread in it and I knew I could knock this one over quickly. Like the long sleeve tshirt from yesterday, I've made these shorts more times than I remember.  They've even featured in two previous travel wardrobes.  A red, black and white one here and an orange and brown one here . These are the Burda Ruby Shorts that I downloaded many, many years ago when the patterns were all still free. As you can see, I've used the pink fabric from the high waisted skirt and the final remnant of the silk/cotton paisley from last weeks top.  Buttons from stash, so this is essentially a free garment    I even made the little pocket bag out of the paisley fabric.  Sorry about the out of focus pic!   As inappropriate as it may be, I still wear shorts in winter with tights and boots.   I will wear these in Shetland and as there is probably a warm clim...

I've continued with the not-exciting basics.  These tops will see lots of wear, Shetland or not! First up is my much favoured TNT KS3338 with the self drafted cowl from the Australian Stitches magazine.   This pattern is XS at the top, then shifts out top S at the hips and is lengthened to the XXL length.  I've lost count of how many times I've made this.  The fabric is a heavy cotton/lycra blend.  Boring but very useful!   Next up is V8790 made from a thin cheap poly cotton lycra blend fabric that I think I got from Spotlight at a very cheap price.  I like the longer length of this top and it will look great over leggings and skinny jeans that are yet to be made.  I have a love/hate relationship with wrap front tops but I love the colour of this one and it will be put to good use.     As always, this looks better on me than on Vera.  I made an 8 at the top, blending down to a 10 at the bottom.  I really...

This isn't very interesting sewing and it certainly isn't interesting blogging, but.... First up is Vogue 8672 View A, considerably shortened.  It's hard to tell, but the fabric is a heavy wool (that I got ridiculously cheap) with a tartan pattern in the weave.  You might be able to see it in these pics, but it's not that noticeable.  I like the slightly high waist, which is very flattering.  This basic black skirt fills a massive hole in my wardrobe that's been there for some time.  I guess this is the sewing equivalent of the plumber with a leaky tap... The lining is from stash, a poly satin that I bought some years ago now and I think I lined a jacket with it.  It's the perfect weight for this wool and will stop it from itching like crazy. Next up is the very high waisted Burda 04-14-113 skirt.  I am ambivalent about this skirt.  I made it without the pockets for obvious reasons and I didn't topstitch the waist as it didn't s...

Because I have no imagination and don't want to have to reinvent the wheel, I decided to start with a few TNT patterns.  I'm trying to wear more blouses as I'm getting tired of knit tops that look the same, so I've started with a blouse that already exists in my wardrobe in about seven different versions.  This is BWOF 01-2008-107 or 108 or something.  I like this without the collar (which I think is #107).    It's been a little hard to photograph this because of the fabric.  I don't actually know what it is, but I suspect it may be a raw silk of some sort.  It feels like a light, soft taffeta but doesn't have any shimmer in it, although the last photo seems to look that way.  I acquired this fabric some years ago, along with several other colours, from a film shoot.  Back when I had an actual career (Production Manager - film and television) it was my job to dispose of all the left over stuff at the end of a shoot.    ...

It's been a while - remember me??  It's been a busy year and a bit since my last post. I'd like to thank Sheila and Faye for checking in on me! All is well.  I've been busy renovating a house, building another and working.  On top of that I managed three overseas trips and am leaving on another this coming week. I have been sewing, not much, but some.  I haven't blogged any of it, but there are a few things I will show off in time. For now I would like to introduce a travel wardrobe I am working on for a month long trip to Shetland this Christmas.  So far I have only been there in summer and as I live in the subtropics my wardrobe isn't that well equipped. The wardrobe was inspired by this cardigan, a gift sent to me from Nepal.  This picture doesn't do it justice.  It is the softest, lightest cashmere I have ever felt. So I collected some paint charts and pulled a page from a magazine.   Then I pulled some fabric from my...