Sewing room ...woo-hoo!

Well, the renovations are not over yet but we have had a lull where we have been able to move into some of the new spaces. DH & I are installed in our new bedroom, which means the old bedroom is now known as my Sewing Studio (or Sanity Studio). It is a work in progress, but this is it as it stands so far....


The room needs painting desperately but for now it is clean and I am moved in - Woo-hoo!

My sewing spirit has had a huge resurgence and I am having trouble controlling myself to not start too many projects at once. Now I have my clothes installed in a new spacious wardrobe (dressing room really) and the weather has become really cold here, it has really highlighted where I have holes in my wardrobe. Namely cold weather clothes. My staple at the moment is pants, long sleeved tees worn with a cardi or jacket and then dressed up with a scarf or a big chunky necklace.

So as part of filling this need for tops, I have tried the Turtleneck top from Burda 09-2010-121.

This is my 'trial'. The fabric is from Gorgeous Fabrics - a lovely quality jersey, but the pattern is not really doing it for me. Perfect to trial this first cut.

It is a great pattern as everyone says on Pattern Review. The sleeves are long but I like that, the neck is high and not my best look but necessary in this cold. I will cut the sleeve cap down a bit for my next version, but apart from that nothing to dislike about this pattern. There are some great reviews written already, so I am not sure if I need to review it.

I have also trialled Burda 04-2011-117. I used a stretch woven cheapie bought from Gardams probably 2 years ago. Even though it was inexpensive it is quite a nice fabric and I think will get worn a bit. Only a hanger shot at the moment, but I will try and get better photos.


The waistband is made form Petersham ribbon. I only had black or white in my stash, so I tea-dyed the white Petersham to take the edge of the brightness. These pants will have tops over the top of the waistband (not tucked in) and I didn't want the white waistband to show through my clothes. I am really happy with these and have a piece of stretch wool twill cut to make a second pair (from Gorgeous Fabrics).

And while my sewing machine was unavailable I did finish some crochet...

The Frilly Enchante scarf - on Ravelry here. So pleased to have a project finished and somehow I have managed to pick up two more crochet projects to take it's place (why do I do that??)

Well I haven't blogged much lately and still haven't shown you my McCalls 6974 dress in a 'proper' photo-shoot but I hope life will start settling back to a more normal pace soon, so regular blogging can resume. However we still have the kitchen and old bathroom to go... *sigh*

Renovations and sewing...

Well, renovations and sewing do not make a good mix. So very little sewing has been happening as you can probably tell from my non-existent posting rate.

The house was built originally in the early 50's and has had a few ordinary add-ons done to it. We have had the back of the house and carport demolished and are adding a new front deck, carport and extending waaa..aay out the back. I get a new bedroom and this means I get to have the old bedroom as my new sewing studio!! Much sewing will be happening soon as it is finished!!

Pictures of the reno as it is now...

Front deck...


Front deck showing new undercover link to carport...

The back half which has been added on...
The back deck...
View of the extension from the back.
A more complete set of photos of the house can be see here for anyone interested.

I did manage to make two new skirts for work from Simplicity 2451. Photos next post. I have also been reading up on sewing swimwear as there is a swim spa in the back deck so I am determined to add swimwear to my repertoire now!

Day off

I was very lucky today and was granted the day off work. I have done no sewing today - which I think I needed a break from - too much lately - need to get my mind clear!

I went to Gym this morning and my only point of interest is that today in our Bodystep class when we got to the push-ups I accomplished for the first time ever in a class - about four full pushups (on my toes) before dropping back to my knees! I have been thinking for a while I must be ready to give them a go and so I was quite happy with doing the few I did. Progress!

The rest of the day has been spent trying to declutter and tidy. This is the state of my filing!

The drawer which used to hold it all has finally broken beyond repair and I have purchased these plastic filing boxes for the files as they should fit in place of the drawer. But doing the tidy up is mind blowingly dull - I can see why it built up to a stage of breaking the drawer! It is very tempting to just move the files over but I am trying to get rid of the unnecessary stuff in them - horrible job but I will persist.

I have also been reading this book today which Caity lent me. It is keeping me absorbed and now I feel I must go and clear out my wardrobe and think a little about what I will buy in the future. I also did some Internet shopping and bought some camisoles from Ezibuy. I need some to wear under open/low cut tops to hide a scar on my chest. Also it will make them more suitable for the office! It should make me gamer to wear some of the new clothes I have made lately with v-necks. I have made an appointment to see a plastic surgeon to see if I can get the scar fixed but in the meantime I will try the cami's.