New Addition to My Wardrobe

Hello!👋

Hope you have been keeping well!

This week  was a very slow creative week.

With my youngest’s 3rd birthday and my partner’s birthday the day after hers, we had a busy week! 🥳

I don’t think I want to see another chocolate for the foreseeable future. 😂

I am actually glad I didn’t make Miss Z a birthday dress because it wouldn’t have been appropriate for her to wear for the events we had booked for her day. 😅

We went to Play Factore for the first time, and as parents, we enjoyed ourselves as much if not more than the kids! 😂

There were so many different areas to play in and one of them had a massive slide!

They did warn us when booking to wear long sleeves and trousers to cover our skin to avoid friction burns and all went well until… I got hot and removed my sweater. 🤦🏼‍♀️

I had a t-shirt underneath thinking it would serve me well when I got too warm, but I didn’t think about the friction burns for myself, I only had the kids in mind.

And here is the result of the fun time I had! 😂

Now they don’t look too bad, but they sting like hell! 😣

In the afternoon we decided to go to Sea Life Aquarium and it was really nice seeing the excitement on the kid's faces when they saw all the different sea creatures, especially when the sharks made an appearance. 😂

Funny enough the eldest was quite scared of approaching some of the glass tanks. 🤔 🤷🏼‍♀️

She nearly didn’t want to pass through this tunnel.

Other exciting things we did was to go pumpkin picking, we walked around The Maker’s Market in Knutsford and we bought some biltong(dry, cured meat) for myself! This is one of the things I miss the most about living in South Africa! 😃

Of course the sweater I am knitting, the Bi-Colour Snuggle sweater from Anxious Girl Knits, went with for the car journey.

Using this Pebble Haze Aran yarn held double has made this sweater come together quite quickly!

It is so soft and so easy to work with, and it looks beautiful made up!

In case you don’t already know, you can get this yarn from Wool Warehouse at a very affordable price! 🙂 The colours pictured are Limestone and Red Serpentine.

The bodice and neck ribbing are completely done, and of course I tried it on already! 😄

It is actually not as small as I thought it would be, it fits just the way I want it too!

I decided to make it one size smaller than my measurements for a snugger fit, because that is just what I prefer and I am happy with it.

I am currently working on one sleeve, and I should be able to do the other sleeve, or at least start it, next week.

The first sweater I made during testing I don’t actually reach for much. 😬

I never extended the length of the bodice, so it is very cropped for my liking and the sleeves are just too wide and long. Not practical at all for my day to day tasks.😐

I have learnt from that, so of course I lengthened the bodice on the one I am knitting and I am going to reduce the sleeves too.

Not only in terms of length, but also in width. It just won’t fit into any of my jackets otherwise.

The Jasmine Sweater by Rita Made This is now finished! 🥳

I finally managed to find some time this week to film the cast off of the neck ribbing and weave in the ends and I LOOOOVE it!

The silver thread really gives it that little bit more pizzazz, I am so happy with it! 😍

I can feel this is a very good addition to my wardrobe and I will be reaching for it a lot! 😍

My partner also treated me this week by bringing home some yarn! 🤩

He called me on one of his lunch breaks and asked me if I wanted some because he happened to pass by them when he stopped by ALDI. How lucky am I! 🤗

I asked him to bring 5 balls in each colour thinking that it would be enough to make a sweater in each colour, that is 500 grams each. 🤔

Currently, I have no specific plans for them, so I will add them to my stash for now. 🤭

On the sewing front, I am still busy with the bag/pouch design.

Two of them really. 🙂

One had been put on pause because I was waiting for some hardware to arrive, and it came on Friday!

I did do a slight bit of work on it though because I had some rectangle rings in my stash I could use, and so far I am pretty happy with how it is looking.

It shouldn’t be too long now until it is finished. I then need to see the overall functionality of the pouch and see if I want to make any changes at this stage.🙃

And lastly, I will go through the instructions again and make sure that everything is okay for a tester call.  🥳

The second one I am working on is the toiletry pouch for my upcoming workshop! 😀

I had already made a sample for it, but it was a quick one to check all measurements matched  up.

The second one I am making now is to showcase the techniques we will be covering in the workshop and also to write up the instructions.

The longest part of making the pouch is making a new piece of fabric with the squares big enough to cut the necessary panels from it.

So that is what I managed to do this week! 😀

As the zipper tape I ordered has now arrived, this week I can crack on and finish this bag! 🦾

I am soooo excited to run this workshop!🤩

I also received the full tester files for the Fairwyn dress from The Petite Dressmaker!

So I need to work on it this week too.

I printed and taped 32 pages together! 😣 Something I hadn’t done for ages and did not miss it at all.

And this is just the skirt portion! 😳

I haven’t yet decided on which fabric I am going to use, but I have also just seen that I am going to need 3-5 metres of fabric depending on the width, and this is just for the main, not the lining! 😂

So my original choices are no longer valid as I only have about 2 metres of each.

The new options are these:

I am leaning more towards the otter fabric, so let’s see when the time comes to cut what I choose. 🤔

Just a little side note, The Petite Dressmaker caters for different heights, petite (5ft2) and standard (5ft7), 2 cup sizes and a full bust from 29.9 to 50.4 inches, so don’t take the name as only catering for petite sizes. 🙂

Just highlighting this because we spoke about this during our September Sew & Bond.

😎Confidence Corner:

“When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.”  - Joe Namath

Confidence and success go hand in hand.

When we're confident, we’re more willing to take chances and believe in ourselves. This makes what we’re doing more enjoyable, which brings out our creativity and focus.

Enjoying what we do helps us stay motivated and often can lead to great things.

Think about a time when you felt confident and what that led you to achieve. 😀

🧵Today's Sewing Tip:

FREE PATTERNS FOR HALLOWEEN

With Halloween a few weeks away, there is still plenty of time to make something for the little ones in your life, or even for yourself!

Today I am sharing a few patterns that you can get for free, you simply need to download them after clicking on the links below. (You may need to create an account on the website first.)

If you are planning on going trick or treating, or even just doing a treasure hunt in your garden, the kids need a little bag to put all their treats in!

1. Halloween Treat Bag - Waves and Wild:

https://www.wavesandwild.com/shop/halloweentreatbag/

2. Mermaid Tote Bag - Heather Handmade:

https://www.heatherhandmade.com/mermaid-tote-bag-pattern/

If you would like to bring some fun to your dinner table for the season, try making these pumpkin placemats.

3. Pumpkin Placemat - Heather Handmade:

https://www.heatherhandmade.com/free-pumpkin-placemat-pattern/

Lastly, if you want to add a cape to your child’s costume to elevate the look, here is a pattern for you.

To claim this one for free, you have to join their Facebook group or subscribe to their newsletter. You can find a further link to this in the description of the pattern.

4. Super Kid Cape Pattern - Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop:

https://peekaboopatternshop.com/super-kid-cape-pattern/

⭐My Favourite Things This Week:

• Working on 2 bag/pouch designs. 🤭
• My daughter and my partner’s birthdays! 🎂
• Finishing my pistachio coloured Jasmine Sweater by Rita Made This! 😀
• Making good progress on the Bi-Colour Snuggle Sweater in the Pebble Haze Aran yarn.
• My partner bringing home some yarn for me! 🤗

🗓️Upcoming Plans

• Keep knitting the Bi-Colour Snuggle Sweater from Anxious Girl Knits.
• Try to finish the toiletry bag for my upcoming workshop on the 3rd of November.
• Start making the Fairwyn test dress from The Petite Dressmaker.
• My partner’s jacket - we have finally decided on a new pattern, but I am not so sure this will be going ahead anymore. 😑

🎉Upcoming Events

26th of October 2024 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - in Gatley Hill House, South Manchester, 10:15h - 15:45h
Email bianca@beesilva.co.uk and quote reference: SEWBOND010
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond010/

Workshop - MAKE A QUILTED BAG with a ZIPPER AND POCKETS
Location - Gatley Hill House, South Manchester.
Date - 3rd of November 2024, 10:45h - 16:15h.
Price - 45£.

Everything else will be revealed next week! 💖
To register your interest email me at bianca@beesilva.co.uk.

23rd of November 2024 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - in Gatley Hill House, South Manchester, 11:45h - 17:15h
Email bianca@beesilva.co.uk and quote reference: SEWBOND011
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond011/

14th of December 2024 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - in Gatley Hill House, South Manchester, 11:45h - 17:15h
Email bianca@beesilva.co.uk and quote reference: SEWBOND012
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond012/

Question of the Week:

What details do you look for when working with PDF patterns?

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Thank you so much for reading it! And if you enjoyed it, please tell a friend about it to allow me to reach more people. 🥰

Bye for now,
B! xx