Spotlight – Plum Kitchen

Well hello there, it’s been a while.* After 50 some days of Lockdown here in Tamaki Makarau I’m not quite sure how long, so let’s stick with a while. September came and went in a carb fueled haze, October does appear to be shaping up to be the same but with less rain, so that’s something at least!

I’ve not been completely idle on the sewing front , if anything I’m glad to have an absorbing hobby that sees me through some rather anxious times. Even if some days it’s just folding beautiful pieces of fabric in my stash & thinking about what I might make. Stash Management is basically a hobby on its own really.

The Eleanor shirt completely passed me by on release (to be fair I was probably busy doomscrolling Twitter & wondering how to spend the Airmiles I wasn’t getting on a plane with anytime this decade). I have made several Sew Me Something patterns, including this wonderful dress , and when I first saw Jules’ fab gingham version I immediately loved the vintage feel of the shawl collar. It actually reminds me of a shirt my eldest sister had back in the day I may or may not have borrowed & never gave back…

Was this a tricky sew? Not really. Did I still manage to make some dumb mistakes? Of course dear reader, would you expect anything less? For starters, that back please detail…

Ok, that’s supposed to be an INVERTED back pleat. How I turned it into a Box pleat is one of life’s mysteries. I even remember thinking “oh yes, that looks great” when I was fiddling with the selvedge to go across the back yoke.

After a really fun post from Wanda Brown, talking about using the fabric selvedge in interesting ways I thought I would do the same. I love it & at least it’s a distraction from my pleat error yes?

From experience the ease on Sew Me Something patterns is generous, but I sized down from a 22 to an 18, I think a 20 might have been a smarter option, I feel like the bodice is lifting at the front .

The pattern also calls for five buttons & I realised after sewing my buttonholes the top one was far too high . I think I needed to overlap the button band further but because I’d sized down the ease was more restricted across my bust than it should have been, and I ended up with a buttonhole on the road to nowhere. We live and learn.

The fabric is a chambray linen from Spotlight I brought on sale, it has a lovely drape & was really nice to sew. The shell buttons from Miss Maude are a real pleasure. Both lovely to look at, and after six weeks in lockdown, it’s always nice to see our courier driver delivering treats & a cheery wave. Those guys & gals are doing the mahi right now!

The size range on this pattern is great , size 8-30, I’d highly recommend for a comfortable shirt with some cute vintage style. I’d like one in a pretty rayon, and I was very chuffed when my BFF 13 year old daughter decided she wanted one to!

So what else is keeping us occupied here at Plum Towers?

If you haven’t already, check out Vigil, oh my goodness, every episode I go to bed with a real sense of unease (in a good way!) And yes, we are watching old school, one episode a week on Sunday night. I can catch up with my Mum & my bestie on Monday to discuss, remember when TV was like that? I love the convenience of On Demand & Streaming but I do love that “water cooler” TV discussion that we seem to have lost now .

Just finished reading The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman, I thought I loved the Thursday Murder Club, but this one is even better, clever mystery with a cast of characters you don’t want to leave (I adore Joyce , even if her Instagram handle is a tad ropey…)

Right, off to bed here , my sister has arranged a (contactless!) drop off Eight Detectives and I’m rather excited, how good does this look?

Keep safe friends, and when in doubt…eat Carbs

Kristina xxx

*”Not much, how about you?” Thanks England Dan & John Ford Coley…

Winter has well & truly arrived. Yes I did have to scrape ice off the windscreen the other morning. Mr PK & I have already had our annual “how to operate the heat pump” argument. I favor leaving it on all the time at a lower temp (also recommended by the installer), he is all about turning it off & on as required. So basically it will be operated with passive aggressive turning off and on in an extremely inefficient manner until September. Happy days!

So why am I wearing a relatively summery style dress then?

I cut this Assembly Line Box Please dress out about 10 Degrees ago, but never got around to making it up. My sewjo has been somewhat lacking recently, the pieces sat in my To Be Done basket making me feel bad before we had a really wet weekend & I finally got around to some sewing. It is quite a quick sew, even for me.

This dress is a winner. I choose a rayon from Spotlight , it has the prefect drape for this style. The shape is simple, but as with other Assembly Line patterns, it’s all about the details. I love the box pleat feature, which gives the dress wonderful movement, and the split hem. Pockets of course, and the sleeves are a really nice shape, loose enough I can layer with a merino top underneath. Boots & tights make this perfect for work, but when the weather warms up it will work equally well with sandals or sneakers, and a denim jacket .

I made a size XL with no alterations, next time I would do a small forward shoulder adjustment, but other than that I’m happy, another winner from The Assembly Line. The patterns are not cheap, but the aesthetic is definitely me, I got this one & The Oversized Shirt from Miss Maude which I’m really keen to make next (yay for sewjo!)

I’ve gone a bit mad planting onions apparently…

So what else has been occurring at Plum Towers?

I FINALLY made up the Pajamas I promised Mr PK approx. four years ago. These are the Eastwood Pajamas by Thread Theory in beautiful soft Double Gauze also from Miss Maude. They are a huge hit, so much so I have now been asked to make a linen pair for Summer. He’s given me months of warning, wise man.

I saw this book Modern Quilting on the Merchant & Mills social media feed , they have provided offcuts of linen for the author Julius Arthur to use in his quilts for the book. I love the style & colours, I’ve never tried quilting before, quilting cotton always seemed a bit “in your face” for me, but these quilts are much more subdued. I enjoy listening to the Haptic & Hue podcast on my commute, this episode, talking about the Gee’s Bend quilters in Alabama was particularly interesting.

My first attempt is a quilt for my cat to sit on, I figure start small while I figure out the techniques! Yes, I have much to learn. Tuppence is trying to be encouraging but not sure she is fully convinced her new rug will be a match for the hideous fleece number currently on the end of the spare bed.

Tuppence not sure about my quilting abilities.

We had a lovely time a few weeks back celebrating my Mother in Laws 80th birthday with a family lunch followed by tea & cake. No pressure making the cake then. I was really pleased with how it came out, a vanilla cake sandwiched with fresh passionfruit curd & passionfruit buttercream, yum. Our passionfruit vine was prolific over summer so I had the pulp in my freezer, I know, very Martha Stewart of me.

I spent a whole weekend sorting & moving my cookbooks onto one big bookcase (which I had to paint first). It was hard yakka but deeply satisfying, I love my little reading nook, and the book covers won’t fade in the corner of the lounge. Such a treat being able to find a recipe book without searching three different bookcases in different parts of the house. And yes, I may well have a few too many cookbooks.

I’m especially pleased as this is a very personal little spot. The couch & chairs came from my husbands parents Bach, I had them recovered . The lamp was also from the Bach, I’m still deciding on a cover for the shade. My sister gave me the wonderful French print on the wall, and made the applique cushion on the couch. I made the cushion on the chair from a tea towel Glenn’s Grandmother brought for Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation in 1953 . The crochet blanket is from a charity shop. Nothing matched or particularly expensive but it’s comfortable & I love it.

I hope you are staying warm (or cool!) wherever you are, in the meantime I’d like to give a special shout out to the genius that invented heated seats in cars.

Sir or Madam, I salute you!

Kristina xxx

Category Archives: Spotlight

Lockdown with Eleanor

My Assembly Line finally gets moving…