At last I have a camera again - and I feel like I'm back in the blogging world.

You may have heard about the Improvisational Pleating contest An is running over at Straightgrain...This is my entry, and  if I was being tactical I should probably save this for a week or two, but I'm waaaay too impatient.

Especially as I actually sewed this MONTHS ago, and completely coincidentally to An's contest.

I just couldn't resist this rose-print muslin which was in the 'reduced' basket of my local fabric store.  Honestly it was ridiculously cheap. And also it 'spoke to me'. It brought back memories of a story I loved when I was Missy's age. Did anyone else read My Naughty Little Sister by Dorothy Edwards? With the most wonderful Shirley Hughes' illustrations?
There's a tale where 'My Naughty Little Sister' is given the most beautiful white muslin dress with rosebuds and a pink sash. Then she gets so worried about getting it dirty that she takes it off and runs round the party in her underwear...This tale proved to be prophetic...

So I bought the muslin with a view to making a 'Birthday dress' for Missy, back in March, but also to create something that was completely whimsical, almost a dressing up dress. A little bit Princess or ballerina, but not a kitsch costume.

Late night sewing ensued ahead of Missy's birthday. (late night, code for; 'don't look at that hem closely - have you tried hemming muslin?')
This is, again, An's Hanami dress pattern, with ta-da, a panel of improvised pleating on the bodice. Honestly, no measuring was involved, I stitched down random folds in the central panel. The dress is completely lined in blue cotton, and ever-so twirly. 

It's a little bit 'Marie Antoinette' no? Or Angelina Ballerina?  Or at least this is how I tried to present it to Missy on her birthday morning...
She loved it - for about five minutes. Until she opened the birthday present from her grandparents; a "Made in China" nylon Pirate Costume...

My 'Angelina ballerina' rosebud muslin could not compete with pirate hat, sword and attitude....Missy was 'Pirate Captain' for the day.
And I was left remembering My Naughty LIttle Sister, who also rejected the rosebuds, and pondering the lessons to be learnt.

There are more 'birthday
lessons' to come... I'll keep you posted.

Happy birthday my gorgeous pirate princess...

PS - what do you reckon to the camera? Photographic advice welcome! What on earth do I do with all these button thingies..?

It's May...the most lovely month and the Take One Dress trail of inspiration continues with Trine from Groovy Baby and Mama taking on the challenge passed to her from Suz of Sewpony.

For those yet to discover Groovy Baby and Mama, it's where Trine showcases her distinctive sense of colour and often understated, vintage-yet-modern, sense of style. I'm thrilled to welcome her here!

Hi, it's Trine from Groovy Baby and Mama. I'm so thrilled to be a part of this unique series - a really great idea, Victoria.

My adorable inspiration dress was provided by my sweet friend Suz from sewpony. I had just bought 1 meter of this beautiful floral jersey and when Suz showed me this photo I immediately knew what to make with it - a floral Little Betty Dress. I simply can't get enough of Little Betty. This is my third dress using Suz' pattern. This time I've done it a little differently. Instead of sewing the frills on top of the dress I've inclosed them in a seam. I've also eliminated back opening and therefore made the neckline a little wider. When making the neckline wider you have to move the frills a little closer to the shoulder seams, so I drafted a new line for the frills, cut along this line (remember to add seam allowance here) so the frills could be enclosed in the seam.

I left the dress unhemmed - not that I wanted to but I think it'll be to short if I hem it. She grows like a weed that girl...

Now it's my turn to choose a inspiration dress for the talented Heidi of Elegance & Elephants. I'm madly in love with this dress found on Pinterest. I haven't been able to find out a whole lot about it - but here it is:

 Hope you like it, Heidi?

I'm so thrilled to welcome Jenya from While she was sleeping for the next installment of From my Mother to Me...We're getting ever closer to Mother's Day next week!

Jenya is not only a really talented sewist, but she's been a great blogging friend over this last year, helping me out will all kinds of little questions. Over to you Jenya!

Hi guys, my name is Jenya. I share my sewing adventures at While she was sleeping. It is a pleasure to be sharing what I have learned from my Mum and Grandma today. Thank you Victoria for inviting me to be a part of this exciting series!

I grew up in Moscow, Russia with two wonderful crafting people - my Mum and Babushka (Grandma). My Babushka was a brilliant sewist. She sewed for herself, my mum growing up, and my brother and I. I have fond memories of the many beautiful outfits she made for me when I was little. Unfortunately I don't have any photos to share with you. I cannot remember Babushka using a pattern once. Mum said she had one or two tucked away somewhere, but she didn't need to use them. Babushka had the coolest foot powered sewing machine! I loved playing with the foot pedal pretending I was driving a train when I was a little girl.

My Babushka passed away when I was 15. Recently my Mum brought me some fabric that Babushka never got to use. It is an amazing feeling to be able to turn precious fabric left from her to make something special for my daughter. Please click on images if you would like to read corresponding posts.

My Mum can sew as well, but knitting is her preferred craft. She is simply amazing at it. When I watch her knit it appears as if her hands have a life of their own! She designs her own patterns and she never stops. I think my mum's To Knit list is twice as long as my To Sew list!

Here are a few of my favourite things my Mum made for our Little Monkey.

This jumper is my all time favourite (and Little Monkey's too!)

These amazing women have encouraged my pursuits in various forms of crafting over the years - making soft toys, cross stitching, beading. I remember hand stitching clothes for my dolls when I was in primary school.

I believe I have learned a lot from my Mum and Babushka. Mum always pays a lot of attention at the beginning of every new project. I also make sure I take my time when outlining and cutting out the pattern pieces. This way I know they will align nicely and ensure the sewing process is enjoyable.

Mum and Babushka always managed to find time to sew and knit. I have a nice routine that allows me to enjoy some 'Me' time without sacrificing precious family time (well, at least not too much hehe).

I learned that it is OK to make mistakes, developing new skills can be fun and that you won't know what you can do unless you give it a go.

Over the past two and a half years I came up with a couple of rules for myself:

- do not cut fabric when tired;

- always pre-wash and press the fabric before cutting it;

- always press the seams;

- don't sew past 1 am. Being a mum at 6 am is much more enjoyable if one gets a good sleep (OK I may have broken this one a few times).

Love for knitting and sewing runs in my family. I am wondering which craft Little Monkey will prefer when she is older! 

Thanks Jenya! It's so lovely to see knitting and craft skills crossing generations and  continents. Love your rules, sewing past 1am is always a bad idea (and I'm trying to add blogging and picture editing to that rule)...

Next week it's Mothers Day in USA, Australia and all kinds of places. We finish up our tour with Suz from Sewpony...Can't wait....!

I'm in a sentimental  mood - perhaps because of my series, From My Mother to Me which runs until May 11, Mother's Day with some of my favourite bloggers  sharing their mothers' wisdom.
So what better time than to bring 'home' the post which started it all; the dress I created for Suz at Sewpony and her series When we were young. For those that missed it, I'm reproducing it here...

Where were you born/where did you spend your childhood?                                                                                                                                                                                

I was born in Edinburgh, the beautiful capital city of Scotland. It was a great place to grow up. In the summer it has the world's biggest arts festival, and I had the opportunity to see lots of amazing art, music and theatre

Who did you grow up with?                                                                                                    My mum was an art teacher and my dad an architect, so making things was part of our family life. I have a twin sister and a younger brother

Did you have a childhood ambition?


Do you see any similarities between yourself and your child/children?
                                                                

Ah that's hard!  My son looks a lot like me, is an obsessive reader, wants to know the facts about everything,  and is fussy about food - I was exactly the same. My daughter is willful, knows her mind and is very funny and theatrical, she often reminds me more of my twin sister than me! Funny how these things are...

Do you live far from where you grew up?                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
Yes.  I live in a beautiful part of southwest England, about 300 miles from my family in Scotland.  I miss them and Scotland, but have found a good place to be!

 

Where do you live now and who with?                                                                                                          I live in a small market town, with hills just minutes walk away, with Mr As-it-Seams and my eight-year-old son, Torin and my little girl, nicknamed Missy who is nearly four.

I've been thinking and planning my contribution to Suz' When We Were Young series for months. In fact I've been pondering a contribution since last summer,  I had so many ideas. When I was little, in the 1970s, my mum sewed everything for me and my twin sister. And I mean everything: summer dresses,  coats, school uniform, seventies style dungarees (overalls), even my sports kit for school. She sewed two of everything, usually in different colours. Talking to her now, I realise that her sewing was very different from mine. I sew because I love to create something new. She sewed from necessity. She simply could not afford to buy new clothes for us. Today, with imported, mass-produced clothes on sale so cheaply, sewing has a different place. But I digress.

On a visit home I flicked through the family albums

There were a few possibilities.

These adorable little tunics in colourful seersucker. (I'm on the right). I love the opposing stripes and white trim.

Or these matching floral puffed sleeve dresses. Another Tinny dress perhaps?

Or a nice easy option. This gingham sundress, made with a sheered bodice and matching puffed sleeve t-shirt. A super easy, cheap project...(That's my sister on the left - I'm wearing a net curtain and pretending to be a princess. Seventies kids; we didn't have shop-bought dressing up clothes!)

But no...I knew that I would not be able to resist the super-ambitious, slightly crazy project.

How about these needlecord patchwork applique maxi-dresses? (Me on the right again)

Yep.... I don't have a rational explanation - but this was calling my name.

And, I actually have this dress. I can hold it, see my mum's stitching, gaze at the patchwork of sought-after vintage Liberty prints.

My mum made two of these ! And you can see that she lengthened them. In the picture there are two rows of patchwork, the dress now has three - she added an extra tier as we grew.

Three decades later I would follow her exact sewing journey, as a way of connecting generations. Several nights of research followed, and then ...hurrah.... I found the exact 1970s Vintage Vogue pattern on sale in Canada. With just a few clicks of a mouse it was winging its way across the Atlantic.

But I didn't want to create the exact same dress - that seemed pointless, seeing as I actually have this dress.  I wanted to make an alternative vision - view B on the pattern.

Something summery and light, floaty and pretty. My vision was a dress that screamed summer, for wearing while running through butter-cup filled meadows. Crisp, fresh, pretty.

More evenings were filled with internet research - then I stumbled on this cheater patchwork linen/cotton blend from Ness Home, bought from Miss Matatabi. Clever me, I thought smugly - Cheater Patchwork print will save me a lot of work. It didn't in the end - as I had to cut all the pieces, but it did mean that all the colours of the patches co-ordinate. The only additional fabric is a scrap of Jeni Baker's Nordika in the blue print around the neckline.

Still more evenings were spent simply looking at the Ness home fabric and thinking....and thinking...

Which print should go where?

I kid you not, this dress has occupied my head  more than any sane person should admit. I decided to give the ice-cream print pride of place on the front. And ditched any idea of an applique flower.

I also wrestled with making a white dress - it seemed foolish. But in the end irresistable. I wanted a fresh look, and nothing else seemed to work. Missy looks good in white - but I know it's going to look grubby very quickly!

Sewing up a Vogue Seventies  pattern meant a return to traditional sewing skills. All those tailors chalk marks, and remembering the 'language' of patterns.

But it was all actually very straightforward, apart from inserting the zip, when the only instruction was 'insert zip.' My mum's dress has the zip enclosed behind a casing. Mine is an exposed blue zipper.

The pattern has the transfers for the applique flowers and hearts, but forgive me, I just couldn't face doing that too. (My mum clearly had the same lapse in enthusiasm - there are no tulips on my dress). I also made only one tier of patchwork on the skirt. Two seemed over the top.

This dress is a size 6, it's big and long on Missy. The kimono sleeves, while lovely, are very impractical. I  have a plan to unpick them completely and reshape as little flutter sleeves, but that's another story (or blog post).

There were so many things about this project that are a bit crazy. An over-priced 40-year-old paper pattern?! A white dress?! Sewn in winter?! During the weeks of hideous storms, gale winds, mud and floods everywhere here?! Photographing a white dress?! Indoors, on a feverish grumpy child, with a fairly basic camera ?!

Why did I do this?!

I'm still pondering - but I guess it's for similar reasons that my mum hand appliqued and sewed two over-the-top party dresses 30-plus years ago that must only have been worn a couple of times to birthday parties and have been in a cupboard ever since....

Oh but my mom has given me a lot. She has taught me about style and good taste. She has taught me about layering and mixing textures. Putting old and new things together.  She has taught me how to shop like a pro, scan the stores and find the magic piece or fabric. All this through watching and listening to her. 
She might not have been sewing, however she was quite crafty- she would make giant dolls for window displays, macrame lamps and pot holders. I can't tell you the amount of jewellery she has made. She would love to thrift shop ( and still does) only to come home and cut into what she had found, dye it and make it new. I can't tell you the amount of things we have dyed. She was the master of up-cycling, making clothes for me and my sister from hers.