a night of UFOs…

Tags

bag, drawstring bag, japanese pattern, makebra hipster, plaintain, sewing, tote, ufos

… it has been more than a month since I got my sewing machine out…

… unless you count the 3h introduction to your overlocker course I did at the Bernina shop a few weeks ago – 3h course that was over in 1h30, and where every time I asked a question I was told “you need to do the next course to learn that”…

… progress has been made on the kitchen renovation front, but that meant since I got back from holiday the apartment has either been a building site, or I have been cleaning… then I had a surprise trip to Ethiopia…

… back from Ethiopia, the land of incredible basket and cotton weaving skills, still feeling delicate after a cold and a stomach bug (it was quite the three days!), and yesterday I decided a quiet afternoon at home was what I needed…

… sewing machine and overlocker out, my pile of UFOs pulled out, as was the fabric for a couple of quick projects that have been whirling around in the back of my mind for at least a year…

… I made a waterproof bag for my yoga clothes post hot yoga work out – after 90 minutes of exercise in a room at 40°C you need a waterproof bag – with some green nylon I got at last years blogger meet up. I still have enough fabric for about another 6 bags, or for some other project!!

… I sewed FOE onto the third pair of makebra hipster undies I had made way back in January…

… I sewed the hem and cuffs of the Plantain t-shirt I made while I was in California…

… I re-sewed the neck into another top I made just before I went to California from a Japanese sewing pattern. I hadn’t been 100% satisfied with how the gathers fell first time round. This is a beautiful drapey soft wool knit I picked up in the sales the day I bought the fabric for the pirate top I made way back in January…

… and finally I threw together a shopping tote from some waxed cotton (I think that is what it is, it came from the basement of Berger, where composition is often a mystery!) I bought probably a couple of years ago… it should have been so straight forward, but I tried to be too fancy, so the French seams ended up feeling bulky, and I didn’t have quite enough fabric for a second facing. I may or may not use it!!

… now I can move onto some new projects, and I have a long list of plans… another Plantain, another 3 Renfrews (what can I say, I love the pattern!), a Scout, a t-shirt from the Great British Sewing Bee book (can anyone recommend a link to watch the final episodes online), some pyjamas….

souvenir shopping…

Tags

deer and doe, fabric, knit, plaintain, sewing; holiday, shopping

… a short break from the grey Belgian winter in sunny California – except it rained for almost the first time in a year while I was there and apparently Belgium had spring…

… but, you can’t begrudge rain in a region that desperately needs it, and cold wet weather is good for one thing – staying in and crafting…

… and in order to craft you need to buy supplies, so the friend I was visiting, who is even more creative than I am (check out her amazing paintings), spent a reasonable amount of time in fabric and DIY shops ensuring we were equipped for at least a month of being holed up, before heading home and spending a rainy afternoon doing.

… (un)luckily the weather improved during the week, so we were able to get out and about and be proper tourists with plenty of hikes and walks on the beach, a visit to Monterey aquarium as well as a trip to the huge Alameda flea market, and many of our projects remained on our “to do” lists at the end of my trip. My suitcase was bursting at the seams on the way home.

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Artist at work

A post shared by Louize (@miss_kcc) on Apr 6, 2014 at 9:38pm PDT

… the only thing I made was another t-shirt, using the free plantain pattern by deer and doe in a beautiful organic hemp knit. It is much nicer than I expected, I wasn’t super excited about the pattern before I made it, but I had it on my computer. It was also an opportunity to show G that you don’t need a serger to sew knits, and they aren’t even scary. I still need to tidy up the seams and sew the hems as we didn’t find a double needle until later in the week.

… the projects I planned and will make now I am home include another long sleeved t-shirt in lovely bamboo knit, a schoolhouse tunic in a pretty floral, a pair of pyjama bottoms in another floral, a sweater in a bulky cream knit and at least one basket with rope. G found a fabulous tutorial online and made one while I cut out the Plantain. More details to follow soon!

… I also picked up more fold over elastic and clear elastic while they were readily available…

… so many projects, I think I need another couple of weeks holiday to complete them all.