Colour blocked Sapporo, and has the update addressed all the issues?

You'll have to take my words for it when I say that I finished this project in July, ahead of the crazy heat wave we had in August, and certainly ahead of Autumn, the season for which this is intended. My dad's reaction said it all: "Why have you sewn a jacket? It's too hot to wear it right now!" 

The thing is, I hardly ever sew ahead of the season, especially for Autumn. Sewing summer clothes has just been more tempting. Oh wait - I've even confessed this 5 years ago here!

Unfortunately, the heat wave, and the swollen eyes and other allergic reactions that have been bothering me since then have made photographing this quite challenging. So you can probably imagine my joy when my eyes improved somewhat (as mysteriously as they deteriorate) this week, which gave me a short window to snap a few pics. I know that my eyes still look tired, and probably add a few decades to my face, but I just couldn't wait any longer!

Ta Dah!

I've always liked the design of the Sapporo. It's no surprise - I've enjoyed using a couple of Papercut patterns before, and like their modern style. I won't lie - their beautiful packaging may have something to do with my affection, too. 

Leopard print matching joggers

There are few things in life that make me happier than twinning with Freya with me-made outfits. Naturally, lockdown called for more lounge wear, so a few pairs of leopard print joggers are in order. 

Guys, these are some of my favourite makes to date. The only thing that I kind of regret is not adding knee patches to my pair, because they are so adorable! 

I used the tried and tested Papercut Anima (tweaking for a couple of things) for my pair, and the amazing Mini Modern Joggers by Brindille & Twig for Freya. In fact, I enjoyed making Freya's pair so much so that I made another contrast pair from the remnant! 3 pairs of joggers in 1 metre each of the plain maroon and leopard French Terry, plus 0.5m of matching ribbing. Can you get more efficient than that! Warning - DO not try this at home, at least without lots of time spent planning first! In all honestly, I ended up with absolutely zero remnant of the French Terry, and just a bit of the ribbing. So much to love about this project! 

There are lots more details over on the Flamingo Fabrics blog - pop over to find out my review of the Mini Modern Joggers pattern, the changes I made to my second pair of Anima, and alternative patterns to consider. Enjoy! 

A little update and a tutorial (easy hacks for a FREE T-shirt pattern)

It’s been a while, my dear readers. I’ve been sewing (colour-blocked Sapporo jacket anyone?), but not quite blogging about them just yet. Truth be told, I’ve been struggling health wise since Aug, where my eyes are swollen and red all day long due to a suspected allergy to an unknown allergen. Sigh. It’s uncomfortable to say the least, and not very photogenic at all! Initially I thought that it would pass within a few days, then a couple of weeks, and now over 2 months have passed… you know how it is! On the plus side, I am seeing specialists and trying all sorts of things to put this frustrating chapter behind me.

That’s enough doom and gloom for now! We are all otherwise doing fine during these crazy times, and consider ourselves very lucky to be staying safe, and enjoying quality family time together.

This brings me to my next point – I have a little tutorial to share with you today, which features cute photos of Freya. She is over on the Flamingo Fabrics blog today, modelling some easy hacks that you can make to their FREE kids T-shirt pattern. Yep, you read that right – there is a FREE (via newsletter sign-up) T-shirt pattern in town! It’s lovely (though to be fair, any T-shirt pattern with a seam cover detail gets my vote), and I’ve shared a few ways and ideas of jazzing it up.

Enjoy and stay well!