2012 in Review

When I look back 2012 produced quality over quantity.  Transferring from a work from home consulting business to an executive role in the city certainly has dinted my productivity and influenced my wardrobe needs. What do you mean I can't work in my pyjamas anymore?

My top five for 2012 were (clockwise from top left)

• My polkadot Kay Unger dress Vogue 1303
• My paisley silk voile kaftan Simplicity 2696
• DD's white silk party dress, self-drafted
• My ponte art panel skirt Butterick 5566
• My ponte jacket and matching skirt (not shown) Burda 04/09 116

 



Spots are contagious!

There is something dotty going on in Blogland.  As I was in the final stages of finishing my new Kay Unger Vogue dress I noticed that several of my English friends had posted their spotted frocks.

The lovely Jane from Handmade Jane made a Ruby dress, while Tilly and Buttons posted an equally sensational New Look 6000.

I just love everything about this dress - the fit is great, the silky lining makes it extremely comfortable to wear and surprisingly crisp looking after 12 hours in the office.  I originally bought this fabric with wide legged casual pants in mind, but it has been in my stash for while and that trend came and went.  I'd glad I went ahead with dress - its classic and can be dressed up or down to suit the occasion.

My sewing productivity hasn't been so great lately. I've just completed a major assignment at work so hopefully will have more energy/motivation to stitch.  I'm not one for SWAPs but like Robin I am thinking small sets - a dress, a top, a bottom and a jacket, then sew something that is just for fun - perhaps a kaftan or a swim suit.  I've boxed together some fabrics and patterns for this purpose.  The current set includes this dress, a cream ponte jacket, a burnt orange knit top, a black ponte pencil skirt and for fun, a border print kaftan top.  Can you believe that I have six other sets outlined on my computer?

I have so much fabric and many many patterns, so I'll need to be more disciplined in 2013.  Work through the stash and buy no more until I do.  I've decided having a big stash is a bit of an impediment to a coordinated wardrobe.  I have bits of this and bits of that, all gorgeous and good quality but the colours and styles are eclectic. 

So I are my friends in cyberland is a stash a good idea?

Happy sewing, and all the best for the festive season.

The perfect summer blouse

Sewing has been a little slow here. I started on a Muse dress that had very promising beginnings but ended on the scrap heap.  I learnt a great lesson from that project - you are never too experienced to read the instructions and NEVER try to rectify you mistake with scissors until you have thought it through preferably overnight.

 

The sudden arrival of summer has forced me to ramp up my sewing productivity.  Having spent most of last summer in Europe, I have very few summer blouses or dresses suitable for the office.

 

 

 My delight with this blouse has made up for all the annoyance of the previous project.  I've not had much success with Project Runway patterns in the past, but Simplicity 2633 is an absolute winner for me.  I'll definitely make other versions of this blouse and I think the pleated sleeves might find their way onto a sheaf dress I'm planning.

 

I love the delicate orange and black Liberty print 100%cotton which I bought on Goldhawk Road in London back in January.  I added a black biased binding trim to the sleeve edge and lovely gold and black buttons.  I love the pleated sleeve detailing which I wasn't sure would suit me, but I find them extremely comfortable and quite flattering given my large upper arms. 

 

Not sure what to sew next.  I'm about to go to the sewing room and do a lucky dip from the box of fabrics and patterns I put together for summer sewing. That is as close to a sewing plan as I get!  Happy sewing!