I'm so very frustrated friends…frustrated at the lack of sewing time I've had since returning from my holiday! It's been manic catching up with work and even more so catching up with friends. Last weekend I had lovely friends to stay and as I write this, I am waiting for a different group of lovely friends to arrive for the weekend. This is lovely of course, but it inevitably eats into precious sewing time. Ironically, I even posted more whilst on holiday!

I hope to get back to normal next week and I've also managed to keep a couple of upcoming weekends clear. Anyway, for now, I just wanted to reassure you that I'm still here and very much thinking about sewing even if I haven't actually been doing much of it of late.
 
Lonsdale Dress bodice muslin as proof that I have made a start on this and a snap of my fabric especially for Krafty Kat – I think it's the same one she used for her Crescent Skirt, but in a different colour!


I've also been flying the flag for fellow vintage pattern shopaholics too. Whilst on holiday I became obsessed with summery 1930s and 1940s numbers, so I purchased my first ever lot of Eva Dress patterns and I’m happy to say that I’m enchanted by them!

My little brain too has been working overtime, because when I’m not physically sewing I’m thinking about what I’d like to be sewing! Along with vintage-inspired pinnies for my Etsy-store-in-progress, I decided it would be nice to play around with detachable collars and not just the traditional peter pan ones.


I personally love detachable collars, but what do you think? Do you think they’d make good gifts? Would you wear them? Or do you think they’re a waste of time?


Friday, August 05, 2011
I don't usually indulge in post-holiday posts (apart from when I'm shamelessly gloating about fabric finds), but I've had such a fantastically varied time in Portugal that I thought I'd share some of it.

What I think will horrify interest you the most, is that in between sunbathing and eating, I had a dress made by my mum’s favourite seamstress…which curiously isn’t me!?! I realise this is such a sewing taboo, but I couldn’t help myself as she’s fantastic and I needed a special dress to wear to two weddings next year. I hope you don’t judge me too harshly…

Anyway, I handed over some beautiful silk fabric and a picture of this pattern from my stash...


and got this in return:

Please excuse my beach whipped hair and clammy face...it was hot in Portugal!




I'm reassuring myself that I could of course have made it just as well with my own fair hands ;o) To help ease the guilt that I’m feeling, I’ve reminded myself that I do actually have a 'to sew' list as long as my arm:

Ooops, I digress! Whilst on holiday I also went on long bike rides with my dad - a total of 38km / 24 miles to be precise - after almost 15yrs of mounting nothing but stationary exercise bikes. The Portuguese views were stunning and I surprised myself with just how much I enjoyed the challenging terrain.




Lastly, I also indulged in a professional eye makeup tutorial. In my Uni days I used to experiment a lot with eye makeup, but in recent years I've become incredibly lazy, opting mostly just for a simple feline flick. The makeup artist was brilliant and she went through a daytime and evening look, the principles of which can be applied to all sorts of colours of course. 

I was surprised that the smokey evening look (left) made the eye look so much bigger than the simple day look! The makeup artist also highlighted my cupid's bow for the evening look (left) and it made such a difference!


Day look...


Evening look...


All in all, a great holiday was had, thanks to my mum and dad's awesome hospitality!

How about you lovely people? Any holidays planned for this summer, or maybe you've already been? Care to share some photos?
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Hi friends,
Just a quickie this morning to announce that the winner of my latest giveaway is...
Debi from My Happy Sewing Place!!! Congratulations Debi, I'll email you soon to get your postal address!!! I just love everything you make, so I can't wait to see what you do with this:


As always, thank you all so much for following and for entering...I'm sorry you couldn't all win!
Monday, July 25, 2011
I must apologise first for the lack of actual sewing on my part lately, but I promise to get back to it as soon as I return to Blighty. I'm itching to get some done and I have many projects in the pipeline.

Anyway, when a friend alerted me to this relatively new magazine – Vintage Life - I became incredibly exited!


So much so that I even contemplated subscribing before I'd even read a single copy! But I'm glad I waited to buy the July issue (issue 10) first. I'm glad not because Vintage Life is awful, just because in parts, I found it a little too commercial and I'm not even particularly knowledgeable in vintage matters. I don't know what I expected...maybe more information about where to get genuine vintage items and tips on telling them apart. Instead, a lot of the fashion content was about vintage inspired items available on the high street and about reproduction.

This is just my initial reaction based on one issue alone. The last thing I want to do is hastily write Vintage Life off, so I fully intend to continue getting it, in an attempt to reach an educated conclusion. If anything, it's great that the magazine is helping to bring vintage to a more mainstream audience.

In the meantime, here are a few things I liked about July's issue:

1. Vintage event listings around the UK during July.

2. A nod to sewing/crafting by dedicating a page to ideas on customising clothes for a more vintage look. The ideas were pretty basic, but great for beginners: Lace, Buttons, Ribbon and Beads.


3. A comprehensive tutorial on making your own vintage cake stand. I'm a sucker for cake stands, but I've also seen how much nice ones can set you back, so I thought this tutorial was great!



4. Ideas of how to create a 1960s makeup look. I'm a huge fan of the feline eyeliner flick, so this series of looks/tutorials was right up my street!



5. Some pictorial food for thought for vintage inspired weddings.



6. For fans of reproduction clothing, July's issue also provided a comprehensive list of online retailers. If like most stitchers you're keen to make your own, you might just enjoy having a look for inspiration:





Anyway, enough of my 'critique'! Have you been reading Vintage Life magazine? What are your thoughts on it?

Friday, July 22, 2011
Hi friends! I'm still busy sunning myself, but I always planned to host a giveaway when I reached 150 followers. That landmark happened so fast and before I knew it, I realised I have 176 special readers (which is overwhelming to say the least), so I figured there's no time like the present!

Anyway, to thank you for all the helpful advice you give me and for inspiring me on a daily basis, I'm offering the following:

  • Advance 9157 – an adorable vintage pattern from the mid 1950s in a size 20 (bust 40, waist 32, hip 42). I hope you love the collar variations as much as I do!
  • 2 metres of a gorgeous petrol blue/green coloured fabric – sadly, its synthetic (probably polyester), but it would make a great blouse or draped dress. 

As with all my giveaways, this one is open to any country in the world. You just have to be a follower of my blog and you need to leave your comment by midnight on Saturday 23 July. I will then announce the winner on Monday 25 July. The winner will be picked using a random number generator.

Good luck and thanks for following!
Monday, July 18, 2011
So, I’m on holiday again – this time in gorgeous Portugal – but even whilst sunning myself I have sewing on the mind!

Back in May, Gina of Vintage Girl unveiled her Closing the Gaps Sewing Project, an idea I liked but didn’t give much thought to at the time. Recently though, I’ve been thinking about my willy-nilly approach to sewing and wondering whether a little more structure may prove more productive. I'd love to be able to take part in a 'self-stitched' or 'me-made month' sometime soon, but at the moment all my makes have been a little haphazard.

Don't get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed sewing whatever I’ve fancied and jumping on board random sew-alongs, but my wardrobe has some serious gaps that need addressing. I’m in desperate need of skirts and trousers. Apart from the occasional pair of jeans, I really struggle to find shop-bought bottoms that fit me, due to my awkward waist-to-hip ratio!

So I've decided to take a leaf out of Gina's book, by addressing and hopefully closing some of my clothing gaps...woohoo! The patterns in my stash that are just begging to be tackled are:

The elegant yet simple McCall 6338

Colette's Ginger skirt...definitely with the addition of Casey's super cute cow-girl pockets

The adorable summer skirt pattern that is Simplicity 1261

And, I've seen too many lovely versions of Simplicity 3688 not to try it, namely Jane's and Debi's.  This is not a pattern currently in my stash, but I'm seriously thinking of investing in it!
Of course I'm not ditching sew-alongs altogether ;o) I'm so excited about Sewaholic's new Lonsdale Dress sew-along starting in August...are any of you thinking of taking part?
Saturday, July 16, 2011
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