Crafter's guilt

I've been making quite a lot over the past few months (particularly lots of baby stuff, but that's for another post). It's kept me quite busy, but very little of it has been for me.

I don't think I've actually managed to complete anything I set out to on my mid year resolutions post. And despite two years of saying I would make some oven gloves, the only reason we now have some is because we saw some nice ones that matched the kitchen colour scheme in the John Lewis sale.

Still, my tea towels are relieved.

Sorry tea towel.

I have two days off work next week, and I'm planning on completing some makes for me/the flat.

I made the Vogue V1197 months ago, and it's been such a hit that I plan on making another one. In fact, I was so sure that it would be a great dress, having seen Karen's and Eugenia's, that I actually bought the fabric for the second dress at the same time as the fabric for the first one.

I'm also planning on making some roman blinds for the flat. We only have 3 windows, but they are big (1.2 m x 2 m)! I bought some (relatively) cheap plain fabric from Fabrics Galore at the weekend and have ordered some kits. I'm planning on making one for the kitchen as a test run: it's the only room that doesn't currently have, or need, a blind so I don't have to worry too much if it all goes horribly wrong.

So there we have it. Two projects in two days may be incredibly ambitious. But I'm not going to beat myself up about it if I don't finish them both. After all, two days of sewing for myself - it's hard to feel guilty about that.

Oh lately it's so quiet...

It's all been a bit quiet on here recently, hasn't it. Well, this jumper is the reason...

It's been a hard slog knitting this baby in time to give to my brother in law for Christmas, leaving very little time for blogging. It went right down to the wire, and yes, it might be missing some sleeves, but personally I think he rocks it as a tank top.

I was also kept busy by lots of orders from friends and colleagues for bags and make up bags for them to give to friends and relatives as christmas presents.

Luckily, I had most of the requests pretty early on (most before September!), so I was able to plan my sewing time around the knitting! And I had a lot of fun wrapping them all before passing them on.

2011 has been a pretty good crafting year. I've kept sewing and knitting throughout the year, and learnt how to crochet. And Josie and May is now a fully functioning business (this time last year, I didn't even have the name). I'm already planning crafting for the next year - quilting and more knitting and embroidery as well as sewing. Promise to keep you updated throughout the year!

Arts and crafts (and a beautiful building in the middle of London)

It's been a busy week for our little team at work. So when the boss suggested a couple of us visited a 'house' down the road that had just opened to the public, we jumped at the chance to have a proper lunch break and a wander outside.

Two Temple Place

Two Temple Place has been in private ownership for over 100 years, and has just recently been opened to the public, along with an exhibition of publically owned art from across the country - starting with William Morris: Story, Memory, Myth.

The works of art have been loaned from the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, which is currently undergoing £5m renovation. There's wallpaper, tiles, stained glass, and a lot of tapestry - massive panels of hand stitched embroidery, made by the ladies of the house (not 2 Temple Place, another house, and I can't remember their names, other than the daughter was called Florence). They're amazing, large swathes of loveliness. The tones of the threads used and the direction of the stitches creates an amazing effect. It took everything I had not to reach out and touch them. And the wallpaper... wow! It never fails to astound me how those patterns are created. There are examples of finished rolls, but also works in progress and planned works, showing the intricate details of the initial designs.

The building itself is beautiful enough for a visit, even without the William Morris exhibition. Built for William Waldorf Astor (of Waldorf Hotel fame) in 1895, it's been through various private owners since then and has only been opened up to the public for the past month. There's a little information in one of the rooms about the history of the building, including bomb damage in 1944 (since restored). It's a good fit with the theme of the William Morris exhibition. There's lots of friezes, carvings and statues of characters from fiction, including Shakespearean characters, and the Three Musketeers (this inevitably led to a hushed chorus of 'da-da-da da-da-da', as we thought about Dogtanian).

No photos were allowed, but more information is available on their website. And it's free to get in, so pop round when you're next in the area! Definitely a good way to spend a lunchtime.

52 sleeps!

Yes, I know it's only just November, but those of us who plan to have a crafty Christmas have been thinking about the 'C' word for a good few months now.

Most of my plans are around decorations, including some Christmas bunting and fabric wreaths. I got the   materials last year but never got around to making them, so I'm determined to get them finished by early December.

For the first time I'll also be participating in Crafty Christmas Club, set up by the lovely Tilly.  Pop over and have a look if you fancy seeing what people are planning on making for Christmas (presents, food and decorations). Unless you're expecting to get a present from me. In which case don't - you'll only ruin the surprise!!

Oh, and crochet at the Make Lounge was brilliant. I loved it so much that I've already signed up for the follow up course, and I've a new skill which I've already put to good use...

...the Mollie Makes apple jacket. Although I have the magazine I used the pattern that was reproduced on the Guardian website. And if you fancy a laugh - read the comments. Honestly, if they put as much effort into crafting as they do commenting, well, they could probably have mastered the apple jacket pattern by now!

New craft on the block

I'm going to the Make Lounge tonight to learn how to crochet.

Yay.

It was a birthday present from the boy. He didn't have a list of potential presents this year, as I wanted a surprise. The boy did good.

Double yay.

I've been trying to teach myself crochet for ages. I've felt like I should be able to do it. But it's annoyed me that no matter what I read, or however many YouTube tutorials I watch, I still can't get the hang of it, and the patterns remain a foreign language.

The closest my crochet hook usually gets to yarn is picking up dropped stitches in my knitting.

So I'm really looking forward to tonight's class. And then I saw this in Saturday's Guardian magazine.

Now firstly, crochet is (apparently) going to be the cool craft this winter. But secondly, IRONIC?! How dare they! Very disappointing given how much coverage they give to crafts.

So it seems that with crafting, I'm simultaneously cool and a dork. 

We interrupt our regular programming with...

... a Gin off!

I do love a good drink. Generally it's a vodka and tonic, on a girls night out it's a cocktail (cosmopolitan or caipirinha, thanks for asking), and there's usually a bottle of bubbles around on a girls weekend.

But then I spotted a link to making your own gin on Twitter (through @Craft, I think), which was seized upon by one of my real life twitter friends.

We have competition history, me and Mrs R. We started the bake off at work together, so a gin off seemed a perfectly natural thing to do.

So last week I headed down to South Wimbledon to be the independent judge in the gin off. Mrs R and three of her friends had been hard at it making their own gins, and all were lined up and numbered by the time I arrived, so I didn't know who had made which one.

The contenders

I was hoping to be like Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, but I was probably a bit more Mel and Sue.

We tried every gin neat (with an ice cube), and then with tonic water.

All marked up and ready to drink

Line 'em up

And it was only fair that we compare them to some 'proper' gins - Bombay Sapphire and Whitley Neill. I'd never had Whitley Neill before, but it's very nice.

The 'control' gins: Bombay Sapphire and Whitley Neill

My (very rudimentary) understanding of the process is that the botanicals used in the process influenced the final colour of the gins. As they weren't distilled, they were never going to end up clear like the Bombay Sapphire or Whitley Neill, but that was to be expected.

After the neat gins, we tried them with tonic.

Gins with tonic

Ice and a slice?

And then lined them up in order of preference, both neat and with tonic.

Scores on the doors

As you can (just about) see from the scores, judges were split and favourites differed when tasted neat and with tonic. Two of the gins had been flavoured with rosewater, and this was just too fragrant for me when neat, but a really nice drink when tonic was added. Actually, I'd drink all of them with tonic (I've never been a big fan of neat spirits).

Mrs R was an excellent host, and provided us with canapes and nibbles, and an abundance of cheese. I promise we ate more than just cheese with fruit (it's just that this is the only food I got a picture of, honest).

Mmmmm, nibbles

And in case you were wondered what was added to the basic vodka to make such wonderful drinks, well, here you go: 

1. Rosewater, cardamon pods, juniper and black pepper
2. Rosewater, cinnamon, cloves, orange and lemon peel, and juniper
3. Juniper and coriander seeds, cinnamon and lemon thyme
4. Juniper, green cardamon, black cardamon, black pepper, lemon peel, cloves and angelica.

Gin 4 was victorious, and I think all were agreed the angelica was the winning addition. It was a bit of a plus point that this was made by the host. 

Pattern love

We had a bit of a clear out at home the other week, so I took a load of no longer wanted but perfectly good items down to my local charity shop.

The smart thing to do, since part of the reason for the clear out was a lack of space, was to exit as soon as I dropped the bags. But no. A little voice inside me said I needed to have a look around.

And so it was that I stumbled across two piles of vintage (or just old) sewing patterns.

This was the first time I'd come across sewing patterns in a charity shop, so I went through the piles twice, just to make sure I didn't miss something. Well, the first time I checked the sizes for something that might actually fit, and the second time for a pattern that I might love but may need a bit of adjustment.

 And so I came away with these two beauties.

This Simplicity pattern (from 1977) is for short and long skirts and cullottes. I've been avoiding buying skirts for ages, as I thought I already had quite a lot in my wardrobe. Turns out I was wrong, so I'll attempt the short skirt (left hand side drawing) at some point.

Simplicity 8248

And how amazing is this 1974 Halston design from McCalls? At first I though it was nightwear, but turns out this is (apparently) the kind of thing people wore during the day time in the 1970s. I still think it'll make great PJs (is that a heretical thing to say about a pattern from the great Halston?).

McCalls 4264

I might have bought more, but there were no prices on any of them so I didn't want to get carried away. Turns out they were £3.99 each. I have no idea if this is a great deal, or whether I've been had, but as the money went to charity I'm not too bothered if it's the latter.

I'm also in danger of getting a stash of Colette patterns. The Crepe dress pattern is ready and waiting for me, but I've been distracted by the new Peony dress pattern. 

Colette Peony dress

There's also a new blouse (jasmine) and the first trouser (Clover) patterns from Colette (you can get a sneak peak of all three on the Coletterie blog), but I'm also eagerly awaiting the Colette sewing handbook, due for release in November.

But first I've got the V1179 to start on. I fell in love with this pattern as soon as Karen mentioned it on her blog. I've banned myself from buying any more dresses, but this is quite similar to items already in my wardrobe and will be just right for work layered up with a long sleeved tee and tights for the winter.

V1179 dress

I'm hoping the fact that it's only three pieces to sew together will help me get my clothes making mojo back after the fitting issues with the V1992 and V8554. Plus it'll be my first chance to properly test out my overlocker - always a bonus!