Astoria Tops By Colette Patterns' Seamwork Magazine

Hello. I hope you're enjoying the bank holiday weekend.  Hubby and I had a fun time yesterday taking photographs - outside was too sunny and inside was a bit dark. We did get some useable ones though, so here's the first of my new tops.

I do love my Cath Kidston skirts but as they have elasticated waists (which I like to cover) it's awkward finding tops to wear with them that sit nicely. I thought Colette's Astoria top would be perfect as it's quite short and fitted at the waist.

It's made out of black Ponte Roma which was really easy to work with - I probably should have started my jersey sewing with this rather than the slinky stuff. 

Hubby thinks I'm too old for them but I think they're fab. They have a gorgeous garden gnome one at the moment which may have to join my collection..........

I made the size as small as it comes for this one. It's perfect with the skirts but too short with jeans - even I think I'm too old for flashing my tummy!

So I made another one to wear with them. This time it's in grey Ponte Roma and I lengthened the sleeves and body by 2". 

The sleeves are hemmed and the neck topstitched with my Janome Coverpro that I got for Christmas. I'm slowly getting the hang of it and I love it. It gives the garment a professional finish even for a beginner like me.

It's a great pattern and I'll definitely be making some more.

I can never resist adding pictures of Maya so here's another photo that Hubby took yesterday.  

One last thing, as I've been sharing photos of myself I'll share some news too - I've decided to ditch the hair dye. I am sick of having it done and it never looks as nice as my natural colour did, so I'm going to let it grow and see what happens.  It's a good job I like wearing hats as I think I'll have one on permanently for the next year or so............or I may cut it shorter..............or I may hate it and dye it again.

Can grey haired ladies still wear Cath Kidston skirts?  You bet!

I'd better crack on. I have Clarity samples to make and with Hubby on leave I keep getting distracted. Don't forget that Paul Church is on Hochanda tomorrow (27th March) with More Clarity.  11-12am, 3-4pm and 5-6pm. 

Happy Easter

Lynne

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1920s Fancy Dress

Hello everyone. I'm sorry that it's been so long since my last post but I don't have any cards to share at the moment. Unfortunately there won't be a Claritystamp show on Create and Craft tomorrow so it might be September before I have any more cards to blog. I thought I'd come on and say hello though and share some sewing I've been working on. I'm afraid it's a bit of a long post but you have got a month to read it!

Since rediscovering sewing I've learnt quite a few things. One of them is that although I'm only 5'3" I'm not petite - I just have short arms and legs on a pretty normal length body! I also have a bigger bust than most patterns are designed for. This is how I discovered Colette Patterns as they are designed for a C cup, which I am in sewing terms (this doesn't relate to your bra size but the difference between your upper bust and full bust). Luckily my measurements perfectly correspond with their (US) size 6 so I figured that should make my life a bit easier!

The first thing I made was their Sorbetto top which is a free download. I've now made three of them as I was pleased with how it turned out. So when I found out our Summer Ball would have a 1920s theme I thought their Laurel dress would be perfect to work with.

I made a toile to start off with and realised that I needed to make some alterations as it was a bit looser than I wanted it. I started off with the 6 and graded it down to a 2 below the bust. I also took ½" out of each side of the back seam.  A lot of this was probably due to the fabric not being ideal but I love the pattern and couldn't resist it! I was able to slip it on over my head so I omitted the zip.

This is me badly modelling it in the garden this morning as I didn't get any decent photos of it at the do.

The dress ended up a bit longer than I intended, as I when I chose the length I was going to attach the fringe with the bottom of it level with the bottom of the dress. In the end I decided it looked better lower down and I didn't want to do the hem again!

The fringe is 6" long and was originally looped at the bottom but I cut them off as I knew I'd get caught on something!

So I stuck it to my cutting mat, following one of the lines to keep it level, then tipped it up to get them to hang straight.......

...............before carefully laying it back down and trimming it with my 6" x 24" ruler and rotary cutter. No more annoying loops.

The bag was designed to fit my big and beautiful iPhone 6 Plus as so many of my evening bags are too small for it. The bow pattern is from (and the rest is inspired by) Making Vintage Bags - A gorgeous book by Emma Brennan. It originally had the same length trim on it as the dress but after some feedback from my FB friends I trimmed it down to 4½". Much better!

The overarm strap was really comfortable and very handy for eating and drinking. I'll definitely be making some more for other evening dresses.

Hubby looked fab in his pinstripe suit and I made him a matching tie and pocket square. The tie was a free pattern by Sweet Shop Sewing on Craftsy. It was a really easy pattern but it made a lovely tie. It was also a good conversation starter as people noticed that we matched and commented, Hubby then said that I made it all and I got lots of lovely compliments which was really nice after all that work.

I'll leave you with a few photos of the Mess as they did such a fab job of decorating it and getting everyone in the mood. It was probably the best function we've had here.

The beautiful lady silhouettes were everywhere and looked very Clarity to me.

They would make fab stamps or stencils!

Lots of lovely food and drink. Nom, nom!

Cheese and cocktails - What more could a girl want?

Maybe some crafty goodies. If you fancy a spot of Clarity shopping, this week (1st - 7th Aug) is Groovi Week on their website. If you spend £40 on Groovi products you get a free Christmas Tree Groovi Plate.

Groovi baby! Not entirely sure what I was doing there!

Lynne
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