Handmade Gifts

Hi! How’s everyone’s week been? I’ve been really busy with work the last few days and out and about at a few meetings, but I have managed to finish knitting a sleeve for the jumper I’m working on and start the next one.

Just a quick post this week to show you a few of the gifts I’ve made recently – quick little makes but apparently gratefully received!

First a hanging fabric heart for my friend’s birthday – this was made from some of the leftovers from my first Delphine skirt. I just cut out two heart shapes with a paper template, sewed most of the way round attaching a length of ribbon at the top as I went, then turned through, filled with toy stuffing and closed the gap. A couple of little buttons from my stash neatened up where the ribbon joined in.

Next a mini cushion for my cousin, also for her birthday. This is from a pattern in the Half Yard Home book they bought me for Christmas and is made by cutting wedges of fabric then sewing them back together into a circle – I used a biggish dinner plate as the template. I used some bits of old jeans and a ripped up pink lace shirt to make the alternating panels – the lace is backed with more denim for sturdiness and to stop the stuffing coming out! Once turned out and stuffed (more toy filling) I used some embroidery floss to sew through pulling in the ‘pumpkin’ shape making each segment more individually puffed up. More buttons for finishing off the centre.

My sister also got a cushion for her birthday last week (a bit of a theme going on...). This is just a nine square patchwork cover with plain envelope back – the prints for the front were from the pack of Liberty scraps I got at the Knitting & Stitching Show, and the back pieces are from another pair of my old trousers. This is a straight copy (in terms of pattern) of the other Liberty patchwork cushion cover I made a while ago, and really quick to do – whizz up the rows for the front and then put them together, hem the open edges of the back pieces and then sew round the whole thing before turning out and putting the cushion pad in. The colour palette for my sister’s wedding later this year is ‘shades of blue’ so I thought this would be appropriate!

Finally a knitted gift. Some friends of mine are expecting their second baby in a few weeks so I knitted this little hooded cardi – they know it’s going to be a girl so safe with the pink! This is the same pattern as I knitted for my cousin’s baby for Christmas (that I forgot to take photos of), except a smaller size for a newborn, so a bit quicker too! I love this yarn, it’s a two-tone DK from Stylecraft and I love how it comes up in the double moss stitch, plus I’ve got loads left as it was a big ball! I spotted the little flower buttons in my local haberdashery, and love how the little pompom on the hood looks - so cute!

I’ve got a couple more gifts in the pipeline over the next couple of months, as well as this jumper for myself to finish – I’ll get there eventually! I’m also hoping to make a start on my Portia trousers this weekend and am steeling myself to attempt the zip fly – wish me luck! Have you been making gifts for your friends and family? I’d love to see what you’ve been getting up to!

The Spring Knitting & Stitching Show

Hi everyone, how are you all? I can’t believe we’re past half way through March and the weather is still so cold! I’ve hardly managed to get out in the garden at all yet this year, and the only real time I did was the plant up an old tin bath with some spring flowers – and I made sure to stay in the greenhouse out of the wind! The little narcissi tete-a-tetes have come out in flower and look really pretty against the blue primroses, and there’s some tulips growing nicely ready for the next wave of colour. Hopefully it will have warmed up enough by Easter weekend to get out and do some proper gardening, get the vegetable patch prepared and some seeds started.

Anyway, back to the main reason for this post – a run-down of my trip to the Spring Knitting & Stitching Show at Olympia a couple of weeks ago. I went for the first time last year and really enjoyed it, so booked tickets again this time and took Mum with me for a day out. The Olympia show is only half the size (in terms of number of exhibitors) as the big Ally Pally show in the autumn, but actually I quite like it as it’s not so crowded and you get a better chance to look at everything, talk to stallholders and makers, watch some of the demonstrations, and take part in workshops.

We started off working our way round one end of the hall and I was tempted straight away by rolls and rolls of ribbons, gorgeous buttons, miles of fabric and beautiful coloured yarns. I had gone with a targeted (if long!) shopping list so I tried my best not to get too distracted! I met the lovely Jules from Sew Me Something at their stand – it’s great to put faces to names after chatting on Twitter! I also bought one of their fab tote bags and the Portia trouser pattern. This is going to be my most ambitious project yet tackling pockets and a fly zip, but as it’s one of the very few patterns I’ve found for wide leg trousers (because I can’t stand skinny trousers) I think it’ll be a useful one to have in my wardrobe.

It’s compulsory (in my opinion) to hit the yarn dive at Black Sheep Wools and see what goodies emerge from the pile – this time I scored another pack of Rowan Revive and a pack of Summerspun – yarns I’ve already used and love – although I could have gone mad with several other packs, and the selection of cross stitch patterns was amazing, but I really don’t have the time to work on one of these! My other woolly purchase this time is a pattern and yarn from UK Alpacas for a shawl. I’ve not knitted one before, but this pattern is knitted from end to end so you started with a few stitches, increase until you get to the middle and then decrease across the other side. It sounds simple enough, and the yarn is gorgeously soft (I went for a neutral cream) so that’s going to be next one my list after I’ve finished my current jumper.

I got a few other ‘odds and ends’ this time round – a couple of extra feet for my sewing machine and some spare bobbins, dressmaker’s tracing paper and a couple of pompom makers. I expanded my pattern selection too with the Anna dress from By Hand London, and a few easy jersey knit patterns from McCall’s.

Fabric was my main spend though, starting small with a pack of Liberty Tana Lawn pieces in beautiful blues, and then I found the SimplyFabrics and Fabrics Galore stands. From the first I got a couple of metres of red and white striped jersey, and two metres of this amazing blue and white patterned viscose. It drapes beautifully and I’ve got it earmarked for a couple of summer tops. The prices here were incredible, only £4 a metre for the two I got; almost makes me wish I’d bought more!

At Fabrics Galore I treated myself to some more Liberty Lawn in this purple Capel print (Capel is the parish in Kent where my Nan grew up), and this red peacock print cotton – these will both make more summer wardrobe basics I hope. Finally, by pure luck I spotted this Alexander Henry ‘La Paloma’ on a roll that someone else had finished with and snapped up the final two metres! This was the fabric that Deborah used on the Sewing Bee for her summer cotton print dress and I loved it – every website I’ve checked since has been out of stock so I’m really happy to have found it. It’s only a narrow cut but I’m hoping I should have enough for a simple dress – something that doesn’t require too much pattern matching!

After a well deserved sit down and a picnic lunch Mum went off for a wander round the quilting and textile art exhibits, and I did a workshop making an easy jersey knit t-shirt. I was hoping to pick up some tips on using an ordinary sewing machine for working with this kind of fabric as I like wearing it and want to make use of the patterns I bought. Unfortunately I don’t think the set-up for the Dressmaking Studio space was very practical, it was really just an open area in the middle of the main hall with tables and sewing machines set up, but people could still wander through and of course it was open to all the general chatter and background noise. I think there were about 10 of us in the group but because of the noise the lady running the class (Janice I think, though she didn’t properly introduce herself) had to walk round between us instead of being able to stand at the front and talk us all through at the same time. The fabric pieces had already been cut out for us to save time and we ended up with a t-shirt with grown-on sleeves (so no need to set them in) meaning just two long seams down the sides. We did have to insert a bias neckband which was a bit fiddly but mine ended up OK – I had to go over a bit that I’d missed and left a hole so it ended up a bit puckered at the front. We also didn’t have time or opportunity to hem our t-shirts and we didn’t have twin needles for the sewing machines, so I finished this at home the next day. In the small amount of remaining time we had a go at slashing and plaiting spare pieces of jersey which was quite fun, but I think I’d have rather had a bit more instruction with the t-shirts. When we looked round, some of the other workshop spaces were in a different area and more screened off so I think they would have been quieter and a nicer place to be taught – I’ll have to remember to check for next time.

Overall I had a really good day, it was lovely to chat to other crafters and laugh at our efforts with the t-shirts in the workshop, and I’m very happy with all my shopping. It was nice to spend some time with Mum too as we’ve had a lot going on at home recently so it was good to have a break and do something fun. I can’t wait to get stuck in to making things with all my lovely new fabric but just need to work out my time as work has been really busy lately, and we’ve had a lot of family things at weekends. Hopefully now the evenings are getting lighter I’ll feel more like doing something when I get home from work instead of just cosying up on the sofa in front of the TV. My fabric stash expanded even more recently thanks to acquiring some fantastic curtain material from my Nan’s house – the pastel floral should be enough for a Walkaway dress, and the orange 1970s stuff will also make a dress I think. I’ve actually been making a lot of presents for other people recently so I’ll update you on those next time – when they’ve all had their gifts so that I don’t spoil the surprise!

Great British Sewing Bee - The Final

I can’t believe it’s over! I came home from a choir rehearsal last night to watch the final (I was running a bit late but had set it to record so was able to start later and catch up) because I couldn’t wait to see what happened, but now I don’t want it to have finished so quickly! I really hope there will be another series with a few more episodes. (Apologies for no pictures in this post, but there's plenty of images from the show on Twitter and elsewhere).

The final three contestants – Neil, Matt and Lorna – were clearly all so supportive of each other, and actually not too competitive against each other. They’ve all had their strengths throughout the weeks so it really was anyone’s for the taking, and would come down to the last garments.

For the last three challenges Patrick and May picked a pattern challenge with no diagrams and minimal instructions that apparently turned into a Japanese-style draped top; the alteration was to change and add structure to a Grecian-style pleated full length dress while keeping it as a wearable garment; and the big finale made to measure challenge was an avant-garde show-stopping evening gown.

The origami top only had one pattern piece and is one of those that once you figure out which parts join where is a real lightbulb moment – the explanation we as the audience got with a diagram made total sense once you saw it, but for the sewers faced with a really peculiarly shaped piece of fabric it was quite a brain teaser. Poor Lorna really struggled to get her head around it, but the boys with their engineering backgrounds helped explain it to her which was lovely to see – they both said they’d rather compete against other finished garments than leave someone to fall behind. Lorna’s fabric choice was absolutely gorgeous though, a fabulous cerise satin, although it was hard for her to work with being so slippery and having a bit of stretch. Matt chose a really fine georgette in a floral which looked really pretty, but again he had difficulty manipulating it where he needed it to go, and didn’t get the bias neck facing quite right. Neil straightaway got to grips with the mechanics of the pattern, and had chosen a sensible fabric (a fine cotton I think) so was able to spend a bit of time making sure his finish was good. In the results, Neil’s top came first, Lorna second and Matt third, although Lorna said she didn’t deserve second as she wouldn’t have finished at all if the boys hadn’t helped her. I quite like the idea of this kind of top, I think they’re quite flattering, and now I’ve seen how this one was put together I perhaps might not be too terrified to have a go myself.

Challenge two – the alteration. A gorgeous selection of dresses to choose from and three very different ideas. Matt shortened the skirt on his and added some stiff lining to work into a waved or fluted hem, and changed the neckline from straps to a halterneck and neatened the back. Lorna mainly used to the skirt of her dress to create a new higher neckline with a tie collar, and added hooped boning to the skirt to create a lampshade shape. Neil went completely off the wall and chopped his dress into a short skirt and then attached lower leg trouser pieces by boning straps – this prompted Neil and Claudia to coin the term ‘skanklette’ (skirt with ankles) to describe the creation! May and Patrick’s reaction was brilliant, Patrick was nearly speechless but appalled, although they were both impressed with Matt’s and Lorna’s dresses. Neil somewhat predictably in this case came last, and Lorna finally got another first place with Matt in the middle. Still an open field, although Matt looked a little vulnerable with a third and a second place so far.

The finale round gave the contestants seven and a half hours to create a show-stopping avant-garde gown for a surprise model. Not really too much of a surprise because we know they’ve done this before, but it’s lovely to see they sewers’ reactions when their family come in – Neil and Matt’s wives and Lorna’s daughter-in-law. The boys have both made things for their other halves before (we’ve seen clips in other episodes) but Lorna hadn’t made her DIL anything before – but she said she wasn’t worried because anything would look beautiful on her (Awwww!). All three had really pushed the boat out with their ideas for this challenge – Neil and Lorna were using commercial patterns but adding their own twist, and Matt had drafted his own diamond-shaped skirt to attach to a corset bodice. May and Patrick had their reservations about all three (of course) – they weren’t convinced that the combination of fabrics Neil was trying to put together (although I loved his idea of using his photos of Afghanistan as inspiration for the colours), Patrick nearly had palpitations over Lorna’s idea to add fairy lights to the hem of her pink and lime green gown, and Matt’s skirt structure was cause for concern. All three sewers did fantastically well with no major dramas this time and the three finished dresses looked amazing. Lorna’s fitted strapless dress with high-low overskirt looked really striking, although the judges picked up on mi-matched seams at the back, and didn’t think the pink tulle hem worked very well. Neil’s was a beautifully draped shape, although his slinky fabrics meant he’d had to add in extra pleats to stop one side dragging to the floor which May didn’t think had been handled quite right, and his lining peeked out of the slashed back. Matt’s dress was amazing, and didn’t swamp his five foot two wife Gemma – the corset fitted really well and the structure of the sequined skirt held up well with the boning, the only criticism was that the skirt seams needed a better press and there was a bit of puckering around the zip.

At this point it’s lovely to see the whole group of sewers from the series come back and chat about what they think of the finalists’ creations. However, in the haberdashery Claudia, Patrick and May were deep in debate trying to pick a winner. They base their decision solely on the garments made in this final round – which I’m not sure I entirely agree with given the spread of challenge winners in previous weeks – but ultimately it came down to the very final dresses and which one they thought best met the brief and was the best executed. So with everyone gathered in the sewing room, and the three finalists hugging each other for support, the winner is announced – it’s Matt! His face was an absolute picture as the realisation that his name had been called sunk in. I’m really pleased, his final dress was stunning, and overall he has been consistent throughout the series with some beautiful makes. I think Lorna is a wonderful sewer and made some gorgeous things, although she sometimes played it a bit safe, and struggled with some techniques new to her. Neil has been brilliant every week, making some incredible things, and has been the most successful contestant ever in terms of challenge wins, but I think this week he tried to do a bit too much and it didn’t quite pay off.

My favourite bit is the montage at the end showing what all the sewers have been doing since the show was filmed, and it’s lovely to see they are all still sewing. I’m sure a few of them will go on to bigger and better things in the sewing world, just as Tilly, Lauren and Jenni have done.

So it’s all over for another series, and I’ve loved every minute of it, it’s been great to join in all the conversations on Twitter, and I’m so inspired by the new book to get on with making some new things for myself. I’ve now got a tonne of fabric to work my way through thanks to my trip to the Spring Knitting & Stitching Show (watch out for a blog post about this soon) and the acquisition of a couple of amazing sets of vintage curtains from my Nan’s house. Watch this space for what I get up to! Happy sewing everyone!

Sewing Bee semi-final - Leather & Lace

Wowzers! (Sorry Matt, I hope you don't mind me borrowing that!) Now that was one intense semi-final - three tricky fabrics and three tricky challenges: a lined lace pencil skirt, neoprene wetsuit, and a leather jacket. And another double elimination!

The pencil skirt sounded simple enough to start with - back waist darts, invisible zip - but oh no, it had to be made in lace that should pattern-match at the seams, which would also need to be very fine, and fully lined in silky fabric. And within the time limit. Hmm...not that simple then. There were some beautiful fabric choices, I particularly loved Deborah's turquoise, Lorna's orange and Paul's purple, while Neil went for classic black, and Matt a paler shimmery blue. I thought everyone did really well, there were a few of the usual problems - wonky hems, patterns not quite matching, puckered seams, and linings being too full, and in the end it was Matt who got first place with Lorna second and Deborah third - Neil slipping down the rankings after last week's successes!

Next up, the alteration challenge, and the maddest starting point yet - a wetsuit to be made into a fitted dress. Paul really struggled with this one, setting in sleeves the wrong way round and then rushing to attach a skirt (which the judges actually thought was the best bit). Matt and Neil both went for a pink theme; Matt's with ruffles and flowers, and Neil's with a full length skirt and open back. Lorna went completely bonkers and cut out the boobs of her wetsuit and replaced them with Madonna-esque satin pointed inserts. Deborah came top in this round combining her wetsuit with another neoprene fabric in the most amazing digital print with inset panels in the bodice/neck and skirt. Could still be anybody's game at this point.

Round three, the made to measure, and it's a fully lined leather jacket. Holy moly! In six and a half hours! I think I'm with Claudia on this one, at least five days would be preferable! Paul had the mad fabric moment this time with a stiff patent red snakeskin print leather, Lorna went lime green, Deborah stuck with the turquoise theme, while Matt and Neil played it more traditional with grey and black. This has got to be the hardest challenge by far, but there were some useful tips on how to work with leather - no pins, sharp needle. Deborah's was going really well, the shape with a double hip peplum was gorgeous, until she cut her zip to length and then pulled the tab right off the top! Disaster! Neil once again got garment of the week, his jacket looked brilliant, and I loved the oversized roll collar.

So, two people leaving, and this week it was the turn of Paul and Deborah. I was so sad for both of them, especially Deborah, her jacket would have been incredible if not for the zip crisis! They have both been fantastic every week and it'll be strange without them on the show next week.

That leaves, Matt, Neil and Lorna in the final, and I can't wait to see what they have to make, and who will win!

Yesterday I went to the Spring Knitting & Stitching Show at Olympia and spent a small fortune, but I'll do a full run down another day. Has anyone else been this weekend? Hope you had fun!