Sewing Today

No, I didn't sew this dress for Miss 14 to pose on the stairs with. (She is at a dance tonight in it.) I just altered it for her. We found it at the Salvos a few weeks ago. She liked it a lot, but it wasn't her size. That didn't deter us, because we can sew. We were also undeterred because most things in the shops don't fit her either. She is unique! So today I unpicked this dress and then put it back together again to fit her. I took the sides in (which involved taking out and putting the zip back in), took the back in, and took in the shoulder seams too. It doesn't sound much, but took all afternoon. Worth every minute though, because she was over the moon. I hope to do some "fun" sewing tomorrow. (I spent this afternoon tearing my hair out!!!)

Does buying fabric count?

Such great and marvellous plans for this week! If only I had consulted my calender, or my children! We had a doctor visit, a hospital visit and a dental visit this week along with numerous trips to the chemist. It all takes time. However, I did manage to squeeze a fabric shop (DK Fabrics) visit in amongst it all. Miss 21 (overseas) needs a light coloured jacket so I bought some green fabric to produce just that. I don't have a pattern to show you because I just copied one of her favourite jackets. I have made this jacket up before, but didn't photograph it before I posted it to her.

Mr 19 (our ebayaholic) has been searching ebay looking for zoot suit patterns. He found this pattern in the USA and it's his size! This was not in an effort to get me to make him a suit, he sews too and is looking forward to the challenge this suit presents. He chose a pin stipe and a diamond patterned lining.

This is what I have spent my time working on this week. My Bradley made bookshelves for me last year. I painted them quickly and put all of our books on them. As you can see above and below, they didn't fit very well. This was a very sad situation because we are reading people and we couldn't get to our books easily.

So, after months of wondering "how did that happen?" and "what will I do?" I came to the conclusion that if we couldn't use the books properly there was no point in having them and I should cull our collection to those we really love. (Well, it didn't really take me that long to work it out, but I was slow to put the plan into action because I thought it would be difficult to cull our books. It hasn't been as hard as I thought!)

The shelves now look like this (above and below). This isn't the finished product yet, but at least you can get to all the books. I am quite fussy when I've decided to actually do something, it's just the deciding that holds me back! (I am the woman her keeps her dvds alphabetized afterall - it's so much easier to find what you're looking for!)

Some of the books will be kept behind closed doors. This is in an effort to combat dust and to keep the library looking better. I really love these cupboards because they were built to my specifications. It's excellent having a handyman live at your house! I have so many projects and designs for him in my head I think it would take him a couple of years to build them all if he could work fulltime on the jobs. Of course, he can't because we like to eat and feel more comfortable when our bills are paid. (I have to keep reminding myself of this!)

These are the piles I have assembled so far to go! Not sure what we will do with them. A friend suggested we see if a secondhand bookshop is interested in buying them. And there's always the Salvos! Mr 19 thinks we should give some of them a go on ebay (naturally!!!). Now that I'm in such a clearing out frame of mind I think I might tackle the fabric stash next! (If I get rid of any of that it will be a miracle!)