Happy New Year!

It has all been rather busy over the past few weeks. December was spent sewing items for the Sewing Group Stall at the Christmas Craft Fair. Above you can see the pot holders I completed and below this the mug rugs.

The stand looked really bright and was full, perhaps even too full, of items which had been made. It was interesting to help out on the stand and we did manage to sell a few items.

I provided the stand covered by my red table cloth which stood behind our table. The money raised will go towards the craft sessions the group has started in collaboration with the local primary school. Our first sessions had the children making their own Christmas Crackers. Great fun.

The first of January saw my 100th "Me Made Everyday" entry. It was astonishing to realise that I have managed to wear at least one me made item of clothing for each of those days. As I write this I am wearing a cosy pair of cord cargo pants with my own socks, a jersey top and warm woollen jumper. It might not be a very interesting project for anyone reading this, but it is satisfying to make and wear my own clothing. A selfish obsession.

Less selfish projects included this Secret Santa - a shopping bag.

This was the theme for the annual present exchange for the Pinfold group. The bag was made to my own design using pieces of furnishing fabrics. The lining fabric was quite pale and had a carabiner for keys and also a good sized zipped pocket. I am always losing keys at the bottom of the bag so I thought the addition of this clip might be helpful. The outer fabric was a much more practical colour.

This gorgeous brown fabric is the outer and also the fabric for the handles. These were quilted to make them more comfortable to hold.

I am pleased to say that the bags new owner was really happy with her gift. In exchange, I received a large bag from another member of the group.

A few days ago I completed this hat which was promptly claimed by my elder daughter. It is another test knit for Aidasofie. I'll let you know when the pattern is available. It will be a further two weeks before the test knitting phase is over. This pattern was really interesting as well as quick to knit.

Thanks for listening / reading my waffle. I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas and enjoyed a festive New Year too.

Some sewing, with plenty of projects in the pipeline

Aggie is displaying the pattern pieces for the Style Arc Roslyn Tunic Dress. I've decided to make the longer version of this design since I am already planning to make two tunics.

This is the collection of fabrics ready to be cut out and sewn. Close to the top of the pile is the patterned grey crepe de chine for the HP 1107 tunic. This is a pattern from Hot Patterns, just like the cargo pants I been working on recently. On the top is my interfacing

The next two photos show pages from my dressmaking journal. I am currently working on a second toile for the Utility Cargo pants. My version of the Waterfall jacket is currently in the naughty pile while I plan what to do with it next. It came out rather larger than intended. At least a solution is doable, but with warm weather coming up it seems daft to spend time on a cold weather item. It will wait until I have more time.... or perhaps I should say some time to spare.

These two projects are further down the pile. The blue boat pattern will be used for the Elani tunic. The fabric was a lucky find in a bin of end of rolls. A quilting cotton, it should be fun to wear. The red flower fabric started life as a pinafore dress I wore some years ago. I remember making this in the late 1980s when my daughters were small. I made a couple of sun dresses from the same fabric for the girls. A simple design with big useful pockets for their treasures. When my waistline grew too much for any possible alteration I cut up the maxi length dress. Along with a red fabric hidden underneath, this will make my first attempt at the Roslyn tunic dress which is rather longer than the line drawing shown above.

There is progress with the "penny rug" piece. Slow progress, but that third "flower" is nearly stitched in place.

As I have already mentioned, the second toile is well under way for the cargo pants. I am hoping that this might be wearable and plan to dye the fabric a shade of grey. I wasn't confident enough in my pattern alterations to go straight for the cobalt blue fabric I showed last week.

As you might have guessed there is little time for sewing at the moment since there is still a lot of work to be done outside. The end is in sight, but will take some time yet. I feel so much more myself since being able to get back to my sewing machine. It definitely keeps me sane.

More building than stitching.

 The last couple of weeks have been crazy. First we finished building the garden shed, then the sections for the new workshop arrived. All 5.6m by 3m of it! So there has been very little time left for stitching or even knitting. so unusual for me. Yes, I was fully involved in the building, wielding a hammer or electric drill rather than my usual tools.......

So instead, here is an update for the items I was working on last time I posted here. First the penny rug now looks like this. The backing is a green felt. It is hard work to stitch, but satisfying. I shall be glad when I can get rid of all the pins. I don't mind the stems being a bit wobbly, after all most flower stems are not exactly straight, but I do need the flowers to stay in the positions they have been pinned into.

The knitting did get started and then got ripped back. I started off with a cabled pattern, but found that it made the body far too tight. Having ripped back and started again with a stocking stitch body as per the original design, I am now very bored and have dumped this jumper into a corner. It needs a rethink.

Thanks to a lovely friend at Sew Cool, the sewing group I go to in Chester, I have now got my toile for the cargo pants sorted out. The pattern has been altered too and I just need to complete these ready for dyeing a more sensible colour. Perhaps grey to match the zip? It would be a useful colour and I don't possess any trousers that are grey.

Whilst in Chester, I bought a gorgeous length of cobalt blue cotton ready to make my first pair of cargo pants now that the pattern has been altered to fit. The fabric has been washed and is sitting on my worktable ready to be cut out.

At the Sew Cool meeting, there was a pile of patterns which needed a new home. I got these two. Yes, I know the sizing is too small for me. The Style pattern is dated 1980 and the Butterick probably dates from the late 1970s. I was thinking of sizing up both patterns to fit. The shape of the Butterick pattern is really interesting and would be lovely in a soft crepe de chine.......

 A couple of days ago, I also managed to start work on this next pattern. This is the pattern I showed last time. Deciding that the shirt is really a bit short and needing an additional two or three inches in length. I completed a tissue fit rather than a toile since this isn't a fitted design. I will probably make the tunic length with the rolled up sleeves and the round neck rather than a collar.

This length of crepe de chine from my stash will be used for the tunic. It will be interesting to try to match the dye colour of the wearable toile cargo pants..... Again, this fabric sits on my worktable waiting to be cut out ready to start sewing.

I had to hand back the Pinfold challenge book today before even starting my pages for it. There just hasn't been enough time to start anything for the "Round and round" theme. I will have to get that ready for the next Pinfold meeting in four weeks time, taking some glue or double sided tape with me to stick it in. The photo above is the next theme, "Flowers". I am hoping there will be much more time available now that the garden shed is finished and the new workshop just needs the roofing felt before that too is complete. I'm itching to get on with some sewing projects, especially since there hasn't been much time over the past couple of weeks.

At Pinfold today we learnt about chalk paint and "gold" leaf. This was my sample. Not sure if I will use these techniques any time soon, but it made for an interesting workshop.

If you were wondering, that newly built workshop is for my husband. It will house his woodworking lathe and associated tools. I won't be having another workspace since I know very well that if I do, I will very quickly fill it. The workroom I have at present will do very well. I just need to reorganise and get rid of some of the bits and pieces I know I will never use.

Stitching by hand

It has been a really interesting week. Work has continued on the shed, but I managed to attend the meetings of two textile groups. The first of these was Pinfold. The meeting had a workshop from Pauline Mills who showed us how to make "Penny rugs". You can see a really good online description here. Needless to say, I will not be making a proper "penny rug", it just isn't my style. Instead these will turn into the decoration of a fabric "vase" to hold my long rulers and old knitting needles. These currently reside in an overcrowded flowerpot with the longest of my paintbrushes. Hopefully things might get tidier and easier to find........ maybe not.

I just need to think about how to weight the bottom of the "vase" to stop it toppling over.

The fifth pile shown on the extreme right in the first photo was shown without it's flower backing. This is the colour which will be finally stitched in place at some time over the next few days. There are green pieces to be cut out as "stems" before being stitched onto the backing fabric which will be some upholstery fabric found in my stash. The "pennies" are cut out of felted wool. The fabric here was supplied by a friend of mine who brought along a large collection of felted and dyed blankets. Thanks so much Meryl!

Pauline, our tutor was very generous and gave us each three cardboard templates for the shapes. So useful and meant we could get straight on with the stitching. I've used variegated Anchor threads from my collection of embroidery threads. Three strands were used for the buttonhole with the full six strands used for the decoration. (Stamens and french knots). A lovely workshop with plenty of opportunity for chat as we worked. Just what was needed.

I handed over the "Come fly with me" book which I showed last time and picked up this next book. The topic this time is "Round and round". A really intriguing title. I'm letting my imagination go free for the moment as I try to decide what I could possibly make......

During the week, I started to make a few cards with scraps of samples from a rather too large collection. These three need a little more work. As does the one below. This really needs a fair amount of stitching before it can be called a card.

I also received two more patterns in the post. I love this style of cargo pants, but have never found a pair of ready-mades that actually fit me. I really couldn't resist this rather interesting dress and tunic pattern too. I have some suitable fabric in my stash for the dress, but haven't yet decided which fabric would be best for these trousers. I really ought to make toiles of each first......

Finally, on Friday, I met up with another group of friends and Debbie introduced the idea of "boro". I must admit I rather like the idea of handstitching various fabrics together. My version is really not a true "boro", but is inspired by the idea of stitching fabrics together to repair/make another fabric. Mine are strips of raw edged fabrics of various types from my collection of "interesting fabrics", along with dyed cotton bias binding and cotton tape. The pieces are all stitched onto each other and backed by a piece of calico (muslin). This will probably turn into the background for something at some stage. For the moment it is a very pleasant stitching project for the evenings.

Quilting and finishing things

I got the latest page of the Pinfold Book Challenge finished in good time for the Fabric Sale in Nantwich yesterday. I will show you some photos of the Pinfold stand at this show a little later in this post. This page was for Rosemary's book "By the Silver Stream". The bulrushes are free machine embroidery over a fine soft tulle. This is then hand stitched in place over a background made from various colours of dye catchers. The frog on the left is a line drawing in permanent marker onto a further piece of dyecatcher. This one had turned a lovely patchy green - a really useful colour.

The NWCQ quilt is now almost finished. I just need to add borders. Sorry about the dull photo, I shall try again in the morning to see if I can get a lighter picture. There are FME trees added, stitched over fine tulle this has been handstitched in place with a few sequins colouring one of the trees. A little train button has been added beside the tunnel, just as a bit of fun.

One item which has been finished is my Scania shawl. As you can see the fringe has yet to be trimmed and the whole thing could do with blocking. It should be really cosy to wear. Aggie is wearing it at the moment.

I did mention the annual Fabric sale in Nantwich. The Pinfold members provided such a variety of items to show on the stand that it proved very popular with visitors who really enjoyed looking at what we had made. You can see more photos of the show here. If you are on Facebook, the show has it's own Facebook page here.

Finishing projects - or trying to.

Cushion cover - reverse to show the construction

It has been another busy week here. Not a lot to show for it, since some items cannot be shown since they are gifts to be given on Wednesday. However, a lot of work has been put into this cushion cover. 

It all started some months ago as a challenge to myself and then got left as other projects took over. You can see my original post about this project here. I find it quite a shock to realise that this has been under way for some seven months now. Hopefully it will not take too much longer, although I do plan to knit a back. The back is going to be striped rather than anything else so that I can use up the remains of the yarn left over.

Cushion cover - the front under way

As you will have noticed there still rather a lot of ends to be sewn in, as well as patches for those holes between the sections.

Needlecase under construction

One of the projects completed is this needlecase. I can't yet show the completed item since this will be handed over on Wednesday. There are also some handmade cards. Like an idiot, I forgot to take photos of these before sealing up the handmade envelopes. Never mind, I shall take my camera with me to the Pinfold meeting. There will be a collection of handmade needlecases which will be handed out randomly as well as cards. It will be interesting to see what others have made.

Adding piping

Another completed project is the "Trees" page for the Pinfold book challenge. This will be shown to the owner before being handed over to the next person to complete their page. I will come home with another book and will have another page to complete before our January meeting. I must be mad, but I do enjoy these challenges.

Almost completed Pinfold book challenge - Trees

Another challenge project is now under way. This is for NWCQ. I mentioned the project at the end of this post about a month ago. Nothing is sewn at the moment with pins holding all my bits and pieces together. It is nice to be able to get under way with this one.

NWCQ challenge under way

Working to meet deadlines, but not always succeeding

Completed Owlish adult size fingerless mittens

The first of my completed challenges - this one was two days overdue. These were finished today when they should have been completed on Saturday. Ooops. I have apologised to the designer. I had got it stuck in my head that they were supposed to be ready for this coming Friday.

One lesson learned - remember to write the deadlines down, adding them to my to do list.

Teddies for tragedies - completed

I have also finished four teddies and their bags ready to be handed over for the Teddies for Tragedies charity. My copy of the pattern has been taken by my younger daughter who fancies making some of these herself.

Free machine embroidery in progress

This next deadline is another one which I fear I am destined not to meet. The MEG Colour Challenge is due to be shown at our next meeting this coming Friday. (I wonder if that is why I was convinced the mittens had to be completed on the same day.)

MEG Colour challenge in progress

It has all become rather more complex than I originally intended. The free machined piece is hidden on the bottom right hand corner. It took me three days to complete. The tree to the left is only pinned in place and needs to be ironed on and then free machine embroidered to add texture. Those three rings are embroidery hoops holding pieces which have yet to be embroidered. There is a further, larger element on the bottom left which also needs work to start. It will have to wait until the tree is in place. Unfortunately, my two larger embroidery hoops already have pieces waiting. I really could do with extra hands and a more realistic attitude to what can be achieved in the time available.  Actually, no. I really don't believe that last statement. I think I'm better just making whatever it is I want to make, even if it does sometimes end up taking longer than it should.

These next two photos show the goodies I bought at the World Textile Day event in Frodsham on Saturday. The fabrics are destined for a bag (or even two) which I have in mind. The buttons were so nice I really couldn't leave without them. The wooden print blocks too. That sheep image will have pride of place in my Pinfold book once that challenge is complete.

The musical polar fleece was found in Abakhan last week when I went to Sew Cool, the sewing group which meets twice a month in Chester. It is a lovely group, very supportive, which caters for my interest in dressmaking. I couldn't decide which pattern to use. I really think that the shape of the Cotton and Chalk design - The Waterfall Jacket with a hood, would be an interesting design to make. It is lined, and I do have some interlock cotton which would be suitable if I have enough of it.

Unfortunately, I really don't think I have enough time left in my life for a knitting group. Though sharing my passion for yarn would be nice.....

My next knitted project will be a cardigan. This yarn, an acrylic, was found in Aldi and should make a really cosy garment. I haven't quite decided on the design yet. Though, that said, I really like "Mercy" by Drops Design.

I'd better get back to the sewing machine.