Tree Fall

Popover Poncho

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the weekend I finally made myself something new to wear. Well actually it was just on Sunday. In fact it was just Sunday afternoon to be precise. Because the Popover Poncho by April Rhodes is extremely straight forward and easy to make and takes less than a day from beginning to end (although in all fairness Jim did cook dinner and bath the girls, so I didn't have any real distractions).

I wasn't intending to make the Poncho this weekend, I was actually thinking I might make the Linden Sweatshirt by Grainline, and had made a special trip to Fabworks on Saturday morning to get some slightly odd silver, sparkly jersey that had been winking at me all week (its honestly the last thing I would expect me to buy) (and I'm still a little confused by it) and some plain grey sweatshirting for a trial run. I took Lily with me and when we left (after two customers and the people I work with had recognised me) she asked if I was famous and stated that Fabworks is a magical place, because it's so full of beautiful things that can made in to even more beautiful things. I liked that. I like the fact that it's going to become a vague memory for her - her mum being famous (to a 7 year old!) and working in a magical place. I have odd memories of my mum like that - good feelings really, more than actual memories.

Anyway, on Sunday I realised that I didn't own a copy of the Linden Sweatshirt pattern (I still think I have one somewhere) so, inspired by the fact the Karen had shown me hers the week before , I made the Poncho instead.

I love a good poncho/cape and on Saturday  (as well as the strange sparkly stuff)  I bought some beautiful midweight wool, that looks a bit like denim, but has a really nice drape, and some teal brushed cotton. Both of which were perfect (it's almost like I planned it...).

The cutting out (my least favourite part of dressmaking) only took half an hour, tops. And then it was just a case of following the very straight forward instructions for piecing it all together.

I decided to line the pocket with the same fabric that I used for the cowl lining. You can't really see it, but I like the tiny flashes of teal. I also decided to use neon orange thread for the overlocked side seams. Again you don't really see them, but I like that they're there. And as the poncho is swishing around me, you can just catch glimpses of orange.

The cowl was much more straight forward to make and attach than I expected. I chose not to include a drawstring, because I like how it looks without it. But I might include it on the next one I make.

Other than that, I didn't make any changes to the pattern and it fits perfectly. I know that you might think that a poncho doesn't really fit, but a good one sits on the shoulders nicely and doesn't drown you in fabric, while still being flatteringly swishy (that's a technical term). And the Popover Poncho does exactly that.

I already knew that April was a fantastic fabric designer, but this is the first of her patterns that I've tried, and I really did love it. I'm going to make a lightweight one next. Plus I've got some incredible waterproof/mac type of fabric that I'm going to have a go with too.

Next though is the silver, sparkly sweatshirt....

 

 

 

 

Weekends

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was briefly beginning to look like spring over the weekend, but so far this week we've had snowstorms and hailstones, usually followed very quickly by bright sunshine and even more quickly by another snowstorm! It's all been very odd. So in an attempt to coax the springtime sun back I've been surrounding myself with as much yellow as possible.

Before the crazy schizophrenic weather started, we had a great weekend though. My brother and his family came to stay and we had one of those easy, relaxed visits where the cousins all got on famously and the grown ups got to eat too much and enjoy a glass of wine without the constant interruptions that accompanies having younger children. My nephew is 13 this year and although Bella is always worried that as he gets older he'll no longer want to spend time with her, they both happily disappeared to the park to play football, while my niece (who is Lily's age) and Lil entertained each other with some sort of 7 year old craziness that seemed to at least make sense to them.

I still remember when us all being together meant running around after the children, taking it in turns to entertain and wrangle, never finishing an entire sentence or actually sitting down, often ending the visit even more exhausted than we started.

When Jim and I see tiny babies we still always wish that we could have another one, but weekends like this make me realise how much easier some aspects of life has become and how much more fun (although I still miss baby cuddles).

We have big plans for the summer that I hope will involve the cousins spending more time together and I'm not going to even pretend that I'm not picturing a Swallows and Amazons scenario, because I am!

But until then, do you think we could get back to it beginning to look a lot more like spring time?

 

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The Great Cushion Dilemma

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cushions and coats are the two things that I can never get right. I often see a coat in a shop, try it on, love it and buy it on a whim. Only to realise not long afterwards that I would never wear it because it's completely wrong for me. It's gotten so bad that I have had to accept that I simply can not be trusted around coats.

And I fear that the same may be said about cushions. I'm just not very good at choosing or making the right cushions for myself! So often I've bought fabric thinking that it would make perfect cushions, only to realise at a later date that I've gotten it wrong yet again.

I'm not sure what it is that I get so wrong and in all honesty no one has ever complained about the cushions on my sofas, but I'm never really happy with how they look.

When I saw these fabrics I knew immediately that I wanted to make cushions out of them, absolutely certain that they would look beautiful.

And they do. But when I put them on the sofa I was once again gripped (yes gripped) with the uncertainty that I always feel when I've finished making new cushions! I have however decided that all that is needed this time is more of them. They need matching partners so as not to look so lost on the sofa, and to make more of a visual impact. So I've been busy cutting another 6 of them, because I'm sure that's the magic number ( let's hope I don't decide to apply this theory to my problems with coats!).

The fabric is an unusual, mid weight woven that I bought from Fabworks. As well as the cushions, I'm intending to make a dress out of the blue one, probably using the Mortmain pattern, which I think it will be perfect for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Meetings

 

 

 

 

A couple of weeks ago I finally met up with another blogger, Jen of Little Birdie, who I've been reading for a long time now.

We met up in my favourite bar/restaurant/art gallery, The Tetley, and spent a good few hours talking about (amongst other things) the vagaries of blogging and online friendships and how odd it can be to meet someone in real life that you've followed online for so long.

Over the years I've been lucky enough to become real life friends with quite a few people who's blogs I read, or who read mine, but I still find myself getting nervous about the first meeting.

There's always the fear that I'll be a let down, the ability to delete and edit what I say on my blog really does make a difference to how fluid my sentences are. I'm pretty sure that most people wouldn't be willing to sit around for the couple of hours that it could take me to rethink and re-say what I want to say in just the right way, the way I often rethink and rewrite it on the blog.

And of course there's always the slight worry that you're meeting a crazy person, who knows everything about you (because you put it all out there on the blog) and already thinks that you're best friends and tells you all about yourself (this has happened to me just the once).

Fortunately though, that wasn't the case with meeting Jen, who turned out to be just as I expected. Which was funny and interesting and very easy to talk to. And I'm glad to say that even without the ability to edit or delete, we managed talk happily for a good few hours and hopefully neither of us was a let down!

If you don't already read Jens blog (and I'm sure you do), you really should. It's beautiful to look at and Jen writes with an easy honesty that I really enjoy.

(Of course on a serious note, you should always be careful when meeting friends you've only met online! As Bella quite rightly pointed out to me the morning of my meeting with Jen.)

 

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Creative process

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm still getting used to the new extended juggling act that comes with working at Fabworks, so everything else seems to be taking so much longer than it should.

At the moment I'm working on a new little dress and to be honest it's driving me a bit crazy.

When I work on a new design I need a really good run at it, because the routine is always the same. On the first day I get the idea (which I'm always really excited about) and choose the fabrics and start drafting the pattern. On the second day I start sewing up my ideas, and start to hate them. One the third day I fight the urge to throw it all away and try and focus on something else, that I like making and that works well ( so as not to give in to the negative feelings of being totally crap). On the fourth day I take another look and start to iron out the problems. And by the end of the week I finally have a finished piece ( that I'm still really unsure about but am willing to let grow on me).

If those days don't run consecutively then the process can feel like it's taking a veeeery long time. Which is where I'm at at the moment. Although I am at least past the throwing it all away stage!

I have no idea why being creative always has to work this way, but I'm pretty sure it's the same for most people. It's like the fact that if you've made it yourself you can never quite see it as real. It's strange that we've become so far removed from the production process of so many things that if we see it as handmade we so often see it as being less real than something made in a factory.

Anyway, I'm finally, almost, nearly at the stage of having finished products that I can live with. Just another day or two in the studio and I'll be there.

But first I've got another day at Fabworks, where I'm going to try very hard not to hide the really beautiful bolt of teal brushed cotton that I found today....

 

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Emily Sutton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are some artists that just make you want to chuck it all in and go do something else. And Emily Sutton is one of those artists.

Everything she does is beautiful and clever and exactly what I would love to do if I had half the talent.

For the last few months Emily's had an exhibition at The Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Sadly it's finished now, but I managed to get there briefly a couple of weeks ago and once again marvelled at just how clever she is.

 

 

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Fabworks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've started a new job in the last couple of weeks. I'm not stopping Treefall, but after all these years I've found a job that fits in with looking after the girls and is all about something I love! So two days a week you can now find me in one of the best fabric mill shops around, Fabworks.

It's where I've been buying most of my fabric for the last few years, and I'm a huge fan of the the fact that they constantly find and stock the most beautiful fabrics at genuinely fantastic prices.

Returning to this kind of work has been harder to get used to than I expected. Fabworks is a brilliant place to work, but getting used to knowing the least has been so strange. Although I know a fair bit about sewing and fabrics, I know nothing at all about curtain making (and measurements) or which lining to use when making a suit! So I'm suddenly on a pretty steep learning curve.

After getting over the initial, immediate fear of looking and sounding stupid, I realised this week just what it is that I love about fabric shops, whether it's working in one or shopping in one. And it's the people.

We all have to buy food, whether we have an interest in it or not, and we have to go into clothes shops and shoe shops. But the people that go in to fabric shops to buy fabric, do it because they love it. They may all have different tastes and different ideas, but they pretty much all have one thing in common, and that's the fact that their idea of fun is to spend far too much time looking at fabric! It's like being part of a club. A slightly strange, very eclectic club, but a great club. And I love it.

I love spending my time discussing which prints go with which, and hearing how someone has only come in for the one thing, but just has to have 4 metres of something completely different because it's there and they love it too much to leave without it! (And we've all been there!).

And I love how many parents and grandparents came in this last week with their children/grandchildren and spent real time with them, choosing just the right fabrics to make clothes for their teddies or clothes for themselves. I love how many men and boys we serve, and that they aren't just there to carry the bags ( something that was levied at Jim, year after year when we used to visit The Festival of Quilts), but they're there because they love fabric too damnit!

So although it's a sudden shock to the system to be out there working for someone, I'm really happy that I've been lucky enough to now spend my Wednesdays and Thursdays surrounded by cotton and silk and denim and jersey and interlining bump (it's a brand new world!) and other people that think nothing of spending an hour piling up bolts of fabric with almost manic glee!

If you fancy popping in (and you should) Fabworks is in Dewsbury, just outside Leeds. And if you come in on a Wednesday or Thursday, please do say hello. But please don't ask how much fabric you'll need to make a pair of pleated curtains, because I really don't know (yet).

 

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Growing..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is Lily's 7th birthday and two weeks ago it was Bella's 10th birthday. I started this blog when Bella was just about to turn 1. I was the only person I knew who hadn't gone back to work after having their baby, and I spent most of my days alone with Bella. Blogging gave me an outlet. It allowed me to become part of a community. Through blogging I made friends, learned how to sew properly and discovered just how much I loved textiles.

Back then parenting was all consuming, and I couldn't imagine any thing past the point of having babies that relied on me for everything. When you're in the middle of the baby/toddler stage you assume that this is what being a parent is. You have no idea how much being a Mum changes, or how often you have to rethink all the rules.

In the last year I've really had to accept that I no longer just have two little girls that rely on me for everything. I now have two young people that share our home. And it's all change. And in some ways it's so much easier, because we can discuss things and understand how we all feel, but in other ways it's so, so much harder. After 10 years of being in charge, I find it hard going to now have to explain every last reason to Bella and I really struggle with constantly being questioned. And those hormones. Bloody hell! I'm pretty sure Jim's planning to leave home before both girls are in their teens!

But I also love it.

For Bella's birthday just the two of us went away for a night in a lovely hotel in Harrogate and spent the next day shopping. And it was one of the best weekends I've ever had. Bella was an absolute joy to be with and I realised just how very grown up she is now. We didn't spend a lot of money, or do anything terribly extravagant, we just talked and laughed and shared pizza and did each other's nails. It was wonderful. And even though within 10 minutes of walking back in to the house we were back to exasperated bickering, I love who she is becoming and where our relationship is going.

 

 

 

 

 

The 3 year age gap suddenly seems so much more pronounced than ever before. Where Bella wants to watch Zoella on YouTube all day long, Lily still loves playing with her babies and sitting on my lap.

 

 

 

For her birthday we took Lily and her friends to a trampoline park, which was perfect for out little kangaroo (why can't children just.stand.still???). And then today she asked to go to a science museum. At 7 she's a beautiful mix of little girl and young person. For her birthday she asked for a football, and Avengers watch and a new doll. She's funny and clever and the wittiest child I know. I'm not sure that we'll have the sort of relationship where she wants to go away for the weekend, shopping. But I'm very excited to find out what we will do together as she grows up, because if Lily's involved, it's going to be a lot of fun.

Being a parent is so much harder than I ever thought it would be, and is so much more fun. I love these two young people that I share my home with and watching them grow worries me and delights me in almost equal measure. I just really, really wish it would all slow down!

 

 

 

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Penguins

 

I designed these penguins for the Christmas Country Living Fair at the end of last year. I'm not going to pretend that I wasn't taking advantage of the sudden popularity of a certain penguin due to a certain advert. I needed a new design for the Fair, and both Lily and Bella asked for penguins for Christmas. So....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's not that easy bringing something new to the whole penguin design. Pingu and John Lewis pretty much have it covered (plus real penguins of course!!) So I decided that what my penguins needed were leather satchels. With little tweed fish in. And scarves.

They were pretty popular at Country Living (thank you John Lewis) and sold out within the first 2 hours of the first day! Which was amazing (and has never happened to me before), but led to me frantically making more, every night of the show.

I have to say that I like them. They make me laugh. And they have great taste in leather satchels!

 

 

 

 

 

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Weaving

I was given a small hand loom for Christmas. I'm not a yarn person normally, knitting tends to make me angry (which strikes me as a bad sign) and I'm rubbish at crochet. But all of the images across social media in the last few months of mini weavings have really appealed to me, so I wanted to give it a go.

This is my first attempt at weaving, which I finished in one night, sat in front of the TV. Once I'd gotten the hang of setting up the loom, it was all really simple. The repetitiveness was really relaxing, and I loved just making for the sake of it.

 

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