I felt a bit despondent with my sewing yesterday, I started sewing a shirt just after Christmas and it was one of those that seemed to go wrong from the start. It was  a classic case of wrong pattern for the fabric.

I bought the fabric on line and to be honest it was one of the few where I was a bit disappointed when it arrived, it’s a cotton chambray with pin tucks and a little bit of stretch. It was heavier than I expected and a darker shade, but I stuck to my guns to make a shirt from it!

The bodice went together ok-ish, but the collar was a nightmare, put it this way, I’ve just learned the proper way to use a seam ripper (red bobble down – it really works, look on u-tube!!) but I just couldn’t get it to sit right. With hindsight what I should have done was to use a pretty cotton to line the collar, cuffs and yoke. In the end I decided to abandon the collar and change it into a v neck. This in itself went ok, but when I tried it on I just wasn’t happy. The bottom line was would I ever stand at my wardrobe door and think ‘Ooh, let’s put that shirt on!’ Unfortunately the answer was no. I decided to abandon this make, first time in ages, but there is a limit to how much time and effort I’m willing to put into something that actually I no longer like. Once the decision was made, it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders, I’ve started a new project now which I’m enjoying!

On a more positive note, on Monday I went to Birmingham as my daughter had an interview there at the university. I was just company for the long journey! It meant I had four hours to entertain myself in Birmingham. I put a message on a sewing group on facebook and within minutes I had an itinerary! I even managed to work out the buses in advance!

First stop was Guthrie and Ghani. Lauren Guthrie was in the first episode of Great British Sewing Bee. Her shop is in Moseley village on the outskirts (I think!) of Birmingham, it wasn’t as big as I anticipated but it is full of beautiful fabrics and other sewing accoutrements. I fell for two fabrics, a really pretty fine cotton lawn with little birds on which I’m hoping to make a shirt with, and a gorgeous raspberry boucle for a cropped jacket or cardigan.

There was also a great variety of independent patterns, the shops near home don’t stock the independent patterns so I can only buy them on line, it was nice to be able to browse through them all, I was a bit rash and bought three! I bought the Archers shirt pattern by Grainline, I’ve had my eye on that one for a while. I also fell for the Fumeterre skirt by Doe and Deer, it reminded me of a RTW skirt I’ve got which buttons down the front and has a bit of elastic in the back waistband, I’m hoping it hangs like the Gabriola skirt. The third pattern was the Aster blouse by Colette I like the V-neck and the sleeve variations.

Next stop was in the centre of Birmingham. I found a great fabric stall in the market and was very tempted with a batik fabric, but I managed to resist! At the back of the Bullring shopping centre there is a huge fabric shop called Fancy Silks. Three floors of floor-to-ceiling fabric, and they are high ceilings!! It was actually quite overwhelming!! Upstairs is the bridal and special occasions fabrics, they had some beautiful silks and laces, definitely a place to look for something special.

I’ve now started sewing the Fumeterre skirt in a very drapy woven fabric, it looks like a cotton in weave, but it’s quite heavy and drapy, it’s in a gorgeous teal colour, I’m not sure where it’s from or how long it has been in my stash, it looks like it could be a special from the Shuttle in Shipley. It’s got a couple of faults marked but I’ve got about 4 metres of 60″ wide fabric, so plenty to play with! So far it is sewing together beautifully, so hopefully you will soon see the results!