MMM - 7

Today was considerably cooler - no summer skirts, my little trotters would have frozen - so it was an ideal opportunity to try out my new Flinen trouser made from McCalls 5239.  The fabric is a deep red linen weave that hang really well.  Having said that, I should have checked my appearance more carefully in the mirror before leaving the house . . . I am not too sure that these proportions work too well.  I love this cardi, it is an over-sized RTW grey cotton jersey with flowers printed on that cover parts of the rib and some seams - almost like big appliques.

I really love these - again, no bagging around the butt.  They fall about 1/2" about the ground and fit great.  It was a bit blowy outside when these pics were taken, so the legs have ballooned out a bit.  I added some faux-ties to the front of the trousers, I made one long tie out of 2" fabric folded edges towards the middle, folded in half lengthwise, then stitched close to the edge.  I then sewed the middle of the tie to the centre of the trousers for about an inch, then tied it loosely in a knot - I think that this was a nice touch that added to the 'linen' feeling.

I forgot to count the last two day's garments - I am interested to see how many different Me Made clothes I will wear this month, so here is the catch up:

9. Checked Jimmy Jams (May 5th)
10. Green & Aqua Summer Skirt (May 6th)
11. Red Flinen Trousers (today)

So there we have it.  One week of clothes, and it has not been too hard so far.  Can I continue with duplicating?  Probably not, but as I am having fun, I will continue!

MMM - 6

Today was a fabulous day in Cowtown - 28c (82f) which is very toasty to those of us that spend 6 months under snow - so today I wore another skirt (Simplicity 4221 again), using a bright and cheery cotton and lined with a white poplin to prevent any 'see-through).  Tank and cardigan are RTW.  I plan to make a few tanks using some ribbed cotton jersey and knicker elastic around the arms and neck.  Yep, I know, sounds a bit dodgy, but I think that I can make it work!

   

Here I am with the three hounds from hell (oh, not really!!), but I they are so cute, I had to get a photo of them as well!  Let me introduce you to Hobbes (black greyhound), Rocky (white & brindle greyhound) and Jess the collie.

Now, back to business.  I completed my 'Flinen Trousers this evening' and plan to wear them tomorrow.  Due to poor pocket placement, I now have 'Fockets' (aka Faux-pockets, although it does sound as though I am swearing!)  I wanted zipped pockets - I have put them in fleece jackets probably hundred of times (I kid you not, but that is a story for another time!), forgetting, of course, that fleece is much more forgiving.  So I unpicked the pockets leaving the zips in place and added teeny tiny linings - I had had enough and wanted them finished!  So here are a couple of close ups . . . .

I am looking forward to wearing these tomorrow and if all goes well, I will cut out a pair in some gorgeous linen/rayon.  Happy days!

MMM - 5

Jimmy Jams, Socks, Flinen Trousers and the Pattern Plus Pyramid

OK, so there is a lot to get through today, so better get at it!

Mr. SDSC and I had a very lazy day today - no shopping, cleaning, meeting up with buddies, washing cars or anything.  A truly lazy day.  So in honour of that, I chose to wear a brand spanking new pair of Jimmy Jam trousers (PJ's to other folk) that I finished last night.  I used a soft cotton with a plaid weave (and no, I didn't even attempt to match any of it up) and my new McCall's pattern (5239) that is fast becoming a TNT.  I added 2" to the waist for the fold-over elastic and stitched the side seams with 5/8" seams even though the pattern is altered to 1" seams.  I thought that the extra space would be just what was needed!

I love this finish for an elastic waistband - there is a great tutorial here, and rather than use a twin needle, I used a three step zigzag and I am very pleased with the finish.  It will be appearing again!!  The only comment to add here is that the trousers looked like a dogs breakfast whilst I was stitching on the elastic.  It was only when I had started the zigzag that they began to look a LOT better!  So if you do try this technique, no wobbly bottom lips until you see how they transform when the elastic is sewn down!

Although a little creased, I am happy with how the back hangs on these, no bagging under my butt :)

And to finish off, another pair of hand knitted socks!  This is a very plain pattern used with self striping yarn (Knit Picks Felici Sport) and as we are moving into warmer weather, I won't be wearing hand knitted socks very much from now on so I am making the most of it!!

Following on from these toursers, I am going to make another pair - a bit more fitted - with some lovely red (wannabe) linen - hence the name 'Flinen' (aka faux linen!!).  If they turn out well, I have some mustard linen/rayon from Fabric Mart that will be put into use for a fabulous pair of summer trousers.

And finally - although maybe the most exciting news, is that I have won the current leg of the Plus Pattern Pyramid.

In short this means that I will soon be receiving some plus sized patterns, I get to chose one (or maybe two or three) to keep, replace them with some from my stash, and then hold a competition on my blog and the winner will have the patterns sent onto them . . . and so it continues!  As the parcel is making it's way from Australia - thank-you Chris - it will probably be a few weeks, but watch this space for details if you would like to play!

MMM - 4

Yay!  Star Wars Day - May 4th be with you!!

And in honour of that . . . .

Yep, Mr. SDSC has a lightsaber!  He also has a fabulous fleece Jedi cloak that I made a number of years ago as a dressing gown but he says that we misplaced it in the move.  It sounds a little suspicious to me because he complained that it was too long and he kept tripping over when wearing it - particularly when going down stairs.  Mr. Picky!!  It was a result of this complaint that I made him the Batman dressing gown this Christmas.

Anyway - back to me please!  Today's 'Me Made' is another fabulous skirt from Simplicity 4221.  I keep coming across a number of items that I have not blogged about, and I think that this skirt is another.  The fabric is a bit seersucker like - a supersoft cotton with stripey puckering and the odd stripe of silver for that summer skirt 'bling look!'  I'm not sure where this fabric came from - I don't recall buying it so it may be one of my mother's fabrics.  The skirt has 4 gores and I have lined it with with cotton to give it a bit of body and prevent the 'Lady Di' look!  It is worn with a RTW pink cardigan, a RTW white tank and a lightsaber . . . .

8. Pink Stripe Skirt - Simplicity 4221

Oh yes, and it looks as though we may finally be moving towards Spring.  Today is gloriously sunny and I think that there may be quite a few Summer skirts being brought out!

MMM - 3

Day 3!

Today I was on another trip out of the office - hence the lovely location for photos!  This is actually inside a hotel in Lethbridge, Alberta (hey, I've got to eat!), there are trees, water features, oh, and a piano!

The pics are a little out of focus (oops!) but you get the gist :)  Thanks Cory!!

Today I am mostly wearing a Sorbetto top, my orange Ponte cardigan . . . . . and hand-knitted socks!  My grey denims are rather old RTW pair complete with a few muddy bits from walking the dogs in the morning!  I have to say that reviewing these photos really makes me realize that I can be a little lackadaisical and need to pay more attention before walking out the door!  

Here are the details on todays 3 items:

5. Sock Bunny Sorbetto top - more details here
6. Ikat Winter Collection Ponte Cardigan - McCalls 4466 (again!)  I did 'redo' the front binding.  The one that was on originally did not sit very well, so I cut it off and added a smaller, more professional looking binding that I am very pleased with!
7. Hand knitted socks using my own pattern - here is a clearer photo.

So there we go, 7 different items so far!

MMM - 2

Day 2 - so far so good!!   There are two items for today.  Firstly, and for me, the most exciting item, are these trousers (or pants, if you prefer.  Me, I'm a trousers girl!)  The pattern is a McCalls 5239 and I picked up this pattern during my most recent fitting class.  I wanted to make a quick pair of trousers using a lightweight pinstripe suiting, so I cheated a little and straightened up the sides, added a bit to the waist for a 'turnover' rather than adding a waistband to make these 'pull on'.  Now that I am happy with the fit, I am going to make a few more pairs with pockets, zips, etc.  This will become my 'go to' pattern, and enters the TNT collection!  I am also thinking that some cropped trousers as well as some linen ones with a drawstring waist will be perfect for the summer.

These two photos show the alterations required for the trousers to fit me - some crotch adjustments and then some rather large tucks (1.5" per side!) to get rid of all the baggyness that I get under my 'oh so flat' butt!  According to my lovely instructor Janice, I have a particularly flat butt, but it hasn't 'dropped' yet.  Thank heavens for small mercys!!!

Today's outfit includes 2 pieces:

3.  Black pinstripe trousers - McCalls 5239
4.  Cardigan - McCalls 4466

And they are worn with a plain black tank bought before I commenced my RTW fast!  Talking of which, I have been 'fasting' for almost 7 months.  And I am not missing clothes shopping at all!

MMM - 1

May is here - and I am excited to be taking part in 'Me Made' for this month.  My pledge is I endeavour to wear a self-made garment every day for the month of May.  These garments will be either sewn or knitted by me.'

Today I was out of the office and was able to take advantage of one of my colleagues who took these pictures for me - thanks Jim!

There will be some garments that I haven't mentioned before as well as some already blogged about - and to start today, I am wearing 3 MM garments:

1. Red ponte cardigan - McCalls 4466
2. Black slinky top - Kwik Sew 3752
3. Black crepe gored skirt - Simplicity 4221

The cardigan is based upon McCalls 4466, adjusted from a fitting class that I attended, and it makes a great semi-casual top.  I think that I need to play around with the bust darts so that they stop short of the 'apex', but it works for now!  The fabric is a fabulous rayon ponte from Fabricland that I have purchased in a number of colors . . . . so expect to see some more in the near future!

The top has a hipband and is another comfy garment to wear.  It is easy to make out of jersey/sweater fabrics and features a lot in my cool temperature wardrobe -we are still waiting for spring here in the Great White North - looks like we moght be in luck later this week!!

This skirt is from a pattern that is well used - most of my summer skirts from last year used this pattern, it is a simple 4-gore pull on that is lined.  The fabric is a crepe that hangs beautifully and appears to be 'crease proof'.  Can't argue with that!  All in all I am pleased with this outfit, it works well for my workplace and is very comfortable to wear!

I also will be keeping a check of the number of MM garments that I wear - it will be interesting to see how many repeats there are . . . .

For tomorrow I have a completely new garment . . . here is a 'teaser' picture or 2) - complete with obligatory dog hairs!

So how about you - how are you doing?  Are you wearing MM clothing today?