A life in lists

Couture. A bit

 I've probably mentioned that one of the.. ahem, more challenging aspects of our wedding is going to be sewing my own dress.

For a wide range of reasons (including the fact that I'm waiting on the arrival of a load of fabric before I can start sewing up bunting and picnic blankets) I've started working on the toile (muslin, for the Americans) of the dress (well, the inner corselette which will form the underpinning of the bodice of the dress).

Seriously, I had no idea how much work, how many layers and how much darn fabric went into a 'proper' couture dress (which is the best way to think of wedding dresses - the modern woman's chance to wear a couture garment, with all the fitting and foundations that that entails).

Luckily, one of my two local sewing stores had a load of polycotton interlining fabric for £1 a metre (it's a sensible weight, reasonably crisp and very neutral), so at least sewing the toile hasn't cost me very much.

And my gosh, am I ever learning fast. Thanks to the great British library system I've been able to get a copy of Susan Khalje's Bridal Couture (£135 for a copy!! There was no way I was buying one. £4 to borrow it from another county's library), which, as far as I can make out, is simply the best book for structuring bridal/evening wear that there is. And it is rather brilliant, I must say. The dresses themselves are looking a shade dated, but the book is full of basic principles for couture sewing. And, given my somewhat sketchy dressmaking experience, I am in need of basic principles. Fortunately, copyright for the book has now reverted to Susan and she is selling the book in CD form from her website. She is lovely (I emailed her about shipping to the UK, which she happily does) and if you're even slightly contemplating making some kind of structured dress, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

I need to do a lot more work matching my dummy (christened Daphne. Teddy is a little bit in love with her, and kisses her night night on the way to bed) to my actual shape, as there's still a fair amount of difference, even with the bust, waist and hip measurements corrected. I gather that this is the usual state of affairs when using a dress form, and that really (unless you make your dress form a perfectly fitted cover, aka Gertie's. Incidentally her blog is my new best friend) a dress form is more for draping and finalising design details than actual fitting, except in emergency cases.

I'm off to London to buy actual dress fabric tomorrow (not because I'm in a desperate rush to buy it, but because we happen to be going to London, so I thought I'd save myself another trip. Plus I can't keep changing my mind once I've bought the fabric), and hopefully do a little more work on the toile next week.

I am getting seriously into this garment sewing lark. I know this blog has been a little sparse on quilts and the like recently (something I'm hoping to correct as I slowly but surely make my way through handsewing the back of the sunshine quilt), for which I apologise, but this has always been a blog designed to document what I'm up to at the moment, and mainly what I seem to be up to at the moment is looking after Teddy (full time now, since taking him out of childcare last month), wedding planning and sewing garments of one form or another. I hope it's not too boring for you and that if you're only here for the quilts that you stick around a while - there's going to be some serious quilt turnover in these parts once the fabric for the wedding picnic blankets arrives!

The colour scheme (Mark II)

After much deliberation and many hours backing and forthing on the relative merits of red and pink, we have the colour scheme, Mark II.

Major dramas aside, this is it. Mainly because I need to start making stuff, and if I change my mind many more times I'm not going to be able to actually get everything finished before the wedding.

It has officially been christened the Etsy colour scheme, as it's the kind of colours that so often appear on the Etsy front page. But hey, at least it means someone else approves of it!

I'm just waiting on the arrival of some Kona solids to match those prints in the bottom right corner (as well as one more aqua based print), and then I can get with the sewing.

One day soon I might be brave enough to actually post a list of some of the things I'm planning on making...

A Liberty dress

 No, that's not posed. Apparently I occasionally stand just like I'm posing for a photo...

I decided, about three days before we went camping last week, that I needed a simple, over-the-head summer dress to take with me.

Instead of doing the sensible thing and making a toile, adjusting the fit, and taking a couple of weeks about it (hey, my sewing time is limited!), I just went for broke, sliced into my hugely expensive Liberty print fabric and sewed up Anna Maria Horner's Socialite dress (always my plan for this fabric).

 Generally, I have to say, I'm a little bit in love with it. Sure, in an ideal world it would be an inch or so longer, the neckline an inch or so deeper and the bust area generally a little bit more forgiving (I am not the most petite of bust), but I wore it lots, will wear it again and was pretty darn pleased with my simple summer dress.

Also, I used about half the fabric that I expected (I haven't checked to see if I misread the quantities required, or if my fabric was much wider than required, or if it's just a very generous fabric allowance), but I definitely have enough for practically another dress. Although maybe I'll make a skirt.

Anyway, all in all, I'm rather sold on this handmade clothes malarky. (This is the first garment I've made for myself that wasn't a simple a-line skirt for a long time) Regardless of the minor alterations that could do with being made, this dress is as good a fit as any I'd get in a store, is made of super cool fabric (which was, incidentally, an absolute dream to work with) and is totally unique. Love it.

Oh, and my dressmaking is about to become a whole lot easier - tomorrow you get to meet Daphne.

Camping July '10 (trip number two)

 
  
 
 

 

The big top

 Yup, that is one finished quilt top. Somewhere in the region of 1,050 1.5" hexagons (I haven't actually worked it out exactly yet), over two months of sewing (I don't even want to estimate the number of hours), an awful lot of abandoned housework and more paper hexagons drifting around our sitting room than I care to think about. But it was totally worth it, I love this quilt top.

We're going camping today, and I really wanted to take the backing fabric with me to sew while we're away, but in the interests of saving space (and because I haven't actually cut it yet) I'm taking my charm quilt hexagons along instead.

What, you thought I was bored of hexagons? You must be joking! I seriously can't get over what a portable, easy little project they make, and I enjoy sewing them together just as much as basting them (apparently this is the favoured part for most people).

 

Apologies for the ugly matting under the bench - they have it by all the benches in this otherwise very pretty park, I guess to stop the grass wearing away to nothing and then turning into a quagmire when it rains.

 

In other news, wouldn't these make a pretty bouquet? I'm not really a hydrangea kind of girl, but seeing these ones practically glowing in the park today made me think that they could be kind of pretty. Also I hate the idea of a load of hothoused flowers wasting all that energy, so the more British, outdoor grown flowers I can find, the better! Plus they'll go with any of the multitude of colour schemes I'm choosing between at the moment. I may be calling on the blogosphere for opinions next week.

Bored yet?

 I'm sorry if you've had enough of beach pictures, but I'm afraid that I haven't (and may not for some time to come). We had another impromptu beach dinner last night, this time the budget version.

Instead of buying fish and chips from the place near the beach, I cooked some oven chips at home, wrapped them well, and we ate them with ham, cheese and bread (and a tomato each so it at least vaguely resembled a balanced meal). 

Lovely stuff. 

Where sewing meets engineering

 

 I am ready to apply poppers to everything. I originally bought this to make sleeping bags for Teddy, but I'm already thinking of a hundred and one other uses for it - jackets, sweaters, wallets, pouches, I may even try making a nappy or two.

If you're after one, I bought mine from here, but be aware that postage to the UK is insane. If you search the UK nappy forums, there are link to importers directly from China, but I couldn't find any who were posting any time soon.

 My first effort was, umm, less than perfect (and yes, I do believe that applying snaps to a random square of fabric is a perfectly worthwhile way to spend a Monday morning), but after a few attempts I'm getting fewer puckers, and I'm guessing it would be even easier with thicker fabric.

Hope you're all having a wonderfully snappy Monday!

Goldhawk road. Go there now

I really wasn't expecting an awful lot from Goldhawk road. I know people rave about it on various sewing forums, but I was honestly expecting a bundle of those awful fabrics shops that sale a wide range of polyester knits, sequinned net and 100% fake silk.

Now, while it was possible to buy all of those things (and more) in almost every fabric shop I went into, there was also a wide range of beautiful pure silks in every colour under the sun, fabulous printed silks from Germany, taffetas, dupions and chiffons, a reasonable array of cotton knits, lots and lots and lots of suiting/bottom weight fabrics and enough cotton shirting to keep the city clad for a month. All of it was reasonably price (pure silk taffeta at £8.95 a metre, anyone?)

 Once again, I displayed remarkable restraint in only buying a few knits (and some more samples for wedding dresses, naturally). All only £3 a metre. The magenta pink is pure cotton, the pale blue is a cotton/viscose mix, and I have not the least idea what the green is, but I'd guess cotton/viscose again. These were so cheap that I'm planning on using them as my practise fabrics for sewing t-shirts with the serger before moving onto some nicer prints. I also bought some pale greyish blue ribbing, quite thick. I'm thinking it'll be perfect for a winter jacket or something. Again, I think it was about £4 a metre, and very wide, so plenty of fabric (possibly a metre is a fraction more than I needed, but hey).

While I was waiting for my return train (I had an hour to kill before my train - the cheapest tickets are always for choosing a set train and are non-transferable), I wandered up to Buckingham Palace. Haven't been there for years. It was really rather fun being a tourist!

 

I know it's a huge honour and everything, but seriously, being part of the Queen's guard must be a teensy weensy bit dull sometimes. This guy marched up and down for about 20 minutes before returning to his box and standing stock still. Apart from a brief shuffle when he first stopped (he overshot his mark and had to make himself central in the box. It's very hard to tilt your head downwards subtly when wearing a bearskin, so it was easy to see what he was doing), he didn't move another muscle before I left.

I spent most of the train journey back admiring my fabrics, so didn't do much sewing, but despite my laziness, I'm seriously almost done (I know I keep saying that, but almost done is a long time when you're hand sewing hexagons!) with the sunshine quilt top. If I don't finish it this week, I'll eat my hat. Or something.

Anyway, all in all, big thumbs up for Goldhawk road here. All the shops are poky, small and full of hidden treasures, so if you do go, make sure you leave lots of time for wandering around. The shop owners, while keen to make a sale, are knowledgeable and helpful and always happy to chat. The shops are mainly clustered in one spot - leave the tube station and turn right, and they're in front of your nose. It's also only a five minute walk from Shephards Bush station, which is where I came from.

Go there now!

London calling

And so, I return to this space. I'm sorry for the brief absence, but if I'd posted, it only would have been about the relative benefits of canvas and plastic marquees (we're all about the canvas here), whether one should have a dessert display or a single wedding cake (still not decided on this one, but saw a lovely cake in Martha Stewart Weddings that may have convinced me to go traditional), and whether making 20 picnic blankets in 12 months is feasible and/or likely (umm... yes).

Skipping back to the present (mind the draft wedding invitation designs on your way past. Did I mention that the wedding is still 12 months away?), today I was treated to a day out to London, all alone, with no toddler, no Adam and no responsibilities. I do love my little family, but the odd day off to do my own thing is an undeniable luxury.

The trip was ostensibly to look at wedding dress fabrics (of which I have about six samples, all of them beautiful, and none of them likely to be posted here, as we wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. They're pretty though, I promise!), but once that was out of the way, I went here

 Yup. Liberty of London. Home of the eponymous Liberty Tana Lawn, in more prints than you can shake a stick at (and also a very pricey, but seriously tempting haberdashery department). I used to go to Liberty every now and again when I lived in London, just to absorb the glamour of this wonderful store, and it was really a love of Liberty prints (instigated at a young age by my mother, who gave me and my sister a Liberty print elephant toy) that got me into quilting in the first place.

I spent about an hour wandering up and down the extensive rail of tana lawn fabrics, until, feeling that I was beginning to look a little like a stalker, I actually began to pull out some prints.

Given the range available, I think I was positively restrained (although I did sign up for a loyalty card, which comes with it the added lure of repeat visits).

 I've been meaning to make Anna Maria's Socialite dress for a few weeks now. It's not the style of dress I would normally think to make, or wear, but having seen a few fantastic ones online, I couldn't resist, and when I found the pattern in Liberty as well, it seemed a shame to ignore what was quite clearly a sign that I should buy fabric!

I also bought one or two (ahem) other fabrics to make a quilt. I'm thinking that there might eventually be some scrap bags up for grabs from this lot, as Liberty is a whopping 54" wide, which means you actually get quite a lot of fabric for your half metre! Plus, you know, if I give away scraps, then I simply have to go and buy more, right? (can you tell my love for Liberty has been re-ignited today?)

 It's also possible that I accidentally bought enough of this amazing fabric, called memories of rain (how cute is it, I mean really? It would have been positively rude not to get it) to make another dress, although I have no idea what pattern I might use. Any suggestions? This is a seriously cool print, so I want to get it right.

I'll save the Goldhawk road part of my day for tomorrow's post, I think. I have to just say though, any dressmakers/home sewists out there, check out Goldhawk road before you bother with any of the expensive city fabric stores in London. OMG what a great range, including lots of basic cotton jerseys and some fantastic silks.

I'll leave you with one last Liberty moment. How far wrong can a store go when its stairwell looks like this?

 

All quiet on the Western Front

Sorry for the slight absence from this space for the past few days - I've had both parents staying (one briefly, one for longer), trips to the beach to enjoy, quilts to finish (no, still not done. Update tomorrow I think) and wedding colours to obsess over (Bridezilla, me? Never. Not as long as I can find the exact shade of light gold required).

I hate posting to apologise for not posting, but I've accumulated an awful lot of new readers in recent weeks (no idea why. Maybe all this blogging has finally made me more interesting, Maybe some people actually want to read about weddings), so I just wanted to let you know that normally I'm a bit more regular to this space.

For now, I'm off to make the most of my penultimate day of childcare. I can't believe I have to look after Teddy full time from Wednesday! I'm excited and a little scared.

(image source)