It's Christmas

Here are a few of my Christmas decorations, I intended to take some last year but my camera broke and I didn't get them done. Inside of my porch.....looking out onto the snow...... brrrr it's very cold.

Close up of wreath which is covered in red berries...artificial ones.

Wreath on the front door..I think this is supposed to be an indoor wreath but I quite like it outside...it survived last winter I hope it survives again.

Close up of my decorations on the tree...some of these decorations are probably over 50 years old, some are years younger but all of them are treasured.

I put my Xmas tree in the dining room.....snow in the back garden and the temperatures are 0 degrees. The log man is coming this afternoon we need to stock up because it is so cold.

I have had this Santa for quite a number of years. I bought 2 one for each side of the mantle but I gave one to my daughter.

Sitting room mantle.

Wreath inside the front porch.....as you can see we have snow. Those little cross stitch decorations were made for me by my daughter when she was very young.

These are flowers my husband bought me....just because he wanted to.....ah

More trousers

I know..I know more trousers.........but I have eventually ordered some samples for a jacket. I have only tried to make a jacket once and it was a total disaster but I have to say I am a little better at fitting now.

I have had some navy chino cotton for about 5 years, it has been washed and ready for cutting for a long time now....so I am making a couple of pairs of summer weight trousers (I am always behind with my sewing e.g. making winter garments in the winter and summer garments in the summer) and they will be ready for the warmer weather.

I have been on a couple of months trying to perfect my blouse muslin but it is still not right, I have put it to one side for now, I am so frustrated trying to fit my top half.....I don't know what I will do about my jacket lol lol.

I am using my TNT trouser pattern, if it's not broken then don't fix it....that's my motto, I hate fitting anyway.






Here are a couple of pictures of my muslin....I changed the front darts to princess seams......this fabric is stiff cotton so it does not have any drape whatsoever, maybe that is my problem, I don't know, or maybe I am just too picky.

Worry....Worry

As I said in my last post my Mum hasn't been very well for a couple of months now.......she is 77 years old and still does her daily regime of exercises but lately her breathing has been terrible. She hasn't been to the doctors for years and after much persuasion she finally decided she needed an ambulance.
She has been given every test under the sun but they can't decide whether she has had a slight heart attack or not, but she has had fluid on her lungs....no pain.
We are just awaiting more results.
Sewing is off the cards for the moment...I have more important things to see to.

Sewing through the heartache

At last I have finished these trousers, I have had a trumatic time over the last couple of months and didn't feel much like sewing.....as I have mentioned before we have lost 2 of our old labradors and although they have had a wonderful life I miss them terribly. One of my favourite aunts has also died, I was very, very upset but it was a blessing because she suffered terribly and my Mum hasn't been her usual self lately....so all in all a pretty miserable couple of months.

These trousers are based on my TNT pattern, I have made the legs slimmer and put in a slant pocket instead of the usual side pockets. I had also intended to put studs in the pockets and do a welt pocket in the back, however, I have been on so long with them that I didn't do the welt pocket and I should have put the studs in the pockets before I stitched the side seams because my little gadget for putting in the studs wasn't long enough. This is the back , I am quite happy with the fit of these. I had intended to use these trousers for walking my dogs, hense the cord fabric, but I think they are too good at the moment for pushing into wellies and getting all muddy.

I am not quite sure if these sandals go with these trousers, when I measured the hem I had flat shoes on......my DH thinks they look alright but I'm not sure.

I traced my TNT pattern, I measured the bottom width of another pair of trousers I had, then tapered the bottom of the pattern to about the crotch area ( I didn't want to touch the hips and waist or the darts so I stopped at the crotch). I stitched the darts then underlined each piece, then stitched everything together as one. I also had to adapt the top of the trousers for the slant pockets and make a pattern for the new pocket.....I think I did alright with the pockets, maybe a few tweaks here and there will be needed. I sewed everything together in my usual way but I tacked the side seams for fitting.....I needed to take them in another 1/4" at the bottom tapering to the crotch once again, I will adjust the pattern accordingly.

I am not sure whether it was worth all the hastle of changing the pockets because I can't wear anything tucked into my waist....my figure won't allow it.....so my pockets won't be seen anyway.

I am delighted that I have a new TNT pattern for trousers to work with, it will be well used I can tell you, like all of my patterns.

What is up next?.....the blouse I am wearing in the picture I have made quite a few times now, I might have a go at doing something different with that. I made two of these blouses out of linen, this one and a white one, they have been washed and worn over and over again, I have certainly had my wear out of them.

I could buy a new pattern for a shirt but the shape of it would end up like the one in the picture, so I might as well save myself some money and try to do somthing with my TNT pattern.

Sewing time

I always have a problem with the amount of time dedicated to my sewing, I also think I put too much pressure on myself to finish things. I have decided that I will do approx. 10 hrs. sewing a week, which is quite enough otherwise I sicken myself of sewing altogether. I timed myself this week and this is how my sewing week has gone:
Monday.....10.15am to 11.15am........1hr
4.10pm to 4.35pm.........25mins
9.30pm to 9.45pm.........15mins 1hr 40mins
Tuesday......no sewing
Wednesday....... 10.30am to 11.45am ......1hr15mins
1.10pm to 2.00pm........50mins
3.00pm to 3.1opm.......10mins 2hrs 15mins.
Thursday............ 8.45am to 9.30am.......45mins
11.10am to 11.30am.......20mins
12.30pm to 1.00pm........30mins
2.25pm to 3.oopm.........35mins
6.20pm to 7.30pm........1hr10mins
9.00pm to 9.45pm.......45mins 4hrs 05mins
Friday .................9.00am to 9.30am........30mins
10am to 10.30am.........30mins
2.30pm to 3.20pm......50mins 1hr50mins
Saturday.........no sewing
Sunday.................12.00pm to 12.15pm.......15mins
6.00pm to 7.15pm...........1hr15mins
11pm to 11.45pm.............45mins 2hrs 15mins
Altogether, if my calculations are correct, I have sewn for 12hrs and 5mins. What have I achieved?I have lined the front of my trousers, added the darts, made the side pockets and topstitched them, inserted the zip, I also had to mark and thread trace the lining which takes at least a couple of hours. Not much I know compared to some sewers but I am happy and my sewing hasn't taken over my life this week.

Sadness

We have lost another of our oldest dogs.....she was the niece of the one we lost a couple of months ago and she had to be put to sleep because of a womb infection ( both had the same infection ) We think the disease may be in that line of breeding.
We are absolutely devasted, as you can imagine, that we have lost 2 of our girls within a couple of months of each other.
Hannah wasn't my dog as such...she was my husbands dog and only his.....she didn't even like me holding her leader, but I loved her just the same. She was a fabulous working dog, on one occasion I can recall she ran down a river bank, swam a river, up the other side of the river bank, ran across a field, jumped a fence and half way across another field for a retrieve, and I am not joking...she was fabulous to watch. She was also beautiful to look at, glossy coat and very dark sparkling eyes.....these were her good points, but she wasn't a competition dog...she was a free spirit....my husband absolutely adored her and we both miss her so much....he says every other dog he will ever have are measured by her standards.

Slant pockets

This is my pattern that I have drafted for my slant pockets.....I studied a pattern that I had for slant pockets and adapted my TNT pattern accordingly.

Here are a couple of pictures of my sample.....this is not the fabric I will be using, it is a scrap from another pair of trousers that I have made.....I dare not cut into the cord fabric that I will be using because I may not have enough for samples. I must remember to put a fusible interfacing stay on the diagonal of the pocket to stop it from stretching, it did on my sample.

These rivets are queer little things to put in.......this isn't the right fabric to try these but I wanted to practise before the real thing.

I received my moleskin fabric this morning, I only ordered it yesterday from Pennine outdoor so they have been very good at delivery. I am really happy with it....it was expensive but it is good quality fabric.....they also have really lovely quality knits for t shirts, no patterned only plain fabric.