School Holiday sewing

Now the children are teenagers, my holiday responsibilities have changed.  I am required to make decisions about whether proposed social escapades are OK, ensure the cupboard is full of wheat bix, biscuits and treats as well as litres and litres of milk and to intervene when my teenage son starts looking a bit glazed over and unplug him from whichever device he is attached to and send him on a dog walk or to shoot some hoops.  The 'nerve centre' moves from the kitchen to my office/sewing room, the heater is on and the sewing cabinet is open.... woooppee.

First project is another Simplicity 9825 skirt. This time in yet another Tessuti Japanese cotton.

This fabric is so beautiful, it is hard to show the gold thread in a photograph although I think this one gives you the idea.

I am quite happy with the result although before I make this skirt again, I am going to alter the pattern a bit.  I always have to add a false hem because I forget to cut it longer and I need to make the yoke a little larger as it is quite snug.  I am also going to move the zipper to the side.  I plan to do all this in a toille and then use the calico as a pattern because I think when I have made these improvements, this could be a core pattern in my wardrobe.  I like that the skirt is between A line and straight and I like the yoke rather than a waistband.  The next fabric to make it up in is a silk twill in gorgeous colours... no prizes for guessing where I bought it!

A month can't have gone past!

But it has and its about time I got back on my blog!

I have been distracted from sewing with various other things over the past month and am feeling very frustrated by the ever increasing stash, earmarked patterns but lack of product. A late night picking up my teenage daughter from various school formal related activities, has meant a slow wonderful day at home with my pile of sewing jobs. I needed to clear the decks of the mending and altering before starting any new projects - DONE! (well, close enough).

I do have something to show you from the past little while. I have finally finished my red Hokko Bowtie dress which is an unashamed copy of the dress that Libby from Tessuti Chatswood made in the summer. Colette featured it on her blog and it looked so great and as I had the pattern already, I decided to make the same. I am so pleased I did and I have been slowly working through it in Georgia's classes at Tessuti Surry Hills.   'Gloria' has to model this one for me, too cold at the moment for summer dresses.

I had such a great time at Tessuti Chatswood on Friday with Libby.  We had not met before and when we worked out our 'link' with the red dress, a whole lot of other similarities came to the fore.  We seem to have the same taste and already owned the same patterns and fabrics in our stash.  I ended up adding a few more beautiful fabrics after discussing the possibilities they presented and ideas Libby had already explored with them.  Watch this space....

Now I am thinking about the next project to make at Sew Inn with Georgia. I'm currently thinking a loosely tailored jacket which I can belt with a thin belt and wear with a skirt.  Have tried to find a suitable image but its like the potato peeler - can never find it in a hurry! I'll post later when I find something.