A sewing disaster

I'm here today to share a cautionary tale with you all. I'm sure for a lot of you the following words will be a 'no dur' moment, but I find I have to learn by my own stupid, silly, I-wish-I'd-thought-of-that-beforehand mistakes. Otherwise it just goes in one ear and out the other, sigh.

Here's what happens when you make a sideboard cover out of material that is cotton on one side and random, thick, calico stuff on the other. It didn't seem to occur to me at the time that I might want to wash the cover in the event of, say, my rose regularly leaking water, causing the cover to go mouldy and decompose in an attractive circular pattern that exactly matches the terracota water catcher it sits in. Nooo, that would be far too sensible.

The mouldy hole, in the process of being fixed:



Patch-up job:



So I decided to wash it and repair the hole, good as new. Sadly not. What actually happened is the random, thick, calico stuff shrunk in the wash, while the cotton stayed the same size, meaning the cover is now much smaller than it used to be (and so doesn't cover the top of the sideboard any more) and the cotton side is all puckered and wrinkly with all the excess fabric. Since I'm about to leave the flat for 2 weeks, I don't have time to fix it properly (i.e. throw it out and start again) so instead I patched the hole to protect the sideboard while we're away and I'll have to make a new one when we get back. And I don't even like the sideboard very much!

It's not the clearest photo, but you can see that the cover doesn't actually cover the sideboard, and look how much extra material there is on the cotton side!



Learn from my mistakes folks!

New summer skirt!

Remember the skirt kit I got for my birthday? Well, I made it up!

I was really pleased with how quick and easy this was, especially given my mental block with following sewing instructions, I finished the whole thing in about 2 hours whilst listening to Radio 6.



I wore it out yesterday and am planning on wearing it out again today! I was going to cycle in it (with cycle shorts underneath of course, can't be flashing my bright pink pants to the world) but Andrew persuaded me otherwise because it's raining and I'll get all muddy. Sad face. I'm taking it with me though, to change into when I get there!



Things I learned whilst making this skirt:

- Not drinking wine whilst sewing makes a huge difference to the professionalism of the outcome
- Not watching TV whilst sewing makes a huge difference to the straightness of my hems
- Listening to the radio is infinitely better than watching TV whilst sewing
- Measure twice, cut once = GENIUS!

Apologies for the cars in the backgrounds of the photos, the whole point of taking them on the Meadows is to avoid distractions like that in the background but apparently my photographer (who shall remain nameless...) has the mental capacity of a small fish and needs reminding of this every time.

Two new in store

A small Etsy shop update for y'all.

Vintage pastel lacy sweater



Vintage rose knitted sweater



Welcome to the shop little pretties!

Inspiration part 5

Goodness, it's been a while since I've had an Inspiration post! It's not that nothing has been inspiring me, far from it, I just haven't had the time, what with exams an'all.

Look at this lovely photo tutorial from {this is glamorous}. I just got my regular 3 monthly please-tidy-my-hair haircut done, so I'll definitely be having a go at this lovely 'do, now my hair is a bit more manageable.

Source: citified.blogspot.com via Second on Pinterest

This amazingly simple scarf-to-top tutorial strikes me as having a multitude of bra-related issues, but it's so cute it's totally worth a shot anyway! From Everything Fab

Source: s633.photobucket.com via Second on Pinterest

Skirt in progress

Check out this amazing 'make your own skirt' kit I got from Frances for my birthday. It's from Meme Fabrics, a new fabric shop just opened in Exeter.



This is a lovely present because I've been bitching for a while to anyone who'll listen about how I want to make my own clothes, but I'm too scared to try any more after a few attempts that haven't come out just how I'd like them (see the Frances dress and the tartan car boot sale dress, both of which are fine in a kind of first-attempt-so-so kind of way). I know it's very defeatist but it's intimidating to be faced with an idea and a pattern and some lovely and/or expensive material and end up with...a giant pile of scraps and an angry face. So it's easier to dream about what you would make if you had the time/money/experience and never actually get around to doing it, for fear of failure. I know all failures are learning processes but at the moment I feel like I'm constantly struggling at uni and the last thing I want to do is come home and struggle with a hobby that's supposed to be relaxing. Hence, more knitting, less sewing.



But, I feel like this little bag of goodies could be the project for me. Look at how simple the instructions are! No terrifying bits of paper to trace or cut, no naps and grains and dashed lines and dots and other bits you don't understand so skip and then later on discover why they were so important. And, the added bonus is that if it works with this lovely piece of yellow gingham, I can make it work with any number of colours and patterns from my stash.



Plus, look at how awesome the bag is! I can't think of a better use for the sport pages to be honest.

Obituary

Wee leather bag, you will be sadly missed. When your strap broke just a few weeks ago (it seems like a lifetime now) and you slithered from my shoulder in the quiet, calm manner that you lived your life, unceremoniously dropping onto the wet muddy grass, I think a little piece of my soul died along there with you.



You were one of my first car boot finds and you served me well these past 4 years. Twice I sent you in for repair and twice you came back to me, as solid and trustworthy as the day I bought you from that dodgy, greasy, 1-tooth-missing man at the car boot sale. I've seen your bigger brother about town, but never plucked up the courage to ask a stranger where they got him from, and if he was indeed related to you. I guess I'll never know where you originated from now, and maybe it's better that way, you'll maintain that air of mystery with you to Bag Heaven.



Wee leather bag, I've left your broken body with the nice people at Manacraft, where I know they'll take good care of you and recycle your parts for other bags that will make other people happy. Every time I sit next to someone on a bus or pass them in the street with a bag of similar hue to you, I'll think of you and wonder if it's your pocket that's holding their mobile or your strap that's lying across their shoulder.

And I'll smile ♥

6 year anniversary

Andrew and I have been together 6 years as of yesterday. It's crazy how quickly time flies, it seems like yesterday we were walking hand-in-hand across Trafalgar Square and I nervously blurted out, "so...you want to be my boyfriend then?" Ah, so smooth. Saying that, one of our first dates he 'wooed' me with Saving Private Ryan so I guess neither of us played it that cool.



I bought him this letterpress linocut print off The Big Harumph on Etsy. It arrived with super fast postage actually on the day, which was lovely considering I clearly hadn't left enough time when I ordered it, what with exams and all. Still, at least he got a present, I have still yet to get a birthday present (from the 23rd of May no less) so I'm not holding out hope for an anniversary present until maybe the middle of September. Such is life, I have too much stuff anyway!

We did have a lovely day at the beach though, although now my face is an unnaturally red colour. Factor 50 my arse...