Diversification Part II

One week later and the garden is done. Well, actually three days later and it was done. The landscapers worked like super-humans and, having started on Monday, were done by the end of Wednesday. It was pretty impressive. And we're really pleased with the results too... here's those  before and after shots I promised.

                                          Before:

                                          After:

                                          

                                          Before:

                                          After:

The light stone paving was exactly the right choice. It really lightens the small space, and has a simple contemporary feel whilst still being robust and long lasting. The biggest challenge for the next few weeks will be keeping the grass alive. Especially if this hot spell continues and the toddler's enthusiasm for running in circles on it doesn't wane. We're watering it twice a day at the moment and it seems to be doing OK.  Fingers, toes and anything else crossed!

As for the container garden, I know it looks a little bit sad at the moment, but these are very early days my friend! So far, I have only used pots that we used to have on window cills or that we inherited during the move. Mum and Dad bought me a couple of lavenders and I got a rosemary and some strawberry plants. Whilst I thought choosing plants would be the tricky part, the biggest challenge has actually turned out to be ScALe. Plants that we pick up in the garden centre seem huge, but when we get the home they are far too small. Take thee Rosemary for example, I was this close to getting a smaller one because I thought it would take up too much room. Can you even see it in the photos?!?!?!?  Long and short of it is, I need to get some larger, more structural plants and pots. I'm thinking fruit trees, like lemons or cumquats... or OLIVES! Could I grow an olive tree in a pot in England!?!??!? And garden furniture. Something to give  the patio a sense of purpose and to create a  focal point/ destination. Something colourful!

Diversification

Welcome to my first non sewing blog post. I think a bit of diversity might help make sure I've always got something to write about. I'll start by playing it safe and telling you about my garden, but who knows where this could end... I have a lot to say on a lot of subjects!

So the sun is out, the sky is blue and we're having our garden done next week. We only moved into our house six months ago, so we've not spent the summer here yet. The garden is basically an overgrown patch of concrete at the moment. It's going to be completely dug up and replaced with a stone path and patio and turf lawn. The way I'm thinking of it is that the structure is going to be put in place next week (by the experts) and then we're going to embellish it over time. Initially, I'm interested in creating a 'container garden'. Not just growing things in pots, but creating a whole environment just above the ground. This website has been really useful for garnering initial ideas and thoughts. Even in such a small space the possibilities are overwhelming, so I've narrowed my ambitions down to the following outcomes:

1. A place to play

2. A haven for bees, butterflies and other wildlife

3. A working garden full of things to eat

I'm not really intending to ever consciously 'design' the garden, above and beyond the basic framework that I descrived above (as sketched out on this post-it note!). 

The intention is to allow the garden evolve over time. I imagine there will be a lot of trial and error, introducing things when we need them and taking them away when they don't work. 

Here's the 'before' pictures ('scuse the washing!). I'll supplement with the 'after' pictures next week...  I genuinely can't wait!!!!

Nothing to Report

This week I have been mostly getting started on my entry for the  Simplicity Blogger Challenge. I've got a really clear idea in my head of what I want to create, and a few pattern 'hacks' (that's pro talk for alterations right?!) that I want to test, so I'm making a draft version out of fabric scraps first. Here's a cheeky teaser... I'm not giving anything away though ...  All it shows is the very start of the process-  where I'm about to trace and cut out the pattern.

Last night I also turned that rubbish dress I made for my daughter into a little vest top. I removed the contrast band from the bottom and hand sewed a hem. It's a bit skimpy, but it'll look cute with shorts on the beach this summer.


That is quite literally all I have managed to stitch this week. So there's no point writing anything more..!

Two for one!

Here's a quick bonus post. It's the boyfriend's birthday today, so I finally gave him the pj bottoms... And he loves them! They fit perfectly and the dodgy button holes look fine with the draw string pulled. So he's happy and my confidence is buoyed a bit before I start my competition entry.

More Speed, Less Haste

Remember when I admitted to having no new sewing project lined up after I finished the pj bottoms? Well, I still had no plan this week  (until this morning I have been waiting for the pattern for the Simplicity Blogger Challenge to arrive). So I decided to use some left over fabric to make up a new dress for my daughter. I've made this pattern before (a couple of months ago in my pre blog days) and it came out OK, but I wanted to see if I could do it better.

I couldn't! 

In your mind, please take the title of this post ("More Speed, Less Haste") and replace "less haste" with "less quality" or, more accurately in his case, "really really shoddy sewing". The worst bit is the wonky way the contrasting band at the bottom is attached to the upper spotty part.  That just went wrong from the off! I didn't match the pieces well enough and I didn't keep the seams even, so the band piece ended up smaller than the upper part. That meant that the only way to attach it to the upper part was to pinch it up in places- so now the whole thing is bunched up in places. The only way to make it look half decent is to not slip stitch aground the whole contrast band on the inside. There's a big flappy gap in there. Uggggggh! It's depressing. Let's not talk about it anymore!

What it comes down to is that I just didn't put the effort in. I didn't care about the fabric because I hadn't bought it with this project in mind. I'd found the pattern challenging and unclear the first time I used it, and unsurprisingly it was exactly the same this time!!!


Ho hum. I'm just going to have to chalk this one up to experience. (Post blog note: actually, after looking at the photos for this post, I think I might take the contrasting band off the bottom and turn into a little spotty vest top. I could still salvage something from this horror!) The pattern has arrived for the Simplicity competition now, and I've already bought the fabric, so that will be my next project. I really, really want to do a good job with it, so I hereby commit to TAKE. MY. TIME!!!!

Sloppy seconds

Short and sweet post this week. Just like the sneaky pair of pj shorts that I've made out of some of the left over fabric that I didn't need to finish my boyfriend's full length birthday pj bottoms. It's a "his 'n' hers" sort of thing. Cute hey?

I'm genearally really happy with them. My first attempt at applying bias tape around the bottom went really well. The only scruffy bit is where the two ends meet - and that's my fault. I didn't read far enough ahead in the pattern and I tried to machine it all the way around when I should have slip stitched the end by hand. Another one that I'll know how to do better next time. It was pre made bias tape, but I reckon I could make my own another time.






And before you ask - yes! I got the button holes nicely aligned this time! Which means that my shorts are are better than the boyfriend's birthday present! Ha!






Again, I still need to make it to a shop to get some ribbon or similar for a drawstring, so imagine that's there too when perusing these photos(once the birthday celebrations are done I'll upload a picture of us both).

The importance of forward planning

I've very nearly finished the pj bottoms. I just need to get something to make the drawstring out of. Unfortunately, as they're a birthday present I can't photograph them on the owner yet, but I've taken couple of hanger shots.... I realised fairly quickly that pattern matching this print is waaaaaaaaay beyond me (and possibly completely impossible). But what I did give special attention to was making sure the same pattern runs up the centre of each leg piece. And that worked quite well. The pattern wraps all the way around and there is a nice flow to it. All things considered, I think that's the best I could have hoped for. 

Now for the mistakes though. And this is a real clanger! ...  Somehow, the button holes for the draw string to pass through don't line up. At all. I worked really hard on matching all the notches and pattern markings, but just didn't pay any attention to these bad boys! Definitely one of those mistakes to learn something from... Will not do that again. Note to self etc. For now, I'm hoping that once the drawstring is in and the waist is gathered up a bit more it won't be so noticeable! Spotting any other mistakes will have to wait until the boyfriend has tried them on. Pllllleeeeeasssse let them fit?!



So now this is finished, I have problem...  I've not planned my next project yet! Over the past few months I've always made sure I have the next fabric and a pattern lined up, but not this time. I think maybe I'll have another go at a toddler dress I made for my little girl at the beginning of the year. Pre blog. Or maybe some pj shorts for myself. I also need to start thinking design. I've entered the 'newcomer' category in this Simplicty competition. Basically, the challenge is to construct a a simple skirt and turn it into a "sensational, stand out statement piece". Alright then!