Hey Sewists! It’s a big relief to get this blog post out to you and I’ll explain why…

I’ve hummed and hawed about upgrading my WordPress account for a while now, but not got around to it for one reason or another. The decision was made for me when I realised that I had used up all my data allocation! (Damn all those work-in-progress/ construction shots!). I’ve only gone for the first level ‘personal’ plan… it’ll take me a while to work out what the benefits mean, but in the meantime I have another 3Gb to fill up with photos of undercollars and rainbow seams! Phew!

Another ‘upgrade’ I’ve made is to open an Etsy shop! I’d never considered this before, as I don’t have anything to sell… but seeing all the beautiful sewing related enamel pin badges on offer made me change my mind. You see, many of the designs (fabulous though they are…) are specific to female sewists. I particularly love Sewing In The Garden’s ‘FBA Club’ badge – and I do indeed intend to perform an FBA adjustment for a friend soon, which would make me a member of the club, but I’m sad to say I wouldn’t wear the badge.

I decided to design my own non gender specific sewing pin. MrA helped with the design (it was his idea to shape it like a roll of fabric… genius!) and I drew it on my iPad. At the last minute I put in the sewing machine after deciding that the original toggle-button I’d drawn looked too much like a peanut!

After a quick google search I found a small local business that would make 50 for me. So then I just had to wait. Three agonising weeks later they arrived, exactly when they said they would… I was just really impatient & desperate to see how they’d come out! And I couldn’t be happier!

It was thrilling opening the Etsy shop: it all happened very smoothly & quickly… have your photos & description ready and just follow the instructions! And I’m pleased to say I’ve had a very satisfactory amount of orders for my first full day of trading!

If you’d like one for yourself (or someone else!) you can CLICK HERE to go straight to the ‘shop’!

And now for the shorts…

I don’t know about you, but I am always keeping my eye out for fabric finds wherever I am. I try to not buy too much as I don’t have much storage space. And I VERY rarely buy a fabric without knowing what I’d like to make from it.

Last summer (… or the summer before…?) I found a stall at a car boot sale selling off cuts, remnants and fabric samples. Beautiful quality in beautiful designs… I bought a few…

I’ve made the red fabric up into a pair of fun summer shorts for MrA. I thought the berries would make a pretty dress for one of the nieces, definitely a shirt from the bird fabric and shorts out of the ship fabric. (MrA made me buy the silver fabric, it’s destined to be something glamorous for one of my girl friends, but I’m still not sure who or what…)

So, it’s taken me a while but those shorts have finally been made! I had a 1m sample which came with the fabric information card…

With only 1m I didn’t have much choice in pattern placement, but I think it’s worked out pretty well; I’m happy with the balance (and I particularly love the green pocket facing).

I used the Ottobre Magazine jeans pattern again as I was really happy with the shape and fit of my Peacock Pocket Jeans. Check out that post for more info on making them.

I love this fabric. The texture looks a little bit like a bark-cloth, but the linen content means the feel is great.

I used my vintage Elna Grasshopper machine to sew these up (& the overlocker, my Brother) I don’t use it often, but it was a real joy to work with – the sound it makes is hypnotic! I’ve decided to use it much more. It’s such a beautiful looking machine, just sitting near it makes me happy!

And these shorts really make me happy too. Another sunny day in London gave me a chance to get some pics too… the background looked like a really good idea at the time, but in retrospect I guess it’s a bit dull! (Still the pale background is much more forgiving on my un-tanned flesh!… Apologies for the plunging neckline… it was a really hot day!)

It felt really liberating not to even attempt pattern matching! I wanted to cut them a bit shorter but was loath to snip off that lovely scene by my left knee!

I hope your summer sewing is going well… and don’t forget where to look if you’re after sewing badges/pins!!

Happy Sewing!

Notes to self:

  • I have a whole list of things to make for friends… I must get on with those!
  • Using up fabric is more rewarding than buying fabric!
  • Look into what the WordPress upgrade means…