Inspirational books

Things have slowed down a bit on the crafting front, to make time for socialising and playing, and some inspiration.

I found a great book in a second-hand bookshop near us, called Creating Fashion by Betty Foster. It's a kind of pattern cutting course in book format, with lots of historical pattern blocks, and while the diagrams look confusion now, I'm hoping that soon it will all make sense.







We're going to a wedding in March, with Moot, and I've been having fun dreaming up an outfit for her to wear. I'm taking as starting points a pattern from old needlework book and a scrap of Liberty fabric I got at the sale.



Can't show you the print, because someone is getting a bit of it as part of Flib's January Strip swap.

And I made some more trousers for Moot, my first fully reversible ones.



Oh, and I found this site, Caramel Baby and Child, through Port2Port . So very, very inspiring... and so very, very expensive.

Now it's sunny, and I'm off to do some very overdue gardening.

Smock top

Ah, yesterday was a bit of a sewing frenzy, for me. Which might not equate to a sewing frenzy for you, but hey. No sooner had I finished my second cushion cover, then the post arrived with a parcel from one of my aunts, in Canada. Inside was a lovely sock doll made by her daughter, a cute little bear outfit from her other daughter, and a small bundle of fabric.

I have been encouraged to make bloomers - thanks, Rebecca - and their time will come, but really I have been yearning for Moot to reach the 12-month size for the smock top pictured in this post. I figure she's not far off being that big, so I traced the pattern, cut it out, cut the fabric and made the top. All in a couple of hours. For me, a frenzy.



It's a bit big, still, so not action shots, but I'm really pleased with it.

In other news, the night out on Thursday was a success. We saw Emma Tricca, and the pub was great, although it's been so long since I've been in a smoky environment, that I found the cigarette smoke quite overwhelming.

Also, I've discovered this woman, Ellie Curtis, is teaching the t-shirt printing class I will be attending at the East London Printmakers later this month. Isn't this animal print amazing?

Etsuko, my love

Second cushion pad cover: done. I love, love, love it.

Pillow talk

A good afternoon. First up, I finally got round to making some covers for two cushions we've had for years. We've had them for so long - and coverless all that time - that I don't remember where they came from. So I broke out the Etsuko, found some yellow fabric for the piping, and in one evening and one morning, the first one was done.




The fabric is cut and the bias tape made for the second one. I've still got some Etsuko, and other fabrics that I've been hoarding for cushion covers, and I'm so very pleased with this one, I might have to go buy some more cushions.

Two other goods things. I've booked a place on a t-shirt screenprinting class here, one evening in a couple of weeks. I went through a screenprinting phase, and made some screens at home which I used to print a couple of t-shirts, but it's a bit of a faff at home, and I'm hoping that doing this course will give me the skills to use their workshop. If anyone else is interested, they have two more free spaces.

Finally, we are going out tonight. Yay! A friend is babysitting for the few hours between bedtime and the night feed, and I'm taking my husband here, as a sort of belated birthday present. There's a chicken casserole in the oven and a DVD of How to Marry a Millionaire for our friend. For us, there will be music and beer, and I think we will all have a nice time.

Japanese crafty goodness

So finally, the very, very, very simple dress I made for Moot from one of my Japanese craft books. It's crumpled because this is an after-she-wore-it picture. I know it's a stupidly simple pattern, but they are so hard to find.

I went for snaps instead of buttons, because the buttonhole function on my machine is rubbish, and I dispensed with the frill that supposed to go around the hem, as in this shot.



It's the six month size, which I thought would be ample for her petite seven-month frame, but it's more like a tunic. Just as well, because I made a mess of the bias edging. I still have some of the purple corduroy left, so I am going to make the 12 month size, but this time I will line it with some shirting cotton, and therefore avoid the whole bias tape issue all together.

The pattern comes from this book, which was bought from amazon.co.jp. ISBN 4-579-10996-1.



Here's some other images from the book. I love almost everything in it, and am panicking slightly that she will outgrow the patterns before I have time to make everything I want to make for her.










A few words of tribute to Japanese craft books: they are what brought me into the world of crafty blogging. You see, we honeymooned in Japan, and while wandering through a book store, I found the craft section and was completely and utterly blown away. When I got home, I googled "japanese craft books", and it was like stepping through the back of the wardrobe into another world.

Sweater with a smile

I'm back from two weeks in Cornwall for Christmas and New Year. It's the longest we've ever stayed with my husband's parents, and it felt like a real break from daily life. And it was a bonus to see them spend time with the baby.

My Christmas crafting was all finished in time. I made another apron and glove set - me and the rest of crafty blogland - for my mother-in-law.



There were also some elephant-shaped lavender sachets, which I didn't photograph.

And I capped off my hard work with a mad sewing frenzy while my husband was sent out of the house on a long errand. What was I making? Angry Chicken's fantastic earflap hats. I haven't managed a proper group shot yet, but here's one my father-in-law took which gives you an idea.



Has to be a new family tradition, i reckon. The giraffe jersey fabric I used is an all-time favourite, from that old faithful, Reprodepot. Which reminds me, I've just discovered this place, and they stock a bit of Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett online. Yay!

With all that out of the way, I finally managed to finish a sweater I started knitting for the baby - gulp - before she was born. She was such a titch, I remember holding the back piece against her and it was long enough to have been a dress. I finished it just in time, she's almost busting loose.



I've started another sweater for her, from a Tiboodoo kit, which I also got before she was born, hence the gender-neutral greens.



Not that I would have got it in pink if I had known. I've knit one of their sweaters before, from a pattern badly translated from French into English, which flustered and confused me, and turned us into mortal enemies. This time I'm knitting from the French pattern, and it seems we've kissed and made up. And you can get quite a lot of knitting done during a five-hour drive. (It helps if you've never managed to get round to getting a driver's licence, and therefore someone else has to do all the driving. Thanks honey.)

Also, I've just a few finishing touches to a dress for Moot, made from a Japanese craft book pattern. Pics when I'm done. It's well past my bedtime, and the baby has been waking up earlier than usual, so I must power down and go to sleep.