Wardrobe Update

Hello! I know it's been a while and I'll admit I had given up on blogging. I never deleted my blog but had no intentions of continuing to blog about my sewing and knitting adventures. Life sometimes gets in the way and for a while, I completely lost my sew-jo.

When I last posted, approximately this time last year, there never seemed to be enough hours in the day. My son was 10 months old, I was still breastfeeding due to his dairy allergy, he was only napping for about 30-40 minutes at a time and not sleeping through the night. We went through a rough patch where 5am wake ups were the norm. And to top it all, I had to give up milk products (cheese, chocolate, most cake ...).

I failed to manage to build in any sewing time into my schedule. Although we have a spare room I couldn't sew in there when he was asleep as he's a light sleeper and I couldn't sew during the day because 10 month old babies crawl. And mess around with your sewing machine foot!

So, fast forward a year and where am I now? Well, firstly we managed to find a dairy free formula that worked for us and I was able to gradually stop breastfeeding once my son reached his first birthday. And then he magically started sleeping through the night and wondrously began to take naps - eventually consolidating to one big nap of 1-2 hours a day. Most days I have to wake him up!

So now, I'm able to get at least an hour of sewing in a couple of times a week - usually on a Thursday and Friday's when I don't work. After a couple of months of moving the sewing machine around the house anytime I wanted to sew, I cleared out a cupboard in our kitchen/diner which I've now dedicated to my current sewing projects.

It's slow going compared to the speed in which I used to complete a garment and the time I used to dedicate to my sewing. It's really true when they say that sewing is good for your mental health, because I feel so much happier now I'm back creating my own wardrobe.

So I feel I should update the blog with a short rundown of what I've actually created since I last blogged.

Grey Jersey Wrap Dress - Feb 2017

I bought 2m of grey spot wool jersey at £4.59 per metre from Fabricland with the intention of creating another jersey dress. It came as a surprise to me when this sweater knit jersey turned up; it wasn't exactly the colour or fabric I thought it was. The perils of online shopping! It did however become a Wren dress by Colette patterns, with a gathered skirt. This dress has seen a lot of use, it's warm and cosy yet smart enough to wear to school with boots. It was great in this winter's snowy spell!

Forgot to take pics of this one!!

Red Pencil skirt - April 2017

I made my first ever pencil skirt way back in October 2015. The pattern was from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual by Gretchen Hirsch - the Easy Knit Pencil Skirt. I bought some red Ponte Roma from Fabricland with the intention of making a t-shirt but decided it was too thick. Instead, I whipped up another pencil skirt. My husband doesn't really like this skirt, but it fits so well into my wardrobe and I find I've got loads of different tops to wear with it. It works well with a simple t-shirt or something smarter for work.

Blue Houndstooth Pencil skirt - April 2017

After making the previous pencil skirt, I immediately cut out and sewed up this beautiful skirt in blue and camel dogtooth print jersey. The fabric is very heavyweight and lends itself to being a pencil skirt very well. It's very flattering on and I love wearing this to work. It has such a vintage vibe but is so comfy. I love the pattern as it only has one piece to cut and only uses 1m of fabric. The only problem with this fabric is that I couldn't get my machine to hem it at all! From what I remember, the needle was just bouncing out and in the end I had to slip stitch the hem by hand.   

Teal chunky knit cardigan - Oct 2017

I finished a cardigan!! I was so proud to eventually finish this cardigan, even though I started it in January 2017 and finished it in October. It's lovely and snuggly to wear and I love putting it on. I feel this cardigan warrants it own post so I might get round to posting about some details sometime!

Burgundy Corduroy Cleo Dress- Nov 2017 

When Tilly released the Cleo dress I wasn't immediately sold but found myself eventually warming to it. I finally took the plunge last Autumn and downloaded the pattern. The fabric I used was leftover from a previous project. It surprised me how simple this was to make, but the fit was a bit rubbish and I almost gave up. I'm glad I didn't because it has been worn loads this winter. In fact, so much that I made another one!

Black apple print tea dress - Feb 2018

This is a simple sew tea dress made from a barginous length of apple print crepe de chine bought for £2.49 a metre at Fabricland. The fabric has a a subtle texture to it, but was a pain to work with- lots of fraying and since wearing I've managed to snag it in a couple of places. I love this dress though, the fit is brilliant due to the shirring at the front and it is so comfortable.

Black denim Cleo - March 2018

I love this dress!! Such a quick project to sew up and complements my wardrobe wonderfully. I will hopefully write a post about my two cleo dresses as there are lots of details I would like to share.

Anyways, that's what I've been up to in the last year. I've got another garment almost finished (just need to hem) and some knitting going on which I'd like to update you on. I've also got to start planning some summer sewing.

What are your sewing plans for the summer?