Blues, greys, rusty pinks and green. The colours of late autumn! I thought I'd pop in today to show you some of my recent projects. I think some of my recent makes have been inspired by two titles from the 1980s I found in a second-hand bookshop: Glorious Colour and Family Album, by Kaffe Fassett.
My mum had both of these when I was a child and I loved to look through the pages and pretend I was one of the glamourous models. My favourite was always the poppy design - coloured circles on a black or blue background. I've never made one of these designs but I still love looking through the books, and am very pleased to have my own copies. The poppy is still my favourite - I might yet make one.
I could do with some new 'everyday clothes' (i.e. suitable for wearing to work) for autumn and winter, so I'm going to have a go at making a few things over the next week or two. I started with a top, made from some beautiful viscose-twill I scored at Fabricabrac a couple of weekends back. The pattern is the Pinnacle Top from Papercut. The option I made was 'variation 2', with a round neckline, finished in bias binding, with a back opening and tie. I was really impressed with this pattern and will definitely make more. I'm thinking perhaps a drapey black version for work and I might try the jersey/sweatshirt option for winter too.
I had a couple of metres of beautiful dark rose linen waiting for its moment, too, so I cut into it to make a new dress. I mostly just self-drafted this, using a mashup of shapes from other clothes I like wearing - i.e. the skirt width and length, and pocket pieces, etc.
I do love this one but am not 100% sold on the bodice design - it's a bit too loose-fitting to be comfortable and work well with other garments. I'm thinking I might cut it off and add a waistband instead, so I can wear the skirt portion at least.
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I do love this time of year - the golden afternoon light and hazy evenings, the smell of woodsmoke and soup on the stove. I've been reading Vesper Flights, a book of essays by Helen Macdonald, and luxuriating in its rich descriptions and explanations of the natural world. So far, the chapter about the hidden world of fungi has been my favourite; it reminds me of searching for mushrooms on the farm with my grandad - basket, or more likely, plastic bucket in hand!
And as always at this time of year, I've pulled out my old Kate Bush records (and Spotify playlists) to listen to on my walks around the Hataitai hills. I don't know why her music and autumn are a match for me, but they are.
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I have been working on other projects - I have a winter coat cut out but am searching for the right lining fabric - and I've been knitting a fair bit lately, too. And the granny stripe/square blanket continues! (I'm afraid you might be hearing about that one for a long time - progress is slow...)
I hope this finds you well and enjoying the slide into a new season, whether that's autumn or spring, depending on your hemisphere, and that you are finding time and space to work on your own projects. I also hope you are safe and in good spirits!
