Sew Over 50 :-)

It's been a while since I last posted and I've been undergoing a bit of an overhaul personally ....  I seem to have a bit of spare time now (unusual for me!) and I can look back over the changes and document them.

I finally decided to go short with my hair ...  I've been hovering between lengths for ages and am so glad I made this decision.  It feels so light and airy and my new style is really easy to look after too.  I wish now that I'd gone short at the start of summer.  I think that at a certain age, short definitely does look better.

I've also joined #sewover50 on Instagram.  This is a new initiative for older sewists like me.  I've been wondering for a while now where I fit in in the sewing world as I seem to have crossed the divide between the younger sewists and those like me.  Maybe that's why I haven't made much lately ...  It feels good to be part of a crowd again but I'll have to see if I can keep up with all the various challenges ....  Anyway, I'm old enough to know it doesn't really matter and it's all about the fun of taking part when I can.

Autumn is on its way - my favourite time of year and I am thinking about knits and cover ups.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted!

Make It In Design

Another reason for being quiet on the blogging front is that I've been following Make It In Design, Module 2, 'Creating Your Professional Identity'.  I've loved doing this course and am still creating my logo and business stationery for it.  It's made me do a bit of soul searching about where I want to go with my designing ...  It's a fabulous course for helping you get to the nitty gritty of who you really are as an individual.  I've been able to take up where I left off at art school years ago ... it was all about drawing and creating then, which is ok but not so hot for preparing you for the business world! This course and the preceding one 'Designing Your Way' which I took last year are great for this.  I am planning to do the next instalment, Module 3, 'Monetising Your Designs' next year.  In the meantime, I have lots of time to practice, get proficient with Photoshop and organise my portfolios. I'm glad that I've kept all the art I've every done over the years ...  This photobook was created using some of it as well as more recent work. I've learned how to mock up my ideas on to products which really brings the work to life and shows how it can be used commercially.  The company that made the book is Saal Digital. I took advantage of an Instagram offer to create the book and thought it would be a good way of having a go at making a 'Look Book'.  I'm really pleased with the quality of it and wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

100,000 hits ...

Well for a small blog, then that's not bad!  Particularly as I haven't been as active in the last year. Thanks everyone and to all who have stayed around ...  I already have a couple of new posts coming up and am looking forward to the new blogging year.  In the meantime, some 'Fair Maids of February' to cheer us all up and show that spring is on its way!

Happy Holidays

I hope you are all enjoying the Christmas and New Year break.  Kev and I have a whole week off work, enjoying some time to ourselves to get refreshed and organised, ready for the New Year.  It's been a very busy 2016, the biggest event being our wedding and wonderful as it was, it's nice to have that done and dusted now.  Looking forward to 2017 now - hope you all have a good one.

The Girl with the Cherry Smile

Lots of things have been going on in my life since finishing my hand knitting City & Guilds.  Working working full-time and getting married!  This dress has been on the go for some time now. Plans first formulated in my head during international pattern swap at The Monthly Stitch, when I received the Sew Over It 1940’s Teadress pattern, as explained in an earlier post.  I wasn’t sure that the shape of the dress was going to suit me at first but I thought I’d give it a try as my first sewing project for a long time.  I’d seen the perfect fabric for it at Croft Mill but couldn’t get my hands on it first time round.  I was lucky when they re-stocked -  it’s called, ‘The Girl with the Cherry Smile’ and works really well with the pattern.  My new sewing companion likes it too ... 



To ease myself back into sewing, I took my time and decided to enjoy the whole process rather than rushing anything, hence the tea and cake. 

The pattern cover said that the dress was a close fit and as I’m between sizes at the moment I made the larger one.  This was a mistake for me – the bodice did look a bit loose on my new dress form, but as I hadn’t used the form before, then I gave it the benefit of the doubt.

When it came to actually trying it on though, it was huge …  I actually ended up having to re-make the whole of the top section.  That was tiresome and tricky but I stuck with it and it was worthwhile in the end.  The second learning curve was the insertion of an invisible zip which I’ve never done before.

I found the zip in the right colour and length and was ready to sew it in with an invisible machine foot I’d been given when I found the foot wasn’t compatible with my machine.  Aaargh!  My patience (and dress!) was nearly in tatters at this point …  I had to do an internet search and managed to find one for a couple of pounds that would fit my trusty 1980’s New Home.  I nervously fitted it when it arrived and my heart did a little dance when it worked!  I was very proud of my first attempt at sewing the zip in.

The rest of the dress went together comparatively smoothly, apart from forgetting to sew rear darts in the skirt section in my haste to get it finished.  I did unpick the skirt and included them though it was tempting not to.

A couple of months had passed and I was still doing the handstitching at the beginning of October on the facings and hem.  I had a feeling of triumph at finishing and persevering!

I wore the dress on my honeymoon on the Norfolk coast.  The weather was great for this time of year.

I am confident enough to make another of these dresses now, but I think I’ll try something simpler in the meantime to get my sewjo going again ….

Signs of Christmas

In the little town in Norfolk where I live, we are fortunate to have a sewing shop - a fairly large one in comparison to all the other surrounding stores.  It is now under new management and has undergone a lot of changes, making it contemporary and fresh.  Now named The Sewing Room, there is a Christmas window under construction.  I went for a short walk yesterday evening and stumbled upon it ... it's very inspiring ...

I love these little bags ...

New Dress!

I am actually sewing ... yes, you did read that correctly!  It isn't that I haven't been thinking about it ... oh, I've read all the blogs and magazines, have all the pattern giveaways and have watched the latest series of Sewing Bee.  I even took part in an international pattern swap at The Monthly Stitch.  I think that having a break has done me good though - seriously.  When I did Sew Weekly in 2012, although the experience was enjoyable to start with, I did start to feel a bit jaded towards the end of that year and 50 makes.  I was starting to 'throw things together'.  My sewing started to decrease gradually in the following years until I stopped completely for a while and concentrated my energies on other things.  I now find I am taking my time, making sure I do things properly and it's becoming fun again!  

As we are experiencing the rarity of a heatwave here in the UK at the moment, I've found that my wardrobe is lacking in some summer basics - dresses for work and home.  Actually, the dress currently on my sewing table is one for my honeymoon in October, though it might have an outing or two before then if it turns out OK.  I am using the 'Sew Over It' 1940's Tea Dress pattern that I received in the swap during Indie Pattern month at Monthly Stitch.

I found the cherry print fabric at Croft Mill.  I've always wanted some 'proper' cherry fabric after seeing all the retro dresses on various blogs and when I saw this in the current catalogue (they still have it! - sadly no longer, all sold out since end July) I ordered some straight away.  As you can see, I don't sew solo any more ... I have my little 'helper'.  Although Oscar has a whole house to wander around, there is nowhere quite like the area where I am working ...

  

I think I may have been influenced in my choice of dress style by a 1940's day I went to here in Norfolk about a week or so ago.  A gloriously sunny day where individuals wandered around King's Lynn in 1940's dress - I took loads of photos.

They all looked so smart and such a contrast to current day dress.  I hope to achieve something similar ... I have a whole week off work at home next week and sewing is high on my list of priorities.  More dresses I think!

New Designers 2016

Amongst the wedding preparations, I did find time to go to this show last Friday.  I've been meaning to see what it's all about for the past few years now and finally I had the chance.  It's held every year at the end of June in The Business Design Centre, Islington and has been going for 30 years now.

The main angle is for the various UK (and one from Sweden I noticed ...) Art Schools to bring their final textile shows to London.  There is a lot to see and take in.  However, it is possible to identify various strands and themes running through the work.  I noticed some designs reminding me very much of Memphis from the 80's.  Most of the work though seemed to take its influences from Natural History and Botanical Prints.  Insects, butterflies and moths were a recurring theme throughout the show.  I was also surprised at how much hand painted work there was, in that there is a noticeable shift at the moment to digital printing.  There was even a demonstration of digital fabric printing:

The students were very eager to chat and talk and I enjoyed finding out more behind the work I was seeing.  They all had their own business cards and some had printed flyers and booklets.  Now the show is over, it's possible to look at their websites and find out more.  I don't want to post close-up photographs of their work here for copyright reasons.

These are some of my favourite business cards to give you a flavour of what was there:

Make It In Design also had a stand at the show and I was able to meet and talk to the ladies who organise everything, as well as take away a goodie bag.  It gave me inspiration to finish the last two exercises I have to do from my course, Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design.

I've signed up for the Summer School which begins in August.  I have a week off work then so should be able to make a fair job of it.  Looking forward to then!

Project Progress

Well, I've finished the first side of my patchwork project bag.  I work at it while I'm watching television - I have a bag full of scraps at the side of me and attach a patch here and there ...  I'm enjoying the process and the way it's turning out.  There are about 50 patches in this piece - on to the second side now ...

Paints, plans ...

Well the 5 'official' weeks of the Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design Module 1 are over now but the module classroom remains open until September.  I'm at the point of dusting off my paints, having caught up with my drawing once again and eager to get going with colour.  I've been very impressed with this course.  It's packed full of content and I'd even go so far to say that I should have been taught much of it years ago ...  The community aspect of it is good too, the Facebook group of students is still going and there has even been an offshoot support group created which is great.  As life is busy at the moment, I won't be following up with Module 2 just yet but there are plenty of students who are.  Will probably be next year for me now ...

Hope everyone is having a Happy Easter - a good chance to re-charge batteries and make new plans. I'm enjoying getting on with my crafting room renovations.  I'll be in there in the next couple of weeks now.  Can't wait!

       

A Look Back ....

I was quite productive in 2015, just not so much as in previous years!  The first part of the year saw me working hard to fulfil deadlines for my City & Guilds course, which I passed in February.  This was the culmination of years of hard work, sampling and designing along the way ...

I feel as if I now have a good, solid background to work from.  I've enjoyed taking time out since February to re-charge and evaluate where I want to go next.

My final project was this mohair jacket based on Autumn Leaf falls.  I feel so much more confident now in my ability to follow a design through from start to finish.  

Things weren't quiet on the sewing front either ...

I completed my first menswear item in a beautifully soft Yorkshire wool fabric with a satin back.

This Colette Aster is complete now - just need to get some decent photos when the weather improves a bit.  I also sewed a silk robe ...

I want to sew more this year and have a look round the Independent Pattern Companies.  What are your plans?  Would love to hear from my neglected sewing pals! 

Holiday Medley

Just a few images of the Holiday Season.  I was so looking forward to the break and now it's nearly gone! So busy ...  but in a different way to the norm and it's good to get out of the usual groove and daily grind.  Hope you all had a great time too  - Happy New Year!

Relaxing ...

Eating, man at work and a night out!

Spoonflower 12 Days of Design

I had hoped to take part in this but I only got as far as day 3 before I was struck down with fluey cold ...  The 12 days had a task to complete each day and ended in a finished design.  For day 1 I chose 'Botanical' as a theme to create a textile design with.  I have hundreds of photos from walks around the botanic gardens next door to where I work.

    
Day 2 consisted of creating a moodboard, which I made on Pinterest.  You can see it here:

https://www.pinterest.com/dianehudson9216/spoonflower-12-days-of-design/


The task for Day 3 was the creation of a colour palette.  I did this at www.colourlovers.com and was quite proud to have created an entirely new colour there, which I could name.  It's the 4th one along ...



I've named it BOTANICAL and you can see it here:

http://www.colourlovers.com/palette/3972574/BOTANICAL

Well, I may get to post again before Christmas, but if I don't I wish everyone peace and joy and a well deserved rest!

Christmas is coming ...

I keep having to remind myself that Christmas is only 3 and a bit weeks away!  I've been so busy re-arranging my home - time is flying ...   Well, I did manage to finish sewing Aster completely and some pics are coming up next but in the meantime, I had a seasonal time at the Christmas Market on the South Bank in London.  There weren't many stalls but along with a friend, I made the most of what was there and also enjoyed a wander around Borough Market and other sights along the way.  I'm looking forward to this Christmas, especially a week off to recharge batteries and make some new plans for the New Year.  What crafty plans do you have for next year?

  

Relaxing ...

I am still sewing Colette Patterns' Aster but also sneaked a holiday in!  I am learning to take my time these days and enjoy ...  both my life and the sewing I do around that ...

On the beach in sunny Hunstanton, Norfolk

Street Art - Cambridge

I noticed this near the railway station one morning on my way to work ... cheered me no end for the rest of the day!

Love this time of year ...

In Cambridge Botanic Gardens ...

Colour at Borough

Had a full day out in London last Friday, taking in two exhibitions - Rembrandt at The National Gallery and Chanel to Westwood at The Fashion and Textile Museum. What a treat! Stumbled upon Borough Market by accident in Bermondsey - a wonderful place full of unusual foodstuffs from all over the UK. Loved the colour, especially the seasonal vegetables ...