To be honest it’s been sneaking up on me for a while now. The early years of my 40s passed by in a bit of a blur, but this last one has been trickier. It starts with that stubborn bit of spread around the middle sector which a couple of other bloggers have commented on recently. As I actually like exercise and eat fairly healthily (most of the time) a little bit of Christmas/ Easter / holiday indulgence usually shifts itself fairly naturally with a bit of time, but since I hit 43 it’s not going anywhere fast! Grrr…
My favourite hobbies have always been a bit ‘middle aged’, and I’ve always found it impossible to resist the raft of sewing magazines that come alongside them. But recently I’ve found myself gravitating towards the somewhat ‘older’ publications of Good Housekeeping (oh, how my younger self would have scoffed) and Prima (well, it does come with a free sewing pattern) and away from Grazia and In Style. Yes, I’m not ashamed to admit that fashion articles on how to incorporate a bit of Kate Middleton’s style or how to dress ‘beautiful at any age’ are suddenly more relevant than how to work a cropped top (heaven forbid) or conquer festival style (err, wellies and a good waterproof…).
But last month I officially embraced my middle ages by joining my local WI. Oh, yes indeed! My husband found this simultaeneously hilarious and horrifying. Anyhow, the next monthly meeting is their annual fundraiser, so I’ve been beavering away on my donations. Keen to increase my gift repertoire I attempted a new pattern for a Tie Wrap Glasses Case, which featured in Love Sewing Magazine (issue 25). I thought this would be the perfect gift for females of ahem, a certain age, but also useful for sunglasses for younger members.
This was the perfect project for using up pretty scraps and some fat quarters that I’d had for far too long. The pattern was really straightforward, but I must admit I found getting a bit of an assembly line going really speeded me up after the first one. I’ve never used batting before, so despite this being a pretty simple pattern, I felt I’d learnt something new too. I also found it daftly enjoyable matching the fabrics up together. Anyone else get a small kick out of this? 😉 Even the off-cuts in my bin were pretty, but I’ll spare you the photos… I managed to run up six cases over two short afternoon sessions and then used some smaller scraps to make some very, very simple lavender stacks, which again hopefully will have universal appeal.
I imagine there are some pretty skilled seamstresses amongst the WI members, so I’m hoping my contributions pass muster… Fingers crossed they sell!
navybluethreads 