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.

Is it possible to have too many projects on the go at once?

Freshly printed fabrics - own dyed cottons.

Spent a very pleasant couple of hours or so yesterday printing these fabrics. I started out just getting some ready to add to a quilt I am putting together. As usual, didn't know when to stop. These are mostly commercial thermofax prints. The floral design is a lovely wooden block which I bought from Art Van Go.

Quilt pieces placed before stitching starts

The photo above shows the quilt I am currently working on - most of the fabrics shown above are from Tracy Fox, The plain black, red and cream are from Ikea. The funny little "aliens" are my own dyed fabrics cut out and ready to be bondawebbed in place. The working title for this one is "African Crosses". The shapes come from a workshop I went to back in 2010 with Magie Relph. She had brought some gorgeous Tuareg and Ethiopean crosses for us to sketch. Such a delightful day spent in good company. I intend to use some of the engraved detail as inspiration for the quilting.

Did I say that there were a number of projects on the go at once? I have also cut out three dressmaking projects. The first will be this pinafore dress.

Vintage pattern from 1983

Pinafore dress waiting to be assembled

The other two projects use the same pattern - Hotpatterns HP 1052 Classix Nouveau Great White Shirt. I last made this design here. Sadly, the pattern now seems to be out of print.

Another Hotpatterns shirt - this time using some Liberty-type fabric.

Yet another Hotpatterns shirt - using up some chambray.

I use the three shirts I have already made such a lot. Such a very useful, classic, shape. You can see my first two attempts here and here.

A ribbon weaving sample waiting to be made up into a pin cushion.

This is one of those UFOs which should have been finished ages ago. I need an extra pincushion too! All I need to do is to stitch around where I have already marked and stuff it. So silly not to have finished it already.

My current knitting project - a waistcoat.

Lastly, I have made a start on the cabled waistcoat I mentioned last time. I'm not altogether sure I have enough yarn, so I'm hoping #I have enough. If not, I may have to redo the back without the cables. We shall see. I am enjoying knitting cables for a change.