Summer sewing in black & white: skirt and t-shirt

Hi, lovely readers!

How is your summer going?

Mine is full of trips, time with friends, work, books, beach and good food.

I'm not very creative in this period, but I've probably understood where the problem is hidden (multitasking is not always a good thing!) and I'm going to do some good planning to reconnect myself to my self-expression path.

Despite this not-very-creative mood, I made some new clothes for me. 

Summer is the best season for diy clothes, in my opinion. 

Easy t-shirts, or skirts, are very easy to sew and they help your wardrobe staying full of options during the hot season, when the pile close to washing machines can reach huge dimensions.

I made a skirt and a t-shirt!

They both are black and white (+stripes!). It's not a combo I used to like in the past, but something was calling me while I was looking for fabrics into my boxes.

The skirt (very easy pencil skirt)

Something about this skirt:

• I've bought the fabric more than two years ago and left unused, because I loved it so much that I was terrified to waste it (also because the piece was very small).
  It's a strong but lightweight and soft knitted cotton fabric, printed with different motivs of black and white zigzag stripes.
• I've drawn the desing by myself following my body's shape and measurements. It's a very easy pencil skirt finished with an elastic on the waist:

• I realized the hem by hands.
  I've learned how to sew an invisible hem by hands thanks to a stitch (called "punto strega" - "witch stitch" - in italian) that can be stretched a bit (thread doesn't rip): very important in knitted fabric skirts.
  Most important: it works!
  (me in the making)

The t-shirt (stripes + flowers again!)

Something about this t-shirt:

• Yes, the fabric it's the same of the stripes+flowers t-shirt I made last year (still loved and worne) but in black+white+sand and not in blue. I have a big piece of it, so I will probably sew something else in the future.
• Design by me!
  I used a (bought) t-shirt that it's very confortable on me and used as a pattern.
  I added some bands on the sleeves because these details help handmade clothes to look less handmade (yes!).
  I'm not 100% satisfied by the neck line. It's always the part of the process that gives my troubles.
  
  

Future projects

I'd like to go on sewing in August.

It's to start something new, so in my plans there are:

• Culottes! I've collected a lot of inspirations, tips, patterns and tutorial for culottes making in a Pinterest board. Something like this or this will be great!
• A top with draped neck line following this tutorial. I hope it will help me in go over my problems with neck lines. I like this kind of neck line very much, too!
• Leggins or easy pants in stretch/kintted fabric.

I'll share with you the finished projects, of course!


Do you practice easy summer sewing like me?
Share your work! I'm always looking for new inspirations!

Late summer post

Hello, my friends! How are you?

I hope these late summer days are going great for you!

Although we are still having very sunny days and high temperatures here in Sicily, days and nights are warmer. 

I like the atmosphere of this period of the year, probably one of my favourite (together with april month).

We are going to celebrate a special birthday day for S. with an amazing gift (for both of us): 7 days of journey in Ireland! I'm so excited, I can't wait to be there!!! I wrote some weeks ago about my need for adventure and wild life in nature and I think that some days along wild atlantic way will work very well for my soul!

I've recently spent also some days in northern Italy at mum's home. Nothing special to say about this short vacation, this time. It was different from last year and I have no snapshots to show you. 

But of course I had some quiet days with family and friends and this is good. Very good.

Mum and I worked a lot with cornstarch clay. Mum is an artist with this material. She learned how to make roses and other flowers and also started to make tons of earrings with my help.

Here is a photo of some of them (those I've picked up for me and my relatives here in Sicily):

Making them with mum was very funny.

I'm not very creative in this period and they helped me staying connected with using the hands for making things.

I have a lot of new ideas for the shop, for new things to sew for me, for my career. But all is saved for the second half of september. Now I'm going to book a room in a lovely b&b in Ireland :)

So you soon!!!

Simple happy things - July 2015

Last year I worked on a little project and documented every single day of July (I've called it "July in 31 photos").

Not the same, this year. 

July is very hot, I feel like I'm very down on batteries and I am not doing special things to capture with my camera (although I think that there's something special for us everyday and that happyness is hidden into simple things). 

But of course I took some snapshots here and there.

They make a sort of visual diary of this month. Simple things in my life.

Critters around the house...

A super secret project I can't wait to share with you...

Some hard and satisfying work at the sewing machine...

(completed this month: 5 bags + 2 wallets + 1 moleskine cover)

(bags 1 e 2 uploaded in my esty shop)

Summer yumminess...

Important birthdays and lovely birthday gifts by the kids...

Testing new tools (rivets!)...

5 Pinterest boards to follow: adventures!

Summer... for me this season is for outdoor living, exploring nature and having some adventures and a pretty dose of wild life.

Is this true for you, too?

My life is keeping me far from nature and adventures, lately. I really miss some things I was used to in the past, like trekking on italian mountains (Alpes!), exploring the country by bike, camping, spending time in the garden or on the beach.

So I've recently opened a new Pinterest board to help me in staying connected with the wild side of me the same. 

I'd like it will remind me to add some adventure in my daily life, when I can, because it's very important for my soul.

The board is called "Wild life & adventures"; take a look!

I've collected images like this, a strong but funny invitation to add adventure in life:

Of course I've started to follow other Pinterest boards about this theme, like:

The explorer archetype, full of inspirational quotes about adventure.

Somewhere on Earth - travel, with stunning images of places to visit in the world, where Mother Nature is at her best.

Appreciating the Earth, a beautiful expression of the need to go in the woods.

The wild outdoors, very interesting for mountains lovers!

Follow these boards, or mine, if you need like me some visual reminders of your need to add adventure in your life!

[previous posts of "5 Pinterest boards to follow" serie: making toys, modern rustic style]

A parade of handmade spring/summer tops!

This summer I'm not working only on bags and other accessories to improve my shop's offer!

Since it's summer I'm into tops making! :)

I really like to make fresh and comfortable t-shirts and tops using knit fabrics and cotton jersey (I usually buy them at our outdoor market and are very cheap - they are leftovers - but high in quality).

I have three of these handamade spring/summer tops to show you today.

The stripes + flowers top

A very simple design. It's a self-drafted top, t-shaped, without sewn sleeves, but with a curved hem on the bottom.

The things I like about this top is that it's very fresh and soft and it has some of my favourite peculiarities for clothes: the colours (blue and white!), the stripes, the floral pattern (climbing my left side)! :)

I sent these snapshots to my mum and she said she liked it very much!

The inspiration for this top came from this pin: I realized I could place the floral part of the fabric on one side, to create a lovely asymmetrical look.

The grey petal sleeves t-shirt

Some weeks ago I finished a more complex top: one in grey with petal sleeves and mother-of-pearls bottons.

I learned how to modify a basic t-shirt pattern to make a petal sleeve thanks to some tutorials I've pinned in my Pinterest board about "sewing clothes" (this one for example).

I've altered the pattern I've previously used for this cardigan and the work has been simple. 

But I'm not 100% satisfied about the final result, I see too much folds here and there and the t-shirt is not so good on my body shape :(

However, I'm going to try again, because I'm in love with petal sleeves!

The knotted blouse

There another thing I like when I make/buy tops, t-shirts or blouses: knotted necklines! I'm a bit obsessed.

So this spring (in april) I decided to make a blouse of this kind.

I have only one photo of me wearing it, because now it's too hot (july!!!) to take other images of me with a long sleeved blouse!

To make the blouse I've altered this pattern (yes, again!) and self-drafted the neck band.

I think I made a good work!

Since I'm obsessed by knots, I'm going to make other blouses with this caractheristic: I'd like to test the "Mimosa blouse" pattern by SBCC: it's a .pdf pattern for a t-shirt with raglan sleeves (love it!) and a flat knot. I like it because it's sporty and feminine at the same time!

If you like knotted blouses, but you are looking for something more elegant the Lottie blouse (free pattern!) is for you!

Some notes

If you have suggestions about handmade spring/summer tops (or want to share with me the tops you've made), please, leave a comment!

If you're looking for some inspirations, you can take a glance into my Pinterest board about sewing clothes.

Speaking about my future projects... I'd like to go on with asymmetry making something like this or this. But also the Harper blouse (free pattern!) by Spit Up & Stilettos is a good choice for my body shape (I'm a curvy hourglass).

Hope I've inspired you to make some summer tops for you! :)

New in the shop: bags with crocheted bottom

In my last post I mentioned my plans to make bags with crocheted bottoms. 

I worked on them in the last two weeks and now I can show you the final result.

I think mixing fabric and crochet is an interesting idea, expecially if you are interested in something informal, quite rustic, strong enough to carry your essentials, but with the romantic accent given by crocheted details.

I don't now why I've abandoned this idea after my first (good) experiment more than 4 years ago.

Anyway, I made two different bags, starting from two similar (in their shape) bottoms. I like to be various when I create :)

The first one I finished is this shoulder bag:

It has a crocheted plastic button + a strap for closure.

Inside I've fully lined it with a vintage striped fabric (it comes from an italian tailor's shop closed in the 80s).

Here a close-up of the bottom made by AuntFran:

Then I made this tote:

The peculiarity of this bag is the white fabric used for the exterior parts: a recycled upholstery fabric, saved from the workshop of a friend here in Sicily (he was going to throw it in the trash can, because the pieces were too small for his work).

This fabric has a pattern of leaves you can see if you look closely at it:

Do you like the stitches used by AuntFran? 

I do, I do. This pattern is probably my favourite. She often uses it, expecially for her pencil cases and pouches.

This bag's design is quite simple: a "regular" tote with two straps. 

But I gave attention to some details, like the zippered closure and the inner pocket:

Very proud of me and of the skillness I've reached after years and years of sewing bags! :)

My plans are to going on making complex bags, with pockets, zippers, adjustable straps and other details that make the bags more "professional" in their look (although I want to save also their handcrafted peculiarities).

AuntFran made for me a crocheted bracelet, too!

I added a recycled mother-of-pearls button and voilà... listed in the shop, ready to be matched with one of the white bags!

*     *     *

I'd really like to hear your opinion about these bags in the comments.

Someone said me they are beautiful, but look too delicate for everyday use.

What do you think?

I do not agree, because I know how the fabric and the bottom are strong. And the white surface can be washed without problems in tepid water by hands and then ironed. No difficult manteinance!

Leave me you thoughts in the comments!

I'm visualizing a young woman with one of these bags on her shoulders while having a short holiday in the country, this summer. Or having it as a good company while exploring little ancient villages in Europe...

Ready to restart

Hello!

I'm here again after more than two months of no blogging!

I'm fine! The reason why I've abandoned this lovely (to me) place is that I worked a lot. I had two jobs as a teacher in two different schools and I've been quite busy. I've also spent a lot of free time with family and friends and worked on some issues at home. A very busy and happy time.

But summer is here, I haven't a job now and I'm ready to restart sewing and blogging (and drawing, writing, taking photos... all things that are part of my creative journey).

Yesterday I took some snapshots of my sewing table covered by the new things I'm working on: some crochet+fabric bags and purses.

They all will be in cream and made of a mix of crocheted cotton and fabric parts.

During her last visit here in Sicily, AuntFran help me in finish some crocheted bag's bottom and other things (like this bracelet) and now I'm adding the fabric to it.

I've bought some supplies in a local shop and I received that beautiful paper bag by the famous brand Gutermann. It had different vintage images of seamstresses at work on both sides. So lovely!

I liked so much those images that I've glued them on two blank pages of my Moleskine.

I've completed a bag last week, too!

It's for mum! 

She crocheted the whole bag (love those flowers!) and gave it to me to add a fabric lining.

I decided to sew a recessed zipper to make the bag safer:

This is one of the way recessed zippers can be fixed into a bag. I can say it's not difficult at all, now that I've tested it, so I think I'm going to add this kind of closures to all my next bags, eh eh!

I have a lot of things to tell you about new supplies I received and about my sewing projects for summer. But this is not the time for it! I'm studying some historical notes about the village of Savoca, Sicily, because I have to work as tourist guide there next week!

See you soon!!!

Simple happy things: late summer edition

Although almost all of you are probably into a very autumnal mood, here in Sicily we are enojoying the last days of mediterranean summer.

Yes, we are still wearing t-shirts and sandals. It's still summer, but fresh air and some rain here and there are announcing that autumn is coming soon.

So this edition of "simple happy things" is about late summer, like last year in october.

I've collected some photos of little beautiful things that make me happy recently and I want to share them with you.

My favourite snapshot: this tiny bird called "african stonechat" ("saltimpalo" in italian). It lives in the (still dry) fields behind my home.

Tiny (but very hot) peppers S. grew in our garden:

Acorns! S. picked them up during our last trip to Selinunte archeological park: 

If you want, you can look in my Flickr album at some snapshot I took in the western part of our region we travelled some weeks ago (Greek temples, Palermo, great panoramas from Erice ... you have to scroll down to the bottom to see them).

This acorns were green, but I wasn't enough fast in taking a photo, so now they are dry and brown.

A handmade paper rose S. brought to me after work (a colleague made it):

My first crochet-covered bottle is a good place for it, isn't it?

Books about craft bussiness on "patchwork pillowcase n.2":

Now that I'm out of work, I'm working to improve some aspects of my shop, but I'm also reading a very big novel by Ken Follett ("Winter of the world").

I'd like to listen something about your simple happy things in this period of the year. Leave a comment! :)

Happy nostalgia

I'm looking back to my holidays today and I'm into a happy+nostalgic mood.

Yes, it's possible. 

Human feelings are so complex that happiness and nostalgia can walk together.

I'm looking to all the photos I took during our holiday at mum's home in the north and I feel so grateful for those happy days together with my friends and family! 

My batteries plenty recharged. I did all the things I love best (not only drawing and embroidery, of course!) and reconnected with the real me.

We explored the country by bycicle several times and enjoyed nature and ancient monuments.

We stayed in the garden, a lot. 

Picked up vegetables and fruit and cooked them. Discovered new (to me) species my brother is growning (did you know purple basil?). Fed the turtles everyday.

I've read a couple of novels and learned something new about nature thanks to my brother's books about trees and plants. I love to have good books near the bed!

We made some works for mum with dad's tools and found them very beautiful in the backlight.

And at the end of our days there two special ones got married :)

You can say we did nothing special this summer.

Yes, we haven't explored the world and hadn't great adventures to tell you.

But we enjoyed all that little things that speak special words to our hearts. This is important to me :)

Other photos on flickr!