Steady Progress

Hello!👋

Hope you have been keeping well!

I have something funny to tell you this week. 😅

When we left the house for the morning school run, I closed the door and the keys were left inside the house! 🙈 And we could see it through the window, there was just no chance of reaching it.

Luckily, we left the kitchen window open. The window space is not really a big space and it was high up, one that opens upwards.

I was wearing a dress as well, but I managed to wiggle my way through it. I  climbed on a ladder first and had my partner hold my legs and try to get my feet through the window while I was doing a handstand on the inside with all the clean dishes below my head! 😂

I can’t believe I actually managed to fit through it, but at least we didn’t have to break the door open! That is a win! 🦾

I am still busy working on my partner's parka jacket!

Trying to decipher the instructions and making multiple welt pockets is very time consuming, so much so that since last week, I have only  managed to add 3 more welt pockets, 1 welt pocket with a zip and sewn the sleeve panels together.

Focusing on this project has helped me deal with the overwhelming feelings I was having last week, and I feel I have managed to organise all my tasks so they don’t feel too much. 🤗 

And with that said, I have another project that has been added to my immediate to-do sewing list. 😂

My daughter’s teacher has said that the first week back in the next term, they are going to have a Fairytale Ball!! 👗

I asked my daughter what princess she wants to go as, and she picked up a ready-to-wear Elsa dress. Then my partner walked into the room and said “You’re not wearing that. Mommy will make you a new dress!” 

So now I can’t let my little baby down, since we already checked the internet for some inspiration. Let’s see what princess she actually chooses as I am probably only going to go and get some fabric for it next week.

I am also still working on the knit sweater for my daughter’s teacher and  I actually restarted it. 🥴

I had finished the whole bodice and had started on one of the sleeves, but the sizing was bothering me.

I tried it on and it looked ginormous! I don’t have a photo of where I was at before unravelling, but here is one that I did take when the bodice was nearly finished.

Not only that, the hem was past my bottom and this teacher is basically my height. I just wasn’t feeling good about it, so I decided to undo it all…

And start again. I haven’t been having much luck with my knit projects lately, but I see this as a chance to do it better the second time around.

Instead, I asked my mom for her measurements as I felt she has a similar physique to the teacher.

With those measurements, I have sized down one and have also used a smaller needle for the ribbing than what I was using. I am also going to make sure I knit less rows so it’s not too long. This is where we are now…

The pattern I am using is the Monster Sweater by KnitStitchRepeat and I am using 4 strands of DK yarn together with one strand of aran weight yarn.

Don’t forget that when June starts, my sewing challenge starts too!

As a reminder, I have 34 prizes to hand out worth over £600!!! 🎁

Prizes are Janome, Kylie and the Machine, Tammy Handmade, The Fabric Boutique and Cashmerette just to name a few.

The entry rules are very simple:

• Sew a garment that you have been wanting to sew for a while.
• Donate £1 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:

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” — Maya Angelou

Without going too deep and just looking at my creative tasks this week, I have done a lot of unpicking on my partner’s parka jacket and a lot of frogging on the sweater for my daughter’s teacher.

These are quite simple tasks to change as I didn’t like the way my stitching was looking or how big and long the sweater was, but in real life, if you don’t like something change it.

I have a couple of scenarios in my life, that I don’t want to go into details here, where I felt myself going down a dark path.

I am thankful I was able to recognise this in time and was able to make the changes that I needed at the time.

Don’t tolerate what is not good for you.

On the other hand, if there is no way to change it, change the way you look at it.

🧵Today's Sewing Tip:

Marking snap placement

On the parka jacket I am currently working on, there is an option to place snaps on the pockets. The instructions have provided where to place them on the flap but not on the pocket itself. So let me show you how I marked the perfect placement.

I took a piece of chalk and brushed it over the snap.

Then I closed the flap and pressed a little on it, so that the chalk would leave a circle mark on the pocket.

That gave me the precise location of where to make the hole to insert the snap.

I simply took the pointy tool that came with my snaps set and poked through the middle of the circle.

⭐My Favourite Things This Week:

• Having a second chance at making the sweater better for my daughter’s teacher.
• Making progress on my partner’s parka jacket.
• Really digging deep into my me made wardrobe for #memademay. I have been wearing items that I haven’t touched for a loooong while. 🤭

🗓️Upcoming Plans

• Keep organising my Instagram sewing challenge #sewbloodpressureuk24
  (Are you going to participate? Let me know! 😊)

• Continue working on my partner’s jacket.
• Repaint my cutting table (still haven’t done this 🙈).
• Continue working on the knit sweater for my daughter's teacher.
• Make my daughter a princess dress.

🎬What I have been Watching/Reading:

• The Final: Attack on Wembley (Documentary)

When England was in the final of the Euro 2020 with Italy, masses of football fans were outside the stadium in anticipation of the game. It all ended in chaos.

• Top Boy (TV Series)

Two seasoned drug dealers return to the gritty streets of London, but their pursuit of money and power is threatened by a young and ruthless hustler.

I started watching this as a friend recommended it to me.

Personally, up until episode 5 or 6 of season 1, I wasn’t really keen on watching it, but things got really interesting afterwards. ( I am now in season 2.)

It’s scary to think that, although it’s a fictional series, some of those events are part of the daily lives of those who choose or are led  to go down the path of dealing with gangs and drugs.

🎉Upcoming Events

Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - 25th of May 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: SEWBOND05
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond05/

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/

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/

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. 💖

What did you think of this week's newsletter? Reply to this email! I would love to hear from you!🥰

Bye for now,
B! xx