Welcome Back!

Let’s be honest…it’s been a while since I put anything on this blog; over a year in fact! So first of all, welcome back!  I’m planning on getting my blog back up and running as I’m still very much sewing every day and making lots of things that I can share with you.  I share a lot over on my Instagram but there are few garments that I would like to go into more detail about over here.

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I’m planning on sharing some of my recent makes.  Some are sponsored, some are work related, some I’ve had the fabric given to me and some are just my own me mades.  I’ll be fully transparent within each blog, just so you know which is which!

Over the last year, I’ve really worked on building up more of my paid sewing work.  I’m working in the local community offering group classes and individual sewing classes.  My group classes have just got back going again, but with how the World is at the moment, my private lessons are becoming more popular.

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I’m also on the writing team for Sewing Life Magazine [Aff Link].  It’s an online magazine which is released bimonthly.  You get a sewing pattern and a magazine that is full of useful articles.  I write a few articles and sew up samples for each edition.

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Home-wise we are doing ok! As well as anyone can be doing through a pandemic anyway.  Rosie is 2 and a half and is quite the toddler.  She makes us laugh every day and now loves it when she gets to wear the clothes that Mama made for her!

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Well, it does feel lovely to write another blog.  Something I haven’t really sat down to do for a long time.  Please say hello again! Speak soon xx

Bonnell Dresses: My First Pattern Alterations

Bonnell dresses

Just over a month ago, I made my first Bonnell dress from Dixie DIY.  I knew that this was the dress I was going to make for my Art Gallery Fabric project so I really wanted to make the fit of the dress perfect.  For the very first dress, I used a pink & green floral cotton with a plain purple cotton lining.  I shortened the bodice pattern by 1 inch as I’ve now gathered that I need to do this for most dress bodices.  The rest of the pattern was cut out in a size 10.

Bonnell dresses

Talented Tuesday Link Party – No. 26 – NEW HOSTESS NEEDED!!!

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 Welcome to Talented Tuesday No. 26!

Wow! I feel like this post is a bit of a milestone…we have been hosting this party for half a year now!! Isn’t that great?  It really doesn’t seem that long since we started the party!

That being said, unfortunately Meaghan from Cook Craft Love can no longer host with us 😦 A huge thanks must go to Meaghan for hosting over the last 6 months – I wish her well in her future ventures 🙂 So that means we are looking for a new hostess!! If you think you would be up for it, let me know and I can point you in the right direction…over to Kristina!

Don’t forget to follow us!

The Tale of the Short Sleeved Shirt

When fabric shopping last week, Adam found some burgundy cotton, scattered with small golden stars.  He asked if I would make him a shirt and of course, I agreed as long as he could find me a pattern.  So he did.  He chose a New Look pattern that had an option for a shirt for both of us.  I must admit that I was a little scared of the thought of making something that wasn’t clothing for me.  I couldn’t try  it on half way through and I knew that it had to be as close to perfect as possible as I know how fussy Adam can be with his clothes.

This was the first pattern where I had traced elements rather than cutting it all out to the size needed.  I used freezer paper to trace and it is nice to know that I have that pre-cut pattern now to use again.  Even if it did take an extra hour to trace and cut :-/

I made a few alterations to the instructions as it called for interfacing within the collar and under the shirt front.  I didn’t have any  so just went for a facing in the same material, which turned out to be just right and wasn’t too thick!  The body of the shirt came together perfectly and the facings were relatively easy to attach too.  The collar confused me loads and the instructions weren’t very clear; the pictures didn’t really help either.  I attached it and just hoped I had done it right!  It turned out fine but it seemed a very long winded way to attach a collar!  I also ended up catching a tiny bit of the facing in the collar seam….ggggrrrr!  Adam didn’t notice though!

A Sneaky Peek … and a Mini Giveaway!

So, I have been a little quiet on the blogging side this week!  I have been very busy sewing BUT I can’t really do proper blog posts about my creations for a couple of weeks!  They will be going across the Atlantic as presents for a few people back home!

However, I thought I could give you all a sneaky peek of what I have made!!

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AND in addition to this sneaky peek at my new creations… I am also going to announce that once I get to 100 followers, I’m going to run a little giveaway from my fabric stash 🙂  Just as a little celebration!!

For The Love of Sewing and The Hate of Bias Tape

Recently I have had plenty of time to re-connect with some of my hobbies; mainly sewing and photography.

Back in the UK, I was a Primary School Teacher and absolutely loved my job!  Ensuring that children enjoyed learning and had experienced different things was my passion.  I liked to do alternative activities and worked in a school where everyone worked hard to provide all children with opportunities that would set them up for the future.  As a teacher, I always found it hard to get the work/life balance right!  When I did have spare time, I would be decorating our house, walking the dog or just relaxing!  I know these are hobbies but there are other things that I love doing too; like sewing, photographing, blogging, crafting…..the list goes on!

For the last couple of weeks, I have fallen back into these hobbies and I LOVE it 🙂  There are so many ‘perks’ or ‘positives’ about sewing, so I thought I would list mine!