Interviews & Inspirational Links

Notebooks I didn't buy - though I later realised I own a matching biro :)

I've just had my second interview of the week - a telephone one - and am feeling a little bit adrenaline-y. What better time to blog?
I'd mostly like to record this feeling of being capable of doing things and actually fulfilling requirements - after the long sapping of confidence that was my degree course (and extension) this is exactly what I've been missing. To go into a phone interview wondering why they've taken it this far when I obviously crashed and burned at the technical test stage, and then be told that I did really well... well that's a good feeling. And hopefully I'll be able to hold onto it when I'm fighting the public transport system and facing doing a 10-15 minute presentation tomorrow morning. Wish me luck?

For your delectation, and my record, here are a few inspirational pots I've come across whilst fighting my reader backlog:

• Leah has led me to listen to music I was vaguely aware of but hadn't engaged with. Now I have tickets to see them in May :)

• Kathryn likens making things to mountain climbing. I particularly like the quote at the end - I think making can be wonderful for mental health and helps give a general sense of well-being.

• Zoe's refashionista interview with Miss P just makes me want to make.

• Alex's post on life organisation through notebooks inspired me to take the plunge and actually use some of my enormous stationery stash. I now have a making-things-ideas book to turn to when I want to start something.

Midweek Linky-Bits

I couldn't find anything that seemed appropriate so you get nice trees instead

Here's a little collection of nice & interesting things I've come across around the interwebs:

• Sarah Rooftops has made a list of 33 things she learned before turning 34. She's a wise and thoughtful lady and I'll be trying to take them in. To Ms Rooftops herself: Happy Birthday!
• Interesting musings on social media from Ashley. The phrase "I think part of what I love so much about travel is that it gives me an opportunity to be me in a completely new context." definitely strikes a chord with me. I think finding my own identity and being confident in knowing what I like and want is important as my sense of self-determination can get confused sometimes. Striking out on my own gives me a chance to clear both my head and my heart. That's not to say I don't want the company of others ever, or that I want to escape from my current life, but it's refreshing to do something on my own and just for me every once in a while.
• Ashley also wrote about "purging" - getting all those swirling thoughts down on paper and spring-cleaning your mind a bit. I like the sound of this and even managed to do it this week. I kept thinking of little things about my new flat and bits of organisation we should do and it was getting in the way of other things I was doing. I made a Google Doc and just allowed my brain to vomit house-related thoughts into it, then I tidied it and shared it with my new flatmate so we can both add-to and develop it. It also helped me get an idea of the scale of things I needed to do and what needed to be done when, which has reduced the stress and confusion involved.
• Speaking of my new house, I've been pondering the question of furnishing. I've got the luxury of my parents' living nearby and the limitation of my continued project work so it's not my number one priority or a dreadful rush... yet. I really like the idea of having a large-ish table for eating/working/sewing at  - there's no obligation to buy something that's specifically a desk or a dining table and there's more potential for future adaptation. I thought this looked like a possible winner.
• Zoe expressed her frustration with gentrified charity shops, as well as a fear that donations might be getting filtered to meet the perceived tastes of customers. I don't know if it's to do with the type of shopper I am (hate being hassled by over-zealous sales assistants - let me browse in peace!) but I really enjoy hunting through the treasure trove that is a traditional-style charity shop. Over-done boutique-style ones leave me cold - would you pay £10 for a new set of teacups that's one saucer short? No? Then why would you expect someone to pay that for secondhand chipped ones?
• These chocolate-raspberry brownies  sound lovely. They might even tempt me away from my go-to brownie recipe, or possibly just inspire an adaptation.
• I've also seen a few naan recipes about recently & quite fancy making some.

This & That

 
I've just had the first four rolls of film from my new (boy's old) Pentax ME Super back from developing and they turned out rather nicely. My 1 year Flickr backlog (and determination to post chronologically) means they won't appear over there any time soon, but they're still here for me to enjoy.
I spotted this little snail on one of my recent trips to Bristol. I've been going up every couple of weeks to see the boy and various friends. Luckily lots of friends are working over the summer so big social events have been concentrated into weekends, making it much easier for me to make it to all of them.
Having a dose of Bristol life has probably saved me from descending into project-induced madness and I'm just thankful that it's there for me. I feel like there's some semblance of a life for me to go back to when I can and that's very comforting. Life hasn't fallen apart when university ended - largely because so many of my coursemates are staying on for a fourth year (and thus getting a Masters) so I don't feel lost as I surely would otherwise.

Here are few links to things I've enjoyed recently for your delectation:

• A flat converted from derelict public toilets (Charlotte also has consistently lovely photos)
• Sarah Rooftops' The Importance of Taking Risks
• Kestrel on Living the 'Crafty Lifestyle'

And a general shout-out for Gillian's blog Crafting A Rainbow - she makes nice clothes, writes interesting things, and comes across generally lovely. Definitely one of my favourite Tumblrs (along with such gems as cuteboyswithcats and Tragedy Series)

I think this part of the post was sort of subconsciously inspired by Hayley's recent Blog Love post - I agree with her that some blogs come across a bit too shamelessly self-promotional & think this is a nice idea to try and tone that down :)

M6503 - Inspiration

After seeing M6503 on StitchyWitch, and thinking up a dozen different variations I'd like to have, I somewhat hastily bought it on eBay (no JoAnns for $0.99 pattern sales over here). It looks like a fairly simple pattern (allegedly "easy") and resembles some of my favourite dresses. Hurrah!

I'm a big fan of dresses and actually managed to wear a different one every day for most of December (á la Dressember). I might do that again and document it; it'd be harder in the summer though, some are just too hot.
Although I haven't seen any completed makes among the blogs I follow, Googling turned up a few, including a Make This Look on Sew Weekly which is a different interpretation to how I'd seen the pattern originally. Looking at other people's completed dresses seems like a really good idea in terms of finding out what the fit is like and what parts of the construction might cause difficulties. Yay for the internet!

Here's a little round up of what I found, in link form:

• Azalea & Rosebud Fiberworks - vintage inspired view A in aqua. I think the collar ruffles with the busy print are not for me, convenient since she reports difficulty with constructing the ruffle "sandwich" of the collar edge.
•  Historical Quintessence - straight view D in a strong floral prin. No problems reported beyond cosy sleeves. Good to be reminded of that since I seem to suffer from larger upper arms, though they've yet to descend into bingo wings...
• Sewing And Music  - She used view D to make a version of a Modcloth dress. I *think* she's quite a petite lady, the waistband looks lower than I imagine it should be and she mentions taking length out of the bodice if she were to make it again.
• Four Square Walls - this lady seems to take pattern altering in her stride, she's made not one but two dresses from this pattern. One is a longer-bodiced colour block version of view D, and the other is a heavily modified view A or B made to resemble another Modcloth dress, and it looks really nice. She observes that "the gathered bust was basically drafted for a double-Z cup" so that's something to look out for.
  

Modcloth is a very popular source of inspiration, and it's not hard to see why. So many pretty things. Definitely not within the price range I'd go for (but, as previously discussed, I am a horrible cheapskate).

I'm almost entirely new to dressmaking (apart from a too-tight halter top made for a birthday disco when I was 11) so when I finally get around to making this I won't be altering anything much.
If I do become confident enough, however, the idea of a version where the back section of the waistband is elasticated appeals to me. My umbrella dress has this feature and it means I can pull it over my head, so I might be able to lose the zip and the accompanying pokey-zip-top-in-the-armpit discomfort. The other thing my umbrella dress has is a waist tie. It's attached to the waistband up to the side seam and ties in a bow round the back, neatly covering the elastic (when I can make it stay).

Me & the wonderful Mr Adam in London, several years ago (outtake)

I can't seem to find  photos that show the structure of this dress very well, but here's an idea. The ruffle goes all the way around the back of the neck (irritating) and it's a bit too short for my liking (no bending over!) but otherwise it's nigh-on perfect. I just had a look and the armholes are finished with self bias binding and the neck is faced. Look at me, I know fancy sewing words!
I have a sixites duvet cover (previously seen here) and a new Asda charcoal grey double flat sheet, either of which might become a muslin for a sleeveless view B at some point in the future. However until I'm done with this here degree and have some sort of a future sorted out there'll be no dressmaking for me.

Much Needed Post

It's been just over a month since I last posted on here! Predictably I'm going to say that I've been really busy; mostly with University work and Photosoc stuff.

I'm not doing too badly at keeping up with it all, but I'm aware that there's a lot of time I'm not using to its full potential (like now, I've been reading RSS feeds for three hours). Gah. Add to this the fact that my current workload will double next semester and you'll see the problem... I may be heading for a fail.

Anyway, rather than witter on about how hopeless I am, I shall leave you with a few nice/interesting things I've found on the internets recently:

• Amazing hats made by Frolline Von Sofa (this is probably not her real name...)
• An awesome video from Chopsy (which I've only viewed muted, so beware the music) featuring a load of vinyl records
• Apparently some people are getting married? Quick, bury the bad news!
• Politicians have been not keeping promises
• 'nuff politics, I've found the antidote to Postsecret-induced misery
• How to pet a kitty
• And, of course, my lovely boy's photoblog 

Some of my photos to finish with - I've been playing around with double exposure & cheap film. Yay!