So then.....

So no one poked me with a stick ☹ Now, do I take that as no one actually still reads this or maybe life is way too exciting / busy to notice that I had gone back on my word. I promised to pop in and post regular, it didn’t’ happen….again!

I really need more focus streamlining areas in my life, of course I am an expert at procrastinating, aren’t we all. But I feel like, and I know I’ve probably said this a thousand times, I am all over the place in terms of where I am in life. Some people keep telling me that I am focusing on that fact too much but I just wish that I could push myself into really honing in to a ‘purpose’.

So to start myself off I have decided to let my website go, it was due for renewal this month. The money spent on this I thought could be used better elsewhere as I've not added to my website since last year. I will keep the domain name but its time to say goodbye to the site. I've also closed my Etsy and Folksy shops, although I had been planning on doing that last year....its now done :) The only part I cant decided on is whether or not to keep my Facebook page going. I think I'll sit on that for a while longer.

In a bid to actually focus myself, I was thinking about trying a vision board. Have any of you done this yourselves? I am hoping that a bit like blogging, it will be a good way for me to get it down on paper and have something visual to keep me focused.

Vision board = a collage of images and words representing a persons wishes or goals, intended to serve as inspiration or motivation.

I am setting a target for myself of a week to get this down on paper, starting by writing a list and then I’m going to search for some inspiring images to go on my board.

Oh I almost forgot to say that on the sewing front I have (finally) started my Jenna Jumpsuit! Woop woop!! Its one of the items on my #Make9 list (*mutters under breath* lets not mention that list). I love the fabric and hope that it turns out how I hope it will. I have plans for this outfit.

Right that’s me done, does this post make up for the lack of posts? Probably not but at least I’m trying, right?

Take care my lovelies,

Emma xxx

Feeling disconnected

Hello my lovelies, I do hope that you are all OK out there? 

June hey!! How did that happen??? Sheesh! Isn't this year flying over. OK so I feel like I owe you guys an update. Earlier in the year I posted about how I was going to be more present here on my blog concentrating on sewing for me. Well.....what the hell happened there then Emma????

The honest answer...I don't really know. I think it has a lot to do with my mindset and the fact that I am feeling totally disconnected from everything. Do you think I am having a mid-life crisis??? I have questioned many things this year and there have been lots of changes. But I still feel that something is still not quite right. Does anyone else sometimes feel like that?

One thing that I did decide was to close my website. I don't really put anything on there anymore and other than using my email it all seemed a little bit pointless and an expense that I didn't really need. I will always be Bagladee....shes my creative alter ego. However my website lapses in July so for the following month I will be transferring all of my emails over to my personal account. I have put both my Etsy and Folksy shops on permanent vacation and once my website is closed I will be closing those too. Its good to have a clear out. I will still be keeping my blog and Instagram account but I'm thinking of knocking my Facebook page on the head too....any thoughts on that one? Do you follow me over there?

I've been out of action for this past 2 weeks as I had a little accident with my foot so I've been laid up alternating between ice baths and elevating it. So I thought now would be a perfect time to say hi. First off Nell was in recovery and now its me. Ppppfff!!! She is doing really well I have to add, thinks she's a bionic cat now and tries to jump everywhere so we're constantly moving furniture out of the way and telling her to slow down ha ha!!! I still cant believe what a tough little cookie she is, so stubborn....hmmmm she reminds me of someone :D

So while I'm here I may as well make a promise to myself and see if I can actually keep it this time. Every Thursday I will pop in and leave a post even if its just a little wave to say hi and tell you whats happened in my week. Maybe this will help me feel more connected? Who knows....I do know that being here and talking it out with you lovelies does really help me. And I've missed it!

So feel free to poke me with a virtual stick if I disappear again....

Speak soon,

Emma xxx

Fur baby drama

Hello my lovelies....firstly let me say I'm sorry I have been away for so long. I cant believe it was early February when I last posted here. I hope you're all well?

So let me explain where I have been. If you've been following my blog for some time you will know that I am a fur baby Mamma to 3 kitties. Nell, my shadow as I like to call her, my oldest girl at 16....here she is, just look at that face! No not my mug lol :)

On Sunday 11th March she fell off a window sill in our home and ruptured her cruciate ligaments in her right knee. I initially thought that she had dislocated her leg as she was dragging it. We rushed her straight to the emergency vets, who said they would x-ray her leg and call us when they knew more of her injury. 

They ended up keeping her overnight because her blood tests revealed that her kidney levels were high so they put her on a drip. They called us and said that it was dislocated and they had popped it back in and we could go and collect her in the morning. We drove down and as soon as we got into the consultation room it turned into a complete nightmare. 

The vet (who I have to add was not the vet that administered her the day before) said that even though they had popped it back in it had popped out again and that she had obviously done more damage than they thought....ermmmm you X-rayed her, how the hell did you not know this from those??? She then preceded to tell us that it was most likely irreparable and that she was lame in the leg and we would have to considered the option of having her put to sleep!

I still feel sick when I read that back to myself!!!! I almost collapsed, Mr.B (who has a heart condition) went as white as a sheet, I burst into tears and said I just couldn't do it. The vet said we could take her straight to our registered vets for them to assess her xrays and give us a second opinion. Obviously I was a total mess by the time we carried out our little girl in her carrier to the car. I completely broke down....approaching my forties I don't have children, my cats are my babies and anyone who has seen me with Nell would know, she's my girl. I just couldn't bare the thought that our time together was up. I was devastated.

We drove straight to our vets and waited outside for them to open (we had collected her at 7:30am). Through lots of tears we explained exactly what the emergency vet had told us, our vet was completely gobsmacked that we had been told this. She said they would admit her, give her some good pain meds and when they received the x-rays they would assess and call us. The last thing she said was "don't worry, there will be something we can do to help her, we certainly would not consider putting her to sleep, leave her with us we will look after her". I burst into tears again, I wanted to hug the vet!! She could see in my face my appreciation and put her hand on my shoulder.

We collected our little ball of fur at 7:30pm the same day, it was explained to us that she had torn her cruciate ligaments in her knee, which meant her leg was completely dislocated at the knee joint. She was drugged up to the eye balls to compensate for the terrible pain she was in. The vet said that she would need an op by a specialist which would be expensive or we had the option of having her leg amputated. I felt helpless....who were we to make the decision of whether to have her leg off? We asked for a consultation with the specialist. They came back 3 days later to say that they thought it was repairable by surgery and that they were happy for our vet to carry out the procedure as she was in fact an orthopaedic surgeon. We quickly made the decision to admit her on the Friday to have the operation. 

The week leading up to her surgery was the worst week I've had in as long as I can remember. I had to force feed her, water, food and medication because she just wouldn't take anything. My heart was broken, I felt like I just couldn't do anything for her (even though I was). I explained to work that I needed time off to look after her and they were great! We had to buy a dog crate to keep her in, partly so she couldn't move her leg and partly to keep her segregated from the other two fluff pots. I sat by her side all week, I barely slept from constantly listening out for her and giving her pain meds throughout the night.

Friday morning we took her in for her op, they explained again the risks of an old girl like my girl going under anaesthetic and I had to sign the consent form...I kissed her head and told her to be really strong for Momma and that I would be back to collect her later with treats.

Mr.B took me for a cup of tea and then we went to buy her some tasty treats from the pet centre for when she came home. 

We collected her later that day and the first thing I said to her when I saw her was "I told you I would be back to collect you my tough little cookie!". I was soooooo relieved that she had come out the other side, complete with her "turkey leg" as Mr.B called it :)

This was literally an hour or two after her surgery, Clare out vet is just so wonderful. She explained what we needed to do and what to look out for and gave us plenty of meds for our girl. She wore a cone for the best part of a week, then she decided that was enough...she thought it would be really funny to keep her Mamma awake at night by dragging it across the bars like a convict!! So off came the cone and we just told her every time she went to lick it no. She learned quickly it was not allowed and left it alone.

 After two full weeks of cage rest we were allowed to let her have room rest and introduce her back to our other two fur babies. And after 3 very long weeks, I finally had my first lap cuddle! 

That was 5 weeks ago, she is now allowed up and down stairs, but no jumping or wrestling with the other two (yeah that's been hard, try having eyes in the back and side of your head to stop them). We bought her steps to climb onto our bed (her favourite place) and have watched her like a hawk. When I had to go back to work we even called upon Mr.B's Mam to come and watch her :)

This little lady still has a long way to go but I really cant believe how far she had come and how well she is doing!! She is one little tough madam for sure. She already had a special place in my heart, even more so now. I know pets don't live forever, but I am so bloody pleased that we get to have some more time together....we just weren't ready for the end!

I think she's happy, don't you!!!! 

Normal service should now resume, I need to get my butt back into my sewing room to rustle up some of the make 9 projects I still have on my list!!! lol

I did spend some time making another crochet blanket for my great niece and started a cross stitch which I will show you another time.

But for now lovelies, I'm off for snuggles with my black and white warier!!! 

Emma xxxx

Fitting

Hello again my lovelies, I've been lucky enough to spend sometime this weekend sewing!! I know right!! Woop *punches air*.

Unfortunately though the light has not been good enough (whilst I've been home) to take any photos of my finished makes :( Roll on the lighter evenings! Its just so dark when I come home from work at the moment, the only time I get a chance to take photos is a weekend and if the weather is pants then.....pfffff!!!

Anyway, with everything else going on, I totally forgot to tell you about Betty No.2, Betty (No.2) was a gift from my Dad for Christmas. Obviously I'm talking about my Adjustoform Dummy :) and she is now a mirror image of me (or should I say I am a mirror image of her - what a dummy!!) so now I can fit garments to my exact'ish size without having to whip my clothes off every 10 minutes! Yes I was really doing this and at times I've sat in my pants at my sewing machine whilst adjusting a seam. I know you all didn't really need to know that but well I like to tell it how it is.

I just have to add Betty No.1 (a non adjustable dummy) is still in my room, in fact she's behind her replacement, she's just hiding.

So I've still got lots of lovely things to show you all and I promise I will soon. I've almost finished my SOI Ultimate shift dress and my Bettine is done and looking fabulous :D

Hope your Monday has not been too bad...

Have a great week,

Emma xxx

Make Nine 2018

Whoooooo look at me....another post! Hello my lovelies. Since I had such a blast doing the Make Nine 2017, there was no question about doing it this year. Making a plan back in April, even though it did change slightly, gave me a goal to aim for which was amazing for my motivation. Pop back to this post here if you want to see what I did make.

Last years Make Nine list was full of patterns that I confidently knew I wouldn't have too much trouble getting stuck into. I didn't pick anything that I felt was out of my comfort zone. Remember this was my way of getting back into dressmaking and I didn't want to put myself off before I'd even started. As I said in my previous post I was pleased that I had managed eight of out the nine considering I only started in the April.

Now that I feel more confident with my machine and making clothes this years Make Nine I have made a challenge for myself. I have purposely picked items that I know will push me wayyyy out of my comfort zone. And to be totally honest some of the patterns scare the shiz out of me lol

Here is my list (see photo above):

1. The Drop Set by Made It Patterns

2. Bettine Dress by Tilly and the Buttons

3. Overalls by Burda Young

4. Kelly Anorak by Closet Case Patterns

5. The Jenna Jumpsuit by Cotton and Chalk

6. Ginger Jeans by Closet Case Patterns

7. Ultimate Trousers by Sew Over It

8. Agnes Top by Tilly and the Buttons

9. Ultimate Shift Dress by Sew Over It

There are two in the list that make me nervous just by looking at the illustrations on the front, the first one being the Kelly Anorak. I mean come on its a coat!!! Look at all the pieces and the notions required not to mention the zip and poppers!!!! SHIT.......see I told you it made me nervous. I'm totally gonna do it though!!! I have made a promise to myself that even if I'm petrified of it I'm gonna do it anyway!! Whats the worst that can happen? 

I dont have a fabric picked out yet but I'm twoing and froing over plain or patterned fabric? What do you lovelies think?

My second terrifying pattern is the Ginger Jeans, I love skinny jeans and because of my height I do struggle to find ones to fit my gangly legs sometimes. If I could actually pull this off and make my own jeans......well that would just be it for me!!! Life mission accomplished (almost te he!) I mean how amazing would it be to be strutting around in a pair of skinnies that I'd actually made with my own hands!!!!!

I've popped in a couple of patterns so that I can get some practice in of sewing stretch fabric and some dungarees and a jumpsuit, again for those blimmin' legs of mine. I've always wanted an adult pair of dungarees, I practically lived out of them when I was a kid. 

So wish me luck on my Make Nine, I will come back and try to do a review of some sort of each of the patterns.....let me know if there is anything else you would like me to cover.

Till next time my lovelies.....stay smiling :)

Emma xxx

My Make Nine 2017 - almost

Hello my lovelies, well as promised here are some photos of my Make Nine from last year. There were also a pair of pj shorts but I have no idea where the photo has gone so I've popped in a photo of my Linden Sweatshirt that I finished over the Christmas break...didn't quite finish it before the end of 2017 but the intention was there so surely that counts rights?

Its been a busy couple of weeks here again but I have managed a little sewing, I've finished my latest crochet blanket and I've been working on some more plans for 2018.

Hopefully blogging will pick up a little bit now as I have a stash of photos to show you all and still some more to take *thumbs up* could this be a sign of me finally getting my sh*t together and getting organised? 

This is part of the reason I love my blog, its great for getting my head straight. Getting all those ideas and plans down and out there so that you kinda said it out loud so that means you have to get your ass into gear and get them done! :) 

How do you all find it best to lay out plans? Are you a list writer? Have you got any suggestions on how to be more organised? I'd love to hear them, I am a terrible (I should say expert) procrastinator so anything that gets me organised and focused is a win in my book.

Right I'm tootling off now to go and make another (3rd of the evening) cup of tea and start planning the rest of this weeks posts.

Have a fab week guys....see you soon,

Emma xxx

Soul sewing

Hello my lovelies, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that it was as all or little as you wanted it to be. For me...it was all over in a flash. One day I will get to take it nice and easy on the run up to Christmas but I'm afraid this year (again) was not...I wouldn't change a thing though, it was lovely. I didn't get to spend as much time with family as I would have liked but still it was nice to see, hug and catch up with everyone.

I have a couple of days before I go back to the day job so I'm taking this time to relax and do some fun (me) things. Yesterday I spent the afternoon sewing, which I haven't done in a few months. One thing that I do know is that I am truly happy when I am sewing. I don't do it as often as I would like but I'm working on that one.

I'm not a one for new years resolutions so last year I decided to choose a word for the year ahead rather than something that I would probably never stick too. My word was "change" for 2017 and boy was there change in my life!!!

This time I'm going to chose the obvious word "SEW" I don't know at this point how but I intend to sew as much as I can in 2018. If I were to chose another word for 2018 it would be "Calm" lol. I think most people would chose that one!!

Its amazing how energised and fired up I get when I've been making something. Its a total mood lifter for me...every time. Its definitely in my soul to sew, I can feel it. And every time I make something new I feel an overwhelming sense of achievement that I just don't get from anything else and almost surprise myself.

I think it was in April this year that I decided to try and aim for the #Make9 pledge you can read my post here. I did think it was a little ambitious considering 4 months of the year were already over!! You will be able to see that there were quite a few changes to the list but it was more to fit what I wanted to make rather than the patterns that I had at the time of writing the list. 

To be honest I've never really kept track of what I did actually make. Until today where I made a list of all the things I have made this year:

1. SOI Ultimate Shift Dress

2. SOI Silk Cami x2

3. PJ Bottoms

4. PJ Shorts

5. SOI Ultimate Pencil Skirt

6. SOI Poppy Playsuit

7. Ogden Cami x2

8. Linden Sweatshirt

So all in all I managed 8, which I don't think is a bad effort. I could actually squeeze in one more if I wanted to but lets not put any pressure on the last few days of 2017....remember "calm".

OK so this is me signing off for 2017.....I will be back after New Year to tell you all about my sewing plans for 2018!

So whatever you have planned, whether it be dressing up and going out to parties or staying in your jammies (I will be doing the latter) have a truly wonderful New Year....here's hoping its the best year yet for us all. 

See you on the other side...

Emma xxx