I'll sew you !!

2012-02-12T03:33:00.001+01:00

The world lost another icon, too young, too soon.

Goodbye Whitney.

You will be missed.

2012-02-08T00:20:00.003+01:00

Thanks everyone who left a nice comment about my top. Stephanie asked if I could show a close-up picture of the collar. I completely forgot about that request and just read it again. I'll do that in my next post. That's a promise!

After the top, I made black trousers. But silly, silly me. For years on a row now I am a size 44. Since I've gained some weight in the last year I'm more of a 46 now. So I thought it was only logical to sew a size 46 and then I would end up with perfect fitting pants. Only one 'small' problem, I forgot that most of the years I have been a size 44, I already cut extra seams and width (and therefore probably cut a size 46 already!) to make sure pants and skirts would fit me. So what I actually did now was cut exactly the same size and ended up with some tight-fitting pants. It's wearable, the fabric stretches quite a lot, but it's a far cry from the perfect-fitting pants I had imagined and I'll always have to wear something long on top to cover my bum. Annoying. Anyway, I'm carrying on. I will show a picture of me wearing the trousers after I finished my next project, which is a cardigan from December 2011 KnipMode :

I cut the fabric on sunday. After some deliberation I decided to start with the collar. I've never worked with faux-fur and I didn't want to make the whole cardigan only to find out in the end that I wasn't able to pull off the collar. Shouldn't have doubted my sewing-skills because, tadaaaaa:

I just can't stop stroking that fur. It's incredibly soft. I love the outcome so far. Now I can assemble the rest of the cardigan, knowing that I already tackled the hardest part, which wasn't hard at all by the way.

This is the pattern piece for the collar. The outer line is for the fur, the inner line is for the lining. It's a tad smaller than the fur so it pulls the edges of the fur inside to make sure no lining shows on the outside. You can also see that in the picture above.
(The vertical line is the center. I cut out the whole piece, not only on the fold, so I could cut out the fur in one layer.)

The fabric I'm using for this cardigan is a soft, dark-grey knit. It has some white fibers in it so it matches the black and white of the fur perfectly. I would show you a picture but it's just too hard to photograph.

* * *

Last weekend I took my sewing-stuff downstairs. It's way too cold to sit upstairs in my only slightly heated sewingroom. Considering our fairly mild climate, we are having quite a cold period here in the Netherlands. I think for eight days now the temperature has been well below zero, day and night.
We had some snow friday. So it was time to take the camera out. I'll leave you with these winter-pictures. They're all taken from the inside of my house :o)

Bye for now, and stay warm!!

Gr
Lilian

Another knit

2012-01-22T15:03:00.000+01:00

Yay!! By the size of this picture you can tell that my technial problems are solved. I have to say a big thank you to Katie Kadiddlehopper for pointing me in the right direction. Check out her comment in my previous post if you are having the same problems.

And also thank you to Baking Soda from Bake My Day. I might give posting via Windows Live Writer a go one day but now I can go back to my usual way I think I'm gonna stick to that a bit longer. And to be honest, I have a big fear of losing my blog if I change anything, so..... But I will remember the advise.

Now, about the picture. What you're looking at is pattern #3 from KnipMode 08/2008.

It's the second time this one has seen the light. It is só easy to make. I like the fact that with minimal effort you have a great effect.

I must admit that the fit is quite snug. Especially on the arms but also in other places. It's wearable if I just make sure I wear the right things underneath. (For this picture I wore a blue camisole. In real life it doesn't shine through as much as in the picture).

I'm not sewing because it's cheaper than RTW. Wait, let me rephrase that: it cán be much cheaper (it all depends on the price of the fabric of course) but I do get a certain amount of satisfaction out of the fact that I made this top for the price of € 1,65.

The fabric is one of the 3 remnant pieces I bought for € 5.

I don't know about you but I call that fun!

* * *

The black trousers I was talking about earlier are cut out and ready to go.

So it's back to the sewing-room for me. Shouldn't take too long before I can show that one too.

Happy sewing everyone.

Lilian

Moving on with KnipMode 09/2000-13 Cardigan

2012-01-20T18:09:00.000+01:00

Thank you soooo much, everyone of you who left a nice and very encouraging comment on my last post. I felt like I opened a window by posting about my blogging-troubles and was finally able to look outside, but it felt even more like I finally let you look inside. Sometimes it's good to ventilate what you're going through, because there will always be people kind enough to lend a 'helping hand'. And your comments were helpful and proof of the fact that there áre people out there enjoying my writing. You sometimes forget that. Which is kind of strange because I myself read and enjoy so many blogs you all are writing.

So one more time an heartfelt: Thank You!

Now, moving on to the sewing:

This was truly an easy job which is not surprising as it's an easy pattern.
The fabric was great to work with. I did a bit of handwork on the ties that go around the front and the neckline but otherwise this was sewn in no time. Most of it on the serger.

I'm glad I decided to put in the darts in the back and to take in the sideseams a bit. This gave the effect I was looking for. Otherwise it would be hanging to loose which makes it look rather unflattering. I like to emphasize my waist (or what's left of it...)

Blogger....what the he**!!
I don't know what happened to Blogger recently but things have changed and not for the better. When I'm typing my post I can import pictures but they are translated to 'html'. And once I've done that, I don't see how I can replace my picture to the left, centre or right side of the page. Or how to make the picture bigger or smaller. (The first picture in this post is actually the largest I can get, which is way too small for my taste).
There is an 'html' button at the top but it does nothing when I click on it.
I've been checking and trying out all the options Blogger gives you, but with no effect.

Owwww...this is really bugging me. I just want to see what I'm doing when I'm constructing my blogpost. Not a load of computer-language!
>:-(

Does anyone have any suggestions how to solve this? It would be highly appreciated.

Sewing and blogging, 's not always easy..

2012-01-19T01:11:00.003+01:00

Finally I've decided what my next project will be. Black trousers! It's been a while since I sewed my last pair of trousers and I'm kind of excited to make another pair. I cut out some patternpieces tonight but was then cruelly interrupted by a cat that needed attention. Lots of attention.

Anyway, I'll pick it up later. There was something else I still had to do: take care of the fit of my burgundy cardigan. I took in the sideseams a bit and placed darts in the back. And now I'm totally happy with it. Pictures will follow soon. I will also show you the creme sweater I made after the cardigan and the details of both projects.

That's right folks, my blog has been sort of silent, but my sewing-machine and I spent some quality-time lately.
I did make a picture of the creme sweater before it was finished, so I'll give you that as a sneak peek. Maybe you recognise it as I made it earlier in a grey knit.

So there you have it. I'm actually quite productive lately, but blogwise there is room for improvement. It seems like I'm finding it harder to blog than when I started. I seem to weigh every word and feel very insecure about my writing in English (not my native language). When I started I wanted to share every story with you (and I remember being enthusiastic about them. Even making the odd joke here and there). Now I feel that my stories aren't interesting enough for you to read which is very discouraging. I don't like my pictures and the layout of my posts are bland and boring. And when writing less you loose readers, which is very logical and understandable.
It's probably just a phase I'm going through. At least I hope that that's the case.

Wow, I didn't mean to sound so negative, but it's just how I feel about my blogging at the moment.
But don't worry, I'm not going anywhere and I'll do my best to find joy in blogging again.

Gr.
Lilian

KnipMode 2003-02 / 18a - Skirt finished (Pretty picture vs dirty picture)

2012-01-07T11:42:00.000+01:00

When will I ever learn. Ending almost every post with a promise for the next one. And most of the time I change my mind and write about something else instead. But hey, that's a bloggers prerogative, I guess.
This one is no exception. So no cardigan yet, but a skirt that I meant to show you for quite some time now.

As I wrote earlier, this skirt was part of a little SWAP. But I never told you that I changed my mind about the pattern. My original choice was a skirt with rounded sideseams but I must say I shied away from that when the time came to cut the fabric. So I switched to another pattern. A pattern I like very much. And I can say that in all honesty because I used that pattern some years ago for a jeans skirt. It got a lot of wear and I remember feeling great in it. I also remember feeling sad when it no longer fit. Since then I went from a size 42 to a size 46. Mmm..yeah well I'm working on that. OK??
But it fits, I love it and I'm very happy with it.

It's just a shame that all the details of the skirt get lost when I try to take a 'pretty' picture with the flashlight on.
So I'll give you the 'dirty' picture and the linedrawing as well, just to make sure you get the whole idea. (The rounded side-pockets on the hips are just hidden in both pictures, and there are 2 backpockets).

It was great fun to make this skirt. I loved putting together all the pockets (8!), pocketflaps and the topstitching.
When I look at this outfit I remember why I'm sewing my own clothes. And it's a good feeling.

Gr.
Lilian

Fabric Feast

2011-12-31T13:29:00.007+01:00

A few posts back I promised you pictures of my new fabric. 'New' is maybe not the correct word as some of them are already a few months in my posession.

So here goes.

(click on the pictures to get a closer look at the fabric)

Online shopping at "De Stoffenstunter". I was very, very pleasantly surprised when I opened my package. You can never tell for sure what you are gonna receive with online shopping but this was GOOD!

1. Blue pinstripe for a narrow skirt
2. Gorgeous velvet-jersey for a top (is it possible to be in love with a fabric?)
3. Plain simple black jeans for a skirt

1. 2.

Fabric Market near my home. At a certain point I remembered I also had planned to go to the fabric market in Nieuwegein, and stopped buying. Or else.....

1. Lovely velvet-jersey which I plan to use for a wrap-dress (to my surprise this fabric is used in the
KnipMode January 2012)
2. Softly spotted suede-like fabric for a skirt
3. Brown, very fine checks. Great trouser-fabric
4. Another brown, fine herringbone for trousers

1. 2.

3. 4.

Fabric Market in Nieuwegein. I also met a lovely group of fellow-sewists there and bought the following lovelies.

1. Soft lilac knit, for a cardigan
2. Super-soft fake-fur. I'll use this for the collar of a cardigan. Still have to find a matching white knit for
    that.
3. Great Chanel-fabric. No, not the real stuff....duh... I love the colours in it. Plans are to make a skirt
    with it.
4. The blue/black fabric is a heavier cotton with a bit of shine. I planned to make a skirt with it but I'm leaning
    more towards a little jacket every time I look at it.
5. A thin cotton with a mille-fleur print. Perfect for a little blouse.

1. 2.

3. 4.

5

So, there you have it. Tons of fabric and lots of plans.

It's not that I haven't sewn anything lately. After the white blouse I showed you in my last post, I made the creme ribcord skirt (which was part of this project and therefore long overdue) and I made a cardigan this week. It's finished though I'm still thinking of putting some darts in the back to make it a bit more body-hugging. I'll show you the outcome in a next post, with or without the darts.

Have a great weekend everyone and a very, very good 2012!!

Gr.
Lilian

2011-12-23T16:31:00.001+01:00

Merry Christmas

everyone

White blouse finished

2011-12-03T14:40:00.001+01:00

Done!! It felt like it took forever to finish this blouse. I'm glad it's finished so I can start on something new.

But I'm very happy with the end-result.
The pattern is from KnipMode 10/2006.

It's quite a simple, basic blouse, but the pleats just below the collar are a great feature. It is not close-fitting but it's not too loose also. It's just right. I can wear it just like this, tucked in or with a belt.

The fabric was a remnant I picked up from the market. I bought 3 pieces for the price of € 5. You do the maths!
I love the fact that it's not a see-through fabric. It's hard to find great fabric for a white blouse but this one fits the bill just right.

A closer look at the pleats and collar with stand:

I planned to use 3 smaller buttons to close the cuffs. But the only buttons I could find this week (during the only opportunity I had this week to go shopping) came in one size only, so I had to change my plan and decided to use 2 buttons on the cuffs. 3 of this size would have been too much.
It's ok. But next time I'll try a bit harder to find what I really want, so I can stick to my original plan.

It's hard to decide what I will pick up next. I have a lot of lovely fabric waiting for me and tons of ideas. I'll show you my goodies in a next post. By that time I hope I have decided on my next project, or even better, started on it!

gr.
Lilian

2011-11-28T21:07:00.001+01:00

And there was me fearing this dress, made last summer, might
be somewhat out of fashion:

                                   Better think again, 'cause this is what I
                                   found on Pinterest:

                                                                                                        A girl with impeccable taste, our Keira!

Gr.
Lilian

Meeting fellow-sewists and a white blouse in progress

2011-11-27T16:39:00.001+01:00

It has been a whole month since I blogged the last time and that's not something I'm happy with. Having time to blog means (in my book) that there's a good balance between work and 'play'. November has been a month so busy that it's been insane. Not all bad though. On the contrary! I've joined a lovely meeting with fellow-sewists in the weekend of 12/13 November.

Sigrid was so nice to invite me for a weekend full of un and I was happy to join in on sunday. The group had a great weekend with visits to a fashion-exhibition at The Hague and a visit to Amsterdam on saturday. On sunday a trip to the fabric-market at Nieuwegein was planned. And that's where I joined in. (Try to keep me away from a place that sells fabric...duh.)
It has been so much fun and we had a great laugh. And of course we bought fabulous fabric!

Thank you Sigrid, Margaret, Joana, Hilde, Sheila, Samira, Marta, Valerie, Valerie and Clare, for a lovely day. It's been so great meeting you and I'm sure we'll meet again in the future.
Sigrid and Valerie already posted a group-picture so I'm not gonna repeat that, but this picture is rather funny: it's a fabric-avalanche next to where we were sitting.

(The fabric was falling in our direction. I just know that must mean something.....)

So what's been up with the rest of November/sewing?
On my last post about the skirt with the pointy bottom I received some very helpful comments.

Audrey, one of your suggestions was that the fabric might have been stretched at that place and I think that's just what happened. I was trying to get the zipper in as neatly as possible and I remember pulling the fabric a bit when I was ironing it.
The zipper itself could not have been the problem as it's very lightweight and not stiff at all. But the idea that a stiff zipper could have this effect and that interfacing the zipper-area might help to prevent this, are good things to know.
Thanks everyone for your helpful comments!

I made a new skirt with the exact same pattern and there was no problem at all. Lesson learned!

At the moment I'm working on a white blouse. It's a slow project. I started this over 2 weeks ago and it's taking baby-steps to finish it. I really hope I'll have more time to sew once November is over. Today I managed to complete it to the point where there's only buttons/buttonholes left to sew. But that's how far I'll get today as I don't have any matching buttons. So it's web-shopping next for me.

Gr.
Lilian

Pencil skirt

2011-10-18T19:25:00.003+02:00

Sunday I finished the pencilskirt. From the front it looks absolutely fine:

From the back, with the right lighting, it does look fine too:

From an angle, I almost have a 'sexy booty'. Almost.

Then why, oh why, does it look like this from the side:

Problem: just at the point where the zipper ends (in the back) there's a ditch. I can't figure out why this is occurring. When placing the zipper I basted the hell out of it, just to make sure it wouldn't look messy. I even sewed the point at the bottom by hand to make sure it looked neat. And it worked. The zipper is sewed in to my liking.
The fabric is not pulling at that point. I made sure the fit of this skirt was comfortable (and it is!!). When you look back at the second picture and you take a closer look at the bottom of the zipper, you see an horizontal line that's not supposed to be there. And just below that line there's that wretched ditch! It may not look all that terrible to you, but believe me, it's really annoying and taking the pleasure out of wearing this skirt.

If anyone has ideas or tips how to solve this, or how to avoid this in the future, they would be more than welcome.

It's not all bad though. The fit is great. I love the fabric and apart from this little mishap, I think it turned out just fine. But I don't know if I would wear it in this state. Or I should wear something on top that's long enough to cover that area. Hey, that's an idea!!

Anywayz, hope you have better sewing-luck.

Gr.
Lilian

Funny coincidence

2011-10-16T13:11:00.000+02:00

Hi all,

For those wondering: I'm still here.
Sewing has been superslow lately. My mojo goes up and down like a ferris-wheel, but it's more down than up I'm afraid. However, yesterday I picked up a new project, a pencil skirt. It's not very interesting. Just a simple skirt. Plan is to finish it today. Pictures promised.

But telling you this is actually not the main reason why I decided to blog today. No, it's a movie I saw on television: 'Down with love', with Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor. It was a gorgeous movie. If it was not for the actors or the feel-good factor of the movie, than it was because of the great, great 60's fashion that is displayed throughout. They really make a fashion-stand in that movie. Wow!!

And much to my surprise, Renée is wearing this in the opening-scene:

Why to my surprise? Because in the big pile of fabrics I got from someone recently, there's this fabric (tape-measure is in centimeters):

Ha!! If that isn't a coincidence...

But for those who love 60's fashion just as much as me, I must disappoint you. There's not going to be a garment made of this fabric in my wardrobe any time soon, for the feel of the fabric is horrendous. It has a very, coarse surface. I haven't washed it yet (and don't know whether the previous owner did) but that's something I can try before I dismiss it altogether. It would be a shame if I had to because it's a lovely fabric to look at and would make a lovely.....hmmm let's see......pencil-skirt. Yep, again.

That's all folks! I must lie down now for I'm feeling rather dizzy. That happened to me also a few weeks ago. Probably an age-thing? Oh well...

Gr.
Lilian

...and it's not even my birthday

2011-09-25T17:26:00.001+02:00

I don't mean to make you all jealous or anything....but.....well, how shall I put this.....
LOOK WHAT I GOT!!

Ain't this fantastic?! I'm so glad this friend of a friend knew of my sewing or else this would all have ended up in the paperbin. 19 magazines I can add to my already extensive collection of sewingmagazines. There are 17 Burda's (one I read outside and I forgot to bring it in for the picture), 1 Sandra Mode and 1 Easy Fashion. All of them are from the last decade and most are from 2005 to 2010.

And that's not all:

A huge amount of fabric came home with me too.

I don't want to keep all of it. Some I really like and already have plans for. Some I don't like or the pieces are just too little to do anything with them. A few of them look nice but have a very rough surface. The camel in the right picture is perfect for a coat but I'm not sure about the colour. It's just off from the camel you see a lot for this fall. Maybe I should look upon them as pieces in a fabricstore and decide whether I would wanna buy them or not and take that as a decision whether I want to keep them or not. Good thing I don't have to decide right away.
On the other hand there are a few fantastic pieces for skirts, blouses and jackets and some of it could be used as lining.

I'm really excited about this gift and I'm gonna enjoy the process of thinking through what I want to do with these piles of fabric.

I'm starting to be somewhat of a fabric-hoarder. There's also a delivery on it's way of 4 fabulous fall-fabrics.
There's something exciting about a lot of fabric, waiting to be sewed.
Now all that's left to do is find me some sewingtime. It's got to be somewhere.....

Gr.
Lilian

KnipMode 08/2004-8b Sweater

2011-09-24T11:26:00.001+02:00

What do you do when you're desperate to blog about something but have nothing to blog about? You dig into your memory if there's nothing you left out that's still worth mentioning.
I did and I came up with this top (on the left). I had totally forgotten to show it to you. Probably because it's not really very special. However, I do like it very much and that's the main point right?
This is made from the same, and very much loved, fabric as the blue vest of my previous post. I think it is fun to show them next to each other. (In fact I always think about them as a pair, don't know why that is).

The only thing that can be said about the purple one is that it has an interesting neckline. It's hard to tell in this picture but the line from the leftshoulder (left when worn) goes all the way to the sleeveseam. In fact, the right shoulder is just a little piece that's sewed on top of that line. It's a nice feature but as I said, it's the only feature.

I'm not completely happy with the hem. It's a bit too wide on me. (BTW, my size cannot be exactly compared to the Blue Lady's. I just use her as a threedimensional clotheshanger.....sshhh.....don't tell her..).

The white shine you see at bustheight is the inside pole lighting up by the camera's flashlight. Yes, the fabric is very light and quite thin but it has enough cover-up to wear without any problems.

Once I finished the creme corduroy skirt I'll show you pictures of the two outfits on me. But that might take a while as I have a lot of things to do and might just squeeze in some other sewingprojects.

So...hmmm...what else did I want to tell you....

OH YES

I'm in for a treat!! A friend of a friend was cleaning out her sewing space and as I once met her when all of us took a shopping-trip toghether, she knew about my sewing-hobby. And she was so kind to think about me.

This afternoon I'll be picking up a couple of Burda's and some fabric. Don't know the amount. Could be 2 Burda's and 5 pieces of fabric. Could be 2 boxes loaded with each of them. Doesn't matter. I'll be glad with whatever sewing-stuff is thrown in my direction and tomorrow I will show you all the goodies!!

Bye for now. Have a lovely weekend!

Gr.

Lilian

KnipMode 01/2010-11 Vest finished

2011-09-10T20:01:00.000+02:00

(oops...forgot to press the hems of the arms before taking pics)

           (Linedrawing)                                           (Real colour, but this picture doesn't show
                                                                              the details as well as the above picture)

It's not often I brag about things but this time I think I'm allowed an exception. This little vest came out só much better than I had hoped for. The fabric is a pleasure to work with. It contains lycra which helps a lot to keep the fabric in shape. Even topstitching gave no hassle at all, which is rather unusual for a knit.
Sewing the facings at the collar and the midfront/bottom (all the way around) was a step I was not looking forward to. I kept thinking: "What if everything gets wonky? Will my project, so far successful, end there?" But it didn't. Phew!!
I'm also glad that everything turned out right at the first try. Unpicking stitches in this fabric is close to impossible.
I lengthened the pattern with my usual 3 cm, just above the waist, and I must say that the waist sits just at the right place.

It's gonna be fun wearing this in the fall. The colour combines with a lot of other colours.

The fuchsia sweater (for details click here) is also finished. I don't have blog-worthy pictures of it yet. When I do, I'll show you of course.

Next thing? Cleaning up my sewing-room. It's a bit messy at the moment.

Have a nice weekend everyone.

Gr.
Lilian

Plans

2011-08-21T14:30:00.080+02:00

As promised, here is a sneak preview of my upcoming plans.
Yep, this is fall-sewing. I'm totally done with summer. Sewing, that is.

Skirt
Pattern - KnipMode, August 2004, nr. 6
Fabric - Beige ribcord with a bit of stretch, creamy-soft texture!
I love the topstitching on this skirt, and of course the A-line style which suits my bodytype very well.

Sweater
Pattern - KnipMode, August 2004, nr. 8b
Fabric - Soft knit, polyester with spandex (the same fabric as for the vest)
This sweater has an interesting neckline which I like very much.

Vest
Pattern - KnipMode, January 2010, nr.11
Fabric - Soft knit, polyester with spandex
I'll make the sweater before I start on this vest, just to get the feel of the fabric and find out wether it's an easy or difficult fabric to work with. Best to practice on something not too difficult.

I think I'll start with the sweater. I'm anxious to find out how to handle this lovely fabric.
There's one week of holiday left for me, so there should be some progress in the coming days.
Apart from these pieces, I do have other sewing plans as well.

I'll keep you informed.

Gr.
Lilian

Dress from another century.

2011-08-19T14:50:00.001+02:00

When I took these pictures I considered this dress finished. After looking at the pictures I think I might have to squeeze in one more bit of sewing. More about that later.
First pictures.

It's too dressy to call it casual. It's probably best worn in the office. But that's just fine. The pattern is quite old, it's from KnipMode April 1996. Would you call this vintage? How old should a pattern be before you can call it vintage? Well, vintage or not, I like this one quite a lot. It's a timeless design and it was very easy to make.
The fabric is from my stash. I think it's a blend of linen and cotton, but I'm not sure. Anyway, it was a joy to sew with and it's a joy to wear, so it must be something good.

Below, the picture in the magazine. While going through my old KnipModes over the years, this picture always caught my attention. There's no particular reason why I didn't make this dress sooner but I'm glad I finally got round to it. (Click twice on the image to get a better view of the linedrawing).

This dress almost wasn't to be. I made a mistake while measuring the width of the waist. I measured the waist of the top and considered it okay for my size. I forgot however to read the instructions which tell you to take in that waist with elastic, and thén attach it to the skirt. So the waistline of the skirt is just as wide as the top with the elastic in. And that was way too small for me. Problem was that I already cut out the backskirt so I had to make do with that piece. (There was not enough left to cut it out again). I saved the project by placing the pattern for the skirt lower on the fabric, to the point where the waist was wide enough to match the upperbody. This took out some of the length of the skirt but it was still long enough.
At that point I was measuring and checking again and again, to make sure nothing would go wrong anymore. And that paid off.
(By the way, the skirt was cut on the bias which makes it hang very nicely)

What I think I still need to do is put some elastic in the waist to get the bit of extra width it still has, to spread out more evenly. Now the folds are a bit disordered and all over the place. (They seem to concentrate where the belt-loops are placed).

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I put in shoulderpads. Yes! Shoulderpads. Seems to be a sin in fashion these days but seeing as I have almost no shoulders myself (ok, now I'm exaggerating) and this is a pattern with broader shoulders (it's a nineties-pattern, what would you expect?) I think it's just fine to do so.

***

Alright, what's next. I've been talking about a SWAP. But I don't think you can call a collection of 3 items a SWAP. That would be like saying you can swim if you're able not to drown in the bathtub.
So I won't talk about the S-word again and just tell you what my next plans are. For that you'll have to read my next post. I'm planning on posting this weekend so stay tuned and sew happily!

Gr.
Lilian

One-way ticket to Wadderville?

2011-08-09T10:02:00.001+02:00

Yesterday I started on this project:

It's a rendez-vous (Burda Febr 2009 / 123) as I made it before, you can see that in this link (scroll down to the bottom of that post for a nice picture).

Piece of cake, I thought. Not!
The thing is that the fabric is behaving very badly. On top of that my serger is behaving even more badly, if that's possible. And as for me? I was being far too hasty and impatient, thinking I could do this one with my eyes closed, so I made a few mistakes.
I said to myself that nothing would get me down and I would finish this in a good way. But there's only so much one can take.
At a certain point I decided that enough is enough. And I took a step back, looked at it and decided I was not going to let this ruin my happy-holiday-sewing-mood and this blouse just wasn't for now. Maybe I'll pick it up again at one time but now I'm gonna concentrate on (sewing)things that make me happy.

This picture of the right frontpiece (the small curve in the upper right corner is the armscye) doesn't show all the 'wrongs' but the one you can see is obvious enough, right? As far as I know the front has to be a smooth line and not a ruffled one.

It's just such a shame that this fabric was/is so lovely and I had such high hopes for it. Been looking at it in my stash and dreaming about it for ages.
Ah well, stuff happens. Moving on!

There might even be a little fall-SWAP lurking around the corner. Now isn't that exciting?

Gr.
Lilian

TNT-Tee

2011-07-27T18:08:00.000+02:00

Lately I feel a growing urge to sew something more complicated, like a jacket or a blouse with special details. But until now I haven't been able to bring myself to actually start such a project. To fill in the sewing-gap I sticked to simple sewing. And what is more simple than a plain t-shirt? When I took a trip to Antwerp last spring, I bought a few pieces of knits with the intention to make t-shirts out of them. So it was just the right time to cut them up.

(Freaky! I seem to have posed EXACTLY the same for these two pictures. Just look at my hands..even the plant behind my back sticks out exactly the same!..)

I've used this TNT-pattern quite a lot and made it with short and 3/4 length arms.
The only thing I've changed recently is using a binding to finish the neckline instead of facings. I once read somewhere: "Once you use a binding to finish edges, you never look back". This might be very true. It's such a neat finish and quite easy to do. I don't even measure the length of the binding, just make sure there's enough of it and then ease in the neckline, and stretch the binding a bit while attaching it. (I do pin and baste before sewing). It never failed me so far.

I didn't really 'need' these shirts but I dó need a white one. I've been looking for one for quite some time but can't find anything to my liking. So last week I found a great white knit that will just be perfect for this purpose. The only thing I will change is making shorter sleeves.
So that's gonna be my next project but I won't blog about it as it's just more of the same, but without the colour.

Happy sewing times everyone!

Gr
Lilian

I'm blue, da ba dee da ba da

2011-07-16T16:14:00.003+02:00

Again, a very quick project. Let's call this the 'blue patchworkdress'.
This knitdress was very simple to sew. It was the first time I tried a pattern from Diana Mode and it does not disappoint at all. I used my normal alterations and it fits perfectly.
The fabric looks like patchwork but is actually printed that way.

I needed a simple pattern to let the fabric speak for itself and somewhat straight lines on the sides to match with the vertical lines in the pattern. I think this one just ticks all the boxes.

I'm gonna wear this with a narrow blue belt (which I still have to buy..) as I want to emphasize the waist a bit more and break the vertical lines which probably make me look longer than I already am.

I made sure the prints matched at the sideseams. As the sideseams are not completely straight it is unavoidable to have a wedge-like part there. But this way it doesn't bother me.

The neckline drapes beautifully:

Yep..I'm very content with this.

What I'm not so thrilled about is the august-issue of KnipMode. It just doesn't do anything for me. There's a new lady in charge and I hope this has nothing to do with it (because she'll be there probably for quite some time).

Ah well, let's not jump to conclusions too soon.

Happy sewing everyone!

Gr.

Lilian

About sharp scissors and unwanted holes

2011-07-15T18:36:00.003+02:00

The title says it all, doesn't it? This afternoon I experienced the (almost) ultimate disaster you can have while sewing: cutting a hole in your fabric where it shouldn't be.

What happened was: I just finished the first armscye of my knit dress with a binding and was very happy with the result. I wanted to cut of the pieces of thread but I guess in my excitement I didn't pay attention and cut of/out more than I had planned.

What you see in this picture is the situation after I repaired my little accident.(Click twice on the picture to take a closer look). It is little, really, as it's about 1cm by 0,5cm. But it's still a hole.

This is what I did (no pictures of the process unfortunately, I forgot to make them):
I sewed two little pieces of fusable interfacing against each other, with the fusable sides on the outside, using a few rows of stitches to make sure they were firmly attached and cut out a hole of the same size as the one in the fabric. Then placed it under the fabric. Under that, I placed a little piece of fabric to fill up the hole. With a few handstitches I attached the three layers to each other so nothing could move.
And then finally fused it all together.

It is in the front of the dress but considering it's about 5cm under the armscye and about 8cm from the sideseam, ít's pretty much hidden.

I don't know how it's gonna behave when I actually start wearing and washing it, but it should do for now. I guess it won't hurt to use some (invisible) handstitches on the edges for extra security.

Next post will show the finished dress (I plan on posting tomorrow) so stay tuned for more!

Gr.
Lilian

Sometimes, simple is all you need

2011-07-10T12:32:00.000+02:00

Dear o dear, this spring/summer has been not very productive for me sewing-wise. Neither have I been a 'good' blogger lately.
The fact is that I've had quite a busy and not so pleasant time at work (thank God that is slowing down lately/getting better) Combine that with the fact that I am an emo-eater, et voilá, you gain a lot of kilo's before you know it. In fact, a few weeks ago I was at the heaviest weight I have EVER been in my life. Time to take action I thought and now I'm trying to eat healthier and less. But it's a slóóów proces.

All this of course has effect on the fitting of your clothes. I'm sad to say that about 75% of my summerclothes has become too small. And that's very annoying, I can tell you. All the lovely skirts I made last year, and some of the blouses, almost all my trousers: TOO SMALL!
And that's where the sewing-mojo-killer comes in: I don't feel like making anything because I feel it doesn't look good on me. My waist has almost disappeared and that has always been the thing that kept everything in proportion, even in times when I weighed a bit more. (That's an age-thing right?)

Anywayz, enough of that. I just wanted to explain why there has been so little action on my blog lately.

Not that I'm not busy making plans. I'm even looking forward to fall sewing already. I've read somewhere that big, wide clothes will be a 'new' trend this fall/winter. Haha, how did they know about my 'condition' I wonder...
No, serious, I always believe that fall/winter fashion is more stylish than spring/summer fashion and I can't wait to dive in. But first I'll have to get my waist back.....

Now, for the title of this post.
A few weeks ago, while doing my shopping in the supermarket, I saw this magazine:

I had never seen it before. Is anyone familiar with this magazine? It is in Dutch.I think it's great. It has a lot of lovely patterns and I was amazed at the fact how I suddenly drooled over these fairly simple, clean-lined garments. Yesterday I picked up another magazine in the supermarket.

'Diana Mode' has been for sale for as long as I can remember but I never looked in it as I thought the garments were too plain. And guess what?? I can't stop flickering through it. Big chance my next projects will be made from one of these magazines.

It's taking forever for the KnipMode august-issue to arrive. Normally they're sent to you in the beginning of the month, now I'll have to wait untill the 15th of July. Another 5 days...sigh.

Well, it's time for action. I'll have the rest of this sunday to pick something I like and start a new project. I'm ready to fight this mojo-killer with my bare-hands!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Gr.
Lilian

Cute skirt (KnipMode 04/2011-5)

2011-06-12T22:16:00.001+02:00

At least, that's what I think. I loved the pattern from the first time I saw it. I found a very nice fabric for it, Swiss cotton, as the lady in the shop called it. I like the print (African inspired?) and the feel of the fabric very much. I didn't feel like modelling today (sorry) but to give you an idea of the length: the hem just hits my knees.

Now, let the pictures do the talking:

and here's the linedrawing, which shows all the cute details.

I like the little buttons, the way that the pockets are partly hidden behind the outer pleats, the wide waistband, the flare of the skirt and the way it shouts 'summer!'.
I didn't make buttonholes but sewed the buttons on through the two layers of the waistband so the two pieces are connected. Other than that, ánd being decorative of course, they have no function.

Here are some detail-pics:

This was, again, a real quick project.
This evening I cut out a t-shirt from a TNT-pattern. No work for another day, so I should find the time to start and finish it tomorrow.
I'm really in sewing-mode lately. I have plans for another t-shirt and a knit dress. And whatever comes next. It's great to be so creative and productive.

I hope you're all feeling the vibe!

Gr.
Lilian
--

Two quick sewing projects

2011-06-02T17:03:00.136+02:00

Not one, but TWO pieces. Now that's not often happening on this blog. But these two pieces were fairly easy to make. Add to that the fact that I was really inspired to sew, and you can understand it was fun to make this set.

The top is from KnipMode / July 2010 / 17b
The bermuda shorts are from KnipMode / supplement March 2011 / 106b (I placed the zipper in the front and not at the side. Don't like side-zippers).

The fabric of the top is a jersey of the kind that melts when you iron it a bit too hot. (That didn't happen to me thank God, I was smart enough to test the fabric first. Phew!)
I don't know what it's called, but if you look at the close-up pictures below you'll get a pretty good idea.

(Let's just say: it's not the kind of fabric that gets the contestants of Project Runway through to the next round. I can already hear Michael Kors saying: "this is cheap (!!) fabric. What were you thínking!", followed by Heidi's "You're OUT")

I did have some reservations about gathering this fabric but it turned out it was very, very easy. There's no need to loosen the stitch. The ruffles just won't hold if you do. You don't have to use long stitches either, which gives a very fine result:

The sleeves are rather wide. It makes it all the more comfortable to wear.
The hem is serged.

The hem at the bottom is done by handstitching.
I somehow didn't like a serged hem at that place.

The bermuda was fun to make as well. It fits quite good. I made my 2 cm.-adjustment I used here for the first time and it's really doing the trick for me. No awkward crotch-wrinkles, but just nice, smooth lines. Definitely a keeper!

That's it for now. Enjoy your (long?) weekend everyone!!

Gr.
Lilian

KnipMode 07/2008 - 18 Blouse

2011-05-07T17:49:00.000+02:00

The plan was to make a skirt but when I laid my eyes on this pattern while flickering through some older magazines, I just couldn't resist. I had the perfect fabric for this in my stash with a perfect (sort of) African print that's so hot right now. The fabric is superthin which is required for this pattern as there is a lot of draping going on in the front. Let me show you the line-drawing to make this clear:

The collar is a rectangular piece, or actually 2, sewn together at the back of the neck, It looks like it's folded to the inside but that's not the instruction. So you have the complete width of the rectangular to work with. (I actually made it less wide as I didn't want too much of fabric in the front but there's still enough to drape and look like it's supposed to look.

This was sewn in no time. And it's really a very simple pattern.

If you would consider making this blouse I really recommend to use a thin fabric and choose the width of the collar to your liking. (I made it 34 cm wide). You don't want to end up with too much fabric in the front.

The print of the fabric has lighter and darker patches so I had to think carefully how to work with them. I chose to use a darker colour at the shoulders and (mini)sleeves and the lighter part at the waist and bottom. The scarf was meant to contrast with that (dark next to light and vice versa) but that only worked at some parts. The drawstring is also made from the fabric. 2 little holes are left in the seams between frontpiece and collarpiece to pull it through. (Again, if you want to make this: make sure you keep the holes as little as possible so they don't show when you tie up the drawstring).

Anyway, I like it very much. It's a very light summery blouse. Just what we need right now!

(And sorry for the wrinkles in the picture. I had worn this top to do some shopping and had to drive a hot car with no airconditioning. Yes, I feel sorry for my self to).

As for the fingers. It's all healing very quickly and there's no pain when used normally and within it's boundaries). If it has been successful? I'll have to wait and see. Fysio has started again. 3 times a week and lots of practising at home. Monday I have an appointment with the surgeon and then I will hear more. I suppose he will be able to tell if it has been succesful or not. But to be honest, I'm pretty nervous about that.

In the meantime, I'll still be able to sew. And that's a blessing!
Talk to you next time.

Gr.

Lilian

Pink for a girl

2011-04-23T13:50:00.000+02:00

If you, after reading the title of this post, expected a lovely little girl's pink dress or a ravishing pink dress for an (ahum) older girl, then I'll have to disappoint you.

I'm just referring to these piglets:

(But it is a lovely colour right? It's actually a colourless substitute for iodine with a bit (too much) of colouring-pigment in it).

Just wanted to let you know that everything went well so far. This bandage is gone already. After two days the wounds were dry. I only cover them with bandages at night. As long as I don't use that hand there's actually no pain which is a great thing. It's quite different from last year's situation. I hope the outcome will be better also this time. Fysio has already started and she said there is a chance I'll be dealing with that for a year, but then again it could also be 6 months. Hmm...both options sound long enough to me. But hey, if that's what it takes, I'll go for it.

In the meantime I'm not sewing but I feel that it won't be long before I can pick that up again. (By the way, not being able to sew is a real mojo-stimulator, did you know that?!)
My thoughts are turning frequently to a gorgeous piece of yellow/pink-flowered cotton that I want to turn into a sunny summerskirt. The colours are more vibrant in real life than in the picture below.

The pattern however I haven't decided on yet but there are a lot of cute patterns I can choose from.
And I need some summerclothes rapidly! The weather here in The Netherlands is amázing at the moment.

And apart from that I think its'really time I come up with something sewn for this blog 'cause that's what this blog should be about.

In the meantime I hope you'll bear with me.

Nice weekend everyone!

gr.
Lilian

Buying fabric (and still searching for a shop where they sell time..)

2011-04-15T13:03:00.000+02:00

Hello again!

Boy, this is not why I started this blog. Not writing any posts for about a month. And not only that. Not Séwing For a Month. That's even worse, don't you think?!
Reason? Let me tell you in one word: work. It has been insane, not healthy and mind-boggling at times. But it should all take a turn for the better.

This is not how I planned it. I wanted to do a lot of sewing for spring and summer but I haven't even started yet. And it still will take a few weeks before I will be able to start a new project because I'm gonna have surgery on my fingers again. As some of you know I injured myself in may 2010 and had two broken fingers which were operated. In december 2010 I was told that the movement of the fingers hadn't returned as it should have, and that that was probably (big chance actually) caused by the tendons who got stuck. I was given the choice to operate or not. It took me quite some time to decide but after a few talks in the hospital and with the people around me, I decided to go for it. One of the biggest reasons for me is that I feel there's a bit of strength-loss in my hand. And I still have difficulties picking up little things.
Soooo.....next tuesday will be the day and I'm starting to get nervous a bit. It's actually a minor operation but still...

This doesn't mean I haven't been thinking of sewing. I kept up with reading all the blogs and LOVED them. So much inspiration and so many beautiful things are made by you all.
The new KnipMode is gorgeous (again!) and Burda still sucks...(sorry for that but it just does imo).
I've been browsing my favourite fabric-websites to keep up with all the new goodies and have tons of plans in my head. A few weeks ago I managed to squeeze in a shoppingday in Antwerp and I bought these two lovely pieces of jersey:

If they behave just as well as the other pieces I bought there, then they're my little friends already. Great fabric that is. After many times of wearing and washing it still looks like new.

These pieces keep me dreaming of better sewing-times. And those times will come!
But for now, I'm signing off again. Maybe a litte post to let you know how the surgery went.

You keep safe and sewing!!

Gr.
Lilian

Cowl-neck sweater finished

2011-03-13T13:59:00.000+01:00

(boring picture, he?)

There's just one thing that pops up in my mind when I look at this picture and that is: ......mwah.......

I had high hopes for this great fabric. But I guess I didn't think this one through properly. There was a sudden urge to finish something (i.e. post something) this weekend and I wanted this to be my last winter-sewing. I didn't choose the pattern carefully and I wasn't very accurate with lenghts and width (arms are too short). And the seam looks definitely crooked.

(The pattern is an old one I used a few times. Don't know where it originates from. This version looks a lot nicer by the way).

Well, as we all know, this happens every now and then. No need to dwell on it. Some would call this a wadder with destination bin, but I always find it hard to dismiss things I put time and energy in. This sweater will not be work-appropriate (as I hoped it would be) but it's fine to wear while shopping or doing other casual things.

Because I still think that the fabric itself is beautiful I'll show you a picture. If you click two times on the picture you'll see how some of the threads have a metallic shine:

Right. And now the million-dollar question: "what's next?"
As I said, I'm really done with wintersewing and want to look ahead to spring and summer. Knipmode has some really nice springpatterns that I want to try and I have a few nice pieces of fabric in my stash that I have plans for already.

I'll keep you informed.

Gr.
Lilian

KnipMode 03/2008 - 8 Jersey Tunic

2011-03-06T12:10:00.001+01:00

Hi everyone. Sorry for being so quiet on my blog lately. It's just that work has been eating away at my free time and energy. But it seems like it's slowing down a bit and that means that I'll be able to get some sewing done. Yesterday I started and finished this project. Talking about 'instant satisfaction'!! Boy, this was just what I needed.

It's a tunic that I loved from the moment I received the Knipmode that contained this pattern. But I was a bit hesitant about the shape and waited exactly 3 years to make it. And now I'm glad I did. It's not close-fitting but I guess that's what tunics are about. It's very pretty though. At least, I think so.

For the detail-lovers, this is the linedrawing:

I lengthened the top-part with 3 cm. But I think I could have done without that.

I just lóve the 3/4-sleeves. They're close-fitting at the top, but wide at the bottom with a piece of elastic in the seam.

While I was not sewing, I wás being busy making plans. Actually, I wanted to make a Chanel-like jacket. I had this lovely fabric in my stash. When I washed it, it wasn't that lovely anymore. It was like the fibers were glued together before washing and now were all over the place. So I cut off a piece to test the firmness and this is what I got with the brush of just one finger:

Now, call me a sewing-coward, but there's absolutely NO WAY that I'm gonna work with something like this.
It was very cheap (probably the reason for this problem) so it's not a heartbreaking goodbye.

I don't have any new plans ready at the moment. Maybe black trousers, maybe a striped shirt... Or maybe something else.
But when I decide on a new project, you'll be the first to know!!

Till next time.

Gr.
Lilian

From the sewingneedle to the crochetneedle

2011-02-05T14:25:00.001+01:00

Don't worry. I am not trading my sewing for crocheting. It's just that I wanted to show you that I can do more than just spin the sewingmachine-wheel. In fact I have been doing artsy-crafty things throughout my whole life. I think I have been embroidering since I was 7 years old, and I had a booming knitting-period in my teen-years. But the last twenty years or so, not much has been going on in that area. Embroidering close to none. Knitting, euhm.....a few scarfs. And every now and then some crocheting.

I didn't have any plans to pick up a crochet-project at all but recently I saw a very, very cute ball of yarn in the fabricstore and I thought immediately that it would be great to make something with it.
And this is what I've done so far. Size-wise, I'm about halfway:

The pattern is from an old book I've got. It looks very 'seventies-dated' to me. And these kind of little rugs are somewhat oldfashioned I think, but the changing colours of the yarn gives it a modern twist that I like.
The yarn is really beautiful and as usual the pictures are not doing justice to the real colours. What looks like yellow is actually more of a green colour:

Since I have no sewingrelated things to show you I thought it would be nice to show and write about this. Bus as I said, don't worry, I'll be back with fabric and ideas for new projects.

When I finally will be able to put my feet up this afternoon I'm going to enjoy the March-issue of KnipMode. It's lying right in front of me and I just can't wait. The cover shouts spring!

Great weekend everyone.

Gr
Lilian

KnipMode 2010-09 / 5 Skirt finished

2011-01-29T15:45:00.001+01:00

This skirt is finally finished. It took me a week longer than planned because I had a very busy workschedule, but yesterday and today I found the time to get it done.
And I'm happy with it.

The darkgreen stretch-gabardine is really a treat to work with and great fabric for skirts with some kind of structure.

The pleats in the front are really 'doing their thing'. I was a bit anxious that the pleats would only accentuate my tummy-area, but it's really spaceous without being balloon-like. It's just perfect actually. I really recommend this pattern. You have to wear something tucked into the skirt or else the hip-area will look wider than you want it to look.

I wasn't sure at first if I would use the bias strips to finish the pockets and wanted to stick to the oldfashioned way, but I'm glad I did. I did pretty well, if I say so myself:

The height of the waist is something I have to get used to. It's higher than I normally wear and I constantly feel the urge to pull the skirt down a bit. But it's right where it should be.
Lately, Knipmode is using more and more straight waistbands on their trousers and skirts. I'm not happy about that. I believe a slightly curved waistband fits better. But for this skirt it worked out just fine.

I wanted to wear black high-heeled shoes with this outfit but the ones I have are really past their glorytime.
A week ago I bought these pair. They're perfect.

Well, that's about it. I have more to tell and show you, but all in good time.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Gr.
Lilian

Skirt in the making and some rambling...

2011-01-19T22:53:00.012+01:00

Dear readers, there's a serious amount of rambling ahead!....I tried to 'pimp' it a little with a serious amount of pictures though.

At the moment I'm working on this skirt. It's from KnipMode September 2010.

And this is what I've done so far:

There will probably be no sewing or finished projects to show you until friday, but I just felt like blogging tonight. So what am I gonna talk to you about?? Hmmm...let's see......

Ok, let me start by saying that the KnipMode that contains this skirt, has really a LOT of great patterns in it. Just looking at the cover of the magazine makes me happy because I just know that there's a lot of great stuff inside. This is what I'm talking about, I want to sew/have them áll:

I made this one already

Something else. Ain't this a clever, little device? It came with one of the latest KnipMode's but I can't remember which one. It's so easy to use and very helpful when cutting seams. Way better than using a measuring tape. It's made from cardboard. Pretty simple actually, you can make one yourself if you want to. It lies still on the fabric, doesn't slide on the floor, and it's little, which makes it very manageble.

This one is pretty clever too. Lies still on the fabric, doesn't slide........ok, I guess you know where this is going. (Don't you just love the patternsheets KM is using compared to the Burda ones? Fat lines (easy to see through tracing paper!), only a few patterns per sheet, each pattern in its own colour..)

Ok, what's next? What about this sad piece of measuring-tape? It's literally hanging on by a few threads and the print is almost invisible at certain places. I don't even know how it got damaged so badly. (I didn't cut through it myself though it looks that way). It's in desperate need to be replaced. Maybe tomorrow during my lunch-break.

That's all folks.
Next time a one-subject-post. Promised!

Gr.
Lilian

Dress Knipmode 2010-10 / 3a finished

2011-01-14T16:12:00.000+01:00

This dress turned out great! I love it! But let's not forget that this was the original plan:

Notice anything different between these 2 pictures? Let me help you. The Sleeves!
Last wednesday evening, or should I say: thursdaymorning, at 00.15h, I had finished and set in one sleeve and had high hopes for it. I was still sewing that late because I was just so excited to see how the sleeves would turn out. I think the pattern is absolutely fab and I knew if I could make this work, the dress would be a knockout. So I put it on, looked in the mirror....and was sadly disappointed.

This is what I saw:

Does this sleeve look like the one in the linedrawing? Nope. My sleeve looks like a mushroom! (Or worse..). So after the first moment of disappointment, I didn't want to give up too quickly and started to think how I could solve this. But I just couldn't. Did I make a mistake with the pattern? That wasn't the case. Should I place some vertical elastic to pull up the sagging fabric? No, that would probably just end up in a mess. I decided to think it over for a day and see what I would come up with. No solutions whatsoever popped up so I made the decision to go for the regular sleeves (version 3b). I found out that I didn't have enough fabric to cut 2 new sleeves so for a moment I feared that this was the sad end of a promising start.

But I was happy to find out that the sleeves-that-were-not-to-be, were big enough to use for cutting out the regular ones. The smile on my face re-appeared and I never looked back.

In this picture you can see how the two sleeve-patterns differ from each other.

The fact that it's a special fabric (the dark stripes are velvety) makes this dress work. If this would be fabric in a solid colour I think the dress (version b) would be kind of boring.
All in all, I like it very much. It was super-quick as most of the sewing is done on the serger.
I didn't use a zipper, no need for that when you use fabric with stretch in it.

Trying to find out what the problem was.
In the meantime, I thínk I have figured out the problem. First of all, I have been concentrating way too much on the linedrawing. I should have looked in the magazine itself to remind me how the dress looked made up. Because this doesn't resemble the linedrawing at all (but is still GORGEOUS. After all, it was this picture that made me fall in love with this dress in the first place):

Seeing this, I knew in an instant what was the problem with my initial sleeves: they were too small!! At the widest of my upperarms, the fabric is pulling a bit horizontal which explains the visible horizontal line.
The extra volume in the top is looking for a way to hang down but stops at that point. Sounds logical right?
Maybe a tip for anyone who wants to sew this dress as well. Make sure they're not too small. Or check it out with a muslin first.
Now I'm off to a work-related party to show off my new dress ☺
I do feel beautiful and that's what counts.

Have a very lovely weekend everyone!

Gr.
Lilian

Let's start 2011 with Top 3b from KnipMode 2008-08

2011-01-04T15:45:00.000+01:00

Yoohooo...best wishes for 2011 everyone!!! I hope you all had a great time celebrating.

I know I'm a bit late. But the fact is that I spent the last week in bed because of a flu that had me down in more than one way. Things seem to be looking up however and it was about time I showed my face.

O, wait, that's another story. I'm not showing my face yet for I have an infection on my chin at the place where a mole has been removed 5 weeks ago. It was for pure cosmetical reasons and I can't seem to shut up that little voice in the back of my head saying: "Serves you right for being vaaaaain...!!". I have some cream for it since yesterday and next monday I'm gonna pay my physician another visit to have it checked. I was hoping for a recovery with an almost invisible scar. Now I'm just hoping for a recovery. Strange, how easy you adjust your expectations.

Luckily I have a very pretty, headless model in my house. That's right, The Blue Lady. And she was more than willing to step in for me once again. Because.......tumdadadummmm....I have something new to show you. And this is it. My very first project of this year. And thát's a good start!

Center-backseam at the neck (this picture shows the right colour):

Adorable detail.

I absolutely lóve the fact that it's a simple pattern but with just the right detail for a great effect. The fabric is thicker than you would normally use for this top but the drape is amazing. I'm glad it turned out this way.

It is an easy and fairly quick to make top and I had it in my mind for quite some time. I'm glad it's finally finished and I can move on to new things.
Are there any plans already? Yes, actually there are:

This fabric: This KnipMode dress:

What do you think? Could be nice right?

Gr.
Lilian

Simple but satisfying

2010-12-17T18:10:00.000+01:00

Last sunday I really surprised myself. I sewed this sweater in a few hours. It took me forever to finish the brown skirt but it felt like my fun in sewing had returned. I must be honest and tell you that I haven't touched the sewingmachine since, but I'm still planning new things.

Alright, let's talk about the sweater:

The (TNT-)pattern is from an old KnipMode. I don't even remember which one. Basically it's very simple. It has raglan-sleeves and a cowl-neck. And that's that. It would probably take some of you less than an hour to make, but I'm just not that quick.
It's not particularly pretty or interesting, but I'm very glad with it all the same.

It's hard to tell with this fabric but these are really raglan-sleeves. The picture is really deceiving as it looks like it's a 'normal' set-in sleeve.

The fabric has a bit of stretch sideways. It needs to be worn with a shirt underneath to keep you warm as it's not really a tight-woven material.
(In other words, the wind is blowing right through it...)
But for indoors this is a great sweater.

Most of the time I sew working-clothes, suitable to wear in an office, but this is really comfy homewear. I should sew this stuff more often!

And now for an update on the weather.

Winter came early this year. It came again yesterday and it will be here for quite a while I'm afraid. I háte cold weather and slippery roads. I love however pretty snow-pictures.
The midst of our country had some pretty heavy snowfall to deal with today, which meant: total chaos on the roads. I wonder what we will be getting here in the south later on.
I'm glad I only had an appointment at the hairdressers and was able to do my weekend-shopping. If everything goes to plan, I don't have to leave my house again until monday-morning.

Lowieke was outside this morning for about 2,5 minutes before he begged me to come back in. I think this pretty topmodel deserves a big picture this time. Isn't he júst adorable?! I tell you, this cat speaks with his eyes...

Stay warm everyone and have a great weekend!

Gr.
Lilian

Sweet brown sugar

2010-12-11T12:29:00.000+01:00

Hello again...

It's been a bit quiet on my blog lately. Lets just say my sewing-mojo had hit rock-bottom. Not in the last place because life was throwing some worries at me and it felt like they kept coming. I guess I've overcome most of them. For now.

After my last project I started with this skirt. But I just couldn't find the motivation to work on it. And that's when I decided that I would stop sewing until my mojo would return and don't feel guilty about it. Without forcing it. Well it's returning. Slowly. But it's returning. I didn't feel like blogging too. Nevertheless I've read and enjoyed all your great posts in the meantime.

I guess we are all entitled to some kind of 'time off' from sewing every now and then, right? I'm sure we all feel that way sometimes.

Nevertheless I'm glad that I finally have something to show you. This skirt is from KnipMode october 2010. Here's the linedrawing to show you the details that my picture doesn't show:

The fabric is a wonderful soft ribcord. it makes me think of brown sugar, hence the title of this post.

I had some difficulties to get the ruffles in the right place. But that's about all that was difficult about this skirt. It's obviously not a very complicated pattern and that's certainly not the reason why it took me so long to finish.

One more picture, but now with black boots:

Though it's been ages since they were written, I'd still like to thank everyone for their comment on my dress in my last post. All your tips to accessorize the dress in a more modern way are very much appreciated and helpful. Most important of all, your comments made me feel that the dress is nice, and as I wasn't sure about that, that was the nicest thing you could do!

Maria asked a question in her comment :

I have been trying to figure out if it is possible to back order previous issues of Knip mode. Unfortunately my dutch isn't that good... Do you know if it is possible, and where do I place an order? Thanks!!

Well Maria, I tried to figure this out for you. As fas as I can see on the website of Knipmode, they don't sell any old magazines, just loose patterns. But you could try to send them an email to find out more. Just ask your question in English, I'm sure they have no problem with that.

* Questions to Knipmode editorial office: knipmode@sanoma-uitgevers.nl
* Knipmode service abroad: serviceteam@sanoma-uitgevers.nl (For questions about subscriptions from countries other than the Netherlands and Belgium.)

I hope this is helpful!

Now....let's see...what's next on my sewinglist.
There's a big piece of purple boucle in my stash that screams: WARM SWEATER WITH HUGE COWL-NECK! And if there's one thing I need at the moment it's warm sweaters. Or anything warm for that matter. Since the temperatures have dropped in our country, I seem to be hypothermic all the time.
I have an old TNT-pattern already traced out, so it's time to start cutting the fabric and serging.
Should be a quick project. Oh wait, let's be careful with that remark.... ;-)

Have a very nice weekend everyone. I hope your sewing-mojo is blossoming like never before!

Gr.
Lilian

Dress KnipMode 2010-10 / 103 finished

2010-11-13T17:27:00.002+01:00

Finally my dress is finished. I have mixed feelings about it to be honest. There are good things and there are bad things. Or sort of bad. First some pictures:

This is the linedrawing:

First what I like:
- The construction.
- I love the fact that i't's a wrap-dress.
- I like the placement of the pleats.

What I don't like:
- The fabric. Now you will probably think: "..then why did you buy it?...". That's a fair question and I don't really have the answer. I liked it when I bought it but once it was a dress I could think only one thing: GRANNY'S DRESS. I think it's the fact that there's quite some brown in the print. I bought it actually for the purple but now it looks like the brown colour is the dominant one. Well, nothing I can change about that but it's a serious issue for me.
- The fact that the collar in the back is strangely constructed. They make you pleat the collar in the back and then fold over the cut-on facing. Only, the facing is way too narrow. It doesn't cover up the inside of the collar at all. I folded it so that at least in the middle I could attach the facing to the seam where the collar is attached to the back. But that way I'm forcing the collar in a way that it's not supposed to and that shows, at least on the inside. Luckily it doesn't really show on the outside but it's just looking strange on the inside. I can't figure out what I did wrong so I guess it's a fault in the pattern. Can happen.

If I would make this dress again than I would lower the waist only 2 cm and not my usually 4 cm. (And fix that collarproblem of course!).

More pictures:

The draping at the neck

Mid-centre backseam of the collar

I think I can save this dress with the right accessories. The kind Granny wouldn't wear.
Some darkbrown velvet high-heeled boots would be great. Mmm....time to go shopping then.

That's it for now. I'm far from productive, sewing-wise. I hope things will take a turn for the better soon.
At least now I can go planning for my next project. I have various options and will let you know soon what I decided.

For now, have a very nice weekend everyone!

Gr.
Lilian

New fabric and a great KnipMode-idea

2010-11-06T22:02:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I went to a special fabric-fair close to my hometown. A big one and only held a few times in a year. I had a busy agenda but I managed to spend 1,5 hour there. I saw some great fabrics. It was a pity that the weather didn't cooperate (lots of rain!) but that meant there weren't too many people about so no pushing and waiting for your turn. It wasn't good though for the market traders. And boy, were they complaining. I mean, a lot!

But I went home with a very, very happy face. Here are my goodies:

A purple bouclé. Soft and great for a vest. (Don't mind the 20 cm-zipper). The fabric is more purple than shown in this picture.

A beautiful jersey with a print and velvet pattern. The background of the print is black, not grey. The black stripes are the velvet parts. Great dress-fabric.

These two fabrics just belong together. They 'complete each other', so to speak. The darkgrey fabric is a very soft knit, perfect for a top and the houndstooth is a jeansfabric, for a pencilskirt. I love pencilskirts!

A quite simple, darkblue knit. Great top-material.

You can't go wrong with a thinly striped jersey. If it could speak the fabric would say: I want to be a casual top. Please?

This is a jeans fabric. The lighter grey spots are actually darker, but they're a bit shiny, so I guess that's why the camera lights them up a bit. This is also gonna be a pencilskirt. Well, what can I say..I'm a secretary. Got to live up to the expecations, right?

That's all the fabric that came home with me. The bags became too heavy and my time was limited. But I am very happy with my purchases and have a whole lot of new inspiration and ideas to dream about.

If someone is wondering what happened to the knitdress I was making? Well, this post was supposed to be about that dress but it's not finished yet. Almost, but not completely. And it has some serious issues. In my next post I'll share them with you.

And now.....can I have a drumroll please?......

KnipMode december 2010 has a big poster in the middle of the magazine displaying ALL the linedrawings from the 2010-magazines. Sorted by dresses, jackets, trousers, tops etc. It's an amazing and wonderful idea.

Just think about it: you're looking for a nice jacket. Take a look at the poster and within 15 seconds you have scanned all the patterns of jackets of 2010. Just take your pic.

Now, does that save time or what!

Have a nice weekend.Talk to you again soon.

Gr.

Lilian

Skirt finished

2010-10-26T12:20:00.001+02:00

Burda 2010-09 / 106B

Phewww...that was a lot of handsewing. But it was worth every stitch. I'm really pleased with this skirt.

In the picture I combined the skirt with my 'Vincent'-top, ánd my new boots.

It's just a pity that the picture won't show the details. And believe me, I took a zillion pictures of me wearing it. Trying different light, flashlight - no flashlight, but it just wouldn't work. A close-up of a flat skirt however will do the trick (colour is a bit washed-out, due to my camera not doing what I want it to do):

And an even closer close-up:

And this is me, posing as a real model, LOL. (Makes the skirt look a bit awkward though....):

The inside is not really interesting but just to show you that I lined the skirt completely:

This was the last of 4 (!) posts about this skirt. So that will do.
Time to look foward.

I already mentioned I'm thinking of making a knit-dress next. I have three great knit-fabrics, especially bought for dresses so I'd better get this party started.

P.S.

Blogger is really doing my head in. If I upload 1 picture, I can only upload the next if I first close my account and then reopen it. And so on..
Does anyone of you have (had) the same experience, and were you able to do something about it? I'd love to hear because this is utterly annoying.

Gr.
Lilian

Slow sewing and learning to love it

2010-10-22T17:28:00.001+02:00

Just as I predicted, it has been a busy week with no time or desire to blog or sew. But today I have the day off and, even better, the coming week I'm free from work also! That means no more excuses to not work on the skirt.

I'm sewing this skirt really one step at a time and I'm beginning to love working that way. Most of the time I'm in a hurry to finish so I can start something new. Now I feel like I'm putting my time and love in this project just to get it as perfect in the end as possible.

Another thing is that I'm thinking more about the process. How to solve problems and how to do things. How I want it to be and what I'd like to change to get there.

And I must say that all your blogs have been the reason why I've started thinking about sewing like this lately. There's so much love for fabric, patterns and the process of sewing out there. It's just such a big, big inspiration. Thanks!

I guess you now want to know where I stand with my skirt, right? Then take a look at this:

(Don't let the machinestitches fool you. I did not take the easy way out. I wouldn't dare!)

I'm at the point where the fun starts: sewing on the embroidery. I had to decide how big I wanted the stitches to be and how far apart from each other. And think of a way to make sure that all the stitches were of the same length.
And this is the solution: I used a big stitch on my machine to use as a guideline. I tried out some different lengths and found one I liked. The dark lines are done with a marker. At the top on the right is the version I like best. On the bottom you see the what it's gonna like like afther the white stitches are removed. The length of the white stitches is 4 mm. The grey stitches will have the length of 2 white stitches, then skip one white stitch, and so on. They will be placed as close to the white stitches as possible.

I used the same stitch-length (obviously....duh!) to sew around hems and slits, 2,5 cm from the edge. The 'point' of the stitches sits also 2,5 cm above the top of the slit. Et voila, my guideline is finished and now I can easily sew the real stitches.

I hemmed the skirt invisible, by hand. I think I've done miles and miles of hemming this way in my life.

This is how I handled the corners at the slits. I'm sure there's a way to do this more couture-like but there will be a lot of coverage from the lining so this will be just fine.
The diagonal and vertical seam is also handsewn but you can't see the stitches.

I have serious doubts about the lining I have bought for this. The fabric of the skirt has quite some stretch and it does really stretch when you put it on. So it's probably better to choose a lining with stretch as well.

So, all in all there's not very much progression, but I should have more time now to work on it. And I will. Step-by-step, with a lot of love.. And after this: a knit dress! Yummie!!

Have a very nice weekend everyone! It's gonna be genuine fall-weather over here, so time to curl up on the sofa under a warm blanket!

Gr.
Lilian

Progress on the skirt

2010-10-15T19:11:00.001+02:00

Today I worked a bit more on my skirt. It's coming along nicely.
But before I tell you about the progress, I'd like to answer Gail's question on my previous post. She asked:

Are there no side seams - hence the zip in the back panel?
A: Thanks for your comment, Gail. No, there are no sideseams. The skirt has only 4 vertical seams and those are the ones you see in the front and the back. The fabric goes around the hip in one piece, so to speak. This means that the zipper has to be placed off-centre.

Of course I made a few obligatory mistakes and some things just didn't work right away. The zipper for example. I'm practising at the moment to sew an invisible zipper but I've only just started so it's not working perfectly. And untill the day it will be, I'm sticking to what I know: an ordinary, good-old-fashioned zipper. It's always a challenge to make it look right. But after two attempts, it's up to my standards and I'm very pleased with it.

The fact that the zipper is at an 'odd' place means it's gonna attract more attention than when it's put in the centre- or sideseam. That's why I was a bit nervous about the outcome. But there was no need to worry. I can see that now.

This is the backside of the skirt. Apart from the zipper on the left side, it's the same as the front. EXACTLY the same, because the patternpieces for the front are also used for the back. You could wear this skirt with the zipper in the front, it wouldn't have any effect on the fit.

I'm pretty chuffed with this perfect seam-matching:

Now I'm gonna focus on the 4 slits. They are of course what this skirt is all about. I'm gonna follow the instruction to put some embellishment around the seam and bought some embroidery yarn, in a colour as close to the colour of the skirt as possible. I want it to be a subtle detail.

So what's next on this skirt's worklist?:

Fold the seamallowance and baste it into place.
Decide how deep I want the slits to be and reinforce the seams at the top of the slits.
Baste around the seam and slits.
Unpick the closed slits
Sew the seamallowances in place. This has to be done invisible, I don't want any stitches clashing with my embroidery of course.
Embroider exactly 2,5 or 3 cm (?? haven't decided yet) along the seams and slits, just like it's done on the model
Prepare the lining. (I want a complete lining for this skirt)
Sew the lining to the topside of the skirt and fold it inwards.
Hem the lining all around and handstitch to the seamallowances of the skirt.
A final pressing....and DONE !

I'm well on my way with this one and I hope I can bring it to the finish. What seemed like a rather simple skirt turns out to be quite a handfull....

Speaking of handfulls:

Let's just say, he approved of the skirt (.......)

Have a nice weekend y'all!!

Gr.
Lilian

Dear skirt, don't make me hate you!

2010-10-11T23:20:00.001+02:00

Finally, this evening, I had some time to start on my skirt. After 1,5 week of very long and exhausting workdays, I was completely ready for some relaxing sewingtime.
The fabric was cut out yesterday so I could start with sewing right away. Here's a little reminder. I'm making version B:

Burda 2010-09 / 106

But...

It took me about half an hour to get my serger threaded. It just wouldn't work and my fingers were quite stiff today which didn't help either. Then, no matter how I changed the tension on the different threads, the serged side kept pulling, making it about 1,5 cm shorter than it should be. After an hour I had only serged the side of one little piece and was far from happy with it. Aarrrgghhh.....
I decided to turn my back on the serger and check out how my sewingmachine behaved with this fabric. (A grey gabardine with a little stretch). No problem there. So I sewed some pieces together, just to make some progress and ironed the seams flat. That looked quite ok and promising. And that's the one and only reason I'm gonna pick up tomorrow where I left today.

I'm still thinking about how I want the lining sewed in. The original pattern calls for a shorter inside with the hem just above the slits, but I want to line the skirt completely. This requires a lot of handsewing around the slits, but that's something I'm not worried about.

Anyway, I'm gonna tackle this skirt, one tiny step at a time and put in all the effort it takes to finish this in a satisfying way.

And if I want to take a break from sewing I can always spend my time watching this:

Signé Chanel (dvd)

It's from the library so it has to leave my house again at some point. But I'm really enjoying it for the time being. It contains the five episodes: 1. Expectation / 2. Doubts / 3. Rituals / 4. Sleepless nights / 5. The collection. An amazing and wonderful insight in the making of the 2004 fall/winter collection. Eye-candy, from finish to start and a big inspiration for everyone who loves to sew.

That's all for now. I hope there will be some positive progress on the skirt soon so I can show you some pics. And there will be some pictures of new fabric as well. Just because you don't have time to sew, that doesn't mean you can't buy fabric. Right?

Gr.
Lilian

KnipMode 2010-02 / 19 Top finished.

2010-10-01T16:47:00.014+02:00

I finished this top today and couldn't wait to show it to you. I'm so happy with it. It's the second time I used this pattern. The first top I made is a winner in my wardrobe. And now it has a twin!! And there is still room for triplets, if you know what I mean, so who can tell what the future will bring.
The fabric is gorgeous. It's one of my Antwerp-purchases (the 'Vincent-fabric', remember?). It feels as soft as melted butter and has a lovely draping-quality. I just lóve working with jersey.

This top is very easy to make and it's a real quick project. That it took me a whole week to make has other reasons, like long days at the office and working at home in the evening till late. When I got up this morning I felt like a wreck and could have stayed in bed the whole day easily, but I chose not to and finished this project. And I'm glad I did. It really gave me back some of my energy.

I'm wearing my favourite piece of jewelry in the picture: "Johnny Walker". Yeah, that's his name.

Isn't he just adorable? He comes with me almost every time I'm wearing something with a V-shaped neckline.

My next project could be this skirt. It's Burda 2010-09 / 106

I'ts been a while since I worked with a Burda-pattern and I'm looking forward to it.
I'll be making it in a grey gabardine and I'm going for the longer (B) version. It will make a great pair with my new top ánd my new black boots. I hope I'll have something to show you soon but I'm afraid the coming week won't be any better than the past one. Ah well, Que Sera, Sera.....

And now for something very, very unimportant....a.k.a. a parting shot:
These two clouds remind me of 2 cones of strawberry icecream, or in other words: of summer, though they are definitely telling us that fall is knocking on our door.

Have a great weekend everyone!

......................

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I know I live not far from a military airport and I do have experience with cargo planes and fighters crossing the sky above me but just moments ago a big cargo plane (or I think it was) flew SICKENING LOW over my house. I had my camera next to my laptop so I grabbed it and ran outside to take pictures. But they don't even begin to show how low it really was. Damn! I'm still shaking.

(Ok....I'm cooled down a bit now......I guess this 'monster' has to take wing also, so I'm keeping my camera close at hand, just in case)

Anyways my sewing-friends, I'm wishing you all a great weekend!!

Gr.
Lilian

One year of blogging!

2010-09-26T14:29:00.000+02:00

Exactly one year ago I started this blog. Not knowing what I was exactly getting myself into or where it would lead, but feeling excited at the same time.

And now I've made it: my 1-year anniversary!
I want to share my festive feeling with you, because without you I would have left this blogworld a long time ago.
So I want to say from the bottom of my heart: Thank you for stopping by, being interested and reading my blog. A special thank you for those who have been so kind to leave comments on my posts. This means more to me than I can tell you. All of them make me feel special and all of you are the reason why I'm blogging. And loving it!

Now I completed my first year I believe it's time for some looking back ánd forward.

How did it start?
I bought my first computer in the fall of 2006. I don't remember how I found my first sewing-blog but it was a real eye-opener for me. I've sewn my own clothes for a great part of my life, but I only met very few people who did this as well. Can you actually believe that?? Well, I'm sad to say it's the honest truth.
So finding all these blogs with enthusiastic, sewing women all over the world was very special and like stepping into sewing heaven. I read all the blogs vigorously, was (and ám) immensely inspirated by them, and slowly started to dream about my own blog. But there were some issues I had to take care of first.

Did I want to go 'public' with my life? With this thought in the back of my mind I studied blogs and came to the conclusion that you could go as much or less public as you like. Ok, so that was no longer a reason to hold me back.
What if noone was interested in my sewing-stories? I put that thought aside quickly because you can only find out by trying.
Than the biggest issue. I did not have a digital camera. I bought a new (non-digital) camera a few years before that (didn't have a computer at that time, so why buy a digital-camera, I thought). But I knew I hád to have one if I wanted to start blogging myself. So I bought one and I never looked back.

Looking forward
I'll definitely go on blogging as I find it still as exciting and fun as when I started.
But with one year of experience in the pocket, are there things I want to change?

Absolutely!!
I want to:

make my posts more interesting for you to read.
sew more so I can post more frequently as I'm totally unhappy with the amount of posts I'm writing now.
upgrade the quality (both technically and esthetically) of my pictures.
write (a bit) more about other things but only in small doses and if possible sewing- or fashion-related, as I want this blog to be about sewing/fashion in the first place. (Maybe some cooking? I've got some lovely recipes which I've been dying to share with you).

Whoa, I've set myself some goals there! I don't know when (and if) I will reach them but I can always try, right? I'll do my best and in the meantime I hope you will 'stay with me' for yet another year.

Happy sewing everyone!

Gr.
Lilian

p.s. Starting a new sewing project today. It should be a quick one. So hopefully news on that very soon.

New fabric

2010-09-19T10:43:00.001+02:00

Yesterday I took a shopping-trip to Antwerp. This summer I discovered a great fabricstore there with lots of gorgeous jerseys (and other fabulous stuff). I just had to go back there.
(If anyone is interested in the address: Joëlle, Dambruggestraat 5a, 2060 Antwerp (Belgium).

I bought two lovely pieces:

This is gonna be a dress. It's the same kind of fabric as this dress is made of and it's wonderful to handle and wear. So I'm looking forward to (making) this dress very much!

This blue one is my favourite. Ít's gonna be a top I also made earlier. Since this top has a lot of drapieness at the neck it has to be a rather thin jersey. I think this is just perfect for it.

And do you know what the print reminds me of?
Paintings of Vincent van Gogh. They remind me of the brushstrokes he used in his paintings. I'm gonna call this 'the Vincent-fabric'.

I'm very glad with these purchases. They're a lot more expensive than the fabrics I usually buy, but as Sigrid pointed out in a reaction on an earlier post, it's definitely worth to spend more money to get better quality. I do have some great garments that looked worn after washing them a few times. That's almost like throwing your money away. So I hope these pieces will stay nice a bit longer.

Other purchases:

This vest came home with me. It's still too warm to wear anything like this, but I'm sure that autumn and winter will be here sooner than we think. (Not looking forward to it though..):

And I discovered a great (new) jewellery-store. I was already on my way back to the trainstation, so I didn't have much time to look around, but I managed to buy these:

Always nice to discover new stores. Especially when you have to say goodbye to others. I'm talking about Zara here. C'mon you guys! When you sell an XL-wintercoat then let it be an XL-wintercoat. When my arm gets stuck in the sleeve I have very serious doubts about that size. Don't pretend to sell clothes for larger people when you don't.
I never, éver managed to find anything in your store that fit, so now I'm officially done with you. Finished.

Then onto the sewing.
Maybe you noticed that on this sewing-blog there's not a lot of sewing going on lately. I've been back to work for 3 weeks now and I only managed to sew 1 item. It's not that I don't have the time. I'm usually home at around 6 and after eating and doing a bit of household-jobs, I'm free to fill in my evenings as I please. So I'm not gonna point at anyone or anything else. It's just that I don't seem to have enough energy to pick anything up. And now I can add an upcoming cold to that, which takes my last bit of energy.

But once I'm back on my feet I'm gonna start on the skirts I've got planned. In my next post I'll lay out my plans for you, right now I'm just not up to it (sniff...cough-cough!!).

Hope you are all doing well.

Gr.
Lilian

KnipMode 2010-09 / 9b Top finished!

2010-09-11T18:05:00.002+02:00

Done!! And happy!

After the little hickup I had in the beginning of this project, everything went smoothly. It didn't take very long to finish. Basically it's a very simple pattern. The sleeves of course are the most interesting part of this top.

These are both top-sleeves with only the elastic attached. If I followed the instructions I should have used a piece of elastic that was (quite a bit) longer than the sleeve itself. Duhh ???
So I had to do the maths myself. But I did rather well I think.

Here you see the sleeve with the pleats basted in place (click twice on picture to get a closer view) and the bottom attached to the top. It's a bit ruffled at the seem but not very much.
When I wear this, the sleeves are not as fluffy as they are on the model in the magazine. Hmmm....probably her upper-arms aren't as fluffy as mine...

I'm proud of the way the elastic is sewed in. You can't even see the stitches at the right side because I managed to 'stitch in the ditch' perfectly...(you gotta love that expression!)

There were a few issues that I would like to point out in case anyone wants to try this pattern:

1. The sleeves are very, very long. Had to take off about 8 cm. Of course this differs from person to person and I don't have very long arms. But usually I get away with the length that's used in the magazine.

2. The waist was very wide. I chose my normal size (44) and usually I have to widen the pattern a bit to make it fit. But now I had to remove 10 cm in width and it's still not very close-fitting.

3. The top is quite short to my taste. I always lengthen a top by 4 to 5 cm, because of my bodylength. I did that this time, but it's still about 4 cm shorter than I usually make it.

4. This top hasn't got darts at the bust. If you're great at altering patterns I would recommend them. You can see in the pictures that there is some excess of fabric at that place.

Now, what's next on the list? I want to sew a skirt but I also want to lose some weight first. In the october magazine of KnipMode there was a beatiful wrap-dress. That could be a great project to start on, but I don't have the fabric for it yet. I think I'm gonna dive into my (petite) stash and see what I come up with. I'll keep you informed, of course.

Parting shot, Lowieke:

I knowzz....I izz super-cute and dazzhingly handsome.

After I wake up, you may cuddle me.

Enjoy your weekend!

Gr.

Lilian

Finally some sewing....and nothing to show for it

2010-09-08T21:35:00.002+02:00

Man...I am só annoyed. I had my homework duties carefully planned this week so I could squeeze in some sewing this evening. After sewing for an hour I realised I had made a mistake.

The top I started last weekend (and wrote about in my previous post) has rather interesting sleeves so I decided to start with those. Try them out, so to speak. If they don't work then there's no need to put time in the rest of the project.

The sleeves have different front- and backpieces. Like 99% of the patterns have.

I cut out both pieces in pairs.....and forgot to switch them so I had a front- and backpiece for every sleeve.
No no, this experienced sewing-lady sewed happily and smiling two front-pieces together. Applied the elastic and pleated the sites of the sleeve. It was then that I realised my mistake: the marks for front and back were the same (where they should be different!!)

I had to take out all the stitches and now I'm back at where I started this evening. And there will be no more sewing before the weekend.

Bummer!!

The good news is that I was pretty happy with the sleeve so far. Happy enough to not give up and try again.

But not today. The rest of the evening I will be reading blogs and I'll get an early night as I'm very tired. (It was a very hectic day. At a certain point I was holding 2 phones to my ears. Ahh...the blessings of a secretary-job..).

Hope your (sewing) time is filled with good things this week!

Gr.
Lilian

Fashion is all around me

2010-09-04T19:02:00.003+02:00

It's a fashion-filled fun day, today.
Because:

1. I received the fabric I ordered.
2. I received KnipMode. (ok, that was yesterday, but who cares...)
3. I discovered a fantastic jersey online-shopping website
4. I finally sewed an underskirt.
5. I traced the pattern for my next project
6. Tonight on TV: "The September Issue"
7. Tonight on TV: "Gosford Park"

1. To start with the fabric:

These are the fabrics for my next projects.
The grey and the darkgreen are gabardines with a bit of stretch, destined to be turned into skirts. The beige/creme stripe is a jersey-knit for a top. I had already washed (preshrinked) them when I remembered I wanted to blog about them, so you are looking at dripping-wet fabric here.

2. KnipMode October 2010 landed in my mailbox yesterday. To me, it's not as great as the september-issue, but it has some nice pieces. I like the vibrant colours that are in fashion now. It's actually a very, very interesting fall-fashion I'm seeing around me. I love to plan ahead (=dream) and think of everything I'm gonna make and perhaps buy. But I don't think I'll end up with a wardrobe full of bright colours. That's just not me. There's no harm in dreaming though.

3. This time, KnipMode had an extra issue of 16 fall-patterns. All made with fabric from a certain brand. I looked for this brand on the internet and stumbled upon a great website: http://www.jerseyfashion.nl/ . (Look for stoffen to search for fabric).
Boy, oh boy, oh boy. If this ain't fabric-heaven! If ever I will be looking for a great jersey (and don't mind the fact that it's a bit more expensive), I'll know where to find it. Sigh....

4. Back in june I sewed a linen skirt which was rather see-through. I decided to make a little underskirt that could be used for other skirts or dresses as well. Today I finally tackled it. It's really not interesting enough to show you a picture or a how-to-make-it. Just very simple: fabric and elastic.
I tried it on with the linen skirt and discovered to my horror that the skirt, which had a perfect fit in june, has now become too narrow. (not due to the underskirt). Grrrrr......I REALLY need to go on a diet now!!!

5. Next project for which I traced and cut the pattern today: KnipMode sept 2010 / 9b:

You see a lot of these draped shoulders and I like them very much. Not sure though how they will turn out in the end. I'm actually preparing myself for a wadder to be honest, but I'll give it my very best and then we'll see.
I just háve to try them, that's all.
The fabric will be the striped jersey you see in the picture above.

6. Yoohooo!! "The September Issue" is on tonight. I'm gonna watch it and record it at the same time. I expect I want to see this one again, and again.

7. And why do I mention "Gosford Park" as part of this fashion-infused day? Well, I haven't seen the movie before but the pictures promise gorgeous fashion. It's situated in the '30's and it's about uber-chic people.

Not to mention it's a star-studded film, full of beautiful people and great actors. Eye candy, baby!
Oh, and if I'm informed correctly there's also a story involved..(whahahaa....).

Well, that's enough fashion for one day. If everything goes to plan I'll start on my top tomorrow.
Next time I'll give you an update and maybe even a finished top.

Gr.
Lilian

Blouse-jacket finished

2010-08-26T17:29:00.000+02:00

Et voilá: the blouse-jacket, nr. 10 from KnipMode June/2010

Between the heavy rainshowers I was able to take a picture outside. The light indoors is really bad at the moment and my camera has a lot of trouble with it. So I'm glad there was a dry moment because the outside pictures are much clearer. The hem looks uneven but that's the effect of the wind blowing up one side.

I kind of like it. I'm not over the moon about it. It's less fitted than I expected it to be. It needs a belt I think. Or not. What do you think?

I'm strongly leaning toward a tie-belt in the same fabric. In that way you can make the jacket more fitted without emphasizing the waist too much.
There is not much waist at the moment. 3 more days and the 'normal' weekroutine returns. Usually I loose the extra vacationpounds in a couple of weeks.

Anyway, back to the jacket. I believe it could also do with a pair of shoulderpads. Just small ones.

I chose in the end to sew only 1 button on each sleeve, and not 2 as the magazine prescribes. I didn't see the sense of 2 and thought it would be a bit too much.

If I remember correctly I promised you to tell about the check-up at the orthopedist last tuesday.
Well, he was very content with how the fingers looked like and with the level of movement.
He wants to see me once more in about 4 months time and then, he thinks, the check-ups can end. I should continue with fysio because he expects it's undoable to do it on my own. THAT'S MY GUY!! Just as I hoped. Altough I do hope also that 4 full months of fysio won't be necessary and that there will be enough improvement before that.

By-the-way, a few nights ago I dreamt I had full movement again. It was insane and weird and wonderful. Then I woke up.... ah well, that's life.

New plans?
So, what's next on my sewing list. Uhmm......not much. I don't have any real plans at the moment. Somewhere in the back of my mind the idea is growing to make another SWAP, fall-inspired this time. I'm still thinking about the colours but I can't seem to make up my mind. Maybe this plan has to ripen a bit more.

I bought the september-Burda last weekend and I saw a few things that I really liked. I already mentionned earlier that the september-issue of KnipMode was very inspiring too. So interesting patterns are not the problem. Just a plan. That's what's lacking at the moment.
I'll clean up the sewingroom because that always helps to clear my sewing-mind and come up with something.

More news on that the next time.

Gr.
Lilian

Blouse-jacket in progress

2010-08-22T18:59:00.001+02:00

Plan was to show you the finished result by now, but I somehow lost a bit of my sewingmojo in the last few days, so there has not been a lot of sewing going on. But before that happened I managed to do a great part of it.
All that's left to do is topstitch all the way around, place the pockets (incl. topstitching), sew on the sleeves, make buttonholes and sew on the buttons, and of course hemming. Oh dear, that does sound like there's still a lot of work to do before I'm done!
Didn't want to let the weekend go by un-blogged though, so here's an update on the blouse-jacket so far:

I'm proud (again) about how the collar turned out. I have avoided this kind of collar for years and years. About 5 years ago I tried it for the first time and it was a succesfull attempt. I was sold. But it's really not a sewing-technique I would recommend to a 'beginner'.

Here are more details of the parts I prepared in advance.

The collar has some kind of stand. Once it was attached to the collar it all made sense. The pocket is easy-peasy. Square. With a flap. (Is that the right word for it?) Can't go wrong there.

I love the buttons. There are supposed to be 2 buttons on the sleeves. I discovered that when I looked very closely at the linedrawing. Lucky thing I've got enough buttons.

And for the Grande Finale: did I already spell it out for you that I'm proud of these?

That's it for now. I'll finish this in the coming week, which is the last week of my summervacation. Stupid thing is that I'm getting more tired every day, instead of feeling all refreshed and ready to start my workingroutine. I suppose that is having an effect on my sewingmojo as well.

Not helping is also the fact that I'm worrying a little (and on a subconscious level, a lot!) about my check-up appointment with the orthopedist on tuesday.

The fingers look ok. The operationwounds have healed without any problems.

But not all of the swelling has gone yet and the area of the scars still feels very weird. Like there's sand and electricity under the skin.
Most worrying for me is the fact that my fingers are still very, very stiff. I try to do my exercises as much as possible and I achieve a certain amount of movement throughout the day. But if I haven't moved my fingers for a while than it just hurts to bend them again. And I'm not even talking about starting up in the morning...
I can't stretch them completely either. Thoug there is definitely an improvement in that area, I'm glad to say.

Afther reading this you probably think it's a wonder I can do any sewing at all. But the thing is that the little movement I've got in those fingers is just what I need to do 95% of the things I would normally do. And thát, my dear readers, is a blessing!

Enough of that! I'll inform you on tuesday what the outcome is. (To be honest, I'm praying for some more fysio-sessions. I don't think I can manage this on my own).

Now it's time to make dinner. What would you say about home-made cajun-chicken and home-made ricepudding with subtropical fruit? Sounds great right? After that, I'll probably spend the rest of the evening lying flat-out on the sofa, haha..

Have a great week everyone!

Gr.

Lilian

New blog design

2010-08-18T02:26:00.004+02:00

That's right. I had enough of the old one. All that black and pastels......brrrr. And the blogspace was waaay too small.

I saw a lot of lovely blog-changes lately and now it was time to change mine. You can get as crazy as you like but in the end I decided to keep it simple. Blue is the theme-colour. My mother always said that I looked great in blue, so now I'm surrounded by it.

Nice one.

I hope you like it too.

Gr.
Lilian

p.s. Started on the jacket today. If everything goes to plan there will be pictures at the end of the week. (Lefthand) fingers crossed!!

Dress finished!

2010-08-16T18:38:00.062+02:00

This dress was finished last week. It turned out just great. It's a pity though that the details just don't show in the picture, because with this dress it is all about the details. So again, here's the linedrawing:

And just as I expected: the fabric was very nice to handle. I think it has lycra in it. If you stretch it you can see some white appearing. Only one thing really challenged my patience, the ruffling in the neck and at the bottom of the collar, where it's attached to the skirt.

At the neck you have to sew a piece of elastic. I think I tried four times before it was acceptable enough.

And then the ruffling at the collar.

I thought I could get away with the normal way: stitching two rows in a loose stitch, in the longest stitchlength. Yeah..right! No way this was gonna work. The fabric just 'ate' the stitches and there was no way I could ruffle this fabric. So after trying a few times (taking the wrong stitches out was a complete nightmare!) I decided on a handmade stitchline and that worked just fine. It's a good thing I came up with this idea because I was about to throw my sewingmachine out of the window (without opening it first, hehe...)

I know, I have little patience, close to non-existing. But hey, that's just me and I have to deal with it. And I dealt with it.

I skipped the waistband. There was more ruffling and I thought that would only add bulk to the side at the waist, so I just made a band, 4 cm wide and long enough to wrap around my waist from front to back and again to front.

Here's another picture. It's a close-up but details are still hard to see. Maybe I should learn a lesson from this: the more details a garment has, the less detailed the print of the fabric should be. (A solid colour would probably be the best choice for this dress):

I want to seize the opportunity to applaud my lockmachine. Working it's way through 7 layers of which 2 were thickly ruffled.

So, a Big Thank You ....... and sorry that I made you try to sew and cut through a needle..... (I don't think it suffered any injuries, it's still working just fine. No thanks to me though. But I suppose this was about to happen at some point.)

Now let's see, do I have anything else to tell you. Oh yesss, I went to the local market this morning and I bought 3 pieces of fabric for just 5 euro's. Now if that's not a bargain!! And here they are:

This one is great for a summerblouse. The white is actually more of a soft-creamy colour.

This is perfect for a fall-blouse.

This is the fun-fabric of the three. I immediately had a vision of a Dickensian nightshirt like this one. Don't know if there will be enough fabric left to make that nightcap though. Nah, just kidding.

Now it's time to cook some dinner. I'm getting rather hungry and there's also a four-legged furball who needs to be fed.

Talk to you all next time.

Gr.

Lilian

Quick, cute and girlish

2010-08-11T20:21:00.004+02:00

My quick-project blouse is finished. And quick it was. Considering this is the fourth time I'm using this pattern, it's not very surprising.
Two times this pattern was used for a blouse with long sleeves and two times with short sleeves. (Click here for the version with long sleeves). I love the way the little sleeves have a few details. The rest of the blouse is rather simple.

When I had sewed on the buttons there were 2 spare ones. I got a great idea and decided to use them on the sleeves. Now it looks like the fold is held in place by the button. It's not, but it somehow uplifts the effect of the fold. It's a nice finishing touch and I love it. I love the whole blouse as a matter of fact. (I also want to say that it's cute and girlish and.....ok, that's enough..)

Now let's hope there will still be more sunny, warm days to wear it.

In the meantime I started on the dress I wrote about in the previous post. I have a few more hours tonight, maybe I'll be able to finish it. It will be the 'star' of my next post. I love it so far, but this wasn't always the case when making it. Well, more about that the next time.

Yesterday I went shopping in Antwerp with a friend. We decided to browse the little streets we never go to and boy am I glad we did! I discovered a fabricstore with great fabric. Just 500 metres from the railway-station. Outside was a box with remnants and I couldn't help myself. I brought these cuties home with me:

It's such a shame that the camera doesn't catch the real colours. They're much more vibrant in real life.

Apart from the Chanel-lookalike (which is surprisingly thin) they're all summer-fabrics. And I actually don't want to make anything for the summer any more so they will probably be hibernating till next year... (but I can always change my mind right?)
I'm definitely ready for autumn-sewing now. The september-issue of KnipMode didn't disappoint, I repeat: DID NOT disappoint at all!!
Here's just a pick of a few garments I like, but there are definitely more of them:

Aren't they just great?! So maybe I'll renew my prescription after all.
I wonder though what Burda will have in store for us.

Gr.
Lilian

Summervacation - Definitely time for New Plans

2010-08-06T18:59:00.001+02:00

Yes, it's finally here! 3 weeks long, time to relax and do whatever I feel like doing. Ain't that just wonderful!

But first I wanna thank everyone for wishing me well with my sprained ankle.
On sunday I was already doing a lot better and on monday I could walk normally again so I guess I have been lucky this time.

Now, back to the vacation.
I definitely want to do some sewing and I have a few plans already. I bought the fabric a week ago but forgot to prewash it so I had that done today.
But as I just couldn't wait for the fabric to be dry again (I´m not using a machine to dry my fabric), I thought I could just as well pop in a little sewingproject I have been thinking about a lot lately: I want to make just one more summerblouse. Just for the fun of it.

I cut out the fabric today and if I put my mind to it I should be able to show you the finished result in a few days time. I´m gonna let that one be a surprise, ok?

Let's talk about New Plans

KnipMode - June 2010 / 10

I think the style of this jacket is so darn cute. The fabric I'm gonna use for it has a bit of linen in it and a bit of stretch. The colour is creamy-beige and it will combine great with a lot of other colours. Here's a picture which doesn't show the colour very well (as usual...sigh), but gives you a good idea of what the fabric looks like:

On to the next one. Because I liked all three GORGEOUS dresses, I took a picture of them together, but for now I'm choosing number 21:

KnipMode - July 2010 / 21

And this is the fabric. It's a jersey. Not lightweight. It's the kind that hangs better on your body because it's a bit heavier. I just love the feel of it.

Ok, ok, the print is something you have to get used to. Maybe this patchwork-paisleyish design is not to everybody's liking, and I admit that when I left the shop, I wasn't quite sure I had made the right choice. But at this point I'm very pleased with it. You could say that the love is growing. I can see myself wearing this in the fall as well, with a long-sleeved shirt underneath and some great boots. Yes, I have great hopes for this one.

If the mail is delivered correctly today, than the september-issue of KnipMode is waiting for me in my mailbox.
The october-issue will be the last one I will receive on my current prescription. Maybe I will renew my prescription right away. Let's just see what september has to offer. If it's good, I'll go for it. If it's not than maybe I will go back to buying issues every now and then.

Having written this I'm too curious to wait any longer so I'm gonna check my mailbox right away. I'll talk to you about it later, ok?

For now, have a lovely weekend/vacation everyone!

Gr.
Lilian

Oops....I did it again

2010-07-31T17:37:00.002+02:00

My dress is finished. And I had big plans of showing It to you while I was wearing it.
But yesterday I had a little accident. I sprained my ankle.

I was on the bottom step of the stairs, fooling around with the cat who was at the top. We had a lot of fun. But when I turned around to walk away I forgot that I was still on the first step and my foot landed in the wrong way. I thought I heard a sound in my ankle and for a moment I was afraid something was broken. But I could still stand on it and walk with it, actually without any extra pain, so I decided not to see a doctor. But later that evening, after resting for a few hours, I got up from the couch and it was very painful to walk on. The pain stayed while I was not moving. So I feared the worst. Luckily this morning the pain had gone for 90%.
Walking is still difficult so I just didn't feel like getting all dolled up for a picture. I'm sure you'll understand. The 'blue Lady' was so nice to step in for me, again.

First a little reminder of how the dress looks like:

Here's a picture of the dress, from the front and the back (I don't know if it works on your computer but if you double-click on pictures you get a closer view)

It turned out just great. On the inside I sewed elastic on the waistline. I was afraid of a bit of gaping in the front so I just sewed the rightside-front on top of the leftside, from where the crossed lines meet to the waistline. And hey...problem solved.

And while were at it, here are a few more detail-pics. The fabric is a bit shiny. I like that. It makes the cotton look a bit more stylish. You can see that in the next picture.

A great dress for hot summerdays. I'm not sure I'll be wearing this a lot in the coming period. Right now it's not very summery here. It's raining and not very warm. But if necessary I'll store it gladly for next year. No problemos. I can wait.

This was truly a very satisfying, easy and quick project. The pattern is definitely a keeper for (summer)times to come.

Now onto the next project. I'm not sure yet. I bought some lovely fabric for a knit-dress. I also bought fabric for a short-sleeved jacket. It's hard to decide but I'm leaning a bit towards the dress. I'll think about it some more and let you now what I'll decide in the next post.

For now, have a great weekend everybody (and be careful on the stairs....)

Gr.

Lilian

Summer-dress (KnipMode May/2010 - 13a)

2010-07-24T21:19:00.016+02:00

This is what I'm working on at the moment:

(pictures from the KnipMode may 2010 magazine)

This is a nice, stylish picture, but it doesn't really show the dress. So here's the linedrawing to get a better idea of the construction of the dress:

I chose a plus-size pattern this time. I am so lucky to have a size 44. That means in KnipMode I can choose from all the patterns, because the 'normal' patterns include size 44 and the plus-size patterns start with 44. Lucky me!

Only 1 detail of the dress goes missing in the picture: the skirt has a slit in the back. And there's elastic sewed at the inside of the waist.

This is the fabric I'm using:

The scissors are placed in the picture to give you an idea about the size of the flowers. It's a thin cotton. I'll be wearing a camisole underneath but I have to wait and see how see-through the skirt is gonna be. If it's too much I can always wear an underskirt.

Can you believe I discovered just now, while placing the picture of the fabric in this post, that there are butterflies in the print (in the middle on the leftside) ? I never noticed before. Sweet!

I'm cheating quite a bit with this dress because I'm using (self-drafted) facings for the neckline and the armholes.
Not what the original construction calls for. They have you cut out the top part (above the gatherings) twice so you can use one part to finish of the neckline and the top-part of the armholes. The rest of the armholes is finished with small strips of fabric. It seemed so much hassle to me and I don't want this to be a complicated dress. (Allright, I'll be honest with you: I didn't understand the sewing-instruction). I'm sure if I do it my way it will look nice too.

I hope I will be able to work on this dress in the coming days so that I can show you the finished result in the next post.

Did I mention that in two weeks my summer-vacation starts? Only 8 more days of work. I'm still not in the holiday-mood though. Can't tell you why that is, but I'm sure it will come any day now. (I hope it will: the anticipation is part of the fun right?)

Have a nice weekend/vacation everyone!

Gr.
Lilian

New sewing-plans, coming soon in your theatre...

2010-07-20T23:37:00.000+02:00

Just a short message to let you know I'm still here.
Sewing has been slow, or should I say non-existing?
The reason? I think the hot weather we've been experiencing lately has a lot to do with it. And being tired all the time. Last weekend, during 3 days, I think I slept 50% of the (day!)time. But it did me good so I don't see it as waisted time.

Anyway, new plans are on the way. I'm not aiming too high after this short sewing-break. It will be a simple, summery-dress. I've got to make a fast move or else there won't be any time left to enjoy any new summerclothes. It feels like fall is just around the corner. I get that feeling too when I read all your blogs. There's already a lot of fall-planning going on, and I must say: I LIKE THAT A LOT. I love summer but when it comes to clothes I just love the transition from thin, frilly clothes to the more dressy style of autumn-clothes. All in due time....

And as for a short update on my fingers, it's not going as well as I had hoped. Fysio has helped me to move (bend and stretch) my fingers a bit more, but the last few weeks it feels like they become sore and very sensitive with all this bending and stretching, which makes it more difficult to do so. I even lost some of the movement I had gained and that's the most disappointing thing.
It's actually quite frustrating at the moment. I'm still having fysio and mid-august I (still) have (to make) a check-up appointment in the hospital, so we'll see how things are going then. Hopefully a bit better.

O..and if anyone's interested, Holland lost the finals to Spain. Well, that's life eh. Now let's move on.

In a few days I'll show you a picture of my dress-to-be and the fabric I'm gonna use for it. I really want to catch up on sewing and blogging because I've been a lazy bone lately. But I'm sure I had my (unclear) reasons for that so I hope you will forgive me ;-)

Talk to you again soon!

Gr.
Lilian

It's final(s)

2010-07-06T23:20:00.000+02:00

(non-sewing topic, sorry, feel free to skip)

Ok. That's decided. Holland will play in the finals of the World-championship Soccer, after a 3-2 win against Uruguay this evening.

Now, let me tell you...... these are NOT my colleagues.

But they COULD BE my colleagues.

You have no idea how full the air was with nerves and stress in the office today.

You have no idea how crazy a soccer-loving-nation can get.

You have nó idea. Or you must be a real soccer-loving person yourself.

Which I'm not. But I'll smile along happily.

But still. Well done guys!! I don't know much about football (as we call it) but I think you are a great, great team and you deserve to be in the finals.

And sunday-evening......we will know.

Gr.

Lilian

Flouncy Top (KnipMode/may 2010 - 7b)

2010-07-03T23:05:00.002+02:00

I had my eye on this pattern for quite some time. Then things were put on hold (as you may know by now). But it seems I'm back in the game!
It turned out just like I hoped. It's a fairly easy pattern and it should be a quick project but I always manage to mess things up. But I took my time to correct my mistakes and I'm glad I did because this top has turned out quite beautiful.
The flouncy sleeves give it a bit of a chic feel.
This is the linedrawing. I opted for the b-version oviously:

Here are some detail-pics. (Excuses for the fold-lines in the fabric. I hadn't ironed it yet when I took this pictures).

I had to make an alteration to the neckline. The original pattern is way to wide for my not-so-broad shoulders. That meant I had to change the flounce as well at the point where it's fastened to the neckline.
For that I first drew the original line of the flounce-neckline. Then I placed the front- and backpiece of the top with the new neckline, on the drawing of the flounce and changed the lines of the flounce accordingly.

The curved line at the bottom is the original neckline, at the top I drew the new (front and back) neckline. As you can see the lines don't meet in the middle. Which is quite logical as I narrowed the width of the neckline. To solve that I folded the pattern to remove the surplus and make the two lines meet again. It worked perfectly.

Ending one project means there's room for new plans. I'm not sure yet what I'll be making next.
I received the new KnipMode (the august-issue) yesterday and it has quite some cute patterns. But then there are so many old Burda's and KnipModes to choose from, I just haven't decided yet.

Next time, I'm sure I'll be updating you on new plans or maybe even some project in progress. We'll see.

Gr.
Lilian

Sunny Sunday in Volendam (picture-heavy)

2010-06-28T19:54:00.002+02:00

Sunday I took a trip with a friend and her husband to Volendam. A little town in the Netherlands which is known abroad for its local costumes and folklore. But known in the Netherlands mainly for the neverending list of musicians, singers and groups that originate from this town.

Anyway, they are known (and famous) mostly in our country.

It was a very sunny and warm day but since Volendam is a port-town there's always a nice sea-breeze to cool it down a bit. And I used a great (new) sunblock-cream. No red skin on my body!! Which is a good (and healthy) thing.

Only once a year they have a weekend with special Volendam Celebrations. We didn't know it was held this weekend, so we were very lucky. It meant much more costumes on the street then on other days, lovely live music, choirs and lots of other festivities. Of course I took pictures.

Here's an impression:

Typical houses

Want a boat? Anyone??

View from the terrace where we had our (first) coffee.

Getting ready to perform in a choir.

Sun, see and a tiny bit of sand.

Just like a post-card.

The IJsselmeer (IJssel-lake)

3 guys. Doing nothing. Just looking to their right.

Houses, just behind the dike.

Posing for the camera.

Choir, performing.

After we finished our visit to Volendam we made a short visit to Edam. A town which lies only a few kilometres away. It has a more historical towncentre and is very beautiful. We didn't stay long there. Just long enough for a short walk and a drink.

2 x Edam

My friend. Mistaking an Edammer Cheese for a bowling-ball..

Parting shot:

(Parked car). Confident driver, dare-devil? Or just not aware of the fact that his car is about to be baptized?

We had a fun day!!

I was very, very tired at the end but it was definitely worth it.

And how about sewing??

At the moment it's really too hot to do any sewing so I don't have any updates I'm afraid. Plans? Yes. But nothing yet to show for it.

So for the time being I'm filling this blog with other summery stuff but don't worry. I'll be back!

Gr.

Lilian

10 reasons why it's a good day!

2010-06-25T11:03:00.001+02:00

1. I'm free from work. (Switched my regular day off, from monday to friday).

2. The sun is shining and it's warm! Summer is finally here!

3. I'm planning on putting my feet up outside in the shade, with a cold drink, a great book I'm reading at the moment and leaving all the worries of the world behind me.

4. I have a lot of household-things to take care of but, WHO CARES, first I'm gonna pick up my skirt and finish it!

5. I had my 2nd fysio-appointment this morning and had a reassuring talk!

6. If it's not too hot on sunday I have a daytrip planned with a friend and her husband, to Volendam! (Pictures promised)

7. Holland got through to the 1/8-finals in the world-championship-soccer.

8. After several attempts to fix the tube of my bike, I called the bike-shop, they took care of it and now my bike is finally repaired. And it's great weather to make a tour. (I could do with the exercise!!)

9. My sewing-mojo is returning slowly but surely! I want to buy tons of fabric and that's a good sign!

10. I'm just so happy to be back on the road to recovery.

Sending you all a sunny smile and wishing you a great weekend!!!

Gr
Lilian

Light at the end of the tunnel: Sewing again!

2010-06-20T13:48:00.001+02:00

(Warning 1:
if you scroll down there are pictures of my hand which had surgery 4 weeks ago. Just saying...)

(Warning 2:
if you don't scroll down you'll miss out on my latest sewing-update. Just saying... ;-)

That's right. I'm sewing again! Slowly but surely. Wich means I'm doing a lot better. And I'm sure all your best wishes and sending smiles has helped a lot. Thank you for that !!!

Last thursday I had a new appointment in the hospital. The orthopedist said it all looked ok. The x-ray showed that one of the fractures had healed completely and the other was almost there. Enough to start with fysiotherapy.
And thát was all I was hoping for. So monday morning I have my first appointment with the fysiotherapist. 2 to 3 times a week, for 8 weeks!

At this stage my fingers are curved with no possibility whatsoever to stretch them. I'm not making a fist yet either. But it's amazing how many things you can do when your fingers are in a position like this: type, (a bit of) sewing, a lot of household-stuff, and even driving my car with the use of the other fingers and the palm of my hand.
But right now, I can only imagine my fingers being able to stretch or my hand to make a fist, if they break the bones again. Well, I'm sure there are other ways to get back to full use of my hand.
☺☺☺

This is what the damage looks like right now. The secondpicture shows the maximum position in which I can bend them:

(By-the-way: the background is a cute skirt I sewed a few years ago).

And talking about sewing cute skirts:

This is what I've been sewing on yesterday. I started this on the day I injured myself and now I'm finally able to pick it up again. Apart from hemming it, it's finished but I couldn't wait to show it to you. It's made in linen so it's rather wrinkled:

front

back

Just a fun summer-skirt. I think I will make this again in a cute cotton-fabric.
There are so many plans I put aside for the past weeks but now they're all popping up again. And there's a lot of fabric waiting for me. I feel blessed I'm back in this stage where I'm able to look forward again.

I hope I will be posting more regularly now and talking a lot more about sewing and a lot less about medical things. I have been warned by the orthopedist that the fysio will cause an increase of swelling and pain so posting might be slow at times.

But I promise you more sewing in the near future. And I never lost track of your blogs. I've been following them all the time. A bit jealous at times for not being able to 'take part' but on the other hand they were very inspiring. As always.

More later.

Gr.
Lilian

Update on my sewn fingers

2010-06-06T13:06:00.004+02:00

Thank you so much, you guys, for leaving such sweet and encouraging comments on my last post. I needed them so badly, they were more than welcome and absolutely heartwarming.

This is just an update to let you know how I'm doing.
Well, let's just say that it's a bumpy ride. Not in a medical sense. I think my injuries are very common and the treatment is not that specacular. Today it's been two weeks since I had surgery on my fingers. It's just what's happening between my ears that's making this period feel like a ride in a rollercoaster.

In the beginning things looked quite promising, considering the circumstances. As I told you in my previous post I had a plaster-bandage for about 24 hour. Then I had surgery and got this bandage:

They told me this could be removed and replaced by a simple bandage on both fingers in just two days, like this:

So 2 days after the surgery I had a look at my operated fingers and was not glad. They were very swollen and the stitches looked like they were gonna burst. my middle-finger looked like it was dislocated at every joint. But two days after surgery...what else can you expect right? I was ever so glad I got rid of the thick bandage and my hand felt free again.
After 3 days I had another visit to the docter. Still very swollen but looking a tiny bit better.

6 days after that (that was last thursday) I had an appointment in the hospital with the orthopedist. The stitches were removed, which is a good thing of course. He looked at my fingers and said: they still look rather swollen, than he looked at the x-ray that was made after surgery and decided that I needed another 2 weeks of curved fixation of my fingers.

So instead of going home with instructions to train my fingers to get them moving again I got a sweaty and tight bandage again. after that I went to the office (I had already been working for 3 days which gave no problem apart from being a bit slower in typing of course). I had to tell the disappointing news that recovery of the use of me hand was postponed for at least two weeks.

That evening it went wrong. The bandage felt much too tight. there was no way i could move my fingers and it felt sweaty between them. My ringfinger was slightly pushed sidewards which didn't feel right. And that's where the 'between-the-ears" thing began. I was the entire evening on the verge of a nervous breakdown and knew that I was never able to go through this for two weeks. the next day I went back to the hospital and they gave me this, a finger splint, which feels múch nicer.

I can move my fingers almost as much as is posible. But thats very minimal still. (The reason my fingers have to be curved has to do with the forefinger which was dislocated. Apparently, if I stretch that finger now there's a chance it could get dislocated again). They recommended to try and move them a bit. I feel like I can breath again. But I'm afraid to hope for good news on the next appointment, just because I'm afraid to be disappointed again.

Now I can move my fingers a bit more, there's more discomfort than before, but I guess that's just normal.

Conclusion of this post is that my reaction on the (too) tight bandage freaked the hell out of me. It's all very irrational but it was oooh so real. I felt like crying but I couldn't. I sat rocking on the couch back and forth like I was mad. I couldn't watch tv or read (didn't feel like distraction at all!!), my appetite for food was completely lost. I didn't breath properly. I felt completely lost and out of control. Like my whole being was caved in and couldn't find a way out.

Did anyone of you have a similar experience like this and did you know how to handle this?
I would love to hear, because if this happens again.....

I hope no-one will think of me as a cry-baby now. I can be pretty tough if I have to. Maybe that's why I'm so shaken by my reaction.

Well, this was not a very cheerful post I'm afraid. Hopefully the next one will be a bit brighter.

Gr
Lilian

p.s. And still no sewing I'm afraid.

No sewing / blogging for a while

2010-05-26T12:30:00.000+02:00

Last saturday evening I fought with gravity....and lost.

In other words, I made a nasty fall which ended with two broken fingers. At first they gave me a plaster-bandage. After that they made an x-ray to see if everything was in the right place. Then they decided to put pins in both fingers, so I had surgery on sunday.
Now I'm at home recovering. There has been no unbearable pain and it's getting better every day, so I guess that's a lucky thing. Let's hope it stays that way.
Another lucky thing is that I injured my right hand, and I'm left-handed, so..

But there will be no sewing for a while as you definitely need both hands for that. I had just started a red linen summerskirt saturday. It makes me so sad to look at it now but maybe I should look upon it as a goal: one day soon I'm gonna finish you !!

One thing is for sure, I'll never take the functioning of my hands for granted any more.

I hope you are all well and hope to talk to you again soon.

Gr.
Lilian

Pictures, as promised.

2010-05-14T14:25:00.020+02:00

It took a trip to the shoe-store (what a punishment!) to buy the shoes I knew would match perfectly with these outfits, and ignoring a headache that's been going on for three days now, but a promise is a promise. So, after making four peaces I have 4 outfits to show you. The striped-pattern of the skirt is a bit of a blur. If you click on the pictures you get a better view:

I definitely see the advantages of sewing with a plan. And it doesn't have to end here. You can think of other pieces (already made/bought or still to be made/bought) that could be added to this mini-wardrobe. And that's so much fun.

The shoes were something I had set my mind on some time ago. When I was shopping in early spring I saw that there were a lot of blue shoes and it only took a second for me to decide that I wanted them too. Gorgeous!
Here are some detail-pics:

L * O * V * E

What's not to ~~like~~ love, right?!

I did some fabric-shopping on the internet yesterday and in a moment I'll be off to buy some more in my favourite shop. (Nothing beats feeling and seeing the fabric in real life..).
If I don't have any sewing pictures in the nearby future than at least I can show you the fabric and tell you about my plans.

Wishing you all a great weekend!!

Gr.
Lilian

The only fabric I'm handling right now are tissues...(cough..cough...)

2010-05-09T18:23:00.001+02:00

Sorry, no pictures of swap-oufits yet. I'm sick because of a cold. It always knocks me down a few days.
I'm trying my best to be better enough to go to work next tuesday. We have a very short week (2 days) and there's work for 5 days. So I'm trying to get as much rest as possible.

In the meantime it's fighting over who get's the blanket on/and the couch.

I'll beat him to it the next time. Which is now!

Gr.
Lilian

SWAP is DON*E and I'm free to step into the future

2010-05-05T18:43:00.010+02:00

That's right. The last piece of my swap is finished. It came out beautiful. The fit is sooo right. There was a reason why I sewed this item last. Most of the times when I sew pants the fit is not good. There's a lot of wrinkling and pulling in the crotch-area. I tried a few things to adjust the pattern but they never worked out right. For this project I decided on a fairly easy adjustment.
I added 2 cm, back and front, like this:

That way the crotchline lowers 2 cm as well and that seems to make all the difference. The problems I was expecting didn't occur. This is gonna be my standard alteration from now on. I'm so glad this one worked out. I suck at pattern-alterations, big time!
But this gave me a lot of courage to start sewing more pants.

Here's the result:

front

Back

It sits quite high on the waist, which I love. I hate low-waisted pants. Just don't have the bodyshape for it. Actually, it's my tummy that hates it. It just can't decide wether it's supposed to be tucked in or to lie on top of the waistband. (Hate it!)

This height is much better.

By-the-way, it's almost impossible to see but there are pockets as well. Click here to see the linedrawing.

Finishing these pants means I have 4 outfits to show you!!!
But that'll have to wait untill the next time. I'm sorry, but tomorrow work starts again and I really have to do some household- / laundry-duties now. I've been neglecting them for the sake of sewing but now it's time to look them in the eyes.

Ending my SWAP means I'm free to start looking at other sewing-projects. I don't think I'll be doing a SWAP again in the near future. After number two I already felt restricted. (I knew if I would sew other things in between that it would take me forever to finish, so I had to stick to the original plan).

Knip-mode
A few weeks ago it was secretaries-day (I work as an executive-secretary) and as a gift I received a voucher with which I can get a subscription to a magazine. There were a lot of magazines to choose from but it only took me 1,3 seconds to find my favourite one: Knip-Mode.
I will receive 5 monthly issues, starting this weekend. Can't wait!!! It comes just in time now that I'm ready for new things. And boy, am I ready!

If all goes well I promise to post pictures of my outfits this coming weekend.
So hopefully till then.

Gr.
Lilian

SWAP-piece #3 finished: Burda blouse (a.k.a. troublemaker)

2010-05-03T15:53:00.006+02:00

And some more detail shots:

Ooops !!

I'm glad this troublemaker is finished. Yes, I'm afraid to say that it was not much fun to make this blouse. While sewing it there were so many issues that I even don't know where to begin. But the major problem is that the stitches are pulling. I don't know where the problem lies. I tried to use a looser stitch on my machine but it still produced wonky seams, while the stitches in the back were almost loopy.

Ironing it didn't do it any good either. Result: more wonky seams. You think I'm exaggerating? Then take a look at the next picture. Ok, it's made with the most unflattering light possible, and the effect in normal light is quite different as you can see in the previous pictures, but for a freaky perfectionist like me, this is heartbreaking.

At one point, I was sewing the collar with stand on, and I had to redo certain parts again and again, I was só frustrated I threw my blouse on the table, left my sewing-room in a tantrum, and while descending the stairs I really wondered why the hell I sew. Why not just buy nice things, ready made, and just look beautiful without all the hassle. Why-O-Why???

After about 15 minutes this mood started to fade away and I was already beginning to think about solutions for the problems that were occurring.

Don't we just bounce back like nothing else eh ??!!

Don't get me wrong about the blouse itself. I love it and there's a big chance I'll be making it again in another fabric, but I first have to solve the stitch-problem!!

Now it's finished it looks ok and I'm really pleased with it. It is a rather shine-through fabric so I will have to wear something like a little camisole or something underneath. But that's a problem that can be fixed.

Having survived this ordeal, I think I deserve some time off from sewing.

I'm gonna make myself a nice cup of coffee now and hide under a blanket on the sofa with a nice book.

See y'all again soon.

Gr.

Lilian

P.S. I got a tip, maybe you can use it:
When you are topstitching close to the side and you have to turn a corner, sometimes the fabric won't move, which causes bad stitching in the corner.
If you pull a piece of thread through the fabric at the corner, you can use that to pull the fabric while you stitch. Here are three pictures to show you what I mean:

Pull thread through corner

When turned around the corner, help to make the fabric

transport by pulling the thread to the back

Tadááááá

A skirt fit for a queen

2010-04-30T12:41:00.004+02:00

I got your attention there, didn't I ??
But no, the skirt I have finished and am about to show you later in this post, is not worth a definition like that. It's great to mé but not something fit for, let's say, a queen.

Then why this title?

queen Beatrix

I'ts Queens-Day in our country (and in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba). Today we celebrate our royal family, and they are celebrating with us by visiting a few towns which have organised special festivities. These trips are broadcasted on national television. Actually everywhere in the country there are outdoor queens-day activities. Thé place to be is probably Amsterdam. And not unimportant: everyone has a day off!

I do watch the television but only to see what all our princesses, and especally our crown-princess Máxima, are wearing, haha. Yeah, pretty shallow, I know.

Máxima is always very fashionable and has surprised us more than once with her outfits. I mean, you gotta love this:

or this:

or maybe this:

Sigh.........I wish I was a princess.....
No, not really of course.

I wonder if and how her outfits will change once queen Beatrix abdicates and Máxima's husband, prince Willem-Alexander, becomes king. Maybe in a few years time we'll know.

So. That's the link to the (rather silly) title of this post.
But we came here to see the skirt, right?

As I am a bit lazy today I didn't feel like dressing up for a picture so I asked 'The Blue Lady' if she would be so kind to pose for a picture. And she did.

I love this skirt. The fit is great and it has a real spring-feel to it. And that's about all I can tell about it. A great piece to add to my wardrobe and a nice addition to my mini-swap. I'm halfway now, two more garments to sew!

I'm enjoying the first day of a 6-day minibreak and I plan on sewing my next swap-piece, which is the white blouse, and after that the trousers and then I'm done.

Hope you are all (about to) have a great weekend with lots of sewing fun!

Gr.
Lilian

SWAP-piece # 2 in progress: Burda Skirt

2010-04-25T14:26:00.004+02:00

First of all I'd like to thank everyone who left a kind birthday-wish at my last post! You are so sweet!!

Now, onto the skirt I'm currently making (Burda 04/2006-103). It's coming along just fine. I hope to finish it tomorrow. It only needs to be hemmed, so.... Today it's too nice outside to stay indoors so after finishing this post I'm gonna take up the book I'm reading at the moment and spend some relaxing time outside!

At this stage I only have some construction-pictures. Just to give you an idea of the ins and outs of this skirt. It's very basic and the pleat is the only real feature in it but it's the first time I'm sewing this kind of pleat so it's new and interesting to me. (By the way, the fit is great, I'll show you when it's finished of course !).

First, one more (and last) time, the linedrawing:

And now some pictures:

This is not the kind of fabric you should use (or wear for that matter) when you're having a headache. At first the lines were dancing before my eyes but now it seams I'm used to it.

The inside at the front. As you can see, the pleat is formed by placing a rectangular piece of fabric against the folds of the midcenter seam, attaching them at the sides and at the top with V-shaped stitching. These stitches go through the rect. piece and the folds, but don't show at the right side.
The hem of the rectangular piece is already folded and handbasted in this picture.
I didn't follow the instruction to use lining. This kind of fabric doesn't need any. So I just made a facing at the top and finished it that way. Perfect solution.

Darts and zipper in the back. Not an invisible one, but placed almost invisible. I haven't mastered the skill of sewing an invisible zipper yet. Oh, who am I kidding? I never even tried to sew an invisible zipper. (I'm terrified just thinking about it!!)

Here you see the bottom of the pleat. The vertical seams at this part are not sewed all the way down. First the skirt has to be hemmed at all places, and then you can finish the seams at the side of the pleat.
I still have to figure out how to do this so it looks neatly finished. There is something in the instructions about folding corners but I don't quite get that. Let's see if I can find some inspiration/solution on the internet.

Well, that's it for now guys.
It all takes ~~a bit~~ way much longer than I would like it to, and I'm actually jealous to see how much you are all accomplishing sewing-wise, but I'm just doing it at the pace that's appropriate for my life at this moment.
And maybe if I eliminate the 'have to sew'-factor, then the 'want to sew'-factor will return again. And that would be more than nice!

Sewing should be fun and not a 'tour of duty'. Don't you think so?

So bear with me, I'm not blogging nearly as much as I want to, but I hope you have patience with me.

Thanks for that.

Gr.
Lilian

Happy Birthday to meeeeee !

2010-04-19T10:35:00.010+02:00

Yes dear ladies and sirs, today is my birthday! My 44th to be precisely.
I already had family and friends over yesterday to celebrate, but I still feel like a birthday-girl today. The text-messages, emails and phonecalls are still coming in. I feel bright and cheerful and I like to share that feeling.
So here goes:

Everyone out there, being today's birthday-girl or boy, I hope you have a wonderful time with friends and family. Forgetting our diets for one day and enjoying all the good things life is giving us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!!

Gr.
Lilian

SWAP-piece #1 finished

2010-04-11T15:54:00.008+02:00

Today I finished the first piece of my mini-swap.

Although I tried it on during the sewing-proces when the fit was just fine, today when I checked the fit it felt like a bag around my body. I didn't understand. This is a TNT for me and the 2 previous tops I made fit alright. I blamed the fabric for it's a bit sturdier than the viscose-jersey the 2 other tops are made of. But then I saw what had happened...or rather, what hadn't happened. I totally forgot to sew darts in the backpiece. Oh dear! I was glad I found out what the problem was and after adding the darts the fit is great.

When I finish all four pieces I'll show you the outfits in a more polished way.

Next up?
Skirt - Burda 04/2006-103
In this fabric:

And now, for some (much needed!!!) relaxation:

Parting shot:

I emptied this basket yesterday and His Royal Laziness didn't take a minute to jump in it and try it out.
I know cats have flexible bones but if you could see how he's rolled up like a little sausage I don't understand how he can be comfortable. Most of the time at least 2 legs are sticking out because there's not enough room in the basket. But he is enjoying it, I guess. He's lying in it at this very moment and it doesn't look like he's planning on leaving soon.

Bye for now, hope to talk to you again soon.

Gr.
Lilian

SWAP-piece #1 in progress: Burda Knit Top

2010-04-03T18:01:00.002+02:00

The four pieces of my mini-SWAP are finally getting their place in the sun. Starting with the knit top. Next I'll show you some pictures of the sewing progress. It's nearly finished. I only have to put in the sleeves so I guess another half hour and it'll be a wrap. But since there'll be no more sewing today and I just hád to blog (where did the weekdays go? why didn't I have time to blog then?) I couldn't wait for the sleeves. Anyway, it's fun to see not only the finished garment but also the steps of getting there. At least that's what I think.

This is the stage where I put the pleats in place and basted them. And the facing is attached, going all the way around. From the waist down there are 3 layers of fabric. (Do you recognise the Burda? 10/2008. It is one of the better ones in my collection and it contains the pattern for this top).

This fabric is quite thick. I wanted to avoid bulkiness at the frontseam, as there are two layers of fabric in the front. So I left the sideseams open at the end, I cut off 4 cm. (see the white markings) of the inner frontlayer and then finished the sideseams.

After that I hemmed the top by folding the frontlayer 3 cm. over the innerlayer, which layer now lays flat in the hem. The result is just what I was going for. Can you believe I figured this out all by myself? Wow, I'm learning as I go.

This is as far as I've gotten until now. It fits great, so in anticipation of the finished garment, I'm already very, very happy with this top.

The patternpiece of the front is cut out off grain. Probably to make the effect of the pleats more 'flowy'. In this picture you can see just how off grain it is.

If only the pictures would show you the right colour. It's so hard to get it right. So I kept taking photographs until I nailed it. And of course the most rubbish picture does it best. So just for the sake of the right colour and don't mind the mess: the scratches of fabric in the following picture are exactly right, colourwise. Quite different from the lightblue of the previous photo right?

That's it for now.

I wish you all a happy Easter and I'll be back with more of my SWAP soon.

Gr.
Lilian

Let's get this party started!

2010-03-28T11:15:00.010+02:00

Sometimes I wish a day had more than 24 hours. But don't we all?
I work 4 days a week. There should be some time left to do some sewing and blogging, don't ya think? But I can't seem to find that time. Most of the time at the end of a working day I'm sooo tired, I just don't feel like doing ANYTHING! I know it's the wrong attitude, but it's just the way it is.

Anyway, I'll try to kick my butt a bit more and be more productive. That's why you visit my site right? You want to see some action!

But first a question I received from Teddie on my post about my finished knit top :
What a nice top, and I love that fabric. May I ask you where you bought this? Or from which producer it comes - I'm Dutch too..

Thank you for your nice comment Teddie. The fabric is from a local store called Tricothal De Leeuwtjes . A great fabricstore. It's not as big as it used to be but there's still a great variety of fabrics (not only tricot/jersey!), notions, yarn, buttons. You name it! If you ever are in the area of the west of Noord-Brabant and you have the time, it's worth to pay a visit.

Now, onto the new fabric I bought for my mini-swap. I decided not to change the patterns but I changed the fabric for two of them to make it more 'spring'. And here's a full view of my plan. For those who may have followed this, I wrote 'new' to indicate where I changed the fabric:

top - Burda 10/2008-119

Viscose-polyester. A bit thicker quality.

skirt - Burda 04/2006-103

NEW
Fine-striped bleu and white jeans

blouse - Burda 10/2008-113b

A crispy white polyester-cotton.

trousers - Burda 01/2006-107

NEW
A lovely polyester-viscose-spandex with a bit of a crinckle in it. Nice material for spring-trousers. (The band you see is in centimeters (the white and pink segments are 10 cm each). Just to give you an idea of the size of the check).

Click on the picture to get a better view!

And guess what? There might even be some sewing today. I'm gonna start with the blue top. I'm so excited!! I hope I will be able to deliver in the end. That will mean I'll have 4 new outfits, YEAH !!!

Happy sewing everyone!

Gr.
Lilian

A big THANK YOU and another change of plan

2010-03-18T20:36:00.001+01:00

Just checkin' in to let you know that I'm very thrilled to have no less than 10 comments on my latest post!
This number may look pathetic in some of your opinions, but for me it's a record.
And every... EVERY time I get a comment I'm so glad someone has been so kind to take the time and effort to read my blog and give me a little message. I'm not exaggerating, this is the honest truth.
Of course there are people who only read and that's absolutely perfectly fine.
But these nice comments, they make me smile. So to all you sweet comments-writing ladies out there:

a big thank you !!!

I just felt like saying this so now I said it.

And what's that about changing plans?
Yes, I'm afraid I'll have to redo my mini-swap. In only a few days time the temperature in the Netherlands has risen to almost summer-heights. Well..not exactly that much but it feels like spring a lot!! And that's my problem: 50% of my mini-swap-fabric contains wool. It feels and looks wintery and I don't want to invest time in it when I will probably not wear it any sooner than oktober/november. Aaaand, I'm on a diet now. Impossible to say what size I will have when that time arrives. (Probably a bigger one than I've got now...sigh...).

So new plans are in the making. Maybe I'll stick to the patterns but I'll have to find other fabric. And maybe I'll change it altogether.

I'll keep you posted.

p.s. Hope spring will arrive for all of you very soon! It was sorely missed.

Gr.
Lilian

I'll sew you !!

Another knit

Moving on with KnipMode 09/2000-13 Cardigan

Sewing and blogging, 's not always easy..

KnipMode 2003-02 / 18a - Skirt finished (Pretty picture vs dirty picture)

Fabric Feast

White blouse finished

Meeting fellow-sewists and a white blouse in progress

Pencil skirt

Funny coincidence

...and it's not even my birthday

KnipMode 08/2004-8b Sweater

KnipMode 01/2010-11 Vest finished

Plans

Dress from another century.

One-way ticket to Wadderville?

TNT-Tee

I'm blue, da ba dee da ba da

About sharp scissors and unwanted holes

Sometimes, simple is all you need

Cute skirt (KnipMode 04/2011-5)

Two quick sewing projects

KnipMode 07/2008 - 18 Blouse

Pink for a girl

Buying fabric (and still searching for a shop where they sell time..)

Cowl-neck sweater finished

KnipMode 03/2008 - 8 Jersey Tunic

From the sewingneedle to the crochetneedle

KnipMode 2010-09 / 5 Skirt finished

Skirt in the making and some rambling...

Dress Knipmode 2010-10 / 3a finished

Let's start 2011 with Top 3b from KnipMode 2008-08

Simple but satisfying

Sweet brown sugar

Dress KnipMode 2010-10 / 103 finished

New fabric and a great KnipMode-idea

Skirt finished

Slow sewing and learning to love it

Progress on the skirt

Dear skirt, don't make me hate you!

KnipMode 2010-02 / 19 Top finished.

One year of blogging!

New fabric

KnipMode 2010-09 / 9b Top finished!

Finally some sewing....and nothing to show for it

Fashion is all around me

Blouse-jacket finished

Blouse-jacket in progress

New blog design

Dress finished!

Quick, cute and girlish

Summervacation - Definitely time for New Plans

Oops....I did it again

Summer-dress (KnipMode May/2010 - 13a)

New sewing-plans, coming soon in your theatre...

It's final(s)

Flouncy Top (KnipMode/may 2010 - 7b)

Sunny Sunday in Volendam (picture-heavy)

10 reasons why it's a good day!

Light at the end of the tunnel: Sewing again!

Update on my sewn fingers

No sewing / blogging for a while

Pictures, as promised.

The only fabric I'm handling right now are tissues...(cough..cough...)

SWAP is D*O*N*E and I'm free to step into the future

SWAP-piece #3 finished: Burda blouse (a.k.a. troublemaker)

A skirt fit for a queen

SWAP-piece # 2 in progress: Burda Skirt

Happy Birthday to meeeeee !

SWAP-piece #1 finished

SWAP-piece #1 in progress: Burda Knit Top

Let's get this party started!

A big THANK YOU and another change of plan

SWAP is DON*E and I'm free to step into the future