Uh, Shakespeare in the park? Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?

Good morning comrades.  Well, I'm not in such a terrible mood as I was, so I can face trying to be light-hearted about sewing again.  Me Made May is in full swing, and I've been enjoying wearing all my handmade clothes and smiling modestly when people ask me if I made my outfits.  It's all about the kudos.

Day 1

Miette skirt.  

Day 2

Miette skirt, Aiken jumper

Day 3

Spotty Francoise dress, Luxulite brooch

Day 4

Miss Scarlett top

Day 5

Pink fleece Coco, Miette skirt

Day 6

Garter yoke cardigan, striped Coco dress

Day 7

Grey Coco dress

Day 8

Bird Coco, definitely red scarf

Day 9

Spotty skirt, Miss Scarlett top (all the filters)

Day 10

Raccoon Anna dress, Myrna cardigan (from the outfit along challenge last year)

So there you go.  All the outfits, all the time.  

New Year, New You

Happy New Year and all that.  I was going to do a round up of all the millions of things I made this year before today, but the germs attacked on Boxing Day, and I have been prostrate for days.

Anyway.  I've made 21 things out of wool - knitting or crocheting - which is considerably less than previous years.  Sewing has taken up a lot more time this year, and I've made 8 Coco dresses or tops and at least four others.  This year I want to make things I actually wear, so that will be more jersey dresses and more cardigans.  The wardrobe is full to bursting at the moment, so perhaps some winnowing out of the stuff is called for.

From the top left down in columns: New Year's Day cowl, Spotty Dress (my first dress), Spotty Coco, Stripey Coco dress (most worn thing ever), bird dress, Green and grey Coco.

Idlewood, Boatneck Bluebell sweater, Cherry Coco (my first Coco). red and blue baby cord skirt, Elsa dress.

Fox brooch, Upholstery skirt (too big), fleecy Coco, Myrna cardigan (OAL 2014), Butterfly top, blue and grey sock for Simon.

Puerperium for Nicholas, Green and Grey Coco again, MASSIVE MAN SOCKS FOR SIMON, Charley Harper bird Coco, Sew Dolly Clackett dolly Cambie.

Cat Lady Anna. Flamingo Anna, Boreal, a cowl for a little girl, Lucy's rainbow socks, chicken skirt.

What a lot of terrible photos of me.  That's the worst thing about making your own stuff - looking at pictures of yourself. Urgh.

Busy old year, and that's not all I've made at all.  I thought I'd spare you the rest, although one of my plans is to update the Handmade Wardrobe section of the blog.  At some point.  

Sewing and knitting plans for this year?  Just keep on keeping on and hopefully get the hang of it.  I'd really like to be a size 12 before I'm 38, which should be a bit of a saving on fabric and wool, and I really hope to make some trousers this year.  Hattie needs an Elsa dress too, which should be easy enough to get done in a couple of evenings.

Ah well.  At the moment, my only plan is to get over this cold and get out running again.  Or maybe to go into the front room and watch Mapp and Lucia and knit a new jumper for Hattie.  It's all go here. 

The raccoon problem is under control. They have their part of the town and we have ours.

I've been a bit laid back about the Outfit Along; it's a really great idea, and has focussed my colour choices slightly, but I found that there was way too long to do it in - I'm very quick when I sew; because my time is limited, I like to get as much done in a session as possible.  

I've already worn the dress out a couple of times;  to a wedding, to a party and to my WI meeting, where I also wore the cardigan, and was just far too hot.  I think the heat here in London is prohibiting wearing knitted items.

I was recognised by someone off Instagram when I bought this fabric.  How weirdly modern.  The whole lot is from John Lewis.  

They match pretty well, don't they.  I thought I'd maybe make the cardigan orange, but actually the blues go really well together.  The dress pattern is the Anna dress, which is superb and very easy to follow - French seams on the shoulders, get me.  I didn't make any alterations to the cardigan, except I picked up fewer stitches; I always slip the first stitch off each row, so I picked up 1 stitch for every other row, which works well.  Everything else was as written.

There are more lovely outfits here.  An Anna dress pattern can be bought here.  A Myrna cardigan pattern can be bought here.  I absolutely love the keyhole pattern at the back of the neck.  I may well try to add one to my knitted Coco, once I get off my bum and get on with that.

People are just people, they shouldn't make you nervous

On Friday, I went to a party.  It was in Peckham, which involved getting a bus, then a train, then a tube, then another tube, then another bus and then a walk.  It is 16 miles from Ealing and felt more.  I used to live in Canada Water, and it's really, really changed.  I don't think I have pictures from back then, but it looks a bit different now around the station.  A quick google shows me that my flat looks the same as it always did, at least from the outside; the next door flat is on sale for a ridiculous amount of money.

My old flat is on the left, second floor.  Super place to live, and I had a lot of fun living there.

Anyway, I got the 381 down to Peckham, and went to the By Hand London Thank You For Giving Us Money Party, in a lovely little studio near the bus station.  Talking with one of the ladies, Victoria, I found out that their new studio will be in North Acton, and I can practically walk there from work, so I am looking forward to their next party.

There were lots and lots of people there; lots of people I recognised from the internet like her, her and her, and I managed to get over myself and chat away to a lot of them.  Roisin is really very nice indeed, and I wish I'd not been so silly and talked to her earlier.

I wore my terrific Anna dress, the one with the raccoons; Hattie pulls a very similar face when she is concentrating on being naughty.

I don't know what's going on with the camera on my phone; that is a terrible picture.  There is a better one here, and do follow the link as there are 10 of us in the same dress, although each one is different.  The joy of handmade.  

I managed to pull my calf muscle again on the way home; it's those sodding shoes, so no more running in Converse.  Stupid things.  I actually NEED to go for a run, but while I'm hobbling around, it's a very bad idea. It's not as bad as it was the first time, but I'm still wincing going up and down stairs, so I'll try to go out tomorrow.

I'm thinking about a Frozen inspired Anna Maxi dress.  The obsession in our house is not getting any less, although I think I'm the worst of the bunch.  I explained the plot to my mum on Saturday evening, and nearly cried at the end.  To be strictly open and honest, I had been drinking mascara thinner all night, so that didn't help.  

Anyway, Dodgeball is on and I have an empty glass that needs filling.  Four days until the holidays.

Dress every day like you're going to get murdered in those clothes.

I decided to do another internet sewing challenge, this time an Outfit-a-long, where you make a dress and a cardigan, specifically to wear together.  I didn't want to buy yet another pattern that would live in the cupboard, never to be used again, so I used the Anna dress from By Hand London.  What a lovely clear pattern, with super instructions, and the dress is looking great. I didn't have enough fabric to make a maxi dress with a massive thigh high split, plus I'm not sure that would look very good on me.

It helps that the fabric is absolutely adorable, and carries a lot of the dodgy sewing and wonky seams.  I tried French seams on the shoulders, which was great, but I'm going to pink the seams on the skirt.  The skirt is made up of about 7 panels, so it swishes round beautifully when I twirl.  It's not quite finished, it needs a zip, a hem and a good press.

I'm just finishing off a sock for Simon, but after that I'm going to start the cardigan.  The designer is new to me, but her Miette cardigan is a favourite of sewing bloggers, possibly because they aren't knitters, possibly because they all seem to be about 7 with tiny little figures that suit cropped vintage styles.  I don't fancy the Miette, but the Myrna looks very nice, and I'm looking forward to knitting it.  Mine is going to be light blue, not a colour I often choose, but it matches my gorgeous little raccoons very well.

Are you interested in making matching things?  The fun I had during "me-made-May" (still can't say it) has highlighted a lot of gaps in the wardrobe, so I'm happily filling them with lots of lovely handmades; I'm aiming to knit a version of one of my absolute favourites in the next few months. watch this space.