I'll sew you

Still no progress on my skirt. I did zero sewing last week. Which is not how I want it to be, but it's just how it is. So you have to wait a bit longer on the endresult of my skirt. But I did some shopping yesterday. I felt I needed something new for a work-appointment on monday and I thought this was a good reason to buy something. So I went to a store which was a favourite of mine a few years back. Lately they were quite disappointing to my taste but I thought: why not give it a try one more time. And I'm glad I did. So this is what I bought: I'll be wearing this on monday, combined with a softgrey pleated satin skirt (same colour as the background of this picture), a cream-white v-necked top and my new high-heeled shoes. And this necklace which I bought also yesterday: Picture of the shoes (from the website, this gives the best idea of the shoe. If your foot is not in it the straps dug down, so this is much nicer). I bought these a while ago: I had to bring ...

...and that's all I can give you I'm afraid. After working a bit on my skirt last weekend I had one day I spent with a friend, one day at work and the rest of the week I've been ill. Nothing serious. Something upset my stomach, in a way that takes more than one day to recover. I'm no longer having cramps but I'm still nauseous from time to time and I'm not sure what I can or can't eat to make sure it won't get worse again. Because that will set me back probably at least a day. On top of that I have a headache lingering all the time and every now and then breaking through, and this afternoon I strained a muscle in my lowerback. Probably the result of lying on the bed for two days. I'll get over it. Of course I will, but it's just so frustrating that there's no sewing going on. But a week without blogging just doen't feel right and I want to give you something anyhow. So as far as a sneak preview goes, here's a detail of the skirt:...

Is there a definition for a SWAP? Are there any criteria? Or is it just what it is: Sewing With A Plan. Or is it: Sewing With A Passion?  That's what I thought initially when I encountered the term swap for the first time. I guess it's a bit of both. And does it always have to be a group-thing, in which others can participate? Anyway, following my very own criteria, I'd like to introduce you to my very first SWAP. And I must warn you, it's a mini-version. I've seen bigger plans on many of your blogs. But the idea of starting small somehow appeals to me. I know myself. If I can't live up to the expectation of finishing 10 garments I will feel unhappy and pressed to finish, which will kill the 'passion' for sewing. So why put myself through that misery right? And that's why I lowered the number of pieces to 4. Yep, that's right. 4. The idea : Producing a small spring-wardrobe that I can wear in the office. The colourscheme is blue-white-grey...

Slightly changed my plans. I wanted to make 2 skirts in a row but I just hád to make the dress I had planned for quite some time now. And here is the result: It was a quick project, very easy to make. I'm very pleased with it. It's just the kind of garment I like to see (a lot!!!) in my wardrobe. One thing puzzled me though. I just don't get what they were thinking at KnipMode when they drafted this pattern. I mean..can you believe this? This dress has a seam just below the bust and in the back, both at the same height. When I wanted to sew the sideseams of the front- and backbodice together, I discovered that my backpiece was about 2,5 cm longer than the frontpiece. I hate nasty surprises like this and I knew I had been very careful when I traced them so I went back to the patternsheet to see what had happened. What I should have done if I followed the instructions was this: (when I talk about cutting here I mean the paper which I use to trace the patterns, not...

Why on earth do we sew? I know why I sew. For THIS feeling I'm having right now. I'm soooo happy with this skirt. It's actually nothing special really, but I know I will get so much use out of it and it's such a great piece to combine with other things in my wardrobe. And I have a good reason reason to wear my ankle-boots now. (Wearing them with trousers just isn't the same). It fits great. The fabric has a bit of stretch and it's very comfortable to wear. Enough reasons for me to be happy. So I chose the black pinstripe over the blue boucle, to start with. The pattern (from Knipmode) has turned into a TNT for me. This is the fourth time I used it. (Three times in a knee-length version). I can't remember from which pattern it originates but it's a pattern used very often in Knipmode. It's straight, has a narrow waistband with facings, in the front 2 x 1 dart, and in the back 2 x 2 darts. I inserted a normal zipper. Using an invisible zipper is...

After another energy-consuming week I must admit that I only looked at my sewingmachine but I never touched it. I have some things (nothing major) hassling me and I have to get them out of the way first. But I did however have some time left to buy new fabric! And if there's anything that can make me happy after a so-so week, it's new, gorgeous, fabric. After finishing the bathrobe I wanted to sew the pyjamas. But there really are other clothes I lack at the moment, especially skirts and trousers, so I decided to rearrange my plans and first sew up a skirt (or two). I really want to loose some weight and I always find that skirts are more forgiving when it comes to fitting when you get thinner. Trousers usually get too big very soon and there's nothing forgiving about that. That's the reason why I haven't sewn trousers in ages......because I'm trying to loose weight for ages now...hahaha... Well, they'll get their moment eventually. And I'm more a sk...

The bathrobe is finished. I already traced and cut the pattern a few weeks ago. Yesterday I cut into the fabric, started sewing and today I finished it. Talking about instant-satisfaction! I'm super-glad with it. It's everything I hoped it would be. I made it extra-long (I'm tall). It's thick and warm. Everything a bathrobe should be imo. I played with the idea of modelling it for you, but decided on 'don't think so'. The pictures of this post tell you everything you need to know, anyway. Here's a more detailed picture: It's a very easy pattern. The hardest part about this garment was cutting through 2 layers of this fabric. My hand really hurt when I was finished.  As you can see in this linedrawing there are only a few details. No ingenious collar or anything, just a clean line with a facing all the way around. The pockets have cut-on facings you only have to fold over and stitch through. Don't tell anyone, but I cheated on the w...