The Anonymous Blueberry Muffin Thief Sews...

I've got a bunch of stuff that I keep meaning to post, but work is manic and when I'm at home I'm trying to get all of my Christmas making done (lots of making, the obviously I can't blog about yet) A few weeks ago I finally bit the bullet, cleared off the living room floor and cut out the Sewaholic Hollyburn that has been sat, pattern cut, on my living room table for months. There was an issue with the fabric I was originally going to use, which turned out to have a directional print, which would have been fine but I didn't quite have enough of it, so the pattern languished, as did the fabric I'd bought as a replacement. The photos are pretty awful, because err, there's me, and I need some kind of tripod like thing for my phone so I can take decent photos (asking my dad to take pictures never ends well; he sulks and they end up with oil tanks or lorries in the background thanks to the work yard)

I'm hoarding posts at the moment. There;s been plenty of making, but I'm not feeling the enthusiasm to write them up.  Plus some of them aren't finished, some of them aren't photographed and some are xmas presents that have to stay hidden. This post is a mishmash of quilting experiments, all set in motion by me recklessly signing up for the Schnitzelandboo Mini Quilt Swap on instagram. I've barely been quilting 6 months, and I've never done any kind of craft swap, but the opportunity was there so I went for it, and it was a blast. I made myself learn so much, and while I haven't received my package yet, the one I sent out has been gladly received. So without further ado... stuff I have made in preparation, and to send with my mini-quilt swap.

  Another overdue blog post. Oops. My first foray into mini-quilt making which didn't quite go as planned when it ended up being larger than intended. This was a gift for a couple I know who were celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary, and the 10th anniversary of their meeting (which is terrifying as we were at university together, it can't have been that long ago!) I didn't have a clue what to get them, as their interests diverge quite a bit from mine, but they both love cats, so I thought a wall hanging quilt with some personality would be a nice thing. I chose the Kittens Quilt pattern from Elizabeth Hartman, because it was a reasonable sized block, and I might be planning to make myself a kitten quilt with some of the many fat quarters I have stashed :D

Am I comic book nerd? Not so much these days. I still love comics, don't get me wrong, but my money tends to go on household shit and fabric and novels these days, so when I do buy comics, it's because I really love them. I haven't actually bought anything by DC in several years, since they launched their New 52 and mutilated a bunch of my favourite characters (John Constantine, the Midnighter, Apollo, the list goes on). I'm not even that much of a Batman fan; too much ego and wangsting, and one of my exes was VERY into Batman, which was always a bit creepy. That said, I do love the hangers on of the Bat-family; Tim Drake was my Robin, I guess, but I love Stephanie Brown, Dick Grayson should always lead with the crotch, and his love for Barbara Gordon is the best thing ever. Actually, Barbara Gordon is the best thing ever. I love her as Batgirl, but really she's at her best when she's Oracle, snarking and controlling all the chess pieces. It's a shame th

*the Purple Marauder does no such thing, nyarrr This is mostly a very boring post about a skirt I have made WAY too many times now. This is my 3rd Imagine Gnats Alder skirt (previous ones here and here ). It's a quick easy make that doesn't use up masses of fabric, and most importantly for me, has excellent pockets that can hold tissues, both my phones (work handset and mobile), random bits of stuff I have to lug around the workshop and my kindle *not all at the same time, but that's a test I haven't quite put any of these through. This was part of my MadeUp pledge (the other half being the banner that I plan to spend the evening embroidering), which was to make a skirt that was actually suitable and sensible for work. I wear my other two Alders fairly regularly, but they're both quilting cotton and so quite stiff. They're also garish as fuck, and while my workplace is pretty lax, I sometimes feel like they're humouring me (to say nothing of the

This is where I confess I'm terrible at blogging. I get bored, I forget, I think what I'm saying isn't very interesting (it's not) and forget that what I'm actually doing here is mostly for my benefit. And then I get distracted by work being a pile of shit. Anyway, I've got WAY too many projects on the go, and my pledge for didyoumakethat's Made Up Initiative is way behind where it should be (sodding hand embroidery) but both the banner and the skirt are getting there. I've also got a present to finish by the end of September, and xmas presents are looming. I also have a load of patterns that I want to make for me. But before all of that, what was taking up space on the sewing table was a quilt. I know, I know, I said I'd never get into quilting, but then there were pretty fabrics and a couple of clothing failures and straight lines and not too much thought seemed like a good idea.

The last month or so has been a little bit hectic; lots of changes going on at work, and LARP is in full swing. Plus my birthday and various other bits and pieces mean that while I'm sewing plenty, I haven't managed to finish anything since the belt. I've got a bunch of patterns I want to try, I have a quilt top finished that just needs actually quilting (waiting for the backing fabric to arrive) and I'm in the middle of a super sekrit project that has to be done by the last weekend in August and is currently barely past the cut out stage. What I have managed to do is finish my Hitchhiker scarf that I started back in April. This was, as promised by the friend who gifted me the pattern, a simple and satisfying knit. I probably would have finished it ages ago were it not for my goldfish like attention span. This is 5 and a bit 50g balls of Patons Mirage DK (50/50 cotton viscose mix), knitted on 4mm needles (I think). It's super soft and squishy, and by some mira

I don't do spring cleaning, I'm usually too busy, but as the weather is finally heating up, I've had to accept that my sewing machine needs servicing. It's full of lint that I can't get out, and the tensioning is acting up beyond what I can fix. So it's off to be looked at today. And hopefully it won't take too long, as I have a banner that needs to be finished for the end of August. In the mean time, I'm planning on getting on with cutting up fabric for projects, and some hand sewing. The banner need embroidery, so I need some practice.

More costume making. I did this from scratch without a pattern, based on a rough idea of an obi belt, and a couple of 'corset' belts I found on Pinterest. The idea for this character is very much a wandering priest; she's an Orc, so rough clothes are the by-word. I wanted a wide belt to draw the rest of the kit together, and to have something with extra pockets in, and something to hang stuff off. This was made from some faux suede that I'd bought about a year ago from Calico Laine, because I wanted to see what type of material it was. I used some fleece as internal padding. I still need to sew some rings onto it so I can tie pouches on to it. (please excuse the bathroom selfie, there's nowhere else in the house with a mirror)

Two dresses in less than a week. That's not mad, right? I did it though. Two linen Simplicity 1347s, following on from the toile shown here .

So, costuming. LARP. That thing I do. I've been fiddling with kit for a couple of weeks, modding a dress into an over-dress kind of thing, and working up the courage to start new kit for Odyssey (which, at under 2 weeks to go, is becoming a priority). It's an ancient worlds LARP, which is awesomely fun, and I play in Greek nation. Sadly, the weather is rarely very Mediterranean, and cloaks are a necessity. I have those sorted. When I started playing, I was playing a combat character, and was bombing around in kit that looked like this... charlottemoss.co.uk  only with armour. Kit that was thrown together out of some scruffy blue fabric I found on the market a day before the event. I love that chiton; it's gorgeous soft chambray and I'm stupidly proud of it. It fits weirdly, tends to show my bra straps, and I have to wear shorts under it for modesty, and it now permanently smells of camp fire smoke, but whatever. Add that shawl (which has a hood, made by the exce

Just ignore me for the most part, I'm tired, irritated with work and trying to sort stuff out for another long weekend in a field. I'm also broke and payday isn't for another week :( Anyway, I made another skirt! Did I mention I love this pattern? I do. It's awesome, has pockets and hits my knee just where it should. One day I might even make a version that isn't made in a novelty quilting cotton. On the other hand, who doesn't want a skirt covered in tasty tasty fungi?

For which I do apologise. You know how sometimes life just gets in the way? Yeah, it's been that sort of month. Lots of stuff, lots of dipping in and out of projects, lots of not enough sleep. Actually, that's a given during LARP season. Behind the cut; a Polly top, some quilting blocks and some waffle. Not actual waffles, sadly. I don't have any.

I've been in a bit of a rut the last week or so. I'm making progress on the Hitchhiker scarf, but my sewing machine is still in it's box and the table and surrounding area is still covered in LARP detritus. I've got a niggling injury and what my friend R calls "brain weasels" which are getting in my way of doing a lot of shit at the moment, and the lack of crafting is driving me round in a vicious circle of "want to craft" - "no space to craft" - "no energy to clear space" - "blah" - "want to craft". My plan this weekend is to try and sort this shit out, because my whole house is suffering. Before this funk hit, I ran an event for which I made many props. This is the kind of thing that I wish I could do more often, but as we run on a weekly basis, I don't usually have time. But as it was the first event of the year, I had the prep time (and as the plot required several maps, it needed to be done or the p

I'm off to Empire for the long weekend. I have with me my sewing box (for helping fix stuff tomorrow before time in) and my knitting (for the periods of downtime I will probably have). Have a good easter weekend! 8 points down, aiming for 50 Sewing, Shakespeare and the Hobbit. 

I made another squid. I'm sort of wishing I hadn't, because these things are a bastard to do (although hopefully now I've made a couple of pattern modifications, future ones might not be) This was a commission for a friend of a friend as a present for his wife, so the first drama was working out what to charge (I didn't want it to be too cheap because that devalues the work of other people, but at the same time, I didn't want to over charge); in the end we agreed on £40 + fabric.

  My second #crazydogladysewing item, is this awesome Alder skirt (it's awesome because it's basically my ideal skirt pattern; elasticated waist, pockets, and hits just above the knee) I want to blather about how amazing this is, but I have a steaming headache after spending several miserable hours tromping around town, so you'll be spared a good chunk of the blather.

Well, you're getting pyrography first, because that's what I have pictures of. This was never just going to be a sewing blog, but if you're not interested in the sweet smell of charred wood, this post is probably not for you. This is a bit of a work in progress, because I'm short 2 discs and I need to make a case for them, but the case is in draft stage, and 2 more discs won't make a lot of odds in photos.   These are for the LARP system I help run, and also a shot at pyrography practice, as I'm a real novice at it.      

I have 3 things to post, and I'm not sure what order to post them in, so I'm currently flailing around like a flailing thing, and will be adding to the list of stuff over the course of the week. Why? Because the LARP season starts in 2 weeks (for me) and I am valiantly making props for our first event of the year. (current list: new Polly top, CrazyDogLady skirt, weapon carry disks for LARP. Forthcoming: lock puzzle props, maps and possibly a gargoyle head)

    There's a certain amount of irony in the title, as Polly was the name of my gran's dog hating cat. But only a small amount. I am a crazy dog lady, or I would be if I had the time to have a dog. I grew up with dogs, my birth was announced in the local paper as "a chum for Holly", and Holly licked chocolate pudding off my face and tolerated me trying to ride her round the house when I was very small. Then came Roxy, who wasn't my dad's dog (despite my dad being his favourite) who we weren't supposed to get, who peed in everyone's shoes and who had us (me) chasing over walls at 2am because he'd spotted a cat. Roxy who when my dad got re-married and moved out, went with him (I got the house). Sadly both are now long dead, and while I miss them massively, I know I'm out of the house far too much to responsibly have a dog. That doesn't stop me fussing every dog I meet up the woods (that lets me) and doesn't stop me searching out n

I may have failed on that "not buying fabric" thing. I popped into Hobbycraft yesterday to get some chalk for marking up some dark blue fabric, and then 3 bundles of super cute fat quarters fell into my hands. I'm blaming my friend for at least one of them, as he pointed it out to me.   I seem to be accumulating owl and fox fabric like it's going out of fashion (it may well be), but since I'm adamant I'm not going to start quilting, there's a limit to what I can do with it. Pocket linings, bags, that sort of thing, that's about it.   In regards to the fabric woes of the other week, I ended up buying 2 metres of 2 shades of grey, and ended up using the one that I'd bought the sample of. It isn't quite the right shade, but it's close enough, and now I desperately need to get sewing. They're response to my complaint was basically "we can't take natural light photos because we're in a warehouse and so

I ordered a couple of fabric samples last week from a well known online fabric retailer. They arrived yesterday, and were vastly different colours to what was shown on the website (taking into account monitor variances, and my suspicions confirmed by another person on yet another monitor). Needless to say I sent them a rather grumpy email, especially as this wasn't the first time it happened (pale orange fleece on the website turned out to be bright blogger logo orange when the sample turned up). Annoyingly I had to order fabric because I need it for my CrazyDogLadySewing shirt and that was the only place I could find any fabric that looked even remotely right. I'm sort of dreading the response (if I get one). In vaguely related news, that will be the last fabric I buy for the duration of Lent. I'm broke, I have too much stash, and since the LARP season is going to be kicking off soon, I'm going to suddenly lose a lot of free time at weekends.

This is a top I've made to actually wear somewhere other than LARP events. At work even. This is a Polly top from By Hand London . I'm fairly sure I'm the last person in the blog world to make this, but hey. We all have to start somewhere right?  

Over due post time! And two for the price of one! Day off today. Headaches and nosebleeds = no desire to be in an overheated office. So I'm having a day of trying to shift headaches and finish some stuff up. I have people coming over next weekend so I need to clear some space. So, stuff what I've finished of late. This is the LARP shirt I've been working on for a while (way too long). It's view D of Simplicity 3519 , and I would like to say that I am never making this pattern again (unless, possibly, someone pays me).  

To declare my Wurm hat finished! OMG so snuggly and warm :D Terrible hallway selfies are the best I can manage at the moment. Sewing post tomorrow, as the LARP shirt is nominally finished (I plan to hack the sleeves tomorrow) and I'm in the middle of cutting a Polly top (as in, I'm taking a brief brake to make a cup of tea in the middle of laying stuff out)

  It's been a month, can we all agree on that? January and February are historically awful months for me and mine, so I'm generally a fan of them passing as fast as possible. January did well on that count, although it's been a drag at work. In response to this, I did what any sane person would do; I spent money. Firstly, I replaced the decrepit old printer that I got free with my laptop (that has since vanished into whatever ether old laptops go to) when I went to university. Which, as was so kindly pointed out last night, was 10 years ago this coming October.  I haven't set the new one up (I'm trying to work out where to put it) but it does now mean I have no excuse for not printing patterns, and it means that when I do print patterns, I don't have to do it sneaky like at work.     Then I bought fabric. (disclaimer: not all of this fabric was bought this month, but there are 3m of gorgeous soft ponte that's sitting in a bag rather than b

 More projects are in the works. I am however suffering from a severe case of winter blues, coupled with LARP starting to pick up again for the year (pre-season planning and stuff) and a general loathing of my job that's infecting pretty much everything I do.   But enough of the blah. I spent the weekend trying to sort my house out, mostly so that I had enough flat surface to get some cutting done. Saturday I cut the pieces for a LARP shirt. It's a Simplicity 3519  in view D, which I know is going to be massive on the sleeves and probably too small on the chest. It's cut in a size XL (to accommodate chest) and the sleeves are only half the size of the back and front (and they're huge). I used about 3 metres of calico for this, which is a pain as that's most of my toile fabric gone in one shot. Oh well. Even if it is huge, I can pass it off onto someone else, or I can modify it to actually fit me. LARP shirts that fit me are a rarity, so making my own is basic

This is a really image heavy post, for while I sort of apologise, but on the other hand, the fabric is amazing, so at least it's pretty :D (I'm also writing this in between bits of work at work, so if coding is amiss, I apologise - there's something not quite right with the images, I'll fix it when I get home) - photos have now been fixed. The first finished make of the year is an Ethel Tote from Swoon Patterns . I've had the pattern for a couple of months now (it's a free pattern that I picked up because I'd bought their Betty Bowler pattern and then decided I wanted a test project to see where I was missing knowledge). I bought the fabric before Christmas and kind of used it as a lure to make sure I got all the xmas sewing done in time. This is a PDF pattern, with some bits that need taping together. I printed it at work, and somehow ended up with everything being about half an inch bigger than it should have been (I suspect I messed up the prin

I started the cutting last night, got about halfway through, thought I'd screwed up the interfacing, gave up and went to bed. Came home this evening, running on 4 hours sleep (god I'm sick of these high winds already; my street is a wind funnel) and thought that more work on it would be a bad idea. When have I EVER paid attention to that kind of thinking? Finished the cutting and started ironing interfacing while I was making dinner, finished ironing the interfacing and fusible fleece after dinner and thought I'd leave it there. But no. No, I started sewing (once I'd stared at the instructions and then googled for finished versions of the project, because I was having issues working out where one of the pockets was intended to go). The two open pockets have been started. I'm in love with the fabric all over again. I wish there was a slightly better colour match on the thread, but I've not been able to find one, and in some ways I quite like it. I won

Someone has just agreed to pay me, nay, asked to pay me, for a squid! Colours and price have been agreed, now to order fabric and get going. I'm also considering making one in 'realistic' colours. I'm also trying not to pad the fabric orders just so I can get free shipping, unless it's stuff I actually need. I've got a Wurm on my knitting needles at the moment, a bag full of knitting needles that need sorting into sizes, and this weekend, along with trying to clean my kitchen after 2 evenings of manic baking this week, I'm hoping to finish the skirt muslin, work out what size it NEEDS to be (rather than what it currently is) and cut an actual skirt. I found some fabric that I think was supposed to be a draft excluder many years ago, but which is actually really nice cotton, and it would make a really cool skirt (that hopefully doesn't need a lining). This is just the front piece. While I am somewhat large in the hip department, this goes all t

 This is the last of the presents I made this year. I did start another scarf for my step-mum, but that ended up being too much work and I ripped it out. Anyway, this is a 2 meter knitted scarf, which on Ravelry is known as the Pathfinder Fibonacci. Pathfinder, because the colours are as close to the ones we use for the LARP group as I could find, and Fibonacci because that's the pattern the rows are laid out in.

 This was the big one. The one that was going to the person whose opinion as a crafter I care about, and a person who has had a bit of a rough year. Thankfully, by some miracle, it all came together, although this was NOT without disasters.