8 days into the new year...

...a crafting I will go, a crafting I will go! Spotlight twice in one week, thats cool, but I was very, very good, and only go what I actually went for, and they were having a huge sale!! Winter wools for cheap as, lovely georgettes, etc. etc. but I managed to bypass all temptations, Thank ya, Thank ya very much, no need for applause!!

So the kiddies and I went to Spotlight, for some bits and bobs this week, and my girls I'm proud to say, have the crafting bug just like me, my son on the other hand couldn't wait to get out of there lol.

Everyone though, definitely have firm ideas on what they want me to make for them, I got Thomas the tank requests, twirly skirts, cap sleeve jumpers, etc. So back at home we all got to drawing fashion boards, and the girls are really into it, I'm quite pleased.

We have a long list of things we want, but what I'm after is not the one piece wonders, but clothes that can work together in several different ways, classic pieces that can be worn year after year and still look fashionable, for me anyway, for the kids, I want them to be able to wear their clothes for at least 2 seasons, and to be able to layer, when the weather gets warmer, or remove pieces when the weather warms up.

~ooOoo~

The pieces I would love to make, and have wanted for as long as I can remember are:

1. The white shirt - I read an article years ago on a woman they interviewed, a home magazine of some sort, I can't remember what it was about, all I can remember is loving what she was wearing, her favourite clothes to garden in??? was a loose, white shirt, it looked like a very light cotton, tailored, but a relaxed look, I think the sleeves were a sort of batwing type although not so 'batwingy!?' haha, which she could either wear with cuffs buttoned or rolled up. Obviously she had no young children lol. But she looked lovely, like those ladies who roam around their English manor grounds clipping roses or checking the gardener is putting the spring bulbs in the right spot!
2. The white handknitted jumper - The same woman from the same article, she had knitted a white lacy, also batwing jumper and she looked divine in it, of course in saying that, I'm not that excited about batwings on me, but I think this year I may give it a go.
3. The little black dress - now I have had little black dresses, very little, as a youngin lol!! But I think now I'm on the edge of the big 40, I may be ready to get a classic little black dress, you know a tailored to my exact fit, little black dress, that can be dressed up or down and always makes you feel confident and beautiful.
4. The mid-calf length wool coat - now as we live in Australia, the need for a long wool coat is minimal to none lol, but a future goal of our families is to have a white Christmas in Germany, so, I am getting prepared for this eventuality. New Zealand on the other hand has many opportunities to wear a wool coat, so I am looking forward to going home for winter this year and wearing my coat.
5. The perfect pants pattern - now rather than an item, this is a wish for the perfect pant pattern that flatters my figure. I know how I need to get it too, I have to draft it myself, BUT I'm lazy, an drafting is sooooooo tedious, and labour intensive, and theres a ton of muslin sewing, and refitting. I want to find my perfect pattern already made for me to make, not much to ask, but hard to find, onward I go though!
6. A dress makers form - I know this isn't a piece of clothing, but I've always wanted one, and I saw a blog recently, I will have to look for it, where she makes her own form, to her own form, haha, out of that brown gummed tape. So this goal is suddenly more attainable this year yay, although I may have to wait till Christmas and get my sister to help me, Ma Hunny is not that patient with the things I like to do!

I am so excited to be making my wardrobe this year, and want to make sure its full of things I love.

So I guess the first thing to do is decide what I will be doing in my new wardrobe.

Well the I'm am a lady of leisure, meaning I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling mother, so mabey a lady of others leisure lol. But we do have HS classes, extracurricula activities, and of course a NYs resolution, church. As well as holiday wear and a few parties with my husband.

I do plan to mabey get a part time job this year, although I doubt it would be any where that I could wear a lovely fitted suit and skirt, or a flirty summer dress lol. But I think mainly I want to wear lovely clothes every day, whether I'm going somewhere or just staying at home:

• I want lovely, flattering pants to lounge around in at home, (gym clothes strickly for excercise!)
  
• I want dresses that I can wear shoppin, and then dress up a bit to wear out for the night or to a bbq.
  
• I want to be a put together mother, not a throw on what ever is washed mother!
• I want to feel good in what ever I am wearing, knowing it is well made, fits beautifully, and I can get the same style whenever a new colourway need strikes!
  

~ooOoo~

Now what have I sewn the last few days, besides making plans for the year, only one thing, we've mainly been designing, and researching rather than creating, but I did manage to sew a pair of good shorts for me, it went together like a dream, the zip sailed in smoothly, I had a bit of trouble ironing as the material is slightly sheeny and doesn't iron quite flat. But, I went to try it on, and it didn't fit, in fact it was so tight I could barely do the side zip up.

Now I know what I did wrong, I measured my self and didn't stick to the size the pattern said, I have always been a size 12-14 in RTW (Australian sizing) but slowly after 3 kiddies I've let my weight creep up to 70kg (11 and a bit stones) so now in RTW I'm a definite 14, but when I checked the Simplicity size chart I was a whopping size 18, I've never been that big before, so of course I thought the pattern was wrong, NOT!

So now I have to face reality that I need to sew the bigger sizes, in fact when I checked my McCalls pattern for my next project, I'm a size 20!!! Now if someone can explain to me the size differences I would be happier. I used an online converter to see what size an American 20 would be in Australian sizing and it would be a 22! However, converting my RTW size 14 to American would make me an American 12. ANd on another website an American 10 is equivalent to an Australian 14, so WHAA???

I guess though, the mainly lesson to take from this, as told to me by my husband while he was comforting me, (lovely man) is to measure twice, cut once. haha.

["now where did I put that treadmill, check behind the rolls of fabric"]

Pics up later, too depressed, will sew Merah Moo's, new shorts tomorrow, and mabey a matching tank, that'll make me feel better!

ANyway, gone on way tooooo long, looks very boring so sorry to anyone who might read this, but I think I just had to get down my goals and vent frustrations to move on with my sewing.

So there it is, I actually feel much better lol, so onwards to my next project.

Night Sewing Land, sleep tight