Finally! Some successful sewing!! This is the Tilly and the Buttons Nora top, sewn with a mermaid sequin panel. Isn’t it lush?
If you aren’t already aware, mermaid sequins allow you to change the colour of the sequin according to which way you choose to run your hand up and down the panel of fabric.
I bought these sequins from New Fabric Shop on Walthamstow market at £10 a metre.
First things first, a blog reader comment that I don’t want anyone to miss:
The nicest people read your blog, Karen. I’ll usually just skim through comments but I read every one just now because they were all kind & encouraging. Made my day. x
This came in from Kathy. Kathy’s family, if you’re reading this: she needs breakfast in bed every day for the next year. And to all of you, a huge thank you for your lovely comments on my last blog post.
And now, on to the burning question of my day. What makes a fabric warm or cold against the skin? No, no! Don’t go yet! Bear with me…
Well, I’m stumped, I don’t mind admitting. I was all set to share a new make with you today. It was a third version of the Myosotis dress, having made two stupendously successful versions – here and here – that get worn week in, week out.
Then, I tried on my WIP as it neared completion and realised it looked … awful. It was some sort of cross between maternity wear, hospital gown and Handmaid’s Tale. Suffice to say, momma didn’t take no blog photos!
At which point during a make do you feel confident you’ve chosen the right fabric?
It’s a tricky one, isn’t it?
Hello, hello, my friends! Jayzus, I kid you not, I have literally nothing to say about sewing because I’ve sewed NOWT but I missed you something chronic, like a pain in the gut, and I just had stop by and say, ‘How’ve you BEEN?!’ Did you survive the season of Death By Baileys? If you’re reading this, I can only assume so.
If I sound a little, ahem, frazzled that’s because I am. Christmas was incredibly lovely – one of my best for years – but I never quite stopped working. And then I came home and decided to work some more. So then I gave up on the make-up. And then I decided washing my hair was a waste of time. Eating became one of those boring tasks you do to stop yourself from dying. You know the type of thing. Or hopefully, you don’t! If it hadn’t been for Ella nagging me and clawing at me when she thought my auld arse was about to get permanently moulded to the office chair, I’d probably have the neighbours asking what that smell was by now.
And in the midst of all this, I did not pick up a needle. Chronic, I tell ya!
Anyway, the craziness was all self-inflicted, a project dear to my heart and I wanted to start 2019 feeling that it was done. And now it is. So now I can sew again.
I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. And when I next return I promise to stop doing a bad Marian Keyes impression and I’ll be back to my calm, placid self.
In the meantime, here’s a photograph of Ella wearing an Elizabethan ruff from one of our rare excursions (on New Year’s Day, no less) and it makes me laugh like a drain. I hope you do, too!
PS Did I mention that I missed you? Because I really, really have.
It’s safe to say I’m just a little excited about the upcoming new series of The Great British Sewing Bee. Rumour has it, it shall be airing in early 2019 so it’s time to get ready.
Here’s my Christmas present to you – The Great British Sewing Bee Drinking Game!
Ella and I hope you enjoy!
Hello, hello! I missed you guys! It’s been crazy busy at Did You Make That Towers with a trip to New York and THEN a trip to North Devon. It’s a tough call to say which was best. Not much to choose between them…
Do you listen to The High Low Podcast? I really enjoy it. They mentioned that the mini skirt has topped a list of the most iconic female fashion items of the last 50 years. It goes without saying that my mind leapt to sewing patterns!
Dolly and Pandora suggested that not all women feel comfortable in a mini skirt. Personally, I love a short hem. Paired with thick tights and boots or Converse, they’re the perfect combination of cute and easy to wear. Of course, there’s short and there’s short!
All joking aside, if I was on the serious hunt for an interesting mini skirt pattern, I’d definitely go the vintage route. First of all, there are thousands of patterns out there. Second of all, they can be snapped up super cheap. Sewing pattern for £2? Just hit your local friendly online auction site.
But if you prefer contemporary mini skirt sewing patterns, here’s a run down of:
So, who is it who even decided we can’t wear yellow? It’s one of those rules that may make sense for some, but doesn’t seem to work for me.
Is it like other rules we encounter?
I’m clearly not buying it.
