I'll sew you

(Sorry, no pictures this time, but I hope you will be so nice to read my post. Thanks). Having had a few days free from work, I've had lots of time to read loads of blogs. And as I already expected (and hoped), lots of you have done some kind of year-review. I would have loved to do one myself but my blog is only a few months old, my digital camera only a few months more and I can't even remember all the things I sewed this year. But.. if I look back at 2009, what do I see? - Lots of sewing. Some of the things I made were really great. Most of them just great. And some of them I have never worn. And thát's not a good thing. It made me realise that I have to think very carefully before I decide on an outfit or a fabric. Most of the times I went wrong was when I really liked the fabric before it was cut, but once it was made into a garment it was looking funny-strange-not to my liking. Lesson learned! - A new sewing-machine, as my old and dear Pfaff died s...

In less than an hour I finished this garment. Cutting the fabric took more time than sewing it. When  I had finished it and put it on I had a real mwah-feeling about it. First thing I thought was: I don't hate it but I am definitely never, ever gonna wear this outside my home. Than a question: If I only wear this at home, will I get a lot of wear out of it? And at that point the love for this garment started to grow. I could see myself using this in the summer as a quick pull-on when I get a bit chilly. Or on other days when you don't want to wear a sweater but only a shirt is not enough. Or if you want to read in bed and you need something to keep your arms and shoulders warm. Man, I can tell you, I took these pictures today and as I write this post I'm still wearing it. The love keeps growing. Isn't that amazing? But it has a problem: On my left side the ribbing is standing out, like a little pocket.  That's actually the main reason why I don't want to ...

The year has nearly come to an end. I've sewn quite a lot. Since I started blogging in september, I've shown you everything I have made so far. So here goes one more time: Again, I'm very, very happy with this blouse. I was not sure wether this puffy sleeves would still be in fashion, but after browsing a lot of the stores lately I can safely say that they still are. I had forgotten how cute the buttons are.. Don't you agree on that?  Funny thing: If you keep looking at this picture (slowly move your eyes up and down at the line where the shadow is darker) it seems like the fabric on the right is laying on top of the left side. Which is not the case of course, it's the shadow that's playing tricks with your eyes. The left side with the buttonholes is lying on top of the right side on which you can just see the line of stitches peeping out. I'm not done sewing yet! I still want to make the Slinky shrug. Yep. Got everything washed and dried and am r...

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all my fellow-bloggists and their families Starting blogging this year has been a wonderful and exciting experience. I'm glad I've entered this sewing-world in which we all love to take part. Thanks for all your comments and thanks for all your wonderful blogs. Thanks for the relaxing time they give me and the distraction from everyday's worries. Thanks for inspiring me and thanks for all the sharing and caring. Lilian

Last wednesdaynight it started snowing in Holland. So now we have a beautiful white world surrounding us. I love it! Makes me think of my youth when snow was a rather common thing in the winter. Now we sometimes have years when it's not snowing at all, or there is not enough snow (and frost to accompany it) to let us enjoy such a view. So I enjoy this very much. It brings out the little girl in me that got so excited when snow was forecasted. The anticipatition of waking up in the morning to this wonderful white world that had so many promises in it. Couldn't wait to go outside and play in the snow. With the years I've grown a bit wiser of course. I stay in and enjoy the view from behind my windows... Well, I had to go out to take these pictures of course. But I made sure there was some hot coffee waiting for me when I got back in :) Today is the first time I see my own neighbourhood this way because in this time of the year I have to leave for wor...

First of all a big thank-you to the commenters on my latest post, for the compliments on my blouse-under-construction. They are well appreciated. A second big thank-you to Sigrid who suggested a link to a tutorial for sewing a collar with a stand, the way I've done on this blouse (and some blouses before). This is definitely the technique I was talking about, Sigrid. And as I promised, for everyone who's interested to read and see more: http://off-the-cuff-style.blogspot.com/2008/05/collar-part-2-hotpatterns-blouse.html . As you can see this is part 2 so check out the other parts too for a complete tutorial. After a busy week, today I finally had some time to do more sewing and I finished both sleeves. I love the way they are finished at the cuffs, it's so feminine. The cuff is just wide enough to put my hand through (which is normally a lot smaller than the pattern suggests). Here's a detail: (I promise you the sleeve was there first ...

The blouse I started working on last weekend is still under construction. There's not so much to say about it except that it is coming together just fine. I am working on the sleeves now and one is partly finished. So this is what I came up with so far. (The sleeve is not attached but lies draped over the shoulder, click on picture for sharper details): It was too small at first but by letting out the darts and the sideseams a bit now the fit is just fine. Strange actually....I used this pattern twice before and never had any fitting problems. (And those blouses still fit! in case you're wondering if this could be caused by gaining weight). It is a bit too short to my liking and I am mad at myself for not checking that before I cut the fabric. It seems lately I start making more and more of these stupid mistakes. (Sorry if I sound a bit harsh but for someone who has been sewing as long as I have this is a mistake not-to-make). I will have to make sure the hem will be as s...

A cursed pattern. Is it possible? I don't know, you tell me. When I decided on my next project, a blouse, I started thinking about what I would write about it on my blog. I thought it would be fun to show the two blouses I already made from the same pattern. And to write a little bit about them. Then I realised that both blouses had suffered some major accidents. First let me show you the pictures and then I'll tell you. They look ok, right? Well, let me tell you that I had to dye the blue one because of brown stains that were left on it when I stupidly washed it together with a brown skirt. I had only worn it a few times at that point! Luckily I did manage to save it from the bin. But if you look close (click on the picture) you can see that the thread I used to sew the buttonholes is a lot lighter. So was the fabric.... It's still ok, I can wear it and I'm thankful for that. (The colour I chose to dye it in was actually as blue as the colour of my dressform, b...