I’ve finally got it

Hurray, I’ve finally got it. The perfect project for my blogging come back.

Do you remember, when I promised you a post about the perfect gift? Back in December (in my personal time scale, not the one that most people use)?

As the post worth being the perfect come back post relates to the perfect gift post we will quickly have to pretend that I have already blogged about it months ago. So, remember when I told you that Mr No Thank You happens to have a dad? Lets call him Mr Big No Thank You? So, in 2017 (a while ago), I had to make the perfect birthday present for my husband as he turned 30 (I think I have mentioned that he is the same age as me?). I thought long and hard about it and settled on a football outfit as he is actually volunteering as a football trainer in the local school. Successfully, I would like to point out. In the sense that they haven’t immediately replaced him. Not in the sense of a winning team. It is not about winning, it is about taking part. But back to me and my project. Do you know that feeling when you thought you had the perfect idea and it looked amazing in your head and then, while you are making it, you are not entirely sure anymore? And it looks actually completely ridiculous. Well, I had this feeling when I was making the shorts.

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pattern: PAtom by ki-ba-doo, fabrics: footballer by Hamburger Liebe, black and white not sure

I have to admit, these shorts would look amazing on a 5 year old but remember, it was meant for a grown up.

I was much happier with the T-shirt that looks like a proper football shirt with club logo, name and number.

The logo is the shape of three totally random children walking together. Which I found a wonderful symbol for something like a team or lets say a family.

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pattern: Tom by pattydoo. Fabric: Footballers by Hamburger Liebe, rest unsure.

Name and number on the back:

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So, whilst I was very pleased with the fun side of the ensemble, I felt that, considering that the 30th birthday is a round one, I should take it more seriously and actually made a – as I would say – very wearable hoody in subtle colours and contrasting piping in the seams.

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pattern: Jordan by pattydoo, fabric: soft sweat, bought at Lieblingsstuecke

The whole thing is actually slightly darker than on the picture, a proper dark teal, really nice.

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Some of you might now wonder why I am not showing you all those beautiful clothes worn by their proud owner as this would look much better. Well, because Mr. Big No Thank you kindly thanked me before very carefully putting them away, somewhere deep down in his wardrobe. In his defense, it was in june and it was a hot summer so I do understand that he didn’t fancy to even try that hoody to see if it fits. And I should have known better anyway. After all, he is only ever wearing black jumpers. I stupidly thought out of laziness but anyway. And I know, the one T-Shirt I had made for him years ago, had not fit him very well and he did not like the material, too thick apparently (others would call it beautifully soft organic cotton but anyway). And I do know that he never ever asked for anything made by me. So I am not at all bitter. Not at all.

Ok, those of you who are still following might now wonder why on earth I would choose such a story as big come back. After all, it wasn’t exactly a success, was it.

But remember, this was just the back story to introduce the character of dear Mr Big No Thank You who has never ever shown any interest in getting something sewn by his lovely wife.

But then, something happened. Something sensational happened:

One sunny morning mid june 2018, the little one was wearing his pyjama made out of a stripy jersey out of a surprise packet and looking really cute.

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pattern: Babyanzug, Babyleicht by Pauline Dohmen. fabric: Lillestoff Glueckspaket.

Mr Big No Thank You looks at it, feels the material and says: Nice, can you make me a T-Shirt out of this?

I almost fell off the chair when I heard that. Then I ran to my computer trying to get more of that fabric. I couldn’t find it anywhere as apparently it had only been in the Glueckspakete. So, I had to find it privately through a facebook group where we change unwanted surprise fabrics. And luckily I got it, about three days before his birthday. And tada:

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pattern: Max by pattydoo, fabric: Lillestoff

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And guess what: He is wearing it sensationally often.

Now, if that story is not worth to be the top story, I don’t know what would be….

but of course this blog is supposed to be about sewing projects, exciting patterns and stuff. Not about silly fussy men who are hard to please. And the T-Shirt as such is nice but not sensational.

Sigh. So once again, this is still not the first post to revitalise this blog.

But you know what? I actually know exactly what will be the perfect project to show you. I knew it all along. But I am not telling you. Not yet!

 

 

 

Me Made May

Here it is again. May. Me Made May. I can’t believe how quickly this year has passed and how little I have been able to achieve craftwise. I know, I have produced a lot but I rarely stretch myself to more difficult tasks. As I usually don’t have much time, I try to be efficient by using the patterns that I have already prepared. Unfortunately this means that I do not learn anything new. At least I have been able to develop the trousers project. I definitely made a lot of trousers over the course of the past year. But for myself, I have only made a few crazy leggings (I guess we can count them as trousers) and one pair of light summer trousers.

Anyway, for Me Made May, I decided to challenge myself and endeavour to use new patterns, especially for tops as I really do not seem to own any decent well fitting top. But for now, I will show you my attempt of a neutral, black or grey skirt to be worn with crazy leggings. Because as much as I do love leggings, I think they should not be seen from upper thigh upwards. Unless you are in a fitness class. So, either you are wearing a tunic or a mini skirt. And since my leggings are not exactly in subtle shades or patterns,

I would need something neutral. Idealy black or grey.

In the spirit of my new found desire to get out of my comfort zone, I have chosen a style that I have never been wearing, at least not for the last 30 years. A ballon skirt.

DSC_0430pattern: Ballonrock by Lybstes, fabric: jaquard sweat by Lillestoff, 40cm left over on sale

I think it looks supercool and it is really comfy. Plus it has pockets for all those little things you need to carry around.

 

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No, I am not colourblind. I am aware that this is neither black nor grey. But thanks for pointing it out to me. I only need a couple of black or grey leggings to combine it with. And anyway, I wanted to try the new pattern with left over fabrics to be sustainable and use up what I have rather than buying new material. Plus, I already got a compliment for it. Actually 2. One by my daugther and one by my favourite neighbour.

And now over to creadienstag   to see what other creative people have made today.

 

 

A story about explosions on my bottom and why I really need mustard tights

As you may have noticed by now, I do have a mild addiction for Lillestoff fabrics. Back in September, they announced this beautiful fabric which I absolutely needed. 3 months later (yes 3!) they finally released it – Can you actually “release” a fabric? But anyway. In a moment of shock I ordered 3 metres and quickly changed it to 4. I was planning big things and those fabrics sometimes sell out within hours, believe it or not.

When it finally arrived, I was understandably very nervous. With trembling hands I put it in the washing machine and with still trembling hands (lots of tea got spilled in the meantime) I hung it on the laundry rack. And then, finally, it was time to cut it. But I couldn’t. I was far too nervous and suddenly I had doubts about the main project and how it would be received by others. Would they like it? Or find me ridiculous? I decided to make a pair of leggings as a warm up.

My son was fascinated and kept staring at my legs from various angles and asking questions about it. Resulting in: Mum, why are there two explosions on your bum? What an unexpected question! What was I supposed to answer? What would you say:

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This is how I see it:

DSC_0165pattern: leggings Lillian by pattydoo, fabric: Experimente by Lillestoff, design by Susalabim

To be honest, the intense interest by a 6-year-old, who really kept examining the design, made me wonder a tiny bit if it was actually meant to be a design for grown ups.

So, to compare age groups, I made two pieces for babies for friends of mine who happen to be a chemistry teacher and a pharmacist. The friends, not the babies.

DSC_0067DSC_0065Babyshirt from Kinderleicht by Pauline Dohmen (klimperklein)

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DSC_0069Knopftunika and leggings from Babyleicht by Pauline Dohmen (klimperklein)

Okay, okay, I know this looks cute. But seriously, have you ever seen a set of baby clothes that did not look cute? That doesn’t actually mean that the fabric is not initially meant to be for grown ups and very mature persons. I could show you zillions of examples, I just don’t feel like it right now.

Since I am usually dressed very elegantly, I wouldn’t be able to wear the leggings anywhere outside the house. That and the fact that I still had about 3m of fabric left made me overcome my doubts and go back to the initial plan to make a beautiful, elegant and yet comfortable dress.

DSC_0140pattern: Gloria by Milchmonster

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The darts at the back make it a bit too tight. Only time will tell if I am going to lose that pound or the darts. And it is not cut badly out of the grainline I just haven’t pulled it down properly plus the dress has a A-line skirt with a round hem.

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As you can see in this picture, I did manage quite well to match the stripes (which vary a bit in width unfortunately), however, as said before,  the stripes aren’t ideal for a round hem. But it is certainly not a reason not to combine the very flattering and practical Gloria (breastfeeding friendly) with this fabric made for me.

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So, I am really happy with my combination of fabric and pattern, even though there will be ignorants people who wouldn’t consider this to be the perfect match.

If only I had mustard woolen tights to go with them… Or should I just make myself a pair of mustard leggings? But will I win that direct competition with the cute baby girl? Hmm.

But for now over to RUMS, to share and see what others have made.

 

When you go to bed with Captain Kirk, dream about Jean-Luc and wake up with Data (or even worse Worf) or How I lost an interesting blog title

In one of my many Glueckspakete (Glueck meaning luck and happiness at the same time) by Lillestoff I had found the perfect fabric for pyjamas for the young man who only owns one piece that actually fits and has no holes in it). Except that it was about 5cm too short. So, I angrily through it into a corner but then I thought, no, there needs to be a way around it. I meant to make a onesie and after considering a second fabric for the lower legs or some kind of belt-like stripe of contrasting fabric around the waist, I decided to go for a contrasting yoke and once it was finished, I really liked the look of it. I will definitely make more of these.

DSC_0119pattern: Babyanzug mit Knopfleiste vorne in Kinderleicht by Pauline Dohmen (klimperklein), fabric: Lillestoff

I hadn’t planned it but I immediately thought, this was probably what Captain Kirk was wearing at night.

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and I was already planning a funny blog post about it. Only to realise that actually the Original crew was wearing plain coloured uniforms, the yoke was in the Next Generation. So Jean-Luc Picard, even better! But no! He had been wearing red. Who had the mustard uniform then? Right. Data. And Worf. Not great to fantasize about. So lets just forget about the whole thing and talk about something else.

Oh yes, I meant to show you another piece made of a Gluecksfabric. Again something, I would never have chosen in the shop. Dark blue with a little bit of grey and silver. But then I took the opportunity to make a grown-up hoody in grown-up colours. I actually went and bought some grey sweat for the sleeves as there wasn’t enough of the main fabric. Imagine, I stood in the shop and compared forty-eight shades of grey (with a second of considering mustard or cinnamon – I guess I was hungry at the time)! And voila a totally grown-up hoody in grown-up subtle colours. No sillyness to be seen. Honestly.

DSC_0084pattern: Frau Toni by fritzi & schnittreif, fabric: Natthimmel by Lillestoff and grey sweat bought at biostoffe.at

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DSC_0086What? Oh, just leave me alone! I did try my best.