Renovations...The Stairs

A while ago we had some work done to the farmhouse that we are restoring. Work on the house has been slow, but we are now just about ready to plough into the bulk of the work, or in reality, choose someone else to plough into the bulk of the work!
We decided a long time ago that we should have the staircase restored and then protected in advance of the main work, because it seems to be the original staircase and dates the house to 1760 to 1780. The Balustrade is quite unusual for a country house, it has remained intact...amazingly, and is what dates the stairs.
The top step had parted company with the main landing on the upper floor (first floor for us, second floor for you Americans) and the top step was starting to collapse. It was not able for any traffic, let alone heavy building traffic.
We found a carpenter who specialised in restoration, through our Architect. He is Danish, and has been living in Ireland for 10 years, and quite unlike most people you meet! He is so full of, and free with knowledge!



Anyway, the plan was to save as much of the old wood, and structure of the stairs as was possible, but as is typical on this type of project, we found that some of it was worse than we had expected. Woodworm had made mincemeat of some of the pine...and all that could be done was to replace it. Flemming (the carpenter)  turned treads into risers, and so on, he did the best he could. Overall, we are very happy with the end results.



The stairs goes up through the centre of the house, with a room either side of it at each level. It goes up half way and then turns, and up the rest of the way. On this part the "going" is very easy...long shallow steps make it very gentle to climb, or even run up, two at a time.



Then there is a door, with stairs beyond it, which leads to an open attic, again turning half way. This stairs is steep, and enclosed, it was only ever meant for bringing up things to store, or perhaps was used by staff in the house for sleeping quarters...who knows, but it was not meant to be seen by all and sundry.
When it came to the restoration, this part of the stairs was in the worst condition. It was given completely new treads and risers.

 

We are thrilled at how well it has turned out...we did not want to lose all the character and age of the stairs. I hope we didn't! Sadly, as soon as it was finished and the oil was dry, the whole stairs was covered from tip to toe in plywood to prctect it from the traffic it will get during the main buiding work...I am looking forward to seeing it again soon, and to one day using them....hopefully.

The Great Goodship Dress

A little while ago, I found myself (yet again) on the blog of Karen LePage, which is called OneGirlCircus...Karen is one of those people whose sewing I have been inspired by, ever since I started sewing for my kids, over 4 years ago now. Karen sewed Ottobre patterns, and quite often it was for her son. She made the most fantastic shirts, jeans and jackets, that encouarged me to sew for my boy, and not to forget the little details that you only get the chance to add in as you sew...something you don't get to choose with shop bought stuff.....so anyway, I found myself on Karen's blog one day, and I notice a place where you could register as a pattern tester. I was extremely surprised to get an email a little while later asking me to test her new pattern, The Goodship dress...I have never pattern tested before, and to be honest, I am not very good at making things that I "have to" make, and seeing as we are in the middle of house renovtions...(I know, again!)..but I said I'd give it a go. I am so glad I did!

I wanted to use something stiffish, so I chose some purple-y coloured cotton, and I had some gingham that was a good match, but the gingham was very floaty, so I added a layer of white cotton underneath the gingham on the front panel, and treated them as one.

 

The pattern is a PDF, and it is really well done. Each size has a different coloured line, and there are only 3 pattern pieces on it. You also cut a couple of other rectangular pieces by measurement.
So, I went about sewing it up, and taking notes as I went along. Anywhere I scratched my head, I wrote a note! I found the whole experience of testing very interesting. The dress comes together beautifully...Karen has an amazing knack for designing a garment, that just sort of appears before your eyes, like magic, as you sew up the last seam!

It also has pockets!


I made a size 5, for my girls, who are 4. but that size fits them longish now, and will just be a bit shorter as they grow taller...it would look good either way. The width of this dress is easily adjustable, with the bow.

The pockets are a big hit!
 

It is great to sew, with only a few pieces, but the results are excellent. In my opinion!
We have a very exciting family wedding coming up soon, and this dress is a front-runner for the dress I will make for the twins to wear. I am thinking of blue chambray, and red chambray, with matching red/blue floral Liberty for the inside of the pleat. This dress would be equally lovely in summer fabrics, as in winter corduroy, or wool, worn over a top/blouse.

This pattern is being released today, October 15th, on One Girl Circus.

Castleton Caravan

Yesterday we went on a little road trip. We went to look at a caravan...it was advertised as being suitable for anyone watching cows calving, or ewes lambing. We only saw a photo of the outside, and the add said it was about 25 years old. (yeah, so am I!) I expected it to be dirty, and well worn inside.
Anyway, it was not a lot of money, less than the price of a playhouse for the kids...even a little cheap one!
We spoke to the seller, and he seemed very genuine, he seemed keen to leave it safe to tow home. He replced a tyre, checked lights, did all that he could. That meant a lot to us...we had a 3 hour drive with this, if we bought it.



I have to say it was love at first sight for me (and for Maeve). All of us piled into the perfectly original 2 berth Castleton Rovana caravan, dated 1970 from what we can see. It is nicer inside than outide.



Everything is inside it, including the brochure, with the price written on it. The instructions for all of the appliances. There is a canvas awning under the seat, and...well... just everything is still in it! Can you tell that we love it!?



The only problem now is, that I had great plans before I saw the inside, to paint it all pretty colours, and to make some dinky little curtains, and to cover all of the cushions etc! Now I'm not so sure...I kind of like it!
I think I will make some patchwork curtains for a start though, because the ones on it are well worn and faded. I will decide what we should do after that....



The door needs some repairs, and the fixed windows need new seals, but otherwise it seems sound. It was planned as a playhouse, but depending on how the awning looks when it is taken out, this little caravan may still end up going on holidays with us sometime!
As for it's role as a playhouse/den...so far, since yesterday evening, the kids have spent several hours in there...the two little ones and I even had our lunch in there today! I am seeing some bunting in there too....hopefully I'll get some sewing time tomorrow!

If you click on the photos, you'll see them on Flickr, and see the notes I've added.

Holiday

We were away.....we are now back...sometimes I wish we were still away!

It was raining when we arrived...


Then the weather got nicer....










We had fun...can you tell!

Van Katoen Summer Dresses

I made the two girls two dresses a little while ago. They come from a Dutch company, with Dutch instructions. (I don't speak Dutch!) Unfortunately the pattern is no longer available, but it was a Van Katoen pattern. Both girls chose their own fabrics, and both seemed especially happy with the wonderful pocket at the front!
For those of you who don't know, my girls do not like wearing dreses, but they do understand that there are times when dresses are really needed. These are their only summer dresses, so you needn't expect any more until Winter!

They did however want to try them on for me as soon as they were finished, so I could take a photo.

Today they had reason to wear them, I wish it had been for a happier occasion, but sadly funerals are sometimes the only time when extended families, grown up cousins, and their children get to meet up with each other. We compared children's ages, facial features, heights, eye colours, personalities, and it is always lovely to see how many traits pass from one generation to the next....it is a pleasure to have married into such a lovely family, hopefully there wil be a happier occasion to meet at next time...

Figgy's Zephyr

I remamber when I was about 10, really wanting a "Jumpsuit", you know, an a one piece trouser and top thingy. I don't know where I got the idea, maybe my friends had them, or maybe I saw them in the shops, but anyway, my mother bought me one for a school trip. We weren't very well off, but the school trip was always an excuse for a new outfit, a bit like Christmas or Easter.
The jumpsuit I got was turquoise, and I remember we stopped at a nearby castle enroute to the main attraction we were going to on the trip, and I slipped and got a huge grass-stain on my jumpsuit! I remember being pretty annoyed about this....funny the things you remember!

So a little while ago, Maeve started asking me for a "Playsuit"... where this idea came from, I have no idea, but sometmes a mother just has to go with these notions! I had been hoping for an excuse to buy some of Figgy's new patterns....(I have been trying not to buy any patterns or fabric while we are working on the farmhouse), so I bought the Banyan and the Zephyr...but since they only go up to 8-9yrs, and Maeve is a slightly shapely, tall 9, almost 10 year old, I had to alter the pattern.
I added an inch to the centre front and back bodice pieces. I added an inch to the bottom of the bodice, and an inch to the bottom of the shorts.
Maeve had reservations about the opening at the front, so we agreed to make the straps opening instead, so she could pull it up and on. I used the pattern piece for shorts tie bands to make the straps. I made them knit and woven, like the ties.



When it came to making the waistband, I sewed the top and bottom together as per the instructions, but I made a circle of elastic, the size I needed, and I zig-zagged it to the seam allowance, and then turned it over, and zig-zagged it down to the bodice...(you now how I love to zig-zag!) I could see myself having problems making the channel...my knit kept creeping ahead of me, and puckering when I sewed it. It didn't happen with the woven to stabilize it, but the waistband is knit to knit..



The other change I made, was a real after thought! When I got to the band at the bottom, I attached them the wrong way, and ended up with the contrast on the outside, but I liked it, so I left it! But when It came to tying the ties, they didn't seem to sit well on her...so I pinned them down, and then got the idea to leave them like that. I decided to put buttons on too....well why not! I love them like this. As it happened, Maeve spent the whole time fiddling with the hem, so they surely would have untied a lot!



She wore it on a trip to the zoo the other day, and she looked so pretty and comfortable in it!

Sewing Swimsuits

A friend asked a little while ago if I could share the process of making a swimsuit. So here it is.
Firstly let me say that I am no expert and I only use a basic sewing machine. I use 3 stitches - a straight stitch, a normal zig-zag and a 3 stage zig-zag. What I do is not at all technically correct, but it works...for me at least! Take from it what you want and experiment.
The thing about swimsuit fabric is that it is ver forgiving. I know people are scared of it, but a decent quality fabric is easy to sew...yes, it is slippery, and so it moves about a lot, but if you work around that for the cutting stage, it has never caused me a problem with sewing.
Maeve needed a new swimsuit, and I chose what I thought was a remnant, with  border, but in fact it turned out to be a pre-printed panel for a specific suit, after a lot of head scratching, I came up with a plan.



I decided (with the help of a few sewing friends) to make a tankini, with the bottoms in the smaller print, and the top in the larger print. My one big saviour with swimsuit fabric is ussing a mini rotary cutter and a mat to cut out the pieces, this stops everything from moving so much.

I used a one piece swimsuit pattern, and folded down the top to cut the bottoms out, and then turned the bottom up to cut out the top. I overlapped by several inches. The top ends at the leg opening. I tend to just eye-ball the seam allowance, and use the rotary cutter as a guide....what can I say...I like to live dangerously!

Ottobre patterns also call for a crotch piece cut from cotton jersey...I use scraps for this. I had some navy for this suit.

 

You then sew all three pieces together in this order..back and front, right sides together, and the cotton piece goes right side to the wrong side of the back...making a sandwich. Sew all three together. Then you sew the lining to the front with a narrow zig-zag (3). This encases the back seam.
For all of the "straight" seams, I use a very bare zig-zag..width 1 on my machine, it almost looks straight, but there is give in it.

I then sew the two sides together. With seams like these, which take pressure, (the back, and side seams, I do two rows of stitching, again, a bare zig-zag (1). I then cut a strip, about 4 inches deep and a little smaller than the waist of the top of the swimsuit bottoms..you don't want it too tight, remember it is snug already. I doubled it over, and sewed it straight (bare zig-zag) on the top. Like a yoga style waistband.

I then bound the leg holes...this fabric has a metallic print on it, so I didn't want to use just elastic here, although it would be way easier. I felt that the silver threads would hurt against bare skin. I used a co-ordinating plain fabric for the binding, and the waist. I happened to already have this. I cut it at about 2.5 inches wide, and a little shorter than the circumference of the leg opening, again, you don't want it too tight. I made a loop, and then I sewed it on with a bare zig-zag to the inside, and then turned it under on the right side. I used a slightly wider zig-zag to sew the outside. I use lots of pins for this stage.

The top was much simpler in some ways. I sewed the side seams, again, a two rows of bare zig-zag, one on top of the other. I bound the front and added a little piece of clear elastic, by zig-zagging it on before I put on the binding. I don't think this was actually necessary, but it's on now. I made a long piece of binding, which I found the centre of, and matched that to the back centre, and then ran it on both sides of the back, under the arms, and up the sides of the front. I sort of pin and stretch the binding as I go, to make it a bit smaller than the swimsuit top. Above the swimsuit fabric the binding became the straps, which I just did by continuing to sew it together. I then criss-crossed the straps at the back.

I hemmed the top with a narrow zig-zag. I know that all of this zig-zagging may not be the proper way to make aa swimsuit, but this is not haute couture..this is a child's swimsuit, which unless you happen to meet another seamstress at the swimming pool, and they happened to examine it, then really who is going to notice that you used a zig-zag stitch and not a cover-stitch machine. These are swimsuits made by a hobby sewer, with a basic machine, and some inexpensive fabric. They can be made to fit snuggly, with straps that don't fall off their shoulders, or gape anywhere. They are made to measure. Also they cost very little to make...the panel that I bought cost me €7 and the other bits a couple more euro, so I would say, a decent swimsuit for less than €10.

Next week, I am planning to make the little girls some similar swimsuits, but with plain elastic in the leg holes, and I will try and remember to get some photos of that.

The pattern I used is the Seahorse swimsuit from Ottobre Magazine 3/09 (for the 3rd time/. I changed the layout of the straps, and of course I made it a two piece swimsuit.

The patterned fabric is from Elingeria, they have a huge selection of swimwear fabrics.

The plain dark blue fabric is from an ebay seller Tia Knight/ In Fashion Fabrics It is listed under lycra spandex in their shop now.