Birthdays Gift

Hi Everyone 

I’m sharing one of my wonderful birthday gifts with you today. Read yesterday’s blog for background to the birthday story. Today’s gift is in two parts, a pattern book and some beautiful fabric. 

        

You will notice, the pattern book is actually written in Japanese ! I’m hoping I can cope. All seems well at the moment, the diagrams are brilliant and the designs are quite simple in structure - famous last words. The book contains twelve garment designs but each design has two options, a close fitting (small design) and a generous, loose fitting (big design). I’m told the title says Big Clothes and Small Clothes. It all seems very straightforward! The book is available from Etsy. I do have a Japanese friend, so if things get tricky, I can call upon her for help.

The fabric is a gorgeous cotton print from Merchant&Mills. I love the fabric design and can’t wait to test it out.

My first make from the book will be the dress on the front of the book, the bigger loose version. My plan is to wear it as a layering item with either blouses or T shirts. However, in hot weather I’m sure it will be a great sundress.

There are quite a number of Japanese pattern books available and if these designs and the making process work well, I can see myself using more of them. I’ve been reading about and wondering about this particular book for quite sometime and am thrilled with the gift. Most of my birthday gifts were on a WishList but that doesn’t take anything away from the delight at receiving them. 

All the designs in the book are lovely, I will definitely be making them all. They vary from dresses to trousers to coats, so lots of things to make. Beyond excited about all this.

Thanks for calling in today.

Keep safe.

Birthday Stories

Hi Everyone 

I’d like to share a few lovely stories from my birthday on Saturday (28/3/20). It was a very strange birthday and one that I will remember forever. Obviously, because of the Coronavirus issues my usual day out somewhere, wasn’t going to happen. We are in ‘lockdown’ and only go out once each week for food other than a daily (20/30min.)walk from our house. 

A few months ago, we had a long term plan to go to Edinburgh for the day. I love Edinburgh and it’s a regular celebration visit for our family. We love the galleries and have a number of shops and favourite cafes that we visit. However, this wasn’t going to happen this year. So, what was I to do ? I was determined to celebrate somehow.

Sadly, when I woke up, it was raining (that wasn’t in the plan) and I had thought about a walk followed by breakfast (part of our daily exercise). We live in a beautiful part of the UK and there are lots of very pretty walks from our house. I’d chosen a walk through a wooded glade, along the river. Lovely idea and perfect for a birthday treat. However, the rain didn’t encourage my husband and I out. My sons were a ‘no show’ re this idea. We decided on breakfast first and then our walk. This worked our well. The rain stopped and our walk was lovely. Somehow, more special because we are living through such a difficult time. My senses seem to be working on a hypersensitive level, so smells and views were enhanced.

I was given some lovely gifts, very special things that have been on a wish list for a long time. I’ll share and enjoy talking about the details over the next few days. My favourite gift was three lovely handmade cards from my husband and sons. My boys are grown up and haven’t made cards for many years, the fact that they had made the cards was so lovely. They are great and reflect their personalities, perfectly. They all have thought about the messages and the decoration and have got it just right. I will keep them always.

My third extra special thing was a What’s App birthday song with my Dad, brothers, husband and boys. We organised a time to call and share the screen with a four way video call. My Dad even managed a Happy Birthday accompaniment before blowing out the candles on my birthday cake. So special. I wasn’t sure we could actually make a cake because we couldn’t buy any flour. However, I found a recipe which didn’t need too much flour, we had around 80gm in the cupboard. The recipe is an orange/almond cake with an orange glaze. I even managed a few candles. Unfortunately, the cake was only enjoyed by my immediate household family. When all this is over, I’m going to make the cake again and we can all enjoy it together in one place.

           

The cake has been eaten and my flowers have withered. However, I will remember all the experiences and have my special cards.

Thanks for calling in today. I’ll be back tomorrow with more birthday stories. 

Keep safe.

Knitting Update

Hi Everyone 

I have good news and slightly bad news re my knitting. The Lovage Sweater knitting has been done - hurray ! Read back on the blog for more on this project. You can see the details here. However, the sleeves are too long !

The slightly bad news, I need to undo my knitting and sort out the length of the sleeves. 

         

I’m happy with the fit of the body and I will love the whole thing when I sort out the sleeves. I almost decided to cut and graft the sleeves half way down the arms to shorten the overall length but having slept on it. I’m decided to undo the sweater to the arms. I have the opportunity to try on the sweater, which gives me a great chance to give a really good fit length for my sleeves. I’m also very happy to re knit the top section and make a better job of the neckband. The neckband is Ok but I think I can do better.

So, ‘all in all’ - this is my usual way with sweater knitting. It’s never straight forward but it will be as good as I can make it, in the end. I’ll keep you informed of the process and highlight some of the improvements as I go.

Thanks for calling in today. Have a good weekend. Keep safe.

Sewing Project

Hi Everyone 

I have another new idea for a sewing project. This time it’s another Frankie T Shirt from Tilly And The Buttons. I made a version of this T shirt a few weeks ago and like it very much.

            

The first T Shirt (above bottom left) is a great fit, very simple to make and exactly what I need right now. I’m hoping, I can use my new T shirt ‘to be’ for layering on cooler days but as the weather warms up, as an everyday item. 

My new fabric (been in my stash for a while) needs to be washed, so that’s my job, for today. The first navy T shirt only took a couple of hours to make, it’s a quick job ! The only issue I had with the Frankie construction was the neckline. I did need to redo the size of the neckline, a few times, to accommodate the fit on my body. I don’t care for a tight neckline so will make adjustments as required for my new Frankie.

There will be fabric leftover from making my T shirt. I think, at the moment, I will make a vest or a shirt sleeves top ? I’ll work on that one today. I could simply shorten the sleeves of the Frankie pattern but I think, I’ll do a bit more research and report back.

I’ll share progress with this little project as I have something to share.

Thanks for calling in today. Keep safe.

Knitted Dishcloths

Hi Everyone 

I’m sharing my new knitted Dish Cloth today. It’s a very minor thing but I love my handmade dishcloths. I’m not a fan of washing up, obviously, but it’s got to be done - to some degree. I have a dishwasher which gets lots of use but the dishcloths are also well used. 

            

There looks to be a slight issue with a small section of the knitting, I’m not sure what going on there ? I’ve checked, closely, and all is well in terms of the stitches. Perhaps, it will even out when it gets wet and is used.

My usual dish cloth Making technique is to crochet cotton yarn but this time I thought, I’d try knitting. I get through quite a few dish cloths. They are robust but I sterilise the clothes regularly and the cotton does tend to disintegrate.

I will be making a few more dish cloths this week and I think, I’ll go for the crochet approach next time. I will be able to compare my favoured technique. 

Thanks for calling in today. Keep safe.