Pink Leopard

Hello!👋

Hope you have been keeping well!

This has been one of those week’s that felt like it flew by. ⏲️

The #sewbloodpressure24 sewing challenge is only 2 weeks away from ending! There have been a few lovely entries already, so please keep them coming! 😀

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated already! So far we have raised £66 pounds! ♥️

I am hoping to get a few more makes done myself for this challenge, at least another 2, not sure if this is doable, but time will tell.

So far, I have completed one garment only which is the Hipster Dress by Ellie and Mac. This week I just finished hemming the bottom and the sleeves with my Janome coverstitch and she is now done! Just need an occasion to wear it now to take some photos. 😎

The other garment I started making this week is the Safiya Dungarees by Tilly and The Buttons. I had been wanting to do the Safiya trousers for quite some time, but decided on making them a dungaree version instead.

I have chosen this pink leopard print cotton poplin which has been in my stash for a few months. 🐆

I discovered a few months ago when I made my pink knit Gumdrops Sweater by RitaMadeThis that I love wearing pink! So now I am not shying away from making a few more pink pieces for my wardrobe! 🤗

There is not much left to do now, just need to  hem the bottom.

I tried them on and they are a bit tight going over my hips. I graded from a 4 at the hips to a 3 for the waist and bust and I didn’t really think about how I needed to put them on.😅

So I need to do a little dance to get them to slide on, but if I get round to making these again, I may put a side zip in.

I do plan on entering some of my makes into other challenges being run on Instagram throughout the month of June, such as #sewfruity24 which is being hosted by Ivette from BlossomSandwich (Instagram handle).

I am not sure what other project I want to tackle this coming week for my sewing challenge, but there is a high chance it will be the Wilder Gown by Friday Pattern Company, Carmel Jumpsuit by Nina Lee or a big collar blouse/shirt from a New Look pattern.

If you have a preference for which you would go for, please let me know because you may just sway me one way more than the other. PLEASE help a girl out here! 🙏

My daughter’s dress went down a treat and it was so nice to see her love wearing it!

There were a few more Elsa’s in her class, but of course I am going to say my daughter looked the best! 🤭🥰

The second teacher’s gift is not yet finished, but it is coming along nicely!

Sometimes I make things for others that I just don’t want to give away because I would like it for myself, and this is one of them. 🙈

I have also recently discovered that I really like seeing myself in blue, so I am drawn to this cardigan and may just need to add one of these to my never ending list of things to knit. 😅

Anyway, I have the bodice all done and am busy knitting one of the sleeves. The next steps are to sew the sleeves to the bodice and then knit a neck ribbing as well as a bottom band to keep the ends from rolling up. 

The pattern I am using is The Dream Cardi by KnitStitchRepeat.

Also, another week has gone by where I haven’t started making the test knit sweater that I have been mentioning for weeks. It is going to snow when I start it! 😂

If anyone is interested in my skating venture… 😂

All is well!

I have been out twice with them and have not fallen over. I do want to start doing some easy tricks, but I think I need to skate on a smoother surface rather than the tar road in my cul-de-sac. 😅

So I will probably search for a few videos on Youtube to help with this process.

If you still haven’t heard about my sewing challenge, please check out the details below to be able to participate:

As a reminder, some of prizes are from the following businesses:

Cashmerette, Atelier Jupe, IAM patterns, Sew Over It and Janome!

(You can find all the sponsors on my Instagram @beesilva.creates.)

The entry rules are very simple:

• Sew a garment that you have been wanting to sew for a while.
• Donate £2 or more to the Blood Pressure UK charity via the link in my bio on Instagram, or I will post it here in my newsletter throughout the month of June.
• Please do leave your Instagram name in the message/comments area of your donation so I can match it up with your finished garment.
• Post your make any time throughout June using #sewbloodpressure24 and tagging me beesilva.creates so I can see your make and add you to the prize list!
• Any work in progress photos, please use #sewbloodpressure24wip. This is to keep the original hashtag free for finished makes only.

😎Confidence Corner:

“You are never too old to learn something new, or too young to learn too much.” — Suzy Kassem

This week got me thinking about my recent purchase, my inline roller skates.

I had been playing with the idea of getting myself some skates for a little while as I used to love being out and about skating with my sister when we were younger.

Seeing my daughter learning how to skate on hers made me want to have a go on them again and be able to skate together.

One of my thoughts was...am I not getting a little old to relearn how to skate? 🤔

After all, I used to skate with my sister when we were around 13 years old, so in reality this is a 21 year break!

Good news is that I did not fall this week, but I do want to start learning a few tricks like skating backwards and being able to criss-cross skate like you see in some videos. So I think I may need to get some knee and hand protectors for this venture.

If there is something new that you would like to learn, no matter how old you are, let this be your sign!💪

Whatever it may be, whether it is how to make ice cream, do upholstery, or write a book, now is the best time!

There are so many platforms nowadays to learn whatever your heart wishes to, so what is holding you back from learning?

🧵Today's Sewing Tip:

Sewing Darts

The primary function of sewing darts in clothing is to allow the garment to fit the contours of the body, typically in the bust area, waistline and backs of dresses/tops.

They can also be used as design features.

Stretch fabrics don’t require darts since these can stretch to fit you.

There are a variety of different darts like straight darts with either one or two points(bust/waist darts), curved darts and french darts.

The most common dart used is the straight dart or otherwise known as a standard dart.

I cut one side of the dart on my paper pattern piece to fold it out of the way so I can trace it to the wrong side of my fabric using chalk. There are other methods to do this like using a tracing wheel, but use whichever method works best for you.

Once it is traced onto the fabric, fold the fabric right sides together, align the markings you made  and stick a pin through the lines to secure it in place. Point the pins towards the raw edge as it will be easier for you to remove as you sew.

Begin sewing from the raw edge towards the centre point. Sew on top of the marked line and when to get to about 1 inch before the end of the dart, reduce your stitch length to 1.0 to strengthen the dart.

Do not backstitch as this can create a pucker.

The threads should not come undone, but if you want extra peace of mind, leave a long tail of threads and tie a moderate knot to secure.

⭐My Favourite Things This Week:

• Having a few more entries to the #sewbloodpressure24 sewing challenge. 🤗
• My daughter feeling like a real princess in her Fairytale Ball gown. 🥰
• Nearly finishing a new pair of dungarees for myself in pink leopard print!

🗓️Upcoming Plans

• Finish my pink leopard print dungarees.
• Please help me decide what to sew next (check the options above) ❗❗
• Finish knitting the blue cardigan for my daughter’s teacher.
• Start a new knitting project - test knit for RitaMadeThis (still haven’t started this 🤦🏼‍♀️)
• Finish making the teacher’s tote bags that I started at my sewcial a few weeks ago.

🎬What I have been Watching/Reading:

• The Asunta Case(Series)

Based on a true story, Asunta Basterra, a 12-year-old girl of Chinese origin was adopted by a Spanish couple. Asunta disappeared, and 24 hours later it was learned that she had been murdered. Her body was found on a forest track near the family's country house.

When I watch something based on true stories that involve children it just breaks my heart! Children are so dependent on parents/guardians and have to put up with what they are dealt with under the care of said people. You would think parents would want the best for their children with no intention to harm them.

• Bridgerton (Series)

The second part of season 3 is now out and is the continuation of the story of Penelope Featherington.

 A few newsletters back, I wrote about not thinking there was enough story to season 3  as I thought that the 4 episodes released was it. Little did I realise another 4 episodes were to come, and I must say I really enjoyed it!

Some unexpected events took place and I even shed a tear. 😂

• Car Crash: Who’s Lying (Documentary)

A car spins out of control on a dark country road. This documentary follows the police's attempts to unpack the twisting tale of what really happened.

🎉Upcoming Events

June 2024 - #sewbloodpressureuk24 - Sewing Challenge on Instagram.
This is not an in-person event but a sewing challenge with the aim of raising money for a charity and awareness on the importance of monitoring your blood pressure.

Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - 22nd of June 2024 11:45 - 17:15 - in Gatley Hill House, South Manchester.
(5hr30m, an extra 30min than usual)
Email bianca@beesilva.co.uk and quote reference: SEWBOND06
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond06/

There are still spaces available for this event which is next week, so please get in touch if you would like to come along. 😀

Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - 27th July 2024 10:15 - 15:45 - in Gatley Hill House, South Manchester.
(5hr30m, an extra 30min than usual)
Email bianca@beesilva.co.uk and quote reference: SEWBOND07
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond07/

What did you think of this week's newsletter? Your reply helps more than you think! I would love to hear from you!🥰

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

Bye for now,
B! xx