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Stash Guilt

April 30, 2009 By 11 Comments

Say, for instance, you went to Fabrics Galore recently, and you already bought some stuff you haven’t used. Say also that your lovely friend wants to go and get fabrics for this beaded scarf idea she has, and you mention that you know a good place. Say that you hatch a plan where she drives down to visit you and collect her overlocker and then you drive her across South London to the fabric shop.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable of you to come home with another bag of fabric, would it?

fg3

The trouble with that place is that there are too many nice things, and the prices are so reasonable, that you feel silly for not picking up something lovely while you’re there. And I do have plans for some of these things, in the bag department, only I do seem to be running at a snail’s pace when it comes to actually making anything at the moment.

fg1

So I have stash guilt, even though Mr Joleo called while I was in the middle of the shop and told me to ‘get enough stuff’ this time. It’s only made worse by seeing what lovely things Helen has made from our last trip, compounded by having bought the same fabrics and yet being far too lazy to have done anything with them. I ought to have been a Catholic really, with the amount of pointless guilt I carry. When we got home, Jo asked to see the stash and declared that it wasn’t that bad at all, and in fact made it seem like a very reasonable amount of fabric to have hanging about at home. This is the mark of the very best kind of friend I think.

fg2

Happily Jo also found the right kind of fabrics for her scarves and made herself a new friend in the owner of the shop. And me? Well, I now know how to drive there in the car…

Filed Under: Fabric, I've been shopping - 11 Comments

Expanding Expandable Wardrobe

March 30, 2009 By 6 Comments

See what happens when you get out of the habit of blogging? Weeks pass and you forget to write down all those things you have swirling in your head. I’m going to attempt to blog every day this week, just to see if I can get back into the habit, althought that might mean that by Friday I’ll be very dull indeed…

So. Maternity Clothes. I’ve been less than impressed with the offerings from the big pattern companies, with the exception of Burda who have a cute tunic I like the look of. The pickings are very slim, and not exactly fashionable. I know I’m old to be heading down the mama road, but I don’t really want to look like I fell out of Laura Ashley circa 1981. Desperate times called for sensible measures, so I fired off an email to the Hot Patterns team to see if they could offer any advice, and got back the most useful email from Trish.

hotpatterns maternity ideas

Her recommendation was to take a pattern like the Sunshine Tops (which I already own) and make it a size bigger to accommodate my expanding middle section, possibly even expanding the bust size again, depending on how I grow.

I bought the other two patterns she suggested too, because she’d said that it would be very simple to elongate the peasant tops into a dress (and I think a tunic too). And the delicious dresses would be great for wearing throughout, and most probably afterwards – nothing too tight or clingy. I really need no excuse to wax lyrical about Hot Patterns, but to get such useful advice from Trish herself sets them apart from the competition just that little bit more in my book.

new fabrics

Last weekend I took the best fabric shopping companions I know on a trip to Lavender Hill. A couple of years ago I came across Fabrics Galore at the Knitting and Stitching show, and vowed that one day I’d make it to the shop. I didn’t, because the easiest way to get there from my neck of the woods is on the most unreliable bus route in South London, and I am scared of looking for parking at the other end of new to me driving adventures. It’s one reason I know a really quick route to Ikea, because I know there’s definitely parking, so when I got my license it was a good practise drive for me. Anyway, I know they are terrible excuses, and I have only been spiting myself, because look at the loveliness we found there. Some of my haul is for bags but the middle one above will possibly become one of those peasant tops.

new fabrics

But there’s part of me that knows it would be wise to test the pattern first which is why I’ve got these cheaper fabrics to play with. I can test the fit and make adjustments, but I may still have a wearable house garment at the end of it, if nothing else. I’m just not very good with the muslin concept yet – I want something to show for my efforts.

beautiful silk

But I’ve got to practise before I cut into this beautiful silk. It’s so unlike me to choose something like this, but I couldn’t resist. Of course I’m terrible scared of it, so it might still be sitting folded in the stash come Christmas, but at least I’ll have been able to look at it for a few months.

So on to the cutting and tracing. In preparation I thought I’d take my measurements and see how I’ve changed already – cor blimey guv’nor is all I’ve got to say about that…

Filed Under: Fabric, Hot Patterns, I've been shopping, Patterns, Pregnant - 6 Comments

Change of Plan

March 16, 2009 By 6 Comments

I settled down today to do some serious cutting out. I’d only got this far -

bibs cut

when I heard from my friend that the fair we were going to do in two weeks has been put back to October 3rd. Shame. I pondered for a few minutes how likely it was that I’d want to do said fair then (not very, given current circumstances), took a look outside and decided to scrap the cutting out (not to mention any household cleaning) and go for a walk in my new shoes.

new shoes

First day of the year without socks – bliss!

Filed Under: Fabric, I've been shopping - 6 Comments

Back to Basics

March 13, 2009 By 7 Comments

Thank you all so much for your comments and emails about my news :) It’s very nice to come out of the closet into such lovely company.

I really didn’t like Midwest Modern. To be honest I don’t much like Midwest Modern 2. I was starting to get the sinking feeling that Amy Butler and I might have to part ways but then I came across these in John Lewis yesterday:

Daisy Chain

And I love them! They’re from the Daisy Chain collection, and they have that contrast that I love in some of Amy’s earlier collections. It’s nice to have bought something new as well – I haven’t really bought fabric since Japan, so it’s no wonder I was feeling lacklustre. I think the only way to sew into your stash is to introduce something new that has to be used now.

You never know – my poor dusty Janome might even get a run out this weekend…

Filed Under: Fabric, I've been shopping - 7 Comments

Before Spring Comes

January 21, 2009 By 4 Comments

I intended to finish the kitten blanket before the winter arrived, but with one thing and another (namely ny own lack of interest in all things woolen over the summer months) I ended up with a bag full of squares, which do not quite have the same impact as a blanket. I thought it would be a relatively simple task to join them all together, right up until I opened the book and read the pattern again, when I realised that each of these little squares is supposed to have a nice border before they can be joined.

edging

Now I realise that there will be those of you who will say ‘pattern schmattern’ and suggest that I could have just plunged on, joined the squares and finished the thing at Christmas. I’m afraid that’s just not possible for me – if I’m following a pattern then I’m following a pattern. Well, at least the first time I make something. Being a new crochet convert makes it seem all the more important that I follow it through, simply because I don’t have that innate sense of what would happen if I did or didn’t. When you can cook you can look at a recipe and mentally subtract an egg, or the rosemary, because your experience tells you what it can and can’t do without, and with this I simply don’t know what I’d get if I subtracted the egg, aside from a smaller blanket.  I’m sure I’ll get there with the wool thing, but for now I’m edging.

new wool

As part of my commitment to wool I bought this in the sale at Johnny L. It’s a silk/rayon/cotton mix and feels very soft to the touch. Mr J asked me what it was for. ‘It’ll be the next blanket,’ I said. He looked at the pile of squares, some edged, some not, looked back at me with his mouth open to ask the inevitable question, but then said ‘oh never mind’ and went back to his laptop.  Sensible fellow.

new book

I bought this book for the next blanket, which has been on my wishlist for ages. I can see this keeping me happy for a good number of years to come, since I’m not feeling the need to branch out from making squares. Crochet is something I do to keep my hands busy while watching TV or listening to an audio book, so I’m not sure I’ll want to complicate it. When Helen said this week that working with wool is a craft that keeps itself to itself I knew exactly what she meant, since I too have been neglecting my sewing machine. Like all things I’m sure it’s temporary, and it probably has a lot to do with it being so cold and wanting to sit in front of the fire.

Filed Under: Crochet, I've been shopping - 4 Comments
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