Project: Sorbetto { Surprise }

I thought I'd show you the latest muslin of something I've been working on for, oh, about a month now. I've joined the ranks of Sorbetto lovers, and quite rightly as it is just another example of brilliant pattern making from Colette Patterns. This is a Sorbetto with a twist, however. A Sorbetto Surprise if you will ...

Whilst I love vest tops during the summer, we're rapidly heading in to Autumn here in Wales and I was after something with sleeves. Easy enough, I thought, as Mena at Sew Weekly had posted a cap sleeve pattern. I wanted something that came in around the ¾ length mark, so I just continued on the side seam lines until I'd reached the 13" I'd decided on. The ruffle edge came about due to a picture I've had saved for around 5 years and I really just wanted to see what they looked like in real life.

The big headache has been the collar. It's still not right; despite multiple drafts it still has a small gap at the front that you can't really see the full extent of in the above pictures. My sewing of curves still leaves much to be desired, but I assure you, that is a peter pan collar. I'm tempted to continue fiddling, reduce the neckline of the main pattern pieces by a seam's width so as not to lose anything from the original line perhaps. Overall though, I really like it and am planning on making a version in red gingham, probably without the ruffle on the sleeve as I think that has a more summery and floaty feel than the current weather requires.

If people want it, and I can find a scanner, I'll make the collar piece available. Just be warned it's not perfect and could probably use some more fiddling by someone a little better at pattern drafting than me. Even Gertie's tutorial couldn't help me get it completely right. I should also admit that after four drafts I gave up on making the undercollar that tiny bit smaller as I could never get it to work when sewing it together, so it's a small one piece deal. Hopefully with a little more practice I can get the collar looking right!

Thanks for stopping by,

Spotlight: Ulyana Sergeenko A/W 2011

I came cross the fourth picture on Pinterest (oh Pinterest, how I love thee!). If google translate's working properly I believe this is the first Autumn/ Winter collection for photographer/ stylist turned designer Ulyana Sergeenko, but it appears to have gone down well. A little unsurprisingly when you check out the photos below!

{ Source: Etoday }

I love the full length maxi skirts - actually, I just plain love everything. I think the colours and patterns are perfect for the coming Autumn/ Winter, the designs and styling are wonderfully retro, and the blogosphere appears to be sitting up and paying attention. I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for her future collections.

Thanks for stopping by,

Tenby 24/7

On Monday 12th September, at 7.30pm on BBC One Wales, a four part reality series documenting life in Tenby will air. Filming took place in early August for the series, named Tenby 24/7, and Creative Services (aka Promos) were asked to put together a trailer for the programme.

It occured to me, shortly after rejoining BBC Wales to work with Creative Services, that the one thing I have access to that a lot of other bloggers don't is the world of television. Not actually as glamorous as most people imagine but lots and lots of fun.

I happened to mention in the office that I'd never been to Tenby and was nicely surprised to be invited along for the shoot. This involved a drive up to Pembrokeshire on a Tuesday mid-morning, an overnight and then a drive back that afternoon. A nice, easy couple of days you might think. Ha!

Phil (my boss) having decided his premise for the trail would be 'the colours of Tenby', put together a colour wheel and a list of things he thought we should shoot. Jon, the cameraman, added a few extra. I just went along to carry things, build sandcastles (that never made it in to the finished promo damnit!) and negotiate.

If you follow me on Twitter (@torsgrantham) you'll have noticed I suddenly developped an overwhelming love for Tenby and the RNLI. For those not in the know, Tenby (according to the BBC website for the series) is one of Wales' busiest holiday resorts, where people work hard during the summer to feast or famine in the winter. It's a beautiful town, located in a national park situated on the west coast of Wales (the sticking out bit on the left of the UK for those not local). Tenby's town houses are painted gorgeous pastel colours and the beach is all sand, blue sky and blue sea. The RNLI very kindly let us film the launch of their boat from right beside the sea doors, granting us access not normally allowed to the general public and I have to say, it was awesome! A big thank you has to go out to the residents and visitors of Tenby who were so helpful and not at all camera shy.

I specifically took my camera with me and took some shots, as and when I was free and able, of the filming and general vicinity to show you all. This will, once again, be a picture heavy post because I couldn't choose which ones I liked most (although be grateful I managed to scale it down at all, there were over 50 photos in total!)

(what to wear to a film shoot on the beach) I wore:
Skinny jeans - New Look
Shades - New Look (I'm sure I had a pair of these in the 80's)
Jumper - Oasis

Thanks for stopping by,

From Wales to the World

I'm not sure if this will work outside the UK but here's a little something my department put together, I hope you like it.

Edited to add: rather ironically, given the title of the trail, this isn't available outside of the UK, sorry about that! I'm afraid I can't find it on youtube where it might have been available worldwide. For those that can't see it, this is a trailer for all the dramas produced out of BBC Wales.

London Blogger Meet-Up

A couple of weeks ago, Suzy of Suzy Sewing Blog tweeted that she was going to London to do some fabric shopping and asked for company. Having been a while since my last London road trip I jumped at the chance, knowing I could get a return coach ticket from Cardiff for roughly £20. Further conversations and a blog post later and Lauren of Tea & Crumpets and Justine of Polkadot Pebble were joining us. I'd not come across Justine's blog prior to the meet up but unfortunately for my poor housemate Lauren and Suzy are two of my very favourite bloggers which made me very very excited and very very babble-tastic. For the entire three hours it took to get there (and the three hours return) I don't think I shut up.

We had a lovely map put together by Suzy with shops to visit. I like this approach, it appeals to my Production Co-ordinator side, almost like a call sheet. I had no idea there were so many fabric shops in one area, and we visited each and every one. My favourites were probably Liberty's for its architecture (see Suzy's blog for pictures of us) and the Cloth House. Both Lauren and I decided that if we ever owned a sewing/ crafting shop it would be done out much like the Cloth House. We also discussed a Speakeasy, costume designer careers, Alexander Skarsgard, Game of Thrones, Alexander Skarsgard, Russell Tovey (who we passed in the street), Lord of the Rings and a whole heap of other subjects.

I had a great time chatting about everything under the sun, pointing out the craziest fabrics that could be made in to Doctor Who costumes and wandering around sunny (sunny!) Llundain. Definitely the best road trip in a long time and I hope to do it again soon.

I've finally recovered from the epic day trip and have found the time (whilst at work) to mess about with my photos. I failed miserably to take many interesting pictures, including pictures of any of us, but what I did take is below for your perusal.

Liberty's stairwell

Dress forms at Liberty's

Button wall at Libery's

Lauren, Suzy & Justine at the Cloth House

Suzy & Justine at the Cloth House

The Cloth House's window

And because a trip to London wouldn't be complete without a crazy person busking
whilst hanging upside down from a tree ...

Thanks for stopping by,