Black Jacket

Posted in Sewing by

A black jacket was a key piece missing from my wardrobe. When it came to making an outfit for Frocktails I decided it was about time I changed that.

The pattern I used was Burda 111. From the moment I first saw this pattern I wanted to make it. I was drawn to the simplistic style of this jacket: collarless, zippered, unlined with patch pockets. Before committing to my good fabric which was a sturdy brushed cotton from my stash I made a toile of the jacket which was my Striped jacket to test out the fit and to give me practice on making a zipped jacket as I hadn’t made one before. The link above is only for version 111. There is another version of the pattern 110 which is lined with a collar and pocket flaps. The pattern pieces for 110 are slightly longer than 111. In both versions I made I used the length of 110 as I had both styles in my printed pattern.

I always knew my black version was going to be slightly different to my striped version. My intention was to adjust the length as I like longer jackets to cover my lower back when I sit, I’m paranoid I’ll get a chill in my lower back if it isn’t covered. If you haven’t read the adventures I had making my first version I didn’t realise on Burda patterns seam allowance wasn’t included on the pattern pieces until after I cut out all my pieces. I had cut out the largest size and my fabric had a slight stretch to it so I got away with it luckily. My pattern was a PDF which I had printed on A0 sheets of paper. On the print out using my french curve and a flexible gridded ruler I drew in the seam allowance for each piece. I then went over the lines with a highlighter so I could see the lines I was tracing out when I placed trace and toile over it to trace out my patterns. Normally I used a coloured pen when I trace out my patterns but I made the mistake of using a black pen which made it difficult to see if I had traced over a line or not. Normally patterns have a line indicating where to shorten or lengthen a pattern. There were no markings on this pattern so I just drew in extra at the bottom of the pattern pieces. Initially I did 6″ but then increased it to 7″.

After I had traced out the new pattern on the centre back I decided to do a round upper back adjustment. When I first starting writing this I realised I’d forgotten to write down how much I added so I went back and measured my altered pattern piece finding 1″ was sadded in.

I actually ran out of pins as the pieces were so long when I was cutting the fabric out. I did minimal pinning just to hold them in place until I could reuse some pins from pieces cut out. When I cut out each piece I reverted back to my old ways and added in extra seam allowance around each piece as I cut it, probably about ½” around each piece. I had about 4 or 5 metres of fabric and only ended up with about 75cm left over. I was able to make continuous bias binding with part of the leftover scrap to use as a hem facing around sleeves and bottom of the jacket.

The original pattern has the pockets about 1.5″ up from the bottom. This time I actually marked the pocket placement when tracing out the pattern. As I was making the jacket longer I decided to lower the pocket placement and used the same guide of about 1.5″ from the bottom. I attached the pockets but once the sleeves were inserted and I tried the jacket on I felt the pockets were too low so I unpicked them and moved them up to about 4.5″ from the bottom. The top of the pockets ended up at the base of the original placement. They were lower but not too low.

For the zipper I cheated this time and didn’t shorten it. I used a 30″ coil zipper. I had a few lengths of zipper and just picked the one which fitted the best without having to alter it. When it came to the interfacing the facing around the neckline and front panels I used the same interfacing as my first jacket. I was just able to squeeze my pieces on to the remainder I had left.

When I traced out the neck facing I drew in the seam allowance and cut it slightly bigger as I was cutting it out. The jacket has 2 panels either side at the front, 2 panels at the back and 2 panels for each sleeve. Because I added a little bit extra to everyone one of those pattern pieces when it came to attaching the neck facing it didn’t fit. Perhaps I should have redrafted the neck facing but I didn’t have enough interfacing. I matched up the centre back of the jacket with the centre of the neck facing and then matched up the front the long panels of the facing with fronts of the jacket. I then pinched in the top of the jacket to fit within the neck facing. Once the facing was sewn on it gave the jacket like a pleated look around the neckline.

Overall I am super happy with this jacket. My first jacket was done over 3 days whereas this one was done over weeks, I was only working on it on weekends when I had time. We had a long weekend at the start of October and my sewing mission for that weekend was to finish the jacket which I did. Normally I don’t wear jackets open as they get caught on the crutch when I walk. For the majority of the day that I wore this to Frocktails and afterwards I had it open without any issues. I was aiming to make a stylish black jacket and I was able to do so.

Cassiy

Coconut Ice

Posted in Simple Living / Minimalism / Frugal / Zero Waste by

This is the post I was planning to kick the year’s blog posts off with, I thought I would share a favourite recipe. I like eating sweet treats and fancy foods but I don’t like making them. Fantasy me wishes I owned one of those big KitchenAid stand mixers that comes in all the different colours and has all different accessories you can buy. The reality is that it wouldn’t get used much and would be a heavy item I need to shift around our small kitchen. I can still dream though.

When it comes to events like Christmas or when you need to bring a plate to share my “fancy” thing to make is Coconut Ice. It looks pretty but most importantly it is super simple to make and requires no baking. Probably around 2010 or so I found this recipe in a magazine and have been using it ever since. In Australia in terms of food category we consider Coconut Ice as a slice but last Christmas on Instagram I saw someone call it fudge.

The recipe I use is

  • 3 cups desiccated coconut (or shredded coconut)
  • 4 ½ cups icing sugar (very fine sugar)
  • 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
  • Splash of vanilla essence

In a bowl you put the coconut and sift in the icing sugar (I put it through a mesh strainer) I like to mix the two dry ingredients together with my hands before adding the two liquid ingredients. Once it is all combined you place ½ of the mix into a lined tray pressing it down firmly. To the remaining mix you add in a couple of drops of food colouring of your choice. Traditionally red is used to make it pink but you could use any colour of your choice. Once the food colouring is mixed through you press the mix in the tray firmly over the white layer. You put the tray in the fridge to set (4 -8 hours) but I often I leave it overnight. Once it is set you cut it into small pieces and that is it.

For fundraising events I have placed it in paper cupcake liners, just a couple in each piece so it can be sold easily. Usually it is just placed on a plate for everyone to take whatever they want. I find when you cut it up some of edge pieces look messy or break up. I set those aside for myself or at Christmas I’ll bag them up for my dad. I’ve even given a bag of leftovers and offcuts to my personal trainer for him and his family as I wanted to be good and not eat them, he loved them.

I haven’t done it recently but in the past I have made an “adult” version where I add in a splash of Malibu (coconut rum) It doesn’t set as hard but it tastes delicious. I would make a kids batch and an adults batch using blue food colouring for the adult version. I should do that next Christmas as coconut ice is my “bring a dish” to the family Christmas event.

This is very much a cheap and easy treat to make.

Cassiy

Bubblegum Mustard

Posted in Knitting / Crochet by

I was going to start the year with a foodie post but on Saturday night as I was trying to fall asleep another idea popped into my head and got me thinking….

Currently Karen from Just Get It Done Quilts is running her annual sewing room declutter challenge. I signed up to it this year to get the daily email prompts but I haven’t committed to it fully, more just dabbling in it. My sewing areas are very much a mess and it will take longer than the time allocated in the challenge. The exercise is getting me thinking and actually doing small things which is better than nothing. Confession until I went looking for a photo I knew I had previously posted I forgot that in 2021 I wrote a Masterplan on how I wanted each of my sewing areas sorted. Clearly I haven’t followed my plan but I should revisit it this year.

My sewing machine and the craft cart next to it are pushed up against a wall and the fridge. The area is a magnet for stacking craft projects because things can’t fall off the back or side therefore you can stack things on top of each other. The above photo is very old doesn’t have that much clutter. I have a lot of stacking going on right now. When I want to actually sew I need to shuffle things around on the end of my sewing table. It is ever worse if I need to remove the perspex extension table to use the free arm of the sewing machine as I need to ensure the stacked pile doesn’t tumble down.

One of the items stacked on the cart was my Bubblegum Mustard cowl. It was a knitting project I started in 2024. In the 2024 edition of the Better Homes & Garden annual knitting and crochet magazine I came across a lace and cable look pattern which at the time I immediately wanted to make. It was a complicated pattern that I cast on and knitted slowly on it for some time. Roll on to the beginning of 2026. I don’t remember picking this cowl up and knitting on it in 2025. It was not an easy project to knit. I could only knit on it in the early hours of the morning when I had total silence and time to and do it for any length of time which meant it was only weekends I pulled the project out.

Back to my Saturday night thought. I decided that I didn’t want to knit this project anymore. “Knit because you want to not because you have to” Sunday morning I pulled the project out. It was about 68cm long. It looked nice but I had no desire to finish it so I pulled it off the needles and put all the items from it back in my stash.

I don’t regret starting the project or pulling it off my needles. I proved to myself that I can knit a fairly complex lace pattern. Who knows one day I might return and start the project again but not in the near future. One of the reasons I started it was to knit up 2 balls of blue cotton yarn I have. I don’t know what I’m going to do with this yarn now so it has gone back in the stash.

Now I have one less thing to move about when I want to sew.

Cassiy

2025: A Crafty Year In Review

Posted in Random Crafting by

Ok now time to look at my crafting for 2025. This year I was actually keeping proper track noting down projects each month as I finished them. I left this to the last Tuesday post for the year just in case I had more projects to add to the list for December (which I did). Below is a list of projects I finished, it doesn’t include about 3-4 projects I started and for whatever reason never finished them or they are still in progress. Some projects I have posted about this year, some I haven’t gotten too yet and some others weren’t really blog worthy.

January

February

March

April

July

August

September

  • Dishclothes
  • Besties Tee

October

  • Black Jacket
  • Floral Bag

November

  • White Undies

December

  • Charity Facecloths
  • Mesh Storage Bag
  • WIRES Tote Bag
  • Heart Pouches

My plan this year was to make fidget mats. Although I did a lot of sewing this year (more than I have in the last 5 years) I got a couple of blocks made but I didn’t get any mats made. In May I started piecing a 3D quilt that I was given by a friend. It was very basic but methodical sewing straight lines. It actually stirred me on for my Frocktails sewing which dominated the 2nd half of my year as I was in the sewing mood. I’m still amazed I got 4 garments and a bag made between August and mid October. I actually enjoyed the challenge I set myself to get them finished. I had a clear idea of what I wanted to make and the fabrics I wanted to use so I just went about making each item. The bag was a bonus which came about when I discovered the fabric leftover from my skirt wasn’t enough to make a garment for me. Instead of just placing the fabric back in my stash to use up one day I thought why not make a functional bag. The bag is slightly bigger than my regular handbag so it will come in use again in future. After all my Frocktails sewing I did take a sewing break for over a month until I finally had the motivation to get in and sew up my white undies.

This year was the first time in my garment sewing I really paid attention to the fit. I learnt how to take accurate measurements and did adjustments to patterns. On pants and skirts I can get away without making any adjustments but on tops/jackets and dresses I’m going to have to make adjustments if I want them to fit comfortably due to the natural forward position of my neck and shoulders. I’m still learning on how to read how a garment is sitting on me and what further adjustments are needed and how to do them. It is an on going experimental process with a lot of trial and error. My Harlequin pants and Khaki top turned out to be very popular makes this year. I wore them regularly as both an outfit and as separates. They were comfortable items of clothing which I just kept reaching for. The striped jacket which I had made as a toile also came in handy when I wanted something a little more stylish than the normal store brought jackets I normally throw on when we go out anywhere.

As in previous years I did a lot of knitting. Early in the year I finally learnt Ninja Knitting (knitting with double pointed needles) They are actually fun to knit with once you get the hang of them. In the cooler months I got a lot of work on my 10 stitch scrap blanket but most of my knitting this year continued to be charity knitting of wildlife rescue pouches and beanies. I got a couple of projects finished from my Tin Can Knits challenge.

I continued making items for charity this year. Using the skills that I have to make practical items people can use is something I really enjoy doing. It is something I can do at a time and place and fits in with my life but will be used to help someone else. 

In September a Facebook memory showed I had nearly finished knitting a parcel of charity yarn I purchased 12 months earlier that I use for wildlife rescue pouches. In the Black Friday sales this year I only made 2 purchases both of which were items we/I needed. One of the purchases was balls of 100% wool after seeing the Facebook memory and knowing I was knitting it up. For the most part I was on a bit of a fabric and yarn buying pause this year with the exception of about 10 balls of charity yarn I found cheaply at the local supermarket but I did start knitting it up almost immediately. I slipped up a couple of times buying fabric which wasn’t necessary but it will get used. I was more selective with the fabric I did buy, picking colours which go with existing wardrobe items. The weekend prior to Christmas we were away and I did spontaneously purchase some yarn in a shop which was a little unusual but instantly I knew what I could knit with it for an item for me. Once again it was in colours I knew would go with what I already own. I enjoyed making items from fabrics and yarns from within my existing stash. It was good to get fabrics and yarn off my shelves and made into items either for myself or for charity. I do have a lot of beanies, scarfs and other items knitted for charity stashed away now in various spots. Early next year I will have to sort through them all so that I can donate them to a local charity for next winter. There is kind of no point in making them all if you don’t donate them.

Earlier this month I crocheted a simple pouch. I don’t do a lot of crocheting but once I finish I project I realise how much I enjoy the craft and miss doing it. I was thinking of simple projects to make which are small and don’t require a lot of counting. I thought of making nests for wildlife rescue. I have a lot of yarn in my stash but none that is really suitable for nests. In a post Christmas sale I had to stop myself from going out and buying a whole heap of extra yarn just for one project when I already have so much yarn at the moment. I talk about wanting to craft (sew, knit, crochet) in a more sustainable way and part of that is using up what you already own instead of buying new. I need to go re-sort my yarn stash again to see the amounts I already own and what types. There is no point buying additional yarn when I know I have heaps of sock yarn for example which needs to be used up. I can’t use the yarn for nests so I will need to think of other projects I can use it up in. Once I clear that yarn from my stash then I can look at purchasing additional yarn.

To answer the annual question “Are you still having fun?” This year I did have fun with my crafting. I didn’t put pressure on myself to do anything, even with all the Frocktails sewing. If things got made or finished then great, if they didn’t it wasn’t the end of the world. I relaxed and enjoyed my sewing and knitting. If I didn’t feel like crafting then I didn’t.

Whishing you all a Happy New Year, I hope 2026 is kind to you.

Cassiy

2025: Year In Review

Posted in The Other Side of StitchNSew by

Next week I’ll look back on the crafty side of my year as with any luck I might have another project or two finished which I can add to my tally. This week I’m looking at what non crafting things have happened. I won’t lie this year wasn’t as eventful as the last few years but it did seem more exhausting.

As we have done in the past this year we continued to do No Spend Days. We count a No Spend Day as a day where you don’t spend any money directly like adhoc shopping, public transport, buying food, paying off the credit card. At the start of May we set a new record of 5 days in a row but on average it was between 1 – 3 a week. The idea of them does make you stop and think about the adhoc purchases that easily add up, buying that coffee which you really didn’t need or purchasing that item just because there was a sale on. There was no pressure to have no spend days: if they happened they happened, if they didn’t they didn’t. If spending money made that day a little bit easier, getting through the day was more important than marking a date up in the calendar. As I do like a personal challenge it is something we are going to continue on with again next year.

A new public transport option became available to our area as we got a tram service. The service gave me an easy public transport option to attend our local blood donation centre which was a couple of suburbs over. It is actually how I celebrated my birthday this year which I was pretty proud of as it was my 4th for the year and 5th overall. Unfortunately Womble isn’t able to give blood but he comes with me for the company and we usually stop for lunch somewhere afterwards.

Speaking of which one of the things we were most proud of this year was were we able to bring about a physical change which will make life easier for others. I mentioned the new tram service. At Easter before I had booked a blood donation we decided to go for a trial run to the donation centre to see how far it was from the tram stop and if I would be comfortable to walk that far after the donation. At a corner intersection where we need to cross from one footpath to the connecting footpath across the road we discovered the footpath was built without the inclusion of a kerb ramp allowing you to disembark the footpath without stepping off it. I know at times corners are built without one if they don’t wish pedestrians to cross at the juncture such as in the middle of a busy intersection which has electronic crossings on some parts of it but this was the only way possible to cross over to the footpath on the other side. From living near the new tram we knew that all the footpaths around it were upgraded well before the trams service opened. To get to the connecting footpath we needed to go on the roadway alongside the footpath until we could cross over and access the adjoining footpath. We were initially stunned at what we saw, we couldn’t believe the new footpath was built this way. We weren’t sure who we need to contact to complain about it. By chance we saw that our local member of parliament was having a meet and greet the following month in our suburb (near the tram) We raised the issue with her and to her credit she followed up the issue with two different government agencies until she found out who was responsible and to have the issue rectified. In October we found out the issue was going to be fixed in the coming months and was happily surprised when I went to donate blood on my birthday to see they were in the middle of fixing it. It should never have been built that way in the first place but we are proud that we spoke up and with the help of our local MP were able to bring it to the attention of government agencies so that people with disabilities and everyone in the community can use that footpath safely. Hopefully in future projects the same mistake isn’t repeated.

Sustainability wise we were a bit hit and miss. In some areas we did really well but in others we were very much lacking. Combined Womble and I are on a lot of meds most of which each month produce a lot of packaging waste. This year we found a scheme where we can drop the empty blister packs the meds come in at a chemist the next suburb over (which we can get to on the tram) Every few months or so we drop in a bag of empty blister packs to the collection bins in the chemist. I’m glad we are now able to recycle them as we do go through a lot.

Areas which could do with improvement. After years of wanting one we finally got a pod coffee maker. The pods can be recycled if you send them back to the manufacturer but that costs money each time (we don’t live nearby a store that you can drop them in) I did find a handy little tool in which you can cut the pods open and scoop out the contents ready for the compost or worm farm and therefore recycle the pods with aluminum in your council recycling. When I first got the tool I was doing it every week but in recent times I’ve been slack. I need to not let it pile up.

Speaking of worms our farms have been a bit hit and miss also this year. I gave up on our 2nd farm after I put new worms in it and then lost a lot of them. Around October I decided to combine both farms into one putting in the spot our original farm was in. It seems to be ok but I just don’t think it is big enough for the amount of food scraps we have. Next year I want to focus more on it again and see how I can make it work for us.

As mentioned in a previous post once again we did our 3 charity bags. It is a project we proudly do together. Collection for the 2026 is well underway as well as plans for items which will be made to add into them.

Thank you to everyone who has stopped by and read my little blog this year. I’m not the best blogger at responding to comments left but I really do appreciate all the wonderful comments that you have left. All these years on I’m still in disbelief that anyone actually wants to read about the posts I write. Asking myself the question in relation to blogging “Are you still having fun?” I’m still enjoying it but at times if feels like a little bit of a struggle. Since April 2013 I’ve been doing at least one blog post a week. In recent years most of my posts have been written weeks or months ahead and I have them scheduled to be posted each Tuesday. Sometimes I’m very excited about a project or book and write up a post that I wish the publish as soon as possible. Other posts take time to get the words out the way I want them to or to edit the accompany photos I want to go with it. In 2026 I would like to keep trying to post every Tuesday with additional random posts if I’m in the mood. Do I have 52 interesting topics or projects to talk about? I don’t know. I do have some posts already planned for 2026 as they are leftover from this year (or some even earlier than that) I think I need to go back and relax. Schedule posts for Tuesday if I can. If I miss a Tuesday then it doesn’t mean I have to stop blogging and never post again (one of those negative irrational thoughts that pops up in the back of your head) I blog because I enjoy writing and that is what I need to remember as the most important thing about my blogging.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope you spend it the way you wish too.

Cassiy

Ham Bag

Posted in Sewing by

This is a sewing project I did back in early January 2022 but never got around to sharing it here. As it approaching Christmas, or ham season I thought it is the perfect time to finally share it.

Ham bag? December is ham season in Australia, we eat at Christmas and in the lead up to Christmas. I’m not sure if is just an Australian thing or if it is worldwide but ham bags are a cotton drawstring bag that you put a smoked ham in. You wet the bags with water and vinegar and it helps keep the ham fresh in the fridge, every few days you change the bag with a new wet one. When our ham bags started to get holes in them I decided to make new ones. We only had two bags but I decided to make three.

For this project I raided my stash for some calico. I measured the size of our ham bags and then cut the fabric a little larger as I wanted to do french seams. At that stage I had only done french seams on clothing but not on bags so it was a practical project for me to practice on. I can’t just sew something for the sake of it so I can’t just randomly practice a technique it needs to be for a purpose.

In my sewing one thing I don’t do a lot of is buttonholes. I don’t wear things with buttons. The only project I have made which has a button and buttonhole was a toy fairy back in 2015 who had removable wings. On this project I did 6 buttonholes so that I could thread through the drawstrings. I was able to salvage the drawstring cord from the two old bags and for the third I crocheted a cord out of cotton yarn. I can’t remember the Youtube clip I watched on how to crochet the cord but I’m thinking it was either the Bella Coco (I like Bella Coco’s tutorials) or this one as it looks similar to the cord I made.

We cracked open our ham last Saturday, pulling out the ham bags prompted me to get in and write this post. I don’t sew a lot of projects for around the home so it was nice to get in and make something that we will use. Oops from this photo I just noticed the ham bag was inside out, it doesn’t matter it is still serving its purpose.

Cassiy

Books 2025

Posted in Books / Magazines by

I do love a good yearly wrap up post, I plan to do a few this month. This year as I have done so much reading I thought I would a separate recap of all the books I’ve read. Without being too dramatic I would say I have read more books in 2025 than I have in about 30 – 35 years so where better place to start my review posts then looking at what I have been reading. I was going to do this post later in the month but I don’t think I will get anymore books finished this year.

In previous posts I’ve mentioned being an avid reader as a child. This year I returned back to those days when I always wanted my nose in a book: I was reading at home, work, when I was out and on public transport. At home sometimes even instead of crafting (yes a good book will do that to me) As a kid I would read whilst the tv was on but these days I discovered I can’t do that, the tv is off and it is just me and the book (and the birds chatting) I can’t remember if I ever read multiple books at once when I was young or it was strictly one at a time. In recent years as I have started reading again I have only been able to read one book at a time but this year I found myself having multiple books on the go with having a book at home and work. If the books were separate genres like a memoir and a novel I was ok but if they were both novels and the style they were written in kept jumping between characters or timelines I got a little bit confused or lost and needed to go back to remind myself what book I was reading or what was going on. It was still enjoyable and something I’ll continue doing in the future as it saved me from having to remember to pack my book each day.

I took advantage of my local library borrowing a lot of books from there. My library has an online service which allows you to search their catalogue and reserve books. If there is a waitlist for a book it tells you how many are in front of you. When your reserved book is ready you get a notification to come and pick it up from a special section in the library. It is a really good service which I use a lot as I can just walk in after the gym and pick up my book.

In no particular order the books I read this year were:

  • Good Girl’s Guide To Murder – Holly Jackson
  • Good Girl, Bad Blood – Holly Jackson
  • As Good As Dead – Holly Jackson
  • Kill Joy – Holly Jackson
  • Five Survive – Holly Jackson
  • Not Quite Dead Yet – Holly Jackson
  • The Deadly Dispute – Amanda Hampson
  • Guilty By Definition – Susie Dent
  • Fahrenheit -182 – Mark Hoppus
  • Tuesday Evenings With Compton Craft Resistance – Kate Solly
  • The Paradise Heights Craft Store Stitch Up – Kate Solly
  • News Cowboy – Mike Amor
  • Back On Track – Tricia Stringer

I stumbled across the Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder series by accident, I was randomly looking up books online and purchased the box set as it was cheap. The series was fantastic. I couldn’t put each book down, I even found myself getting angry with one of the characters over their actions as if they were a real person. They are fictional books but they feel very real. The books are aimed at young adult but don’t be put off by the fact the characters are in high school. I guess adults read all the Harry Potter books and they were about kids in school. They have made the first book into a tv series which we saw on a streaming service we have, it was slightly different to the book but still captivating. I believe the whole series will be made for tv so look forward to viewing them in the future.  I went on to read Holly’s other books which were again page turners. Her writing can be a little on the dark side which may be a little confronting to some, she makes fictional writing feel very real.

Amanda’s Hampson once again transported me back to the 1960’s in The Deadly Dispute. I enjoyed reading what hijinks the Tea Ladies got themselves into this time. Amanda is continuing to release one book a year with previews already available for her 2026 book. As it is a popular series my library always has multiple copies so I don’t have to wait long to borrow them.

Susie Dent’s debut novel Guilty By Definition was one of the best books I read all year, again I couldn’t put it down. If you are not familiar with Susie she is a lexicographer. In parts some of the book is a bit wordy and sometimes I had to look up the word for its meaning as my vocabulary isn’t that extensive but you could still follow along even if you didn’t know the meaning. You can read my post about the book here.  I hope Susie continues to write further novels.

Tricia Stringer is an Australian authors whom I’d never heard of which I mentioned in my post last month. In June I was in a bookshop trying to find a new author who had multiple books that I could read when I picked up one of Tricia’s books. Her novels don’t need to be read in the order they are written so I decided upon “Back On Track” as my first one, the idea of a long distance train journey by dressmakers naturally appealed to me. I am currently reading one of her other books. Her books aren’t fast paced but they aren’t slow and boring either they are just a nice relaxing read.

I had Fahrenheit -182 on my desk at work and a colleague asked what I thought of it and I replied “Its not as good as the Travis Barker one” (I read “Can I Say?” back in 2019) but it then got me thinking that was a really unfair comment to make. A memoir is not a fictional piece of work to critique. When someone writes a memoir about their life no one has the right to judge it or compare it to another’s. I enjoy reading memoirs and biographies as I believe everyone has an interesting story to tell. Reading Fahrenheit -182 I learnt more about Mark Hoppus, a musician I had been a fan of for over 25 years. I learnt where lyrics in songs dear to my heart came from. Mark Hoppus was in the last group I saw live before Covid and was the first concert I wanted to go to post Covid. A lot had happened in those 4 years both to the world and to Mark. I was looking forward to getting Mark’s book once I found out he’d written it and I’m glad I did. In November Mark announced he would be doing some speaking shows in Australia next March. I was in 2 minds if I wanted to go or not. I hesitated too long when I was purchasing my ticket and missed out on any of the really good seats but by chance I tried again a short time later (you had a limited time to hold your ticket before it timed out) and I was able to get a seat with a fairly good view of the stage. I’m glad I did now as I’m looking forward to hearing him talk.

Another memoir I read was News Cowboy by Australian journalist Mike Amor. Mike for many years was a foreign correspondent reporting for a news station I watch. New Cowboy is an interesting glimpse into the world of journalism particularly overseas. It was interesting to read the experiences he has had and learn how reporting events has changed over time. Reading it did make me more empathetic to journalists and news crews particularly based overseas.

Kate Solly was another author I stumbled across this year and I’m really glad I did.  If I had to pick a favourite book of the year it would be Tueday Evenings With The Compton Craft Resistance. I wrote about the book in this post. I don’t think I have finished a novel in 4-5 days in years, I just couldn’t put it down. Her second book took longer to read but was still just as enjoyable. I really hope she writes more in future as I would love to read them. Her writing is very contemporary and relatable.

I have lots of novels to read next year including one I have order which is being sent from the UK as I couldn’t get a copy locally so I will continue to keep track of the books I’ve read throughout the year. Last year I tried to start the Thursday Murder Club series but I stopped halfway through the first book (life got in the way) so I’m hoping to read that series as we have all the books (Womble’s reading them too) I have lots of the Tricia Stringer novels as well as another Australian author Benjamin Stevenson whom I’ve started reading but haven’t finished any of this books yet. If I have books which might of interest to others I’ll share them on here just as I have this year.

Cassiy

Easy Does It Stash Skirt

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I’m lucky to have a sewing friend at work. It is fun to have someone face to face that you can rant about the highs and lows of sewing and all that is involved in with it. We are often gifting each other items from our stash we have finished with such as magazines or fabrics we won’t use. One day she came with a bag of fabrics and said take what you want. I was immediately drawn to a piece of cotton sateen. It was a really bold print of a flower with a blue stamen and teal or petrol coloured leaves. I had no idea what I would do with this fabric but the bowerbird in me wanted it.

Last year Pattern Emporium released the Easy Does It Pull-On A-Line Skirt. It was a woven skirt with a flat front and elastic back. It looked stylish and chic. When Pattern Emporium release a new pattern they always put it on sale for a limited time. I had forgotten to put this pattern on my To Sew list having snapped up the discounted pattern as I really liked it. I didn’t have any fabrics in mind for it I just thought one day I would like to make it.

Most patterns will give you one or two versions to make with written instructions, some include photos, others line drawings. What I really like about Pattern Emporium patterns is that often within the pattern they give you more options and features along with step by step written and photo instructions on how to sew it. I’m a visual learner and at times when I need to teach people I like to give them cheat sheets of visual instructions on what something is meant to look like at each step which is basically what Pattern Emporium does in their pattern. The Easy Does It Skirt has a lot of options. There are 5 lengths to choose from: Mini, Knee, Midi, Tea and Maxi. The Midi, Tea and Maxi lengths all have the option to of making it short, regular or tall. There is the option of having a centre front seam or adding side splits. The pocket options are both in-seam pockets and utility pockets. You can make it light weight fabrics such as rayon or silk all the way up to heavier fabrics such as sateen or denim.

The fabric and pattern were a perfect match. The plain front and back allowed the bold fabric to be the focus. I wanted to get maximum use of the fabric. I didn’t actually measure how much fabric there was, I just held it up to my waist and knew I would have enough for a skirt. I’m guessing there was about 2.5m – 3m. I decided to make the Tea length in tall with no pockets, I just wanted a basic skirt.

In the past I have had the habit of picking the wrong size pattern to make. I take my measurements and then always add extra thinking I need it bigger. When I cut out my pieces I always add on a bit around each piece again thinking I need it bigger. Using the measuring tape I brought earlier this year I took my measurements
Waist = 43″
Hip = 45.5″
Seat Hip = 49″
With this pattern you pick the size based on your hip measurements. Looking at the size chart I was going to pick size 20 but because my seated hip (the size of your hips when sitting in a chair) fell within the size 22 range I picked 22. When I cut my pieces out I didn’t add any extra to the pattern. When I was sewing all my seams I used the correct 3/8″ seam allowance. I was very proud of myself “Look at me following a pattern correctly”

The front has as facing which you add interfacing to. In my stash I have rolls of interfacing for bag making but I hadn’t thought about interfacing for clothing. In my stash I knew I had some soft woven iron on interfacing which I use for the back of stitcheries so I thought I could use that. It is stashed amongst different weights of pellon on a high shelf in a wardrobe. When I went looking for it I found the Vlieseline show bag I brought at the craft show in 2018 with the intention of making an interfacing sampler guide so I could see what different interfacings feel like on different fabrics. This was the bag I mentioned in the jacket post. I was happy to find this little bag of treasure as it had all different types of interfacing with instructions on how to apply it. I found one for cotton, it was the same kind as the one I was thinking of. I followed the instructions and was able to apply it to the back of my facing. For future reference it is G 700.

For the elastic back I was pleased to be able to use a scrap of elastic in my stash. When I buy elastic from my small local fabric shop I buy it off the roll so usually get 5m worth which I know will do me a few items, sometimes I end up with scraps which are too short for my waist. Initially I cut the elastic at 21.5″ which was half my waist measurements. The pattern instructions have you baste the elastic in place and the pin the sides of the skirt to check the fit before doing the side seams. The elastic was too big when I tried it on so I cut it down to about 20″ before doing my side seams.

As I made such simple version this was a really easy pattern to make. From tracing out the pattern and cutting it out, sewing and hemming I could have finished it within a day but this ended up being a 3 day project. Last year I got the pattern printed on A0 paper which was big time saver plus it was easier to move the pattern around my cutting table to trace it out as it was all one piece, it was worth the printing money. Sewing this I did have a few mishaps with my sewing machine (it needs a service), but I didn’t get upset or frustrated I just carried on.

I am really pleased with this skirt. In hindsight I think I could have gotten away with making size 20. One of the reason I made it without pockets was because if it was too big I could easily take it in at the sides. I wanted the fabric to be the focus and it really is. This is a more formal looking skirt which different to any other skirts I currently have in my stash.

Would I make this pattern again? Yes. There is so much versatility in this pattern with the different options you can make and fabrics you can use. Now that I have made it I know I can go off my regular hip measurements and not my seated hip measurements as there is lots of room in the finished skirt. I didn’t realise how long it was until I was walking up steps in it and I had to lift it slightly. Even though it is long it isn’t tight so I didn’t need the side splits for extra room to move.

I had finished the post here and was waiting for photos of the skirt to be taken. I was really happy with it but the fit was a little bit big. I was worried about having a wardrobe malfunction at Frocktails or on my night out afterwards. On the Sunday before Frocktails I unpicked the elastic and took it in by 4.5″. It didn’t impact the overall look of the skirt and it meant I was more comfortable wearing it. Before I shortened the elastic at one stage I thought I might need to carry a nappy pin in my bag to tighten my skirt during the afternoon if it felt like it was slipping too much.

Cassiy

Book: Back On Track

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Another book post. I seem to have done more reading than crafting this year. In recent times all the fictional novels I have been reading have been murder mysteries of some description, some more graphic than others. I don’t really like reading romance novels or fantasy or sc-fi so there really isn’t a lot of other genres out there. I was browsing the shelves looking for an author who had written multiple books and I came across Tricia Stringer. Reading the blurbs on a couple of her books made me think I would like her writing style. Her books are individual novels so you can read them in any order. Out of all her books of course I was going to pick the novel where the characters are dressmakers and take a long distance rail journey as my first book to read.

Ketty Clift, dressmaker and owner of a Sydney fashion boutique. She has a small group of staff who design and sew her creations. She had a great team whom she thought all worked well together. For Christmas she decides to treat all her staff with a trip on The Ghan. The Ghan is an iconic train that goes from Darwin to Adelaide through outback Australia. She was inspired to take her team on a trip after her long term friend Carlos brought them both a ticket. After spending time away from the business in recent times she thought a trip together would be a fun team building adventure. As the train departs from Darwin the holiday Ketty had pictured in her head doesn’t quite go to plan as she discovers her team isn’t the close knit team she believed them to be. As the journey continues Ketty and her staff all learn more about each other and themselves as well as meeting some other interesting passengers on the train. Will the trip be enough to get Ketty and her team Back On Track to be the harmonious business it once was?

The book was refreshing to read if you can describe reading a book that way. It isn’t fast paced but at the same time it isn’t slow. It draws you into reading it without it being a jaw dropping page turner. It is set in modern times and so the language used is current but not full jargon that you might not understand. She paints the scenes so clearly that you can imagine the outback and some of the clothing the characters are wearing in your head. The storyline was easy to follow even though it was jumping between two timelines. There was a little romance without it being the main focus. There were elements of mystery but it wasn’t dark and sinister. The book covers some serious topics including ageism, identity, loneliness and friendship but the tone doesn’t feel heavy.

Do you need to be Australian to understand this book? Although the book is set in Australia you don’t need any concept of locations or the local lingo to read this book. It is an enjoyable read. Sit somewhere comfy with your favourite beverage and just read it. I could imagine it to be a perfect holiday or vacation read.

Cassiy

Daily Writing Prompt – 2 Favourite Things To Wear

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Daily writing prompt
What are your two favorite things to wear?
View all responses

Sometimes Daily Writing Prompts repeat so I can’t remember if I have answered this question before. If I have well this is my current 2 favourites.

Star Pants
I made these back in 2021 using the Robbie Pants by Tessuti Fabrics. The fabric has a denim look to it but they are actually more like a linen. I’m a big fan of stars so was instantly drawn to the fabric when I saw it. They look like jeans and that’s how I essentially how I wear them. I wear them to work and on weekends. They are very comfortable to wear.

Harlequin Pants
I made these in February and these have possibly been my most worn item this year. The pattern is June by Helen’s Closet Patterns using a quilting cotton in my stash which had an alternating diamond print to it. Again I’ve worn them to work and on weekends. If I need to quickly get dressed and run an errand I grab these to toss on.

I’m not surprised that both my favourite wears are elastic waisted pants. They are comfortable to wear, you can throw whatever top and jacket on with it. I can wear them with sneakers, sandals or my black mary jane dress shoes. 

Cassiy

Edited:
Apparently yes I did answer this question last November. One out of the two has changed so it will be interesting in another 12 months what my answer would be.