The Lisette portfolio tunic

I made a practise, or muslin version, of the new Lisette portfolio tunic yesterday.  I used an old 1970s bed sheet of my mother's (or maybe Grandmother's) for the muslin, which I remember vividly from my childhood.  I love old bed sheets and duvet covers for making muslins - there's so much fabric to use, the patterns are often funky enough to wear if the muslin turns out well, and being so old the fabric is incredibly soft and tactile.  There was a great article on Whip Up yesterday about sewing with vintage bed sheets.

The Lisette patterns are a new venture by Liesl Gibson, who designs the Oliver + S children's clothing patterns.  Instead of publishing the patterns entirely by herself, as she does for Oliver + S, she has teamed up with Simplicity for the Lisette patterns.  This warmed me to the patterns immediately as I get on very well with Simplicity patterns.

I've made a few Oliver + S clothes for O, and although I love the designs I do find the instructions too slow and detailed for my liking.  They are perfect for anyone new to dressmaking, because everything is very clear and carefully explained, but I end up getting frustrated with the large number of small, detailed steps. 

The Lisette patterns are much more my sort of thing.  There are still plenty of handy tips and suggestions in the instructions, but I could rattle through them at a good pace, making adjustments and changes as I saw fit.

I followed the pattern for the tunic length top - there are both longer and shorter versions of the top included in the pattern, as well as trousers.  The tunic has two low pockets which wasn't apparent from the picture on the packet.  I love these pockets so much though - they make the tunic look very quirky I think.

I made the top across one afternoon and evening, so it was quite a quick project (once I had traced and cut all the pattern pieces, which I hate doing, and which took me the almost another entire day).  I struggled with the pockets at first - it seemed counter intuitive to do what the instructions told me - but when I calmed down and did as i was told, it all worked perfectly.  The outside neckband caused rather a lot of swearing as I had to spend ages pinning it, and then rip the stitches out twice before it worked.  But other than that it was all very straightforward, and next time I would rattle though it twice as quickly, I'm sure.

And there will be a next time.  I like how it looks.  The neckline is higher than I would usually choose, but I'm getting used to it.  The fabric choices I made are a little odd, but I have to remind myself that this is a practise version.  I think the contrasting pieces would have looked much better in yellow, not dark brown, but I just used up what I had to hand on my shelves.  I want to make it in ticking (red and grey, preferably) or a thick, crisp quilting cotton.

The fit is making me quite happy.  Next time I'd sew the side seams with a bigger seam allowance to give myself more of a waist, but I like how this fits across the bust and hips - notoriously tricky areas to get right.

The weather was warm enough on our walk today that I could ask Gill to take these photos of me when we stopped by a log for a coffee break.  I think the tunic even looks rather good paired with baggy, old, muddy jeans and my walking boots!  It will be even nicer though with some skinny jeans or leggings, and great as a cover-up from the sun this summer.

I'm very happy.  Off to rummage for some fancier fabric now to make myself another version.

In the middle of things

The longer days and brighter sunshine of spring don't translate themselves into an urge to spring clean - they just fill me with enormous energy for making things.  I don't normally like to have multiple projects on the go, because I can end up feeling overwhelmed, but at the moment that doesn't seeem to be a problem.

One legwarmer for O is finished, and the second one is coming along nicely.

These are a fast knit, and I like the colours she has chosen - they remind me of ice cream for some reason.  The combo with the red tights is an adventurous, but typical choice for O, who has no concept of colours clashing or matching - anything goes.  I rather admire that.

My colour preferences are more muted at the moment though.  Yesterday I finished the first of these armwarmers in some delicious Malabrigo yarn which I bought on a trip to Loop at the weekend.

The pattern is the wonderful Toast, found here on Ravelry, with a few small changes of my own.  The second armwarmer is also on the needles, and I am racing to get it finished before this week's walk, which is pencilled in for Friday.  I will end up with almost a whole skein of the yellow left over, and think I may make another calorimetry headband from it.

The third bit of knitting on the go right now (I know - three! very silly) is this facecloth in Debbie Bliss Eco Baby cotton.

I love the cotton (in yet another pastel spring shade), I love the pattern, which is from a library copy of Debbie Bliss's new book The Knitter's Year, and I love the idea of washing my face with a knitted washcloth rather than a tired old flannel.  However, knitting moss stitch is so incredibly slow.  It will be weeks before it is finished.  This trade off means that it will be a while before I replace all the worn-out flannels in my drawer with lovely cotton washcloths - I find moss stitch so beautiful but incredibly frustrating.

There's sewing happening as well as knitting!  Maybe I'm drinking too much coffee at the moment.

Last night I finished these pyjamas for C.

The top is a long sleeved t-shirt from Uniqlo.  Uniqlo don't seem to sell children's clothes here in the UK, but the men's XS size fits 11 year-old C very well.  The bottoms I made myself from a georgously soft checked flannel which I bought at Fabrics Galore last year for a bargain £4 a metre.  I used my favourite Simplicity 3669 pattern, which I've been sewing from for years - they are so simple I can make a pair in about an hour from start to finish.  Even better, the children love to wear them because they fit so nicely and are very comfy.

And then yesterday I received two new Lisette sewing patterns all the way from New York, which had escaped the sting of extra customs charges (very satisfying).  In the same delivery was the new Oliver + S book too.  So today I am cutting out fabric for a top for me, and planning some nephew and niece birthday presents for later in the year as well.  This is a photo of my ironing board, submerged under patterns and fabric, this morning.

The Oliver + S book is a thing of great beauty.  As I suspected, most of the projects are for children younger than mine (really for babies and pre-schoolers, with a few projects also good for children in the first year or two of school), but that's fine by me as I have plenty of small relatives to sew for.  I love the book for having so many good projects for little boys, who often get a raw deal when it comes to handmade love.

The Lisette patterns are lovely - and I think they are good value, even when ordered from America, because each packet has four patterns inside.  I bought these two patterns for the tunic tops, but now I have the patterns I also think I might make this skirt too.  I really like the skirt length and the button tabs at the front.

I am now off to make myself another pot of coffee.  There is spring making to be done - so much more fun than spring cleaning!

Weekday walk #6

It was a bitingly cold day, and we walked along the Thames for over ten miles, taking hundreds of photos, snuggling into our hats, sipping coffee from our flasks and smelling the syrupy, caramel scents from the Tate and Lyle refinery at Silvertown.

Our highlight was the completely unexpected discovery of a little sandy beach at Gallion's Reach, at the outer edge of the docklands.  For over an hour we became mudlarks -prowling along the beach, picking up treasures, washing them in the water with freezing fingers, picking our way carefully over the slippery seaweed and hidden patches of estuary mud and occasionally looking up to gaze out across the misty, grey river.

It was magical in a rather eerie way, and afterwards it was only the chink from my pocket, of the sea-glass I had collected, that let me believe I really had been on the beach in London.

Spring apron

I've just listed a new apron in my Etsy shop, and I love this one so much I'm going to have to make myself another one exactly the same.  It is a reversible half-apron with nice, big pockets - like all the ones I made for the shop last year.

One side is made from a pink, polka-dot cotton, printed with tiny cherries.  It has a roomy pocket, made from a green polka dot cotton.

The reverse is made from a beautiful piece of vintage, floral, French cotton, which I found in a flea market in France last summer.  I love this fabric, and still have quite a bit of it left, which is a Very Good Thing.  This side also has a pocket.

I love the spring colours and florals on this apron.  The bright red polka dot waistband and ties are so cheerful too!

There is definitely a spring theme going on in my shop at the moment - bright colours and florals everywhere.  If there are none in your garden yet, go and have a look at over at Etsy instead.  Some of my favourite, spring-like things on Etsy at the moment are this pincushion, this sweet hairclip and these beaded earrings.

Weekday walk #5

As Moss Stitch and I discuss via Twitter which sandwich fillings we are planning for walk number 6 tomorrow (at the time of writing I am going for smoked salmon pate and Gill is leaning towards breaded ham and branston - but am sure one or both of us will have a last minute change!) I've realised that I didn't write up walk number 5, which was last week.

In many ways that's because it didn't feel like our usual Wednesday walk.  It was half term and we had all the children with us, and we also met up with my brother and his family, so in total we were four adults and seven children - the children ranging in ages between 1 and 11.  The best place to go with that many people of such diverse interests was easy to agree on - Kew Gardens.

It was a freezing day and as we ambled around we were glad of our flasks of coffee.  Particularly when we made the obligatory stops at the Badger's Sett and the alarming Treetop Walkway.  My children don't consider it a proper visit to Kew unless they have clambered around both these features.  I think the cousins and friends agreed.

The three 11 year olds, and the 4 year old, charged everywhere in wide zigzags all day, and by mid afternoon they had all hit a wall of exhaustion.

C confuses Forza Motorsports on the Xbox, with responsible pushing of his baby cousin in the buggy

C, T and F are all worn out

The baby and the girls were still doing pretty well though.  The baby loved the floor grates in the Palm House, and pressed his nose to the floor to try and see what was underneath.

A and B having crawling races in the Palm House

I loved chatting with Gill and my brother and his wife, and as usual I came home feeling restored and settled.  The children were utterly exhausted too, which is always a bonus. We loved the damp crocuses just blooming near the pagoda, but the orchids in the palmhouse were glorious too (and warmer to photograph).

The biggest excitement of the day for me though, was my brother's orange kitkat, which he kindly shared with me at lunchtime. Wikipedia tells me that the orange flavoured kitkat was introduced in 1996, which means it has taken me an outrageous fifteen years to discover this incredible delight.  I have since stocked up on a multipack of my own, and now have a good supply to sustain me on the next few weekday walks with Gill.  Tomorrow we're heading off to walk along the south bank of the Thames, through docklands.

~~~~~~~~~~

I have both a desire for accuracy and a love of alliteration, and this has resulted in the re-naming of these walks from Wednesday Walks to Weekday Walks.  There have been a few Thursdays and Tuesdays recently, and we've decided we rather like the flexibility.

I think it looks rather good!

When I was pregnant for the first time, I knew a woman whose solution to maternity wear was to wear her husband's clothes, and she looked permanently charming - this petite little woman skipping about in slouchy, oversized cricketing sweaters and jeans for nine months. 

I envied her, because I was stuck in hideous Mothercare stretch navy trousers and even when I was not pregnant there was nothing in G's wardrobe that I could steal borrow.  G is about the same height as me but with a slimmer, male figure and a love for fitted clothes.  None of his sweaters are slouchy even on him.

But today I made a very exciting discovery.  His best winter coat, which is ridiculously warm and cosy because it is made from organic goosefeather or something, not only fits me perfectly but also looks rather good!

And it's blooming cold here again, so I'm pleased I made this discovery.  Now I've just got to persuade G not to wear it himself.  And unfortunately I might have a battle on my hands with that, because he does love a good, warm coat and has even been known to wear this one in June ...

Washing on the line

Along with the first bunches of daffodils, the first few times each year that I hang the washing on the line outside tell me that spring has arrived.

Today is a gloriously light, bright sunny day and I was up early to hang washing on the line.  I wish I could say that the washing was pretty - Cath Kidston tea towels maybe, or vintage handkerchiefs, or delightful homemade floral dresses... but in fact it was a heap of 100% pure nylon sports kit belonging to G and C.

The very feel of it sets my teeth on edge, and I struggle to peg it - slippery and damp - onto the line.  It is all one of three colours - white (yet mudstained - you cannot get mud stains out of 100% pure dri-fit nylon), black or dark blue.  No pinks or reds, no Liberty-like florals, no faded chintzes.  Such disappointing washing to hang up on a beautiful spring day.

But my peg bag lifts my spirits, and in the sunny corner of the garden there are daffodils, beaming in the sunshine.

There are currently two peg bags similar to mine listed in my Etsy shop.  If you also find yourself with sad, black, nylon washing on a beautiful spring day, then consider buying one to inject a bit of femininity and floral, cotton charm back into the laundry.

I console myself with the thought that at least all this horrid functional sportswear will smell gorgeous after hanging on the line all morning.  Until it is taken out for a run in the forest and covered in mud and sweat once again....

Saturday morning brunch

I have been thinking a great deal lately about how our family routines have evolved as the children have grown older.  Evening mealtimes have changed the most - from high tea for the children at about four o'clock when they were very small, and a later evening meal for me and G, to late afternoon family teas when C and O started school, to an after-school snack and then a proper evening meal all together nowadays.

The latest big change to our family mealtimes started last autumn.  Graham began his ironman training, C started doing the local Park Run each Saturday morning and O was bought tickets to a matinee at the ballet once a month.  Suddenly I found myself on a Saturday getting breakfast ready for everyone at completely different times and yet eating mine by myself, getting started on lunch as soon as the last breakfast was eaten, ferrying children around instead of baking a nice cake, and moaning at certain ironmen when they wolfed down two bananas and the last of the bread after a bike ride, and were then too full to eat supper.  I felt like I spent the whole day cooking for three permanently hungry, busy people, and not doing anything nice for myself.

So we started Saturday morning brunch.  Brunch is usually eaten at around 10 o'clock - after the early morning runs, but before the bike rides, ballet shows, swims and essential shopping trips to the yarn shop that must all happen during the rest of the day.

I potter around the kitchen peacefully for a couple of hours, with a cup of coffee, Saturday Live on Radio 4 and nobody to disturb me.  It has come to be one of my favourite parts of the weekend.  Graham and C are usually out running, and O is stretched out full length on the sofa in the front room, like a cat, in sole charge of the remote for once.

I always cook something hot and savoury, some muffins or buns, and something fruity, and make sure there is bread for toast too.  This morning we had diced potatoes, onions and sausage, baked in the oven and then liberally seasoned with black pepper and parsley.  I also made my favourite bran and buttermilk muffins, and there was granary toast and some gorgeously ripe pears on offer as well.

After all that I don't make any lunch, but there are leftover muffins and pieces of fruit for people to nibble on during the day if they are hungry.  I cook us a big, hearty family supper for the evening and we catch up on what we've all been doing during the day.

The table set for brunch

Granary loaf and bran & buttermilk muffins

Diced potatoes and a muffin recipe

Cook's treat

O likes muffins

We always need Lurpak and Marmite

Other successful brunch dishes we've had over the last few months have included:

• slow roasted tomatoes with garlic and chilli
• apple spice muffins
• omelettes
• cinnamon rolls
• pancakes
• scrambled eggs with chorizo and coriander
• bacon butties
• burritos
• diced potatoes and green pepper, roasted in the oven
• stewed rhubarb and yogurt
• banana muffins
• bagels
• devilled mushrooms on toast
• Welsh rarebit
• baked eggs
• freshly made soda bread
• carrot muffins

I also have plans for kedgeree, kippers, devilled kidneys and cornbread (not altogether).  My muffin recipes all come from this brilliant little book, and other recipes are usually from Hugh F-W's River Cottage Everyday, BBC Good Food magazine, various Rachel Allen books or just out of my head.

Then after a chatty, satisfying, filling brunch we are all free to go about our days in our own ways - whether that is reading the Saturday papers and doing a little bit of knitting in a sunny spot in the sitting room, or cleaning mud off your trainers and going on a four hour bike ride.

You know which one's me, right?

10 things

Ten things I'm loving this week:

• Half-term lie-ins followed by long, lazy days at home, all of us pottering around quietly doing our own thing - busy but mellow.
• The first bunch of daffodils of the season.

• C selling some of his old trading cards on eBay to raise money to buy things for his new excitement - Warhammer. It clears his bedroom AND raises money.
• The US version of the Moleskine website, where I can print out extra pages to stick in my diary and notebooks.  I'm particularly pleased with the 2011 Favourites pages - I can write lists of my favourite new dishes, books and places of 2011.  Found via Angry Chicken.
• Cooking with my new Le Creuset shallow casserole dish - a very kind anniversary present from my mum.  Perfect for baked risottos, or thick bean stews finished off in the oven with a cheesy crumb topping. Yum.

• Two excellent books by Jane Robinson.  I've just finished Bluestockings, and am now on Unsuitable for Ladies.  They're both fascinating and very readable social histories.  Bluestockings is about women's fight for higher education in the UK, and Unsuitable for Ladies is an anthology of travel writing from early women travellers.  Both brilliant and higly recommended.
• Sewing secret presents for yet more February birthdays. One has a spinach theme - oh yes.
• The children tried on their walking boots, and THEY STILL FITTED!  We bought them last spring and last used them in Switzerland over the summer. I thought for sure I'd have to buy more, but apparently I did well last year and bought them with plenty of room for growth thick socks.
• Tickets arriving for an evening of fun and feminism with the brilliant Sandi Toksvig and Sue Perkins at the Southbank next month.
• The drawing, cutting, sticking and writing that goes on at her desk all day long.  It's what school holidays are made for.

Felt lavender toys

The bag of felt monsters that I made for one of my baby nephews for Christmas was a hit.  He loved taking them all out of the bag, and then posting them back in.  He could happily squish and chew them too.  Since then, I've been thinking about making something similar for my Etsy shop, but with some lavender stuffing.  Everybody who saw the monsters asked if they were filled with lavender, and each time I explained that they weren't, I thought to myself what a good idea.

So after much thinking and a few experiments, I made these felt lavender toys at the weekend.

Their bodies are filled with toy stuffing, and the fabric circles on their tummies are filled with lavender.  The children are enchanted with them, but I'm not so sure.

I find their faces a little creepy - embroidered faces are difficult to get exactly the way I had imagined. I'd planned to leave the edge of the fabric circle raw and unfinished, but when I finished them, I thought it looked a bit messy.

This purple one had a different mouth to the other two.  I prefer this big smiley mouth, but the children said it looked wrong.

The combination of toy stuffing and lavender stuffing is good though.  They smell strong, because the fabric containing the lavender is just thin cotton; but they are still soft and squishy to hold.  C and O love them, and have put them in bed, next to their pillows.  That's a pretty good recommendation.

I think I'm nearly there - perhaps just a few more experiments with embroidered faces are required.