New Goals

Reviewing some lists recently, I found a bunch of ideas for new goals for The List, and added these:

(Not my gif)

090. Ride a zip line

I'm not keen on the being suspended in mid air by a wire part, but whizzing through the air sounds like fun. Not sure where I can do this, but I'll try my best to do it with more finesse than Boris Johnson.

091. Make something with power tools

Power tools are noisy and dangerous. I have no idea how to use them. All the more reason to discover this and make something, right? I might even have a vague idea of what to make. Yay!

092. Learn a new skill

It's good to learn new things! I don't know what I'll learn yet, but there are plenty of options out there!

093. Complete 30 fanarts                            

Because I really needed another excuse to make art.

I've actually started a fanart project - mainly to practise digital art using Krita and a graphics tablet - but setting it as a goal makes it more likely I'll continue until I reach 30 pieces! 

The fanarts will probably all be of Full (who I painted a couple of times for goal #55). I like his style (sometimes dandy, sometimes a little unusual, sometimes outright insane) and his music is awesome. Also, I figure that drawing the same subject repeatedly is a good way to measure my improvement!

I'll post them here and on deviantART as I do them - am trying to make one per day!

So that's it for now. I can't believe that I still haven't reached 100 goals! 

Now to get working on more of them...

A Skirt for Autumn

Earlier in the year, I added a new goal to The List:

089. Make three items of clothing from patterns

As I explained before, the idea was to challenge myself to put more effort into sewing, as usually I'm very lazy, and avoid patterns if I can help it.

After making a dress for winter using a pattern from Burda Style magazine, I intended to use some of the remaining fabric to make a skirt from the same issue.

Now autumn has arrived, I finally made that skirt! (It's only taken me nine months to get around to it!)

The pattern is from Burda Style issue 01/2015, style 109:

As with the dress I made previously, this skirt was presented in two 'views' - one in multiple colours, as shown above, and one entirely in white.

I was inspired to make one using patterned and plain fabrics:

• Thick paisley cotton left over from making the dress (purchased at a charity shop).
• Liberty fabric. Possibly left over from somebody's interiors project (also charity shop).
• Red suit (I think) fabric, left over from a project so old I no longer own those trousers. (Tip: triple-check how much fabric you need, else you end up with masses left over!)

Despite my goal being to stick to the patterns, I did make some tiny changes:

1. Lengthened pattern

The original was too short! Also, the Liberty fabric I used was a skirt I'd made previously (and never wore). So I used the length of that as a guide!

2. Different fabric

In the view I was inspired by, the magazine had used suede. I used what I already had.

3. Adjusted the waist. Massively.

I will always have to adjust the hell out of garments I sew, because the bust-waist-hip ratio in pattern sizing never matches my body!

4. Different zip placement
The zip was in a weird place on the magazine's version, and the skirt I was cutting up had a zip at the back centre, so I used it! 

Time Taken:

1 day. I'm rather impressed with myself for that! 

Good Things:

1. The fabrics

I love patterns, and I love reds. This skirt combines the two

2. Coordination

It goes with other stuff in my wardrobe! Including the green waistcoat I never wore because nothing matched it! Yay!

3. Waistband interfacing

I have never heard of this stuff until now. It's amazing. The waistband turned out so neat!

4. Two down, one to go

Only one more garment to sew from a pattern before I've completed this goal!

What's Next:

I have no idea what will come next. A skirt? A dress? Trousers? A top of some kind? Maybe by next autumn I'll have made it!

Best Soup Ever

I can't believe I haven't posted this yet!
Back in July, I went to Lewes with my mum and sisters, and we ended up popping into one of Lewes' many cafes for lunch.

Le Magasin has a cosy and stylish atmosphere, and their menu had many tempting options, but as I wasn't very hungry, I opted for the soup of the day
The soup was mushroom, and came with artisan bread and a nice-sized knob of butter on the side.
Now, usually soup isn't something to get wildly excited about, but this soup tasted amazing. I enjoyed every mouthful and could have easily eaten a second bowl of the stuff!

Have a (tiny) Break...

 ...with the tiniest KitKats!

I picked these Japanese KitKats up at a stand at Kitacon, but hadn't eaten them until now, so that I could blog about them!

Also, I procrastinated over trying to figure out what one of them said...