... because life's too short to do anything ALL the time . Creativity and positivity are my "hiraeth"

Tuesday 21 February 2012

I Never Did Show You That Dress I Made ....

Never got around to photographing it, did I?!

So I left it to the professionals ....



Pictures courtesy of Luscious Photography and they're LUSH!

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Hearts and Strawberries


















I'm On Fire. Not Literally (thankfully).





HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! 

I'm having one of my creative bursts. I've had some fabrics for literally years and been sitting on them waiting for the universe to show me what to do with them, which is how I roll. If you don't know what to do, don't do anything.

I made my lovely husband a cushion today. With his disability it's really useful being able to make stuff because I can make it to his exact specifications.

He needed a little conical cushion to put behind is neck, head support for when he's at home in his Dr Evil chair (as we call it). He regularly suffers with a tremendous amount of pain in his neck that painkillers don't kill, so we thought it might help for him to have a heat pack type one, but the shop ones are the wrong shape and too hard to be a cushion. 

So with a couple of feet of left over fleece, a recycled zip, and once again a remnant of the £5 curtains that became a sofa bed cover (blog from 18 months ago), a cushion for my nephew, 4 handbags as Christmas presents (and I'm sure plenty of other things I can't remember) I've made him the perfect head support, and it's microwaveable to warm the pain away a little bit. Two packs of pearl barley fill the inner, costing me 98p - a heat pack from the chemist or even Wilkos are at least £4 and they don't contain the equivalent of 1 pack of pulses.


Daddy and his boy enjoying the cushion.


Then I decided to action a remnant I bought in the Cancer Research shop in Monmouth when my niece came down this time last year. Up until recently I thought I had a plan for it, just not actioned it, then I had a better idea, and realised it. And I'm really glad I waited. I only had a strip about 1 inch wide and 3 inches long let over too, so I really got value for money.




I love a box pleat. And I thought the heart was a cute addition and topical given that today's Valentine's Day. And I've been dying to use that strawberry for ages.

My skirt is nice and simple, elasticated waist so it doesn't matter if I put a few pounds on, or loose a few. Everyone knows how much I hate having to put stuff away when my weight fluctuates.

As if by magic, it really beautifully matches the lovely necklace I had as a Christmas present from Jade and looks really pretty with the gorgeous cream coat Helen gave me a couple of years ago -I love that coat.



Today I have mostly had exceptional value for money, 2 bespoke items and a creative frenzy.

Sunday 12 February 2012

Accidents Will Happen ... But People Won't Always Notice

... unless you write a blog about it and tell everyone.

So I had an idea last week relating to tarting up a nice but boring jersey top. Jersey is my most very favourite   medium and my arch nemesis - all at the same time.

I remember years ago seeing lovely collar ideas in some old magazine and really liking them - wishing that one day I could possibly get away with wearing collars like them. It just so happens that now I'm both confident enough to wear what I like and have wanted to wear for a long time.


I quite like the shape and the colour of this shirt, and I like leopard skin with the jadey/teal so I thought I'd put a leopard print collar on. But I did it wrong. 

  1. I cut the collars out the wrong way (as per usual)
  2. I didn't shape the inner of the collar. The bit that you attach to the shirt.
It just so happens that my mistake ended up doing me a massive favour. 



The leopard fabric is furry nylon, you see. the remnants from the bags/dress I made with the off cut El gave me. Turning over the edges of that kind of shape are very difficult, you see, and I didn't want to put a backing on it because that would make it too thick.

The lack of shaping has made the collar stand up a little. Not a problem as it covers the slightly raw edges of the attachment edge.

Bonus.

And then I put together my oxford flares (not said THAT since Bananarama's hay day) that I cut out last night.


Further proof of my love/hate relationship with jersey. I really NEED these trousers. I'm sick and tired of low rise bloody trousers so I wanted to make these to fit me. And my god, are they comfortable.

It's lucky that no one knows I cut them out wrong, (once again, as per usual) as a result had to bodge them together and have them long enough only by the skin of my teeth.



Saturday 11 February 2012

Simple Things

I really do like simple things.

Somethings in life should be complicated. Women. Ummmm I can't think of anything else actually. But it really is easier for everyone when things are easy.

I really like simple clothes. Especially when I'm making them. Remember that picture in last blog of my fawn new dress on the hanger? Well I used the same pattern and made another dress. When I like something, I like something in lots of variation. I think you'll agree this one's quite different to the last one.


And a beautifully simple garment to make.

I love spotty things, so I'm really looking forward to wearing this one. Trouble is, it's so versatile and simple, how do I wear it first?

In the day time?


...or the night time?



See? Simples :-D

I love it when a plan comes together.




Tuesday 7 February 2012

I Just Dyed...

I had a full day of dying the other day.

A little white patch in the front of my hair (only took 5 goes and a knackered scalp) but I also thought I'd have a go at some cold water dye, thinking it'd be better than a washing machine one. It isn't. Bloody awful photo though.



I got some other hair colour on one of my nice white vests the other day, so I collected that up along with a bit of old curtain and some other things that I wanted to turn navy blue.


I hated navy blue for years and years following 5 years incarceration in "the South of Wales leading comprehensive school" and I simply couldn't bring myself to wear it as that was all I could equate it to.  I despised every single second of every single minute of my time there and I directly blame it for a tremendous amount of my early confidence issues (now no longer a problem!).  Navy was brought to my attention again last year in a separate fashion and I've become a bit obsessed with it.

Cold water dye is not the way forward. I've got a full load of tie dye's navy-ish clothes now that need a machine dye. But one of the things that did come out was the piece of ex curtain muslin, which I have turned into a a natty little dress which I am currently wearing, and I used up some other dress fabrics I had hanging around and made them into some little numbers courtesy of the free pattern I get monthly with one of my magazines.



Quite happy with that actually.

Why do men feel like they have to fix everything?.