Shopping is no substitute for doing

'Shopping is no substitute for doing' is something I really need to bear in mind, as I've found myself slipping, as a novice sew-er, into a bad habit I had as a knitter: buying more things to make stuff without actually making stuff. That's why I have five plastic crates of knitting wool; I think Mr Robot will divorce me if I acquire the same amount of fabric. That said, I had to have this Liberty fabric. The pattern is called 'Rocket Dance' and I got it from Shaukat Fabrics. A few online stores have this pattern, but not many seem to have the darkest background.

YES IT'S A NAVY BACKGROUND SOMEONE STAGE AN INTERVENTION!

Ahem. Anyway, I love the retro look of the rockets - if the name of this blog tells you nothing else, it should be that retro sci-fi is my jam - and have decided that when I've completed my 60s top I'm going to step back and make a Colette Sorbetto because it's easy and I would like to do something different before doing the 60s top in the vintage fabric. I really like the way the detailed rockets have fine black lines outlining them but the clouds are created with blobs of white. It makes the rockets feel more solid than the clouds. The Sorbetto is a 60s-inspired design, a simple sleeveless top with no fastenings, and looks like the sort of thing I'll wear over and over again.

Something I probably won't wear over and over again but did have fun wearing in the office for a day was this hat promoting Valkyria Chronicles 4, which my colleage Jen brought me back from E3, the big games show in Los Angeles. E3 is basically games Christmas. It's when we learn what games are in development, what stage anticipated games are at, and so on. It started years ago as a way for devs and journos to get together, but has evolved into a massive jamboree and the general public go too now. My colleagues spend five days or so living on energy drinks, going to presentations and interviews by day, then afterparties (food much appreciated!), then back to their accommodation to write stuff, before snatching some sleep. I'll never go, but to be honest at my age I think it would break me!

Back to the sewing, though. I didn't work on my top over the weekend, but I did do other stuff. If you follow me on other forms of social media you might've noticed me being fairly quiet lately. I've just had to stop trying to do everything. And that paid off rather at the weekend. I got my little plants, grown from seed, all planted out, and I did some weeding. I did some proper cooking, and even made my own paneer as I had a milk glut. (I get a twice-weekly milk delivery from the milkman, but haven't been drinking much tea in the heat.) And I resumed work on my friend's cardigan and the end is in sight! Hopefully the joy of completing that will drive me to complete my top, and to start something else to help empty those five crates...


Comments

  1. Oh I think we all have our stashes of bits & bobs- after all that's the stuff that dreams are made of (in reality.) I have an entire cupboard devoted to tapestry yarn & canva and now I have a set of bookshelves full of food photography props! (Not to mention more perfume than I could ever possibly wear)
    Love those rockets dancing through the clouds? What's not to love about navy? ;)

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    1. I bet your food photography props are a real treasure trove.

      No such thing as too much perfume - it's good to know you'll never run out, I reckon.

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  2. Well, I can see why you couldn't resist that material - it's beautiful! It will look even more beautiful when it's made into something.

    The E3 sounds amazing but exhausting...

    I've made a bit of a dent in my stash with my most recent blanket which I'm just finishing off but I still have 3 containers full of wool. It will get used up, I promise. Glad to hear you've almost finished your friend's cardi!

    Enjoy your week.

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    1. E3 is properly bonkers. Still, at least we know what we've got to look forward to (mostly) for the rest of the year.

      I'm glad I'm not the only wool stasher here!

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  3. I've spent the last few weeks sorting out books by the hundreds. I finally had a break in the rain last night to weed the garden, so yeah, I hear you on the making time to get things done. I have such a terrible stash of embroidery floss, fabric, etc. I really ought to move along.

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    1. Aaah, books. Pete got rid of loads of his when he got his Kindle, but I still have an irrational fear that one day there might be no more ebooks and then I'll need my papery beauties.

      Weeding is the pits. I'm making myself keep on top of it, but the garden usually gets out of control by July.

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  4. Go Navy! I used to avoid it because I associated with school uniforms, but I find it easier to wear than black! I know what you mean about going crazy buying stuff for making. I get really enthusiastic about something, buy loads and do nothing... Currently have boxes of beads in my wardrobe ..

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    1. I have a small box of beads, but that's it. They're so pretty...

      Buying stuff feels like the first step towards making something, the problem being that it's not actually making anything apart from a stash.

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  5. You do suit a hat!
    that fabric is absolutely gorgeous and it's going to work brilliantly with the Sorbetto pattern although I'd be terrified to take the scissors to it.
    There's a lot to be said for disconnecting and just concentrating on stuff. We should all do it. xxx

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    1. I have a very small head, to the point modern high street hats, which come in S-M and M-L nowadays, are always too big, but tiny vintage ones fit me perfectly.

      I find it very hard to focus on one thing and one thing only nowadays; I'm sure social media's shortened my attention span. Disconnecting is important.

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  6. Hahaha you should see the stash of fabric I have and I don't even make clothes!! See it's fabric like this that makes me buy fabric it's fabulous.
    I agree with Vix there is much to be said for disconnecting.

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    1. I think I may have a touch of burnout. Just doing anything seems like too much, and has done for a while. Even blogging sometimes feels like an effort, because I'm not doing much worth blogging about. Disconnecting is helping because I'm not pushing myself to do so much - I'm trying to get to a state where I can enjoy my spare time, not simply use it to gather up enough energy to face another working week. (I have ditched my weekend to-do lists; chores will get done or they won't.)

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  7. Good luck with the Sorbetto! I made one ages ago, I found the trickiest bits were the bindings (I bought inferior quality bias binding that was too stiff, but I am also not good at tiny seam allowances!). My write-up here if you're interested:
    http://www.porcelinasworld.com/2016/07/the-sorbetto-top-pattern-by-colette.html

    I didn't know you could make paneer?! Wow, I'm impressed!
    x

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    1. Aha, thank you for that - your top still looks impressive to me!

      Paneer is literally just milk and citric acid. (Lime/lemon juice will do, though I used citric acid from a cheesemaking kit Pete bought me.) You heat the milk till it's 88 degrees/almost boiling, stirring to ensure it doesn't scorch, then turn off the heat, add the acid and keep stirring. Leave it to rest for about 10 mins, then strain it into a cheese cloth, twist the cloth to squash out excess whey, then pop a weight on it and leave it for an hour to firm up. It's really easy.

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  9. That fabric is just fabulous. Can't wait to see what you'll do with it. Being on a social media diet isn't a bad thing at all. I've just been away for 2 weeks and, apart from posting a photo on Facebook (I'm old-fashioned and am not on Instagram) I didn't do anything at all. So now I've got a mountain of blog reading to do ... xxx

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    1. Heh, good luck catching up! It's great to see you're back.

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