Golden shoulders - Burda 09/2012 #123A

Yep, still here.  Thanks for all your kind words and well wishes.  I shout my good news from the roof tops and then disappear for a month.  I'm not too proud to say that there have been days lately where I have been so tired that I've wanted to cry.  But, hey it's character building, right?!

Sewing.  You came here for the sewing.  Well I have managed to squeeze in tiny little bits of sewing and during one of those sessions I made Burda 09/2012 #123A.  I loved Christy's version but I don't go anywhere to wear actual sparkles - so I used matte sequins instead.

I love the way this top turned out.  I cut my usual Burda 42 and added an extra two inches in length to the body and one inch to the sleeves.  I didn't need to.  I'll leave the sleeves but when I get the chance I'll go back and take two inches off the hem.  Sorry about the dodgy photos - it's never easy to take pictures of yourself in winter.

I've never sewn with sequins before and it was pretty fun.  Messy, but fun.  I really love the matte sequins and I can see it pared with more white fabric in some sort of summer dress...but not just yet because it's cold and it's wet and I want some more warm clothes to wear.

I haven't had much of a chance to comment on other blogs, but when I get the chance I love to check in on you all and get my sewing fix.  The online sewing community is such a great place.  Hopefully it won't be another month before my next post.

Kasia, my friend

Here's my latest finished project, the BurdaStyle Kasia skirt.

Day 14 of Me Made June



This is the second time I've made it and I think that I like it better this time, although after seeing the photo above I might hem it just above the knee.

I made a straight size 42 in a black cotton sateen.  It's just a little bit more snug than I usually like, but that's due to my recent addiction to Cadbury pineapple chocolate and has nothing to do with the pattern sizing:)

I love the pockets, the button front and the gathered inserts and I think that the high waist is quite flattering.  You can see in the photos that after wearing the skirt all day it has bagged a little in the butt area and that the waistband has a fold line in it.  These aren't deal breakers for me.  I didn't line the skirt or wear a slip (I should have, it crept up my stockings every time I took more than two steps) and I think that this would help to prevent the bagging.

I can't stay out of my sewing room at the moment, I've got a couple of projects cut out but I'm not sure what I want to do. 

MMM catch up

When is your camera most likely to play up?  How about when you have to take daily pictures of yourself...not sure what the problem is but having to constantly mess around with it is driving me crazy.

So I left you with pictures of day two - thanks for the shoe love :-)

MMM Day 3 saw me pull out the BurdaStyle Kasia skirt.  I think just about every blogger has made this skirt.  My version is made from a navy cotton linen blend with the front panel lined in red.  Rather than add the traditional six buttons for the sailor front I've only used the top two.  I like the way it looks but it does pooch out a little bit.

MMM Day 4 and I'm back to the Simplicity patterns, this time it's Simplicity 3684 - View A in a silk cotton blend.  I'm looking pretty rumpled in this photo - it was taken after a long day at work which felt even longer because I don't usually work on Fridays.  I loved this shirt when I first made it - but now I can only see my mistakes.  My delightful husband told me I looked like a bloke.  I'm going to take that as meaning that it's too big and you can't make out my figure ;-)

MMM Day 5 and today it's a top from a Japanese dress pattern.  I saw the ever stylish Yoshimi make this and loved it so I had to make my own.  I love the way the neckline changes, curved at the front and a V at the back. 

You can see from the photos above that I've been spending some time in my sewing room, mostly working on some kids clothes and mending (yuk) but I do have a new dress cut out so hopefully I'll get some of it done this weekend.

Plans for the weekend

Last weekend I had an extra long five day weekend, this time I'm back to the regular two days.  My last post had a shot of a few things I wanted to work on and got started on bits of most of it - but as yet nothing is finished.  I've also realised that I'm in desperate need of some new work clothes.  So my plans for this weekend are:

• Finish the BurdaStyle Kasia skirt
• Finish the girls' tops
• Trace out a BWOF blouse and knit boat neck top

It's a short list so I'm hoping that means it's manageable.  Hopefully I'll have something to show early next week.