Tuesday 31 March 2020

My New Winter Coat

Well bloody hell, that escalated quickly didn't it? If your anything like me then you went from theirs a virus called corona [not to be mistaken for the beer, although oddly that does seem to be the only thing in stock in the super markets at the minute] to well bogger me they've closed the schools.

So yeah, corona virus........ Well me and lil dude are at home, aside from the days he spends with his dad [and that was a googling nightmare let me tell you, but turns out children from separated homes are okay to stay at both parents homes. My boyfriend is still going to work because his company provides stuff for the railways. 


But more on that later [I'm assuming that most of you have come for some sewing goodness] so heres my winter coat. 

Let me put it on the record now that I don't normally sew my own winter coat, usually i just buy one. But this year I HATED every single coat in the shops. When did puffa coats become a thing again? 

Anyway i had a dig through my sewing patterns and i had this vintage duffel coat pattern that i picked up on ebay a while ago. 


Its simplicity 7235 now as you can see the duffel coat patterns features both a mens and women's duffel coat on the cover art however I was assured that the copy I was buying was the women's pattern. 

The ebay seller lied!!!!!

However being the lazy cow i am I opted not to complain and just made a mens duffel coat in a 40ich chest. *hangs head in shame* I know it was one hell of a gamble BUT!!!!! 

1. I like my coats big! I'm sorry but if I can't fit a hoody underneath it then I'm not interested.
2. I figured I could size down if necessary
3. I'm a 36inch bust [on a perky day] so I guessed it wouldn't be too huge!


As it turns out the sheer size of it is one of my favourite things. Especially when i'm walking home from work. 

This is a bit depressing but I walk through a busy town to get to my car and somehow having my female form shielded by a large coat makes me feel a bit better. [For those worrying I haven't had any trouble yet and I always keep my car keys intertwined with my fingers so if I do have to punch someone in the face it will really hurt. *a little trick my sister taught me*] 


Its lined with my mums old taffeta curtains.... Yeah I know thank god she buys quality curtains that I savage when shes finished with them. I love the burgundy and the slipperiness of the fabric means the coat slides on nice and easy. 


The outer fabric is a fur backed wool from abakhan so that gives an extra layer of cosy as well. 

As far as wool goes it was very well behaved, it presses nicely and it didn't fray too badly either. 


The huge hood is one of my favourite parts of the coat. I did toy with the idea of lining it with the wool but I was worried it would be far to thick to ram under my sewing machine.


The huge patch pockets are another part of the coat I really love. Mainly because I can fit EVERYTHING in them. keys, phone, purse, hand sanitise gel.............


The toggles were an amazon purchase ready made and they were a f*****g nightmare. They are by far the messiest part of the coat despite me masking taping them in place to minimise making holes in them. I did really try and take my time with them but they were just a pain in the butt and nearly made me cry. 


The coat looks pretty rough now to be honest, which isn't surprising considering its become my go to winter coat and its clocked a lot of miles already. In fact my one quibble is that the wool has started to bobble quite a lot. 


My dad took these photos for me [pre lockdown] and he had great fun telling me how daft I looked doing all of the poses. 


In other news:

- We can't go out? Yeah sucks doesn't it. I have no idea how this happened but its quite frankly bizarre. I'd like to say I'm coping well but to be quite honest I'm terrified. I worried Marcus is going to pick it up because hes travelling between two houses and that increases his exposure to people. And I'm feeling low because I miss seeing my mum and dad and my friends. I never appreciated how nice it is to have people round for a brew. 

- Funnily enough having little dude at home all the time has been lovely, we've listened to harry potter audio books, I made us magic wands, we've been doing painting and sewing and had lots of giggles. The schoolwork is getting done but I'm not putting a huge focus on it because things are so strange at the moment and I don't want to overwhelm him. 

- we did the joe wicks P.E I nearly passed out, enough said. 

- Surprisingly I haven't got a lot of sewing done, mainly because I'm slowly sorting out my sewing space. 

- However I have been doing more crochet so far I've added a turtle and a cat to our soft animal collection. 

So yeah weird times guys. 

I'm going to add a list of things at the bottom which might be useful for people who are isolating and really feeling it. 

much love

Frankie 

1. listen to an audio book. easier than reading and you get a 30 day free trial with audible.

2. clear out a room, tidy the living daylights out of it [we did the garage]

3. wear comfy clothes when you need to and get dressed up on the days you fancy it. 

4. Bubble baths, enough said really take the opportunity to have a long relaxing soak.

5. try and set times of the day to go social media free. I find not constantly reading updates are helping.

6. watch your favourite movie series in one go. You in isolation watch every harry potter in order. and pretend your a kid again [bonus points for making a wand and saying the spells with them........ not that I do that.........]

7. do some yoga, it makes me feel very zen. or its your braver than I am do some joe wicks! 

8. write letters to loved ones. When did letter writing go out of fashion? I'm on a one woman mission to bring it back!!!!

9. facetime, What a glorious invention, its saving me every single day! 

10. Cook, made soup from all the leftover stuff in the fridge and pretend your Jamie Oliver.


Stay safe and wash your hands 


Thursday 12 March 2020

Purple Cord Tilly and the Buttons Cleo Dress

I was extremely organised this Christmas. As in most of my shopping and wrapping was done by the first of December. 

And not for practical reasons I started shopping in late October for three reasons:

1. I didn't want to empty my bank account at the start of December.
2. I loves a bargain!!!!!!!
3. Lil dudes birthday and boyfriends birthday are both in January which realistically means I need to have the shopping done for those by the end of December too! Or at least I need enough money in my bank account to do it! 


Anyway I spent a LOT of time shopping the black Friday deals and making sure I got the most bang for my buck. And whilst shopping these black Friday sales I happened to see that Tilly and the buttons was having a little sale of her own! 

And well a Cleo kit fell into my shopping basket and I brought it a little "to me , love me" type present.

Now at £37.50 for a sewing pattern some fabric, some thread, a set of clips and a PE bag I know its expensive. Realistically I could have sourced all of the components separately for a LOT cheaper!

BUT

I was in one hell of a sewing funk.... I hadn't touch my machine in months I was exhausted and to be honest I just needed an easy fix and this did it. 


Anyway It arrived and I was so pleased and for the first time in months I actually felt like sewing again! 

So i made it almost immediately and wore it to my works christmas party. 

Luckily its a very easy make, no darts and I didn't need to do any fitting.


I opted to use both the front pocket and the bum pockets! 

But I lined all of the pockets with a quilting cotton rather than folding the edges over. Its a silly thing but I always do it with my pockets because I'm not a fan of folding and ironing and I think it makes the pockets stronger!


The only thing I'm not a huge fan of is the dungaree clips, I find I have to take them off to wash it or dig them out of the filter later and I am not the type of girl to remember to take them off before I wash so on my next versions [and oh yes there will be more] I think i'll just keep it easy and use buttons.


Its a shame the colour doesn't photograph better but its a really lovely plum coloured needle cord. 

I've worn it a few times , but I did have a month or so where I didn't wear it because I actually lost one of the clips in the the washer filter incident I mentioned before. 

In other news! 

-My dad took these photos. We had a couple of hours whilst my mum was at the hairdressers and he was a really good sport about everything. Especially seen as I took about 15 makes! 

- My mums turned 60! and in proper momma bear style shes having meals out and two parties. One was an adults only party for friends last weekend and this weekend we are having a big shindig with family and a HOUSE FULL of kids!

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx