Newly dyed dress

The last few days haven't seen a lot of stitching - I finished putting the pieces together on this dress which was started several months ago as an experiment. You can see my last post which mentioned the dress here. I must now get started on the rest of this project. However, it will have to wait until the African Crosses Quilt gets quilted. I must get this one out of the way. It has been stalled for rather too long as I prevaricated over getting all the stitching completed around each of the appliqued pieces.

African Quilt - pinned ready to quilt

Finally ready to quilt this one. It has been hanging around for far too long. I need to get it done before a talk I am giving next month. The dress will also need to be completed by then too......

African Quilt - ideas for quilting

For the quilt, I decided to revisit a design I played with some years ago. It is based on photos of a rather beautiful carved head which my daughter brought back with her from Tanzania. She wouldn't part with the head, so I took photos and completed a couple of embroideries based on it. I'm going back to the original photo for my quilting design. Must get this finished ready to start work on the quilt itself.

Recent reading matter

My head has not really been on quilting recently. I am keen on getting some dressmaking done this autumn. Not sure how I shall fit this all in, but I am going to try.

Exhibition visited in Macclesfield

On Friday, I found myself in Macclesfield. Whilst there, I visited this exhibition. There are some really interesting pieces on show here, and in the cafe area I found a series of delightful 3D bird sculptures in a mixture of felt and wire with some driftwood. They were made by Alison Rose. I am lucky enough to have gained a place on the workshop she is doing in October. We will be making birds. Such fun!

Exhibition visited in Stockport

Yesterday I travelled to Stockport and whilst there went to this exhibition in the Art Gallery. If you look at the top layer of images of the work on display, especially the image which is third from the left. In this image, on the bottom right corner is a design which should look rather familiar. Yes, it is the very same Tuareg cross which I used as the basis for the applique motifs on my African quilt. This image is of a piece made by Magie Relph where she has used her collection of crosses.

An interesting exhibition by Etcetera. I really enjoyed the wide variety of work on show.

After looking at all this wonderful work I really ought to get on and make something.

Plans for sewing projects

1.2m of a cotton/elastane mix.

It has been rather a busy couple of weeks since I last posted here, including hanging an exhibition and visiting family. Sadly little sewing has been done, although I have managed some knitting.

The fabric shown above was a small piece found in a shop near my daughter's house. It was an offcut which I hope will be big enough for a nice top.

In a local charity shop I found this rather nice Tunic. It has a buttoned opening and is a wraparound. I think it may be a piece of vintage clothing from Gap. Apart from the label you can see at the neck, there is no other labelling.

Tunic front

Made from a nice firm denim, it has applique flowers from various shades of denim fabric. Sadly, it is too small to fit me, although it was labelled as my size in the shop.

Tunic back

I really like the shape and also the cuff detail, so have decided to try and take a pattern from the tunic itself. I could then make something similar in my own size.

Tunic cuff detail

The cuff detail is quite interesting, and could be easily imitated. I think I would prefer to have a roomier sleeve since the thinner sleeves on the tunic itself would be rather limiting for anyone trying to stitch or knit whilst wearing it.