Christmas Presents and Corset

In December I was busy making everyone presents for Christmas, I did not  take any photos as they were all supposed to be secret. However, I did finish my sisters corset, she chose the fabric back in August, when she came to visit, I made it up for her and she tried it in November during her next visit.  I have finished it now and am happy to show it off.

We now need to make a skirt and jacket and the outfit will be complete to wear in February to Sophie's Birthday Party. Sophie is my niece, the model in some earlier photos this year.

When I went to visit my sister last week, I took a toile of the dress Sophie wants made for her party.  She will be 21 next month and wants a special dress. The toile needs a few alterations but it is going to look good when its done.

Christmas Day

A lovely quiet Christmas the tree went up late,  as usual it was covered with our collection of birds and the embroidered angels I did about 15 years ago, they come out every year! I started  watering the tree and feeding it when it went outside after last Christmas. Although it lost a lot of needles in May and I thought it was dying, so I put it in the border in the garden out of the way and in the shade and almost forgot about it, then one day in August I noticed it has put on a lot of new growth, so I brought it back out into the sunshine on the patio and gave it lots of care, watering it and feeding it again and it lives to serve its purpose for another year.

A few days before Christmas I watched Lorraine Pascale on TV and had to rushed up the allotment to get some leeks and to Sainsburys to get some Cranberries so I could do her nut roast pie, it turned out brilliantly, I could not believe the pastry would stand up!!  But it did and the pie tasted wonderful, I shall certainly try it again.

For the recipe look on the bbc website and type in 'Vegetarian nut roast pie with cranberries'

A new arrival and a sad loss.

Our new baby joined our family of pets in August and is growing fast. He was so small, we had to keep him in a carry basket for the first two weeks in the sitting room.

We call him Marmite although he is not completely black, he is a light brown underneath. We are calling him, him, as we don't know whether he is a boy or a girl yet. Still to early to tell, he is five months now and is being spoilt.

At the beginning of the month we lost out lovely Alice, she was almost nine years old, which is good for a rabbit, but it does not make her departure any easier.  I have to say she was my favourite. A wonderful bunny. Rescued over 6 years ago, she came to join the family and was very loving. A very cuddly bunny.

Time to Sew

Over the last few months there has been a lot going on, on the plot and in the sewing room.

I've made three of these dresses and they looked great on the 'big day'. There will be more pictures to add just as soon as the bride sends them to me. 

The girls looked lovely with their completed outfits. Duchess satin dresses with organza and net belts which were beaded to match the two older bridesmaids dresses. 

Each dress had a 1950's style petticoat, which was fun to make.

A very busy Summer - Sewing and Growing

How quickly the time has passed since my last post!   I have done so much sewing and work on the allotment, where shall I begin. This collection of plants in the picture above, was put out on the allotment at the beginning of July.  Just look at the results we have had this year.

I'm so pleased with the produce this year, the beans, courgettes and cauliflowers have been the best.  As well there have been cucumbers and tomatoes from the greenhouse and the orangery.  Whats more we are still cropping things like crazy. We have not started on the pumpkins or cabbages yet.

I've made meals to put in the freezer, pickled vegetables, made chutneys, jams and loads of sorbets. There is nothing like the taste of your own vegetables fresh from the ground. The raspberries just keep grown and now the blackberries are ready too.  Blackberry and apple jam is next on the agenda!

The flowers have also done well, this basket is past its best now, but all the baskets have been far better this year than I have managed in the past.

Sewing Projects

I've done some doodles in my sketch book for an embroidery design I want to put on a light weight jacket.  (Next time I'll use a darker pen.  I'm learning all the time!!)

 I cut out the back of the jacket in the main fabric, in wadding and in muslin, it's larger than I need because I will sandwich the fabric together and quilt my design on to the three layers using the sewing machine. I have basted the fabrics together using large tacking stitched, this will hold the fabrics when I am sewing the design and hopefully stop it moving about.

Here I wanted to experiment to find a way to transfer the design onto the fabric ready for sewing. I tacked a centre line down the back to lay the pattern on,  I traced over the design in my sketchbook using tracing paper and cut out the first section of the tracing paper, pinned it on to the fabric and tacked around the pattern to use as a sewing guide.  Next I shall stitch it on the sewing machine. This can be seen later.

I'm working on three bridesmaids dresses for a wedding on 1st October.  The dresses are almost complete and as soon as the wedding is over I will publish the pictures of the dresses on the blog.  I am making petticoats to go under the dresses at the moment just as soon as they are finished.  I will photograph them and show how they are made.

Sewing Update

The bridesmaids dress photo I promised last time I posted. Really pleased with my first commission.

On 1st & 2nd June I went on a course at the School of Sewing at Ashby de la Zouch to learn about Corset making, it was a great two days.  Really pleased with the finished garment.

I used silk for the base of the corset with lace and net overlaid in panels.  Now I need to make a skirt to match, I'm  thinking of using lace panels with georgette godets over a net petticoat, have been experimenting with the design on the dressmakers dummy.

On the allotment

We have been planting out all the cabbage, cauliflower, sprouts and broccoli. It's beginning to look good.

I've used plumbing pipe to hold the net up over the plants, this will hopefully keep the pigeons off and stop butterflied laying their eggs on the plants.

These broad beans in the foreground are lovely have been eating them already, the smaller plants on the right are beetroot, and there are parsnips and carrot in the bed behind the broad beans, not ready yet.  The pumpkins and squash have been planted in the bed with the large purple flower at the end.  Our paths have bark chips along them, but still the weeds keep popping up!

Have been picking raspberries, red and black currants, there are so many black currants, will have to make some jam this week. The peas at the top of the allotment are not ready yet, but those I have in the garden are and they taste great. Those tiny cucumbers in a previous picture are big enough to eat and they taste really good too, more photos to follow in a few days.

Busy in the garden

Its been a busy couple of weeks in the garden, sowing, potting up and planting out. Here the cold frames are full with crops just waiting to go in the garden or on the allotment.

The cucumbers are doing well.  This one -  variety Emilie has six 'babies' already.  The door to the orangery is kept open during the day and it would seem that the insects are in to do their job of pollinating the plants.

Chillies, peppers and squash all enjoying the sunshine and growing well.  This spring has been exceptionally dry and sunny and the orangery on the side of the house, gets full sun for most of the day.

Tomatoes, aubergines and more peppers.  This year I have planted up two pots of 7 varieties of tomatoes, in the orangery and the greenhouse. And given away to good homes, the remainder.

Every space is filled and just as more needs potting up, it's moved around to the cold frames and on into the ground. Just a week or so and hopefully a lot will be outside, leaving room for the tomatoes, peppers, chillies and aubergines to expand!!

The plants in the garden are looking good too, a selection of my favourite to follow.

Finally today regarding the sewing work.  I have finished the little bridesmaids dress for Sarah's Wedding at the end of the month, watch out for the photos.  The dress is halterneck and too small to put on the dummy to photograph, so the pictures will be posted just as soon as the wedding is over.