Still around.

Hello dear all,

Even though I haven't been blogging, I have been working alot and still keeping up with reading all you lovely bloggers.

I know there is plenty I have been unable to join in, Sew grateful @ My happy sewing place. Staturday link up @ sew country chick, bra and tap panties @ a few threads loose, walkaway dress @eldlewiess patterns If I have missed anyone  else I am sorry, (please forgive me I have 3 teens down with manflu, even though 2 of them are girls.)

So there's not much new 'making ' to show today. I have begun making Plain Pattern Project dress 3,  But what I am going to tell you about is a new direction I find my self being drawn to.

Steampunk and Cosplay. Ever since we went to the expo/comi-con, this has been at the forefront of my mind. I don't want to give too much away, (not to tease, but I am keen not to tempt fate).

 In the meantime I would like to share this with you, I hope you like it as much as I do. There isn't any moving pictures, just music and it is so beautiful.

   
Much love Sew Vala,
 thinking of a slight change to my  blogg name, to go along with the new theme.
The current favourite is The Lady Vala Inara Troposphere. I know it's a bit much but after checking out other steampunk pseudonyms , This is what I have come up with, Can anyone find the connection in the name, (Yep looking at you, Debi- my happy sewing place. ) 
xx

I'm excited.....

Evening everyone.

Today's post is not really sewing related but I hope you don't mind. It's just that I am so excited.
As most of you may know I am a huge sci-fan, and I can quite easily turn into geek mode at any moment. Well today I have been in a very happy place, because I discovered this and promtly whipped out the old credit card.

A signed Nathan Fillion picture as Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly/Serenity. Big Yeah.

I am not going to go on about Firefly (as this is really a sewing blog) but if anyone is interested, it was written by Joss Weadon, who also wrote wrote Buffy, incase you wish to google it.

Now this has me thinking. This weekend we are off to another memmobilla/expo event, and will ether be dressing in the same costumes as the London event last month or it will be the Star Trek uniforms.

But for next years London event I would love it, if my skills were up it (alot more practiced needed then) to create the Malcolm and Kaylee shindig outfits for me and S.H.

  Wow how cool would that be. 'Just shiney capt'in.' 
Ahh I can always dream.

Dennis is finished, just in time for winter...

Sorry I have been away from posting for a while. What with moving furniture into the new room, and other general life stuff, its' been rather hetic around here.

But I have managed to use my spare time to finish the Dennis the Mennis jumper. It has been quite a firsts has this for me.

• The first time I have made a jumper, in an adult size (all my other knitting has been one baby cardigan and several baby blankets)
• I looked at a few patterns to check tension/amount of stitches etc
• But designed the jumper myself.

As S.H. lives quite a distance from me I have not been able to fit as I go along. So I am really hoping it will fit but more importantly that he likes it. As soon as he found out I could knit he asked for a Dennis jumper with a big neck.

And here is its' big, baggy, and  got a big neck.

Honestly it is red and black, but camera/computer makes it look pink. Which I'm he would mind, but thats not very Dennis is it.

For those of you who may be unfamilar with the British Dennis the Menace, here he is.

I you wish to know more infomation on this Beano comic book character it can be found over at wikipedia here. He is descibed as 'Dennis is the archetypal badly-behaved schoolboy.'

And just to level things out a bit later they introduced a naughty school, not in any way similar to any St Trinian. The Beano had Mini the Minx

Any way back to the jumper I used Rowan 'big wool', which is 100% merino wool. It was lovely to knit up, so soft. The colours I used

   black and lipstick, which again does look pink (images curtisy of Rowan).

So whats next on the agenda

• Sew buttons on the victorian steampunk coat
• make dress no 3 for plain pattern project
• finish the next loud shirt

mmmm or start something else.

Take care everyone, Sew Vala. x

Yeah, Happy days.

I am so excited, I have just won this pattern from over at new vintage lady

And this week my room that needed a new roof is finished. Which has meant I have started moving 'stuff' in. And the lovely Mr S is coming over to help move the big 'stuff' this weekend.

Folks I hope I am not tempting fate by saying, looks like we are in for a fab weekend.

Wishing all you lovely people a great weekend.
Sew Vala. x

Hello I'm back and down to earth after Expo/comi-con london oct 2011.

After a very very busy few weeks I am finally back. Firstly I would like to welcome all my new followers. Thanks for joining my little blog and I hope you enjoy your time here.

So what have I been up to. Well in my last 2 posts I was shouting out for help on my Steampunk outfit.

I managed to finish the skirt but I knew I would not have enough time to make the jacket as so many modifications would be required and I also had the finishing touches to the Nepeta oufit and make the Coat for Mr S.

I wore my skirt with a black embroiered corset and a vintage red velvet cloak/coat I already owned.

No expo/comi-con would be complete without Stormtroopers.

My daughter was happy with her Nepeta oufit.

She got a lot of compliments and asked for photos.

Mr S also wanted to join the Steampunk vibe so for him I made a victorian coat.

Again I didn't have time to complete it but he still wore it (just needs buttonholes and buttons.) He was also complimented on his attire with much gentleman handshaking.

And of course a loud physadelic lining is also required for any punk, steam or otherwise.

We had a fanstic time and already chosing our outfits for the next event in May 2012. This should give me plenty of time to make finished outfits, I hope.
Love Sew Vala. x

Shorten by HOW MUCH (or more help please on s2172)

I knew when I made up the skirt that I alterations would also be needed on the coat.
On the skirt I had to shorten it by 10inches, to keep the proportions correct I did 1inch off the yoke, 4inches off the main skirt body and 4inches off the pleated hem.

Now then the coat is so long 54 inches and I am so damn short that I have to shorten it to 41, even then this will be as long on me as it is in the pattern picture.

So my question is how do I shorten this by such a huge amount.
Do I,

• alter the paper pattern first and run the risk of the curved edges not matching up.
• make up one back half and front section in calico, then shorten it, take it apart and use that as my pattern.
• I can't think of any other methods.

I also think I may need to forgo the pocket as that may be too low down. I don't mind this.

As on my last post about this outfit, again I greatly appreceate all answers from you lovely sewing bloggers out there,
Many thanks in advance from a very mystifed Sew Vala. xx

Good morning, Taffeta Help please,

Morning everyone, How's your projects going this week?

For me exciting and unsure, Is there anyone out there who could help I am taking a bit of a leap in my abilities I know. But I figure if I dont stretch myself I am not going to learn new techniques. So this is where I am stuck.

I am making Simplicity 2172 just the skirt and coat. I have not made a skirt before so all is new and never worked with taffeta ether. I didn't realise when I bought the fabric it is exactly like the picture on the front.

So to my problem the pleated bottom section, they reaaly stand out and will not hang flat.

I basted and basted.
will they hang flat if the skirt is left to 'hang'?
Should I keep ironing them? Will heat from the iron spoil the fabric?
Should I sew small tucks to keep them in place? or will that just make them billow out in the middle?

I also could not iron the creases out of the fabric. I can iron them in when I first did the pleated section they were fine.

But after much handling around the sewing table they seem to gone gone wild.

Any and all help will be much appreachated , I now have 7 days left to make the coat and also a steam punk cape caot for Mr S as well as the final touched to the Nepeta outfit. So that we can attend expo in style, on Sat 29 Oct. Ok off to the cutting table am I.

Dress 2 of the Plain Pattern project.

Here is dress 2 of the Plain Pattern Project.

 The fabric is an embroidared crepe backed satin. It is actually mint green, but my camera has made it look silver.

The changes I made to this version is I made it longer, I made a belt and this time I did not add the large pointed sleeve cuffs, I also used over 14 metres of white satin binding. Instead of the buttons I used 7 white frog closures, as they seemed more appropriate to the fabric choice.

Here is a close up of the embroidary

This time round I think I got the understanding of the lap technique for the interfacing right, (well I hope so) and the only issue I had was trying to iron the seams flat

Here is a shot of the back neck detail which mirrors the pointed collar.
 
I wore this dress to my nephews' wedding and felt fabulous all night.
The plain pattern project is held by new vintage lady and I bought the pattern

Butterick 6747 dated 1953 from Tina at what-i-found

Have a fantasic week everyone, Sew Vala

How Much....

Just in case you ever wondered this is what 8 1/2 metres of pleated taffeta look like. This is one hell of a hem.

Good days do happen

Its been over a week since my post, it's been rather a roller coster time for me here. I could feel the beginnings of a downer start to hit, so I tried to get as much done as possible. Which in retrospect I think that may have contributed to my bad past couple of days. But hopefully (well no, lets think possitively here) things are on the up.

So here's to the good things that have gone on recently.

I was offered offered a hugh amount of 'stuff''. 

So glad I accepted the offer, it turns out I now have the most amaizing selection of vintage lace, ribbons, binding, metal zips, buttons and metal press-studs.  I dont think I will need to buy any of these ever again.

Also I have finished the Nepeta coat for my daughters cos-play outfit.

A few of the details I learnt while making the coat.

Overlock the edges before adding the pockets. doh!

the pockets, ( something i have not done before)

a new colar detail, also not done before,

And this was also the first time I have set in sleeves. (I think that's what this method is called. any way it is the first time I have done a sleeve that is not sewn as part of the body.)

Thats a lot of firsts' also this was the first time I have adapted a pattern to such an extent. Here is the orignal

Butterick 5468, And finally here is the finished article,

It's very long and big all over 'thats what it should be' says my daughter. I am happy with how it has turned out and the new techniques I learnt. But most importantly the little lady who it is for loves it. And thats what it is all about. So thats the hat made, and the coat, now we can start the tail, shoes bought, trousers bought and t-shirt waiting to be printed. cos-play expo here we come.

A most horrible week

Well what a week it's been.
Taking last Saturday as a starting point, it was my nephews wedding. The kids, (ok not kids, 17 and 20 can hardly be described as kids) decided to stay home and not party. Myself and Mr S set of from Wiltshire to land in Greater Machester some 8 hours later, this journey should normally take no more than 4. So straight to the hotel, shower and turn up some what fashionally very late for the remainder of the reception.

Which was absolutly fabulous. I don't get to see my family very often and it was a perfect time to introduce Mr S to the rest of the family.

Is this the coolest wedding cake ever.

My newphew may be a Sweeney, but he still has what we call the Shaw gene, hence the groom standing on the yellow pages. Aint that the cutest thing.

In the morning we returned from breakfast to get ready for a few family visits to find my phone full of messages. A water pipe in the front garden had burst. Ok, so no visits but setting straight off on the return journey, with Mr S and my eldest daughter on the phone trying to find a plumber who will deal with underground work and on a Sunday, the water board, and angry neighbours.

We return 7 hours later, pipe bypassed for return and repair on the following day. Whew that girl deserves a gold medal for all the things she had to deal with.

The rest of the week hasn't been great ether.

I broke the feed dogs on my machine. So off to find another, I chose one of the old machines currently stored under my bed.

I first thought I would give the Riccar a try, only to discover, it has no lead. I was obversly paying alot of attention when I bought this.

So time to try out one of the old Singers

Tried it on scrap and it worked beautifully steady smooth very neat stiches. Very impressed was I. Until the bobbin ran out then I found the bobbin winding mechanism would not turn, read the manual, found screwdriver. blah blah, still no joy. So back upstairs she went, no way was I bringing the other baby down, Man they are heavy!

Time to dig out my first machine, its a Toyota, but we call her Tesco,

It didn't take long before I remembered why she was in retirement. Very dogy speed control and not able to get attachments, so unable to do button holes but between her and finally taking my overlocker out of the box she has been in for several years never used, I managed to make Loud shirt number 4.

Now needing to do buttonholes has meant I have dragged out The Beast, so named because she is extreamlly heavy and not portable at all.

The all singing all dancing Janome Memmory Craft 11000. Cool eh, well not if I can't find the intsructions. I have figured out the computer bit how to do a button hole but can I figure out the most simple task of how to remove the current foot and attach the button hole foot. Nooooo, So just about now I am feeling pretty useless.

And to top off this moan of a horrible week, My daughters laptop came back, it went away due to software problems, keep freezing. They returned it Thursday as promised with a note 'we have replaced the hard-drive and the key board' excellent she was very happy. Less than 2 miniutes later not so much, the damn keyboard dosn't work. Arrrrrrggggg. So it was collected again this morning.

So what's a girl to do, (for someone who suffers from the bad kind of depression, I have discovered for me, being a 'doer' helps a great deal).  I need to 'do' when I am unable to control things happening around me, my last resort is furnture moving. As soon as the kids hear the scrapping noise of furnture they scarper. Unfortunally due to the ongoing building work, everything is piled high and I am not able to move anything. My youngest will soon be up and asking for this laptop so no browsing for me.

Well theres only one thing for it, it must be ether off to the fabric shops or shoe shopping. I hope your week has been better than mine.

So long you lovely people. Sew Vala xx

Late summer Roses Dress, Plain Pattern Project 1

Wow its been over a week since I have had chance to get my hands on the laptop long enough to do more than check emails.
Alot has been done in that time.

 So before I get ahead of myself here is the finished Plain Pattern project dress 1. Hosted by newvintagelady
My choice was

Butterick 6747 from 1953. Which I bought from the lovely Tina at what-i-found.
With fabric chosen to be as close to the pattern image as possible. However after I had constructed most of the dress I realised I should have done a constrasting colar, ah well.

I wanted to do some proper outside pics so me and the lovely Mr S went to Letchworth  Garden City to do the shoot as its has some very cool art deco buildings.

The cinema in Letchworth, How wonderful are those windows.

Showing a bit of leg outside of the town hall, Oh my. I tried to dress with apropiate accessories, vintage gloves and a vintage handbag. Although I have to admit I can only go so far as my obession for wild shoes is always present (Biba shoes, I love you). As for the hair, well it has taken me many many years to accept I have what can only be described as side show bob hair, some days it looks great but mostly it dont. And on this day no way was it going to co-operate.

Ah yes back to the dress the only alteration I did was to the length, being under 5ft meant lots of shortening.

And as I would expect of any dress like this there's always going to be a Marilyn Moment.

On the whole I love this dress , I have already made dress 2, which I wore to my nephews wedding at the weekend. Pictures to follow shortly.

Happy sewing all you lovely people. Sew Vala