Waiting, waiting, weighting…

No, it’s not a typo. It’s what my dressmaking life is about. I just keep collecting fabric, and finding patterns for them, or vice versa, but how many actual garments have I made in the last year? That would be a resounding… two. You thought I was going to say “none” didn’t you! But remember my little Liberty blouse? And then I made a pair of pants? I even made a basic block back in November last year. And since then??? Nothing. Nada. Rien. Gornisht. Nothing!

Wondered why at all? Well, possibly not. I’m sure you have other things going on in your life than thinking about why I’m not making clothes for myself. So that was a silly question of course.

However… Let me show you what my sewing table looks like today:

waiting-waiting-weighting-01

a bit ridiculous, right?

Hmmm. Can you see how many of the piles having clothing patterns on top of them? That would be… seven. And if you count the piles that have more than one garment planned for that pattern, there are in total ten projects piled up there. I’ll go through them for you…

First up, there are the two dresses I’m going to make for my upcoming trip to Israel. I figure they’ll be cool, and light, and will provide coverage when I’ll need it.

navy dress and rakuen dress

the Navy and Pink Dress and the Rakuen Dress

Next, there are the two tunics I want to make.

the loulouthi tunic and the plumbego tunic

the Loulouthi Tunic and the Plumbego (picked up this fabric for free) Tunic

Now, there’s the Tamotsu Mitsi Blouse I’m going to make in this divine Liberty print:

mitsi-blouse-01

spectacular colour, isn't it?

Next, there’s the beautiful things I want to make with the Parson Gray Curious Nature fabrics I bought from Hawthorne Threads:

darkwater-skirt-01

the Darkwater Skirt

ocean-scarf-01

a pretty Ocean Scarf, and a tunic from the Starcomb fabric, but not the one in this picture

Then, there are the gorgeous Ink & Spindle fabrics for these garments…

ginkgo-skirt-01

Ginkgo Skirt

sencha-wrens-blouse

and the Sencha Wrens Blouse

Quite a few things. So what’s holding me up? What am I waiting, waiting, waiting for??? I’m waiting for my weight to drop before I even think of cutting into any of these magnificent fabrics!

waiting-waiting-weighting-02

O. M. G.

Am I crazy? I don’t know. Maybe. I just think about all the work that goes into making something, and I think about the fabrics that have won my heart, and when I consider thinking about how it all will look on me, I just can’t confront it, and I decide to wait so more, and I go hard at my diet that day, and possibly into the next day as well. And then, by the third day, it’s all over, and I’m back in the doldrums.

so, so, SO frustrating! And I know, it’s completely self-inflicted. It’s not that I’m uninformed, not knowledgeable, ignorant. I know what to do. I just don’t do it. And I blame things like being too tired, or too hot, or the 2-3 glasses of wine I had with dinner that made me throw all caution to the wind and order that dessert, or I blame my peri-menopausal hormones. I’m doing a fine job of maintaining my weight, so that’s good to know for later on. But I’m determined to get on top of this ridiculous, unhealthy, and frankly, embarrassing problem. Thought if I went public, it might help. So I’m cutting out the sugar, cutting out the wheat, keeping to the smaller meals. You know, a palm-sized helping of protein, 2 of salads and/or veggies, only 1/2 palm of rice or muesli, etc etc etc. And I’ll stick to the 1200 calories that My Fitness Pal (iPhone app) tells me I can eat. I’ll do the things I know to do, in order to get the results I want to get. I really do want to wear those lovelies!

Think I’ll go cut the fabric for the quilt I’m making for Moshe. The fabric arrived last week, and it’s absolutely delightful. It has such a soft hand, and it’s masculine without being boring. I think it’ll be a really beautiful quilt. Hope he’ll like it.

cn-quilt-04

divine, aren't they? well done, David Butler!!

 

OMG! I’m crazy in love with Curious Nature!

I’ve been up since 4am. Couldn’t sleep. Not that I wasn’t tired. Just couldn’t get my head to chill out, and my brain to stop thinking about, among other things, these amazing fabrics, and what I’m going to make with them.

Parson Gray | Curious Nature - Mineral

Parson Gray | Curious Nature - Mineral

The first time I laid eyes on these – when was that, last August? – I fell hard in love. I knew it would be the answer to all my what-fabric-can-I-use-to-make-a-quilt-for-Moshe conundrum. And now that they’re in the shops, I can finally get me some!

Parson Gray | Curious Nature - Ocean

Parson Gray | Curious Nature - Ocean

It’ll also be the perfect solution to the problem of finding the right fabric for a couple of shirts I want to make for my darling. And it’s absolutely PERFECT for a couple of other amazing projects that are now inhabiting my workroom table project list.

These beautiful fabrics are the brainchild of David Butler – yeah, you know. He’s Amy’s husband. And now, he’s a major source of inspiration for me. If you haven’t seen the range yet, you JUST HAVE TO take a look at it. Curious Nature by Parson Gray is David’s magnificent, male-perfect fabric line. Ha! But not just for the guys! I’m making a few things for myself, too! I have to say though, I feel just a teensy bit guilty that I just want to copy everything on the Facebook site exactly, know what I mean? Do you think it is a little … er, what would you call that, … maybe uncool on my part?  But hey, don’t they say that imitation the greatest form of flattery? Well, that’s fine by me. I just can’t get these designs out of my head.

So, with the gracious permission of David Butler himself to use his images, here are the things I just can’t wait to make…

barcelona-skirt-ab cn-barcelona-skirt

Here’s Amy Butler’s pattern that I’ve wanted to make now for a couple of years. It looks amazing in David Butler’s Curious Nature fabrics, doesn’t it!

 

 cn-tunic-scarf  I don’t currently have a pattern for a tunic like this. however, I reckon I have a couple of patterns I could adapt.As for the scarf, it’s gorgeous. I’ll make that from 2 yards of fabric. I don’t know. I just can’t stop looking at these pictures! I’m really besotted with the fabrics!

Amy Butler | High Street Messenger Bag

Parson Gray | Curious Nature - Messenger Bag

This is such a great bag! It’ll fit Moshe’s laptop when he’s travelling, as well as his reading glasses, his sunglasses, his iPhone, his keys, and any kind of other paraphernalia that normally ends up residing in my handbag.
Parson Gray | Curious Nature - quilt

Parson Gray | Curious Nature - quilt

And last but certainly not least, here’s David’s amazing quilt pattern which you can download if you like, for free, from the Free Spirit Fabric website. Perfect for Moshe, no? The right colours, the right tones, and drop-dead gorgeous fabric!