See you later!

I have decided to take a blogging holiday. I have been toying with this idea for quite some time and have decided to plunge in now. There is too much stuff happening in my life at the moment and blogging time has become difficult. So I'm going on holiday for a few months! I plan to be back in July (when some things will settle down) and I'm sure I will have tons of finished outfits to show you be then as I am still sewing. 

It's not a technology holiday so still email me at suzysewingblog[at]yahoo[dot]co[dot]uk if you want or get in touch via twitter @MrsSuzySewing. I will still be reading blogs and seeing what everyone gets up to.

I'll leave you with a quick photo of my last make. A Burda skirt which makes running or going up the stairs impossible!

See you all later! xx

A belated giveaway winner

Drumroll....the winner is...

JackieNJ

Congratulations, please email me at suzysewingblog[at]yahoo[dot]co[dot]uk with your address so I can get it to you.

Thank you to all who participated!

A belated giveaway

I planned on having a giveaway for Sew Grateful but my organisation skills were not up to scratch. When I realised it was too late. However, I do feel very grateful for all my sewing friends, those I have met in the flesh and those I haven't. I'm also also grateful for all my readers. Thank you!

I am offering Burda 7160 as a giveaway. I bought this pattern on an impulse. I wanted a nice knit pattern that I could make to wear on my next holiday. As I'm on a tight budget I plunged at this when Jaycotts has a 50% off Burda patterns sometime ago. I saw it was a Miss Petite so though great, even better. Duh! Readers, make sure you read all the details when you buy stuff. This lovely pattern starts at  size 12. Impossible for me, as I usually buy size 6 or 8!

So, it's up for grabs, in factory folds. All you need to do is leave me a comment about the most duh!! sewing related thing you bought until next Sunday 3rd March at 19.00 GMT time. 

Are your makes pretty on the inside?

I had a fantastic weekend and managed to do a lot of things that make me happy. I even did a spot of sewing. But I was ridden with guilt because as I was working on the third instalment of my Tale of Skirts I realised I was still far from finished and I had an urge to work quicker and faster to be able to finally have a finished project to show to you. I haven't shown anything new in quite some time. But then I thought that it is a silly thing to do, I should work at my own pace. More than that is the fact that when I work quickly and rush things I make a less than perfect job and end up only half pleased with the result. So I finally decided on my Sewing Pledge for 2013 and that is to "Be as pretty inside as on the outside".

I want to do beautiful garments that I will love and wear. I want to make things that will last. I want to take time to make a good job and ensure it all fits fine. If I feel rushed I will compromise on seam finishes, buttonholes, fit and ultimately that's not what I want. By taking this pledge I'm reigning myself in and avoiding botchy jobs just to get something finished to show.
So what will you get from me from this pledge:

• Detailed photos on the insides of my future makes, even when it's not as pretty as it should but the effort is there.
• More in progress reports, which I know some of you find boring but they really help me track my own progress.

Now that feels just right! 

Do you ever feel rushed to finish a garment so you can show it on the blog? Does it affect how well you sew and finish the garment? Talk to me!

Drawing and Knitting

Thank you so so much everyone for your supportive and lovely comments on my last post. They all made me think and feel a bit better. I have to say I shouldn't be shy to change as I made a radical big change almost 9 years ago. And that was to leave my home town with a suitcase and a one way plane ticket to London. In retrospective it was brave but I did well. And I'm very happy I did that, I would have never met and married Rob if I hadn't :D

Anyway, enough mushy-ness, onto this week very short and picture-less post! No progress has been made on the sewing front. I'm faced with a deadline on my courses' Illustration unit and running quite behind so drawing most of the time. When I haven't been drawing, I've been watching TV/ movies and when I do that I knit. So hurrah! I finished the front on my cardigan and started one of the sleeves.

Finally, if you live in UK and are a knitter and happen to have some remnants of DK or 4 ply wool you wouldn't mind parting with, I am collecting some to donate to my local animal charity Hula, where I also volunteer. They have an army of crafty ladies who knit blankets for the animals and are in need of wool. If you'd like to contribute email me at suzysewingblog[at]yahoo[dot]co[dot]uk

PS: No post next week as it will fall just on my course deadline. I will be back the Tuesday after! Ta muchly!

This week...

...I have been busy with different things! Still I managed to finish basting my couture dress (hurrah!) but lack of light and an unfashionable Sunday face/hair prevented photo taking. I also managed to advance with my knitting (even after having to unknit).
But I have a few unrelated to sewing deadlines which I procrastinated and left till last minute. I have also been busy doodling. I am not the best at drawing but keen to develop and practice. I'm doing a Fashion Design City & Guilds and it's definitely helping me.

Unrelated to sewing, all my recent low mood has made me think a lot about what I want. I think it's important to re-evaluate what is important and what makes one happy but boy, it is hard work and unsettling!!
Have you ever had a time in your life when you want to radically change something? How did you deal with it?

A belated Kelly Skirt

I have probably wore this skirt more times that the number of sentences in this post. Finished sometime in November and photographed in December I'm not quite sure why I didn't blog about it sooner.

This is the Kelly Skirt by Megan Nielsen. A super easy and very comfortable skirt. I used a remnant of a woollen fabric given to me by my mother in law and apparently given to her by some lady who didn't need it.

Photos were taken by my colleague, so I couldn't harass her for 10 or 20 takes. The scenery around my workplace is beautiful, lots of trees and a little stream, where you occasionally can spot kingfishers and small deer. It's not very private though and being quite a "stuck up" environment I don't feel confident with a tripod for self portraits.

In construction, other musings and your feedback welcomed!

Sewing has been slow here, but I reckon you already noticed that. It has been slow for quite some time but it's not because my love for it has waned. The reasons are far more annoying but I won't dwell on them. I have been sewing and knitting and have some works in progress.

First my Couture Dress from Crafsty Susan Khalje class. I'm not quite sure when I started this, probably  a year ago. I almost chucked this project to the UFO bin, I'm just not loving it. The class is fantastic and the sewing tuiton by Susan amazing. But I'm not loving the dress. It doesn't help that it's intended to be a work dress, I know...how exciting! Still, I decided I need to overcame this and just get it done. I'm in the process of assembling (hand basting) the whole dress to check fit once more. When this is done I'll get a photo of it, below is an earlier photo of the fitting of the muslin.

Second the last episode on my Skirt trilogy. This is actually the first skirt pattern I decided to use and the fabric will be familiar as well. Fabric is cut and all is ready to sew.

I was planning on sewing the vintage dress briefly mentioned here and have traced all the pattern pieces but after thinking long and hard decided not to start a complicated project before I finish the one in progress.
I have also been knitting this lovely cardigan from A Stitch in Time. The back is all done and currently doing one of the fronts.

A few other important musings:

• I changed the look of the blog (and will tweak a bit more). I want to revert this blog to a personal sewing blog.
• That is why the Suzy Patterns banner is gone. Suzy Patterns hasn't been scrapped though, it's still a work in progress. When I am ready to launch, a new website, separate to this blog will be launched. This might be a while, a proper while. A Suzy Patterns tab will be added where any news or a current status will be available.
• I am also adding an "About me tab". Something different from the conventional and pre-set about me in blogger.

So I welcome your feedback? Do you like the new look, anything that looks bad and anything else you'd like to see? And is there anything about me you would like to know? Ask me any question!