Gimme Some Rock'n'Roll : Washington Dead Cats (plus a few random bits)

Hi folks...long time no see!

So...what have I been up to these last weeks? Well, I went to Paris where I saw the best French psychobilly band - aka the Washington Dead Cats. This specific gig was given to celebrate the band's career's 30s birthday...and boy, what a gig! Salads and leeks fight, a balloon release, and even a burlesque performance by Juliette Dragon...we had it all! Here's a little video from this concert (not mine though) for your enjoyment.

In other words, I've been quite busy this last month and it's not going to stop soon. I've started a training course to become a web developer, so I don't have much time left for sewing these days (I'm still working on my boyfriends Negroni and I've just made a muslin for my future Ceylon...), and I have even less time for blogging. But I hope I'll soon be able to use my newly-acquired coding skills to try and develop my own website! And I can still find some time for knitting!
In the meantime, I think I might be more active on Instagram than on this blog these next months...so come and have a look if you feel like it!

Fall/Winter (and FESA) sewing and knitting plans

Hi all!

A Negroni in the making...

I'm currently working on my boyfriend's Negroni, but already thinking about my next selfish makes for this Fall/Winter and for FESA (go check Sarah's blog if you want to know more about FESA!)!

- I've started making a knit dress based on A. Satterlund's Aiken pattern. I'd like it to have a slit in the back (maybe I'll have to reinforce it with grosgrain) and I still don't know how I'm going to finish  the border. I don't want to make ribbing because I don't want it to look like a giant sweater... Well, I'll see what I can make!

- I'd like to make a Ceylon dress. This was one of the first ever Colette Patterns I bought back in 2012 and I've never made it yet because I was a bit afraid of so many pattern pieces. I have a rather heavy viscose, with a nice drape, which I think would pair well with this pattern. The only thing is, it has a directional print which runs diagonally to the grain, so I think I'll have to cut some of my pieces (such as the midriffs and yokes) on the bias if I want to maintain some symetry and sort of break the pattern at the same time. Also, some of the pieces would have to be cut twice instead of once and on the fold...Well, that sounds like a fun project, doesn't it?

Planning for my future Ceylon...You can't see it from there but the fabric is actually a dark navy blue, and there are small, dark red triangles next to these little arrow thingies.

 - I'm not sure I'll have the time to make them before the end of the year, but I also have my eyes set on this blouse from Tonje Thoresen's Couture Vintage book, which I'd really like to turn into a dress, and on Gertie's shirtdress from her first book. What? You think I'm obsessed with shirt dresses? Noooo...no I'm not. *cough cough*

-I'd also like to make a BHL Anna dress, probably in a wool plaid, and with longer sleeves (alteration explained here).

-I've seen some thick knit poly grey and black houndstooth fabric at Toto which I think would make a nice wintery Moneta;

-Finally, as far as knitting is concerned, I haven't decided yet what I'm going to make once I'm done with my Aiken dress. Maybe knit a Mary Mead cardi, and/or a pair of socks?

Well, that's more than enough to keep me busy till the end of the year, don't you think? Some of these projects might get made, others...well, I'll see. I'd like to make stashbusting projects a priority, but I'm not sure it's going to happen!

Some Cuisine : Black Sesame Cake

I went back to my local organic supermarket recently and was intrigued to find some black sesame butter.

As I had already tried - and loved - black sesame ice cream, I thought "Hmm...Why not?"...and so it came back home with me!
And here's my first try at cooking with it - a black sesame cake! And guess what? It's also vegan-friendly!
I made it totally from scratch, so I tried to write the proportions, but I'm not sure they're perfect - there's a bit too much flour, making it a bit compact for my taste. Anyway, here it goes :

• 140g flour (a bit less flour - something like 100g - might actually be better);
• 1 pack (11g) baking soda;
• 60g brown sugar;
• 2 very ripe bananas;
• 100g almond butter (or any other, like cashew for example) + black sesame butter (I put something like 2 tbsp almond and 1 tbsp black sesame because I was not sure I' d like it if it was all black sesame);
• about 10cl liquid (I used coconut water because that was all I had available, but almond milk, soy milk or rice milk would be fine too).

Mix the flour, sugar and baking soda together.
Squash the bananas - if they're ripe enough, a fork should do the trick, no food processor needed.
Add the bananas and butters to your flour/sugar/soda mixture. Then add the liquid until you get the same texture as muffin dough.
Transfer to a baking pan lined with baking paper and put into the oven at 180°C.
Let it cool, then...enjoy!

You can also make a non-vegan version if you replace the bananas with 2 eggs, part of the butters with regular butter (but still, keep the black sesame...otherwise it would take out all the fun!) and regular milk instead of almond or soy milk, and maybe a little more sugar (I didn't put much of it because I was using bananas and they're already sweet). And do feel free to change the proportions if you want something a bit lighter or a different taste!

What's been on my sewing table...

I haven't been posting a lot here lately, but believe me (and you would know if you follow me on Instagram ;) ), that was not for lack of sewing!
It's not always fun to be unemployed, but I must say that having more spare time is a change for the best...all the more so when it allows me to be more productive in terms of sewing! However, what I've sewn lately is more suitable for cooler weather and I haven't had the opportunity to take photos of me wearing those garments, so proper posts about these will come later.
So here's what I've been up to lately : 
I've made this Sencha blouse ...

Embroidered neckline...

And fun vintage square buttons!

 And this Chataigne skirt, which I think will be a great match for the above top...

Admittedly, the right side may look a bit plain...

But look at this wrong side! Sacred hearts, polkadot bias, lace-trimmed lining, oh my!

I've also ordered fabric for a Bombshell Swimsuit, which I may (or may not) start this week or next week...

And I'm also planning to make a Negroni shirt for my man.

And also, in other words, this is post #100! Woohoo!

Finished : An unplanned Moneta

Here's another sewing project which wasn't part of my plans for this summer/year, but it still happened!

Sorry for this unglamorous grocery bag! Although, I hadn't noticed until now, but it's got stripes, like my dress - and in that crappy artificial light, you could almost think the stripes on the dress are the same color as the bag's! So...not so unglamorous I'd say!

This is Colette Pattern's Moneta, made in a cotton jersey I got at Toto for something like 3€.
It's going to be nice to wear in this hot weather, but let me tell you folks...this fabric was a BITCH. As it's super thin and shifty, it took me hours to try and match stripes on my folded fabric, until I finally decided to cut it flat. As I thought it would be too much trouble to try and lay the skirt's pieces on my fabric and keep the stripes matchy, I decided to just cut two gathered rectangles. Even that, though, was not easy ; as I couldn't match my stripes at the selvedge (no matter how hard I tried!), I tried to make them match at the fold and in the middle of my fabric, by sticking random pins in the middle of my fabric (see picture below).

Can you spot the pins?

The final garment is a bit short compared with what I'm used to wear, and I think there is a thread tension problem around my sleeves and skirt hem - the upper thread - or should I say, one of my upper threads (how weird is that, seriously?!) - looks like it's too loose. 

Ugh, that's an ugly hem...

But I like it anyway, and I hope it's going to last the whole summer...at least! If not, I can still redo my hems!

Outfit Along : all done!

You've already seen my dress...now here's my (almost) finished cardi!

This is a Hetty. Nothing particular to say about the construction. I put loads of markers to mark the lace repeats and everything went fine. As I often do with Andi's designs, I just added one lace repeat so the length fit me better. It took some time to finish because of the heat wave - not the kind of weather that makes you want to knit!

I used these gorgeous black glass buttons which I got on A Little Mercerie. They're beautiful but quite fragile - I broke one as I was sewing it, thankfully the lovely lady who sold them to me added 2 spare buttons just in case. I'll try to be very careful, but I hope they'll stand the wash!

And may I say, I think Hetty really pairs perfectly with a dress that's meant to show off a bit of skin!

Finished : Dolores the 3rd

Yeah, I know. You're getting bored. Thing is, I can't even promise you this is the last Dolores I'm sewing. We'll see!

As you can see, this is totally unplanned sewing. So much for trying to be organized!

Anyway, back to business. As I wanted it to be slightly more fitted in the bust area, I actually cut a size 10 at the top (just kept the sleeve length and neckline at my usual size 12), graded up to 12 at the hips, and then tapered back to 10 around the hem.
And I think it works quite well!

It looks pretty casual in this pic, but I think it could totally look more stylish with a wide belt and black flats. That would totally be an outfit I'd wear to a job interview!

Look at this stripe-matching!

Only trouble I had was when finishing the neckband. My fabric was very thin, and no matter how much I pressed it, it kept curling back when I pulled on the neckband to make it match the dress's neckline. I finally solved this problem with some knit binding bought from my local fabric shop, which I sewed on my neckline and then turned to the inside. And once again, I didn't use the band to finish the arms - just turned the hem under and stitched it with a twin needle. I like it better this way.

And here's one more dress, stylish and easy to wear, in my closet!

Outfit Along : Finished dress!

For the Outfit Along 2015, I chose to make a mashup between Colette Pattern's Lily (it's currently Colette's Pattern of the month, so head over to their website if you want to grab a copy for 15% off!) and Tilly and the Buttons' Picnic Blanket skirt.
As I didn't have to underline my fabric, this dress was much quicker to make than my first version!
I used the pattern I had tweaked after my first version, but it was too big...so I had to take the bodice in at the side seams by 3cm (1.5 on each side). I still think it could stand to be a little tighter, but it looks OK this way and at least my dress is not uncomfortably tight!
I used a black stretch cotton sateen for the bodice and pockets, and a watermelon print cotton for the skirt and flaps at the neckline and pockets.

I added a notch at the neckline flap and made halter straps instead of regular straps.

My zipper would be more invisible if I had bothered to give it a press...but one part of it is black on black, and the other is hidden in the skirt's gathers. Soooo can we say it's *almost* invisible?

This pic gives a better view of the pockets. I used the original pattern piece but made my pockets 5 cm shorter so they're not so deep. Even though, they're still roomy enough to contain my phone and keys! 

Here's my faux waist stay. I even made a facing of sorts to hide the zipper edge and center back seams.

And here's the hem!

I've just finished knitting my OAL cardi, but it's still waiting for its buttons and reinforced button bands. I hope I get them soon enough, and I hope the temperatures are going to drop ...it's currently far too hot to wear a cardigan, even just to take a picture of it!

Finished : Red Miette

You've probably already seen this one in some of my Me-Made May pics, where I was actually wearing it without the buttons...But I've actually finished it now! It's been a little bit too hot in June for me to post pictures in which I wear it, but I still have some to show you : 

The pattern is the well-known Miette by Andi Satterlund, which I decided to make again because I had spilt some red wine on my first version.
I've made a few modifications :
-I moved the darts because I didn't like their placement on my first version ;
-I did simple 2x2 ribbing ;
-I moved the top button hole to get it aligned with the others;
-I added one repeat of the lace pattern to make it a bit longer (did the same on my first version)
I used some black glass buttons which I ordered on A Little Mercerie, and stabilized my button bands with gros grain ribbon as explained here by Lauren.
The yarn I used is Drops Loves You 5. Although I like the fact that it's eco-friendly (it is made from recycled cotton) I'm not a huge fan because I find it rather coarse, and my finished cardi feels a bit stiff...I hope a few washes will make it softer!

Follow me on Instagram!

Yup, I did it. My account has yet to be filled, but you can follow if you click on the icon in the sidebar.

Finished : Red Striped Dolores

After sewing for my sister, and before moving to something bigger for the Outfit Along, I decided it would be great if I made a top, as I don't have that many handmade tops in my wardrobe. So I made a Dolores.

 A few years ago, I had tried to make a 50s style 2-seams wrap top after seeing Casey's version. As I was still a pretty inexperiences seamstress, I ended up with something rather awful and hardly wearable, and my top (which was basically no more than a rectangle of fabric - actually already folded as recommended in Dolores's cutting layout, how convenient! - with one seam connecting the selvedges and another perpendicular one) was soon put into the refashion pile...until this last week, when I decided to see if I had enough fabric to fit the Dolores pattern pieces onto it. Yay for refashioning and stashbusting!

Seriously, this pattern is so easy to make and takes so little time, making a Dolores almost feels like cheating or something. My fabric was not quite wide enough to fit the whole pattern, and the sleeves are shorter than they are supposed to be, but it still turns out pretty wearable in my opinion! And these short and wide sleeves are really perfect for the hot summer weather!

Also, as I recently picked up two pieces of striped jersey from Toto for a steal, you can expect other Doloresses in the future...at least one dress, and probably a top!

Charlotte's Airelle

I haven't been sewing for myself a lot these past few months, mostly because I was actually busy with...my first order (Well, sewing it actually didn't take THAT long, but as I couldn't see my "customer" very often, the fitting process seemd to take ages!)!

This Deer and Doe Airelle blouse was made for my sister's birthday. She supplied the fabric, a beautiful green/black linen, we chose the pattern together...and there I went!
As she is rather busty, I was afraid I'd have to do a FBA but that actually didn't happen.
Here are the modifications I made to get something that fits :

• I cut a size 38 (which corresponded to her high bust measurements) at the top, then graded to a 40 at the waist, and made the whole top 5 cm longer ;
• I added an invisible side zip and a little slit at the back of the neck to make the garment easier to put on;
• Surprisingly enough, I had to remove some fabric in the bust area, both in width and length, otherwise it would have been baggy ;
• I also moved the front dart so they pointed in the right direction, and made them deeper;
• And finally, I added a bit of  black piping on the shoulder yoke, both at the front and back. I also made little pleats instead of gather when I attached the yoke to the front part, because my gathers really looked like crap.

Unfortunately, due to some mobile phone problems, I can't show any pictures of my sister wearing it...but the fit was spot on and she was really happy with it!

Outfit Along is back!

Well...I'm in!

I'm going to knit Hetty in black Drops Paris, and sew a Lily in watermelon print (for the skirt and neckline flaps) with a solid black bodice. I also plan to modify the skirt and make it gathered, with patch pockets, instead of the pattern's slim skirt.

Fabrics, sewing pattern... and my Hetty, already started! I've knit the back, right and left front, and I'm about to tackle the body.

Head over to Andi or Lauren's blog if you want to know more about what's going on!

MMM 2015 - Wrap-up and musings

Well folks, Me Made May is over! I got a bit lazy on my photo-taking last week, so you'll have to take my word for it : I wore at least one memade item everyday. However, there have been some outfit repeats and it did'nt seem interesting to me to document these.

Here's the list of all the me-mades I've been wearing : B5895 (unfortunately not wearable anymore now, since I fell and tore it at the knee), Aiken Sweater, Hawthorn dress, Dolores dress, Myrna cardigan, Wearing History pants, refashioned top, Hortencia Cardigan, Day of the Dead skirt (mentioned in this post), refashioned skirt with embroidered waistband, tattoo skirt, Sorbetto top, Moneta dress, Lonsdale dress, Jazzy Ginger skirt, Lobster Picnic Blanket skirt, refashioned yellow top, Nix shawl (not blogged - yet - but can be spotted in a few pictures), and a red Miette cardigan (not blogged yet and almost finished - it's still waiting for its buttons and reinforced button bands!)

And...here are my thoughts on the experiment :

• I need more casual dresses because it's an easy way to look put together without much fuss;
• I need more tops;
• I need more bottoms;
• I need to go back to sewing spring/summer garments;
• I need more "neutral" garments, a big part of what I currently have in my closet has been sewn when I was just beginning and was attracted by every bright and weird print I could set eyes on...  It's OK for weekends and holidays, but I don't think it fits in an everyday wardrobe;
• I'm starting to have a nice range of cardigans to choose from, which is always nice to take an outfit from one look to another!

Although it's been interesting to read why some people did NOT take part in mmm2015, I'm not in their case...and I have to admit I found it interesting and helpful to be a part of it!

Apart from that, I'm going through a bit of a burnout right now. I thought being unemployed would mean I'd have more time and energy to sew, but it's actually quite the opposite. I'm training quite hard because I have a test to enter a training course in a few weeks, and I don't want to miss it. This, plus looking for a job to fill in before my training starts, is very time-consuming, and I have no motivation left for sewing. On top of this, I do have a garment to sew, which is actually an order ; although I've made quite a few muslins, I'm still afraid it's not going to fit, and I'm dragging my feet...

Well, all I have to do is motivate myself to get it done quickly so I can start sewing something I really want to make!

Some Cuisine : Tuna/Avocado salad/spread

Cocktail hour (or "l'apéro" as we say in French) is back with summer. And, with it, some recipes usually enjoyed with a drink, before supper.
I usually like tuna salad, but some of the recipes I see use dairy products or mayonnaise, which tend to make the whole thing too liquid and/or too fat. After reading a few vegan blogs (I'm not vegan myself but I'm interested in other ways of cooking, and how vegetal products can be used as substitutes for other stuff!) this idea came to me : why not replace the mayonnaise or cottage cheese in my tuna salad with...avocado?

I tried...and let me tell you, the result does not disappoint!

So here's my recipe (should serve 4 persons, as a side for drinks before lunch or dinner) :

• 80g canned tuna
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1small shallot (with its leaves)
• 1 pinch black sesame
• 1 pinch white sesame
• salt
• 1 tsp wasabi powder (I'm not very precise there ; it's actually better if you taste and add as much/little wasabi as you like.)
• optionnal : thin-sliced radishes for decoration

Put the tuna (without its juice) and the diced avocado in a bowl. Add the lemon juice.
Slice the  whole shallot very thinly, Add the sesame, salt and wasabi powder and mash the whole. If the avocado is ripe enough, you should normally be able to do it with a fork.

Note : if you want to use a food processor, it's better to add the shallot and sesame at the end so it doesn't get crushed.

Serve with a good bread, add some sliced radish on top if you like. Enjoy!

Me Made May 2015 : I'm in!

For the first time in almost 4 years of sewing, I finally feel up to taking part in Me Made May! So here it goes : 

 'I, Juliette of http://cuisinecoutureandrocknroll.blogspot.fr/, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '15. I endeavour to wear at least one hand-sewn, hand-knit or refashioned item of clothing, six days a week, for the duration of May 2015.'

I'm not promising anything there, but I'll try to document it on FlickR. And perhaps make weekly recaps on the blog.

Who else is joining?

Finished : cigarette pants

Well, these took a long time to finish...and I can thank my sewing buddies for the fact that they're actually done now!

The pattern is B5895 - a "pattern by Gertie", which I had already used previously to make capri/pedal pushers.

Pocket detail - I used some scrap fabric remaining from one of my first ever sewing projects!

This was my first time using the rotary cutter I got for Christmas... and I don't want to go back to classical scissors!
One of the reasons why it took so long for me to finish is because I made a stupid mistake : I forgot that I had to be careful of the nap directrion, so I layed the front of the pants out on the fabric one way, and the back another way, and I found myself with a back and a front that looked as if they belonged to a different item of clothing...So I ripped everything off (I could have kicked myself, I had already assembled my pants - even made flat-felled seams on the inside leg -  and only had to sew the waistband!) and cut a new piece for the front of my pants.
Fortunately, this was one of these 5€-for-3-meters coupon from Les Coupons de Saint-Pierre, so I had plenty of fabric left...I could even cut a Chataigne skirt in what was left!

Now...I'm not used to talk about my life here, but I feel there's something I must say now.
Long story short, I've been dismissed from my job because of some disagreements with my employers. I'd like to take a training course before going back to any kind of job search, but training doesn't come out cheap and getting it funded by Pôle Emploi won't be easy. Which means stressfull times ahead for me. This is somewhat draining my energy and takes the fun out from things I like doing, like sewing.

Fortunately, I have some great sewing buddies, and we had planned a meeting : nine girls, sewing machines, sergers, food and drinks...everything you need to complete a project!
This meeting gave me the kick in the ass I needed to finish my pants, and I could even borrow a serger to get some proper seam finishes!

To conclude this post, I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to all my sewing buddies...this meeting really was like a breath of fresh air to me!