Wedding Dress Update

I will get back to posting regularly - eventually - but for now I'm afraid my daughter's wedding preparations seem to be taking over.

I did think you may want an update on the wedding dress situation though as the wedding is now only 4 weeks away.  I'm afraid it's not good news - well it's not bad news but probably not what you are expecting.

You may remember I started off like this back in March - making a tuille of the bodice

Well that worked out fine and fitted reasonably well so it was time to make the real thing! Unfortunately this is where things started to go wrong.  Due to circumstances beyond my control it took weeks and weeks to get the material ordered.  I think I finally received it at the beginning of July.

I immediately started cutting out the fabric, 4 layers in total, organza, satin, lining, bodice canvas oh and a loose layer of lining to add on later.

So despite the delay, I was happy when the bodice all came together.

The next step was to begin work on the skirt and as you can see below, I had 4 layers of tulle and was then in the process of adding more gathered layers in between to give the fullness required.  Me and my machine seemed to be buried in tulle!!

The picture below shows the bodice and the skirt with just the four layers of tulle before adding any gathered layers.  There was to be another 3 layers of organza and lace on top of this.

So this brings us up to about 3 weeks ago now and the need to have another fitting with my daughter. It was all arranged for the Monday, but literally 10 minutes before I was due to leave for the 2hr journey up to see her, I had a rather upsetting phone call to say her father-in-law to be had been taken seriously ill and they needed to go and see him as soon as posible.  A 4hr journey for them at short notice.  Perfectly understandable but another delay to the dress plans!

Ok so move on a week to the next Monday (thankfully father-in-law to be pulled through) and this time my daughter came down to us.  By now we were approximately 6 weeks away from the wedding and I was starting to get a little concerned.  If this fitting went OK then maybe it would just about be feasible to get it finished in time for the wedding!!  But for some unknown reason the bodice needed a bit of tweaking around the bust so that night I set about the alterations.  Well when I had finished the bust fitted beautifully but now the bodice wouldn't meet at the back!  

Not the best photo - but you see my problem?  Well by this time it was late at night and I was tired - we knew we had to think of a Plan B!

We put the dress aside and began to work out how much was left to complete, how many hours it would take and how many hours I had available to complete it.  It appeared it would take me until the day of the wedding and that was if everything went according to plan - which I doubted very much!!! So an executive decision was made!  We decided to STOP making the dress and go out and buy one! Well I have to say when I realised how impossible the situation had become it was a huge relief.

My daughter was with us for one more day, so first thing in the morning we made an appointment at a local bridal shop and I am very pleased to say by mid day my daughter was the proud owner of a beautiful wedding dress which fitted perfectly and needed no alterations.  Totally different to the one we were making but it looked gorgeous on her and she loved it!

Now I can relax and start looking forward to the Wedding.

The only downside to this is the amount of fabric to dispose of.  The tulle and the organza are not a problem I can probably use this over time but I have 6m of exquisite beaded lace which has never been touched.  I am trying to sell this so if anyone thinks they can make use of it or knows of someone else who may, please direct them to my post on facebook which will take them to the advert link.  It is truly beautiful lace and would make a stunning dress.

And for those of you wondering what dress my daughter chose ... well you will have to wait just a little longer until after the big day - but I promise you, there will be photos.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to share the link if you feel it would help.

x

Oooh I forgot to say I will be sharing this post over at Handmade Monday on Lucy Blossom Craft Blog.

Vans and Buttons

Thank you for your lovely comments last week, I really do appreciate them as I'm sure all you bloggers out there do too!  Things have thankfully slowed down a little this week, I have been able to start swimming again  at my local outdoor pool, just 10 minutes walk away and had a bit more time to contemplate the wedding dress.

The 25m pool is beautiful and feels so warm when you get in at this time of year as it's so chilly outside.  It is a wonderful facility to have on the doorstep and as I usually go to an adults only session at lunchtime it's quiet too!

Wedding Dress Progress

I have managed to devote a little more time to the wedding dress, which I am pleased to say is coming along nicely, and have now worked out the skirt and train and attached it to the bodice so am feeling a little happier.  Only a total of about 5 tries!!  Each 'try' meaning creating a paper pattern, sewing the calico back together (that I used previously) so it can be cut out in a different way (waste not want not!) and finally cutting it out and attaching it to the bodice (the deciding moment!).  Wish I could show you pictures but I can't risk the groom catching a glimpse of it!!!  

Dorset Buttons

I have started making some different Dorset Buttons as I have a workshop coming up on Wednesday 13th May. The last workshop went really well but was only half a day and so we really only managed to get a Dorset Crosswheel button finished.

We have a complete day this time so I am trying out some alternative designs.  Below is the one I have been working on this week.

And here is another one I did a while ago with tiny crochet flowers.

I'll try a few more over the coming week so hopefully will be able to show you them soon.

And finally!

A bit more progress has been made on the van conversion.  All the seats are now out and the roof lining is off so we can see what we are left with.  If you didn't see last week's post, here is what the van looked like before.  The roof space will need insulating and all exposed metal will need covering to prevent condensation when we are sleeping in there.  Now is also the time to decide whether we add wiring for lighting or just use portable battery powered lamps! The jury is out on this one for the time being (I need to work on Mr FF to persuade him it may be worthwhile!).

Side panels are next to come off but we've had a look behind them and it all looks very similar to the roof.  May as well leave them on until we're ready to do the insulation.

I do hope the weather has been reasonably kind to you all over the bank holiday (those in the UK anyway!) and you have been able to get out and about.  I shall look forward to finding out what you have been up to over at Lucy Blossom Crafts on Handmade Monday.

See you there!

Take care!

Patchwork and Quilting

Did you all remember to move your clocks on an hour this morning?  It was a bit of a shock when we woke up at 10am!! but at least it was a Sunday!

Thank you for all your comments last week I have replied to each of them and found them all hugely interesting to read.

As usual a busy week again but this week saw the last of my patchwork and quilting workshops so I thought I would share my creations with you.

I didn't really want to make a quilt but fancied doing something a little smaller.  I started off with the idea of making 6 placemats in 10 weeks - one a week and 4 weeks to tie up loose ends, or so I thought.  Well 10 weeks later I have made 3 and even those aren't completely finished!! Never mind you win some you loose some!

This is my first mat and is the only one I finished completely.  I used Japanese Folded patchwork for this one and joined each square with hand stitching.  Not as easy as it first appeared, because of the bias on the circles of fabric, they seem to develop a mind of their own when you are stitching them and I didn't have a walking foot at this stage either!

Is there a foot on your machine you wouldn't be without and why do you find it so useful?

My second project is Somerset Patchwork.  As you can see I only completed 3 squares and need another 3 to complete the placemat in the same 3 x 2 configuration as the first mat.  These are all hand sewn using small rectangles folded into triangles.  I really enjoyed making these although they are quite time consuming and use a lot of material.  I haven't really fathomed out how to join them together yet and have even thought I may make them into individual coasters instead!!

As you can see, on my third project, I still have the border to turn to the back and stitch in place.  This was one of those times when the project evolved as I went along.  I planned to do a tumbling blocks design and had seen a 'quick' way of doing it on line, but this didn't work out and I was left with lots of strips of fabric sewn together.  I cut them into diamonds and this was the result, which I am rather pleased with as it turned out completely different to what I had in mind.

Once again, my final mat is still unfinished. I knew once the course ended I would struggle to complete it if I was part way through a design.  I was using a Seminole patchwork design and originally I had planned to make a different strip for the centre but I ran out of time.  Don't look too closely you can see a few mistakes in this one as I rushed to finish it!!

I have enjoyed this course but I'm not sure patchwork and quilting is for me!  I like the patchwork bit best but get very irritated if I can't get the design accurate.  The quilting bit doesn't float my boat either.  I need to master my free machine embroidery but find it very difficult to slow my 38 yr old Frister Rossman machine down - it's all in the foot control you see!!!

Just a quick update on the Wedding Dress progress.  For one reason or another it's been on and off over the last few weeks but we have now decided we are definitely making.  I am making a mock up in calico first, the pictures above being of the bodice and now I am working on the skirt.  Can't tell you too much just in case the groom to be is reading!!!

Off over to Handmade Monday now hosted by Lucy Blossom Crafts.  I always look forward to this link party as it is such a friendly community.  

Hope to see you there x