family sewing, GCC, Mark, Sewing, Tom, Travel

Sunday stashbust

I came home from Fiji determined to get into my cupboard and make things! What to make though? When in doubt, I make things for the three men in my life, so I started on a pair of tracksuit pants for Tom. Making these is a bit of a mindless activity, which left me some […]

Read more
GCC, Sewing, Travel

Betty Boop revisited in Fiji

Well here I am in Fiji and I think I have managed to pull every muscle in my body! Not sure how; was it the 18 hours it took me to get here, door to door? Anyway, I have managed to wear my new swimsuit (the Betty Boop one), and it is so much better […]

Read more
GCC, Sewing

Busy, busy!

I had one of those weekends where I seemed to be in a whirl. Tom and Bridgette left for their European odyssey, so we are now officially child free (although we do have my father). I am off to Fiji tomorrow (for work, so little pleasure to be had), so I had to get organised […]

Read more
GCC, Knitting, Machine knitting

Holey schmoley!

Although I make socks for everyone in the family, there is something about my toes and I always seem to finish up with holes where my big toes should be. No-one else in the family suffers from this, just me. So, I spend quite a bit of time darning – using this cute, oddly shaped […]

Read more
GCC, Sewing

Two heads are better than one

The leather that my friend Thelma donated from her stash to mine has been like a siren’s call. About once a week I get it out and try and think about what I can make that will do it justice. I have been thinking collars, pockets, trims, etc. but yesterday I wore this skirt and […]

Read more
GCC, Sewing

Cute as a button

Bridgette came round on Saturday to get help with making another dress for the European adventure. She brought round the button fabric that I had cunningly offloaded on to her to reduce my stash (and begin hers!). I got this fabric in the Potter’s half price sale. It was a remnant, but just big enough […]

Read more
Archie, cooking, GCC, Other creative endeavour, Photography, Sewing

Betty Boop

This is probably the scariest post I have done so far (although it is early days!). Inspired by HandmadebyCarolyn’s white bombshell (doesn’t she look amazing?), I rushed off and bought this pattern from Closet Case Files and decided that I had to have it in a polka dot! Given that these are ’50s inspired bathers, I thought […]

Read more
GCC, Knitting, Sewing

To toile or not to toil, that should be the question?

(with apologies to William S). As Keith Urban has been known to sing: “When I wake up in the mornin’ light, I pull on my jeans and I feel all right”*, so today I wore my new blue jeans for the first time, but they were supposed to be a toile! I made these jeans from […]

Read more
Sewing

Bills or blog?

I had a choice tonight – pay all my Dad’s bills (how can one little old man generate so many?) or blog my jacket. You are obviously thinking that I chose the blog over the bills – but you would be wrong, I have managed both. I have done this by neglecting a report that […]

Read more
Archie, GCC, Sewing

Handmade button

Inspired by the chenille bag I made, I thought I might have a go at chenilling leather to make another button/magnet thing. As this was a proof of concept activity (mixing business and pleasure now!) I used the scrappiest bits of leather I could find – an old bag bought in an opshop, so a […]

Read more