Joining the Stashbustin' challenge

So, I've decided to join Zoe's Stashbustin' challenge. I've been considering this for a little while because I've noticed lately that my sewing output has slowed but my fabric input has not. As such, I think it's time for a bit of de-stashing. I know I have some really nice fabrics (and some not so nice ones) and I want to turn them into items I will love instead of pieces of fabric I love but am too afraid to use. I have found in other hobbies I've dabbled in that if something is "special" I don't want to use it and then I reach a point when it is no longer as special to me and I use it but since I no longer love the raw material I don't love the end product (in this case garment) as much as I could have, had I made it earlier.

I also helped my mum clean out her stash of fabrics that would go back to the 70s and 80s. Some were not so nice and we were happy to send to a new home but there were a few very nice pieces that are now out of style but I'm sure would have been awesome at the time. The more we sorted, the more I thought "I don't want this to be me in 10-20-30 years time" and I decided there and then to sign up for this challenge!

I haven't decided the exact rules just yet but I know that I will need to continue to purchase notions (zips, thread, buttons etc...), along with interfacing, lining etc... So it's not a total ban but a partial one.

I also know that there will be times when I want to buy something, so I'm considering a rule similar to another participant: for every 3 garments sewn I can purchase fabric for 1 garment. I might alter this as I go - to 5 garments = 1 new fabric, maybe ... we'll see.

So that is where I'm up to and it also aligns with the theme I have chosen for my mini SWAP:

Beautiful Work Basics from my stash!

So far I have the following list but I will devote a post to this with photos of the chosen fabric and the patterns too:

1. Work pants, in a pinstripe fabric.
2. Work pants, in a plain fabric (black or grey).
3. Simplicity 2594, with a fabric very similar to the check fabric on the pattern cover.
4. A shift dress (I joined the Butterick 5147 Dress Sew Along, so I think this is the pattern I will use)
5. Light jacket for spring/early summer (maybe my Lady Grey will fit here or a Trench Coat, although I don't have any trench coat fabric)
6. A french inspired black and white striped top. I have a RTW with fine stripes but I think thicker ones will be nicer. I have a piece of fabric in mind for this one.

I've also decided to join the Summer Essentials Sew-Along. I know it's technically over but it's getting into warmer weather now and I know that I need some new items. This will just help me hone my creativity into useful pieces.

1. McCalls 5591 in a cotton sateen with pink flowers
2. Self-drafted skirt from my RTW summer favourite from last year in a lovely soft cotton print
3. 3/4 pants or capris, I'm thinking in a black sateen, if I can find any (yes, I'd need to but some fabric for this one)
4. A carry all bag, probably the Nicole Mallalieu Beach Bag or maybe the Day Bag
5. Maybe bathers or a summer dress? Not sure yet.

I have pants!

So my pants are finally finished which I'm happy about but I wish I could say I was as happy about the fit but a few weird things happened:

• The waistband is a little too big, which may be due to a change I made to the pattern pieces but not the waistband. I will try to work out what went wrong before I make them again.
• For some reason they are sitting too low but I'm not sure if that's because the waist band is too loose (see above)
• I think I shaped the leg too much and they are too tapered for my body shape. It's not obvious in the pics I posted but it's horribly obvious in the side view (hence why I omitted it!)
• I think this wasn't the best fabric choice but I was desperate for some stretch black pants which is why I made them but I'm beginning to think some non-stretch casual pants are what I need. *sigh* live and learn. At least it's something to consider for my mini SWAP I'm planning (don't worry, I'm working on it and will post soon!)
• There is also some weird drag lines across the side and back (even the front!) which is confusing me. Maybe it's time to muslin again since my original one is a bit snug around the hips/waist.

But on a plus, the button and button hole are awesome, as is the zip insertion - I'm definitely improving!

So, onward and upward. Next project is inspired by Tasia over at sewaholic.net. She has made some awesome versions with this pattern so I tracked it down on ebay! I also think that McCalls 5591 is very similar, if you want to find something that's not OOP in a very similar (maybe the same?) style. No sewing tomorrow night because I will be at work late and I will be completing my Lady Grey muslin on Thursday, so it will probably be the weekend until I start on this but considering it's just the waist that I need to fit and I have my block pattern for that, it should be pretty straight forward (fingers crossed!)


(sorry for the weird photo - I think my camera card is on it's last legs)

Here are all the patterns I picked up from the same seller:

Pants ... almost but not quite

I spent some of Saturday working on my Lady Grey Muslin and then spent Sunday trying to finish of a new pair of black pants. I just needed to re-shape the leg, as they a bit too wide, add a button hole and button and then hem them. I now only have the hemming to go but have decided to complete it tomorrow because I'm a bit too sleepy for blind hemming by hand. I will post the completed pics tomorrow.

In the meantime, here is my Lady Grey fabric (I've always wanted a jacket with a polka dot lining!):


I have the fabric choosen but now I need to select my buttons. I choose 2 different ones in the shop but I think I'm leaning toward the more matte one. Thoughts??



Oh and here are all of the buttons I picked up!

Day 3

So, today has been a pretty good sewing day. I have almost finished another pair of the Simplicity 2860 in a black woven knit from Spotlight. Nothing overly special, just a basic pair of black pants that I'm in desperate need of, as my current black pair are wearing out with little bits of broken elastic strands on the seat of the pants.

The material ended up being shinier than I expected but overall not too bad. I just need to taper the leg a bit because they are a bit too wide (I'm wondering if the Simplicity 2562 or Simplicity 2700 might be a slimmer fit through the leg but I'm not sure. Has anyone tried this patterns? Once the shape is a bit better I'll hem them and post pics - hopefully tomorrow!

I also did some family mending - the pocket of my brothers jacket and a split side seam in his pants. Pretty easy stuff.

I also went out for a family dinner at Cutler & Co and I ordered a delicious dessert:


Image from here. I forgot my camera and the iphone photos were just too dark.

I hope everyone had a good weekend and all the Melbournian's enjoyed the beautiful weather. Bring on more spring weather and summer!

A giveaway (not mine)

Head on over to The Long & Winding Bobbin blog to read not only an awesome blog but also about her giveaway.

And to complete my entry, here's what I'm working on - my Lady Grey! More muslin pics and fitting info to come.

Plus I'm wearing some pj pants I made about 1-2 years ago using some awesome 1970's mission brown velour from my mums stash. They are affectionately called "Monkey" pants in our house as my mum made a monkey costume from the same material when we were kids. And there's still about 6-8 metres left, after 1 monkey costume and about 3 pairs of Monkey pants!

Macaroni & Cheese

When I was sick the last few weeks, I was seriously craving comfort food. One of the most frequent things I wanted to eat was Macaroni and Cheese. Here's my recipe! I don't usually measure it all out but I did so I could document it here.

Ingredients

• 200 grams pasta
• 30 grams butter
• 1.5 tablespoons of plain flour
• 1 cup milk
• 80 grams cheese (normal tasty cheese is fine)
• 1/8 teaspoons smoked paprika - this is something my mum has always added. We used to add paprika from the supermarket but since I returned from Spain we have used Smoked Paprika from Spain. There are actually 3 types you can get in Spain and I use the Sweet Paprika (Pimentón dulce). It comes from an area called Vera and includes a sticker of authenticity when it's from there. The spanish will tell you it's the best if it's "de la Vera" or from Vera. If you live in Melbourne, you can buy it at Casa Iberica.
• Salt to taste

Method
Cook pasta, as per packet directions (boil in slightly salted water).

Whilst the pasta is boiling, melt the butter in a pot on a low heat. Make sure it doesn't burn.

Once the butter is melted, add the flour and stir to combine. You need to cook this on a very low heat without it burning. This stage is cooking out the floury task from the sauce.

Once the butter and flour has been cooking for a couple of minutes, start to add the milk a little at a time. Ensure that you are stirring constantly to ensure you have no lumps. As I'm adding the milk, I sometimes hold the pot away from the flame so that it doesn't get too hot. It's all about temperature control!

Once the milk is combined, you have what is a basic white sauce. This much milk is quite runny and perfect for mac & cheese but if you are just using the white sauce then you might want to add less milk.

Cut up the cheese and stir through the mix. At this stage you can turn the heat up a little but not too high. I'd say a medium heat is good.

Once the cheese is all melted, add the paprika and salt to taste.

Stir the pasta through the sauce and serve. Yum!

Blogtoberfest: What does this month mean to me?

So when I saw Blogtoberfest, there was one main reason to sign up - to encourage myself to blog more. I started this blog as a place to document my creative pursuits, particularly sewing, and also to connect with other creative people in the blogosphere. I thought that "the whole blogging thing" was pretty straight forward but there's a few things that I've found trickier than I expected:

• Finding the time / remembering to post things.
• Having interesting things to blog about.
• Learning about the ins and outs of blogging (like adding pages, formatting text etc... - I just learnt how to get the bullets working in this post!). Still need to find a way to customise the background and my banner.
• Remembering to take photos to make my posts more interesting.

So, this is what I plan to do for my first blogtoberfest:

1. Blog every day :o)
2. Design a mini SWAP (Sewing With A Plan) or 6-Pack wardrobe of 6 pieces, to help fill some of the immediate gaps in my wardrobe. Then complete a minimum of 2 pieces in October. The biggest gap right know is knit tops, so that is where I'm going to start. More detail to come ...
3. Host a giveaway
4. Complete my Lady Grey coat as a part of Gertie's Sew-Along

Some useful links I found about blogging 101:
http://momswhoblog.blogspot.com/
http://bloggerfordummies.blogspot.com/