Trying to fit everything in

Crocus with bee enjoying the sunshine.

There are times when I really don't understand Blogger at all. I clicked on a single photograph and all the photos I had intended to put into this Blog post, but not yet, arrived all at once. Strange......

Ah well, my first photos are of the crocuses and daffodils arriving in my garden. Such a wonderful lift of bright colours whilst we have been having some really chill weather. Apparently more is to come, but the flowers just cheer everything up.

I had intended to be good and not buy any fabric........

Black spotted fabric - just over a metre

I made the mistake of going into the local haberdashery for bias binding...... Fatal...... I came out with the bias binding, but grabbed this piece from the end of roll bin. It is a crisp, cotton/synthetic blend which should make a nice straight skirt.

Thinking of dressmaking, I did finish the waterfall jacket mentioned in my last post. I'm not entirely happy with it and am thinking about whether or not to alter the shoulders. They feel a bit bigger than I'd hoped for. Ah well, it will have to wait until I have finished a couple of other projects.

Rust fabric from Tracy Fox

On Saturday, I went along to the Quilters' Guild Regional day in Frodsham. So nice to meet up with people I rarely see. Such an interesting event too. Barbara Weeks was he speaker in the afternoon. Such an interesting person. She is also a member of the International Feltmakers Association and it was fascinating to chat about the felt tunic she was wearing. We had both attended the same workshop by Vivienne Morpeth, at different venues, so it was really nice to hear a much more experienced feltmaker's opinion. It was interesting to hear that Barbara is going to attend another workshop to be given by Vivienne in the near future. You can see my tunic here.

I was very naughty and walked around the stalls whilst at the Regional Day. Not a very sensible idea when trying not to buy fabric. I spent a lot of money on quilting threads to add to my stock, and couldn't resist some rust fabric which was being sold by Tracy Fox. It was so nice to catch up with her again too. I find her fabric really hard to resist.

There has been knitting. Test knitting. My green cardigan has been left for the moment. It has got to a stage which I really don't enjoy - picking up stitches for a button band and the buttonhole border too. I will get round to finishing it, but these two test knits have taken over.

This is the Adair Hat by Aida Sofie. You will find her designs on Ravelry, also here.

This little hat is in the toddler size, although this design will soon be available in sizes ranging from toddler to adult. I chose Sirdar's Harrap Tweed for this one. It is a really nice yarn to knit with and has interesting slubs of contrasting colours. The colour I bought was shade 0109, a lovely brick red.

The next knitting project is this gorgeous unicorn design, again from Aida Sofie. I really couldn't resist knitting this one. I have photos of my granddaughter playing with a toy unicorn. So this is being knitted in the size 2 -3 years. I've managed to get on quite well with this jumper despite fitting in the Adair hat too.

Ah well, I must get on with some sewing. I have a pair of shorts cut out ready on my work table and plans for another quilt. The shorts are a trial run on a trousers pattern I first made a couple of years ago. Since I have put on weight since the last time I made these, I really need to check out the sizing again. I know I altered them last time, but I don't seem to adapted the pattern itself, which was a bit silly. Ah well, with a bit of luck I should be able to cut out a pair of trousers after finishing this project. I really do need some nice trousers in my wardrobe. Oh, in case you are wondering. I decided against trying out the new trouser pattern. It is nice, but has a pleated front. Not a good look on me.

Speaking of wardrobes, I am also about a week behind on the Design your wardrobe course from Seamwork. I really must try to catch up before that ends on Friday. It is a really interesting course which is making me think rather more about what projects I ought to sew for myself. As a result I have ordered two lengths of viscose from Minerva to make summer skirts. I planned to replace my elderly silk skirt last year but never managed to get round to it. It was a lovely french navy and such a comfortable skirt to wear. I will be using the Zinnia pattern from Colette Patterns which is similar in style. 

Could I have an extra couple of days this week? Please........

Making sure that I don't miss a deadline

Printed pinny

I printed this pinny a couple of weeks ago. A sample before starting work on my orange dress. The pinny was printed using three different thermofax screens from my collection. The flower and leaf designs are my own whilst the lovely bee image is a stock item from Thermofax Screens. I used calico (muslin) from my bolt of fabric. So useful to have a large amount of fabric to hand when needing to trial ideas. I won't be using the reverse side of this pinny since I have left it plain. However, now I come to think about it, that might be rather useful.......

Pinafore pattern

As you can see, the pattern is one of those really useful and practical ones. My only concern being that there is no pocket. Ah well, something to add to the next one?

My orange dress in the process of being printed. 

When printing the apron after I had made it - a deliberate act since my orange dress had already been sewn together - I quickly discovered that thermofax screens cannot cope with curves. So, for the dress I decided to use some of my collection of wooden print blocks. Drawing some chalk lines to help in keeping the prints an equal distance apart, I printed a quarter of the circle skirt at a time. It seemed to work well. My next project will be to print a length of fabric ready to make up into a dress or a skirt.

The dress has been worn and washed and has survived well. I did add a lining to the dress skirt section since I felt it needed a little more body. I bought some horsehair braid to attach to the hemline, but have not felt it needed that extra stiffening. I must get a photo of the dress once I have ironed it and it is ready to wear again.

Recent fabric purchases

I have been rather naughty lately and bought some fabric. Yes, I had planned to use up some of my fabric stash. Unfortunately, much of that stash isn't in the colours I really need for the clothing I plan to add to my wardrobe. The middle two fabrics here are denim. The upper one was bought from The Denim Company when I went to the Festival of Quilts last week. I just couldn't resist it. Such a pretty floral print.. The top fabric is a light lawn from the Fent Shop and I plan to make a blouse from this one. The green fabric at the bottom was a find in Abakhan and is a textured green jersey from which I plan to make a pair of culottes for the winter months. The plans for the two denim fabrics involve my making up a pinafore dress based on the design of a pair of dungarees seen at the International Model Aircraft Show at Weston Park in June. I managed to sketch the design on a page of my notebook. It will be quite a challenge to develop a pattern from a pencil drawing.......... One thing which troubles me, though is would this infringe copyright? I am not intending to make a pair of dungarees as seen at the show, but a pinafore dress with a similar top to the dungarees I saw.

There has been knitting. I have now completed this jumper and put it away for the cooler months. As you can see, it fits me perfectly. Since I am used to having rather boxy and loose fitting knitwear, this makes rather a nice change and will take quite a lot of getting used to. The design will not be available until the middle of next month since this was a test knit for the designer. I've now started another tes knit for the same designer. This time it is a hat for a toddler. A much quicker item.

I found these two books and the three metre length of muslin (cheesecloth) they are lying on last week on the sales table when I went to Pinfold. The fabric has now been washed and is waiting for different dyeing and printing projects. I quite fancy the idea of a long-sleeved cheesecloth shirt. A very seventies idea.

This last piece was finished a number of years ago and I had never done anything with it. The background is free machine embroidered onto calico with an embroidered paisley element held in place above it. The embroidered piece is stiffened with wire stitched into the outline. The whole was a challenge laid down some years ago by Sharon Boggon to use some of her paisley line drawings. It is quite a shock to realise that I had completed this piece back in January 2007! You can see the sequence of paisley designs I had worked at the time here. The others have not been mounted or framed either.

Those deadlines? Well, the jumper needed to be finished by September 17th. I am a month ahead of myself there. The hat needs to be completed by the end of the month, so I am on target with that. Just so long as I don't get sidetracked. 

I do have one deadline which I must not miss. I haven't yet started work on that. I need to complete my piece for the MEG Colour Challenge by September 25th. I have a diptych in mind for that one. However, I have a pair of culottes on my sewing table which must get finished first. Unfortunately, I made the really stupid mistake of cutting these out without a seam allowance. This has made sewing them a bit of an ongoing puzzle. What doesn't help is that I made exactly the same mistake the last time I used this pattern. Those culottes worked out quite well in the end and were worn a lot during last winter. I'm just hoping that I can make these work out too.

Speaking of deadlines, I really must get myself back and organised into posting here on the blog more regularly. I have got out of the habit and need to retrain myself back into posting weekly. This is one item on my to-do list which often gets overlooked. Apologies to anyone reading this.

More sewing and crochet - it's been a busy week.

Curtain fabric remnant

The past week has been busy - first, I managed to wash and iron a couple of pieces of fabric I found in the remnants section of Shufflebotham's in Macclesfield. This first piece will eventually become a jacket. Not sure yet whether it will be a blazer or a more fitted and lined jacket. At the moment I plan to make the latter. I do have a lovely pattern, but will need to find it first.

Remnant of silk

This delightful piece of fabric just had to come home with me from the same remnants section. It is a sheer blouse weight, so will need to be fully lined. It just asked to come home with me.............

If you do get the chance to visit Macclesfield, then this shop is well worth a visit. One of those wonderful shops which are getting rather rare these days. It is full of gorgeous fabrics, has an amazing remnants section and has really helpful staff.

An old curtain makes a useful zipped bag

I found myself making a zipped bag for some blinds. A very quick job. The old curtain was in my stash. It was a find from a charity shop many months ago and had been destined for shopping bags. This will be so much more useful. The original container for these blinds was a rather nasty battered plastic bag.

Completed oven gloves

I started these last week and managed to get them finished a couple of days ago. Two squares of Insul-bright quilted inside some quilting cotton, edged with tape. There is a gap for my hand to fit inside the "sandwich". It will be interesting to see how well this works. There are two which is why I think of them as oven gloves rather than pot holders.

Reverse side

Lastly, the reason I ventured into Shufflebotham's in the first place. My new piano stool. This was a very lucky find in an auction when we were in Tring some weeks back. Constructed in the 1930's it was rather a mess when we first saw it. My husband has stripped it down completely and rebuilt it. I just added the finishing touch, the upholstered top.

Piano stool

There is a lot of polyester filling and some old polyester wadding which I really didn't want to use for a quilt - it was rather nasty, but perfect for this task.

Fabric and detail of the wood

So comfy now and just the right height. It is nice not to have to use one of the diningroom chairs. I always had to add a couple of cushions to be able to sit at the right height. Now I must stop looking at my new seat, and start using it.

Cushion cover in progress

I posted a photo of this project a little while ago. There are now 24 different designs of the hexagons. I have made two of each and so have a total of 48 completed. Just another 14 pairs to crochet.

Some of the completed hexagons

Conference and playing with fabric

Last weekend saw me in Dundee, attending The Quilters' Guild of the British Isles Conference. This dramatic lighting shows the front of the hall used for the Conference. A marvellous place to meet.

This photo shows a little drilling stand. I think it has something to do with the V & A's new building on the waterfront standing in the River Tay. Behind you can see the famous Tay Rail bridge peeking out from the haar, a river mist.

I couldn't resist taking this photo of the underneath of the Tay road bridge. The colours were amazing.

The Tay road bridge as seen through the haar from my hotel window.

A gorgeous building from the centre of Dundee itself.

Some things bought from the traders at the conference. The book was bought from the delightful Katie Pasquini Masopust. She gave the after dinner talk at the Gala Dinner. Such an amazing speaker. She kindly signed her book for me.

I also bought this set of blocks. Colouricious is a company owned by a lovely lady called Jamie Malden. I was lucky enough to sit next to her at the Gala Dinner. I was really impressed by the way the company package their products. The sturdy plastic box housing the fabric paints above, and the delicious fabric bag for the printing blocks. Look carefully at the white picnic basket holding the goodies in the last photograph. Such a good idea.

Would you believe I won the contents of the three photos above? I did. I couldn't believe it either. I won two of the prizes in the Chinese Auction at Conference. It was overwhelming. I can see a wonderful playtime in my future............. I just need to abandon everything for a day or three to indulge.......... Oh yes!

Oh, I'm also playing with fabric making a picture for the Sky's the Limit group. Sadly, I can't post a photo just yet. Not until it is finished.

Dyeing and having fun.

I had a wonderful time yesterday playing with colours. In Frodsham for a Dyeing Day organised by NWCQ, we were being taught by Sandra Wyman. She talked about Procian dyes, and showed us all; how to use them. There were fourteen of us, quite a large group, but Sandra's instruction sheets were really informative. She was also able to talk us through each activity. Just as well, since I had never used this type of dye before.



Sandra provided the dyes, soda solution and a pack of fabric samples and threads. We could also purchase a pack of cotton fabric ready for dyeing.

I came home with a large collection of mysterious plastic bags.

Too tired to do anything last night, I set to work this morning washing out all the fabric and threads I had dyed. It was so exciting to see how each piece had turned out.

This first group was the result of my colour gradations experiment. I used a buttercup yellow dye and was thrilled to find these lovely pieces had been the result.

This next series is the result of the colour gradations, where I mixed a blue-black dye with the buttercup yellow. Aren't the colours amazing? I love those greens. Thank you so much Sandra for suggesting using the blue-black. I had asked her advice since I wasn't sure which blue I should use.

This amazing piece is my tray-dyed piece. We had to crumple the fabric in a tray and then pour the dye over the fabric. So exciting to find this piece of fabric coming out of it's plastic bag.

These bright fat quarters are the parfait dyeing result. Some dye and its soda solution went into a small tub followed by a crumpled up piece of fabric. After a little wait, the same amount of dye and soda solution went into the tub followed by some more crumpled fabric. This was repeated another couple of times until there were four pieces of fabric

This is the parfait just before I washed it. What amazed me, was that I had started with a mid yellow colour, then added a pale yellow, following this with red. The red was watered down. I used less than half the dye I used for the other colours making up the quantity required with water. The reason being that Sandra had mentioned that red was a very strong dye, and I hadn't wanted it to take over too much. It was really exciting to find that the red had dropped to the bottom of the tub like this, and that the yellow had risen.

The threads look rather a mess on my washing line. I had dyed them different shades of yellow. The green appeared when some blue dye accidentally leached out into my large yellow tray without my spotting it. I love the accidental tint of bright green which has appeared.

My threads now look like this:

They have all been wound onto spare cotton reels. Did I mention I seldom throw anything away?

The last set of fabrics were these - the samples of fabric. These included cotton gauze, viscose satin, silk taffeta and silk/viscose velvet.

My favourite was definitely the velvet. It turned out so beautifully........

Here they all are on my line this morning.

I think what I also found really exciting was the unexpected delights of accidental dyeing.

The sheets on top of my sketchbook are the kitchen paper sheets I used to mop up. I just love those colours.

Since the paper had looked so lovely, I decided to use a dye catcher sheet to mop up the tiny scraps of dye left inside the yellow tray I carried everything home in.

The result didn't disappoint.

Making a bag from made fabric.

This is the bag I made from the fabric shown in the previous two posts. It is a very simple cylindrical bag, twelve inches tall with an internal zipped pocket, two large external pockets and padded handles. The tops of the bag and pocket are bound - this was sewn into place by machine and then handstitched into place to leave no stitchline.



The two pieces of fabric I used were: 26 inches long and 12 and a half inches tall (for the main bag), and 26 inches by 8 and a half inches for the outer pockets. I put a piece of wadding inside the main bag to give it some "body". It now stands well.

The base was constructed very simply after the main pieces had been sewn together to form a cylinder. The basic bag structure then became the outline for the base. I quilted this to give it some shape. The chalk marks show the internal dimensions of the bag itself.



This was then sewn to the main bag, being careful to not stitch in the lining - this was then handsewn into place.

The bag has now gone to it's new owner. It was constructed as part of a Swap organised by the United Kingdom group on My Sewing Circle. The theme for the swap was "Stash busting/repurpose". Mine used fabric scraps and pieces from my stash.

At present I am considering writing up this pattern as a free tutorial. Please let me know if you would like to have a copy.