Half Term

Well hello there my fine wee corner of the internet, I'm back!

This year I have really had to prioritise things, which has meant that I have had to ignore my wonderful wee sewing club here at Sew Well Travelled, and for that I truly apologise. It is currently May half term and my school has two weeks off! Which means I am going to endeavour to do SOME sort of sewing/craft as well as plan the hell out of my LAST TWO WEEKS ON PLACEMENT!!!! That's right guys, I am officially on the home stretch, I made it through the stress that is the PGCE year and have many grey hairs to show for it.

The last few months have been very tough going, I am currently job hunting for September as well as working hard to maintain my grades to get a good pass at the end of all of this. On top of this, in April we bid a tearful goodbye to our wonderful 20 year old cat, Toyah (pictured below).

She was something else was our Toyah but she became severely ill and it was cruel to keep her for our own sakes when she was no longer enjoying life. My mum and I made a resolution to live cat-less for the first time in our lives and we lasted a week. Toyah was such a big part of our family that no one could ever replace her, but our new feline friend has softened the blow. 

His name is Murphy and he is the survivor of what seems like a severe cruelty case, as a result he has a gammy leg, no teeth on the left of his mouth and is extremely needy. Quite a lot for a four year old to deal with! He likes to help me plan my lessons by walking all over the keyboard when he's not getting enough attention.

Aside from my cat news that really is all that's been going on in my life aside from teaching. My current class are amazing characters and I am going to miss them a stupid amount when I leave at the end of June. I still don't have a job but I remain hopeful and tenacious with the process, yet right now I really am looking forward to relaxing a little this summer!

I've got a plan in mind for a top to make this half term using this fabric which I bought at the Sewing fair in Manchester last September.

It's going to be a semi self drafted strappy top, using a pattern from last year's Sewing Bee book. I hacked the pattern last summer to make the dress below and it worked out quite well! I'm thinking of breaking the rules and making the straps in a totally different fabric, just to make it a bit wilder! 

I really need to wear that dress again actually. As well as that I'm going to make a few wee bits and bobs and finally put them on Etsy with the aim to top up my ever diminishing student loan, stay tuned for a link on here! I have a huge stash of fabric that needs to be used up, my first placement class did enjoy choosing from it for their iPad cases at our craft club though!

Anyway, you'll definitely hear more from me this half term, but until then - Happy Sewing Crafters!

Katharine xx

A Foxy Tea Dress

Two posts in one night! (that last one was actually in this one but then I realised I'd rambled on so much that it needed it's own section)

A few weeks ago I finished my latest dress with this foxy ass fabric.

It's a very heavy cotton, almost like curtain material, and was about £5 a metre from the craft show I went to in September with my mum (read about it here). My current obsession seems to be foxes and I just couldn't resist.

I decided, because I like the fit of the last one I did so much, to make the English Tea Dress by SimpleSew again (see here), but this time sans sleeves. The problem is, however, that I started this dress in September, and because of PGCE insanity I only finished it in December. Which means the fit is completely off around my bust and my waist. I could fix it, but I'm bound to gain the weight again, and I really can't be arsed right now. So here it is:

To be completely honest with you all, because that's the best policy, I am not 100% happy with it, it hasn't been worn out yet as I am struggling to style it and it is much too big. When I get a chance I'm going to take it in but for now it's considered finished and hanging with the rest of my creations in the Sew Well Travelled wardrobe!

I'm off to HobbyCraft tomorrow with a voucher, so hopefully the next blog won't take too long!

Til next time,

Kat

Life Changes

Guess who's back? Back again? Katharine's back, with a brand new career.

HI GUYS!

I'm really sorry, so so sorry. You see, after my last blog things got a little surreal and, for lack of a better word, insane. On the 15th July 2015 I accepted a conditional offer to the University of Leeds to study a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Primary) from this September. My interview was on the 14th... Insane. Mental. Surreal. I still can't quite believe it, but it's happening. I'm doing it. I've even resigned!

So that's why I haven't been blogging. I've been sewing, but not at the same rate as usual and have only finished two projects since I received that offer. Needless to say I have a lot of reading to do and revision prior to this intense year I've signed myself up for, but I am SO excited! I've finally found what I want to do with my life and it's ever so slightly overwhelming. I am still having many moments of grinning to myself thinking "I bloody well did it", still lusting after stationary, and planning on how to be a model student. Most of all though? I'm dedicated to getting every child in my class sewing. My classroom will be the craftiest classroom in the woooorld!

So for the next year I will still be sewing, and blogging when I can (probably more regularly than I do now as I am a procrastinator), but you will also be getting regular snippets of the life of a stressed out PGCE student. Stay tuned for my grey hairs and breakdowns!

Onto sewing news however, today I entered my first competition! BamberSew.co.uk are running their annual dressmaking competition, and this year it's the Walkaway Dress. I still haven't finished the one I am doing for myself yet, but I am confident I will get this one done. Entry fee is £17.99 and you get the pattern and the fabric in that price, it seems like a fun experience and I am too excited! You can buy the kit here:  https://www.bambersew.com/Product.aspx?ProductID=7565&L=1#related-products

I finished Simplicity 1608 for my mum, and an English Tea Dress for myself (full posts on these to follow). Mine and Danny's one year anniversary is this weekend also and I am trying to find something to make last minute for that.

For the first time in a long time I have a box full of fabric and nothing planned for them. In a way that's stressing me out, I want to wear the fabric, but I don't know in which way. Stay tuned and you will see!

That's all from me from today, regular dressmaking news will resume tomorrow and in a much more regular fashion. If you'd like more regular updates from me then follow me on twitter (@sewtravelled) and instagram (@sewwelltravelled) where I am ever so slightly more active at the moment.

Til tomorrow, much love.

Kat xx