The week that was OWOP 2014

Well that is it over, One Week One Pattern (OWOP) is done for 2014. This is the first one of these types of events I have participated in and I am so pleased I managed it.  A big thanks must go to Handmade Jane for organising it as well.

For OWOP I decided to wear the Delphine skirt from Love at First Stitch by Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons.

Day 1 - OWOP did not start off too great as I was unexpectedly in the wrong city to my skirt!  However, as soon as I got back to Glasgow it was off with the jeans and on with my botanical Ikea print Delphine with black top and cardie which I wore to go out for a meal with my OH.

Day 2 - Sunday morning was supposed to be a morning for making a second Delphine.  However it didn't quite work out like that and it was back on with the Botanical Ikea print Delphine with white top and pink cardie to go shopping with my mum.  (Please excuse the headless shot - the OH took it quickly when we were rushing out the door as we were late - and I was also insisting he got the new pink shoes in!)

Now at this point I still only had one skirt and was thinking that OWOP was not going to happen for me this year.  I had managed to start my denim version of Delphine but decided to add in some pockets, which I had never done before so this had slowed down the process. However, as we ended up being out most of the day, by 11pm I still had a bit to go and was very frustrated after seam ripping the waist band off the skirt twice and remaking both waist sections from scratch.  I was ready to give up and not bother, even though by this point I only had the waistband to sew down and to hem it.   However,  after some encouragement from people on Instagram and Twitter I got up early on Monday morning and finished it off.

Looking back I think the problem was I was tired and as there was no pattern I think I had been putting it on upside down!

Day 3 -  I made it and wore the newly completed denim Delphine  to work.  It was a slightly odd top combo but I was running late by this point and just needed to get out the door!

I do love the pockets that I added in to this skirt.  However, the fabric doesn't hold a crease very well as it has a wee bit of a stretch so I think the pockets sit a bit funny and could have done with being top stitched.  No idea how to do that now without sewing them shut so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know!

Day 4 - Denim Delphine with orange top.  I love how versatile this skirt is and I can see myself wearing it lots.

Day 5 - It was off to a work away day in my botanical Delphine with white lottie blouse and blue cardie.  This was my best 'me made' day of the week and one of my favorite outfits which I know you have seen before. When I first made this Delphine I was really not sure of the pattern but it has really grown on me over the week and this week has helped me get over the fact that the pattern is a bit more bold than I am used to.

Day 6 -  Wednesday night was spent making my red Delphine and I finished the hem on Thursday morning before going to work (recurring theme here!).  For this one I decided to add in some belt loops.  I do love the colour of the fabric, again from Ikea, but it creases like crazy.  I am also not sure what I did during construction but it is also the tightest of the three.  Never mind I still really like it and it got a lot of nice comments at work.

Day 7 - For the last day of OWOP I was torn between wearing the denim version again and my red one.  The red one won in the end, figured given all the fuss I had making three this week that I should at least wear it twice!  This time i teamed with with a white top, grey cardie and my hot air balloon scarf - which matched the red perfectly!

And that was my OWOP - featuring the three Delphines! 

Reflecting back, starting OWOP with only one skirt was not the smartest move and I did get my self into a bit of a tizz trying to get the other two complete.  However, the support out there on Instagram and Twitter was amazing - thank you ladies for all the encouragement.  It was nice to feel part of the wider sewing community and I loved seeing all your makes.  It has also added a few more patterns to my ever growing sewing to do list!

From reading other blogs I was slightly worried about my choice of a skirt for OWOP and while I didn't find it difficult wearing a skirt all week I did have a wee bit of trouble finding tops to go with it.  I normally wear dresses to work and jeans at home so a lot of my tops just did not sit right with the Delphine skirt.  I did however, like the change and it has encouraged me to make some more tops so that can only be a positive!

Would I do it again?  Absolutely - roll on OWOP 2015!!

See you all soon x

P.S. I love to chat so feel free to leave a comment!

That doesn't look like a skirt.....

In my last post I mentioned that I only have one skirt made for OWOP which starts on Saturday and that I was going to get sewing.  Well I have had a week (and a bit) off work on holiday and I have made good progress ..... on knitting a cardie!  Yup I still only have one skirt for OWOP...............Ahhhhhhhhhhh! 

*disclamer: rambling excuses follow*

In my defence we have been out and about quite a bit, visiting relatives and organising things for our wedding and as the knitting was far more portable (and sociable) it won!  However,  I'm trying to figure out how to fit in making another two skirts in the next couple of days, since I am not in tonight and we have things planned for the weekend .......  suggestions welcome!!!!!  Now I can get away on Saturday with my first Delphine skirt but let's face it work (and anyone with a sense of smell) are going to think I'm a bit odd if I wear the same skirt for 7 days in a row!

Now I could just give up, but I don't like doing that. I am hoping that a trip to the fabric store to get some more fabric for Delphine number 3 (yes somehow I only have enough fabric for one in my stash!) will give me inspiration.  Also I could just set the alarm early on Saturday/Sunday and get cracking before we need to go visit people/have visitors

*end of ramble*

Anyway, what I have been knitting instead was the Rocky Coast Cardigan  by Hannah Fettig from the Costal Knits book.  I fell in love with this cardie way back in 2011 when the book was published and promptly purchased it.  Since then it has just sat in my bookcase gathering dust! Figured it was about time that changed.

Now i have not done much knitting in the last couple of years, mostly because I started sewing, but this is knitting together really quick.   I only started it last Wednesday and I am almost finished the back - very speedy progress by my standards!

I will talk a bit more about construction etc when it is complete but thought you may like to see progress so far.

Back soon x

P.S.  I like to chat so feel free to leave a comment!

Delphine and Lottie take a trip to the seaside

Its been a busy couple of weeks but in between a trip to the theater, catching up with friends and being bridesmaid at a wedding I managed to make a skirt! I used the Delphine pattern from Love at First Stitch, and some Blavinge fabric from Ikea.

We went to Maidens in Ayrshire today as it was a lovely and sunny and I thought it was perfect opportunity to wear my new skirt and actually take some photos.  Not bad since its has been over a week since I made the skirt!  I was not too sure about the fabric at first but when paired with my Lottie blouse I think it looks quite good.

I thought it fitted really well - and was perfect for paddling!

Even quite far out!

Anyway, back to the skirt! I cut a straight size 6 from the pattern - using my normal method of baking parchment and random objects from the living room to help trace it out! 

The skirt panels went together really quickly and then it was onto the concealed zip.  Now when I purchased my new machine a couple of months ago I decided to also invest in an invisible zipper foot.  This project was ideal to give it a test run.

Here we go.......

It was really easy to use and I was very happy with how the skirt came together.  I was even more pleased when I zipped it up and realised that I had managed to match the waistband seam first go!

I did, however, end up with a bit of a bump at the top of the zip once I had sewn in the waistband lining. I don't think I had trimmed the seam allowance back enough - hopefully I will manage to sort that for my next Delphine skirt.  

I wanted to make this version of Delphine to see if the style suited me before I made some for OWOP. Given that it is only a couple of weeks away I had better get sewing and stop paddling in the sea!

Fly me to the moon!

I have been making lots of baby bunting for friends and family lately (I am at that age where babies are appearing all over the shop!) and realised that I had not made any for the OH's nephew.  Now I met the OH around the time his nephew was born, and before I had started sewing, so I think that is a valid excuse.  I figured that it was about time I rectified this but that a two and a half year old energetic wee boy would not really want a string of bunting.

Now I had been mulling over what to make for a while and then I came across this fab tutorial  for a beanbag chair by Project Nursery - Perfect!

The hunt for nice boy upholstery fabric took a while but when I stumbled across this amazing space rocket fabric from Frumble Fabrics I knew it would be perfect. It is a Japanese fabric and slightly heavier than ordinary quilting cotton so would be able to withstand a battering! I teamed it with some blue upholstery fabric that I had found in the John Lewis remnants bin.

I didn't make any changes except to cut the fabric 43" wide rather than 45" due to the width of my fabric.  I also used more beanbag stuffing than suggested as well.

How cute is this selvage with the wee rockets?  Not one for keeping my selvages but I think this may be an exception to that rule!

The sewing went quite quickly as the instructions were really easy to follow.  It went so quick that I didn't even think to take photos.  All I have is this, rather blurry, photo of the curve I had cut for the front of the bag.

Now the tutorial says this is a 30 minute make.  Well it took me a bit longer as I managed to sew my zip on the wrong way and with a small stitch and a 22" zip a lot of swearing ensued!!!  Even with this mistake I don't think it took over an hour.  Not bad for a first attempt.

Now I was a bit too impatient to wait until my OH came home to fill it up.  This was my ingenious (!) solution.  That's what you are supposed to use airers for right?!

Going up!

Needless to say quite a few of the beads escaped but overall I was pretty happy with my contraption.   That was until I realised that the beanbag liner I had purchased to keep all the beads inside would not mold to the shape of the bag!  Not wanting to add to the 'snow' all over the kitchen floor,  I just took my scissors and cut a hole in the bottom of the liner!

I zipped it all up and sewed a few stitches just under the zipper to stop my nephew from unzipping the seat and getting the filling all over the house it was done!  Looks good I think.

Perfect for a spot of light reading

Best of all though my nephew loved it :)  Job done!!

A first attempt at English Paper Piecing

Gosh I can't believe that it was nearly a month since I wrote my last blog post.  It is amazing how time zooms past sometimes!

I mentioned in my last post that we were about to have visitors.  What I didn't mention was that the visitor was my Dad and that he was here to do up my bathroom. Needless to say the house was upside down and normality was well and truly disrupted.  While I didn't have much time (or space) for doing any crafty things I had just received the first edition of Quilt Now Magazine and completely fell in love with the that Apple Sorbet quilt by Fiona Calvert from Poppy Makes.

However,  I have never done any EPP before and thought it may be a bit ambitious for a first go. Fortunately the mag also had a quick tutorial on EPP at the back using Hexagons which I thought may be a better first project. Especially since my blog browsing over the last few years seems indicate that this is a go to craft for travelling. Perfect!

Thankfully this idea came to me the night before my Dad arrived so I was able to pop out to my local fabric store on my lunchbreak and pick up this Bartholo-meow's Reef mini charm pack by Moda.  I had seen these pre-cuts a while back and thought they were very cute so this project was the perfect excuse to buy them!

It was then home to print my 1" hexagons and get basting!

It didn't take long before I had a pile of based hexagons.

I tried a few layouts before I settled on this one.

 

Then it was onto joining those hexis together, and my low tech method of keeping track what seams I was supposed to be sewing!

Which did not always go to plan - oops! Just as well the seam ripper was handy.

I also did my best to try and keep the stitches small and neat

I then realised that I didn't like the layout of the small red dotty hexagon in the top row so it was back out with the seam ripper to change the layout.  This is what I ended up with and how the blocks were being  joined together.

Finished!

Then it was onto removing the paper pieces.  I used my seam ripper for this job as it helped the papers pop out of place.

I decided that I wanted to make this into a mini wall hanging and I found this fab tutorial by Cintia from My Poppet for a hexagon table runner which kept the nice zig zag shape at the edges.

I would recommend checking out her blog for exactly how to do it but here is how well I pinned my quilt sandwich before I started sewing round the edges. I don't normally pin that heavily but this project called for it!

I then cut a slit in the back pulled through the fabric and finished off the back with this small bit of ribbon

How cute is this!  Not bad for my first EPP project and I would definitely do this again.  Don't think I would manage to make a whole quilt using the 1" hexagons but I do think I would manage that Apple Sorbet quilt. :)  

Strawberries and pins

We have been really busy over the last week or so and it has meant that I have not had much time (or inclination) to do much crafty "stuff".  I say "stuff" because I currently have some pillows, an iPhone case, a quilt top and a new skirt on my do now list.  This is obviously quite a bit shorter that the to do list which covers things which I have most of the supplies for and a lot shorter than the want to make list...... (am I the only one who has multiple lists like this for their projects?).

Anyway I received the first issue of Quilt Now last weekend.  It is really good and I love how fresh and modern it feels. I have been following the editor Katy's blog - I'm a Ginger Monkey - for a number of years and if you like the blog I'm sure you will love the magazine.  I can't decide what to make first!

The magazine also came with materials to make up two strawberry pin cushions.  Whenever I get a free gift with a magazine (or any gift for that matter) the first thing I do is open it up to have a wee nose.  I was really impressed - you even got all the coordinating thread!  However, as I started to devour the magazine the pack was left the pack on the coffee table....

However, we have visitors this week and I was doing the ironing the other night when I noticed the fabric and thought hmm could do with a wee press. Next thing I knew I was using the new gadget which I had been hemming the curtains with to draw my circle.....

.....cutting out the leaves.....

.....and sewing it together......

They came together really quickly, think it was just under an hour, which was good since I probably should not have started a new crafty project at 10.30pm on a work night!  Just need to get the pins back out and start some more sewing now.

Good enough to eat?!

Getting to grips with blogging.....

Starting to get the hang of this blogging malarkey.  HMTL code and me are never going to be firm pals but I managed to add share buttons (which work!) last night mostly with the help of this tutorial by Blog Guidebook.com.

Oh and you can now also follow my blog with Bloglovin!