Life And Laziness

I seriously need to get off my ass. I've gotten some work done on the red dress, just sewing together the four main pieces, but I thought I'd have it done by now. I also thought I'd have a lot more of my stuff packed up, so it's all systems go until I'm settled in Rugby.

I'll try and finish this today, and then I'll be sticking DVDs and books into boxes.

The Red Menace!

I'm a little sorry I didn't post yesterday, but mostly I'm annoyed with myself because I hadn't done anything worth showing. I realised when I went to cut my red fabric that I still needed to pre-wash it and I figured, before I pack everything away for the move I might as well pre-wash everything that needed washing. It'll save time down the road.

I did manage to get some cutting done this morning and it won't be very hard to put together so I should have a complete dress to show you next time. There's no instructions, but seriously, look at it.

I can't believe it's the 9th of the month and I'm about to start my sixth garment. Stash busting extreme!

I was hoping to make my trial run of this pattern out of a lovely white and grey striped fabric that I've had in my stash for a while, but when I got it out I found out I didn't have enough! There's probably enough for a nice shirt but I'm not up for that yet.

I went digging for something else that'd work and found this lovely red poly-cotton. I love red! It's probably my favorite colour to wear, even though purple is my favorite overall, and it fits into my wardrobe like a key in a lock.

If this dress comes out looking good I'm going to make a lovely white version, but I don't think it'll be done for the Little White Dress challenge over at Pattern Review. I'm just too into stash busting to get stuck into one long project. Oh, well. It's not like they won't have more competitions.

Success!

I've got two complete tops! The white one and the blue one (that I'm currently wearing) are finished and the gold, silver and green ones only need their cuffs sewing on.

I've got a load more that I'm going to sew together with black tread when I get the overlocker rethreaded, but I think I need a break from making the same pattern again an again, and I don't mean just the darn tidying.

I'm currently trying to pack my life into a series of plastic crates and trying to get rid of everything I don't need or don't use, and there's a lot of it. I'm a clutterbug, a hoarder and a mess.

At least if I cut things out I can leave the scraps behind.

T-shirts And Studdies

I was a bit late getting this out because I spent most of the day with my older brother. Me, him and his boyfriend went to wetherspoons and talked about what I'm going to do this year. I've got to get on with researching universities and talking to everyone about what my options are but I'm feeling pretty good about it now.

I did manage to get quite a lot of work done on my t-shirts. I cut out four more and sewed the shoulder seams, as well as the back center seam on the neck band. I had a go at chain stitching (I think that's what it's called when you leave hardly any space between pieces) to save thread and make it go quicker. It worked pretty well and I ended up with the hideous neckband garland. You probably can't see but that things got 30 sharp pins sticking out of it.

The next thing to do will be sew the neck bands to the tops and sew up the sides. I think I should be able to get them finished by the 7th, and then I'm going to try making a wearable muslin of the dress I traced over the Christmas holidays.

First Projects Of The New Year

Yesterday I managed to leave my purse, with my train ticket, money, and house keys in it, at my parents house when I went to go home on the train. I managed to get on the train before I even realised and ended up having to pay again (well, dad did) and sitting for over an hour surrounded by a loud family, trying to read but unable to because of the noise.

When I finally got home I was tired, hungry and feeling a caffeine withdrawal headache coming on. Add on to that a growing feeling that I'm studying the wrong subject and managing to make dinner only to spill it on the floor and it felt like a pretty bad day.

I ended up talking to my older brother about it. We're going to meet up tomorrow and he's going to help me look at my options. I'm going to finish this year at the OU but it's not what I want to do in the long run. I wasn't expecting the new year to lead to quite so many changes.

After that I felt better. I did the washing up and even felt up to getting on with sewing! I got a blue velvet T-shirt cut out and I'm going to do another four before doing them all production line style with white thread. Then I can change to black and do the rest. :-)

New Years Resolutions

My 2013 goals for the year kind of fell flat.

I didn't manage to make a statement coat, leggings, a shirt dress, a knee length black skirt, a sewaholic garment, a bag, a summer dress or a cosplay outfit. My seven new items are all nice but they're a bit random. I don't know if I'd have bought any of them in the shops but four were intended as wearable muslins and I never buy scarves.

Ironically, I think the first one I made was my favorite. My lovely red top that I made with my granny. I bought the fabric specifically for the project and it doesn't require any kind of fitting. I'll just have to up my game in 2014.

I do have goals for the new year but they're a bit more vague this time.

1) Do some sewing related work every day when it's feasible. Trace something or sew something together or do some embroidery. I stopped trying to do something everyday during 2013 and almost stopped sewing completely after my boyfriend moved in.

2) Make a garment every month. It's not that much but it'll keep me on course.

3) Stop buying cheap fabric. Given how slowly I sew I might as well save up and get nicer fabric. At least stuff I really like. Once I've used up or gotten rid of my stash I can make a wardrobe of clothing I can truly be proud of.

4) Start making adjustments to patterns that need it. Most clothing patterns were made for people who were medium height to tall and a standard B cup, whereas I'm built like a hobbit wench. I'm not complaining, I've gotten used to it by now, but it means that most clothing won't fit straight out of the packet.

5) Try to sew birthday/christmas presents and give them to people on time. I've never been very good with gift giving. I leave it too late then get overwhelmed with the task.

6) Have fun! This is supposed to be a hobby!