Another fashion week!

So, I'm on the bus from Heathrow airport again... Off to see my nephew for a couple of days (no I still haven't finished the quilt), and then into London for another short course at the London College of Fashion! Woo!

This one is called "evening and party wear", and is mainly teaching about boned bodices, with some more exciting drafts/drapes thrown in too, so it's looking pretty fun. It's also at the same campus as last time, so one street away from the brilliant fabric shops of Goldhawk Road... Because it's a construction course though, I will probably need to do some sewing outside of the class. Not normally a problem, but of course my sewing machines are in a different country - so of course the solution is to buy another one! I did contemplate getting a "travel" sewing machine, but I'm not convinced they're sturdy enough to do any proper sewing on, so I plan to buy another basic but decent one similar to my current Brother machine, but keep that in London. We have a storage unit where it can live between visits (until we get our own place here).

It's also going to be a pretty fun week outside the course - I'm going to have a whole week in London, I'm meetin a friend to discuss doing some dressmaking for her, and I'm going to a wedding on Saturday and then a Brian Setzer/Jim Jones Review gig on Sunday. I should have internet, so I'll try and post some pics for you from the course.

Me-Made-June '11: Conclusions

Yes, it's already more than a week into July, but I needed a break from MMJ after thinking about it daily! But I just wanted to record a few observations and lessons for my future sewing and any future challenges.

1. I need to make more things! I'm sure that will always be the case, but specifically I need to make more wardrobe building items: separates and cardies/jackets that I can mix and match to avoid repeats so much. While these aren't necessarily the most exciting to sew, I really need these in order to get by day to day and still wear my me-made items. I definitely prefer to wear dresses, but separates would give me more variety. I read a good sewing plan somewhere a while back (I can't remember where unfortunately - it might have been talking about buying clothes, but it still applies): each piece you sew should go with at least one other item in your wardrobe.

2. Sort of linked to the above, I need more solid coloured items that can be worn with lots of items. I love patterns, but I don't quite have the élan of Vivienne Westwood, D&G, Prada or Mundo to mix them all the time! I noticed some others discussing the same revelation in the Flickr discussion group.

3. Several items have gone into the refashion pile... It's not worth wearing something that doesn't make you feel happy, even if it is something you have put time and effort into making yourself, it just makes you feel enormously frustrated. I still can't quite bring myself to give away these items though...

4. Most of all, it's such fun joining in with a group of like-minded and talented people to do a me-made-month! I don't know many people IRL who are obsessed with sewing like me (or are even interested in sewing), so it's great being able to show what you've made, be inspired by others, and talk about sewing stuff. (I'm thinking of setting up a sewing group so I can do this in real life, but more about that in a later post.)

I'm looking forward to joining the next me-made month!

Me-Made round-up: Days 25-30

This is going to be a bit of a mammoth post, but I want to get all the Me-Made June stuff wrapped up. There'll just be one more post after this with some conclusions from the month...

Day 25: We had friends visiting at the weekend, and had a really lovely time (and they helped remind me that Geneva isn't so bad after all). This day we went down to the market in Carouge, then in the evening to a random street festival that was happening just by our flat. I also made a quiche for a brunch by the lake we were going to with friends the next day. Whilst I like the print on this dress, and (I think) I like the pattern, I'm still not totally loving the dress. I think the problem might be the fabric, it just feels a bit weird. I might try another version in a nicer fabric at some point.

Dress: Me-Made / Necklace: Random shop in Hammersmith, London / Flowers in hair: Accessorise / Oven gloves: IKEA

Day 26: An insanely hot day! I knew I wanted to make at least one more thing before the month was up (I was getting very bored by this point!), so whipped up yet another self-drafted jersey dress - don't worry, my next project is with a woven! This was a modified version of the previous jersey cowl neck dress, but with a deeper cowl, a closer fitting bodice, and a more flared skirt. As I was trying to make it super quickly before our friends arrived, I sort of fudged the extra drape in the cowl, which gave me a slightly odd pouchy bit at the front waist. I'll explain more when I do a post on the dress, as I think I know why it's there. I wasn't too fussed though as the dress was exactly what I wanted and needed for the day - which was spent brunching by the lake, having a paddle, then going up the Salève (our local mini-mountain).

Dress: Me-Made, but not yet blogged / Hat: Manor / Bag: John Lewis / Flip flops: Accessorise

Day 27: Not much to say here, apart from that it was super hot, and I spent the day wearing as little as possible and trying to keep from melting in the flat... I really want to sew myself some short that are just a leeeeetle longer than these, but sewing trousers scares me a bit.

Necklace: Me-Made / Vest tops: Primark (or maybe H&M) / Shorts: Oasis

Day 28: Another insanely hot day, and a bit of a cheat day too - I tacked up the turn-ups on the shorts as they kept folding down at the back, which just looked weird. Not sure that entirely counts as a refashion, but I'm going to go with it... We went down to river to cool off in the evening, and had a beer at the bar there as the sun went down. Nice.

Shorts: Sort-of-Me-Refashioned... / Top: H&M / Bikini top: La Senza

Day 29: Another outing for my new dress - it went shopping with me. I tried on some new bikinis, but it was a rather depressing trip - has anyone made their own swimwear? It would solve a lot of problems for me. It's a pretty appalling photo (although it does make me look rather tan...) - this was the handiwork of my husband. I need to instruct him on taking better photos - rather sweetly he thinks I always look lovely so can't see why I find some photos of me more attractive than others!

Dress: Me-Made but not yet blogged / Necklace: Alexander McQueen / Shoes: M&S

Day 30: The last day! The month has gone by so quickly... It's been such fun joining in with other sewing fanatics around the world and very inspiring seeing what other people have been making. I've also found a lot of new blogs to read, so will somehow have to find time for that too! Many many thanks must go to Zoe for starting these cool little challenges. I ended the challenge in what has become one of my favourite dresses...

Dress: Me-Made / Necklace: Alexander McQueen / Belt: Primark / Bag: Ted Baker / Shoes: M&S / Sunnies: My first ever pair of prescription sunglasses, which have changed my life!

Jersey offcut necklace (plus Me-Made June: Day 24)

I made this necklace a couple of months ago (with offcuts from this top), but haven't ever got round to blogging it. I also had managed to lose it in my sewing room the last few weeks, which gives you some idea how messy it was... (sort of tidied now, thanks to the incentive of people coming to stay!)

I like how jersey curls on its cut edges (well, except when I'm trying to cut it out), so I thought I'd make use of this quality in some jewellery, in order to use up offcuts from the top. The strips are cut crosswise (I think I chose that way simply because of the shape of my offcut), and I threaded each end onto a small bead. After checking the strands were all roughly the same length (very roughly as it turned out!), I twisted them together and stitched them onto some grosgrain. I think if I made something similar again, I would use more strands, beads with bigger holes, and twist them more, but I'm pretty happy with it as it is.

Day 24: And here it is in an outfit! The mini-challenge for the Flickr group this Friday was a photo with an animal, so I went the easy route with my two cats (I was hoping for something more interesting or tangential, but the opportunity didn't arise during the day). I know this photo is appalling, but it was taken at two thirty in the morning, and I may or may not have been a little tipsy.

Necklace: Me-Made / Dress & cardie: H&M / Leggings: Uniqlo / Sandals: Office

Me-Made-June round-up: Days 19-23

Day 19: I wore exactly the same as on June 12 (minus the passport), so it didn't really seem to merit a picture.

Skirt: Me-Made / Necklace: Me-Made / Top: Uniqlo

Day 20: A lovely sunny day, so I did some gardening...

Dress: Me-Made / Apron: Me-Made / Leggings: Uniqlo

Day 21: By this point in the Me-Made challenge I'm starting to get a bit desperate - I've certainly identified some large holes in my Me-Made wardrobe that need filling soon. As the outfit is near enough a repeat (the same dress as 4 June), I thought I'd put some variety in the photos.

Dress: Me-Refashioned from a long dress / Leggings: Uniqlo / Blue belt (not seen): eBay

Day 22: A low point, and also really hot and humid - I wore the same dress as 1 June, but without any accessories or even a belt, so it definitely didn't merit a picture.

Dress: Me-Made

Day 23: I felt a bit better about my Me-Made clothes by the next morning (helped that it was significantly cooler after some late afternoon thunderstorms the previous day). As it was a little cooler, I took the opportunity to wear my high-waisted BWOF skirt (it was still on the verge of being a little sweaty by the afternoon). I need to make some belt loops on this skirt as the belt gets a little free-floating. I plan to make them from thread chains as I don't want them too bumpy if I wear an untucked top over it (which is actually how I seem to wear it most often, as I feel a little self-conscious with a top tucked in). I actually changed out of the shoes shown below into sandals after I took the photos. This outfit was probably a little overdressed for my activities this day (going to the garden centre!), but hey, it's always better to be overdressed than underdressed...

Skirt: Me-Made / Necklace: Me-Made / Cardie: H&M / Top and belt: Primark / Shoes: M&S

Me-Made-June round-up: Days 16-18

Day 16: This evening was my husband's work summer garden party, at the boss's super swanky house by the lake. Unfortunately it rained like a monsoon nearly all evening, so we were huddled in the marquee. I also forgot to take a photo of my outfit there (I blame the vast quantities of champagne consumed), so this picture is a reconstruction from the following day (minus the vast quantities of champagne). I'm really pleased with this dress, I love it so much!

Dress: Me-Made / Jacket: Me-Made / Belt: eBay / Shoes: M&S / Earrings: Accessorise

Day 17: The mini-challenge on the Flickr group was a photo with a loved one. Mine was a slightly lateral take on the theme - a photo with my sewing machine! I do truly love it and all the happiness it's brought me - it's a Brother PS53 that was a Christmas present from my mum about 7 years ago.

Dress: Me-Made

Day 18: Lunch in Manor before doing a food shop (never a good idea to do the food shop when you're hungry...). The blue top is my second attempt at this pattern, and I'm still not entirely happy with it - the pleats saved the gaping neckline, but means it pulls funny at that shoulder. I think part of the gaping problem was caused by the clear elastic sitting weirdly, I don't think I'll use that next time... The twin stitching at one of the sleeve hems has also gone a bit weird after a couple of washes, and I've noticed a couple of small holes by it too. Next time I sew with this rayon slub jersey (I have some in several colours) I'm definitely going to stabilise more, use a smaller size needle, and maybe even try a stretch needle, rather than just a jersey ballpoint one.

Jacket: Me-Made / Top: Me-Made / Vest top: H&M / Jeans: Uniqlo / Shoes: Office / Necklace: La Mollla by Tiziana Redavid

Me-Made-June, holiday edition: Days 12-15

So, Barcelona was fantastic (if far too brief a visit!). I went with my husband for our second wedding anniversary - we'd actually visited 9 or 10 years ago for our first holiday together, and we loved it. I'm pleased to say it was even better this time. I love how laid back but also how buzzy and young feeling the city is. However, I did discover I had forgotten nearly all the Spanish I used to know, and kept trying to speak to people in a random mixture of French and Italian...

Day 12: Off on holiday! Looking happy queuing to get on the plane at the departure gate. It's a great approach to Barcelona as you fly in - the flight path follows the coast down so you get to see a beautiful panorama of the entire city, beaches and port. That first evening we wandered out for some tapas then ended up in a jazz bar listening to a blues band (with an amazing harmonica player).

Skirt (not seen in photo): Me-Made / Necklace: Me-Made / Top: Uniqlo

Day 13: I love this dress, it's so comfy and pretty. I must make more like this. Today was our actual anniversary, and we had a very lazy and lovely relaxing day. Had a lie in, followed by a long lunch of tapas and sangria by the sea and an afternoon on the beach. Bliss. We also stumbled across lots of street parties with bands and dancers. We still don't know what they were celebrating, but figured it must be something to do with Pentecost...

Dress: Me-Made / Belt: Primark / Flowers: Accessorise / Beach towel: From a cheapy supermercat on the way, we forgot to pack ours

Day 14: A sightseeing day... Sagrada Familia in the morning, Fundació Joan Miró and the teleferic up Montjuïc in the afternoon, and dinner in a veggie restaurant in the evening. It was amazing revisiting Sagrada Familia after a decade and seeing how much the building had progressed. When we visited last, the glory facade was still a building site and that end of the nave was roofless and floorless. Now it is a proper consecrated building, and it is breathtaking. It's like being in a huge stone forest. There was a fascinating little exhibition in one of the side rooms about Gaudi's architectural use of natural and mathematical figures.

Day outfit. Dress: Me-Made / Scarf: Accessorise / Shoes: Bata

Evening outfit. Dress: Me-Made / Bracelet: Georg Jensen / Earrings: eBay

Day 15: Well the morning outfit was actually my swimsuit, as it was back on the beach for a couple of hours sunbathing before the flight back. Then a quick shower and stuff everything in the suitcase for the flight back to Geneva. This was the first time I've actually worn this shirt, and it does have a slightly annoying habit of the top part flapping closed, whereas I want it to keep open and wide at the neckline as it's much more flattering. I think some judicious steaming and pressing will have to be done.

Blouse: Me-Made / Jeans skirt: Me-Made / Shoes: Office / Wine: rosé