Sewing continues.

Completed pin cushion in use.

The past few days have seen my workroom busy with different sewing projects. The first to be completed was this pin cushion which I showed in my last post. This now houses my fine glass headed pins. So useful for my current project - the shirt which I shall show you later. 

Alternative layout 1

There have been a few developments with the quilt. I have been thinking again about the layout since I wasn't happy with the first one. So I played around with the pieces, shown below.

The collection of pieces

Until I tried turning the elements "on point". I think I prefer the second option, but will live with the idea for a few days before starting to cut up the black. I did toy with using the blue shown here as the background, but it all looked rather too bright. Definitely an assault on the eyes.

Alternative layout 2

So this is currently the preferred option. Will I change my mind yet again? Probably.

The completed pinafore dress

There was another completed project. I finished my pinafore dress, adding pockets into the side seams. Rather a comfy, warm dress. I shall try the design again as a long sleeved top using the 

dress shown to the right of the pattern. It should work well as a top. I rather fancy a warm brushed fabric.

The pinafore dress pattern.

I have already mentioned the project I am currently working on. This is the almost completed shirt I had cut out last week. The hem is pinned and ready to be sewn. Then the buttonholes. The fabric is a liberty-style cotton.

The red shirt

On Friday I went to visit some friends. We had been working on a Round Robin during the past few months and we finally got our own pieces back. This is mine. The background is a felted woollen woven fabric. The challenge now is to get our pieces completed for our next meeting in February.

Round Robin

I rather fancy turning this into a vase-like holder for some of my collection of large brushes. I haven't made anything like thatbefore, so it should prove rather interesting.

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.

Busy sewing, stitching and crochet too!

New pincushion

The past few weeks and months have been crazy. I really don't know where the time has gone, but little in the way of sewing was completed until recently. Hence this post.

The first project was a new pincushion to house my new glass-headed pins. My old, much loved pincushion had seen better days and is currently residing at my younger daughter's house. She didn't have enough pins to assist in constructing a new upholstered cover for her renovated bench. I gave her mine, complete with old pincushion. So, having bought some new pins to replace the donated ones, I put this pincushion together. It is very simple. A little pot, around 2.5 inches tall, found in a charity shop stuffed, with a wad of polyester toy stuffing. The stuffing is contained within a piece of fabric made of selvedges from my collection.

Crochet cushion cover

I also finished this crochet cushion cover. The design was found inside issue 57 of the Inside Crochet magazine. The original design was for double knitting, but I have used 4ply. It makes for a really comfy cushion.

Culottes

This pair of culottes has also been completed recently. The design comes from an old pattern originally from the Burda magazine dating from October 1989. I made these back in 1989 and wore them out, finding them really comfortable to wear. Not surprisingly, I have had to enlarge the pattern by two sizes................. I am rather heavier than I used to be.

Shirt

Another version of my favourite shirt pattern. This time a fitted version of the Hotpatterns design which sadly now seems to be out of print. This now has buttons down the front and is ready to wear as soon as I get around to ironing it.

Dress pattern

This is a current project. Being constructed out of calico (muslin?), this is rather an experiment. I am intending to use this as a printing project once I have the bodice and the skirt constructed. Hopefully I should be able to get most of the sewing done this evening. I shall have to wait until later this week before getting started with the printing, Funnily enough I am off to a printing workshop tomorrow. Sadly, not an occasion when I can get started with this.

The pattern is from  Prima Magazine and is dated 1990. I found it in a charity shop.

Crochet cushion cover in progress

Another current project. This is a project to use up my stash of 4ply yarn, or some of it. The design is actually for double knitting, so my version will need rather more of the little hexagons. The pattern came in a booklet supplied with the May edition of "Knitting Magazine" (UK).

The crochet pattern

Ah well, I must get back to the sewing if I am to get the bodice and skirt parts completed today.