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.

Better late than never

It has been a really busy few weeks since I last posted here on the block. I have completed two pairs of socks - this orange and browny-purple pair and another pair in shades of grey and white. There are two projects on my needles at present. The first is a knitting kit picked up in a charity shop.

Although it looks blue in this photo, the yarn is actually a rather silky off white with brown flecks. The kit only cost me £1 which is amazing. It is the Winter Jumper kit from Aldi which was available from the stores earlier this year. I must admit that this project has been stalled over the past few days since I found the most delicious silk and merino yarn from the Sheep on Mars  stand at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate. I bought three yarns and just had to start knitting with the first of these once I had completed my grey pair.

I have knitted this same pattern which was free with the XXL sock yarn I bought some years ago. It is a very simple design which is perfect to showcase these patterned yarns. This time I have used a ridged heel instead of using the stocking stitch heel from the pattern.

These are the other two yarns I bought. I really just couldn't walk away and leave one of them......

Also purchased at the show - some gorgeous lining fabrics. I fancy making a new jacket at some stage over the next few months.

My haul of needles and general bits and pieces from the show.

This was my collection from the Cone Exchange which had a stand. The fabric is furnishing weight and will be used for some cushion covers I need to make.

After the Show I went round some charity shops with my sisters. Silk fabric and silk tops along with more buttons and some books to read. The book at the back is about Heath Robinson. I just love his illustrations.

Whilst in Harrogate we were lucky enough to find a Vintage Fair in a rather beautiful Methodist Chapel. This was my haul. The magazine dates from 1952. I couldn't resist the vintage patterns and the cotton fabric inside the vintage paper bag was quite a find too. I think I will frame the bag rather than discard it. The cotton fabric is a rather useful cotton lawn. I don't think it was ever taken out of the bag. Just £4 for the lot. I picked up some leaflets about future events.

These two fabrics - the peony and crane design and the stripe are both jerseys. The floral design seems to be a ponte roma with a lovely sheen whilst the stripe definitely feels like cotton. I found these on a charity stall at one of the textile groups I attend. There is enough to make tops with both these fabrics.

The green jumper I mentioned last time is complete and now sits waiting in my wardrobe.

At the start of this post I mentioned that I have been busy. One of the groups I attend regularly is the Moulton Sewing Group. In December the group will have a stand at the Craft Fair in the village. I have been busy making items for the stand.

There have been mug rugs - shown above; pot holders; heat packs (microwaveable fabric bags holding pearl barley) and also a couple of cushion covers. The cushion covers and mug rugs are now complete and the last of the heat packs need some hand stitching to finish them off. I just have another six of the pot holders to complete and then three table runners that were added to my list last week......... I'd better get going since I only have until the 7th December to complete this lot. I do have other things which I should be sewing for other challenges, Secret Santa and so on. Why does everything need to be completed at around the same time?
Ah well, I am off to grab a cup of tea and then get an hour or two of sewing before the dogs demand their tea and an evening walk.

Textile experiments, dressmaking and MME

Samples made at Anne Davies' "Stitch, melt,distress" workshop.

I was lucky enough to be able to attend a workshop with Anne Davies at Wilmslow Guild on Saturday. It was great fun to play with Tyvek, Lutrador and Kunin felt, soldering irons, irons and heat guns.

I have started to pair my samples with previously printed fabric samples. This sample above was first printed using one of my own designed themofax screens onto a rust dyed piece. I am still considering what processes to use next with this one. This distressed sample was made from two pieces of painted Tyvek free machine embroidery added before the distressing process. I've used an iron and then heat gun so far.

I'm experimenting with this thread for my T-shirt project. At present I have got as far as fastening the back and front together at the shoulder and will be starting to add the neckband next. There have been a lot of other projects getting in the way since my last post. I managed to complete two out of three pages for the Pinfold book challenge. The third is under way, but will have to wait for the t-shirt to be completed. I have cut out a pair of trousers which will be next on the list. A warm pair of trousers will be needed very soon, especially when walking the dogs.

The test knitting has been started, ripped back and started again. This is the neck and shoulder section. Yes, that neck section does fit over my head and around my neck. The next section will find me splitting the body from the armholes. I rather like the effect of the neckline on this design.

 During the week, I found this piece of faux slubbed silk. It seems to be some kind of synthetic, but I can't yet name it. The fabric is shown just as it was waiting to be rinsed out after washing. I plan to use it as the backing for some more cushion covers I need to get on with for the Moulton Sewing Group. These will end up being sold on their Craft Stall in December.

The embroidered designs which will become the centre pieces for the cushions.

The fabrics shown above are all furnishing weight fabrics from my stash which will become covers for the cushions. I am now on the lookout for suitable piping and edgings.

 The Me Made Everyday continues. I haven't bored you with the details of the past week. Suffice it to say that I have now taken the heavier weight clothing out of the loft ready for the cooler weather to come. I find myself wearing more trousers than skirts or pinafores so far. However, I do think that the trousers I currently have available are going to be rather too thin for the winter weather to come. Hence my mention of the pair of trousers I have cut out and have standing by ready to sew. These are going to be made from the lovely needlecord I showed on my Blog last week. I really do need to organise my time a little better so that I can get around to making these rather more quickly than seems to be my lot so far this month. Ah well, as one friend put it some years ago, "Life gets in the way sometimes".

Elements from my wardrobe worn for MME (Me Made Everyday) this past week: all three pairs of my Hot Patterns Weekender Cargo Pants, warm grey culottes from a Burda Style pattern, three polo neck tops, a sweatshirt, my Cocoon Jacket from Sew Different, both Breton tops, a knitted waistcoat and a thick blue knitted cardigan. Having useful layers has been helpful this past week with the weather being so changeable.

Not much to report this time

My Lilka test knit has been completed. Such a delightful beanie style hat to wear. It is slightly slouchy which means it is comfortable around the ears and will be perfect for walking the dogs when the weather gets chilly once more. I am still steadily working on my brown double knit jumper, but progress is slow since it has been too warm to knit recently. I am also planning a long sleeved cardigan using up my collection of 4ply Merino yarns (Debbie Bliss Rialto 4ply and Rowan 4ply Soft). These have been left over from various projects over the past few years, although I picked up the collection of Rowan yarns from a feltmaking group where there was a really interesting sales table. I really am drawn to sales tables at craft group meetings. You never know exactly what might be discarded by a fellow crafter. I'm planning a striped jumper knit from one cuff and ending up with the opposite cuff. More information later once I have got started.

Not a lot of sewing has been done since my last post. The trousers have now been completed and I am planning to get on with cutting out a second pair this week. This will probably have to wait until Wednesday when I can get to the Moulton Sewing Group and use a couple of their larger tables.

At present my mind is full of plans for the three Pinfold challenge books I intend to make before the next meeting. Their themes are: Round and Round; Leaves and Feathers. I really ought to use the time until I can get to cut out my next pair of trousers to get started on these pages rather than leave it all to the last minute as I usually do.

The past few days found me replacing the wings on a pair of old style Crow costumes. These will become spares ready for the Crow Fair in 2019. You can see the shapes of the wings in this post a couple of weeks back when I was making up two new costumes.

Ongoing projects - plenty of sewing and even a little knitting

Back pocket

Well, I had a bit of a disaster after my last post. I was well on my way to completing my cargo pants - see pattern photo below - when I ran out of thread!!! Well, that shouldn't have been too much of a problem had it not been for the fact that I was doing rather a lot of top stitching and even a slight change of thread colour would have been obvious. None of the local suppliers had this colour in stock - Gutermann 208.

Well, I had a long think about things and placed an order with Minerva. I had bought the fabric and thread from them some time ago to make a rather different pair of trousers. I bought some extra thread for the blue pair of cargo pants I intend to make next. Whilst waiting for the order to arrive, I set about making up the blue floral fabric I showed here. Making a second Elani tunic. I forgot to take photos of this once I'd made it and so now, of course, it is in the wash. Such a useful top.

I also made this blouse:

This really loose fitting blouse comes from this vintage Butterick pattern - 6301. If you recall, I made a toile after grading the pattern to fit me. It might not be the most flattering of styles, but is so comfy to wear in the hot weather we are having at the moment. I started cutting this out and sewing it together at a new sewing group which has started up in the village where I live. It was so useful to have access to a large flat table whilst chatting away to like minded new and familiar faces.

My order arrived on Thursday bringing with it some fabrics which I had ordered for the Marci and Katherine Tilton Craftsy course "The Artful T-Shirt". I can't wait to get started on this one. The fabrics are all medium weight jerseys.

Yes, there are four different fabrics here. All are based on a navy and ivory colourway. The pattern we will be using is the one shown below.

View D is the design we will be tackling for the course. I have just watched all the classes for the first time, but know that I will have to view the first three again at least once before cutting into a toile let alone the fabric shown above. I'm hoping the experience will make me brave enough to tackle a Marci Tilton jacket which has been in my possession for quite a few years now.

I really fancy making the long sleeved version on the left.

I also stitched one of the pieces made at one of the NWCQ meetings earlier this year. It needs a bit more work to make the whole thing more stable, but this is a start. I just need to get the second piece to this same stage before venturing further.

I'm also working on another test knit. This time for Maria Socha. An adult version of this lacy beanie. The colour I have chosen is a deep jade.

Northwich, Cheshire, my local town, is in the middle of an Arts Festival which will last all month. Last month we had an interesting Literary Festival. Part of the events is this Art Trail. It is well worth a walk around the shops seeing all the different pieces of work.

On Saturday it was Northwich Art Shop's Grand Day Out. This was a very interesting event with plenty to see, interesting demonstrations too. I hope it is repeated next year.

Such a range of techniques - from needle felt to acrylics, woven pieces to woodturning. It was so good to see three textile artists involved too. The hall was full of visitors when I came along. It was lovely to see a group of children having a wonderful time using alcohol inks.

Finishing off projects and a little success.

Experimental cushion cover - front 

Well, it has been a busy week. A lot of gardening has been done and I have also managed to complete two projects. The first one is my experimental cushion cover. I started knitting the back a week ago and have just finished it and sewn the cover together. It has a 20 inch square cushion inner, so is nice and squidgy and cosy to cuddle up to. Just what I wanted.

Experimental cushion cover - back

It all started out, almost twelve months ago, as an experiment to knit quilt blocks without seams. There are a few, but most joins are achieved by adding stitches onto an edge, or knitting a piece between two edges. Good fun, but not something I will repeat in quite the same way. The back was just garter stitch stripes of varying widths interspersed with stocking stitch stripes in varying widths knitted on the diagonal rather than straight. A really quick way to use up the remaining oddments of yarn. Since the whole project was designed to use up a collection of yarns left over from a 4ply colourwork project it is amazing just how far the remnants have gone. I still have oddments of the cream, blues and greens left over

Completed Little Bandit Hat

The test knit was also completed and is ready to give to my grand daughter when we next meet. The hat is another design by Aida Sofie, but since it is a Test Knit, the pattern isn't available yet.

Top of the Little Bandit Hat

 I just love the top with the patterning caused by the decreasing. It would be possible to add a pompom, but I rather like leaving this just as it is.

Almost finished shorts

 I nearly finished my shorts, they just need ironing, the legs hemming and some belt loops adding. I didn't have quite enough fabric to make the waistband, so found this fabric in my stash. I think it tones in rather well.

Style Arc patterns 

I was rather naughty and bought some new patterns. The first two are by a pattern company which is one I've not tried before. Style Arc. I thought the Elani tunic would be rather nice paired with my new pair of shorts. I've probably got just the right fabric in my stash somewhere. I bought these patterns from Minerva.

More patterns

 I bought these patterns at the same time. The pinafore dress has been on my wishlist for some time now. I'm not sure if I am brave enough for the jumpsuit, but it would make for an interesting project for an evening out somewhere.

"In Print - Maps"

Do you remember this quilt? I first mentioned it here. Well, I heard this week that it has been accepted for the Contemporary Quilt "In Print" challenge. I will be sending this off soon ready for the first showing of the collection. This will be at the Needle Museum, Redditch from 25th May until 8th July. Exciting!

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........