Fairysteps Diary

Have to say I was rather pleased with this new style. Let me introduce Maisie to you all...

Simple, super comfortable, great for wide ankles and wide fittings, lovely and airy for the Summer, what's not to love. Everyone on the 'look see' pages ( thats social media ;) ) really liked her and requested more, so I shall make a full size run. Have to draft the patterns for all sizes first of all so it will be another week or so me thinks.

In the meantime I have cut oodles of Flittle sandals in this stunning black crackle leather! A full size run as well as duplicates of the most popular sizes. Hoping to have the first ones of these in the shop either later today or tomorrow. Exciting stuff eh ;)

The black crackle leather is limited edition. I only have 2 hides so when it's gone, it's truly gone.

FAIRYSTEPS home updates: It's been busy. But when isn't it busy? Much to do as ever and chipping away at things. Mr Fairysteps has worked wonders on the Whisky Wagon and although you can't see most of his hard work, mainly because its welding underneath, we know its there. He has insulated inside and the fit out can begin very soon :) Ive bought curtain wire ready to make and hang the curtains. Ive got lots of shirting weight cotton in all different patterns so I think I will use that.

It has gone in for MOT today so please cross fingers that it passes.

Teapot and kettle is back up in the Potty Hut, but the weather has decided that Summer is over and seems to have gone into Autumn mode home here. It's a bit depressing really, as I was rather enjoying the sunshine. Even managed to go outside not wearing thermals... Let's hope it returns soon and warms us all up again. I will have to write to someone about it else...

Mr Fairysteps in true self sufficiency spirit reinstated the long neglected vegetable garden. I don't know how he works so hard! Seen tending the potatoes here, but behind is the HUGE cage he built for the cabbages, mainly to keep cabbage white butterflies out as well as pigeons. A pair of them have been eyeing the young plants up, and at one point I swear I saw a recipe book under a wing...

At this point Id like to point out that Mr Fairysteps is 6ft 4 (giant) and the 'cabbage run' is also 6ft 4... how big is he expecting the cabbages to grow I asked? Didn't we laugh! It is in fact so he can stand up in there without having to stoop over and knacker his back. Wise man.

The blueberries need picking so I must do that this week. The blackbirds have been evicted and kept out with netting so they should be safe for a day or two.

I reinstated Sunday sewing to sort out my wardrobe. Starting with trousers... It's been a mixed bag to be honest. I perfected the flares pattern and its great, looks good etc, but Im not 100% sold on it. Got to admit that having reached the grand age of fifty, comfort seems to be my top priority now. That and simplicity. Im just not so keen on anything remotely fussy anymore. Not to mention the fact that my stupid tummy balloons to the size of a beach ball on a regular, sporadic basis and is useless in a tight fitted trouser waistband (why didn't I think about this?). 

Looking in my wardrobe at all the frilly bloomers and myriad of colours I feel uninspired to wear any of it. Maybe the whole weight loss thing is to blame, and maybe I 'hid' in my clothes before without really knowing I did it? Who knows.

What I do know is that change is afoot and I must evolve. I mustn't be afraid of change, but instead must explore new possibilities. 

So my dears, I have bought a sewing book and some cotton jersey, as well as special hand sewing thread and needles and decided to tackle some of the Alabama Chanin wardrobe staples. I love the simple clean lines of it all. I may even adapt some of my own hand drafted patterns and make them for the shop, who knows. 

My biggest challenge will be the EZRA coat, which I have to admit I fell in love with as soon as I saw it. Gosh it's a corker!

The layering possibilities for this coat are beyond beautiful. It has the perfect, in my opinion, swish factor, a lovely nipped in waist too.

Huge deep pockets, that fit and flare cut, tailored to perfection. The woman's a genius! I have bought some UK made cotton single jersey to make a double layered one for Winter warmth. The outer will be Forest green with an Aubergine lining. No pattern work, all plain.

Ezra coat pattern direct from the designers website here - https://alabamachanin.com/products/ezra-coat-pattern 

As ever my dears, its been a joy talking to you all. Take care and have a lovely rest of the week.

November has most certainly been a month of boots.

Lots to report for November, get comfy. Most notably, new tall boots have just started being added to the shop. Only a couple of Moonshine boots, but, happy to say that we have made lots of Tinker boots in various sizes. I'm fast reaching 'boot out' so its a small batch by manufacturing standards, but a marathon when its a cottage industry like us. 

Really liked the first Tinker boots in Dark Oak and Kingfisher.

The November camping stint went well (by camping standards). Mr F got to see his bikey friends, and I camped in the van in frosty conditions in Winter which was a bit of an adventure. I can honestly say that the pub Did Not know how to make a decent cup of tea. It was grey and lukewarm... One was Not amused. I ending up having to move onto the hard stuff at the public bar, having just milk instead. It was a small room, stuffed to the ceiling with leather clad males and a wood burner roaring in the background. I got so dehydrated that I woke on Sunday morning with a splitting headache and was ready for home. Felt very guilty because I did not say goodbye to the party.

On a lighter note... little pink kettle and tea making facilities on the back of our van at 7 o'clock on a frosty Sunday morning drew quite a crowd. I was inside the van, behind the curtain, quietly nursing my head, but Mr F (the trooper) was brewing up out front and chatting to chaps. The conversation with these 'chaps', who we had never met before was quite amusing :) They chatted among themselves for a good 10 minutes. The conversation was mainly about a Woman called Tina's, ample, incredibly wobbly bosom, which was prominently displayed where they sat, propped in front of her on the table for the evening. In thick South End London accents I heard details of how the "sight of 'Tinas t*ts' all night" had driven some of them to retreat and hide in their freezing tents. Unable to contain themselves. Much raucous laughter and expletives followed.

One chap then commented on how organised Mr F was having a tea cosy for the pot 'and everyfink'. Mr F then replied, that it was down to the wife and pointed inside the van. 

"What! You've got a lady in there?" one said in a terrified voice.

"Cor blimey, we've been effing and jeffing and all sorts out ere".

Frantic Mumbled murmurings of apologies followed... then one chap said loudy, "Tescos have got medium cheddar on offer at ours, 2 for 1, blimen lovely stuff it is".

Once the 'cheese on offer' conversation was exhausted they drifted away and headed to the sanctuary of the pub. Possibly first checking to make sure 'Tina' was absent ;)

Didn't I laugh :)

I was indeed covered in cling wrap and am happy to say that my inking is complete. Beyond happy with this. I am healed now too with just a smidge of itchyness left. Huge thanks to such a clever artist Flavia Verda, who brought together all my ink, new and old. My story is complete.

Pimpernel Moonshines, now finished and all but ready to list.

Now then, the running bit of the title... Started last week with a friend doing a little bit of off road running. Possibly 'runpuffing' would be a better way to describe what actually happened. I can hear you laughing you know...

Its okay, I don't mind...

We had a good laugh too...

I'm not buying special clothing or shoes. Its a definite, use what you've got activity for us. My thoughts are that if early surfers last century could go surfing with wardrobe doors and knitted swimsuits, then I can do a bit of running in a skirt. Yes indeed.

I wore my Connie shoes, laced up snug. They were brilliant. I did'nt slip, my feet felt great, no sweaty toes or socks and they really enjoyed the adventure. I may make myself some Clara to use exclusively for this past time.

Heart was pumping for England so I'm assuming its going to be good for me. Aiming for twice a week.

What 10 pairs of boots look like partly made. Table now clear and ready for the next batch of marking up. Cobwebs I think. And a new variation of Cobweb which I'm calling Neverland.

Finally cut 2 more tunics in a lovely linen viscose I bought years ago. Yes, I know the curtains are the same fabric... I bought rather a lot at the time :) The colour is a definite no for me, and the pattern to be honest, but over dyed a dark blackcurrant its going to hopefully look rather nice.

My new toy, sorry, meant to write tool then. A stronger, easier eyelet setter. After setting 500 eyelets on the boots my hand nearly fell off... hence, the new, easier to use tool. Pretty colour too, which is always a bonus. Mr F never buys tools because they are a pretty colour. Its a good job someone here knows their priorities isn't it.

Finished Tinkers, taken this morning on the back step. What a trio.

Next boots to list will be Cobweb, Moonshine and more Tinker.

Last words... (thank heavens you gasp).

December tomorrow, we get to play christmassy music and put up the little plastic tree :)

That's about all I'm doing for Christmas. In fact I'm weaning myself off Christmas. I love this time of year, but its driving me a bit mad. Its an environmental disaster for one thing, and the hype and expectation is beyond belief... I'm humbugging so I must apologise if you are Christmas fan. I hope you enjoy every minute x I will too, but in a much tinier way :)

Custom collection is set to open after the 25th December. Keep it under your paper hat ;)

Did you read all that? You deserve a hot cup of tea! I need one after writing it, let alone reading it... 

Thank you my dears, Ren x

Esther vintage fairy shoes in dove grey.

I've had such a busy week, but then half term always is for parents is'nt it. I am very aware though that these times will pass, and that for me in fact, this is most probably my last half term with my youngest. This time next year she will already have turned 18, and so the luxury of outings mid week etc will be gone forever, never to return. So I made sure I took some time off this week so we could be together. It was so lovely.

I worked last weekend to make sure I really cracked on with the outstanding orders. There were lots of Victory red shoes and I must say, they rather cheered me on to the finish line. I've made so many custom shoes and boots this year that I'm feeling a smidge burnt out... it really is time to take a break from custom.

I did manage to squeeze in cutting out 2 new tunic dresses which made me ever so happy. I have been meaning to for months but have'nt had time. The fabric is glorious linen / viscose blend, and the print is rather pretty too, but... unless I want to look like I just lost a fight with a curtain, the colour is a definite NO. I fear I am too old for white and pink :)

I've bought some dye to pop them in the machine for a colour spin. One will be deep blackberry, and the other a teal colour. I can never find dye colours I like so I pop it in a jam jar and add a teaspoon of different colours to tone them down or blend new ones. It's so exciting waiting for them to finish the cycle...

We went on a long awaited family trip to Dunster Castle. Crossed the border to Somerset which was something in itself. Littlest drove us in 'her car' which was very exciting. Well, I expect it was... truth be told, I was keeled over in the back with my eyes closed for most of the journey. The older I get, the more I hate long journeys and motorways. Give me a lane with tall hedges and barely enough room to get a car down it, and I'm the happiest woman alive.

LUNA vintage fairy shoes in Victory red.

PUCK fairy shoes in Victory red.

I finally sewed up the last batch of Hendreary hats Ive been knitting and got them listed. Hoping these will be popular for gift giving.

Youngest (who is studying Agriculture) did a few days of farming and was in her element. It was lovely to see. I do love seeing my children happy in their lives.

We visited 2 castles in one week! Went to local Castle Drogo and indulged in lunch together. The gardens were going to sleep, but still full of colour and form. Views across the valley to home are always lovely to see from this side.

Don't mention paint to me. I've literally had enough of it now...

The stairs, doors, front room, beams, airing cupboard, floors have all been finished at last. It's been 2 years of what seems like non stop decorating for me. Happily, I washed my last brush out this morning once the porch floor was finished. Home looks the bees knees and I am very proud. These pictures are in progress shots, so the floor probably does'nt have its top coat on. It does now :)

The last thing I would like to do before Christmas is strip the varnish off the kitchen sink and sand and oil it. I should never have put varnish on to start with. It locks in any water that gets under it and stains the wood. We were going to update the kitchen and pop an old stainless sink in that I have, but to be honest, I can't be bothered! Decided to make do and mend and be grateful with what I have already.

Porch floor which was a terrible mess looks so much better. Only finished it this morning!

The stairs all top coated in this picture, but, underneath and floor in progress.

Plus, as if doing the house isn't enough, Mr F has started on the Cabin in the woods. Ripped out the back wall and is shifting the toilet. Here he is putting a new supporting beam up. Unfortunately... I am going to have decorate the Cabin when the building work is finished, but that won't be any time soon so thats okay. I am turning back time in there to 1930. My little time warp to visit and drink tea, and for family to come and stay in.

As all orders are finished (in my workshop at least, Mr F still has work to do on their bottoms...), I dipped into the leather pile and marked and cut my first stock today. It felt a real treat. Absolute creative indulgence. Selfish shoemaking. Non prescriptive creativity. It was a joy. Look out for updates of finished stock. Its all going to be very unique and spontaneous. Proper battery charging stuff, hopefully not just for me, but, for you as well. There are after all, only so many pictures of black Lunas you can show ;)

Happy weekend my dears, Ren x

Plus, I used some of that heavenly polished conker leather to make some stock Esthers. Love these with the longer toe shape.

The weather turned decidedly nippier home here so more layers were called for. I always find it a toss up between warmth vs movement... thick wooly jumpers arent an option because I find I get caught up in everything Im working on else. Very frustrating constantly unhitching yourself from shoe parts :) O dear... the socks don't match...

Ive been very grateful for all the firewood Mr Fairysteps prepares for us now its colder. Nothing beats the joy of a real fire. But, warmth is the key and its a wonderful luxury to have a warm home. Parts of mine are very chilly, but some rooms are toasty and thats such a boost. This new stove (its second winter now) is really wonderful, so pleased with it. We had to chop it about to get the draw right, but theres no stopping it now.

We went on a rare treat to the pictures to see this. It was so good to dip back into the wizarding world again. Im so glad that J K Rowling has written this for us all.

A rather fuzzy image, but Jack and Winky have decided to share the same bed to snuggle up. Jack is NOT altogether happy with the arrangement, but Winky, like most cats, is 'above' such trifling considerations. 'His' drawer looks better than my drawer...

Booting continues apace, but I shall be shoeing this coming week to make sure my orders get sent out before the last Christmas posting dates. Back to boots once they are completed :)

Got these fab Moonshines listed in the polished conker. No words needed and they sold quite quickly.

So my dears, thats this week...

Plans for tomorrow are to finish a smock for my best friend. Well, its actually a mock up smock to get the sizing correct. I shall overdye this one and cut into the rather precious koi patterned linen once we have had a fitting. I can keep this one for messing about in. Im using an ikea furnishing cotton so its looking very much like a shower curtain at present. If wearing shower curtains catches on, then Im at the front of the queue

I may get some more logs up to the front porch too so I can save time next week.

Plus, if Im very good, first thing in the morning I shall make bread and mince pies as there a pot of clotted cream sadly sitting unattended in the fridge...

Happy weekend all,

Ren x

Ive had fun with this one! I promised a blog post on the making of it so here we go, with tips and tricks on the way. First came the making of the pattern.

This is a basic shift dress, its been invented a thousand times. Its easy to make, easy to wear. I am happy to fiddle with a bit of pattern drafting, but, I know that this can fill some with utter 'run for the hills' dread :) Fear not though.

I took a basic pull on vest top which I found in the book "Simple Modern Sewing"  page number 110. It was simple and had no bust darts, which although darts can be very useful for shaping, they can also be a right fidget to get placed correctly (mainly because no bosom is placed the same as another, and after several children, and an even greater number of years, they completely forget where they are supposed to be anyway...). *clears throat*

I altered the shoulders a smidge by marking a sharper slant from the neck edge to the arm edge. This took up some slack from the arm hole and avoided gape. I also lowered the armhole bottom edge by 7cms to make them deeper and instead of joining at the bottom armhole edge, they simply come together as part of the seam. You can see this in the detail further below. I measured how long I wanted the dress to be and simply extended the pattern downwards and out at an angle. It can be cut from just 1 metre of fabric. Bonus, as it makes the dress a very cheap make.

Had to oil up 'Jenny Jones' my 1960s sewing machine... Come on Jenny, we can do this...

I usually detest bias binding, but told myself quite firmly at the start, that it was no good and I just 'had to get on with it'. So I got on with it, and lo and behold, all was well. I was pleased with a job well done.

Here is the underarm join. See what I mean. No possibility of a gaping underarm bound edge (they can sometimes lean outward here). Simply bind the entire arm hole opening on each side, before joining the side seams.

Its nice and tidy if you press the neatened seam to the back of the dress and then run a little top stitched seam to make sure it stays tucked out of the way.

The dress happily avoids the '8 months pregnant' look and hangs beautifully. See how nicely that underarm works. This will be nice and airy in the summer when worn 'topless' ;)

Swish, swish... even managed to pop a nice patch pocket on for my hankie... I found a scrap of deep damson linen from my last bloomers make. They will be lovely worn with this too.

There will be more. Its a great blank canvas and Summer is a coming... plus, I accidentally spent 1 hour looking at Ikea fabrics online and my head went rather spinny thinking of the dresses I could make using the gorgeous prints. At only £4ish per metre I could make 2 for less than £10.

My next one will be finished with homemade bias binding, something Ive never done before. I tried once, but it went all ruckly in the little bias binding maker gadgety thingy. Apparently you need to starch the fabric first so I had a little google of homemade starch recipes. Most interesting. Did you know you can use Vodka, 2 parts water to 1 part Vodka as a spray starch? Neither did I. I have visions of dressmakers across the country "one spray for the fabric, one spray for me". And suddenly bias binding making is a new worldwide craze, and wonky necklines are the latest fashion accessory!

1 metre chaps, 1 metre...

Ren x