Keep On Your Dress

Continuing on with MeMadeMay .....

On Thursday I went along to the private view of the North Herts and Beds Embroiderers Guild, where I have a couple of pieces of work exhibited.

Incidentally, the exhibition looks really good, with a wide variety of work from some very talented stitchers, so if you are in the area I recommend you try to see it.  But then I guess I would say that.

Anyway, for the Private View I wore this (and that's not bare belly, heaven forbid, but the top had rolled up when I put my hands in my pockets in an attempt to look nonchalant.

A Me Made top, with a skirt that I bought years ago, but is still one of my favourites.  In fact, it got a bit washed out and faded so I re-dyed it black in the washing machine and it came out like new.

The top is the first one I made from Jalie pattern 2804 ....

It must have been from a link I saw on someone else's blog ages ago, as I'd never heard of the company before, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and I have since made another one.  Goodness know what I had originally bought stretchy orange fabric for - it must have been cheap - and I expected it to be a nightmare to sew as it's that slinky kind of stretch fabric (not cotton jersey) but it was fine.  I made it on the sewing machine, but I've since made a second one (in a more subtle dark purple) on the overlocker.  I've got three more cut out and ready to sew too.

Friday was knitting day at Baroosh, and I wore this

I have to say this is probably one of the oldest things in my self-stitched wardrobe.  Its a really simple shift dress, usually worn as a pinafore.  Not sure what the fabric is, but it's got a kind of suede-y feel to it.

Having got all of my patterns out, sorting through them, putting them back and rebuilding my sewing room, I've decided it must have been self drafted about 20 years ago when I was doing a bit of pattern cutting.  No idea what I did with the original pattern, so this week I've cut a pattern from it, and refitted it to change the neckline and the armholes a bit, and made a muslin which looks ok, even though it's made from yellow fabric intended for curtains.  I really must pull myself together.

On Saturday I was back at the exhibition in Letchworth to 'meet and greet the public' so I wore a dress I made a couple of months ago which I hadn't had the bottle to wear before - it's a bit bold

Why do I buy these loud fabrics, when I know that all I wear in real life is black and grey? 

I mentioned here that it was inspired by a Ted Baker dress, and I used New Look 6068

I made the version with the three quarter sleeves, and athough I liked the pattern, the sleeves were a bit too much and it was also a bit TOO tent-like, so I've since chopped the sleeves off and taken it in a bit on the sides.  I think my favourite bit is the Peter Pan collar, and I'm not sure how often this dress will be worn.  Although porobably more times than the 200 quid Ted Baker version would have been.

I think the most difficult bit of this MMM challenge is having to keep posing for photos, so although I've stuck to the whole wearing homemade thing, there have definitely been a few days without pictures.  You'll just have to take my word for it.

Keep On Your Dress - The Pigeon Detectives

Let's Make It Up

I spent most of last Saturday and Sunday gardening.  Sadly, when I'm gardening,  I don't look like the ladies in Country Living magazine - wandering around in a floral frock and a sun hat, snipping away at a little gentle dead-heading, and picking beautiful blooms for my immaculately styled eight bedroom cottage.  

No, I end up windblown, red faced and sweaty, and tend to get my hands, and everything else come to that, very grubby.  Hence, my 'Me Mades' were a refashioned Kiss T-shirt, followed by an old "Me Printed" one,  so no photos, you'll be glad to know.  

However, Bank Holiday Monday lunchtime, I went out to meet Viv and Kevin from Art Van Go at a local pub so I put on a new Me Made frock, a Tiramisu dress from Cake Patterns

The pattern went together beautifully, and it fits well, with the mock wrap bodice crossing at just the right level for me, and I will definitely make it again, but although I like it, I can't help thinking it's a bit "Mumsy" on me.  I'm not sure if it's the fabric  - which wasn't bought for this project, I just used it because it happened to be in my stash and I thought it would work as a try-out,  so I suppose this is more of a 'wearable muslin' - or maybe it's the length.  I did make it a few inches longer than the pattern said, but maybe it would be better if I hadn't.  Or maybe it's the styling.  I think I'd like it more with a denim jacket and boots.  It's probably suitable for a woman of my years, but it just doesn't feel like me - my motto is "Better mutton dressed as lamb, than mutton dressed as mutton".

Anyway, I will definitely make it again, maybe in black and with long sleeves.  And wear it with a biker jacket.  And tattoos.

Part of the trouble is, whenever I wear dresses and shoes, instead of jeans and boots,  I feel like I've been going through the dressing up box and I've gone out as somebody else.

Anyway, on Tuesday I went back to jeans, and a Me Made black gingham shirt. 

Not only did I make the shirt, but I also dyed the buttons myself - previously posted  here and I made my necklace.

Apologies for the blurry photos, I kept telling my mate Jane that she was zooming too close, but she wouldn't listen.

Yesterday was Spectrum textile group, and I wore a skirt that I made from free fabric that I've had for years

with a little felt flower brooch I made.  And, although I was in a skirt and shoes, I felt a bit more like me.  Oh, and I made cake too, which tasted, well just like cake - but I forgot to take a photo.

Let's Make It Up - Dave Stewart and Mick Jagger

Don't Go Back To Dalston

Day 3, and I'm still with the MeMadeMay thing.  I didn't go overboard yesterday, as my only outing was to walk into town to donate blood, which is not an occasion I tend to dress up for, just in case it ends up in carnage.   

So a self-drafted T-shirt, made up in some slightly tacky synthetic jersey fabric covered in what looks like little foreign advertising posters. Not to everyone's taste maybe, but I love it.  So much so, that's it's one of the few MeMade items that gets worn regularly - as does the knitted denim jacket, although that's not strictly Me Made.  It was mostly knitted by my friend Lucy, who didn't want to finish it as she knew she wouldn't wear it and didn't like the yarn anyway, so she offered it to me.  

I gratefully accepted, and all I had to do was knit two cuffs, and two pocket flaps and sew it together, and it was mine!  I ended up not sewing the pocket flaps on. They were a bit too..... flappy.  

Today, I'd arranged to meet a friend in Dalston, to take her to the Dalston Mill Fabric shop, so I decided to be a bit bolder in my choice of garment.  I finally wore a skirt I'd made well over a year, or maybe two years ago and have never worn - which is one of the reasons I'm doing this challenge in the first place.

I don't know why I've always got my hand on my hip in the photos.  I think maybe because I've seen Mrs Beckham do it and it makes her look skinny.  Doesn't seem to work so well for me.  Must be the camera.

Don't Go Back To Dalston - Razorlight

Mayday

It's the first of May, and therefore the first day of Me-Made-May which is the inspiration of Zoe who wants stitchers to take up a personal challenge to wear stuff they've made.  (there's are literally hundreds of us!) 

I am intending to wear a self-made  stitched or knitted garment each day, (or if I get really stuck, maybe an item of jewellery) and take photos and blog about it whenever I get the chance.

I have to say, not having someone on hand to take the photos makes it a little tricky, but I've worked out how to take a self-timed photo on my camera, and I think I've managed to find a shelf at roughly the right height on which to balance the camera.  Of course, it means re-organising the furniture and tidying my lounge on a daily basis so not sure how long that will last.

Today I'm wearing a straight skirt from a pattern I self-drafted from my own block, made in black and white spotted corduroy, with a black T-shirt that I painted/printed myself with fabric paint.

Note - photo has been cropped to exclude the view through the open door to my untidy kitchen, but to include the picture I painted and the cushion I made.  

Sorry, no one likes a smarta**e.

Mayday - The Libertines

What Have I Done?

Apparently two weeks have passed since I last blogged, and I keep threatening to show you what I've made; so here's a summary of what I've done since we last spoke.

I finished the Sew Liberated Schoolhouse tunic.  It was a lovely pattern to use, and went together really easily, and the fit was good too - didn't have to make any alterations, which was just as well as I didn't bother with a muslin.  I like to live life on the edge.

I'm not sure about the pleats at the front and the back - maybe it would be better in a softer fabric, but in my lightweight denim, they stuck out a bit, so I stitched the pleats down at the front and the back, and when I make it again, I think I will leave out the back pleat altogether.

Photographed in Pam's garden during our knitting session, while the sun was shining 

Mmm, maybe I should have posed for photographs before I had been sitting down in it for a couple of hours and got it all creased up.

I quite like the neckline pinned open as opposed to this, when it tends to flap a bit.

I'm not sure the little matching diamante brooches were terribly appropriate, but they were all I had  at the time.  I think I may make embroidered covered buttons, like I did for this denim coat, and stitch the revers in place

I've also finished the RetroRogue shrug that I saw on Ravelry

Really quick to knit - about two evenings - the most time consuming bit was learning how to do a long tail cast on in rib. 

While I was at Pam's we made her try on her 'nearly-finished' knitting smock.  I drafted the pattern (which didn't exactly push my skills to the limit, being as it's meant to be pretty shapeless) and just needed to know exactly where she wanted the big box-pleated pockets, which are designed to hold your yarn so that you can walk about knitting.  (Listen, don't ask me - this was Pam's idea, not mine!)

Obviously, I made the usual promise that I wouldn't put the picture on my blog, and equally obviously, I didn't mean it. 

So my first job once I've written this post, is to stitch the pockets in place, (I've adjusted them slightly so they are now level) and hem the smock, and it's finished. Fortunately, I've only had to make it - Pam's actually going to wear it!

To briefly summarise the rest of my makes, I made a stitched paper collage at the last Spectrum meeting

I've progressed the Spectrum 'round robin' stitched challenge.  I got this from Margaret -

Black felt with holes cut out,  stitched onto white cotton.  I wasn't sure what to do with it, but as you know, I do tend to think in song titles, and Bobby Vee and "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" came into my head, so I did this

and I will pass it on to the next stitcher to complete at our May meeting. (Sorry some of the pics are rubbish, but I haven't got time to re-do them.)
The first piece for our Spectrum exhibition is well underway - a eight gored skirt, self-drafted, with printed and hand embroidered flowers

A machine embroidered pewter box stitched last Saturday at a great Embroiderers Guild workshop with Ann Parr - no website but she is the author of this brilliant book on Stitching on Metal.

Yesterday at our Stapleford Beading group I finished this zig zag bracelet, started months ago at a workshop with Jean Power

And, just so that you can see that not all of my activities are stitch related - I made these plant labels with broken bits of china and a pen which is fixed by baking it in the oven

I was going to write a review of the Bowie exhibition at the V&A - but I need to get on and do something constructive now,  so all I'll say is -  Go, it's absolutely brilliant, and watching Bowie and Mick Ronson performing Starman on TOTP in 1972 is certainly the closest  I'll get to feeling 17 again. 

Gina did an in-depth post here so I recommend you read that for a proper review.  

Finally, how many of you heard the predicted minus 2 degrees on the weather forecast at 10.30pm last night, and spent the next 15 minutes wandering up and down the garden by torchlight, to bringing delicate little seedlings indoors from an unheated greenhouse. 

Just me then.

Took them back this morning.  So, my baby plants are safe from frost damage, but beginning to suffer from travel sickness.

What Have I done - Carl Barat

Norfolk Coast

If you are visiting Norfolk this summer, can I recommend you pay a visit to Holkham Hall on the North Norfolk coast.  I went last week, mainly because I had heard about the Glamour and Gowns exhibition  of clothes designed by Belinda Belville and Belville Sassoon, that runs to the end of October. Belinda Belville is the mother of Viscountess Coke, the present 'lady of the house'.

I loved the exhibition ....

and I'd forgotten that Belville Sassoon designed patterns for Vogue (I really want this elaborate gilded 'thingy' for holding cotton reels, with a pin cushion on top)

So for me, it was well worth the admission for the exhibition alone.  But as an unexpected bonus, the house is probably the nicest I've ever visited.  

The interior was fabulous .....

(if you've seen "The Duchess" with Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes, some of the scenes were filmed in the  room below)

.... the grounds are beautiful, although as it was blowing a gale I settled for looking out of the window ....

and the staff and stewards were lovely. Not only were they happy for me to take photos, one of the gentlemen even offered to take my picture in one of the rooms

I think I look quite at home there, in my charity shop fur coat.  

I had a lovely day, and if you do visit, and the weather warms up for your visit, you can walk down to the wide expanse of beach. And if not, there's always the restaurant or coffee and cake in the tea rooms.

NORFOLK COAST - The Stranglers

You Were Made For Me

Sorry, been away a while.  Just a very quick post to say I've signed up for Me-Made-May '13.

Last night,  I was searching the web to find info on fabric shops in Walthamstow, and happened upon Zoe's blog HERE and read about a challenge she is organising, whereby you pledge to wear handmade garments/accessories every day for the whole of May.

Now,  I have been dressmaking/knitting/refashioning for about a hundred years, or at least since I was 11 - but for some reason the things I make largely seem to hang in my wardrobe, unworn.  Even my Mum says "I never see you wear the things you make".  So, this morning I made a decision to sign up and actually wear them.
  

'I, Gill of Vintagerockchick, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade item each day for the duration of May 2013'

Hopefully, whilst I doubt I will post daily, I do intend to at least partly document the results of this challenge by taking some not-too-hideous photos and posting them on here. 

More later about what I've been making, and doing since we last chatted.

You Were Made For Me - Freddie and the Dreamers