Silhouettes - #Wardrobe Architect

Silhouette perfect skirt with blouse and cardigan - #Wardrobe Architect 

Silhouettes - #Wardrobe Architect

Silhouettes cigarette/skinny pants - #Wardrobe Architect 

Spring pastel knitting.

As I have two lovely sons, it is so nice now that I have a little niece to be able to knit in pink!  Yes I could even possibly start sewing in pink too in a while.

Anyway before my niece was born (when we didn't know she was going to be a girl) I did a bit of lemon, white & turquoise knitting, but this is the first pink.

I had forgotten how quick and easy it is to knit for babies.  This is knit in Snuggly Baby Crofter DK shade  159 (Tilly) and the pattern is 1391 from the Baby Crofter Girls book.  The Snuggly yarn is as you would imagine very soft but can be washed in the washing machine, so very practical.  It has what you would call a fair isle effect.

The flower is a cute addition and I had some Liberty buttons which I thought went well.

I have some nice pink cord somewhere so maybe a skirt or tunic top will be next.  I see there are some lovely children's sewing patterns like this little tunic from Oliver and s.  After all there are only so many items of clothing I can wear, surely!

However, still on the pastel theme which, of course, is very in for spring, I am about to start a new spring sweater for myself... well, you can get bored wearing the same sweaters, can't you?  I am afraid I did succumb to purchasing more yarn, tempted by another blogger (it happens a lot).
 

It is this beautiful French merino yarn in a pale blue shade and I hope to knit up a pattern I have had for a while, the sprig sweater by Alana Dakos.  The pattern was released first and I think the rest of the patterns will be released soon in the form of Botanical Knits 2. Looking forward to starting it, probably should do a test swatch first.

On the sewing front, I am in the middle of making a dress for a function I am going to later in the month.  If I say part of it is in silk (and I have never sewn with silk before) you can imagine it is a slow process! I had to unpick the neckline as I had managed to get fabric caught in that shouldn't have been....bad words may have been uttered!  Maybe I'll finish it by next week, here's hoping.

Wardrobe Architect, Designing and building thoughtful attire.

I thought I would share my thoughts on doing the Wardrobe Architect worksheet which I sort of started on a whim. This is a series of exercises on the Coletterie blog from Colette patterns to help us ascertain our own unique style and help us to wear attire that reflects who we are as unique personalities, shapes and so on.  I reckoned this would be good as we are (as a family) attempting to really downsize all aspects of our life and just have less stuff.  In particular I am seeking to put together the perfect capsule wardrobe for spring.

However, now maybe I am overthinking this all too much, but it was amazing how emotive I found the whole experience, not in a bad way, I hasten to add.  I guess how we dress is a big, big part of who we are.

So the first worksheet asks us to write down how various life experiences and background circumstances effect how we dress.  For this I returned to a lovely gift my mum gave to me on my 40th birthday.  She made it in her women's group and it was a snapshot of highlights of my life up to that point.  Little did I know at that time that mum wouldn't be around by the time I reached my next birthday, so I guess the photos are all the more special.

Anyway it was very useful for this exercise, here are my answers.

History

My gran on my mum's side was a dressmaker and she regularly made my mum and her three sisters clothes especially for special occasions like weddings.  As I was a child in the 70's I remember short dresses but also going into the era of maxi dresses and flared trousers.  I often would be with my gran in the factory that her and her sister worked in, surrounded by lots of haberdashery, fabrics like tweed were used a lot and lots of bright colours (which I love)

My mum was never happy about high street purchases as she reckoned they weren't that good a quality and I think that has stayed with me.

However I was a bit tom-boyish and didn't like the embellishments like lace, frills, made-up fabric flowers that my gran loved putting into her work.

In the 80's (late teens, early 20's) there were the music influences of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet with their frills in the 'new romantic' era, the influence of the then Lady Diana and all her frilliness but I'm afraid all of that was not my thing.

I did take part in Ballroom and Latin American dancing so that required dressing up which I enjoyed but definitely no frills, quite smooth lines was what I preferred.

In the 90's I mostly wore straight skirt suits and trouser suits in work which worked quite well for me.

Philosophy

Very short skirts were frowned on and I even remember my dad being 'funny' about me wearing jeans at first.  I was always encouraged to buy clothes that were good quality and would last.  Now I like to use very natural and sustainable yarns and fabrics.

Culture

Wasn't too sure about this one, I don't think culture has influenced me too much.

Community

I was always encouraged to be an individual and not follow the crowd.  I think this has stuck with me as I am not influenced by friends or communities.  I would have been influenced by my mum in the past.

Activities

Meet with clients (wear something smart like trousers, top, jacket)
Meetings
Work from home
Household tasks
Gardening/working in polytunnel
Social activities - theatre, dinner functions, friends houses, holidays.
Walking, cycling
Mostly I need my clothes to be smart, but functional, that is keep me warm when doing outside activities.

Toast style


Location

Where I live is wet for a lot of the year, also cold and windy so need clothes that are warm, cosy and water repellent.

Body Image

Mmm....

Clothes that make me feel good are those that compliment my shape, feel uncomfortable when wearing low waisted trousers, clothes that are tight, clothes that are too big and clothes that aren't the right colour or the right length.

Also things I think of as 'twee' like Peter Pan collars, frills and too much fabric.

Worksheet 2

I will keep this a bit more brief.  When I was thinking of whose style I like I came up with:

Jamie Lee Curtis
Claudia Schiffer
Farrah Fawcett
Diane Von Furstenburg
Charlies Angels
Kim Delaney (actoress)

Clearly a much bigger 70's influence than I was aware of.  Interesting

You can see my influencers on pinterest here.

Some of my words that describe me are:

Light & bright                          Simple
Natural                                    Subtly sexy
Warm                                      Unique
Comfortable                            Understated
Drapey                                    Elegant
Sleek                                       Practical
Unfussy                                   Quirky
Minimalist                               Subtle patterns
Quality                                     Ease
Classic                                     Neat
Unrevealing                              Sporty

Five words that I think best describes my style

Simple, practical, bright, sleek & understated.

So there you go, an interesting exercise so far.  Who would have thought that my style preferences in my 40's reflects the style slants of the 70's.  Am I having a mid-life crisis or is everyone a bit like that?
Who knows?  Am I any closer to my perfect capsule wardrobe... will let you know soon.

Albion Coat is finished!

Yes the Albion coat is finished and I can't quite believe I have actually made a coat.  This pattern makes it entirely possible to do so for someone, like myself, who has no training at all and only started sewing less than two years ago.  It is an amazing pattern, although I would say you definitely need some experience, for example, setting in a sleeve and general knowledge of sewing techniques and how patterns work.

So amazingly the rain stopped for a while yesterday so I seized the photographic opportunity for my husband to do some nonchalant modelling.  (I suspect he has been looking at those lovely Toast catalogues on the quiet)

So here he is.

The 'demure looking in the distance pose'

The wonderful yoke and hood.

'See that wonderful cosy lining'

'Yes it even has in-seam pockets too'

I think it's safe to say that he is rather pleased with his new coat.

So a bit about the pattern then.  I think I mentioned in a previous post that because the instructions are broken down into sections it was a great dip in and out of type project.  Up until that point there had been nothing difficult at all, but then I go to the 'attach sleeve linings to sleeve shell' section.  Eek!  I had those sleeve linings every which way, inside out, right side out, literally every way imaginable and I could not figure it out.  I couldn't understand the diagram at all.  Went away had a cup of tea, came back and was able to do it first attempt of trying.  Phew!  Bearing in mind I have never made a coat before this is hardly surprising, but I would imagine that the sew-along will be very helpful for this.  Other than that the rest of it was fine.

So what did it all cost.

Outer fabric wool blend coating from Guthrie and Ghani 5m @ 14.50 = 72.50
Lining fabric brushed cotton from Calicolaine 3m @6.99                     = 20.97
4 Toggles from minervacrafts.com  4 @ 3.49                                        = 13.96
4 buttons from minervacrafts           4 @ 0.60                                        = 2.40
Total                                                                                                      = 109.83

Could you buy one for that?  I don't think so and sure it wouldn't be as special.
I made it in size Large and I started it just after Xmas so it took be about 4 weeks doing a section most days.
Overall my husband is delighted and so am I.  I would highly recommend the pattern.

But now I have some dresses to make!!

January Works in progress, polytunnel, Albion duffle coat and some knitting.

January can be such a forlorn month.  The trees look so dark and bare and, of course, rather than the thick snow that we have had in previous years everywhere is sodden. However it is the beginning of a new year and lots of positive thinking and planning.  So it's not that I haven't been busy... luckily it hasn't been too cold, so my hubbie and I have taken the chance to clear out the polytunnel, which performed rather well this year.  Most stuff had been eaten or is in the freezer waiting to be used up.

As we grew rather hungry crops like french beans and varieties of climbing courgette and squash this year it will have to be topped up with lots of compost and manure. (all organic, of course) so that will be the next job.  I will also have to take the time to wash all pots and modules and probably the plastic too.  Then by February the planning what to grow will start.  I try not to grow the same group of veg in the same place each year.

Apologies to those not interested in vegetable growing, this is as good a place as any for me to keep a record of my growing for the year.

I have been making as well though.  I am pleased with the progress of the Albion duffle coat for my husband.  I haven't been working for long periods at it, but it is a great pattern for dipping in and out of as it is beautifully broken down in to bite-sized sections, you can maybe do one in an evening, so it has been great that way.  So far nothing difficult, all really well shown in the pattern instructions, there are just lots of little bits to it.

The above shows the front pocket and the in-seam pocket.

Front yoke

My teenage son reluctantly 'modelling' the coat obviously way too big for him but fits his dad well, which is good.

"Please can I go back to my PS3 now mum?"

Anyway it is actually starting to look like a duffle coat now... Yeah!

Knitting wise, I am knitting a wee cardigan for my niece, nice to do selfless knitting now and again.

It is the girls V-neck cardigan here knit in Sirdar Snuggly Baby Crofter dk yarn, lovely and soft.  On to the sleeves so nearly finished.

Better get back to that Albion as I want to start some sewing of my own... surprise, surprise.  In my resolution post here I said I wanted to make more fitted items with woven fabric.  I have a couple of functions to go to in February so the perfect excuse to make a dress.  At the minute, I am contemplating the Emery dress by Christine Haynes which is pretty fitted and looks as if it would suit an hour-glass (ish) figure or maybe the Hazel dress by Victory patterns.  (less fitted and probably a lot less challenging, but very nice.)  Both these dresses are out of my comfort zone so a good challenge. I will try to use from my stash of fabric, it will all depend on what time I have after I finish the Albion!

50 shades of grey.... I like to call it silver.

Wow, where did the first week of January go to? No doubt, the month will go slower as it goes on, isn't that always the way in January?

Anyway, I thought I would bite the bullet and share my experiences of allowing myself to go grey or 'au naturel'.  Maybe someone is at a similar stage that I was just over two years ago, (I had just turned 45) in that, I wasn't happy having got into a rather expensive viscous circle of having to get my hair dyed every four weeks.

This was a big, big step for me as I had always dyed my hair.  Since I was about 16 I have experimented with auburns, blondes, red, every shade you could imagine.  I have always loved nice clothes, wear make-up, nail polish and take care with my appearance so could I ever consider not dying.

Thought it appropriate to wear my grey sweater, it is the Lyra Crew from Rowan Cocoon Collection.

I was quite fair as a child but my adult colour was just simply brown.  I started to go grey when I was in my early 30's.  My hair is naturally wavy and I have had all lengths of hairstyles, in my 20's longer and curlier, in my 30's got gradually shorter as the children and work life balance thing kicked in. That's just a bit of background, so here are my reasons for finally deciding to stop.

1.  Tired of having to go every four weeks to get roots done, which is also quite expensive.

2.  I am a trained nutritional advisor (in particular Metabolic Typing)  While training I became aware that there may be risks in using chemicals as cosmetics, make-up, hair dye and everyday cleaning items.
I had already got rid of all chemicals and began using organic or at least more natural products.  There is conflicting evidence about all this, of course, but I feel that it is just because not enough research is done and the beauty market is huge and probably quite powerful.

3.  I was starting to feel less happy in myself about getting my hair dyed and also felt that although my hairdresser was good, I just felt my hair always took on a yellowy tinge after a while.

4.  After googling 'going grey' on the web, I found a great website here  and found lots of women were feeling the same way and was inspired and helped by it.  There were some beautiful grey haired women and some a lot younger than me.  I have since discovered pinterest and there are loads of grey-haired women on there.

5.  I started to feel there is an inequality between men and women with this.  Gray-haired men have a suave, sophisticated, sexy image ... just think of the gorgeous George Clooney, but yet with women there is just an association with looking older or just letting yourself go.  I just don't think this is fair.

6.  I went to a 'Colour me Beautiful' advisor.  She told me that I am in the 'Cool' category and need to wear colours with blue or cool undertone and to avoid colours that have a yellow or golden base.  Before I even mentioned hair colour she told me that I would suit going grey.  That was it... I made my decision, so my next problem was how to go about it.

I will not lie, the transition of the first few months was not nice, it really did look as if I had 'let myself go'.  I started by letting my hair grow, it was a really snowy winter so I wore hats a lot, although I did have a few social occasions that winter when I didn't feel great.  Then in the spring I got a really short chopped hair cut and the worst seemed over.

Luckily my husband was supportive and my hairdresser was great too.  Most of my female friends were really against it.  "You're too young, wait until your 50's"  "Maybe you'd feel different if you had daughters"  "Your hair will be dry and frizzy" and other such comments.  Lately some have said that they now prefer it.

So what's the result

1.  I am happier in myself, I feel brighter.
2.  I have much less hair falling out now. (Didn't even really realise this was an issue before).  My hair is in great condition and some of it's curliness has come back.
3.  I have more money to spend on the things I like, like fabric, patterns, yarn ha,ha.
4.  I need less hair products, I use more expensive type shampoos, like Organic Pharmacy, Miessence and Liz Earle.
5.  I suppose it has made me take more care with make-up and colour choice of clothes.  This is good.
6.  My hair is actually true salt and pepper which I like.

So there you go, that's my experience of 'going gray' and I love it.

Having been short haired now for a while, I am trying to grow my hair.  That will be another dilemma.

Apologies for not having 'before' picture but I lost a lot of photos off my last computer when it died.

Meanwhile, in my sewing world I have cut out the fabric for my husbands Albion Coat and the lining fabric has just arrived.  Busy, busy.

Definitely not my colours, but then it's not for me.