Crazy for Cambie (and the Great British Sewing Bee)

I finally made my first Cambie!

I've been ogling this pattern for bloody ages it seems, stalking photos of it all over t'interweb and mainly swooning over it. Then I got it as an Xmas present, along with some bottle green cotton. It might even qualify as emerald green, Pantone's colour of the year, no? Get me, all cool and on trend!

Looking Pantonely smug...

I went for the A line skirt version as my first go, mainly because I thought I'd get more wear out of it (eg at work) although I'm in love with the full skirt version that Tasia made when the pattern was first launched. I'll be looking for a similar sort of fabric to make that up, methinks!

It was reasonably easy to sew. I made both the dress and lining at the same time rather than one after the other, it might have got very boring otherwise. The instructions are minimal, and do presume some pre-existing knowledge but the diagrams are good and Tasia's tutorials are fab. It took me a while to get my head round joining the dress and lining at the zip but now that I have, I think I'll be using this method forever. I cut a size 2 based on the finished garment measurements on the back of the envelope and although I'm very happy with the look of the finished dress, I do wish I'd cut the next size up for the bodice and waistband as it doesn't leave me much room to breathe!! I'll remember for the next version!

This is my first ever lined garment - and I'm so proud of the finish! I used some slippery poly lining which was fine to sew but doing normal zig zag finishing of the seams looked awful (I don't have an overlocker). So after one look at my first set of seams, I decided to French seam the rest, which looks bloody brilliant!

Inside and out

I love the gathered sleeves and the way they transform a normal dress into something more fancy. I wore it to my friends' wedding - and got the colour spot on - green for IRISH!

The left hand side of the top of the zip is a little bit wonky but other than that (and the fact that the bodice is a bit tight) I absolutely love it. Next time, I'll make the full skirted Cambie in a slightly larger size and maybe raise neckline just a wee bit. But I know one thing for certain - I will definitely be making more versions of this dress!

On a slightly different note, how exciting was the Great British Sewing Bee?! The only thing I don't like about this program is the name - it should have been called the Great British Sew Off! I already have my faves - Lauren, who lives near me and is about to open a haberdashery and fabric store, Sandra who works in the same hospital as me (eek!), celebrity blogstar Tilly and Ann, who is also from Birmingham and is just the most brilliantly unflappable person on the show! Oh, do you notice a theme? All my faves (bar Tilly, but I'll forgive her) are from in and around Brum - we are obviously the best crafting city.....

And oh. my. god. Patrick.

Hello, tailor!

Snow - you can do one!

If it's been a bit quiet around here, it's because I've been away for a week. Skiing in Alpe d'Huez to be exact. It was my first time skiing, although I have been snowboarding before (not too enamoured with that, didn't really get the hang of it). Learning to ski was a lot of fun though.

We stayed in a friendly little village called Villard Reculas. Unfortunately we only had one day of sun in the entire week but it didn't spoil the fun. Most of the time it was either snowing or very misty.

My friend Liz and I had private lessons all week and then on the last day, we went off to the other side of the resort to play with the big kids on the big(ger) slopes. Oh and eat things like this Tartine Fraicheur. And tarte tatin. And lots of cheese...

So now I'm back home. I would really like it if the snow went away. I went on holiday when it was snowy, I had a week of playing in the snow and I came home to find snow on the ground still. GO AWAY! I'm fed up of you. The weather forecast says more flurries to come. Rubbish.

Today there was some sunshine at last. I'm relaxing (and recovering from all my aches and pains!) at home with my little Moomins and some sewing. Here are some WIP photos - can you guess what it is yet? There will hopefully be more photos at the end of the week as I'm hoping to have it ready to wear for my friend's wedding on Friday.

And to top off my addiction, I bought another two vintage patterns from eBay...

...and a few others that I took a fancy to, mainly as they were half price at Jaycotts... I will be a busy girl this year! I've put a ban on patterns until 2014. And I will stick to it. I will, ok? Don't look at me like that, with your raised eyebrow and smirky smile!

Clockwise from top left: NL6799, NL6000, McCall's 6460, NL 6968

Hope everyone is having a relaxed Easter weekend!

A second Kelly and how I'm getting on with my re{sew}lutions

I finished my second Kelly, woo hoo! The only thing is that I was going to model it today but I'm poorly... I got home last night (after spending 2 and a half hours driving back from work in the snow, what should have been a 45 minute journey) and felt a bit funny. Thought it was just the sweets and berries I'd scoffed whilst stuck in traffic but then spent the evening and night throwing up. Nice. So feel a bit fragile today and definitely don't think going out in the snow in a skirt is a great idea! I will endeavour to take photos soon. In the meantime, here's the skirt by itself.

It's in a lightweight denim that I got from Birmingham Rag Market. I only had 1m and it was 112cm wide so I had to be really economical with the cutting. I knew from before that the recommended hem is quite large (over 6cm) so I just made the pattern pieces a bit shorter and did a smaller hem. I didn't use denim for the pocket linings as I thought it would be too bulky so I used some shirting material that I had in my stash.

And I did buttonholes properly! All six of them came out alright after I used Amanda's tip of extra interfacing (I decided to put interfacing all the way down the button plackets). I might have, sort of, erm, accidentally cut through one of the bar tacks but we won't talk about that...

Suffice to say there was a lot of handstitching going on!

So now I have two skirts to wear for #kellyskirtfriday, organised by the lovely Sarah of Notches and Notions!

With snowboots for the bad weather

Part of my New Year resolutions was to enjoy my sewing. Well, I'm definitely doing that! So much so, in fact, that I've joined up to soisewedthis's Focus on Enjoyment campaign. There's a little icon and everything! I don't have any specific things on my list about how I'm going to focus on enjoying my sewing, just that I am! I'll make things only that I want to and not get too bogged down by details or not get disappointed if I can't do something very well. I hope that's ok!

I've also joined in with Karen of Did You Make That?'s sewlutions (aka the 2013 Jar of Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is).

My one "proper" sewing resolution for the year is to finish the seams on every garment I make. So far so good so if I do get called up, I shouldn't get caught out!

Look how neat this is for once!

Enjoy the snow everyone (or heatwave if you're in Oz)!

So I jumped on the mustard bandwagon too!

For months, I've wanted a mustard garment...but what? I remember I used to have an old, oversized mustard jumper in the early 90s that I wore almost everyday - you can just about see it in the photo below.

{WARNING: I used to look like Ugly Betty. You may want to avert your eyes} 

I loved that jumper, it was completely stretched out and baggy and perfect to wear over leggings (yes, they were fashionable back then too, but mine had massive flower power flowers all over them!)

oh my god, what was i thinking with those glasses?!

I thought about buying a mustard coloured cardi or jumper again but then came across some organic cotton at The Organic Textile Company from a link through Roobeedoo's blog (thanks Roo!). It was billed as being grown organically and dyed naturally with pomegranate and turmeric - and was on special offer. Actually, it still is, I've just checked! So, not one to forgo a bargain, I snapped it up as I reckoned it would be perfect for a skirt.

Excuse all the creases - my iron died and I didn't have my new one when the photo was taken.

I wanted a straight skirt for work, preferably with pockets. We have this semi-official uniform policy of polo shirt and trousers that we're trying out at the moment. Although it's great for not having to think about what I'm going to wear each morning, I was getting a bit sick of wearing the same thing all the time and even more fed up of not being very smart. So I've decided to mix it up a bit and wear uniform some days of the week and normal clothes the rest.

I already had the New Look 6843 pattern in which one of the variations is a knee length pencil/straight skirt but none of the variations had pockets. Pockets are essential! But wait a minute -  haven't I just finished the Kelly skirt? That has pockets! Can I apply the same principles? WHY YES!

So that's just what I did! I drafted my own pocket bags to make them a slightly different shape and size but otherwise just followed Megan Nielsen's brilliant instructions and it worked a treat. The only thing with the addition of pockets was that it made the front panel a bit too big and as I couldn't increase the seam allowances at the sides (due to the pockets being in the way) I had to add in an extra pleat on each side of the front panel. I don't think it's a problem though. I've read on patternreview since that the pattern does have quite a bit of ease at the hips and other people have had to take theirs in too.

With my Sorbetto top

The NL6843 pattern is fairly easy to follow and overall this skirt took very little time to sew up. There were a few instructions that implied prior sewing knowledge though, with little direction, despite this being billed as "1 hour easy". It definitely took me a few hours, not just one! I just didn't like some of the instructions being a bit vague, but I suppose this isn't a huge problem for anyone who isn't a complete beginner and seeing as I managed to work it out, given time and more experience, I probably could do it in a couple of hours...

I skipped the slit in the side of the skirt because I didn't like it and I'm glad I did as the skirt doesn't need one - it's roomy enough to manoeuvre in without a slit. I also made my first successful buttonhole! I had major problems with this when sewing my Kelly skirt (I think it must have been due to the thinner, slippier fabric) and Amanda from Bimble and Pimble gave me some great tips on putting small bits of extra interfacing under the buttonhole area before sewing. I'm so glad I tried this as it worked out fine. Well, almost fine: I made it a little bit too close to the edge and it's not the neatest buttonhole ever but it works and that's all that matters!

 

Anyway, the skirt is comfy to wear and pockets really do make all the difference. I'm sure I'll make it again, but next time I want to try a heavier material (or even, dare I hope, wool) for a winter skirt. I might also try making a narrower, more pencil shaped skirt by cutting a smaller size. All in all, this is a great pattern for beginners like me and I would definitely recommend it.

In other sewing news, I'm currently sewing covers for the window seat cushions - the irregular corner bits are making it a hard job! Photos will be here when I finish, but I suspect it may be some time yet! I'm also going to make another Kelly skirt in denim. Watch this space...

Oh, and sorry if the Ugly Betty photo gives anyone nightmares ;)

New Year but not New Me

2012 was probably the best year of my life so far. I got married. I learned how to sew clothes. I started blogging properly and discovered the fabulous sewing-blogging community. I got married. Oh I said that already! (It was big thing tho...)

Sewing highlights include my Robe Sureau and my Kelly skirt. I'm really looking forward to making Washi and Cambie dresses next year! 

I've decided not to make too many resolutions for 2013. Mainly because I don't think that there's any point in trying to make myself stick to things just for the sake of it, like other years. I will inevitably break all resolutions that aren't important enough to me and then feel annoyed with myself. So instead, I've decided I'm just going to pick a few things that are important to me:

• I want to carry on sewing - making things that I will use, wear and improving my techniques. I want to enjoy my sewing
• I want to learn how to knit and/or crochet
• I want to lose between 4 and 5kg by June and get myself healthier and fitter - I think that's a realistic goal and hopefully one that I will stick to as it's for a specific reason

So that's it, just three. This year coming, I'm not going to try and change a whole lot. I like who I am at the moment, I love my life and I want to stay happy! Oh, and I will carry on blogging (thank you to everyone who takes a little peek or leaves lovely comments, I get very excited when that happens!) How about you, do you have any thoughts on what you want out of the next twelve months?

Happy New Year!