Hey–I’ve seen that fabric before!

So I was walking home from work the other week when something in a local bus service advert caught my eye:

What the…! I literally stopped in my tracks and took a closer look at the girl in the red dress:

Does that fabric look familiar at all?

To me it did…I have the exact same fabric folded up in my stash at home! It may not seem like such a big deal to you, but N.Ireland isn’t the biggest of places…so I’m curious as to where the dress came from. I bought the fabric online from a shop in England. So did the ‘designer’ for the advert buy a ready made dress from a local boutique (if so, I want to know where!)? Did they buy the fabric from the same place I did and make up a dress (if so…why bother?!!!)? I don’t think they bought it from a fabric shop here because there aren’t that many and I’ve been to them all (pretty much) and have never spotted this fabric. Any other suggestions?

Regardless of the answer, seeing how nice this dress looks is spurring me on to get it out of my stash and made up into something to wear asap!!

And that’s not the first time I’ve spotted some fabric from my stash made up into something. I was merrily browsing through the gorgeous (and I mean GORGEOUS…do check it out if you haven’t) lookbook from Lena Hoschek when I spotted this lovely lady is a very nice floral circle skirt:

from here (was 315Euro!)

And the same floral fabric made into a (kind of) pencil skirt:

from here (was 375Euro!)

And below is my fabric…I recon it’s the same stuff. I bought mine for a steal at a local car boot sale. I’m pretty sure it’s curtain/upholstery fabric but I bought it thinking it would make a nice pencil skirt – and obviously Lena thought the same!!! I’m now dying to make it up into a look-a-like skirt for a fraction of the RRP!!! (It’s times like this that I really love being able to sew!)

So, have any of you spotted your stash out and about? Has it inspired you to get it out and use it? Did you maybe have an idea for it that was perhaps changed once you saw it made up into something else?

P.S. I am finishing off a quick shift dress this week that I cannot wait to share with you guys. I think this will be a TnT pattern for me (I’ve got at least two more planned!).

Tuesday’s Tutorial Treat: Scallops

In case you haven’t noticed, scallops are taking over the sewing blog world and scalloped lovelies are everywhere now. In case you have yet to cut some curves into hems of your own creations yet, here is a wee summary of tutorials and ideas all involving the lovely scallop:

First up let’s start with the basic scallop tutorial:

This one is from Hannah from Hetterson:

Link HERE

Next is from Sherry off of Pattern Scissors Cloth:

Link HERE

And now let’s get a bit of inspiration on ways to incorporate your new found scalloping skills into your projects:

How about a reversible scalloped edge skirt from Megan at Megan Nielson Design Diary:

Link HERE

Or perhaps you fancy slicing scallops into the hem of your latest Sorbetto? Sarai from the Coletterie shows us how:

Link HERE

Maybe scalloped collars are more your thing? Casey from Elegant Musings gives us the low-down:

Link HERE

And a final garment scallop idea from Nette, bloging over at iCandy Handmade, but usually found at Nettevivante:

Link HERE

Finally, how about some scallops on a cushion. I just love this rainbow coloured scallop cushion from Betsy off of Paper Scissors Superheros and it’s really easy because the scallops are made from felt and don’t need hemmed:

Link HERE

OWOP–I’m Joining In!

As I’m sure most have you have heard, Tilly, from Tilly and the Buttons, is hosting a really fun ‘mini’ project at the end of this month, called ‘One Week, One Pattern’ or OWOP! It’s a great idea and one that a lot of people are going to be joining in…including me!

I had mentioned before that I would like to share my drafted pattern for my cowl neck top (which I’m calling the Primrose Cowl Top), and therefore I want to sew up a few versions in different fabrics to make sure it’s suitable and make any final tweaks. This means that I’m going to have quite a few versions of this top…which leaves me in the perfect situation for the OWOP challenge!

The other reason I thought I would use the Primrose top for my challenge is that it can be dressed up or down and so should be ideal for the chosen week of 24th – 30th March as I will be chaperoning 15 Kosovan delegates around Northern Ireland (lol, don’t ask…my job is difficult to explain!) and need to look smart. The top should lend itself well to being paired with pencil skirts and suits. It’s also my Fiancé's birthday on the 31st, so I may just be a rebel and extend my challenge by a day and wear one of the tops out for his celebration (which will also be a combined engagement party too!).

At the moment I have the top made up in two fabrics:

 

And I have plans to make it up in these as well:

And I have pale blue and bright red drapey fabrics that I bought in the sale especially for this top (no photos at the moment, sorry). I just have to work up the courage to actually CUT into the Liberty fabrics!

That should keep me going for a week I think!

So, who else is joining in?

Holy Cowl…I got engaged!

So I've been a bit quiet on the blog recently. I missed the last 2 Tuesdays 'Tutorial Treat' and I haven't posted an 'I made it....and I wore it' photo for a couple of weeks (even though I have actually been keeping to the rules and have been wearing handmade at least once a week...just no photographic evidence!). But that may be because I have been slightly distracted...to say the least!!!

Anyway, before I spill the beans (which I think you are all quite aware of due to the title of the post!) I thought I'd share with you my latest make. Another cowl top based on the pattern I drafted. This one is made out of floaty/drapey chiffon. Definitely harder to control, but not quite as difficult as I thought it would be.

Due to the very drapy nature of the chiffon it is really a bit too low in the neck - hence I have a cami underneath. But I did discover that you could tuck the cowl neck into the cami and create a cute pleated look that you actually see in some tops/dresses as a design feature:

Oh sorry, what's that? Did you notice something sparkly on my finger that didn't used to be there?!!!



Yep - I got engaged! My Fiancé (woooo!) and I were away at the Slieve Donard Hotel celebrating 3 years together (on the 25th Feb) and after acting very shifty (due to the nerves) he proposed to me on the beach....this was our backdrop:

 The Mourne Mountains, from Newcastle beach

It was just so gorgeous, and I was in complete shock! He used a 'stunt ring' to seal the deal and I then had to wait a whole WEEK until before we could go ring shopping (that was a looooong week!). After trailing around pretty much all the jewellers in Belfast I finally found 'the one':

It's from the 1950's and has the most beautiful metal work on the side (which I tried to capture in the second photo, but it doesn't really do it justice). I really wanted a unique antique ring, partly because older rings tend to have very narrow shafts/bands, which just feel daintier on my finger. I'm just so so over the moon!

No plans for the wedding yet, apart from a rough date of Summer 2013 (to fit in with school holidays - Robin is a teacher!). But if you follow me on Pinterest, you may have noticed a sharp increase in the number of 'wedding' related pins that have been cropping up!

Anyway, I was busy cutting out a shift dress last night so hopefully normal blogging will be back soon!!!

Excitement and Votes!

Oh my goodness, how exciting, my tutorial for the Lace Bandeau Knickers made it to the final 10 in the Sew Mama Sew True Love contest!

If you like, I would be so delighted if you might head on over here and vote for me!

Thanks so much guys, and have a fantastic weekend (hopefully filled with fabric, ribbons and lace!)