Basic Briar

Just a quick post as I know I've raved on and on about how much I like Megan Nielsen's Briar top pattern. I think this is my 6th version (including one for my mum and one that I haven't blogged) and I'm nowhere near sick of this pattern he yet ;-)

I made this longer length version a few weeks ago as a winter basic, out of a navy blue merino wool (on sale from The Fabric Store). For a bit of interest I added shoulder patches (tutorial here on Megan's fab blog) made from some upcycled scraps of  suede that I keep for making soles for my felted slippers. And by the way I haven't had to hand wash this or treat it delicately - the suede washes up really well. Which is what I was hoping for - a garment that needs handwashing in this household is one that doesn't get worn very often!



And speaking of Megan, who probably thinks I'm stalking her, poor woman (hee hee), imagine my surprise when I saw her recent blog post on her latest Briar and it looked very similar to this. Hey, great minds think alike ;-)

Taking stock

Hello! It's been such a long time since I posted here that I kind of don't know how to restart. Ironically, when I'm busiest creatively I seem to blog the least. I guess that's to be expected but I've still missed it. And it has been feeling hard to get a post done too - no time to take pics, edit them, write etc... so I thought I'd join Pip and try something different to get back into it :-). Here we go...

Making : 4th birthday party stuff & Book Week costumes
Cooking : orange cake for a lovely friend's birthday
Drinking : red wine
Reading: The Inconvenient Child by Sharyn Killens
Wanting: More time to sew (what's new ;-)
Looking: at nature with the kids
Playing: Lego
Wasting: some food scraps: too much for our compost heap :-(
Sewing: Red Riding Hood costume
Wishing: I could get my stash down a bit
Enjoying: a burst of cooking inspiration
Waiting: for everyone in the house to get well again after a bout of colds & tummy bugs
Liking: dreaming of my next sewing project
Wondering: if I should try to get more organised with my sewing (probably)
Loving: watching my kids play
Hoping: my scratchy throat won't develop into more
Marvelling: at the colours of spring flowers (in winter)
Needing: to get to bed earlier, as always
Smelling: carrots roasting
Wearing: one of the growing number of Briars and my new Fly boots
Following: some inspirational Instagrammers
Noticing: this post on sewing and getting so much from it
Knowing: if I keep trying hard I can be more patient with my kids
Thinking: about the trials and wonders of motherhood
Feeling: like I want to fix everything for them
Bookmarking: kids clothes patterns/ideas
Opening: my very welcome subscription to Inside Out magazine
Giggling: about my crazy 8 year old's sense of humour
Feeling: OK

Have you tried taking stock?