A Vibrant Hazel

May 2nd, 2013

I finished my Hazel up a couple nights ago, and wore it for day 2 of Me-Made-May. I’d been planning to make Hazel for a while now with a completely different fabric. But, when I was in the Avenue Fabric Studio a couple weeks ago I knew this fabric was exactly what I wanted for this dress! I had planned on taking the photos without my leggings, but I was pummeled by a big black lab riding my bike through the park on my way home this evening. Needless to say my knees are skinned and leggings were a requirement.

Me-Made-May '13, Sewing Projects 1 Comment »

Me-Made-May ’13

May 2nd, 2013

OK. I’m a little late to decide, but better late than never.

‘I, Alison of www.alisonrea.ca sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’13. I endeavour to wear at least one hand made item each day for the duration of May 2013′

I hesitated to join the blogosphere in Me-Made-May ’13 due to logistics.

I have a hard enough time photographing all my makes and the thought of photographing myself everyday is quite daunting.

I ride my bicycle to and from work most days and will not be wearing my handmade items while cycling. I will have to make an extra effort to take photos on my lunch hour or put the outfits on again once I get home from work.

I will be traveling through Croatia for the last two weeks of May and don’t know if I will be able to keep up both wearing handmade items daily and photographing them. But I pledge to try.

Finding the handmade items to wear is the easy part. Here is a photo from Day 1. This is made from Sewaholic’s Crescent skirt pattern. This is one of many Crescent skirts I made last year and never added to the blog. I have a plan to try and make a green maxi skirt using this pattern, inspiration a mix between this and this.

Me-Made-May '13, Sewing Projects 2 Comments »

Mmmm, the Gulf Islands

April 28th, 2013

I escaped to Galiano Island this weekend with a couple of great girlfriends. Yesterday was grey and windy, but we managed to fit in a hike and few naps. I even had time to knit this beautiful toque.

And this is what we awoke to this morning!

Knitting, Travel 2 Comments »

Another Laurel, This Time in Linen

April 16th, 2013

I had time to sew up another Laurel this weekend, finishing it up on Monday evening. On Friday I stopped by the new Avenue Fabric Studio on my way home from work. I picked up this lovely blue linen cotton blend that I used for this version of Colette’s Laurel pattern.

This time around I shortened the dress to more of a tunic/top length. I also altered the neckline, creating a wide boat neck with and insert in the shoulders to create a bit of a square neck shape. I also added a couple of darts to the front of the shirt and removed the zipper altogether. I much prefer the shape with the front darts, although if I make it again I will lengthen the darts a touch.

Wow, its so much easier to get photos done now that I have a remote for my camera! Hopefully, I can keep up this pace of posting.

Sewing Projects 5 Comments »

Alberta St. Laurel

April 14th, 2013

I bought this fabric back in February on a quick weekend getaway to Portland. I found it in the remnant bin at Bolt Fabric Boutique on Alberta St and I couldn’t pass it up as it contained all my favourite colours. I was hoping to squeeze a shirt out of it and was pleasantly surprised when I laid the pieces of the Laurel pattern out and it fit! I might even have enough left over to make a matching pair of knickers!

It’s a very lightweight cotton so I underlined it with some purple cotton that I had in my ever growing stash of fabric. The only alteration I made to the pattern was with the neckline and I think I will be needing to add a couple bra strap holders to the inside of the dress.

I have two more pieces of fabric from that trip to Portland, both are beautiful wool from Pendleton. It’s amazing I had time to poke around the fabric shops with all the fantastic beer and food throughout the city! I’m thinking of making a Cordova jacket with one of them.

Sewing Projects 2 Comments »