Eunju and Mum outside Glynburn Fabrics, Firle, Adelaide

Had a lovely time this morning playing in the local fabric heaven - Glynburn Fabrics.  Their store is just a TREASURE cave!  We found fabric to make Eunju her “Audrey” dress (she loves Audrey Hepburn’s style, and this dress pattern will look gorgeous on her)

New Look 6723

as worn by the Divine Audrey in “Sabrina”

And because I couldn’t resist: this wonderful heavy cotton in cream, red, orange and brown (I KNOW, not supposed to be my colours, but it’s just so FUN!)

Very Caity Fabric!

Also shown = some cream pre-made satin bias binding, because that makes the neckline and armhole finishing so quick…

So - just an final check of the tissue fit for Ju’s pattern (we did the FBA last night, and shortened the waist length) and a quick iron and we’re off!

But here in my brother and sister-in-law’s house, the room I am staying  in has MIRRORS.

The ubiquitous "shot in the mirror" picture

BIG mirrors. The kind you CANNOT AVOID.

Uggggh.

Naked Caity is NOT something even *I* want to witness first thing in the morning, let me tell you!

And I just got out the scales. NOT GOOD. *sigh* I didn’t think I had been over-eating, but obviously I was wrong.   Thing is, I FEEL better.  I can walk more - in fact, as soon as it’s a little bit cooler, Bidgee is taking me for a rousing game of Stick in River.  I’m still tired all the time, but feeling a little bit stronger, y’know?

But the weight loss stuff needs to get back on track.  SERIOUSLY.  (Not that I’m going to be all prissy tomorrow - you should SEE the feast my lovely sister-in-law and Mum have been working on!)

My lovely sister-in-law, Eunju, peeling prawns for the feast

*sigh*

Well, time to stop moaning about it and go out and do some interval training with the dog.  (In my interpretation, we walk for a bit, then run for a bit, then both stop and pant for a bit, then run for a bit….)

Later,

Caity the waddler

Went to Ikea today - oh, I LOVE Ikea!!  Saw a bed that would be perfect - but mostly I’m in deep desperate LOVE with a their clever storage solutions.  And this table and chairs set: Oh, to not have to eat dinner on my lap - really, that’s not too much to want from civilisation, is it?

Haven’t found the good fabric shops yet… but I did buy some cheap 100% cotton at Ikea for another version of the trapeze dress - $3.99 metre!

My brother and his family live in the inner east of Adelaide, which is very beautiful.  lots of old stone houses, leafy trees, and the river just a short walk away.  Bidgee the Border Collie takes me for a walk every day to play “Stick in river” - not a complex game, here are the rules:

Tell dog to find a stick! FIND A STICK!

Throw stick in river.

Dog dives fearlessly into river, retrieves, and races past you with the stick, dropping it anywhere from 20 to 50 metres away (this is the human exercising feature of the game)

Repeat until either a) too dark to see river, dog, or stick or

b) your arm falls off.

I miss Mr Beloved A LOT, and have to speak on the phone to Constance J. Woodle each day, but I’m having a lovely time.

New Look 3735: Short sleeved T Shirt

Please excuse the awful photo - Mr Beloved is having a nana nap after getting quite stressed out by noise.  This was done with the camera self timer!

Pattern Description: Lovely wearable collection for knit fabrics - a 3/4 sleeve top, and cap sleeved top, cardigan with belt, skirt, and pants.

New Look 6735

Pattern Sizing: 10-22 in the one envelope.  I made a straight 22 with no alterations at all - not even my usual D/DD Full Bust Alterations!

New Look 6735

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

YES! Other reviewers have liked the fit and those curves in the illustration on the envelope are really there - WOOHOOO!! (I’ve been caught before by over-optimistic illustrators, so I was pleasantly surprised that the promised shaping was delivered.)  And I bought this pattern for $5 when it was on sale, so I reckon I’ve already got my moneys worth our of this one!

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, but… for my first run through I followed them exactly - and I sure won’t next time. I do not understand why pattern companies insist on inserting only-very-slightly-eased sleeves in the round, when sewing them in flat is so much easier.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Quick, fits me straight out of the envelope! The scoop neckline shaping is super flattering, the sleeves look like they’ll be too short but they really work, and the centre back seam really improves the fit. Best of all is the gentle gathering of the front sides at the bustline - not enough to look like gathers, just enough to make a beautiful fit.

Fabric Used:
ARRGGGH! The cheapest, awfullest knit you ever did see - only $1 per metre at a Spodshite clearance and now I know why! It stretched out of shape and didn’t bounce back; it was super-soft and so was tricky to sew, and I don’t expect it to last more than two washes! This was only a wearable(?) muslin though, so I’m not worried.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:

None this time BUT: next time I will:

• stabilise the neckline before binding it
• stabilise the hem and sleeve hems with fusible tape before I hem them
• use the overlocker (serger) for most of the construction
• shape the bottom seam into a gentle curve at front and back, so I can wear the shirt out over my waistband.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I’ve got fabric in the washing machine right now to sew into two more tonight… I LOVE this top! I’d certainly recommend it to others, especially beginners or those (like me!) lacking confidence in sewing
knits. Just remember to put the sleeves in flat (before you sew the side seams) and I reckon you can make this in no time.

Conclusion:

A beautifully fitted quick and easy t-shirt that will become a TNT (Tried and True) pattern for me.

*************************

And in other news today: went back to the gastroenterologist  -  keep taking the drugs for reflux, lose more weight, yada yada.

Next in the sewing pile - a pirate shirt for the TeaBot 5000™.  Years and years ago - maybe SEVENTEEN years ago, in fact ! - he asked me to make him a shirt. Better late than never - the fabric is almost dry on the washing line: black with a print of grey pirate skull and crossbones (sideways in this image):

Complete with late afternoon silhouette

About to become this shirt (Butterick 4486)

Ahoy there mateys, it's a PIRATE SHIRT!

unless, of course, I decide to cut out those other two new t-shirts first….

Arrgh - my #&)@(*$&#@(&* mobile phone has died!  It started a week ago when it wouldn’t charge from the powerpoint - and now it won’t charge through USB, either.  Grrr.  Only got it ..hmmm…. January?  NOT HAPPY!  I think we have an el-cheapo emergency phone but it’s not my pretty purple one that I KNOW, and the keys are teeny weeny and I have fat fingers.  arrgh!

On the other hand - popped into town today and had lunch with Sue.  We were walking towards the fabric shop when I saw CUTE SHOES… that weren’t expensive!

Aren't they ADORABLE?!

Which, Cinderella-like, happened to fit…. I love the 40’s styling of this shoe, can’t wait to get into sewing some appropriately glam clothes.  This makes  *gasp* TWO pairs of shoes this year - Imelda I am not! I never find shoes I like, so to land this pair was MAGICAL!

Like DebR, I reckon you just can’t beat a good red shoe.  (Although maybe this bloke really shoulda…)

Red Shoes for ALL!

In other news: Went to the dietician today - I now weigh 102.7 kg!  YAY!!  Was 106 when I went into hospital… not sure how much of the loss is down to removing all the bad bits, and how much is due to having my chocolate addiction disappear!  Teabot5000™ really should get all the credit - he has tirelessly cooked and made sure I eat my vegetables every single day.

And now I’m off to watch TV and probably fall asleep.  Too much excitement in one day for this girl.  Especially when Constance got home with her super-short haircut:

Who's got a pink tummy then?Who's got a PINK TUMMY?!

So Saturday - was FANTABULOUS! Sue, Chriss, and I went to Brisbane and had a lovely time. Sckafs fabrics was amazing - a real Aladdin’s cave of fabrics, trims, hats, and fascinators - swooon!

Here’s what I got: (obligatory fabric haul on bed shot, for the PR girls!)

From Fabric Barn in Sumner Park: beautiful polyester jersey, cream/grey/black dots - 2.1 metres.

From Sckafs in Indooroopilly Shopping Town: the yummalicious polyester jersey in cream/chocolate different scale dots - reminds me of dominoes a bit! Also 2.1 metres - I was being optimistic about the size I was going to cut out, I think. Might have to be some creative piecing now to get this to work!

And the black with red squiggles fabric - from Sckafs bargain bin, $5 per metre: it’s only 1 metre wide, and I got just over 2.5 metres. It’s permanently pleated, (so behaves almost like a knit - lots of stretch), dries in a nano-second, and would be perfect for a reversible top of some sort: I can’t decide if I like the black or the cream with black side better. In any case, the mark which we were hoping would wash out didn’t - so I’m going to have to plan and cut this one carefully. ( I did get a further discount - only paid for 2 metres, and that was the end of the roll, or I would have bought more!)

Also - a couple of pieces of tailors chalk (chipped due to my carelessness, bugger!) to replace the pieces Constance J. Woodle ate (ewww!) and some new pins - nothing worse than trying to sew knits with big old blunt pins.

And today in the mail: Jalie patterns! I’ve been reading everyone’s reviews of them for ages and not been brave enough to order, but Sue and I took the plunge. First up - the twin set, I think. The pattern paper is HUUUUGE, since there are 27 sizes printed on the one sheet, but once I trace off the right size I think it will almost take longer to cut than to sew! I also got Pattern #2804, the Empire Crossover Top; Pattern 2215 (which I ordered for the little skirt with the attached undies, but now I really like the pants and shirt as well), and Pattern #2682, the V neck top.

There’s nothing on TV tonight after Time Team, so if my back holds out I might actually get something made.

Also in the mail today - something I won off ebay. Which I probably didn’t NEED but I really really WANTED - since I have such fond memories of looking at Mum’s copy all those years ago:

I know, I know - totally frivolous! I don’t have kids, I barely even KNOW anyone with little kids - but - *sigh* I am going to daydream about these patterns! Mum was incredibly creative and took the bloomers from one design, the bolero top from another, and the little hat from a third to design my fondly remembered bee costume (hey Mum, any photos?!?)  All the patterns were given as diagrams - it was up to the dressmaker to draft out the patterns in the correct size.

Right, now we’ve had dinner I can go try and clear enough floor space to actually CUT something out!

Most especially to my Mum, who let me sew on her brand new Elna SU sewing machine when I was only young (Under 10 - what trust!).  And who made the BEST clothes for me (she reckons I was not grateful at the time… Looking back, they were really AWESOME clothes, Thanks, Mum!)

Here’s the only recent photo I have of Mum - Chips (the retrofitted Scottish fold cat - it’s a long story) is assessing Mum’s work on the cushion she made  - “it looked so fast and easy until I counted the pattern pieces for the applique!”