Buckingham Road: Friends

Showing posts with label Friends. Show all posts

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Chemise and knickers gift set.

Are any of you maintaining a long distance relationship with a dear friend? I am and I miss her so much! We aren't strangers to long distance friendship, having done it before. Mill lives in Zurich now and I haven't seen her for over a year. We still keep in touch through emails, texts, postcards and Skype dates, but none of it is the same as actually being face-to-face. I wanted to make her something special for her birthday this year, and knew a set of delicates would fit the bill nicely.

I followed Casey's 1920's Chemise tutorial for the top and used McCall's 2389 for the knickers. I had great success with this Chemise pattern last year when I made it for myself with a set of French knickers. For the Chemise I used a medium weight ivory satin that has a beautiful drape. I matched this with some ribbon for the straps and an ivory stretch lace. The top was constructed using French seams and a rolled hem. For the knickers I chose a Liberty of London Tana Lawn because, well, is there any cotton softer than a true Tana Lawn?! All the knickers needed were some thin pieces of elastic and a small piece of cotton jersey for inside of the crotch piece.

The pair were then wrapped in a vintage scarf, tied with ribbon, and posted to Switzerland. Mill loved them and the fit was perfect, much to my relief!

Sam xox

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Baby cardigan progress.

For years I never understood knitting. I know it sounds silly, but I just couldn't get my mind around how two needles and a ball of wool could be woven together to create something. Mill patiently tried to teach me over 6 years ago when we lived together. Full of excitement and enthusiasm I bought some acrylic wool and plastic needles and tried to knit a scarf. A simple stocking stitch scarf. It wasn't too many rows in when it all began to unravel (metaphorically speaking). Somehow I kept getting holes in my knitting. Somehow I managed to knit these holes so they didn't unravel. This was the only thing about my knitting that marvelled Mill. She was a patient teacher, but after a while we both knew it was a hopeless endeavour and we returned to our familiar habits; wool in her hand, and a quilt in mine.

Last weekend I decided to try again. I selected this pattern and gathered supplies. This week, every evening, I have sat quietly after dinner and knitted. And I've enjoyed it. I have learnt a lot from this pattern (with the assistance of a vintage Patons Woolcraft booklet, YouTube and the internet). I now know what PSSO, K2tog, M1and pick up stitch all mean. I have shaped raglan sleeves, used multiple stitch holders, learnt to use a stitch counter, knitted in stockinette stitch and moss stitch. I even did some backwards knitting, after I realised I garter stitched a row I should have been purling... Listen to how 'knitty' I speak now :-)

I ran into a bit of trouble though what I realised I had not stitched in any button holes along the way. The pattern doesn't clearly instruct you to do this, so I had assumed they would be included in the pattern somehow. I made an emergency Skype call to Mill who assured me that it was f'ine, and she suggested I sew on some push studs, and sew the buttons on decoratively instead. Plus, she said we know how wiggly little babies can be, maybe push studs will be easier for the mother?" I hope so, as I don't want to try doing this to get button holes in the cardigan post-knitting!

~ This vintage booklet has been teaching me all the basic stitches ~

Thanks Mill for giving me the trans-continental knitting lesson! Who knows, when we are finally together again we might be knitting fair isle side by side?

Sam xox

Friday, November 25, 2011

A finished quilt.

Let me tell you a secret... making a quilt completely by machine is sooooooo much quicker than by hand! Don't worry, I have not completely turned my back on hand quilting (it is such a beautiful method of quilting), I just have a new found appreciation for quilting on my machine.

I have always been a strong 'hand quilting' advocate, but for quilt gifts that need to be made in a reasonable time machine quilting really is a good option. Some benefits of machine quilting:

> You don't need to plan quilt gifts two years in advance (yes I am not the quickest hand quilter around).

> Your stitches will be even.

> There are so many different stitch options - classic stitches, fancy stitches, embroidery stitches.

> The quilt is able to be washed by machine.

> Machine quilting is perfect for summer when it's too hot to have a quilt on your lap when working on it.

> A machined made quilt perfect gift for babies as it can be washed umpteenth times if it gets dirty.

> A machined quilt makes a perfect picnic blanket.

I made this quilt for a friends new baby boy (the one I made those bibs for). I had started this quilt prior to our move, and had not had a chance to finish it until we moved and unpacked all our boxes. These friends visited us recently so I was finally able to give it to them.

The quilt is made up of nine pin wheel blocks (five blue and four yellows) set out with a 3" calico sash separating them. I chose 1930's reproduction fabrics and tried to stick with a 1930's feedsack and cotton theme. I had wanted to bind this quilt in blue, but I was unable to find the 'right' blue, so settled on yellow. My friend said she preferred the yellow binding as it made the quilt a bit more gender neutral.

He appeared to like the quilt! It was always intended to be a floor quilt, something my friend could lie him on and scatter his toys around him. He is such a sweet little boy :-)

And of course, I couldn't leave out some machine quilting photos...

What is it with quilts and cats? When ever you take out some sewing to do, suddenly the cats appear!

Machine quilting is simply a breeze on my new machine. There is enough space to the right of the needle to fit a rolled up quilt, and the IDT system means that there is no bunching of the bottom fabric when stitching.

I didn't stray too far from the familiar - choosing the mock hand quilting stitch.

Babies are wiggly!!!

I will put up a post later this week with some basic instructions on how to make this quilt yourself.

Hope you're all going to have a brilliant weekend!

Sam xox

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Edible Melbourne.

Melbourne is a revelation for the taste buds! Today's post is completely dedicated to (some) of the food we sampled during our three day stay.

Some of the places we tried and I recommend if you are visiting Melbourne:

Sam xox

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Melbourne in May.

So... life has thrown Jamie and I a couple of curve balls this week!

As a result I will have to postpone my One Pattern Seven Bloggers self-fabric belt tutorial post until Saturday. In the meantime I wanted to share with you some photos of my recent trip to Melbourne. Michelle and I were very lucky with the weather, as it only rained on the last day of our trip. We had a wonderful time, and it was a much needed break for me. We walked a lot and ate much too much yummy food (more photos of this to come!). Time went far too quickly, and I already have a list as long as my arm of the things I want to do if I was to visit Melbourne again.

Melbourne truly is a beautiful city.

Don't forget to check out the other girls posts this week!

Marie from A Sewing Odyssey

Reana Louise from Curves, Patterns and Pins

Kat from Petticoats & Peplums

Rachel from My Messings

Jen from Pretty Little Pictures

Amy from Sewing Through the Motions

Sam xox

Thursday, May 19, 2011

One pattern seven bloggers #3

I am only 1 hour and 24 minutes (on Honolulu time) behind posting my next Wednesday update on the sew along. I apologize for not having photos of my muslin. It is dark here and the photos I did take of it were terrible!

So my muslin turned out pretty well. I have only sewn up the bodice pieces, as I am still undecided on how I will make up the skirt. If I will gather or pleat? I decided on moving the zipper from the side to the back, as that is where I prefer my dress zippers to be. I will need to buy an invisible zip during the coming week.

As I am a 32" bust I cut out the smallest size, but left the neckline on the largest size. I then cut out one muslin with the largest size neckline, then cut another muslin with the smaller size neckline. I am undecided as to which I prefer, but both did turn out ok.

The darts were ok, but I am not 100% happy with the shoulders. I am considering sewing a small cap sleeve of some sort, what do you all think?

I am planning on making a self fabric belt for the dress, and possibly the neck piping that Casey posted about, and a few of my fellow sewers have mentioned (perfect timing from Casey I'd say!).

Speaking of my fellow sewing ladies, remember to visit their blogs and see what they're up to:

Marie from A Sewing Odyssey

Reana Louise from Curves, Patterns and Pins

Kat from Petticoats & Peplums

Rachel from My Messings

Jen from Pretty Little Pictures

Amy from Sewing Through the Motions

And just because I lacked any photos of interest in this post, here is a shot of some beautiful roses Michelle gave me last week.... 'just because'. She is a sweet friend!

I will be a whirlwind of packing over the next 24 hours, as come Saturday 7am Michelle and I are flying to Melbourne for a 3 day mini-break filled of lots of girly activities; shopping, dinning, and a few cocktails!

Bliss.

Sam xox

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Projects in the works.

Yesterday morning I had brunch at my house and invited Michelle and Mill over to eat it. I made a recipe from my new gluten free cookbook (given to me by my father-in-law, who has totally embraced my new dietary requirements by the way! He is finding all sorts of awesome gluten-free products for me!). I made baked eggs on a bed of leeks, spinach leaves and ham, accompanied with grilled tomato and mushrooms. It tasted so good that it was gobbled up too fast to get a photo.

After breakfast we sat on the couch and soaked up the autumn sunshine that was filtering through the windows, and talked craft of course. We helped Mill brainstorm a knitted wedding gift for a close friend of hers. She decided on a knitting project from a magazine I had. We then planned our next craft day and the three of us agreed to do a skills trade (an idea we have seen a few times on the net) at the next craft day.

The girls left, and I was so pumped from all the crafty talk, I headed down to my reliable Remnants Warehouse and picked myself up some fabric. Silly me never realised that all the rolls of fabric in the bins out the front of the shop were actually priced for the entire length on the roll, and not per meter.

Here is what I got:

The classic Walk Away dress pattern in my size requires around 4 meters of fabric, which is quite a lot when most of the nicer fabrics in Sydney will cost you between $10-$20 per meter. I managed to find this burnt pink and black spotted cotton for under $5 per meter. I teamed it with some sweet little rounded black buttons. I didn't have the pattern with me so will need to buy the bias binding later in the week. I desperately want to sew this dress up in time for my mini break to Melbourne later this month.

I wear jeans all week at work during winter, so I am desperate to have a bunch of skirts I can team with tights to wear on the weekends. This fabric has a very classic print (the tag called it the "David Jones" print - any Australian will know what I am talking about). I will line the skirt with the black fabric. This pattern looks promising as it is only two pattern pieces, and my size requires only 1 meter of fabric, which makes these skirts cheap to make.

This fabric is not appropriate for winter, but I thought it could go in my stash for maybe a summer skirt or dress? It has a silky feel to it and a nice shine. I picked up 2 meters of it.

I thought this fabric was just so beautiful. I have been thinking of making a white dress for a while, but had neither the perfect pattern or fabric. Now I have the fabric. It is a lovely weight and has a beautiful lined detail.

I'm going to be a busy girl!

Sam xox

P.S Also wanted to say "Happy Mothers Day" to my fabulous Mum. Love you heaps!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Blog love.

~ Source ~

In the past two weeks I have been chuffed to find out I have received two sweet awards from fellow bloggers. Reana Louise from Curves, Patterns and Pins gave me with an "I am All That" award, and Amy from Sewing Through the Motions gave me a "Stylish Blogger Award".

I am super excited that these sewers, who I find so inspiring, are reading my blog too!

So here goes for the first one...

The recipients of this award are asked to answer the following questions, link to whoever awarded them and then pass it on to five, no six people (who they think will actually be willing to answer these totally intrusive and possibly inappropriate questions). Feel free to snag the badge too, right?

Questions:

1) What size shoe do you wear? If you wear a size 7, can I borrow your shoes?
2) 30's or 60's?
3) Have you ever kissed someone you shouldn't have?
4) Have you ever been poisoned? Was it by the girlfriend of the person you kissed?? That isawesomely "Knot's Landing".
5) Who's on your "Celebrity Free Pass" list (top 5)?

So here are my answers...

1) I am an Aussie size 7, but no you cannot borrow my shoes (sorry).

~ My wedding shoes ~

2) 30's definitely, because my pear shaped body does not suit many 60's style outfits.

3) Yes, but I was young and stupid!

4) I have recently been experiencing poisoning via gluten! The horrid stuff that it is...

5) Don't think I will share it today :-)

The Stylish Blogger Award asks for 7 things about yourself...

1) I spend my week working as a Community Rehabilitation and Support Worker within the context of mental health. It is a totally awesome job that I find rewarding, challenging, and ever-changing (all ticks in my book).

2) I love camping, but it has to be on the condition that I get to bring with me my sheets, floral pillows, and bed quilt!

3) Wool makes me itchy. As a child I detested wearing the knitted jumpers my English grandparents would send me (sorry Nan!).

4) Speaking of grandparents, I love mine to bits and totally like the fact that there is only a 44 year age gap between my Nan and me.

5) I secretly like fishing. I am even considering buying my own beach fishing gear to use as a hobby. Although, I do wonder what an earth I will do with a fish the day I catch my first one. Could be a potential fad...

6) I am moderately introverted. When I reach my limit of social contact I retreat to my sewing room and spend hours sewing. I like to be quiet and alone sometimes.

7) I give in to my cats demand for high quality food... on a daily basis. Sorry dear Jamie if you read this post, yes I did feed Prada 'Kitty Gourmet' this morning!