Refashion challenge - 4

I have been so grateful for this skirt to focus on during all the other things going on. Just sitting is not something I do very well, but I have really needed to de-stress. Sitting and making french knots has been very useful for chilling out.

Here is the front section complete.

Now I am going to put on the waistband and hem it. Then I can work something small on the back depending on the amount of time I have to submit the review by the 30th.

As for college, now that I have got over the 2day migraine, it doesn't seem so bad. Apparently with everyone doing something different because of the classes being combined, rather than looking at it as diversity in learning and learner choice in learning, I was told the session lacked focus. But the inspector couldn't clarify that! She did praise the detailed planning and said it was apparent that I knew what they were doing and they knew what they were doing. But anyway, it still satisfactory, and I guess you can't really hope for more from Ofsted.

anyway, whilst sitting embroidering yesterday, I finally got to watch the first Quilting Arts TV DVD which my husband got me a few years ago! I may use some clips for showing students.

Still here

I survived the observation. No formal feedback yet (the observer is the head of several departments, so is up to her ears with stuff for Ofsted) but the comments were good.

Thanks, Ruth, for the encouraging words in your comment on the last post. I was going to reply, but I was afraid it would all go pear shaped! Should trust myself more!

What I AM glad about is that the students were lovely. and 4 decided to stay home for one reason or another! Which really did help. :)

just because I need to hear them again :-p here are the comments:

I can see you have a challenge with so many different modules and levels within the class but you are very confident and are coping very well. However, your planning docs cover everything, you can obviously glance at them quickly for guidance. I thought yet again this year your confidence has grown, the way you interact with the learners is very good and I could see they were all enjoying the course and it was meeting their needs. You had clearly thought very carefully the best path to follow for them ... - well done, this is really learner centred and exactly what we like to see at ND.

So, onward to Inspection...
Today I went up and draped fabric on the dummies so they look nicer. ;-)
and did a couple posters.

The work in the corner is by one of the college tutors who is also taking dressmaking courses. My students weren't happy with the idea of putting work out where other classes might finger them and then still have to submit them to C+G afterwards.

Now, back to getting ready for the TVCT meeting and workshop... I have also been sorting out some details for the exhibition we are going to have at the gallery in Bracknell. Gallery@49. They have asked for work from our Exhibition at Slough Museum earlier this year.

I will put up more info about that another day.

Refashion challenge - 3

Yes, it has been a week or so. Last weekend was doing Happy Birthday things for a Very Good Man for which A Certain Lad came home. We went out to eat one night, went to see Tintin the next day, gave some presents on Sunday and took the boy back to uni, then more pressies on Mon which was the day, but I was teaching in the evening, so he was by his lonesome. and then I made a special meal on Tuesday.

Also, I have been sorting and resorting paperwork and dashing to Reading for a meeting. Two reasons...I am being observed (or rather my teaching is) on the 14th and the college is being Inspected from the 21st. They are likely to visit my class.
I think I should be alright. The thing that makes me most nervous is that each time I was to be observed the last 2 years, a student decided to throw a wobbley out of the blue about 5 min before class. Which made teaching sensibly a bit difficult.
Many prayers, I must say, are going up about calm students as well as a calm tutor this time!

However, I did a sample of embroidery at the weekend to see what I wanted to do with the skirt for the refashion contest. I was able to make a bit of progress on it. I stopped for a few more threads - Coton a Broder and perle cotton when I was in Reading. Remember I said I was taking inspiration from Karen Ruane.

If you don't hear from me. I am focussing on the job thing.

Oh, and somehow in the midst of it all, teaching a workshop on Saturday for the Thames Valley Contemporary Textiles. yes. well, in theory, I wasn't busy, you see. Or at least not when I said I could do it. We are doing fused papers to stitch into and use in your work. So, a couple days I was doing samples for that.

Refashion challenge - 2

So, yesterday I spent most of the day doing the seams, which were not easy, as I had to get every thing to line up properly to get the binding to look even on both sides. Remember I said I thought I might do slot seam. WELL, I realised that would have made it even more difficult.

I was well chuffed with the centred zip at back which because of the extra trim on the seam stays nicely hidden.

Still flapping because the right colour zip in the stash was too long. I want to make sure it is well secure in the waistband or facing before I chop it off. I have learned that lesson before!!

And then this morning I tried it on to check the size. I had added a bit to each seam thinking I needed it because I have grown a bit since the last time I made it.

Well, not 10cm extra!! which is how much too big it was. ...

So, today I have spent all day un picking from the hip up at least to take it in. I took the centre front and back panels in 2 cm where it would have been a dart. I still needed 2 more cm. So, took out the wonderful zip and redid those seams. It had better fit now! It wasn't just taking each one in, it was taking the binding off to a certain point and then measuring in further lining the binding back up again, sewing it on, and then resewing the seam.
Whew.

Compare with the photo above

So, then this evening I did the next step (having set up the machine for it last night, and having to reset it up after all the palavar above.) I want to do some stitching, so I chose this interesting curvy buttonhole stitch variation.
detail

I am really pleased with it. I used the thread I had got for the fushia part of the dress I made for the fashion show. I nearly ran out!! Partially because I used two threads to get the thickness I wanted. It was the right colour, but didn't show enough with one thread.

Oh yeah, and I put the zip back in nearly as easily. and you still can't see it.

...so to bed.

family stuff

a Certain Lad is doing Movember in reverse.

He is on Mutton Chops now.

Shall I say he is suddenly coming out of his shell, or what?

If you want to know details if you'd like to donate, email me or leave a message making sure I can find your email through your profile.

other things:
I have heard my brother is in hospital again after already spending about a month in there and being home only a couple weeks. Serious pneumonia. He has been in and out of ICU and back and forth from the local hospital to the big one in a town about 60 miles away.

Hopefully it is just complications from meds which should improve now that they are going back to the old ones. He has gone far beyond the average life expectancy for a kidney transplant recipient. So, every day has been a bonus. But when this sort of stuff starts happening, you wonder if it is all beginning to break down again. :( I think it must be about 20 years now since he had a rare kidney disease. I can't remember how long he was on dialysis. He was told the average was 10 years for the first transplant.

Somehow he has to make it through the severe Maine winter which has begun early this year. (I am not keen on going to Maine in the winter again this year! after 2008 and 2010)

Refashion challenge - 1

panel skirt has been cut from trouser legs. and then...

...enter offcuts from a friend's quilting stash. The print seems to go with both so I have cut bias binding and sewed it on each panel just within the SA. If all goes well, it will look like each panel has a bound edge when I have sewn the seams.

On the other hand, if I wait til tomorrow, I might decide it wants to have a bit of jeans fabric added behind the butted up edges to make slot seams. Sort of leaning in that direction.

Also congitating (is that a word?) on some ideas sparked by the work of Karen Ruane which I recently was introduced to. ( yes, which...the work not the person as yet). As you may have noticed, I have added her blog link to the side bar. breathtaking actually, especially if you like stitching.

Refashion challenge

I have been wanting to do more refashioning for sometime. I decided the current challenge up at Pattern Review would be the motivation to get going.

So, in a few weeks, these should become something else. It will be a bit of make it up as I go along. (As you know, I love doing that! Toss the rules!) I may enlist the help of M'Lady in the corner.