Me-Made-May, Days 1-8*, Greek-style

I’m back! And boy was Crete glorious!

I have to admit, I am missing the sun already. I need to go out in this wretched weather but all I want to do is wrap myself up in a duvet and re-live last week, cocktail in hand. Oh well. Life in London must go on. I missed my sewing machine and cannot wait to get started on making tops and dresses. I wasn’t able to sew everything that was on my island-spired sewing list but I do still plan to make them soon.

So let’s begin.

Day 1 of MMM’12 is brought to you by the a Colette Sorbetto I never blogged about. It’s a buttery floral top that I love wearing with my mint green cardi. It was the perfect travel outfit; nice and comfy.

Warning: I apologize if my eyes look shifty or cartoonish. They like to disappear as soon as the sun comes out. And that sun was BLAZING in Crete. It was wonderful.

On Day 2 I wore my Simplicity 2451 Lobster Skirt. That cardi didn’t last long. It was super warm by the time 10AM rolled around.

I wore my new linen paisley Darling Ranges Dress on Day 3. It was very see-through so I had to wear it with a light slip. It was so light and airy, like wearing my own personal air conditioner. I’m having a love affair with linen and linen/cotton at the moment. I wore it quite a bit on this trip.

The sun was killing my eyes. So not used to it anymore.

Day 4

Another Darling Ranges Dress. Not a perfect make but I’ll take it. I griped about the darts on this garment but I still wear it ALL.THE.TIME. I love the blue color with the contrasting buttons. It’s uber comfy and makes me feel like skipping.

On Day 5 We headed to Knossos Palace, where the land the palace is built on was first settled in 8000 B.C. WHOAH.

Day 6 I wore a linen/cotton mix maxi dress (New Look 6230).

Day 7 was spent pool-side so I wore my linen Darling dress as a bathing suit cover-up.

Day 8 was our last day in the sun. Boo. I wore another not-blogged Colette Sorbetto, made with a linen/cotton paisley fabric.

So my first MMM’12 week went great! I definitely did more than the 3 days a week that I set out to do but that was my plan. I know it’ll get more complicated as the days go by so I might fall back to 3 days at some point. Although, I am hoping not to.

Can someone please work on getting the sun to visit England? This weather is bleak!

*UPDATE: I thought I wore my maxi dress and my linen Darling dress on the same day (Day 6) but realized it was in fact two separate days. Helps that my hair was styled differently in both photos. Ha!

It’s pyjama weather

The weather in England today is quite shit. No really. It’s super cold and wet. With that said we headed off to Folkestone, Kent to meet up with friends. After a fast train there we were soon rewarded with the White Cliffs of Dover. Gorgeous.

After wandering about in Folkestone, in blistering winds, we were ready to head home. Today people, is ideal pyjama weather. Am I too late for Karen’s pyjama party? I hope not because I’m ready. Let me go turn on the fire (did I mention it’s freaking cold?!), put on my jammies and wooly slippers and I’ll be all set.

Oh, yes. These were a quick make and I made no adjustments. Maybe I should have because the crotch is almost at my knees. No matter. They are quite relaxing. Wait. I’m still cold. I can remedy that quickly.

Not only is today ideal pyjama weather but it’s ideal mulled wine weather.

Mmm…deeelish. I’d share but there’s only one bottle. Apologies.

Pass me my book and I’m set for the rest of the night. Oh look, I managed to get some sewing-related treats in Folkestone. Of course I did.

I hope everyone had a great time at the party and not too many pillows were hurt. As for me, I am calling it a night and staying in. Me and my wine of course.

On the sewing table: Simplicity 4212

I was lucky to pick up a lovely vintage pattern from Kestrel Finds and Makes at the Crafters’ Celidih. I was quite excited because at the time I didn’t own a vintage pattern. They intimidated me (and still do!) so I stayed clear from them. But I like a challenge and this pattern is proving to be a nice one. When reading the directions I felt as though I was deciphering a puzzle, jumping from one direction to another. I experienced a few hiccups (more due to the delicate cotton voile I was using) but I managed to put the blouse together.

With the muslin almost done I feel as though the shirt is reminiscent of a bowling shirt.

But I am not one to give up. I managed to grade this bad boy up quite a bit (from a bust size 40 to 44). And I am quite relieved that I don’t have a lot of adjustments to make to the pattern.

But I am left wondering, lace or no lace? I’m thinking matching the lace and fabric more appropriately might help it look less bowling-ish. Maybe? If I go sans lace the lovely tucks in the blouse will show, which I’d prefer. And well, it’ll guarantee that I won’t look like I am off to compete for my bowling league.

A lovely Monday

“But today is Tuesday,” you may say. Yes, that is true. But yesterday was one of the best Mondays I’ve had in a while. It began with me finishing up my final Darling Ranges Dress. I didn’t have enough of the blue linen that I wanted to use so I substituted it with a flowery one from my stash. I bought the floral linen ages ago so I’m glad it finally got used. Lowering the darts fixed the bagginess in the bust, the main issue in my last muslin. Why hadn’t I done that initially? Bad, Mela.

Here’s a preview*:

After working on Darling I decided to check my email and I was thrilled to find one from Flossie Teacakes letting me know that I won her giveaway!

I’ve been drooling over this dress ever since Colette Patterns announced their new patterns last week. I was well tickled that I won.

Quite buzzed over finishing Darling and winning a new pattern I got started on a maxi dress. A maxi wasn’t part of my island-inspired-sewing list but I’ve learned that my lists are more of a guide. I like coloring outside of the lines too much to follow them to the letter. With that said, I think I may swap out some of the button garments on the list for other dresses. I forget how long, and nerve-wracking, to make button holes can be until I am sat there doing them…with my heart in my stomach waiting for the needle and stitches to go nuts. Well anyhow…here’s my maxi.

So yeah. I had a great Monday. And Tuesday isn’t looking too shabby either. I got my yarn in the post today so I can get started on Gail and Jo’s Miette knit-along. Giddy-up now!

Hope everyone is having a great start to the week as well!

 

*I’ll model my vacation garments during Me-Made May

Me and Me-Made-May ’12

I’ve been wanting to participate in a me-made challenge since I first read about it a year ago. Sadly at the time I only had an apron and a skirt in my me-made closet. “Oh well, maybe next time…,” I thought. Well, next time is next month for me. After meeting Zoe this weekend, and getting some great suggestions as to how to go about Me-Made-May my way, I decided to jump in feet first and do it.

“I, Melizza of Pincushion Treats, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’12. I endeavor to wear a me-made garment or accessory at least three days a week for the duration of May 2012.”

I am quite bad about not going through my closet when looking for something to wear. I gravitate to my flavor of the month, be it a t-shirt or pair of jeans that I will wear to death. One Pattern One week taught me to think beyond my go-to outfits. I became more thoughtful in what I wore and loved how I looked every day. Now if I can feel like that for most of May I will be one happy bunny. And surely I will pick up some good habits along the way. I’m looking forward to marrying my forgotten ready-to-wear clothes with my me-made garments and accessories and seeing what new outfits come of it.

Island-inspired sewing

Source: http://www.cretanbeaches.com/

May is getting closer and closer and it brings a long ago booked holiday (Crete!). I thought it was still far in the future but…nope. It sneaked up on me and my plans to sew my vacation wardrobe might be thwarted. Might! I still have time to make a handful of pieces. Assuming I get the fit okay I hope to pack these (mostly button-up) beauties in my suitcase:

I totally jumped on the Lobster fabric bandwagon . Freya and I were browsing on Goldhawk Road recently and we instantly snapped some up when we saw it. I settled to make it into a skirt because I don’t think my lady lumps can pull it off in a dress.

Another pattern that I am planning to finally make is the Sewaholic’s Renfrew. Marie’s gorgeous takes on this simple T settled it for me: must make now. I have some plain red and coral jerseys in my stash that I can use but I will be on the look out for stripey ones at Walthamstow market this weekend.

So that’s my sewing plan for April. It should keep me nice and busy.

OWOP: Day 7 with Stripey Ginger

Yesterday was the last day of OWOP. I really had a great time doing this challenge. It forced me to think outside of the jeans-and-t-shirt box and spruce up my look a bit. I definitely felt extra special every day because I knew I actually spent time deciding what to wear.

A group of us celebrated the end of the challenge with a few cocktails and friendly chatter. Meeting up with fellow stitchers never gets old. On the contrary. I look forward to meeting up more and more. It’s nice to chat about your hobby with someone who understands what you’re on about. Poor hubby just grins and nods when I explain what I’m trying to do with a garment. Bless.

A great night is always guaranteed when you mix three things together:

1. Alcohol

2. Chocolate (Find my tutorial on how to make these lovely macarons/macaroons here).

3. Great company.

Stitch and Witter and House of Pinhiero

Pimp My Curtains

Did You Make That, Auxetically and Lazy Stitching

Pimp My Curtains and Claire

Tilly and the Buttons and Did You Make That

What fun!

Thanks to Tilly for thinking up an awesome challenge that got my creative juices flowing. Thanks to Karen for organizing another fab meet-up. And thanks to y’all who humored me by listening to me go on and on about The Tube. I am obsessed with that show!

Liebster Blog Award

Evie form Pendle Stitches has awarded me a Liebster Award. Many thanks, Evie!

“This Award is given by bloggers to other new bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, to help spread the word about their blogs and to help them gain wider recognition. 

Liebster is a German word meaning dearest, favourite or beloved.

The Liebster award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy when accepting:

1. Choose 5 up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers to award the Liebster to.
2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their site. Leave comments on their blog so they know about the award.
4. Share 5 random facts about yourself that people don’t know about you.”

And the nominees are some ladies that I recently found and started reading:

She was great fun when we met in Edinburgh and I look forward to meeting again. The Crafty Traveller
Her happiness is infectious. I love her happy approach to her posts. Struggle Sews a Straight Seam
I love her photos of sewing close-ups.The Secret Life of Seams
She picks the most darling fabrics for her makes. Darling Autodidact
She and her partner sew together! What, what? You’ll Find Me Whistling

So here’s where I share the five random facts about me. Nothing too embarrassing or silly, I promise.

1. Spanish is my first language. Originally form Puerto Rico, my grandparents migrated to Brooklyn in the 50s. We spoke Spanish at home and English at school. Sadly, my Spanish has gotten ridiculously horrible and I am too embarrassed to speak it when I go home to visit. I answer in English and accept the side-eye they might give me.

2. I graduated from an all-women’s university and I loved every single moment of it. It truly was four of the best years of my life. Uni provided me with the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, travel the States and go abroad. It was during my study abroad in London that made me decide I wanted to live here again.

3. The Imperial War Museum is my favorite London Museum. A close second is the V&A. I spent a bit of time in the IWM reading rooms. I read letters and diaries from WWII for my dissertation on women and the home front.

4. I can’t swim. I tried learning when I decided I’d love to participate in a triathlon. I just can’t tread water. Not to save my life. Literally. But I can happily float on my back.

5. My first car was named Harry because I bought him in Harrisonburg, VA. When Harry was replaced I named the second car William. Yeah. I think I was always destined to live in England.

So there’s just a bit about me. I enjoy reflective exercises like this. I love going back through memory lane.

Okay. I’m off to get ready for the final day of OWOP. Looking forward to meeting up with fellow OWOP participants tonight. Yay!

OWOP: Day 6 with Prince of Wales Ginger

See those cute teal shoes above? Yeah, haven’t worn those since I lived in Texas and drove EVERYWHERE. I am not even going to pretend that those shoes will be worn today. I haven’t worn heels since I moved to London. My poor ankles aren’t suited for balancing over cobblestones and uneven pavements. All my heels are gathering dust in the closet. Maybe I’ll start using them just for picture purposes. But really, how do women in this city rock heels so well? My calves hurt just looking at them.

So…this is my first Ginger skirt. It fits a bit big now (hurrah!) but I don’t think I will go through the trouble of taking it in. I bought some wool Prince of Wales fabric and hope to replace this one next winter. When I made this skirt I used a pattern that I graded up to a size 20. I found the pattern a bit too roomy around the hips so I’ve since started using the 18 with a modified waist. I used the slash-and-pivot method to add some inches at the waist and keep the hips the same. I’m liking the new look and will soon retire this skirt. But it’s had a great run.

Let me end this post with sending a MASSIVE congrats to Dibs and family. She and her husband welcomed Noah into the world late last night. Can’t wait to meet the little guy.

OWOP: Day 5 with Crochet Ginger, the Remix

Gail‘s comment recently lead to today’s outfit. She suggested that my Mustard Jasmine would look good with the crochet Ginger and she was right. I think the look is quite sweet. But I love my layering pieces (viva cardis!) so I think I will have to start making vests (tank tops in the UK). This outfit so needs a coolio 1990s vest. No, really.

A vest would give it a bit more umph, yes? I thought about making vests earlier in the year and completely forgot about it after the weather got warmer. Must add that to the to-sew list. Who knows how long this warm weather is going to last? Oh oh. Did I jinx us? Sorry if I did, London!

I used the belt from my Madhatter Ginger to define the waist. I turned the bow to the back and ta-da…a clean look in the front with a cute bow in the back. Sadly, no photo of the cute bow was taken.

Tomorrow: Prince of Wales Ginger.