Stylish Dress Book Pattern E

So, I think my new favourite crafting pursuit is making clothes for myself.  Or, to be more specific, making DRESSES for myself.

And, my new favourite book is ‘The Stylish Dress Book’ by Yoshiko Tsukiori.  I LOVE it!!!  Maybe I should do a proper review of it at some point, so I won’t rave on about it too much here – if I can help it. 

It was really challenging to pick a place to start when I got the book, as I pretty-much wanted to make EVERYTHING in it, STRAIGHT AWAY.  In the end, though, I decided to start with ‘Pattern E’ (which I think is my very favourite). 

Apart from positioning the bust darts (which I really don’t get, by the way, and any tips on this would be gratefully received), I LOVED the entire process of making the dress.  And luckily, as it took me some time to complete, I LOVED the finished dress!!!  I think you can see how much I love it, through the uncharacteristic amount of posing I’m doing in these photos (which I’m now a tad embarrassed about, I have to say).....

The style of this dress makes it so versatile!  I wear mine at night – for going out for dinner, or drinkies.  The fabric has a bit of a shine to it, so it might look a bit too ‘dressy’ for daytimes.  But, with different fabrics, it would look great as a cute sundress, or as a heavier winter dress (over a roll-neck and some thick tights).  SO many possibilities – and I’m sure I’ll be exploring them all!  I’ll DEFINITELY be using this pattern again!!!

If you’ve made anything from this book (or any of the others in the series), I’d love to have a look.....  

Carly

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Santa, you know me so well!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  I hope you all had a happy Christmas, and that you celebrated the start on 2013 in style!  We had a wonderful Christmas with my family (being spoilt, eating lots, and playing games), managed to meet up with lots of UK-based friends, and had a fantastic New Year's Eve (with my parents and some friends) at a hotel in Cheltenham.  

Santa Claus is SUCH a clever fellow!  How DID he know what I was hoping to find in my stocking this year?!?  And he's SO generous too!  I think I must have been very, very good last year!!!

I thought I'd do a little show-and-tell of some of the crafty pressies I received.....

[look out, books - here comes the scalpel...]

[a little bobbin corking dolly]

[a bit of CK, of course]

[another papercutting book]

[my new 'Mollie' subscription - with freebee book]

[a new camera lens - to snap some birdies and other creatures]

[a lovely, colourful, small-project crafty book]

[and last but not least... some cute fabrics]

I'm CAN'T WAIT to get started on some new crafty projects.....  Thank you SO much for all my wonderful Christmas gifts, dear family and friends!!!  

Next time, I'll do a show-and-tell of some of the pressies I MADE for people this Christmas.  So, see you soon.....

Carly

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Yippeee! Crafty Birthday Pressies!

It was my birthday last week.  I had a lovely day, and lots of fantastic gifts.  

Simon bought us tickets to the the Cirque du Soleil 'Corteo' show, which was AMAZING.  If you get the chance, you should definitely go to see it.  I can't recommend it highly enough!  The acrobats were brilliant, and the costumes.....  Oh my goodness!!!  It got me wondering how complicated it would be to make a career change - from teacher to trapeze artist.  How long would the training take???  

Unfortunately, I couldn't take any photos of the show.  So, instead I thought I'd show you some pics of my the crafty pressies I received.....

Firstly, look at this cute box for my knitting needles:

I LOVE it so!!!  I love the little old nanny's outfit. I think I need a knitting outfit just like it!

And look what was inside it:

Aren't they the cutest needles EVER?  Who cares what they knit like - they have red and green toadstool tops!!!  Crafty friends always know JUST what will make us jump up and down with excitement when we tear off the gift-wrap, don't they?!?

Simon got me this:

It was on my 'wish list'.  It's a kit for making mini mobiles, which I thought would look good in my little crafting room.  If you haven't heard of the make before, check out djeco stuff.  It's for kids, but I think lots of you may well fall in love with it too!

This was also on my crafty wish-list:

I remember this from when I was little and, when I accidentally stumbled upon it while I was searching on Amazon, I thought it would be a fun book to have in my crafting library. 

So, look out for future knitting projects, teeny-tiny mobiles and pictures made from cut-up circles of paper in future posts.....

Happy weekend to you all, my lovely bloggy friends!

Carly

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My Crafting Room

Do you know what my all-time-favourite blog posts are?  I’ll give you a clue:  I’m VERY nosey…..

That’s it!  My favourites are the ones where bloggers invite you in for a snoop around their crafting spaces.  I LOVE them!!!  Seeing how other people decorate their crafty rooms or corners, and what equipment they have, and what bits and pieces they like to surround themselves with is so interesting and inspiring.  Getting to have a nose around somebody’s crafting ‘den’ also makes me feels as though I know that person a little bit better.

So, I thought that it’s about time I posted about MY crafting room!  Well, actually it’s half a room.  The other half is Simon’s 'magician’s lair' (he’s a part-time magician – you can check out his website here).  He might argue that I’ve taken over substantially MORE than half a room, but I’m sure you wouldn’t believe him.  ;-)

Here goes, then.  This is where I spend most of my spare time – at my little desk:

Above it are my noticeboard and my calendar:

And here’s Simon’s beloved IKEA Poang chair (which I’ve sneakily prettified with a couple of cute cushions):

Here are my shelves (home to my crafty book collection and my CK sewing basket):

And here’s my tin collection (all full of goodies, of course):

My chest of drawers is full of fabric, and so are the boxes at the side (I’ll have to show you INSIDE one of the days):

And here’s my clock (which I left ‘til last, because I tend to forget it’s there when I’m crafting up a storm):

So, that’s it! 

What kind of blog posts do YOU enjoy the most???

Hugs,

Carly

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Crafty Book Bargains

As promised in my last post, I’m back to tell you about the books I bought while we were visiting my folks in England.  I thought I’d tell you a bit about each one (like mini-reviews) and show you my favourite projects from them.  So, here I go.....

I bought ‘Weekend Sewing’ (by Heather Ross) from a super-cheap book shop in Lichfield.  Sorry – I can’t remember the name of the shop.  The book cost £5. 

Most of the projects seem fairly achievable, and the introduction to the book states that all of them can be done in a weekend (or a day, or just an hour or so).  The ‘look’ of the book is bright and fresh, there are lots of diagrams to show you exactly what to do, and the photography is gorgeous!  There’s a huge range of projects (over 40), including:  bags and pouches, table linens and other kitchen stuff, slippers, gloves, dresses, skirts, PJs, and babies’ and kids’ clothes.  I especially like the clothes in the book, as I think craft books with an equal balance of ‘garments’ and ‘other stuff’ are a rarity.  Since buying the book, I’ve read some pretty negative reviews of it on Amazon (yes, I know it’s normal to read reviews first, THEN buy).  These reviews say that there are errors in a few of the patterns/instructions.  I was really disappointed to read this, as I LOVE this book, and was really excited to get going on some of the garment projects.  Of course, some of the reviewers were going crazy about this, while others wrote that the errors didn't really bother them and weren't a big deal.  So, I guess I just need to try the projects for myself and see how they work for me.  Even with a few errors, though, I think the book was great value for money (at the price I paid for it).  I’m not sure, though, that I’d be willing to pay the RRP of £14.99 knowing that there are problems with some of the projects.

These are the projects closest to the top of my ‘to do’ list (I’m hoping that none of them are the ‘problem-projects’):

I bought ‘Sewing Green’ (by Betz White) from the same bargain bookshop.  This one cost £6.

The book contains 25 projects, all of which are made with organic or repurposed materials.  There are also lots of hints, tips and resources to encourage environmentally-conscious sewing.  Like ‘Weekend Sewing’, this book has a fresh, modern look and some lovely photos.  There are also some really beautiful projects (pretty skirts, gorgeous cushions and blankets, super-cute kids’ stuff, and the AMAZING scarf on the front cover, for example).  As I was picking out my favourites to show you, I realised that they're all felted thingamabobs.  So, I guess that's what I feel the book does really well.  But, I have to say that I’m not so keen on other repurposing projects - I’m not particularly taken with projects that blatantly ‘look’ repurposed.  And this book has four or five that I’d put into that category (for example, an apron made out of an old shirt, a bag made out of old jeans, and a sunshade made from used Capri Sun cartons).  For some people, though, as I’ve read in other reviews, these are the projects that are most appealing.  Each to their own, of course!  I’ll definitely be trying out some of the makes in this book, and I’m pleased I picked it up. 

These are a few of my favourite projects:

The third book I wanted to share with you wasn’t a bargain book shop special.  I got it from Simon for Easter (don’t worry – I had plenty of eggs too).  This one’s called ‘The Crafter’s Guide to Taking Great Photos’ (by Heidi Adnum).  At the moment, the Amazon price is £8.44. 

I LOVE this book!!!  I thought I was on to a winner by putting it at the top of my Amazon wish list, as the 6 reviews there are of it on Amazon at the moment are ALL 5*.  And I wasn’t disappointed one little bit!!!  I took night classes in photography many moons ago (when I first went to uni).  The classes were great (especially the ones where we got to mess around in a darkroom), but I’ve forgotten most of what I was taught, and digital cameras weren’t around then (or at least we didn't learn about them).  This book starts from the most basic of basics (which really helped to refresh my memory), and goes on to explain things in finer detail (covering how to get the best results when photographing different types of craft products, how to edit and store your photos, and how to use your images to promote your crafty business).  There are also pages dedicated to sharing practical photography hints and tips from well-known crafters.  And, best of all, the book is a treasure trove of amazing photos of all kinds of crafty products!!!  I’ve read the whole book through, from start to finish.  It explains everything (camera settings, lighting, composition, etc) in easy-to-understand terms, and the author’s writing style is friendly and informal.  I can see myself dipping back into this book (for advice AND inspiration) time and time again.  I’d definitely recommend it!!!

Oooh – this has turned into a super-long post.  Sorry!!!

If you’ve read any of these books, I’d love to hear your thoughts on them.....

Happy Sunday to you!

Carly

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