The Green Grass of Home

I had a lovely May bank holiday weekend looking after my grandparents' house and pooch whilst they were at a wedding. The Saturday was particularly glorious; sunshine, luminous green grass and spring flowers. There was plenty of wildlife about, including a sparrowhawk who decided to join us for breakfast on the patio - I WON'T have what he's having...

Let the Dorset tourist board advert commence!

Spine of Purbeck - Poole harbour on the left

The stick muncher herself

Both sides still alive!

Fetch Cara!

Not so native wildlife

Sparrowhawk having breakfast

An Epic Yarn

More fantastic hilltop poses for you today! I started knitting this cardigan many moons ago (it featured in my 30 days of photos series in Nov 2012), but I finally finished it at the start of this year. I clearly work at a snail's pace in everything I do as I am only just blogging about it now! This is the first proper cabling I have attempted, but once I had learnt the pattern it was an easy knit, and I think worth the wait, although perhaps I should have tried to finish it for the start of winter, it is lovely and warm. The pattern is by Rowan, called Benbecula, and I used a pure British wool aran made by Jarol, I'd never seen it before until I picked it off the shelf in the Wool shop in Bath, but it is nice real wool that you can still smell the lanolin on, mmmm Sheepy! Anyway, to the poses...

Hopefully there are no mistakes in this bit!

2013 Sewing Adventures

This year I have really made a stab (pun intended!) at sewing, partly inspired by The Great British Sewing Bee BBC programme, and all the brilliant sewing bloggers I subsequently discovered (Tilly, Karen, Gertie, Rochelle to name just a few). Here is a summary of the few things I have made this year, hopefully the learning curve is evident!

This is the first garment I have made, or at least that is wearable! A simple gathered skirt, using the tutorial on Tilly's blog. I made the front as one piece and put a zip in the side seam, and put a pocket on the other side - all clothes should have pockets! I also lined it as the white was a bit see-through. I have worn this lots so I call that a success.

I then gave my first proper pattern a go, the Hawthorn dress by Colette, following the sewalong that followed the pattern release. I made a dress version using this fun floral print, then later made the plaid/tartan shirt (below).

Cuff with proper sleeve placket, the learning curve continues!

After starting my sewing career on a hand-crank Singer 99k from 1946, I got this beast after sewing up the Hawthorn dress. It is a Singer 401G, made in 1965, and it is brilliant machine! An ebay purchase, including shipping and a service cost less than £100, much less than a new machine that is so well built. As it has lived for this long I hope it will last for many more years. It is an all-metal construction, and does lots of fancy stitches. It also came in the original case with most of the original accessories, so I think it has been well looked after. I love it!

Next up, I made a bridesmaid's dress for my sister's wedding. That is me on the left of the pic! It is based on the Elisalex dress by By Hand London. I braved some expensive silk, which unfortunately my camera does not like photographing! I made a circle skirt and an underskirt, to fit with the style of my sister's dress. I also added lace sleeves. I am fairly pleased with the outcome, although the silk stretched a bit during sewing so the fit wasn't as good as it could have been.

More wedding fun!

As an aside, my beautiful sister runs a catering business in the French Alps, if you ever find yourself there and in need of delicious food. Have a look here if you need convincing of whether you should visit!

And this is my Christmas party dress! This is a proper Elisalex with the tulip skirt. The construction of this dress is a joy, the bodice is really clean in the inside, and the princess seams give a lovely fit. I love the fabric, found in Cardiff on sale, supposed to be for curtains I think, but the weight works well with this pattern.

As well as attempting dress-making, I also thought I'd give quilting a go, I have loads of clothes anyway! I like quilting, it is a little less stressful than dressmaking as it can be quite repetitive, which is good when I only have evenings to sew, after using my brain for science all day.

My first quilting adventure, blogged in more detail here. Purely self-indulgent, now has a permanent spot on my bed :)

This was a wedding present for my sister, more details here. I think it was liked!

So, I am quite pleased with everything I have made this year, I feel that I have learnt a lot and pushed myself, and I know that everything I have made will be worn. I think it is safe to say that I am addicted; next up, Grainline Archer shirt! Lots of fabric to work through...

Shut Up and Ride

The power of a quick spin through the countryside never fails to impress me. I step out of the door in an advanced state of grumpiness, full of annoyance at all people. 15 minutes down the track in the evening light and I am smiling and saying 'hello' to everyone I pass, full of the joys of life. That fresh air is heady stuff indeed.

Life is Absurd

Day 13... Sleepy Sunday

The cats have the right idea on a wet Sunday like this. He's been there so long he is covered in dust...

Leaves on the Line

Everything is starting to go golden finally, but there seems to be a lack of sunshine with it, unfortunately. I know I only talk about the weather but I can't help it, I really do enjoy watching the changing of the seasons. I am filled with melancholy this year though, there is so much negativity about in the world. I would very much like to unplug and run away for a while, in fact, I may just do that. I figure if you care then you'll find me, if not then that's okay, we'll be fine without each other. Any way, pretty pictures:

The Way Down

"Are we going down there?"

"Yes"

"Okay then..."

"Try to spend a little more time on your feet perhaps?"

Here follows me looking fabulous in snowboard gear...

I miss those bluebird skies, screw you english drizzle!