Colourful snippets....

There are so many words that could describe my Easter holidays,

clouds, sunshine, excitement, relaxing, smiles, 

Birthday & presents, bunnies, croissants, eggs, lattes & chocolates. 

For me however the best word to describe my holidays must be 

CoLoUr.  

I have been surrounded by colour everywhere over the last few weeks.

♥ On a yummy Easter breakfast ♥

When I was rearranging 

& sorting 

   

my pretties!  

♥ While overindulging in sweet Easter treats ♥

And during my latest sewing project

a pretty colourful apron!

Yes

CoLoUr

is 

the best word to describe my past few weeks.

Which word would best describe your Easter holidays?   

XXXX

Sew Anna Bag....

Can you believe we are at the end of March already....

I can't 

....the first quarter of 2015 is over and I feel I have 

only just arrived in this year.  

I’m a little sad to say goodbye to March, 

it has been a good month for me in creative terms.  

I found my sewing mojo again, 

something that had been missing for a little while. 

I have finished up a few projects this month 

which have been lying around abandoned 

and I have been able to make a few of my MUST MAKE ideas 

from my ever long list 

of MUST MAKES as well this month. 

 
My final completed MUST MAKE for March 2015 is this crossover bag.  

And just like my Gordon’s tartan cape I’m ridiculously pleased with it.  

I have named this bag Sew Anna.
If I’m honest I have never been a big fan of crossover bags in the past.  

Pushing myself through the public transport network 

during rush hour in Berlin over the past few months, 

however I have come to appreciate the benefits of a crossover bag. 

The only crossover bag I own until now has no zip fastening at the top, 

making it not ideal for the pushing & shoving of rush hour. 

So I set out to create a pattern 

which would incorporate all my normal bag needs in a crossover.

Dark blue herringbone tweed, classic casual yet smart.
With beautiful rich brown leather buttons and a perfectly matching leather belt.

Most importantly I designed this bag with a top zip fastening 

to give it that city security it needs.  

 

Just like my Mereoni Bag (Tartan Bag) I designed last March,

(opps March again what is it with this month and me designing bags) 

I added plenty of inside pockets & a key clip for a hopefully organised bag. 

I added an external zip pocket for my public transport ticket 

for easy accessibility as I hop on and off buses & trains. 

Two large pockets with flaps fastened

by these beautiful real leather buttons,

the look reminds me of a traditional tweed jacket.

Using a mans leather belt as the strap was a nice idea 

but boy was it a struggle to sew it onto the body of the bag.  

Even a excellent domestic sewing machine like mine 

is pushed to its absolute limits 

putting together a heavy leather with two layers of interline tweed.
All the struggle was well worth it in the end though, 

I can’t imagine any better strap for this bag then this belt. 

I LoVe the beautiful aged patina of this buckle 

and I have chosen my external metal zips to resemble that colouring. 

Even with this very heavy buckle the bag is surprisingly light to wear, 

the width of the strap distributes the weight very evenly 

so at times I forget I’m carrying a bag.

I have loved using this bag in the past few days.  

It just looks so great 

especially with my newly up cycled denim jacket 

the two go together perfectly and have become inseparable.

Yes my March has been overall a nice one,

 and the perfect finish for me 

to a nice month like this one, was coming home 

from work on Friday where teen Paperdoll surprised me 

with super scrumptious cupcakes she had baked for me.

Why♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  just to say thank you 

and to show me she appreciated every little thing I do for her.   

It’s so nice to know they may not say it all the time 

but they do notice & appreciate!

XXXX

A tartan Ta-Dah....

May I present in all it’s glory my Gordon’s tartan cape.  

Oh boy is my heart jumping with joy looking at it.  

I’m ridiculously pleased with it, hence the photo heaviness on this post.  

It looks so simple and yet very elegant.
This tartan cape has been on my ever long list of must makes for a while.
A few years back I made a similar cape in a 

beautiful sandy gold vintage brocade fabric, 

that I love wearing to this day, on evenings out.  

It is the perfect cape for a smart night with it’s 

sparkly vintage Swarovski buttons. 

Unfortunately though it’s not warm enough 

to be worn on cold nights and too sparkly for daytime.

With this cape I wanted to take care of these two shortcomings.  

A cape that is warmer and wouldn't look out of place when worn in the day.
My fabric choice wasn't hard I knew I wanted something that was timeless,

a real classic, something I wouldn't get bored of
looking at after a few months.
And here I have to confess….  

I have a real soft spot for woollen tartan & tweed fabrics.
They are classics that never go out of fashion in my eyes 

and I LoVe working with them.
After all if they are good enough for designers like 

Ralph Lauren & Alexander McQueen why shouldn't they be for me.  

One of my all-time favourites has to be the Gordon’s tartan. 

I can't quite put my finger on why, 

possibly it’s to do with the fact the Mr Mc was a Gordon Highlander 

when we first met and he always looks rather dashing (sexy)
in his Gordon's kilt or maybe it’s just the richness of the blue & green
interfused with the yellow that draws me to it, 

I let you decide, all I will say is that I just LoVe this tartan. 

So Gordon’s tartan it had to be for the outer

 lined with a midnight blue paisley satin fabric.

Gordon’s tartan has a large pattern repeat, 

on a small garment like this cape that causes quite a few problems 

especially if you are joining curved & straight pieces together.
I can tell you it took quite a bit of playing around 

with the paper pattern pieces on the rolled out fabric to get it right. 

You have to be able to imagine how the finished sewn piece will look 

in order to choose the right areas of pattern repeat in the fabric for each piece

Naturally a perfectly centred tartan is key to a beautifully looking finish.

Another must is perfectly joining lines at the side seam

Getting the collar right was challenging in this project
It took me some time to finding the right area in the tartan that not just matched 

the centre back line from the main back piece

but also joined the side lines of the front pieces on the shoulder.

Making a perfectly rounded Peter Pan collar with 

double thickness wool fabric wasn't easy let me tell you.

By far the biggest challenge for me in this project, 

were the two button holes closest to the outer edge of the front flap. 

It took a few & a few more test button holes, it was a little frustrating 

but practice makes perfect or in this case stern perseverance got the job in the end done.

Regimental Gordon Highlander buttons would have been the obvious choice, 

but I didn't have four same size ones. 

So looking through my stash of odds & end buttons
I stumbled across these ones.  

I think not having the Gordon's buttons was a blessing in disguise really.

This once just add that little sparkle, perfect for day or night.
Depending on the light, the stones sometimes have a hint of
sea green within them.

For me they are the perfect finishing touch.

I know I have said it already in this post 

but I just can't help saying it again 

I LoVe LoVe LoVe this cape!

I'm very happy to tick another beautiful must make off my list.

xxxx