Sew Darn Tired

Firstly happy new year! I hope 2025 is a good one for everyone.    I love pineapples and I bought this sequinned application in a market in Seoul in November 2023. (It's a little brighter in real life). Serendipitously, it fell next to the pineapple fabric (I bought years ago originally to make my Mum some pants) and a dress was born. I bought it in a lilac colour way and made some things for my niece   years ago too.  Forgive my terrible look. I had to set up my phone on a drain and took some terrible photos. I'd just come out of the shower after an hour of rigorous aqua aerobics, so I'm exhausted and had wet hair and despite the sunshine cold (for here anyway). They aren't great but give you the idea of the scale and look. I don't really wear black and although I like the dress, I'd prefer it in the lilac but I don't have anymore of that. It's what I call a swim dress... easy wear to the pool and quick to get undressed to get into the pool (I wear my t...

So that's the finished product. Kimono and sleep shorts (or maybe they'll be beach shorts? Who knows? When I made my pineapple skirt, my niece loved the print and asked if she got some would I make her something. Of course I would.. I love making things for my niece as she appreciates the time and effort involved. Although, this wasn't to be much effort - ha a kimono style, light dressing gown - how hard is that! What could go wrong? This is just a cotton bias tape hanging tab. I hate not being able to hang things and the cotton bias tape is soft and cotton and I have it in three useful colours. I didn't have a kimono pattern so just used the McCall's dressing gown pattern I used a few weeks ago and adjusted the pattern to cut some kimono sleeves on. Easy. Hope it fits well. I have put some belt tabs on - three as I hate when the belt falls out of them. I think it will need an extra tie in the inside but I'll get my niece to tell me where she wants it w...

I have been sewing. I seem to have a sewing mojo of sorts. I've needed a white top for a long while. I used the   Ottobre top  pattern I traced and changed late last year. I cut the arm holes out a little bit more too. I pinched out a dart size wedge out of the back neckline too. I used some fabric from the fabric sale last year... this piece was .50 cents so it was a very small investment. This is with a floor length tiered skirt I bought in Cyprus in 2009. It's made of beautiful soft cotton voile... I say it's floor length but that's when it's sitting under my armpits... I used to wear it as a strapless dress... you can see how high it its high on my body. Sorry about the bra... it is a terrible bra in quality and shape or lack thereof. Lucky I bought two (not)... they deteriorated in just a number of weeks but I realised when I was wearing the white shirt, I had no other white bra. I also traced the Ottobre skirt pattern from the current issue. I know I ...

This is where my togs are at still.... I wanted to finish them to do aqua on Friday but I didn't have the right elastic, what I had was too wide. I went to Trad's on Thursday night to get some and my son wanted sushi for dinner and that was ticking two boxes with one trip. I parked at the shopping centre and luckily I checked for something in my bag before I sat down to eat and realised I left my wallet at home... sigh! So we went back home, got the wallet and I said to my son, I'm getting the elastic before we eat, but of course he closed at 7pm and it was 7.04pm.  Sigh! So instead of avoiding one trip in the car, I added an extra one because I had to go back yesterday after  aqua aerobics and coffee. I hope to finish them today and swim in them this afternoon. This is a close up of the topstitching on the panels. Two things to note. I realised after finishing that I should have made the stitch length longer. Confession - I rarely think to change the stitch length...