A respectable party dress! My very first Moneta.

I’m getting in just ahead of the #monetaparty with my first go at this very popular pattern. Oh, and coincidentally I made this for my Dad’s 70th birthday party last month, and I’m finally getting around to blogging it on my 40th birthday. Significant birthdays all round! Oh yes, and for a bit of added exoticism, the photos were taken in Madrid last week, on the roof terrace of our gorgeous Airbnb apartment 🙂

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In a Nutshell:

I have to admit the Moneta pattern never really grabbed me when it came out, as I tend to like my silhouettes more fitted. However, it’s a hugely popular pattern and I figured so many people loving it must mean something, so when Colette allowed me to spend my Seamwork credits on Colette patterns I decided to give it a try. And then the prospect of the upcoming #monetaparty put a boot up my arse to actually get it made. That and needing a dress suitable to wear to my dad’s 70th birthday party–tea and cakes in a church hall. All my existing party dresses were too slinky looking, and I figured Moneta might give me the pretty-but-wholesome vibe I needed 🙂 Continue reading “A respectable party dress! My very first Moneta.”

Mending crazy!

 

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Arrrgh! The giant mending pile of doom! It’s going to bury us all!!!

I’ve been inspired by the internet to get on with my mending pile. Yes, it’s been an ongoing ambition for some time now, and I’d got as far as gathering it all together, cataloguing it on Trello, and buying a giant plastic storage box from IKEA to house it all, yet still the pile remained. Albeit safely contained in a plastic crate. Don’t want dangerously unmended items on the loose, now, do we?!

But now I’ve cleared the vast majority of it. What changed, I hear you ask?

Inspired by Melly’s January challenge I divided my mending up into 6 piles, according to what the next step was:

  • Needs either cutting or seam ripping.
  • Needs a trip into the loft to find some fabric for patching.
  • Needs hand sewing.
  • Needs pressing.
  • Needs the sewing machine.
  • Needs the overlocker.
  • Needs more thought/trying on before deciding on the next step.

Continue reading “Mending crazy!”

Craftysticks: the Christmas edition (in January, naturally)

Things might have been quiet on the blog, but that’s more down to having computer issues than me not being crafty! I am currently dictating this post into my phone as the PC is still misbehaving. Thankfully Andy ordered us a new one last night, so hopefully I will be back on the blog more often in future 🙂

Sewing:

img_0147-copyThis year I decided I wanted to make more of my Christmas presents again, and went the sewing rather than my customary knitting and crochet route for a fair few of them. First up is the one I’m most proud of, mainly because I’ve had it in my head to make for my friend for several years now. It’s a cushion featuring her favourite TV detective, Colombo! I used Dylon Image Maker to transfer a black-and-white laserprinted picture of Columbo that I found online. It was simple enough to do, and the only real difficulty is the number of times you have to wet and gently scrape off the paper residue; definitely more than the two times they suggest on the packet. I had originally intended to put the pom-poms as trim around the edge of the cushion and piece the front with a mitred border, as well as inserting a zip closure, but the image making took longer than expected and I had to cut some corners. The cushion is now a simple envelope design, and I used the pom-pom trim to cover the less-than-perfect edges of the Columbo appliqué. My friend was thrilled, and the cushion now resides on her computer chair. Continue reading “Craftysticks: the Christmas edition (in January, naturally)”