SSS '11: Days 4, 5 & 6

Day 4:

Don't be getting no ideas about my desert now, ok?!

I promise you it's the insane wind that's making my hair look all crazified.

What I wore:

Me-made yellow jacket, black sailor trousers, black T-shirt and pants. Cardigan was thifted.

Thoughts:

Per-ritty dull outfit, IMO, but it was a Sunday spent going for a long walk on a windy day, so who cares particularly? And that desert was out of this world, BTW.

Day 5:

What I wore:

Me-made denim sailor trousers, bustier-line T-shirt, Saint cardigan and pants. Me-made yellow jacket was worn to and from work.

Thoughts:

Rainy Monday morning, bad nights sleep and a massive headache all day. Basically you are really lucky I'm not still in my jam jams.

Day 6:

What I wore:

Me-made denim skirt, long-sleeved leopard top, vest and pants. Me-made leopard coat was worn to and from work (in the rain both ways, may I add).

Thoughts:

Ok, so the weather today was worse than yesterday, but I felt a skirt day was due. I really could alternate between my denim sailor trousers and my black sailor trousers for the entire month if left to my own devices, but I know that wearing this skirt today made me feel nicer than if I hadn't done. That's one of the reasons why these challenges are good for me.

A Day in My Life

I'm assuming that everyone who reads this blog, aside from perhaps my mum, also already reads Tilly's blog. But in case you hadn't noticed and were interested at all, this month I'm her 'Miss September' as part of her awesome 'Day in the Life' series where she features people who are 'allowed' to think about sewing all day as part of their job. So, if you would like to know more about what I actually get up to during an average week day, as well as crucial info like what I have for breakfast and who cooks my dinner, check out this post!

The other episodes in the series are also well worth checking out, it's so fascinating getting a sneaky-peek into other peoples' lives. So far Tilly has featured an interesting blend of individuals who lead fairly different lives, aside from the one common theme of sewing (I so nearly said 'common thread' then! I 'sew' nearly.... haha! Ok, I'll stop). Having already covered an independent sewing pattern designer, an embroidery entrepreneur, a haberdashery shop owner and now whatever-the-hell I am, I'm really interested to see who else she has lined up for the future.

SSS '11: Days 1, 2 & 3

Here we go again....

Day 1:

What I wore:

Me-made nautical sundress, vest and pants. Me-made yellow jacket was worn to and from work. Cardigan was thifted (get used to seeing this cardi, my green one died in the wash recently).

Thoughts:

Pairing my sundress with tights plus a cardi on the top and vest underneath makes has made it a viable garment for early Autumn/late Spring weather. It seems such a shame to only get to wear pretty dresses when the tiny windows of sunny opportunity present themselves!

Day 2:

What I wore:

Me-made navy capris (not previously blogged about in their own post), Sailor Sencha blouse, Saint Cardigan and pants.

Thoughts:

A fairly standard work day outfit. I've worn these capris quite a lot this summer, though the stretch in the fabric goes a bit baggy so they tend to need a wash after every wear.

Day 3:

What I wore:

Me-made Ceylon dress and pants. Me-made yellow jacket worn after dark when it got a bit nippy.

Thoughts:

I still have issues with the fit of this dress, but it was nice to wear it again. The day got warmer than I was expecting so it was nice to wear something with short sleeves. The fabric of this dress is actually quite thick, so with thicker tights and a vest underneath and a cardi, I reckon it could stand up to near Winter conditions. I had a lovely day checking out the Maker Faire, briefly hanging out at Handmade, and then hooking up with the lovely Tilly and some of her crew for drinks and Pompoko. Weekends are so superior to weekdays!

Closer look at the most successful part of the dress (the top bit!):

My Sewing Pattern Hoard: Outerwear

It's time for another installment of 'My Sewing Pattern Hoard'. I've fully abandoned dreams of whipping up a quick playsuit this year as I don't know about where you are, but round my way the mornings have definately starting to feel a bit nippy recently. Our summer was pretty rubbish, but I'm not complaining about the on-set of Autumn, you know where you are with Autumn. No-one complains that you have to put on a jacket, it's as it should be. You can still get some lovely days, and they are a bonus, but if it rains, that's ok too as it's kind of to be expected.

So, the chilly mornings are making me wistful for more of a variety of jackets to choose from and I've almost forgotten the gruling mission my navy wool coat project was so I've decided to dig out my outerwear patterns and put them up for discussion. Basically, I feel that if you live in UK, any coat or jacket you make that fits is never going to be time wasted. My navy wool coat, leopard coat and yellow jacket see far more wears than any other garment I've ever made, so I'm hoping you'll help make some decisions regarding this Autumn/Winter's sewing efforts:

I'm not sure how I feel about this coat. It looks quite a clean and simple shape, would it look like a little girl's coat though? I tried making the dress from this pattern and the bust shaping was for a comically high bust point. That shouldn't be a problem for the coat though as it's got intriguing shoulder darts instead. What colour/fabric would you make this in? I do love the potential for showcasing a set of seriously amazing buttons though.

LOVE this cape pattern. I'd love to make the shorter length in navy or black wool with the epaulettes and gold buttons! In fact, I've already traced this pattern ready for a ridiculously large piece of secondhand wool to fall into my lap!

Once again, not sure how I feel about the above coat pattern. In a similar vein to the top pattern, the buttons would be so eye catching!

I used this pattern back in 2008 when I made a yellow curtain version of the view on the right. Initially, I didn't wear it much, but then I was living in deepest darkest Essex at the time. Not a region known for its tolerance towards sartorial difference. But over the last year there have been months when I've worn it almost daily. Actually, I'm currently working on another version of this pattern with bracelet-length sleeves. I'm trying to draft a lining pattern for it, so don't hold your breath to see the finished project. I'm convinced it's going to be amazing though! (Hint: anchors will be involved!)

Hmmm, now this jacket could look a bit prim and 'twin set and pearls', but imagine this little blighter with some kitschy appliqued detailing on the front, like my swallow jacket, perhaps. I'm viewing this jacket as a kind of 'canvas for kitsch'. What would you apply?

I was really into this jacket pattern when I saw it on ebay, but now I'm not so sure. I have a sneaking suspicion that if you invested the time needed to make this jacket, that the outcome would be very different from the envelop. I can't even figure out what's up with the CF near the neck. Does it actually curve towards the start of the collar, or has the illustrator used some artistic licence here? Who can say? I do not have it in me to give the time needed to figuring it out. Not this year at least.

Not, anyway, whilst this cheeky little thing sits within my grasp:

HOW nice it this?! Oh, I want to make it in some incredible 1950s floral furnishing fabric that most likely will go with none of the rest of my clothes. Or in red like the chica in the top left corner. This makes me want to go through all my buttons to find the best big odd button and design the rest of the jacket around it. What would you like to see it made in?

Now I had such high hopes for this pattern that I poured over it and gazed at the line drawings on the inside sheets for an age. It's got two different body variations, three different neck options (one round neck and two different collars) and about a million different sleeve options. AND you can showcase some of those incredible big buttons. I imagined making hundreds of jackets from this pattern, and with the various combinations possible in different fabrics they'd all look totally different. I did a toile of the longer length with round neck and elasticated short sleeve and I was not impressed. The neck came out so wide that you would struggle to match it with an appropriate top or blouse to go underneath. The elastic of the gathered sleeves sat way too close to your armpit and the whole fit was kind of shapeless, neither fitted nor boxy. Now I see on the illustrations how far the jackets sit away from the body, I'd say that that's actually pretty accurate. Not what I was hoping for. I may go in for another go though, and start with the size below my normal one.

Umm, is this a pattern for a versatile, practical jacket waiting to be deployed, or a pattern for the most unimpressive dull garment to ever have precious sewing time wasted on it? (BTW, I was thinking red and white check wool, NOT silver mock-croc!).

I've also bought the PDF for this jacket from Burdastyle, so that's an option too. Coats and jackets take such a large amount of effort and time to create, please help me decide what pattern/s I should invest my project time into!

Samuel's Baby Quilt!

Honestly, I never thought this blog would be the kind to feature regular baby quilt projects, but if two can be considered 'regular', then I'm going to need to accept that maybe this is that type of blog! Maybe I should make a few more cocktail dresses and get drunk in them to balance things out! Anyways, as long as my crew keep pumping out those little 'uns, Auntie Zo will be whipping up quilts to put them on/over them, rest assured.

This second quilting endeavour belongs to baby Samuel, who sadly I have not yet had the privaledge of meeting as he resides in Essex, and I'm currently too skint to afford the train fare. But in the meantime I hope the love and special thoughts that got infused into this quilt as I sewed it are making themselves felt.

After good reviews from my first quilt attempt for baby Surayya, I decided to stick to the same dimensions and construction method. I even used the same teal sateen as the main solid tone in the patchwork. The colour scheme for this quilt was meant to be colours of the sea (blues, greens, teals, turquoises) but it ended up too intense with too many different patterns, so I narrowed the selection of fabrics and colours to tone the whole thing down a touch. A lot of the squares in this quilt are scraps from men's shirts, which are a perfect weight and softness for a baby patchwork affair. In fact, I was tempted to make the whole thing out of old shirts, but I feared that would look too formal and adult. I hope I've struck a decent balance in the end.

My favourite part of this quilt is the large blue and white check because those scraps came from the leftovers of this shirt I made for Pat (AKA, Mr 'So, Zo...'). I like how the scale of that check looks giant when contrasted against the smaller scaled checks I also used.

The main difference between this quilt and the first, aside from the fabrics used, is that I got this one finished before Samuel was born and was able to give it to his mum at her baby shower, whereas the first quilt had to be produced after the baby shower as it was made from fabrics brought by the baby shower attendees. Under what circumstances my third baby quilt attempt will be produced is as yet unknown!

Commune Living

There are, of course, a squillion films and documentaries I've enjoyed and found inspirational for a variety of reasons. But one I saw last night specifically specifically brought my mind to some issues that I keep coming back to. These issues resonate throught my life and interests, which is why I feel this film in particular is worth flagging up here on my little ol' blog. The film was called 'Commune', a documentary released in 2005 about a real group of people who decided to experiment living together on a ranch in 1968. Black Bear ranch is situated in what was (I'm assuming still is?) effectively the wilderness north of San Francisco, and is still used for that purpose today. The documentary looks at a range of individuals who founded and/or lived there, their reasons for doing so, their experiences of it and the paths their lives have taken in the thirty-odd years since they left. I found it fascinating viewing and would recommend it if the subject of communes in anyway grabs you.

I can't fully explain why, but I've had an interest in communes, and in particular the 1960s/70s alternative lifestyles since I was a young teenager. My dad has an awesome pamplet he picked up in the 1960s advertising one, I'll take some photos of it one day and share it on here. I've always been fully fascinated by it, even before I really developed any understanding of issues like consumerism and sustainability. I guess it's in part a reflection of my desire to investigate alternatives to the dull and largely lifeless middle class suburban town I grew up in (sorry folks). But as I grew up and began to investigate the politics and social climate of the West during the twentieth century (particularly post-Second World War), I began to sense much of the frustrations and anger that lead so many to react against the governments and establishment. Obviously, I really respect people who protested against the injustices and concerns of the era, but I hold an even deeper respect for the individuals, groups, couples and families who chose to actually attempt to develop a whole new way of living, one that was largely as kind to the earth as it was meant to be toward each other.

The alternative societies of the 60s/70s communes were in many ways a logical development from an earlier counter-culture group: the Beats. Another firm fascination of mine, the Beat generation/Beatniks also explored and expressed different ideologies to that of the mainstream, but did so laregly through intellectual and artistic development and expression. From what I understand, the founders of the communes shared much of the Beats' frustration towards social repression and mainstream expectations, but channelled that frustration into more practical, physical responses. Experimenting with how to live, how to interact with each other and how to provide for ones own needs seems to me to really be the natural conclusion to the widespread dissatisfaction felt by dissatisfied free and alternative thinkers.

To be honest, there are some aspects to the Black Bear commune experience that hold little interest for me, the spirituality aspect being one. And there are clearly many ways in which those early communal living attempts failed. With hindsight, as awesome and valueable as it clearly was, Black Bear and the other communes didn't really create an imitable blue print for modern living. But Black Bear ranch and other communes are still in existance today, albeit without quite the freshness and 'journey into the unknown' that fuelled the founders. Many of the current occupants of Black Bear and other contemporary communal living experiments are, I'd imagine, drawn to that way of life for similar reasons to those early pioneers. Argueably, many of the repressive and damaging aspects of mainstream society are still present and just as abhorent, if not more so. Maybe the current occupants are just as idealistic and optimistic about the effect their endeavours can have on the future. If anything, the effects rabid globalisation, mass production and consumption have had on the ecological health of planet and the mental health of its inhabitants provide even more reasons for finding alternative ways to live which are lighter on the land and ourselves.

Personally, I couldn't see myself swapping my current living situation to move into a commune like Black Bear. Maybe that is because I am too much a product of my culture, or because really deep down I am as comfortable, normal and unimaginative as my current living situation. But I value my privacy, personal space, freedom for self-directed personal development and aesthetic life too much. It is possible that the value I place on those commodities is a product of my conditioning as a member of western society and that I could learn to reassess their value when confronted with the possibility of attaining different shared experiences. I don't know. I have researched alternative and shared living options around the area I live, but although many of them seem to have some really interest aspects, none really appeal in the fundamental way I would require them to.

I will continue to look into alternative ways of living. But if pressed, currently I think I'd prefer to share my direct homelife with friends and family rather than a wider community of individuals. However, there are definately some specific aspects of the 'Commune' model that I would like to adopt and/or develop in my life:

• The loss of 'community' is something that many modern day UK dwellers lament, and like many I welcome the creation and nurture of a new sense of community. With a nation of transient, nomadic flat-renters, developing community with neighbours can be tricky so a reassessment of the term may be required. Personally I have been putting my time and energy into the creative/crafting community, both the international online one, and my local in-the-flesh one.


• There is no doubt that modern life, in particular the never ending cycle of product consumption and status acquisition, has dramatic negative effects on mental health. The communes are a fascinating, if extreme, experiment in creating a new focus of importance to living. I've written about consumerism before, and my journey towards changing my relationship to the things I own and how I acquire them, but I need to do more research into this area (particularly into economics) to develop my knowledge and thoughts further.


• Finding ways to live happily whilst easing the strain our planet is currently under is certainly something I feel everybody should devote more time and brain-space to. The self-sufficiency endeavours and skills-pooling part of living on communes is possibily the most interesting aspect as far as I'm concerned. Linked to this, the recent resurgence of interest in 'homesteading' shows lots of people must currently be following this train of thought. I certainly plan to grow more of my own food in the future and would love to try things like preserving and home-brewing.

Your thoughts, as always, are most welcome...

Self-Stitched-September '11: Facebook Page!!!!

I would like to announce a new addition to the me-made/self-stitched challenge format: a facebook page!!! The Self-Stitched-Sept '11 facebook page has been created as an additional 'location' for participants of this latest handmade challenge to hang out, should they so wish. My intention for it is to be less structured than the SSS '11 Flickr group, more of a place to pop by and say hi in your lunch break or something!

As with the Flickr group, involvement in the facebook page is obviously entirely voluntary, I really don't want participants to feel overloaded with a wealth of blogs, groups and pages to keep up with. I just thought it'd be fun to experiment with an alternative platform for the handmade challenge community to interact through during the SSS '11 experience. One day I may even try twitter, but right now that's a bridge too far for me! However, if someone does rig up some sort of SSS '11 twitter presence, please let me know, I'd love to know that that is going on.


In the meantime, I hope to see at least one other participant over at the new facebook page, otherwise it's going to just me and some tumble weeds!