Piglet meaning of life

Serendipity skirt

2010-10-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

This is the skirt I made whilst off sick.... It now is also a wee bit too loose but I love the amy butler fabric combo

The ruffled pocket detail is also pretty neat even if I say so myself

Roundabout top

2010-10-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

This top is now finished and looks okay ish on.............. its my bust that causes the trouble.... being an E cup when the rest of me is relatively smaller.... I know I know some people have surgery for these sizes....

I need to learn to do fuller bust alterations.....

I also need to work on necklines and sleeves.... but overall I'm quite happy with the top....
and I must say I am a total convert to voile it drapes so well...
I am getting better at making clothes the more often I do it so maybe one day I'll be happy with what I make...

and then I may also learn not to have a double chin as well....

maybe thats what happens when a 4 3/4yr old is your photographer or maybe its too much chocolate and coke cola...

Pictures of Sencha Blouse

2010-10-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to these pictures
the back

the front not so great but L is the photographer

I have also lost bust weight since I made this so now its slightly baggy a few alterations maybe required

The Black Dog

2010-09-09T01:25:00.000-07:00

These past two weeks have been hellish for me. I have been attacked by the black dog of depression again. I forgot or rather wanted to forget how hideously painful it is when it strikes. I just feel this sense of panic and gut wrenching hideous self loathing like I am the worst person who ever lived.
I also seem to lose the ability to sleep which is the worse thing as the less sleep the more irrational I become. It just becomes a circle of destruction for my foothold in reality.
Needless to say the family suffers. A especially has put up with this "episodes" for nearly 13years now so deserves a medal. In fact he is the best person as he does not let me not do things as is my want when depressed, but ensures even if though I have been signed off work that I have "stuff" to do..... tasks to achieve and succeed in all helping me along with the Anti-depressants to get better.
The relapses only ever occur when I try coming off the happy pills. When on them I like my better self, the best I can be. So why or why do I keep on trying to come off them when it has been proven in the last 13yrs for about 5 times I have tried to come off them I relapse and my world all starts crumbling in.................
I can honestly say I don't know............ I just want to be the person I am on them off them if that makes any sense.
Everyone has been great and that is something to be truly grateful for.............. now nearly two weeks back on the meds I am starting to feel "normal" again and like I have things in perspective. I am still on sleeping tablets which isn't great but at least I'm sleeping.
I can now start to concentrate on things without the anxiety and fuzzy headiness. I also have the perspective that my new job is wait for it NEW and so will feel awkward and difficult for the first 6 months. I should just go with the flow and not spend every waking minute thinking about it, worrying about it. I will get there but it may take sometime and not to be so hard on myself. Same with the CfE stuff I'm working through it but I will get there..... and I am not responsible for all of it. I am only one person in a system trying to the best she can with what she is given.............. even if I do end up subsidising it............ (what teacher dosent buy books etc and resources to make the job easier).
Well to saying that sewing had helped I sewed a lovely skirt using amy butler fabric and a pattern from the serendipity book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sew-Serendipity-Pretty-Sewing-Designs/dp/1440203571/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284020535&sr=8-1
It turned out okay. My mil thought it was shop brought which I thought was a good sign....
Just waiting for a decent camera to take pictures with for this site......oh well........
Now I have some Anne Maire Horner Voile that needs my focus............... much better than being depressed and not wanting to do anything.
I just have to hope these baby steps in feeling better continues each day ..... along with the pills and the support.......I will feel "normal" again soon and maybe even confident.

New Job, Little Girl at school and no time to sew

2010-08-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

So as the title says I started a new job. In teaching when you move jobs it always means a mountain of planning and making resources when you first start. Hence why probably so many people stay in a job once they have one. Not me the fool.....
So I am spending all my time laminating, reading up for ideas, searching the web for ideas and just generally racking my brain for ideas to make my teaching fun and interesting. When you put in the move from Secondary to Primary science as well.... then you may understand why I have been so busy its a different ball game. The fact that its only part time makes no difference...
L also started school on Weds. She looked so grown up. It has been hard as I have missed her on my first day off this monday. They have gone straight into full days which is good for them as they all knew each other from nursery.
This has left me with no time to sew...making a pencil roll bag for my thermometers does not count though I enjoyed it. I promise to post some pictures of my new blouse asap.... bear with me....
I may get time today,......

Sencha Blouse

2010-08-15T00:35:00.000-07:00

Oh my giddy aunt................ what fun and games I'm having with this pattern....

First the inferfacing feels way too stiff for me.... but hey ho... not sure about that maybe me being all beginner...
then I could not get the neckline bit right.... unpick central.... just once as I then decided to draw the 5/8" seem allowance around the collar so I could follow that rather than rely on the machine guide and my skill (which is very limited)....
Now I am currently handstitching the sleeves using catch stitch and mine is the worst example of this......
The blouse looks okay and the pattern was easy enough to follow but I do not think I am up to anything more advanced now....

All the ideas whizzing

2010-08-13T02:31:00.000-07:00

So far it seems that I have more projects than time........ I start the new job on Monday with two inservice days.... then into the primary schools absolutely terrifying for a secondary teacher.... (what if they pee on me?? or tug on my skirt and it falls down; give me knife threats and stroppy teenagers and I'm fine go figure)

So the projects waiting to be started are....... the Sencha blouse brought as a pack from sewbox... it was ordered yesterday and arrived today talk about fast I am mightly impressed with that and also the fact that I could buy all I needed in a oner talk about a god send for a newbie...
http://www.sewbox.co.uk/pattern-packs/clothing-pattern-packs/all-in-one-kit-colette-patterns-sencha-blouse.html

I'm doing the navy polka dots one.... fabric is in the washer as we speak.

Then I have the prairie dress pattern from my favourite things which I got from m is for make. http://www.misformake.co.uk/product/favorite-things-prairie-girl-dress-sewing-pattern

Now this is a dilema in the making I have some amy butler fabric I brought in John Lewis which is 100% quilters cotton........ love paradise garden in perwinkle.... which would be nice but having read flossie teacups blog about using quilters cotton for dress making erghhhh I don't know....
Maybe I will just make a skirt out of it.
I keep on visiting m is for make and lusting after the Anna maria horner voiles.... especially the ink one.... but that may need to be payday.

Ho hum then I have all this other fabric crying out to be made into something but what as its all quilters cotton maybe a quilt.

Also L is being really weepy and whingey today which is horride as it seems to be a new phase of sorts............... anything doesn't go her way or say no then its tears..... and trembling bottom lip.
I have to admit that it just relies me rather than elicts my sympathy....bad mum.

All I have achieved today is to take up one pair of trousers.........

Okay The next few things done so far

2010-08-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

So in this sewing frenzy I also made my daughter a bag for starting school............ I'm not too impressed as it looks a wee bit homemade try a lot homemade.... but she loves it.....

Also made my mate M a bag for taking sandwiches to school in........... its from Cath Kidston Sew book....

The next thing I did was applique on a next dress which had fabric rossetts on but oh they never dried right and had that hideous rotten smell however I tried to dry them......... so I removed them and appliqued on this big blue flower.... it was a hand stitched and machine combo.... and turned out okay....

and at least I wont worry if I smell any more... well from the rotten fabric flowers anyways............. from my own BO oh well thats another issue...

Dressmaking Project number 1

2010-08-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

Okay so for the first venture into using a commerical pattern I chose Anna Maria Horners Socialite pattern http://store.annamariahorner.com/socialitedress.html

I had read a few reviews in blogs and was most impressed by the one in sew mama sew........ well it had pictures thats a god send when you are doing this with only sewing books and Art and Design Textiles GCSE to go on........... (This was my only A at GCSE level.......... so maybe I was okay at it but if I remember correctly we only played with the sewing machines.... a wee bit).

So I thought how hard can it be................. actually it wasn't too bad a few unpicking of seams but I think that will be a common theme to my sewing so I better get used to it.............

I did adore the cotton lawn from Liberty which I brought of Ebay...... but the pattern I got from http://www.backstitch.co.uk/ along with 100% cotton blue material which now thinking about it would not be right for this pattern..........

This is how it turned out and I wore it out to the pictures for MIL birthday on Saturday and I felt it didn't look too homemade.... always an aim but not necessarily achieveable with limited skills and experience....

First Creation

2010-08-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

First Creation was a clothkits Rob Ryan skirt............. It was easy enough apart from the fact that I cut the lining too small so then well I just got rid of it............... not many of my shop brought skirts have linings sooooooooooooooooo now this doesn't either............. Lots of unpicking of stitches etc but I was happy with the end rest if it is a wee bit too big for me..... so more unpicking and resizing but I just cant bring myself to do that just yet......

Craft

2010-08-12T06:35:00.000-07:00

So far I have been quite good at beading.............. above is an example of one of my creations...

Knitting well that is the thing I am deadly slow at.... and really it seems to hurt my hands, so am I doing it right???

Baking well thats something I should be good at as a chemistry teacher it is glorified cooking isn't it.... At least my previous positions S3 class seemed to love the baking and kept on asking if the replacement would bake............. I doubt it

Now I have decided as I love clothes, fabric and fashion I would try sewing.....

Having made a quilt for DD handsewing and using MIL auld machine..........

So off to John Lewis I tracked to purchase a machine not too cheap and not too expensive but just right.............. I think I got it right so the past two weeks have been messing around...........

Time to get started with Blogging

2010-08-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

So I am a 38yr old reformed spendaholic who is now addicted to various crafty activities to help control the urge to over consummerism and running up credit card debit.
Let me be honest it has been nearly two years since I had a credit card and hideous debts now I have no credit cards, no debits and only limited access to my hubbies credit card (when he is feeling generous which isn't so often recently).
However the urge to buy is still there...... constantly nagging at me............... but I am good and check myself when overly tempted. Well it nearly cost me my marriage and my daughters stable home life to grow up in which is more important.........
Time to grow up..... and I have been for two years but its still painful...