Sewcial Bee

Last weekend was another productive one!  This time on the personal development and sewing fronts.

First I spent Saturday and Sunday training for and getting my motorbike learner permit!  Finally I can ride my beautiful bike!

Then on Sunday evening and Monday I participated for the first time in a great sewing challenge, the Sewcial Bee.  I spectated during the first Secial Bee last month and was excited to have a go this time around.  The way it works is a theme is chosen by a group member, and everyone has seven hours of sewing time within a 48 hour wondow to complete a garment inspired by that theme.  Simple!  No prizes, no pressure, just encouragement and inspiration. I gave myself a couple of extra guidelines: I had to make something I actually need, and I wanted something with colour blocking.

The theme this round was set by Gida Studio, to create a garment inspired by food.  So here are my Lemon Meringue Pyjamas!

I aimed to keep it simple for my first round, and then got carried away and decided to add some more meringue in the form of a short robe.

This whole outfit is a mash up of patterns.  The shorts are from a swim wear pattern, McCall's 8234, that I picked up from the op shop for 50 cents.  The top is a modified sleeveless version of style 118 from Burda Style Mag 2/2009 and the robe is another Burda Style pattern, 12/2008 127.  All the fabric and elastic trim were from stash too, just under a metre of yellow ribbed jersey and about half of my massive stash of white jersey, as well as a couple of metres of decorative elastic.  The whole outfit was done within five and a half hours over one evening and the next day!

Check out the Sewcial Bee flickr group to see the all fantastic food inspired creations of the other participants!

Outfit Six: July

It's July!  I know it's actually August, but it's the July end of August, so I'm calling it.  Here is July's outfit!  July has a couple of big, complicated garments.  At least I thought they would be complicated until I started working on them and found, as is usually the case, that they weren't nearly as difficult as I had imagined.

Beatnik.  I love this jumper so very much.  I have loved the pattern since it first appeared in Knitty in 2010.  While it looks quite complicated, the pattern is actually quite straightforward.  Once it is established it is quite easy to read the cables to see where you're up to.  The colour coded chart makes wrapping your brain around it so much easier!

I knitted it in Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 10ply the colour is Autumn Glow.  I bought the yarn a few years ago.  It was always going to be a jumper of cardigan and I think the colour is perfect for this one.  I extended the length of the body by a couple of centimetres to accommodate my longish torso and it fits just how I wanted it to so I'm very pleased!

I needed a fairly close fitting tee with three quarter sleeves to wear under the Beatnik so in keeping with the sixties vibe I chose a basic boatneck tee.  The anchor fabric was originally destined for a different month's outfit, but was freed up in the re-shuffle and slotted in here very nicely.

The pattern is from Burda Style Magazine 2/2009 108B.  As always, I lengthened the body.  I find that most Burda Style tees are just too short for me, even with some extra length in the waist, this one only just hits where I like tops to sit on my hips.  I predict that this one will be a very versatile top, its first outing was dressed up with jeans, boots and a navy blazer, and it works just as well dressed down with cuffed jeans and chucks.

Speaking of jeans, I made some!  I really wanted to make my own jeans, but had built them up in my mind as an incredibly complicated, fiddly, and difficult garment.  Really jeans are just trousers like any others, the detailing is what makes them.

For my first (I'm already planning a couple more pairs) jeans I used some denim with a bit of stretch that I picked up from the op shop for four dollars.  The pattern was from another Burda Mag, this time 8/2009, 127.  I will definitely use a different pattern next, this one required a bit of work to fit, they swam around the seat and thighs, so took a bit of fitting.  Also, no back pockets!  I drafted my own using a couple of my RTW jeans as a guide.  And finally Burda Style's notoriously vague instructions were not particularly helpful for a first time jeans maker.  All up they're a serviceable pair of trousers, a good starting point I think.

In hindsight I should have set up my vintage machine for the top stitching.  It's sturdy enough to do the job and then I could just skip from the overlocker to straight seams to top stitching at each stage without having to re-thread my machine every step of the way.

Even though the sleeves are short, this outfit is cosy and warm.  Casual and comfortable, just like I planned.  

So that's July, the halfway mark (because I started in February of course) six outfits done. Coming up there are some changes in the 12 outfits line up.  When I started planning my outfits the second half of the year was a vague outline with a few key pieces.  That has been reviewed, and shuffled and fleshed out.  I'll have the plan for the next six months up soon!

A Productive Weekend

This past weekend has been a productive one for me.  That is if you disregard housework, study, laundry and numerous other things that might have benefited my household and personal development.  It has been a really productive knitting weekend, so the benefits are to my mental health and my 12 outfits.  Actually, I made a huge batch of awesome beef stroganoff so there is that as well.

First up I finished my Beatnik!  That completes July's outfit, so you're only one daggy photo shoot away from seeing it.  In the meantime here is a little bit of it, first thing in the morning, because it's cosy and warm, and I've worn it every day since I sewed in the last end.

Next I picked up the Maroo mitts I started in June while holidaying in Queensland.  After they sat, unloved, for nearly two months with only onle glove half finished, I finished both in a day.  I'm using them as a starting point to get more confident/familiar/awesome at colour work.  These will be a part of August's outfit.

With those two projects off the needles, I started on the big knit for August's outfit.  It's not a big challenge or a complicated project but as it is a rather large Mara shawl it will probably take some time to finish.  It is off to a great start though, here it is getting some rows at swimming lessons this morning.

I feel like I'm back on track with 12 outfits.  Even though I never really got far off track, especially since the track was so flexible in the first place.  I'm feeling inspired and motivated right now so I'm rolling with it!

Sharing a Workspace

Sometimes it can be difficult for me to get work done around my children.  It's much easier when we're both working.

Outfit Five: June

Yay June!  Or more accurately, brrrr June!  I am a creature of winter.  I love layering up in warm woolly knits and June was meant to have a warm woolly cabley jumper, but upon revision, that project has been shuffled back to July to make room for comfy, toasty, slouchy sweats.

The pieces in this outfit have been getting an awful lot of wear already as they fill a couple of gaps in my wardrobe.  My Red Riding Hoodie was made much earlier in the year and has been waiting for its outfit to join it.  I finished the track pants a few weeks ago and they have become a fast wardrobe staple.

The hoodie is the first project in the Sewing With Knits Craftsy course I got for my birthday.  I modified the pattern to be less flares at the hemline and added bands at the hem and cuffs.  The red fleece fabric I used was an op shop score and is such a great bright colour, I love it.  Of course, as it is a red riding hoodie I made a little sleeping wolf appliqué from a sweet free embroidery pattern from Wild Olive.

Quite possibly my favourite part of this outfit is my hat.  A cabled bonnet with long cords, tassels and a giant pom pom.  It's very warm, and a little bit silly which makes me happy.  

The pattern is great freebie, Neon Ski Bonnet by Lacey Volk.  The pattern has four sizes from small child to large adult.  I knitted the large adult and it fits exactly how I wanted it.  The yarn I used for this one is aran weight undyed cormo and is like butter, it used less than I was expecting so I still have a skein and a half of this lovely smooshy stuff to play with.

I'm amazed that I haven't made any jersey infinity scarves before this one.  They would have to be one of the quickest projects to whip up, they look great and are so versatile!  This fabric was intended for a kids tee but it really wanted to be mine so I kept it for myself.  A half metre of fabric sewn into a long tube,  given a little twist and joined at the ends.  Instant warm!

We live in a hilly little town that gets super frosty in winter.  Warm hands are essential for the icy morning school run.  10ply alpaca mitts are perfect.  Another free pattern, Staghorn Mitts, these knit up very quickly.  I used smaller needles for the ribbing and added another repeat of the cable to extend them over my fingers.  The ribbing folds back for more finger freedom when required.

Underneath all those top layers is a basic long sleeved tee.  Another from the Sewing With Knits class. This one is in a cream ribbed knit fabric.  But that top's not cream, I hear you say.  After my tie dying tights experiment, I feel the need to dye everything!  I tie dyed the top, untied it and dropped it back in the dye bath for a bit of an over-dye.  The result came out a bit like storm clouds in the soft grey.

On the bottom are my trusty new track pants.  I used the same pattern as for my pyjama pants, only this time with pockets and zipped ribbing cuffs.

Every part of these pants was thrifted.  The fabric, elastic and zippers all cam from my local op shop.  I had enough of the black fleece to make a hoody dress as well and I still have heaps left over! I tried to incorporate all the details I like in RTW trackies into my pants.  The pockets are deep enough for my phone to not fall out, the side seams are top stitched and they're exactly the right length.

This outfit was so stress free, it seemed to grow organically from the pre-sewn hoodie and my surprising lack of track pants.  The knits are also numbers 11 and 12 of my 13 knits from stash in 2013. I'm still knitting away on my Beatnik for July and the time had come to decide on a pattern for my July jeans!

Me Made May '13 - A Somewhat Late Wrap Up

A little bit late, but here are the last few outfits of my short Me Made May '13.  

Day eight: saucy black tee, tartan skirt and Damson shawl, all me made.  

Day nine was February's outfit, plus my red shetland triangle shawl which didn't stay on for too long because the weather was gorgeous.

And last photo for the month was day ten, a refashioned top from a mens shirt and jeans I refashioned from too big straight legs into slightly better fitting skinnies.  My Onerva shawl, my Beatnik in progress and a sad face complete this look.  I joke about it now, but this was a hard day for me to even get dressed at all.

For the rest of the month I was still in a good amount of me mades, my pyjamas are me made, as are all my snuggly jumpers and cardigans and a few of my basic tees.  Like Darron said to me before Me Made May '13 started, it would be difficult for me to dress without wearing at least a couple of things that I've made.

So that's it for looking back.  Now, moving forward I've nearly finished June's outfit and have got stuck back into my Beatnik for July's outfit.  Today I'm making little skirts for little girls and hopefully repairing some jeans and finishing June's top!

Climbing

I have dealt with depression for the majority of my adult life.  I am familiar with the illness and aware of the early signs when it sinks its teeth into my mind, I know the steps to take in those early stages to get the help I need to stay well.  After several years of being well I became complacent.  I didn't take action at the early signs and landed in a deep dark hole.  I am fortunate that my family understands this illness and that my community has a working mental health service, so that when I reached crisis point I had access to the help I needed when I couldn't do it myself.

I'm lucky to be surrounded by people (and animals) who look out for me.

So now I am climbing.  I can see the way out of this dark place, and I am working my way out.  While all this has been happening, I haven't felt up to tacking the complicated projects I had planned so I have gone back to basics.  By far the best basics are tiny things for tiny people.  Little hats, cardigans and vest have been my recovery projects, so expectant friends and family members, prepare for incoming baby knits!

Being unwell has also brought to my attention a gap in my wardrobe.  I have no track pants!  This, along with the abovementioned hiatus from complicated projects has resulted in a reshuffle of my 12 outfits to remedy this glaring omission.  So now instead of jeans and a big cably jumper, June is the month of comfy, warm trackies.