keelysews... sometimes

Wow, so it's been 5 months since I posted! This is also an indication that it's been 5 months since I did any real sewing, cos hemming trousers and repairs don't count IMO! Life has pretty much run me over with a steamroller this year. Who'd have thought that a fuller than fulltime post-grad study year, and a family of kids requiring a taxi-driver would be a lot to handle? Well, ok, everyone but me obviously. I seem to have an entirely unfounded sense of optimism of what I can achieve at times. Still, reality always has a way of making itself known. I'm pretty sure I've managed to become acquainted every flu and cold virus circulating this year! I've discovered this year that stress can make people do funny things - like wearing skirts regularly when they've always been a jeans-type; wearing make-up and even painting my nails!!! Athough that one has a reasonable explanation in that it stops me chewing my nails. Oh, and then there's the crying on my s...

"Sale" - It has to be one of the most dangerous words in use. Especially when it involves fabric or patterns. No prizes for guessing where this post is going... :) Yep, I succumbed to the Patternreview 25% off sale. Joining the other patterns unlikely to be sewn in a hurry are 3 Jalies - and 2 Kwik Sews. The last one is for DD1 - Yes, I gave in and just bought the darned pattern at her request. I don't have time to fuffle around getting the girl to stand still for pattern adjusting. I don't know about you guys, but personally I'd be pretty polite to the person holding the pins and fitting me... As for me... Getting behind on the writing, but not quite at panic stage yet. Which is good, cos panic probably wouldn't be the best cure for the case of writer's block I seem to have. And I desperately need some tidier clothes (what's new), especially if I'm going to be seen around the department more. Having said that, really the most likely pattern ...

I sewed something. I actually sewed something! Yesterday I just couldn't concentrate on work and felt lousy. Rather than just lie on the couch and veg out, I thought I could probably handle tracing out. I briefly contemplated tracing the Ottobre coat, but the thought of all those lines on the paper and big pattern pieces... I couldn't face it. So I dragged out two Jalie patterns because DD1 has been claiming "nothing" to wear.Even though we're going into winter she's wanting camisoles and tanktops. Go figure. (rolling eyes) Then I faced the problem of trying to work out what size to trace, without current measurements and with a fussy teen with definite ideas on what she wants. It was difficult, involved measuring tees she liked and a long conversation with Judy on the phone. Admittedly, the phone call wasn't necessary for the sewing/tracing, but it was good to remind myself what Judy's voice sounds like. :) Eventually I guessed a size (which lucki...

Hi to anyone who's still reading.... yep, I'm still here! Where does the time go? And with no sewing for me. :( Although I have spent some time at the sewing machine. Wow, those things can really gather dust when you don't use them. First up, I scared the machines one evening when, in a fit of enthusiasm, I finally pulled the living room curtains down and replaced the rufflette tape. Is that what you call it? You know, the stuff you put the hooks in that stretches all out if the ready-mades have cheap tape on them and then the curtains hang droopily and ugly. Well, my curtains now hang all prettily again, and it has only taken 3 years to get them done. Then on Sunday my sister turned up with 4 pairs of jeans for me to hem. Sigh. Not exactly inspiring stuff. And I want to sew! Which is not unexpected when I'm busy, lol. My kids have learnt to procrastinate from a master. My mojo positively ran amok the other day trying to tempt me and I had to walk away. I did however...

Why is it that the day before uni starts back the mojo also comes back? Today I was thrown back into the insanity that is full-time study ( this time post-grad. Gosh I love saying that. Post-grad, , post-grad, post-grad.... ) so, of course, Saturday I had a " what am I going to wear " attack, which of course led to emptying out the wardrobe.... That took care of Saturday. Along the way my linen cupboard also got reorganised which had nothing to do with my wardrobe, but did desperately need doing. And I wonder why I have nothing to wear. Sheesh. Anyway, yesterday I felt I really should do some sewing. I fell back on the trusty Ottobre gathered neck tee ( Ottobre 02-2007-04 ) which seems to be the backbone of my wardrobe. Well, the stuff that gets worn. Because we've had hot weather lately, I made short-sleeved tees, thus guaranteeing the rain and cool temperatures today. Both came from stash and snuck in at being sewn before the fabric reached the 2 year mark. The first ...

Help! I read one measly reference to Immanuel Kant and now I can't get the Philosopher's Song out of my head. (Warning - some language may offend) " “Scientists call songs that get stuck in your head “earworms,” after the German Ohrwurm. " ( The Situationist ). Really? They couldn't come up with a better name than that?

The order is in and Jalies will be winging their way to me soon I hope. I succumbed to 6 patterns for me and Judy added 2 of her own. We both ordered the Pleated cardigan and the stretch jeans. I added the Stretch Classic trousers, the Empire Crossover Top, the Scarf Top and the Cami/Tank pattern. Now to just wait for them to arrive.

Since I saw the new Jalie patterns, I've wanted the Pleated cardigan , as well as others. Unfortunately, the cost of postage combined with the exchange rate can inflict some serious damage to the wallet. It can also lead to funny looks as you rush out every day when the postie pulls up, but that's probably a whole 'nother story. After all, why would he be at all curious about the contents of large envelopes after a slightly crazed-looking woman rushes out each morning to watch him, then grabs the envelope before he even puts it in the box....? One day I should really open one and show him the Ottobre/patterns just so he knows it's all legit, lol. But I digress. Where was I? Oh yes, unfortunately... scary costs etc. That leads us to the ' Fortunately' . Fortunately, Patternreview is having a 20% off sale for FOPR members until the end of January. I knew there was a reason I renewed (apart from not losing the catalogue of all my patterns. Believe me, after the t...

Recently my DD1 bought Dolly magazine, despite, or perhaps because of, my insistence that it was a total waste of money. (Amusingly, 2 weeks later she agrees, lol.) As she was leafing through it on the sofa, one page jumped out at me. The details are hard to see from the scanned image, but apparently the "quirky accessories" now involve pins. Snigger. And you can't see it here, but they didn't even bother putting the pin on the RHS on the back of the fabric. What gets me is that they picked this as the best photo and let it go to print?

Finally I have stopped procrastinating and finished DD2's red Ottobre jeans. This is another pair using Ottobre 06-2007 #32. (The first pair I blogged about here .) I think I cut these out about 5 or 6 months ago and in the meantime DD has grown. These are a size 140 width lengthened to 146 and DD is now 144cm (she's grown 2.5 cm in the last 5 weeks!). The length is perfect, the width... let's just say thank goodness it's stretch denim. I think I've finished these just in time if I want DD to get any wear out of them. Strangely, this pair gapes at the centre back. This can be easily fixed with a small dart in the waistband (or a belt), but it is not an issue I noticed with the first pair. I'd also forgotten that I meant to skim in the legs below the knee to make them more 'skinnified'. I used a lightweight stretch denim from Spotlight and topstitched in red. I had huge problems with the topstitching tensions about halfway through the jeans. I changed ne...

With all the kerfuffle of getting DS off on his holiday cricket trip sorted, I was going to tackle another UFO, specifically red Ottobre jeans for DD2. So I made 2 tote bags naturally. :) I figured that, for once, I should be nice to DH and clean up after one project before starting another. This meant packing away the half-dozen boxes I'd pulled out in the hunt for white fabric and thus freeing up some space in the rumpus room. As I relocated items, I came across a piece of denim. I don't know why, but this denim just screamed to be a tote bag. A really impractical tote bag, considering the denim is very, very pale, but hey, it's been there so long I can't remember when and why I bought it, or how much it cost. I'm sure in stash rules that makes it free fabric, right? Lo and behold, there was enough to make 2 bags. No official pattern used - I just used the measurements from an old and decrepit tote bag that has seen many better days. DD's red jeans-to-be are ...

The weather has been atrocious this 'summer'. Perfect for sewing. Also perfect for curling up with a good book, watching dvds, or playing video games with the kids (are they still called video games?) . Despite all the other distractions, I have finished a spare pair of cricket trousers for DS. He's off to sunnier and warmer climes in Brisbane for a few weeks for a cricket tournament and needed a second pair. Reluctant to spend much on what is essentially a back-up pair of trousers, I went a-hunting in the stash and came up with 5 metres of white bengaline. I like bengaline to wear normally, but this is white . What on earth was I thinking when I bought it? Oh yeah, I remember - it was $2m on a clearance sale at Spotlight. :) I haven't sewn trousers for DS in a few years so the next problem was finding a pattern. I settled on Simplicity 5362 . By measurements DS just made it into the adult Small, but I've been burned by the Big-4 patterns and their sizing before so ...