New Job, Little Girl at school and no time to sew

So as the title says I started a new job. In teaching when you move jobs it always means a mountain of planning and making resources when you first start. Hence why probably so many people stay in a job once they have one. Not me the fool.....
So I am spending all my time laminating, reading up for ideas, searching the web for ideas and just generally racking my brain for ideas to make my teaching fun and interesting. When you put in the move from Secondary to Primary science as well.... then you may understand why I have been so busy its a different ball game. The fact that its only part time makes no difference...
L also started school on Weds. She looked so grown up. It has been hard as I have missed her on my first day off this monday. They have gone straight into full days which is good for them as they all knew each other from nursery.
This has left me with no time to sew...making a pencil roll bag for my thermometers does not count though I enjoyed it.  I promise to post some pictures of my new blouse asap.... bear with me....
I may get time today,......

Sencha Blouse

Oh my giddy aunt................ what fun and games I'm having with this pattern....

First the inferfacing feels way too stiff for me.... but hey ho... not sure about that maybe me being all beginner...
then I could not get the neckline bit right.... unpick central.... just once as I then decided to draw the 5/8" seem allowance around the collar so I could follow that rather than rely on the machine guide and my skill (which is very limited)....
Now I am currently handstitching the sleeves using catch stitch and mine is the worst example of this......
The blouse looks okay and the pattern was easy enough to follow but I do not think I am up to anything more advanced now....

All the ideas whizzing

So far it seems that I have more projects than time........ I start the new job on Monday with two inservice days.... then into the primary schools absolutely terrifying for a secondary teacher.... (what if they pee on me?? or tug on my skirt and it falls down; give me knife threats and stroppy teenagers and I'm fine go figure)

So the projects waiting to be started are....... the Sencha blouse brought as a pack from sewbox... it was ordered yesterday and arrived today talk about fast I am mightly impressed with that and also the fact that I could buy all I needed in a oner talk about a god send for a newbie...
http://www.sewbox.co.uk/pattern-packs/clothing-pattern-packs/all-in-one-kit-colette-patterns-sencha-blouse.html

I'm doing the navy polka dots one.... fabric is in the washer as we speak.

Then I have the prairie dress pattern from my favourite things which I got from m is for make. http://www.misformake.co.uk/product/favorite-things-prairie-girl-dress-sewing-pattern

Now this is a dilema in the making I have some amy butler fabric I brought in John Lewis which is 100% quilters cotton........ love paradise garden in perwinkle.... which would be nice but having read flossie teacups blog about using quilters cotton for dress making erghhhh I don't know....
Maybe I will just make a skirt out of it.
I keep on visiting m is for make and lusting after the Anna maria horner voiles.... especially the ink one.... but that may need to be payday.

Ho hum then I have all this other fabric crying out to be made into something but what as its all quilters cotton maybe a quilt.

Also L is being really weepy and whingey today which is horride as it seems to be a new phase of sorts............... anything doesn't go her way or say no then its tears..... and trembling bottom lip.
I have to admit that it just relies me rather than elicts my sympathy....bad mum.

All I have achieved today is to take up one pair of trousers.........

Okay The next few things done so far

So in this sewing frenzy I also made my daughter a bag for starting school............ I'm not too impressed as it looks a wee bit homemade try a lot homemade.... but she loves it.....

Also made my mate M a bag for taking sandwiches to school in........... its from Cath Kidston Sew book....

The next thing I did was applique on a next dress which had fabric rossetts on but oh they never dried right and had that hideous rotten smell however I tried to dry them......... so I removed them and appliqued on this big blue flower.... it was a hand stitched and machine combo.... and turned out okay....

and at least I wont worry if I smell any more... well from the rotten fabric flowers anyways............. from my own BO oh well thats another issue...

Dressmaking Project number 1

Okay so for the first venture into using a commerical pattern I chose Anna Maria Horners Socialite pattern http://store.annamariahorner.com/socialitedress.html

I had read a few reviews in blogs and was most impressed by the one in sew mama sew........ well it had pictures thats a god send when you are doing this with only sewing books and Art and Design Textiles GCSE to go on........... (This was my only A at GCSE level.......... so maybe I was okay at it but if I remember correctly we only played with the sewing machines.... a wee bit).


So I thought how hard can it be................. actually it wasn't too bad a few unpicking of seams but I think that will be a common theme to my sewing so I better get used to it.............



I did adore the cotton lawn from Liberty which I brought of Ebay...... but the pattern I got from http://www.backstitch.co.uk/ along with 100% cotton blue material which now thinking about it would not be right for this pattern..........

This is how it turned out and I wore it out to the pictures for MIL birthday on Saturday and I felt it didn't look too homemade.... always an aim but not necessarily achieveable with limited skills and experience....

First Creation

First Creation was a clothkits Rob Ryan skirt............. It was easy enough apart from the fact that I cut the lining too small so then well I just got rid of it............... not many of my shop brought skirts have linings sooooooooooooooooo now this doesn't either............. Lots of unpicking of stitches etc but I was happy with the end rest if it is a wee bit too big for me..... so more unpicking and resizing but I just cant bring myself to do that just yet......

Craft

So far I have been quite good at beading.............. above is an example of one of my creations...

Knitting well that is the thing I am deadly slow at.... and really it seems to hurt my hands, so am I doing it right???

Baking well thats something I should be good at as a chemistry teacher it is glorified cooking isn't it.... At least my previous positions S3 class seemed to love the baking and kept on asking if the replacement would bake............. I doubt it

Now I have decided as I love clothes, fabric and fashion I would try sewing.....

Having made a quilt for DD handsewing and using MIL auld machine..........

So off to John Lewis I tracked to purchase a machine not too cheap and not too expensive but just right.............. I think I got it right so the past two weeks have been messing around...........

Time to get started with Blogging

So I am a 38yr old reformed spendaholic who is now addicted to various crafty activities to help control the urge to over consummerism and running up credit card debit.
Let me be honest it has been nearly two years since I had a credit card and hideous debts now I have no credit cards, no debits and only limited access to my hubbies credit card (when he is feeling generous which isn't so often recently).
However the urge to buy is still there...... constantly nagging at me............... but I am good and check myself when overly tempted. Well it nearly cost me my marriage and my daughters stable home life to grow up in which is more important.........
Time to grow up..... and I have been for two years but its still painful...