Busy, busy, busy................

Well, I have been really busy doing a lot of sewing lately. This first image is of a skirt I made. Well, reconstructed out of a pair of trousers that was languishing in my wardrobe. The trousers had really wide legs which was probably why I hadn't worn them in a very long time. It was so easy to turn them into a skirt. I shall use this skirt a lot - some really useful pockets.





A very simple dress, with side pockets. Why do women's dresses and skirts usually not have any pockets? This was made to get myself back into making my own clothes and using up some of my rather large stash. The pattern is Kwik-Sew 2677. A really comfy dress, I added darts to the front to give the design more shape.






The Hospice quilt is finished and the binding is done. I shall be handing this over on Wednesday. It will be fun to see how all the other lapquilts turned out. There are four (or is it five?) in all.





These photos show just how daft I went with the free-machine quilting. I covered the design with flowers and leaves in resonse to the mostly floral patterns used in the fabric choices. There are a few squiggles too for variety. The backing is a gorgeously soft fleece. Warm, cosy and washable.
I can see myself making one of these for myself (unless it gets claimed by someone else) one day.

The last two of my projects recently do not have any photos...... yet. The first of these was a fully lined cloak made without a pattern for my younger daughter. "Mum," she said. "Can you help?" This was a Friday. The Fancy dress party was on the Saturday evening. Bless her, she did most of the sewing, I did the cutting out and working out how to make the thing and how much fabric we needed.
The fact that it was fully lined was my own fault. She was going as "Little Red Riding Hood", but wanted a full cloak and not a cape. (She is 23.) I suggested that since we were going to be making a cloak, wouldn't it be more practical to make something she would wear again? I suggested lining it in black so that it could be fully reversible........... I think my sanity must be in question here.................She loved the idea, and looked magnificent setting out for her party.
Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of her setting out and I have not seen the cloak since. It will be safely stashed somewhere............

Since then, I got involved in helping a neighbour. Her young daughter (aged 15) had just been named as the Rose Queen. A really pretty girl, she had been given a lovely boned strapless and sleeveless evening dress. It was too big around the bodice. I spent a fascinating and nerve-wracking few hours, fitted in around work (school had just started again), working out how to alter the dress. In the end I summoned up the courage to take the side seams apart, deconstruct the boning in that area, take in the seams, recontruct the boning and hand stitch the lining back in place. Sadly, no photos yet, but apparently the dress now fits beautifully. She had her first public engagement as Rose Queen yesterday.

My fingers are now itching to get knitting again, and I have some fabric poised ready to be made into a dress...... I may not have time to cut it out today, since I also have a few items that really ought to be mended............. There is a box of schoolwork to attend to as well. Now what shall I do first?