Clutch Bag

Some days you just HAVE to sew something. This was the result of one of those days. I knew my time was going to be short so I needed a quick project that I could bust of in under an hour.

I opted for the Anya Bag pattern by SoZo. But I omitted the straps and swapped the 2 small box pleats for one large central one. I wanted to see if I could make a decent looking clutch bag using this pattern.

Mainly because I have a love hate relationship with clutch bags. On one hand they are so cute and dainty and on the other hand how the hell are you meant to fit things in them? I dunno about you but when I go for a night on the razzle I like to take:

House keys

phone

makeup

purse

tampons

pen [hey don't knock it , you never know when you might need a pen] 

painkillers [places are so noisy nowdays]

glasses

spare contact lenses

hand sanitiser [you might think this is silly but some pub toilets are quite frankly foul]

BUT the only thing I can fit in clutch bags from the shops is maybe my phone? a key? a small amount of air?

Anyway as it turns out you can make a cute clutch that does actually fit things in! This was a trial version so it will probably end up in the spare present box. However when I make my final version I think I might go back to the two small box pleats and try and incorporate a zip? Having a semi open bag in a crowed space is just asking to have your phone/wallet nicked. 

The button is none functional instead the whole thing closes with a press stud. 

All in all I think its a pretty cute bag and will make a lovely gift for someone!

In other news!

I'm trying to get back on track with blogging and vlogging regularly.

I'm addicted to a cleaning product called Zoflora! Honestly its the most amazing thing ever! Its a disinfectant but it has a really strong smell and come in loads of different scents. It is definitely worth picking up a bottle!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Me Made May Pledge

Its that time of year again, dust off your selfie sticks me made may is upon us! [LOL you don't actually need a selfie stick but it makes it a hell of a lot easier to take full outfit pictures if you have one. Mine was £1 from Tesco but if you know anyone under the age of 20 they probably have one you can borrow!] 

Anyway Sozo explains it far better than I ever could so if you want to take part you can find her post here.

'I, Frankie Baldwin of www.knitwits-owls@blogspot.co.uk & knitwitsowls on instagram, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '17. I endeavour to wear at least one me made thing everyday and to try and wear as many different items as possible each day for the duration of May 2017 Including both knitted and sewn items'

So that's the plan, I'm hoping to wear at least 1 me made item everyday and to try and get lots of variety in so some of the things lurking at the back of my wardrobe get some attention! Blogging wise I'll be trying to take daily instagram outfits and I'll be doing a weekly "style diary" type thing on the blog! and then at the end I'll review everything I've discovered!

And me made may marks 1 year of me wearing glasses! It was actually during Me made may last year that I got a brutal eye infection and had to have an emergency trip to the opticians where they told me I had damaged the surface of my eye! Now my eyes all better, no more damage but I'm still wearing my glasses because I think I actually like them now!!!

So happy glasses anniversary to me!!

Anyways if you want to read my posts from last year you can find them here;

Week 1 #mmmay16

Week 2 #mmmay16

Week 3 #mmmay16

Week 4 #mmmay16

Much Love 

Frankie 

xxx

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Thoughts on #MMMAY16

Its over! There will no longer be a constant stream of selfies taking over my instagram [lol there definitely will be] and I have the complete freedom to wear anything from my wardrobe!

But what have I learnt from a month of wearing me made everyday?

1- I have more stuff than I realised:

I didn't actually have too repeat too many outfits this month, and usually I only repeated them because I loved the outfit itself not just out of necessity.

2- I have a good mix of clothes:

In my head I only make impractical dresses, But after wearing them they are not impractical they're just pretty! I've got quite a few skirts which is good and lots of dresses, I'd like to make a few more casual tops like my Cami one and maybe a few long sleeve jersey tops.

3- I definitely chose the right colour for my Miette cardigan

Being that it was my first "real" knitting project and the first time I'd actually spent money of nice wool that didn't put my teeth on edge. I was having kittens when It came to making the colour decision. Originally I was going to knit it in grey but the purple just kept looking at me [hypothetically of course, I was on-line shopping] and I ended up with that! Luckily for me It goes with 60% of my wardrobe and the other 40% can be worn with one of my other cardis.

4- I need warmer tights

Its not so bad now but when the weather was really chilly my poor legs were frozen on the nursery run. I've heard good things about fleece lined tights so it might be time to invest.

5- I need to make doubles of some of my favourite items:

Ie, the Cami top and my lightweight kimono top, Which means I need some lightweight sarongs, I've been dropping hints to my mother [who has a very large collection] but she's either ignoring me or hasn't picked up on them......... [trust me the way I hint, she's definitely picked up on them] So I might have a charity shop peruse and see what I can find.

6- I don't need to make "basics"

Its take me a while to come to this conclusion. For a long time I thought I only wanted to wear me made items including things like basic black tops and skirts. But I already have these things, and I tend to get a lot of these types of things given to me. So I think I've finally decided that I'm just going to make fun things that I wouldn't be able to get in the shops or that are too expensive in the shops. 

I mix, me made, charity shop, hand me downs and new stuff.... and I'm okay with that. 

This skirt broke in  the wash, the zip split and the back seam came completely apart. So now I have to fix it [sad face]

7- It might be worth upping my finishing game on garments

I realised I'm put off wearing a garment because the inside finish isn't great. Which is bizarre because I don't usually take my clothes off in tesco so I'm not sure how anyone will see it?

My finish isn't awful but I can definitely see room for improvement. I want to start adding my own labels, finishing my seams nicely, and doing a finish on my zip seams. Hopefully one day Ill have a lovely little over locker to do all this for me! [Prays to Jesus for over locker]

8 - My face is okay....

It was on day four that I was struck down with an eye infection that meant I had to take a break from contacts and get some.......[use tense music] 

GLASSES!

After sulking and crying and generally being a bit of a child about it, I think I'm finally used to them.

I think part of that is the fact that I was taking daily selfies for me made may, which meant I had to get used to having a pair of glasses perched on my nose. And surprisingly I quite like them! To the point when my contact lens ban is finally up, I might go half and half and wear my glasses more. To be honest to only thing that's annoying me about my glasses at the moment is that they get wet in the rain [I mean seriously this isn't a problem we've fixed yet?] and that the steam up in the bathroom [Shaving without being able to see, now that's a party!]

8- Wearing me made makes me feel all kinds of SASSY!

This was sort of a weird one for me, to say I do worry about my seams popping whilst I'm wearing me made it does make me feel VERY VERY SASSY! I'm sure how to describe it, but its really nice to feel confidence in yourself because of something you've made! 

I think its the same as when you have your hair done and you step out of the chair and start walking like the love child of Heidi Klum and Beyonce because you are just all the fabulous!!!  

And that all of my thoughts on me made may!

Ive really enjoyed it this year and its really opened y eyes to what I'm wearing and what works!

If you want to read my weekly accounts you can find them here:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

What do I read?

I love reading posts where bloggers talk about their favourite bloggers! Nothing quite like sharing the love huh!?

So here's my list of blogs I always read:

Dressmaking:

Handmade Jane

One of the first sewing blogs I ever read I love her vintage style and her chirpy outlook on life! She's not afraid of prints colour and CHERRIES!!! 

Plus she's really lovely I sent her an out of the blue email last year about finding suitable coat fabric and she came back with a great list of suggestions! 

SoZo

I love how her blog has transitioned from her rockabilly style to sharing great children's makes! It actually makes me want to start sewing things for my lil boy! 

She's currently expecting baby number two so there's more cuteness to come!!!

Karen - Did you make that

Simply put she's a beautiful writer, Its like sewing word porn! Plus she makes some really lovely wearable clothes!

Marie - A stitching Odyssey

Fantastic style and one of the organisers of the vintage pattern pledge, she makes great clothes and uses a variety of prints and lush fabrics! This jumper is one of my favourites! 

Ozzy Blackbeard

One of the only bloggers I follow who goes into LOTS of construction detail! Its almost like taking a sewing class from your front room in your jammies!

What katie sews

Really great simple style, I would love to look as effortless as she does!

Lazy Seamstress!

Jeanette is a mum of six and still manages to produce beautiful looking quirky clothes! I love her outlook on life and the way her blog covers all of her passions! I also love her daughters blog!

Charity Shop Chic

Made her wedding dress, enough said, mike drop

No but in all seriousness she transforms charity shop clothes into wearable items using what i can only assume is a mixture of sewing and witchcraft.

Lifestyle and Fashion:

Sadie - eat sleep breathe fashion

She's my cousin but that not why I love her blog, Ever since I was little and receiving her hand me downs I have always loved her style. She also does a nice mixture of fashion, accessories, make-up and baking.

The life and Times of Belle

This is another cheat really as we were in college together, but belles blogs is exactly the same as she is in person very cool, calm and grown up. I also have huge envy over her home decor!

Quilting:

Crazy Mom Quilts

Fantastic BRIGHT quilts, I love that she has no fear of colour and that she has some many WIP!

Do you have any blogs that you love?

Or do you write a blog?

Leave me a link!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

My Second Anya Bag

After how much I loved my first anya bag I just had to make another one. 

I've already waxed lyrically about how much I love this pattern and how well SoZo wrote it so I won't cover all that again.

Construction wise I just followed the condensed version of the instructions, I like this colour way a lot more than my previous Anya Bag it just feels a lot more like me. 

The outer fabric is this awesome woven blue and white thing that I was given by my Nan. I have no idea where she got it from but its fully luscious, I actually love it and this was the last of it , which makes me really sad.

In fact I had so little of the fabric left that I had to cut all of the pieces out flat and I had to piece the strap so that's in three parts but because of the looser weave I don't think you can really tell. In fact that's the only thing I did differently to the actual pattern, I chose to make it with one long strap as opposed to two shorter ones, I always tend to wear bags across the body so it just make more sense to me. But it didn't alter the order of the construction just where I positioned them.

My buttonhole went in first time no issues and looked beautiful , gonna be honest I felt like a bit of a sewing goddess when that happened.

And the button came from my stash, It's a shame really because I had hoped to use one of my single buttons and this one has a pair, which is a shame but this one was the best match and this way I have a spare.

The lining is cheap and cheerful some kind of nasty faux silk stuff. It came from one of my nieces too small dressing up outfits, Don't say I don't recycle!!! It looks really cute and I had just enough of it but boy was it a swine to sew, it moved faster than a small child who sees a bag of sweets.

So yeah I'm giving this make a solid 10/10 I think its going to get a lot of wear especially when the sun comes out and I need a lighter handbag.

In other news we had a huge family day today, my cousin and her five children came down and we all congregated at my mums which was lovely, although my brother was missed because he had to work. It was a really lovely day and I was lucky enough that one of her kids was nice enough to look after lil man and make sure he kept himself out of trouble. Which meant I got to have some much needed grown up time. Plus I got to snuggle a baby! WINNER! We had 8 kids in total although I guess two of those don't really count as kids because they are taller than me. So six kids and 2 teenagers!!

  Anyway I'm not sure how not supervising my child and just chatting and drinking tea could be so exhausting but i am pooped! And I'm hosting the Liverpool football final tomorrow so I need to be my perkiest! [Note: I'm not hosting the actual final, that's at Wembley although the idea of martin skirtle being in my garden is quite lovely.....swoons. We're just having people round to watch the match] Anyway This has lead my decide that the rest of my evening should be spent hand stitching I'm not even going to get my sewing machine out I'm just going to get into bed and chill!

And maybe fall asleep

And watch very trashy telly!

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx