Craftysticks: October update

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Daisy having fun with my MiL’s vintage Singer. I’ve borrowed it for a project that needed lots of topstitching. Maybe I should put Daisy to work in my own mini-sweatshop?!

Yeah, until I ever get more hours in the day this looks like being a monthly rather than a weekly thing. I’ve been managing to get some crafting done along with the writing, though, by starting writing as soon as Gabriel goes down for his nap, then once I’ve written 1250 words I can spend the rest of the time (generally about half an hour, give or take) sewing. Woohoo! I need that reward to power on through with the writing some days.

Sewing:

I finished the last of Daisy’s school dresses and she’s still wearing them even though the weather has cooled right down, so that’s good. Turns out a summer dress is perfect for autumn when you have a long sleeved top and leggings underneath 🙂

I’ve also sewn myself another mini skirt. Yeah, I know, my last two projects were mini skirts too. Not sure what’s going on there, but I think it will be the last one I sew for some time. There are only so many winter minis a girl needs…

This one is sewn in red twill and is the On Safari Skirt pattern from So Sew Easy. I really only intended this as a wearable toile so it’s mini because that’s all I could make out of the short length of suitable weight fabric I had in my stash. I will eventually make it in denim, at a just-above-the-knee length. I’m very-nearly-almost finished. Just the button and a few bits of handstitching to finish it off. Looking forward to wearing this one with thick tights and long boots! A proper write up at some point soon, probably. Just got to find the opportunity to get some photos. I’ll have to commandeer Andy one weekend when it’s not raining…

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That popper isn’t actually attached yet, but you get the idea. It’s either that or a jeans button, but I think I prefer the popper…

I’m currently taking up a pair of curtains for my parents, which is only really worth mentioning for two reasons: firstly, that I found a fantastic alternative method to having to hem the main fabric and lining which has made the whole process much simpler. And secondly, because it got Andy going on finally sorting out my sewing machine table top, so I now have a machine sunk into the surface, making large pieces of fabric much easier to handle. I’ve been wanting this for ages so I can finish off two quilts.

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Look, my sewing machine’s shrunk!

As you can see the cut edge isn’t looking all that great. Any ideas of how to sort that out greatly appreciated. I will eventually paint the table and can probably work wonders with filler then, but a quick fix would be nice 🙂

The other thing I’ve been working on which is sewing-related, but not actual sewing, is slowly cataloguing my pattern stash. I realised I’ve been buying new patterns when I probably already had something suitable, and as I have no money for patterns or fabric at the moment, I’m going to have to shop the stash in future. As I have an unholy mix of printed patterns and unprinted pdfs, having all the patterns uploaded onto Evernote, complete with line art and appropriate tags (for type of garment, type of fabric, etc) makes it so much easier to search for a pattern to use. Two of my recent searches have been for top, womenswear, knits and dress, womenswear, knits, so you can probably guess what’s likely to be in my sewing queue soon…

Crochet:

I’m still making progress on the Rebel Lace Cardie, and have worked the first row of broomstick lace on the collar. It’s really fun to try these new stitches, and it actually works up very quickly. I imagine if you could give up hours every day for crochet then this cardie would be a relatively quick project. I might even get it finished by Christmas, you never know!

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I’d say this was a candidate for the world’s slowest cardie make, if it weren’t for the other one I’ve had almost finished for several years now…

Cooking:

Nothing particularly ambitious this month, but I have discovered that my fave chocolate brownie recipe (originally Katherine Hepburn’s, apparently) tastes even better with the regular flour swapped for buckwheat flour. My sister is especially grateful as she’s having to cut out wheat for three months on doctor’s orders. Apparently her chef boyfriend says the ones I made with Daisy (or more rightly, that Daisy made and I helped with) were “fucking gorgeous”, which is high praise indeed!

I’ve also discovered another Paleo-friendly family favourite that Andy says is the best chilli he’s ever tasted: Sweet Potato Chilli Fries. I add grated cheese and use proper sour cream instead of the chipotle cashew cream, although I’m interested to try that out someday. At the moment, though, I just don’t fancy cleaning out the blender…

In the works:

I’m still wondering about what to start work on next (and whether I’ll be attempting to make any Christmas gifts this year), so I’m going to work through some of my mending/alterations pile while I make up my mind. Yay, mending… [insert ambivalent emoji]

Expect to see an Autumn/Winter sewing plans post soon 🙂

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So, that’s all from me for now. What have you all been up to? Anyone else making stuff?🙂

What do you reckon? I'd love to hear from you!

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