Funny dance around new Patterns

Anti...climax

Good that I can still laugh about myself.

 

It has been weeks now. First I transferred the chosen garments of my first collection onto pattern paper, then I had to let go of them and they were transported to London. And after some weeks they made it to the graders and also back. And finally they came by train back to Liverpool last weekend. 

When I heard they would be back I got very excited, it felt like a victory. But somehow it started scaring me and that's where I am glad that I can laugh. Maybe because it felt like a massive project from start to end, maybe to let go of a whole year of hard work, maybe the step to the next level, whatever it was, it is gone now and I am ready to move on. And it feels really good to use them. 

This collection is available now and just waiting to be put in my shop. It is a Hand stitched long sleeve Yoga Tunic, a short long sleeve Top, a comfortable Top and Tank Top and the Yoga pants in all sizes and different colors.

Merry Sparkly Woolly Top

Happy Advent!

I am still in denial. I cannot believe where time has gone. 

My body and head are still bathing in warm sunshine while I am shopping for Christmas presents in the freezing cold. The shop that provides it all is the local fabric shop and I found what I was looking for. But Christmas also means making myself presents. Actually especially at Christmas time I find the most exquisite gifts for myself.

This one is a small cut-off of sparkly woolly midnight blue fabric and I did not hesitate to get it! And as I am practicing offline-ness it is already ready to wear! It is quite airy but very warming and it has a very decent sparkly thread that blinks once in a while.... 

Now which Christmas Party should I take it out to? 
Ok, there is still more to do this year, a lot more. Another thing that is in my head but maybe there is one at least!

Auditions and a Hoodie

Warming news from the attic

Sometimes I really regret that I have turned on the computer during my working day. I get distracted and consequently lost and that is what I ended up watching last night: x got talent

Anyway, after seeing lots of auditions were you could never guess what you will hear I felt even more excited that my hoodie turned out so nicely.

I like hoodies, they are great to hide in. But usually the hood is very small and when I turn I have the feeling I am being slightly strangled when I twist my head. 

The one I have just created was developed out of the woolly vest mentioned earlier. It is a gorgeous versatile piece this vest, light and very warming. But I forgot that it is getting even colder and I have the wish to hibernate also indoors, mainly after I have brought the kids to bed and I am half asleep myself or when the heating gets randomly turned off.....

Obsessed with simplicity I had to fiddle about quite some time to solve this puzzle. The vest was created with a panel who's  size is determined by half of the body width. For the length I took all material I had. I used the edge of the woolly fabric so there would be no need to sew a hem. 

This time I have included the hoodie in this panel. I marked the position of the shoulders and tucked the bottom of the hood in, creating two pleats. The hood is wide but also vanishes when not used. 

This fabric is warm and light and very nice to wear. Sadly I have used it all now and after loosing my favorite cardigan to the fairies I hope this one will stay longer with me.

I really have to go now ........

Woolly Vest for a Cool Land

Warming

I like cool but this is definitely too cool for me. 
As always I understand things much later than they occur, so I wonder how long until I understand what am I doing in this country? I know I have a family here. But if this is the only reason then it is really time to grab them and find a warmer home.

Remember last winter? I froze half of it and then I made those woolly tops and wondered why I did not think of making them earlier. This year I am much cleverer, I started wearing this gorgeously warm layer already in autumn! I love it. The only thing is, wearing a cardigan or jacket on top, they don't reveal any of my nice Hand stitched Tops.

Somehow I do not own any jumpers. I have one but it is made of thick Organic Bamboo Jersey and I occasionally wear it but it is more a large sweater. I think it is because I don't like thick layers and love to move freely. But it is very cold at the moment. Cardigans are nice but too warm in the house and not enough freedom on the move.

So instead of finishing what I need to finish today I thought there is enough time to squeeze in a new prototype. And this is it, made of two pieces it is warm and light and I have lots of freedom. 

And: this Hand stitched Woolly Vest drapes nicely around any Hand stitched Top I am wearing underneath. I am off to continue my work, but might sew some pockets on later.

To warmer days!

Stuck and a Rug

A Bouncy Castle is not all

It would be great if all would just work out, now. But then again I have learnt so often that delay can be much better. Knowing that, it doesn't make the path I am walking any easier.

 I have taken my oldest son to a Fancy Dress Party and I will confess I have to practice this. From choosing a costume, although this was not too bad, to actually going there. Little girls can scream very loud and pitchy and conversation would not flow easily after a sleepless night and a very early start. But there was a bouncy castle and pink cake and all went well. But arriving at home I could not let the day end with a bouncy castle. Sewing was no choice as I could have fallen asleep standing but also because the kids had still a lot of energy that needed to be channeled. But I could gather all the too small T-Shirts together and make a yarn out of them and start crocheting with my handmade mega hook.


Sad tha all is stuck at the moment, as it feels so great to create what I want to create but also excited to finally make the  bathroom mat I could not find anywhere.

And it is so extremely super soft!

Travel Sewing Kit

Where are you going?

This was the question my husband asked when I showed him my new Hand Stitched Travel Sewing Kit. The answer was sadly, nowhere.

My head is spinning, there is the collection that wants to be finished and presented, there are 2 books to study more sewing and pattern making techniques that want to be worked through and there is already a new project that I want to realize. I could not make up my mind of what to do first, so I had a cup of tea and decided to make a Hand Stitched Travel Sewing Kit. 

Where am I traveling to? Well, I am fed up with thinking of where to put the magnet, especially not next to the computer and also the threads and pins got tangled up. I wanted to make one in the very beginning when I started sewing by hand. But the design wasn't mine and I also questioned the practical value of the design. 

This version is not much designed and thought through but it suits my needs. The scissors are secured, the threads held in place and the sewing needles are in a separate location from the pins.

It needed to be very small in case I really travel as I have to give up any space in a suitcase for toys and extra clothes for boys. I also did not want to have to extra pad it so I put a layer of felt around it. It is made out of a too small T-shirt of the boys and some leftover materials and it is easy to close with a strip of jersey.

So were am I traveling to? From my studio to the living room, to nanny's television room and probably sometimes to the park.

a collection / chapter end

Suffering (;

I knew this would come. 
I have this self-imposed rule that I draw a pattern straight after a new design is born, no matter what. And if I make any changes I transfer them immediately too.

Obviously, there are exceptions. Sometimes I am not sure and think I can draw the pattern later. Sometimes the drawing is very free-style as it is in process anyway. Although I must say through experience my pattern-development got more and more accurate as it just speeds up the process, and although I know by now how to cut what, it is still of advantage to have the pattern finished, named and neatly stored. 

A year has passed. It feels like a chapter is finished and it is time to move on. But before that I wanted to present what I have done in form of a collection. I decided which of the designs will be part of this collection and did the last fine tuning. And I spent the whole weekend to create the final drawings of those patterns, I mean the final final ones, which was quite painful as I had to test and work out if it is all correct, like super correct. Because they will be graded and if there is an error, it will be in every size.... 

(... From now on I am not only drawing the pattern immediately but also do the final drawing.)

Well, now I only have to choose the fabrics and manufacture and present this collection in my shop. What a big event!

Smile! i can cu .....

Another Holi-day entertainment

Some nights ago I had the idea to stamp my logo onto my Hand stitched clothes instead of screen printing it. 

Why now I don't know, but I found a kit online and today it arrived which was really nice as I told the kids that we would do some T-shirt prints and we still had another Holi-day to fill.
























My oldest designed a smiley, we transferred it onto the rubber and after some airplane maneuvers that filled the carving time, he decided which clothes should have a smiley on and voila his first collection:

 

The best part of it was to hear the boys scream and giggle when I lifted the stamp and they found the smiley on the fabric.

Well prepared I transferred and carved i can cu's logo and have already tested it on several proto-types. 

What a nice day!

2 weddings and lots of rain

Show off time

They are married and the sun is shining now.

The last two weekends where marked with two weddings and pouring rain. But the rain has stopped both times for the wedding ...

I might get some more and better pics later on but this is a little peak into i can cu's wedding world.

  Hand stitched tie (in church)

 Hand stitched dress

 Hand stitched dress with poncho

Man's World

Tied up

Well I said I do not sew lots of men's clothes but as it seems I have to.

But this is more of an emergency project. I could not bare looking at a bought tie again for a whole evening, or actually invest in buying one. I don't understand the tie-concept and have not seen one I like so far.

There is a special occasion on tomorrow therefore I spent my morning entertaining a very bored toddler and creating a Hand stitched tie. 

At least I can concentrate on my red stitches tomorrow. I might make a toddler's and boy's version with elastic band around the neck as well.

Jealousy and a jacket

Anniversary present

I recently had an unexpected visitor and found myself walking down High street. I do not get there very often and also know why. One reason is that I use any free time for everything else but shopping, and then for example, if I would take my youngest with me I could rather stay at home because we would only end up arguing which way to go. But I must say there is also nothing I would want from there. I thought I give it a go and find an anniversary present but no, no, no.

I had coffee instead and decided to finally make the jacket that I had in mind, already months ago. The fabric waited and I had still some days left before the big event.

I do not particularly like hand-sewing men's clothes also because they are usually very big. But the jacket issue kept coming back so I thought I want to solve it one day. When we lived on the remote Scottish Island our life happened mainly outdoors and we therefore needed to be dressed appropriate but not necessarily designed. Living in the city now, the focus shifted and the outdoor gear should look good too. There are good brands that produce good looking outdoor gear to high prices but the quality just does not keep up. The lining rips or the
water repellent surface does not survive cleaning or seams open or the material is too noisy and would scare wildlife away. 

As it was a surprise, I had to take an existing jacket for size reference and started designing it. I have never made a jacket this big and with lining but it was fun. For fitting I had to reveal my secret but he was still chuffed later when he was wearing it. Made of stretch denim with woolly lining it is warm enough for the cold season but still thin enough to layer it with even warmer layers underneath. The only thing it is not waterproof, so this prototype wont be the one for going fishing.

There was not enough time for pockets but I might sew some at a later stage if they are required. The buttons are hidden under the edge but a part of them can be still seen, which makes it interesting. I used a straight stitch throughout. Because I finished the outer jacket first the lining creates an additional line of stitching right next to the main one, which looks really nice. The advantage of this construction is that the lining does not fight with the outer layer and this is more comfortable to wear. 

But the nicest feedback was that he chose to wear this jacket to the wedding we have been invited to rather than the suit jacket.......

I want one too.