One, or more on the go?

From mid-April to mid-June, we're flat out at my workplace due to a flagship event we coordinate in May. We work some serious hours leaving me with little time and even less energy to sew and be creative, so it may well be a little while before you see something exciting finished from me. But I am still chipping away at a few things in the meantime, albeit it slowly. 

At first, I used to be a monogamous stitcher devoting myself to just one project at a time. I'm pretty sure that most people find this approach to be the most productive. However, since the influx of awesome sewing challenges, excellent sewalongs and irresistible indie pattern companies I've slipped into a more 'reactive' approach to sewing. I now have an unmentionable number of started projects, which probably isn't the most effective way of working. But, I can't seem to figure out a way out of this 'situation', because there are new sewing delights springing up all the time.

So, I was wondering what works best for you on the project front - do you have one, or more on the go? Any tips for staying on track and not diluting you efforts between a number of projects at once?

Here's a sneaky peek at my three stitching priorities at the moment...two of them are top secret!

Flower Power Miette Skirt

As well as a finished make, I also have an important lesson to share with you this sunny Bank Holiday Monday. Do not, I repeat, do not sew braless. In case naive readers are wondering why you would in the first place, picture this: you want to squeeze in a bit of sewing before work or ahead of a busy weekend, so you set your alarm extra early and head straight to your sewing machine all bleary eyed and still in your flimsy pyjamas. Everything's going smoothly until you start feeding an extra long waist tie through your machine and one of the pesky pins gets caught on and scrapes your bust apex (aka n*pple)? OUCH!!! I know it sounds hilarious, but I kid you not people, there was blood, a whole lot of stinging and finally, an unsightly scab. So take it from me, do not sew braless! 

Luckily, there was a silver lining to this embarrassing sewing-related injury...my flower power Miette skirt! 

Now, I'm not usually a huge fan of the late 60s/70s style, but when I came across these vintage sheets in a local charity shop a couple of years ago for a song I couldn't pass them up. I've been waiting for the perfect pattern to come along ever since and after making my first Miette I knew the style would be perfect for it. Plus a skirt is the perfect way of wearing yellow if you don't like it too close to your face, so I went ahead and took a leaf out of Jane's book!

Construction-wise I really have nothing new to add that I didn't cover here - it went together very quickly and easily again.

Sadly, it didn't even cross my mind to match the pattern at the front seam. I'm such an idiot! It would have looked so awesome if I had taken the time to do so, but I won't dwell on that now, because I love this skirt so much!

This skirt is possibly my 'happiest' make ever. How can you not smile when wearing something so bright and summery, even if the weather doesn't completely match it. I think it's also a very 'fresh' looking outfit when paired with a white blouse and coral wedges, but I do have plans of wearing it with a chocolate tube top and brown wedges too...yum!

Oh, and I just had to include this last pose...it's a bit of a Miette tradition!

So, have you made a Miette skirt yet? I promise you, you won't regret it!

Ohhh Lulu fancy undies giveaway - winner announced!

Well, well, well! There sure seems to be a healthy appetite for fancy undies around these parts, because a whopping 118 of you entered my Ohhh Lulu pattern giveaway (actually, it was 119, but Sabs graciously withdrew after winning one of Sarah's own giveaways)!!!

So, without further ado, the winner is...

craftylittlebugger, who said:

Congratulations craftylittlebugger!!! I'll be passing your email address to Sarah who will then send you your chosen pattern.

I hope the rest of you will give an Ohhh Lulu pattern a go in the near future - they're gorgeous and very fairly priced if you ask me. If you're in any doubt at all, check out craftylittlebugger's stunning Betty high waisted undies!

Why I'm not taking part in Me Made May 2013...

Let me start off by saying how much I love Me Made May - it's inspirational, educational, sociable and Zoe is an absolute genius for coming up with the idea. When I took part for the first time ever last year - musings and links to each week's outfits - I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and even surpassed my little pledge.

So, why am I not taking part this year then? This time round I knew that I wouldn't be happy with just three or four me-made outfits a week. It was a great way to ease me into the challenge, but I feel I should have more to show for over three years of consistent sewing. Yet despite my efforts I actually don't. Why? There are many reasons - including poor fit and bad pattern choice for my shape. And because holding onto me-mades I don't like or wear makes me feel dispassionate about sewing, I've been getting rid of them instead. Just like I would with shop-bought clothes.

Throughout 2012, I gifted a couple of items to my mum and gave a few more bits to charity shops.  And with Me Made May literally just around the corner, I had one more ruthless cull and made a final me-made inventory.

NEVER WEAR

This lot has to go, I just don't wear them...ever!

• I must be expanding because my beloved Sorbettos are too snug for comfort now.
• I used way too stiff a fabric for my Burda Sleeveless Blouse.
• My Applique sweater gets more misshapen with each wash, I wish I'd stay-stitched the neckline.
• Aubergine Ginger had fitting issues from the start.
• I still love my self-drafted circle skirt, but damn it it smells of mildew! The fabric smelt from day one and despite washing, airing and various other tricks...it still smells.
• There's no sugar coating it, Vogue 8728 is still too big and misshapen, but I will be re-cycling the fabric to make some fancy undies. 
• I don't know what's happened to my Mad Men dress, but it suddenly fits terribly through the shoulders.

SOMETIMES WEAR

These are good to stay, but aren't exactly wardrobe staples...

• My beautiful Pendrell with a 30s twist is a bit snug too, but I genuinely think the silk cotton has shrunk in the wash. I can't stand to part with it though, so I'm saving it for 'skinny' days!
• I adore my heirloom Armistice blouse, but I'm saving it for special occasions because my great-grandmother's silk is pretty fragile.
• The fit of my self-drafted skirt is spot on, but it's a bit figure-hugging for everyday wear.
• Love my Tilly picnic skirt, but I keep meaning to replace the waistband because it's linen and stretches out easily.
• Western Ginger is cute, but I may have to shorten it a little to get more wear out of it with tights.
• My Hazedale was a success in the end, but I can only really wear it weather permitting.
• Minnie Mouse most definitely can't have her dress back, but I won't exactly be wearing it weekly.

ALWAYS WEAR

As you can see this doesn't exactly leave me with a month's worth of of me-made items. But what it does leave me with is comfortable, well fitting me-mades that I love to wear: Renfrews (here and here), re-fashioned Pendrell, Alma, Mathilde, Dixie DIY animal print sweater, Miette skirt, Dixie DIY Ballet Dress, 30th birthday dress.

Granted, jersey and knit fabrics feature heavily in my staple wardrobe. I want to increase this (more Renfrew's and casual dresses are a must it would seem), but the fabric snob in me also wants to rectify this. So making more pretty blouses and woven dresses is high up on my agenda too.

I hope you don't read this as a negative post, because I'm actually in a really zen place about my sewing at the moment. Sure I wish I could sew faster and more often, but I'm excited to slowly sew the wardrobe of my dreams. Best of all, I feel like finally, in my third year of sewing, I'm getting there.

Are you taking part in Me Made May this year? I hope you're feeling confident and know that I'll be cheering you on from the sideline...hoping to come back stronger myself next year!

Fancy undies giveaway from Ohhh Lulu!

** This giveaway is now closed and a winner has been selected **

I can't imagine there are many of you who haven't come across the unique lingerie designs by Ohhh Lulu. I got my fill last year and the year before, and there are still plenty more Ohhh Lulu lovelies on my wishlist!

Did you know that Sarah - the mastermind behind Ohhh Lulu - has now made it possible for you to sew your own fancy undies? Maybe not to her impeccable standards, but wouldn't it be fun to try? Well, your wish has been granted, because Sarah is offering a beautiful PDF pattern to one lucky reader!!! The rules are simple:

• Feast your eyes on the full Ohhh Lulu pattern collection and leave me a comment (with your email address) telling me what pattern you'd choose if you won.
• The giveaway closes at midnight (GMT) on Friday 3 May.
• A winner will be chosen at random and announced on Sunday 5 May.

Now, I don't want to go putting ideas in your head, but personally, I've fallen hard for the five latest Ohhh Lulu patterns. Aren't they just stunning?!?

Bambi Soft Bra

Grace Panties

Jasmine Bralette

Sophia Panties

Lola Panties

If you're eager to get your hands on an Ohhh Lulu freebie and you want to hedge your bets, you can also keep an eye on Sarah's blog as she's about to launch week 3 of her '5 Weeks of Give Aways'!

Or, if you just want to treat yourself to some ready-made, romantic lingerie then check out Ohhh Lulu's shop. Go on, you know you're worth it, but do be prepared to spend longer browsing than you thought! Here are just some of my favourites:

 Selene Set / Pin Up Collection / Aura Set / Vintage Collection

Happy Sunday!!!

Sewing bee cupcakes for the sewing bee final!

I don't know how, but soon after Saturday's epic meet-up I mustered the stamina to hotfoot it down to London again this Tuesday. Well, I do know how - tired or not, there was no way I was missing out on the chance to watch the Great British Sewing Bee final with seven sewing celebrities!

Tilly graciously hosted us (yep, we got to see where the magic happens and gets photographed) and as you'd expect it was loads of fun. The bubbly flowed, the nibbles never ended and there was a lot of chatter and laughter. Oh, and we did actually watch the final episode too...congratulations Ann, your experience and skills certainly deserved the recognition!

Karen (Did you make that?), Jane (Handmade Jane), Winnie (Scruffy Badger Time), 

Janene (ooobop!), Tilly (Tilly and the Buttons) & Rachel (House of Pinheiro)

Zoe (So, Zo...What do you know?), Janene & Tilly

I look up to all of these wonderful women and feel very lucky that I got to enjoy their company on such a relaxed evening. And getting to hear some backstage gossip from Tilly didn't hurt either. The icing on the cake though (pun intended), was a batch of sewing bee cupcakes baked by none other than Rachel - the all round domestic goddess. Aren't they too cute? They tasted delicious too!

We're left with a void in our Tuesday night TV viewing for now, but have you seen that Love Productions have already started recruiting for a second series? Will you be applying?

Great British Sewing Bee - the final

Sooooo, who's excited for the Great British Sewing Bee final tonight? It's been a short series and by no means perfect, but what a treat settling down to watch a bit of sewing on the telly each week. A novelty really, which I sincerely hope becomes more common place, perhaps with future GBSB series or with other spin-offs.

Back to tonight's final though...who's your money on? Personally, I think all three finalists are awesome for different reasons (in fact all the contestants were) and all are worthy of winning. But, if the aim of the programme was to promote the cool side of sewing and inspire a younger generation to give it a go, then my money's on Lauren. I could be totally wrong of course, but that's the fun of not knowing!

Speaking of Lauren, do you remember the very pretty, peplum blouse she made in Episode 2?

Well, the nice folk at Simplicity / New Look got in touch, wondering if I'd like to make it! I honestly don't care if peplums are 'on trend' right now, because I love them, so I obliged of course. I wish I'd been able to make it up in time for today, so I can cheer Lauren on whilst wearing it, but sadly the pattern arrived late last week. I'll try and get to it soon though!

New Look 6130

Whilst we were on the subject of all things sewing, I was also asked if I had any other Simplicity patterns on my wishlist that they could send me. Two immediately sprung to mind, because I've seen the most gorgeous versions of them ever!

Simplicity 1882

Karen has made two breathtaking versions - patterned and plain!

Simplicity 2444

Pretty bow version by Cynthia and cool nautical version by Roisin!

I was sent both sets of sizes for the dress patterns and I donated my spare sets to Saturday's epic swap, so I'm sure they've gone to a good home!

What sewing patterns are on your wishlist at the moment (don't pretend there aren't any)? I can safely say that my list is growing by the week, but my stash is not decreasing at the same speed...