SEW BUSY WITH SIMPLICITY 2444

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I feel like I’ve been absent the last week. Sorry about that.

I have been busy and ‘sew busy’ at least.

This week I traced off two patterns, Lisette Passport Jacket and Simplicity 2444 (or My Postcode Dress). I could not decide which one to start first and then Joanne’s Stitch & Witter’s blog post popped up in Google Reader about her completed (and gorgeous) Simplicity 2444 The Portlandia and that set me off.

I’ve just got the hem to go and although I am dying to post a picture I think that would ruin the fun. Sorry folks.

Plus I would like to make a belt for this dress before I take a blog post picture for it.

My fabric choice was odd… but I like the overall effect (not that it looks like overalls mind you!). The print is quite big and the fabric is heavy. I like how the skirt is sitting and I think that is due to the weight of the fabric. And I thought I was a non-full skirt kinda girl, there you go!

My girls love it. I’ve never sure if that’s a good or a bad sign…

Here is a tiny sneak peek. Zipper is now done and I’ve whacked it on the dressform ‘Betty’ (so named because I ‘Draper/drape her’ – I know… groan, stupid joke).

Simplicity 2444 - basting the zipper

Basting in the zipper to Simplicity 2444. Did not follow the pattern instructions for this!

WHEN THE STARS ALIGN

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I love those moments in life when you know just what to do.
It doesn’t always have to be sewing. It’s just that golden moment that happens some days when you stop ‘making do’, the stars align and everything seems so simple. It’s as if life is singing to you.
I love that sound.
I love those moments.
I had one years ago, a few months before a trip to London to see a lovely old friend who was having her first baby. If you are reading this mate, I’ve ‘borrowed’ this off your Flickr account. Wasn’t sure about sending everyone there given its packed with family photos.
I was excited for her. Wanted to take something special. Didn’t know what.
Then I saw a quilt pattern and it was perfect. The colors were too soft but I just loved it and I knew just what to do.
There was the odd moment, like spending about 2 hours in the local patchwork shop to find the right border fabrics. Purchasing something and then changing my mind to go through the process all over again. It was worth it. The patchwork shop owner bought the pattern to remake ‘my quilt’ I figure that’s a good sign.
I’ve always had a ‘thing’ for checks/plaids in patchwork and a huge amount of this quilt came from my beloved stash – it felt right!
I had another moment yesterday.
I think I found the perfect fabric for a Lisette Passport Jacket and Simplicity dress 2444
I’m determined to line the Passport jacket so I’m doing some research before I start, starting here at Tilly and the buttons
I wasn’t sure if I would make Simplicity 2444 but had a ‘thing’ for it as the pattern number is the same as my postcode. Hey! I never said I was normal.
I could not imagine it on me… Until yesterday…
I love those moments!
Watch this space.

TWO PROJECTS… ONE POST…

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Yes, I’m spoiling you today with pictures of two finished projects. Please excuse my hair – it’s Sunday night…

Here is my Cheap & Cheerful skirt which cost me a grand total of $2.50. It would have cost $1 if the zipper had not broken when pulling apart the old skirt.

Cheap & Cheerful Skirt, Simplicity 2451

Cheap & Cheerful Skirt, Simplicity 2451

This skirt was made with Simplicity 2451, view D, size 8. It’s a tiny bit baggy over my booty but the fabric is so busy you can’t tell. The fabric has no give in it so I think it’s best with some booty-wigglin’ room. I’m really chuffed with this skirt. I love the fabric, I love the pattern and I am sure that ELH (ever lovin’ husband) loves the price!

More pictures of Cheap & Cheerful on flickr. I know I look too thin in some. I haven’t exercised in…. errr…. months. So what happened? I gave up bread a few months ago (it seems to give me ulcers) and that’s the result! Apparently I’m healthier this size?! At least I have no more ulcers. First time in seven years!

RESCUED

This afternoon I finished off a second Vogue 1247 skirt. I don’t love it as much as my Tardis skirt made from the same pattern but it’s OK. My choice of fabric made this skirt hard work.

I found the fabric on the upholstery fabric clearance table at Spotlight and loved the look of it. Hopefully no-one will mistake me for a sofa or dinner chair. It’s a black and silver with a very small textured check pattern.

I almost gave up on it. Then I pulled it out again and decided not to give up. This happened because we have an ‘upstairs-downstairs’ house. Bedrooms upstairs and living downstairs. My sewing room is between the two girls’ rooms – I can’t sew once they are in bed however I have discovered they go to sleep a lot faster if I stay in the sewing room as they know that they can’t run between rooms and make mischief. So I make the grand sacrifice most nights and sit in the sewing room, gazing at patterns, pondering the next project and sometimes unpicking a disaster! It also gives me time to unwind and relax doing one of my favourite things – and I tend to do some of the things that seem more tedious when the machine is running and the iron is on. Everyone wins.

What went wrong with this project? The invisible zipper did not work. It went in fine but then refused to budge past the yoke seam, the fabric was just too chunky at the yoke seam area for the zipper to squeeze past. Unpicking the zipper was very difficult as the weave of the fabric meant that my thread was all but invisible. I’m proud to say I did not swear… I think I was concentrating too hard trying not to wreck the fabric.

I gave up on an invisible zipper and put in a normal dress zip. It’s not as nice as an invisible zipper but it looks just fine.

The Hong Kong finish was more difficult than it was for Tardis. I should have purchased wider bias binding as the standard width was a little narrow for the thickness of the fabric. Yes, yes I could have made bias biding but crikey I work five days a week! And this skirt needed the Hong Kong finish as it re-defines the term ‘fraying’, it was shedding threads worse than a Persian cat sheds hair in the middle of summer in Alice Springs, Australia. (please note I never exaggerate. Ever.).

I’m not mad about this skirt. I’m not a big fan of the thickness of the seams or how the hem sits (also due to the thickness of the fabric). It doesn’t press well due to the ‘nature’ of the fabric (which I would call ‘uncompromising’). I do like the texture and the weave of the fabric, so it’s a trade-off between its good points and its bad ones. It’s quirky and I like something a little off-beat to pair with a corporate jacket. Plus I can stuff my phone and work tags into the pockets and no-one will be the wiser!

I’ve called this one Rescued. Tardis is still my favourite version of this pattern, I love it to pieces and wear it to death! At least this skirt has got me out of my ‘blue rut’ – I noticed all my patterns reviews have been made in blue fabric!!

Vogue 1247 for work

Vogue 1247 – Rescued

Thank you for your comments in these early days of my little blog. Every single one brightens my day and I love to hear your thoughts and suggestions, they are most appreciated – thank you!

CHEAP & CHEERFUL

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Last weekend was more Busy Lizzy than Sew Busy Lizzy. Fear not I managed to squish in a bit of sewing – a remake of an old skirt but a new sewing challenge for me.

Maytime markets outing - Vogue 1247

Maytime markets outing – in my beloved Vogue 1247, aka the Tardis Skirt!

I spent half of Saturday folding up other people’s old clothes for the school’s Maytime Markets. I should count my lucky stars I wasn’t the store organiser who spent weeks picking up clothes and sorting them into sizes etc. Saturday was back-breaking work and quite overwhelming. There was hundreds and hundreds of pieces of clothing from babies through to old lady stuff, hand bags, belts, hats and more. Yes I thought it sounded like paradise as well… until I was faced with helping stack them into some sort of order in a classroom! Sunday was spent at the markets helping ‘man’ the stall. It was a hoot, people went bananas, most things were $1 and the ‘fancy’ stuff was $2 or $3.I confess I did bring home the odd thing or two…

maybe three or four…

coulda been five or six…

ok I lost count!

However I did buy two skirts that were huge on me – purely to chop up and remake into something new. One of the skirts was brand new with tags still on. Neither of them were ‘fancy’ brands but I loved the patterns and figured it would be a cheap experiment. At $1 and $2 each I threw caution to the wind.

So I bought this…

Maytime Markets Skirt No 1

Maytime Markets Skirt No 1. Too big for me! Purchased for the princely sum of $1

I am saving the second post for another post : )

damper – Jabba the Hutt of the food world.

I loved this fabric. It’s from a cheap nasty chain store and the fabric is not fabulous quality. Still the colours and pattern really appealed to me and there was quite a bit of fabric without seams running through it so it looked promising for an overhaul.

The original skirt needed about 10cm (4 inches) taken out of the waist and in my former pre-Sew Busy Lizzy life I would have just tossed it aside with a sigh of regret. I felt it was just too big to alter successfully – and full skirts just made me look like a little dumpling – I’m sure they are delicious but they are not the most visually pleasing of food items. And anyway Aussies are more damper than dumpling people (which looks like the Jabba Hut of the food world – although tastes excellent out of the camp fire, covered in charcoal with lashing of butter and golden syrup…).

But no more! I took it home at the end of the markets and promptly set about destroying it with vicious glee. I was very upset when the zip broke as I had wanted to make this a total remake but it wasn’t to be. The zip went to stitching heaven and I got a new one for about $1.50. Alas.For the last couple of weeks I had been wanting to try out Simplicity 2451. It’s had gushing reviews and it’s as cute as a button. However I am loathe to try out a new pattern when I’m never quite sure if 1) it’s going to have fit issues or 2) the design will suit me – and I hate to waste fabric! Then along came Maytime Markets Revisited Skirt No. 1 – match made in heaven. With some jiggling and squeezing I managed to get all the pattern pieces out of the main skirt, I ended up having to do an extremely dodgy piecing job for one of the pockets…

Maytime Markets revisited skirt - The 3 Buck Wonder dodgy pocket

Maytime Revisited Project, Skirt No. 1 – the dodgy pocket. Made using Simplicity 2451, view D

and used the skirt’s original lining for the inner pockets…

Maytime Markets revisited - the pocket lining

Maytime Markets revisited skirt project – the pocket lining made from the original skirt’s lining

I did rush through this project – I did not bother too much with finishing the seams. To be honest I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did! I’ll go back and pink the exposed seams. I saw this as an experiment and a challenge, fortunately a successful one!

And here is the somewhat-smaller-than-the-original Maytime Markets Revisited Skirt No. 1 which I have nickname Cheap & Cheerful. It’s been a busy week so have not had a chance to get out of my work clothes and into this for a photo (it’s dark so early now and cold!) but I will take one over the weekend as I really like this one (IMHO)

Maytime Markets skirt - 'my' finished skirt using Simplicity 4470

Cheap & Cheerful Skirt. My Maytime Markets revisited skirt project – ‘my’ finished skirt using Simplicity 2451