Sewing for small plastic people..

This autumn has seemed like a really creative time for me. The only problem is the dark afternoons where my studio gets too dark and the lack of light on these grey days frustrates me. I have been sewing like mad and enjoying the process immensely. MY skills as a pattern maker get better all the time and I am using a lot of vintage trims at the moment, as well as beautiful contemporary fabrics, though I think they still have a nostalgic feel to them.

Casual Frenchy Lemony

Casual Lemony, a photo by little_moshi on Flickr.

It's funny sometimes how the creative process works. It can start with an intention to do one thing and then end up with you going in a different way altogether. This week I knew I had some really nice striped jersey and I thought that I would make some leggings to go with nice boho style dresses. I made the leggings and then made the dresses, but the dresses looked better with tights so I thought I would leave them. But I had these leggings now and nothing that would go with them. So I thought that what would be good was some sloppy batwing t-shirts, so I made one to test the pattern. I made it from some old grey cotton jersey, just to see how it would turn out. It was really cute, and I was hugely impressed with my sewing machine's ability to cope with jersey. So I made some more and then made some scarves to go with them to give them a frenchy look. Then I thought I would experiment with some more shapes and made a more fitted top with a funnel neck, but then they had no trousers to go with them. So I made some plaid pants in some of my favourite indian cotton. They looked really cute. Anyway the upshot of this is that we have ended up with a whole range of relaxed outfits, completely unintentional, but I like it when that happens.

Florence in October

Perfectly composed bicycles

Perfect Coffee

The somewhat shabby back of the Pitti Palace

The window of Gilli's

Vasari's tunnel from the Uffizi

Mini patchwork

I have been wanting to make some mini patchworks for ages, so as usual I save all my scraps and now have started to make these. The squares start off at about 3cm before they are sewn. I think I could make them smaller but I need to do the patchwork properly for that to work. I love how the vintage fabrics go together, that's the pink one.

Vintage trimmings

There is a lovely VIntage Shop in Cardiff called "A Vintage Affair" it is in the Morgan Arcade. It is a lovely shop on two floors and packed to it's chintzy gunnels with every kind of vintage loveliness. Clothes, mens and women's, as well as haberdashery and jewelry, table linens and bric-a-brac. I love this shop and recently they have added a huge selection of really gorgeous vintage trimmings. This was the little horde I picked up on my last visit. Can't wait to get stitching! Oh and also a little visit to John Lewis for crochet supplies and thread.

Back to Work...

After the busy-ness that preceded Blythecon UK, I came back from London with a terrible stinky cold. The underground was crowded and the weather was unusually warm so I reckon there was a veritable swamp of opportunist germs just waiting to pounce on my tired immune system. It is always the way I think when you have been working hard that you seem to be able to keep going and then as soon as it finishes that's when you get flu or a cold.

I sniffed and coughed for a week, and pumped my body full of every cold remedy going, followed by daily helpings of Beroca multivitamins and finally got back to work. I have lots of new ideas following BCUK, but slowly they are coming together. I need two of me to get them all sewn. But I have been enjoying the new fabrics from Bath and must have another inspirational visit soon.

Vintage patterns

I feel a real nostalgia for the clothes of the seventies as they bring back memories of my mum cutting out fabrics in the dining room and sewing her clothes and mine too. There was something so exciting in turning a length of fabric into a dress or a pair of trousers and my mum used to make all sorts of lovely things. I remember particularly a blue trouser suit in broderie anglaise I think, and dresses with contrasting sleeves. Mum used to give me her fabric scraps and I would make them into very primitive clothes for my tiny dolls.