Feel good film

I recently watched Easter Parade whilst finishing my Sencha. I love this film, it's so good. The music is fantastic. This little mix of songs is one of my favourite sequences. You can't not love Judy and Fred. Why can't life be like this now? Enjoy

It's been a while...

... since I posted here but lots has been happening. I finished my Sencha weeks ago! I will post pics soon. Andy got a new job so the redundancy difficulties are now over. My lovely little Brother machine that I bought because my Mum has a Brother (a vintage one) failed me. I love Brother machines and this one has been so good, but it won't sew though thick seams (well, only 4 thicknesses) and needles were breaking here there and everywhere. Long story short, I tried to get it fixed but to no avail. Apparently it can't be fixed, that's just the way it is, a light weight machine. So I invested in a sturdy workhorse machine that I hope will last me for the rest of my life. I'm loving this machine. It is a Pfaff 1.0. I've written a review about it on pattern review.com and I am going to be doing some youtube tutorials which I will post here. I found tutorials like this so helpful when I was looking for a new machine so I thought I'd contribute to help others. It's such a new machine (I think it only came out in the summer) that there aren't many reviews and tutorials around. So hopefully this will help people whe considering it. I think it is a great machine. My review looks like it has a long list of things I don't like! But I just wanted to include everything and be honest. In reality they are just little niggles, no machine is perfect. The good things about this machine definiately outweight the niggles. Check out my review, see what you think. http://sewing.patternreview.com/SewingMachine/Review/1/4414

Violet Blouse

I finished my Violet blouse a week ago but haven't been able to take a good picture as it has been so dark. Despite the sunshine outside today, my photo is still dark. I've tried every room in the house, and nearly fell down the stairs when I lost balance carrying the dressform, but still no happiness. So I'm afraid my pictures are dull and don't really show it to its potential. I think it must be the time of year as the front of my house gets the sun streaming in during the summer.

Anyway, I am so delighted with this! I've already worn it and had compliments. My mum said it looked old fashioned in a good way, I think she meant it looked vintage. I've been wearing it with a little cardigan of a similar colour and I love it.

What I particularly love are the buttons as they are from the 1940s. I think they go perfectly with the fabric and add to the vintage charm I was going for. I altered the sleeves, giving them a few small gathers to create an even more feminine look and I used more buttons than recommended as mine were slightly smaller. The pattern was a dream to use as it is so well drafted. Many people may think a blouse like this would be tricky for a beginner but the excellent instructions and the way all the pieces go together perfectly make this easy. I learnt new techniques too such as button holes and how to make a collar and this is my first sleeve attempt. I was so delighted with the results that I jumped straight into my next project the same day. I will reveal all when it is done...

Just a little update

My Violet blouse is almost finished! It has taken me a long time as sewing progress has been slow due to work, but I'm so excited to finish it. I've only got the buttons and buttonholes left to do. I will post a photo on here when it is done.
At my sewing class I've made a good start on my Macaron dress and I'm going to work on this at home too this week and hopefully get most of the top part done by next Tuesday, well, that's the plan.
Things have been really strange and unsettling here lately. With redundancy comes pain, sadness, frustration, lack of confidence and an unknown future. At this time, this song lifts me, makes me smile, and allows me to dream about where life might take us next. Plus I love Kate Bush so much. Makes me want to wear a red dress and dance in the woods. Maybe dancing in the woods is the answer to life's troubles?!

These are a few of my favourite things...

'These are a few of my favourite things...' blog posts will be a series based on my favourite Etsy shops and any other handmade things that I love. It's my way showing appreciation for things other people have made, because I love handmade things, I really do. To start off with I've chosen Etsy shop Hanako. I adore things made from felt and I love to see how creative people can be with it. Alina's brooches are like little works of art, tiny portraits. As soon as I saw them I had to buy one. But trying to choose one was so difficult as I love so many of them. I chose the one above. I love it, it is so sweet. I love the big bow and her Peter Pan collar. It arrived in this cute package, tied up with string!

Beautiful packaging and I very sweet note inside too. It makes your purchase feel so special, I love little touches like this.

Here I am enjoying the lovely weather we are having here, wearing my brooch.

The brooch is beautifully made, each stitch is tiny and perfect.

Here are a few examples of the lovely brooches you can find in her shop.

This little hedgehog is so cute.

I wanted to buy this knitting one and the earmuffs one too. Hopefully one day I can buy these.

Love, love, love this etsy shop. I think they would make ideal Christmas gifts. You can also check out Alina's really cute blog here.

Dressmaking Course

Last week I started a dressmaking course at my local college. I was really excited to see so many people there, lots were my age too. We spent the first lesson getting to grips with a sewing machine, which was a bit pointless for me as I know how to use one very well, but it was good for me to get to know the other people. This week she is going to show us how to cut our patterns properly and even though I can do this, I'm hoping to pick up lots of hints and tips and learn how to be even better!

I've been working lots lately and I'll be doing extra hours this week, so I'm really glad I signed up to this course because it will force me to sew every week. At the course I'm going to start by making a Macaron dress.

I've been having trouble deciding exactly how to make it. I've chosen some navy blue cotton winceyette fabric which is so soft and I thought it would make the dress cosy for winter. I planned to use this for the whole dress so there won't be a contrast, but I feel some red in there somewhere might really make it look great. Maybe as the waistband or as piping along the sweetheart part of the bodice. Then I was worried it might be too bright for me. Then I was thinking polka dots would make a nice contrast and I got all confused! So as it stands, it will be navy blue but it is subject to change, see how I get on. I'm still in the process of making a violet blouse and I'm hoping it will be finished soon. I'm up to attaching the collar. Bit worried about the button holes as I've never done those before so they will take a bit of practice I'm sure. Right, I'm off to pre-wash my winceyette now so it will be ready for Tuesday!

Sew Retro Book Review

I adore this book. It's been around for a while book I just wanted to tell anyone who hasn't seen it about it. If you love sewing, you'll love it because of how it researches the history of sewing. The pictures are great and the projects are fun ad inspiring. I was going to talk about it in more detail but I found this video by the author, so who better to tell you than her?!

She actually doesn't mention what I think is the best project in the book, the teapot tablecloth.

The teapots are napkin holders!How cute! I will make this one day. Love this book, so worth buying.