Anyone seen my sew-jo?

There's been very little action in the sewing department in these parts. I was without my machine for a couple of weeks, but it's back from its service, and better than ever!

But now that it's home, I don't really feel any project. I've lost my sew-jo.

I was completely inspired after going along to the epic blogger meet-up of the year - I know you've already read/heard about it... or were even there, but guys...it was AMAZING. (sorry, I had to shout it!)

(meet-up photos by Digpal Singh)

Look at all the lovely ladies! It was so wonderful to catch up with (blog-)friends that I'd met before, and meet others in person. But I did have that weird "do I know you really or only online?" feeling a lot of the time, which you only get if you follow someones blog, "see" them once a week, but might never have actually met them in real life. But it's all good: sewing bloggers are the most lovely ladies, so there was no awkwardness (and I'm pretty good at awkward, let me tell you.) It really was such fun - I haven't laughed so much in ages.

having a giggle with Kathryn (Yes I Like That) and Jane (Handmade Jane)

Plus amazing weather. And extra bonus points for being amongst fellow tall ladies. Let me tell you, this almost never happens, so I cherish the moments when I don't feel like weirdly tall.

I might even be the shorty here!
With Kathryn and Rachel

We hit the shops, and I went with the self-imposed "only some sunflower yellow jersey" restriction, and came home with this:

L-R: printed denim (Moss mini perhaps), red denim (Charlotte skirt); linen/cotton?; sunflower viscose jersey; tomato red cotton jersey

So I didn't go too crazy. Speaking of crazy, I had to leave before the swap got underway - that was crazy, and I didn't think I could handle it. I just dropped off my contributions and fled before the carnage! But it was a fab day - thanks Rachel!

One of the great things about the meet-up was seeing the lovely handcrafted garments - these ladies have amazing skills. I wore a Tova (surprise!) - it's sort of newish - new in that I finally finished it the day before the meet up, but "ish" because I cut the pieces out last spring!

And after the meet-up, I went off to Morocco for a completely amazing week-long holiday. Bliss. We were completely offline the whole time, and it felt so good. Plus Morocco is amazing - I highly recommend it.

But I've been back for a couple of weeks, and I'm completely without inspiration. I have the Sureau dress and Archer shirt patterns traced and ready to cut. And I have a gabillion other patterns in the queue. But I can't seem to decide on what I want to do.

Perhaps I should examine my wardrobe and see what I need.

What do you do when you feel this way?

speak soon!
x

A bit in love with spotty trousers

It's been warmer and a bit more Spring-like this week. Joy! But I'm not putting away my winter clothes yet - I belong the "Button to chin, till May be in, Cast not a clout till May be out" school of wardrobe management, which means woolly jumpers and coats are still in easy reach until the end of May.

But it has got me thinking about warmer weather clothes and sewing. As is quite typical, the one outfit that I am currently obsessed with quite keen on is one that I don't have a pattern for (well, I have one for the top), and I am most definitely not buying more patterns:

source

I think McCalls 6515 would work perfectly, and I could easily adapt any number of the top patterns I have:

source

Has anyone made this McCall's pattern? I've found only one review of it online, which was broadly positive, but it would be good to hear more thoughts on it. I've never made a pair of trousers before, so I'd welcome the challenge (accepting that these are sufficiently wide-legged to not present too much of a challenge!)

In other news ...
I am incredibly excited about the epic blogger meet up tomorrow, organised by the amazing Rachel of House of Pinheiro. I think about 30 bloggers and sewists are going to be there. wowzers. I can't wait! I'm under my own strict orders to not buy anything during the visit to Goldhawk Road and to avoid taking part too much at the swap (unless of course there is something that is too too irresistible!). And Rachel has arranged for a photographer to take a group photo! I feel like I need to scrub up well for this - I can't decide what to wear!!!

Are you going?

Have a lovely weekend and speak soon!
x

Not knitting a sweater

So I'm seriously considering frogging my cabernet raglan sweater.

The last time I mentioned the sweater was back in November last year. Since then I've knitted exactly one more row. Cabernet raglan, somewhere along the way I just fell out of love with you. And this isn't because of the promise of warmer weather ahead: I usually wear sweaters and cardigans in the summer time (unless it's in the high 20s C, I'll still feel a bit chilly).

One of the reasons I fell out of love with it, is that I'm not a particularly speedy knitter, and this pattern is basically all stockinette - interminable hours of the same old thing. No matter how much I would like a good raglan sweater, I just got bored.

Also, I didn't do a particularly good job with the knitting: the tension is off between the neckline/shoulder area and the rest of the body. And once I noticed this, I couldn't really look beyond it.

See what I mean?

So I think I might just frog it.

This means I will have a lot of cabernet-coloured yarn hanging about (4 skeins/880 yards!)... what to do? I think the solution is a shawl - I've really enjoyed knitting up the two that I've made so far. Both were pretty easy (details on my Ravelry page), so I feel ready for something a little bit more challenging (but not too challenging, because I still need to watch TV while knitting!).

So here are the patterns I'm considering:

Top L-R: Springtime Bandit; Markeb shawl
Bottom L-R: Everdeen; Terra

They all use a good chunky worsted yarn (rather than a drapey, silk-blend type), and all are a bit more interesting than acres of stockinette.

At the moment, the Markeb is a favourite. Do you have any other pattern suggestions?

In other news...
I went on a bit of a spending spree on payday - the Big 4 are (or were) 50% off, so I decided treat myself. It's only when I came to tidying them away that I realised quite how ridiculous my sewing queue is. NO MORE PATTERNS!

Speak soon!
x