Projects in the pipeline - part two

altering the pattern pieces

The cargo pants are now well under way. The first photo shows the pattern pieces which I was altering after completing the second toile. My first pair of these trousers is being made in a brown twill photos of which will be posted next time once they are complete. 

The fabric below is some bought the other day for my second pair of cargo pants. This fabric looks very similar to come bought a couple of months ago. I felt that that cobalt twill was a little too heavy for the trousers and so found this cotton linen-look which is rather lighter.

Linen look cotton

drawing round the wing pattern

I've recently completed an extra pair of crow costumes for the team ready for the Crow Fair which is to be held on the 14th July this year.

Suzette Smart workshop

Recently, I went to a Suzette Smart workshop. She was demonstrating her method of making fabric books. This is my piece under way. It still isn't quite finished.

Showing the stitching under way

We were at the Two Doors Studio in Alsager. A really nice workspace above the shop. The workshop was organised by Alsager Creative Stitchers. It was a delightful day in a well lit space with good company, a good tutor and some lovely cakes too. What more could I ask for? Bliss.

My piece is 34 inches long and 9 inches high. I don't intend turning this into a book, but I haven't decided just how to mount this yet.

Add caption

I recently started another handstitched piece in similar colours to the first one. This will also turn into a background for something or other. There is still rather a lot of stitching to be done before this one is ready for the next stage.

I bought this recently for an experiment I plan to make. I shall let you know how I get on. I had an interesting chat to the woman in the shop where I bought this. She had also bought some but hadn't yet used it. I also promised her that I would report back. I look forward to finding some time to have a go with this.

My latest vintage pattern finds. This first one, Simplicity 7048 is dated 1975. I intend to make versions one and two. The only issue being that I will have to grade the design to reflect my true size. Perhaps a bit ambitious, but I plan to give it a go.  It will be interesting to see how I get on with those darts. There are similar darts on the back too.......

This second pattern, Style 1756 is nearer to my size, but will also need some grading. However since this design is not fitted, it should be an easier task than the Simplicity design. I rather like version 3 and 5. The pattern dates from 1976.

Fabric, and some more handstitching

Dressmaking fabric stash

I finally got my workroom tidy this week. It was too much of a mess to get anything done. I had got to the stage where I couldn't even see the top of my worktable. The floor wasn't much better, so I got all the clutter tidied and some rubbish got recycled. The fabric got put back into the cupboard. It is stacked in types of fabric, so, from the bottom left hand side are the jerseys and knit fabrics. To the right of that pile is the silk/rayon collection.  The third pile on the bottom shelf is mostly curtain fabrics with some acrylic felt for repairs to my print board. The extreme left hand side of the top shelf, are the woolen and suiting fabrics. Next to this are a small collection of cottons and cotton mixes sitting on top of a pile of furnishing fabrics.  The last pile on the extreme right hand side is all lining and interfacings. I can see what I have and having to tidy has the benefit of finding things I had forgotten about.

So having had a massive tidy, what did I find in a local charity shop but two metres of this gorgeous bunny pattern. It is a lovely cotton jersey which has a really warm feel. Well, I just couldn't leave it there, especially not since it was priced at £1. When I saw it I could just imagine it made up as a pair of pyjamas. Washed and ready for action it waits in my growing pile of projects. I really ought to get started and make these up before the warmer weather comes creeping back again.

I also bought some yarn. This is to replace a jumper I made some years ago. It has been much worn and is really beginning to show it's age. The sleeves will soon need darning, but it will reamin a really useful warm cover up when working in the garden or working on some project or another. The yarn here is double knitting since there doesn't seem to be any brown 4ply around at the moment. Now to find a nice pattern. I could use the plain v-neck bottom up pattern which I usually use, but I really do fancy a change....

The piece I showed last time is still being worked on. I think it is nearly finished. It just needs a nice plan for something as a focal point. Some applique perhaps.

Apart from washing the bunny fabric, I also washed 5 metres of my calico ready to use as toiles. The first will be this cargo pants design. The pattern has been drawn out on tissue ready to pin on the fabric. I will be starting work on this later today. I just need to iron the five metres......

I still haven't got around to starting my piece for the Pinfold Book Challenge this month. Still thinking about what to do..........

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.

A last minute project

The past week has been a busy one. No time for stitching or knitting. I did have one deadline though, hence these photos. I had a page to complete for the Pinfold Book Challenge ready for tomorrow morning. Here are the pages I completed just a few minutes ago. As I write this, it is 9pm. Last minute as always.

The theme for this book is "Come fly with me." The weather here has been cloudy, damp and cold all day today, so my thoughts ran to warmer weather and the sight of swallows flying overhead.

These pages have my own felt, dyecatchers from my collection, a thermofax print of flying birds, block prints of ducks on a scrap of my own dyed fabric. The swallow is a commercial felt stitched into place. Handstitching using simple running stitch and buttonhole stitch around the swallow. Rather strange of me to choose handwork rather than machine stitching this time, especially since I was so short of time.

What was keeping me so busy this last week? Gardening and helping my husband with demolishing and then constructing a garden shed. The gardening is a rather urgent project since we have a builder coming in a week or two to construct a fence. I have been digging up shrubs and bulbs which we need to protect.

Sewing, stitching, knitting and taking the dog for a walk.

Ella wearing her new backpack.

Ella has a new backpack which we took out on her walk this morning. She is just getting used to wearing it. 

Ella.

The nice thing was that it really didn't seem to trouble her at all. There is nothing bar a few plastic bags in these pockets. I won't be adding any weights until she is quite happy with wearing this backpack. She will only carry about ten percent of her own bodyweight - this will be around 5lbs at most. The intention is to use this for long walks where she can carry some water and a collapsible dog bowl. I'm getting a backpack of my own for a flask, snacks and my camera.  

A frosty puddle.

Frosted leaves.

A chilly morning, it was lovely to see the patterns made by the overnight frost.

Small pot holder.

Collection of pot holders nearing completion.

Yes, there has been some sewing completed. I am playing around with pot holders at the moment since I managed to find some insulated wadding a while back. Oven gloves are really not all that useful at times and I have always wanted something a little smaller. The square ones didn't have a pattern, however you can find the pattern for the oval shaped ones here: http://www.lovella.ca/2011/03/fintgertip-pot-holders.html

A new pair of socks.

This pair of socks is being knitted from a pattern I go to regularly. It is Wise Hilda's Basic Ribbed Socks. You can find the link to the pattern on Ravelry.

The Etui pattern.

Lastly, I am working on this delightful kit by Sue Hawkins. It really is lovely to work on during the evening, especially since I have a really powerful little lamp I can use to light up the area where I am working.

Chinese Whispers - a collection

Rather later than I intended, here are the pages I produced for the other members of the Chinese Whispers Challenge. We all saw each others pages and original inspiration for the first time at a recent meeting. Here are my contributions in chronological order.

Rosemary's page.

This first one was for Rosemary. The fabric picture I received reminded me so much of a bear wandering through a landscape. The original photograph was rather interesting. I showed a rather beautiful valley called Bryce Canyon in the USA. The shape I had thought of as a bear was actually a shaped rock in the photo graph. So my landscape was truly fictitious. The image is constructed using simple kantha style stitches for texture and commercial fabrics appliquéd onto a black background.

Brenda's picture.

The second picture had already been to Rosemary, so I was working from her stitched picture. The image I received reminded me of the story of Jonah and the whale. Hence my own hand stitched image using a variety of accidentally dyed dyecatchers. I used back stitch and simple kantha style stitches for the image. What amused me when I saw Brenda's original inspiration was that it was the famous painting of the wave!

Bernice's picture.

This third image had come to me through versions made by Brenda and then by Rosemary. As a result the original image came as rather a surprise. It showed a snowy lakeside scene in Handforth, Cheshire. My own version was based on what I saw was an interpretation of the four seasons. This used my own dyed fabrics, free machine embroidery and some sheer fabrics cut using a soldering iron.

Mary's picture.

The inspiration for this one was a seaside scene which I received from Rosemary. She had interpreted a scene from Brenda, who in turn had received one from Bernice. The photos for this were printed onto silk and allowed to fray a little before being handstitched in place. My photos came from a trip made to Llandudno in Wales. The background is made up of sheer fabrics over different colours of satins used both matte side up and shiny side up. The original inspiration was the photo of a lighthouse. So perhaps I wasn't so very far out with this one.

Chris' page.

This last page was inspired by a rather nice stitched picture of a pigeon. It reminded me so strongly of a song we were singing with the choir that Rosemary, Chris and I sing with. I just had to use the information from the song. It is one of a series about pigeons by Guy Turner. This particular song was "Wood pigeon in the Weald" and uses a pub and place names around Hartfield in Sussex. The hand drawn images were printed onto silk and then bondawebbed in place. The stitching was all by hand with many french knots. The phrase on the grey border at the bottom of the image was directly taken from the song. The original image from Chris was a Kiwi bird. So her pages have travelled rather a long way from New Zealand to the UK.

A finished quilt and sundry items

Horizons - Caribbean memories.

This week has been a busy one, with my quilt finished and sent off. It has now arrived safely, much to my relief. It will be interesting to see if it considered for inclusion in the Horizons exhibition at Festival of Quilts. Horizons is a challenge by Contemporary Quilt, a specialist interest group of the Quilters' Guild of the British Isles.

This is the first time I have attempted to take part in a challenge like this. This quilt is 1.5m long and 0.5m wide. (59 inches long and 19 and three quarter inches wide.)

close-up

The background is painted fabric with layers of sheer fabric over satin for the "sea". The "beach" is constructed in a similar way.

handling sample

Those of us taking part in the exhibition were asked to make a 20cm square handling sample using the same techniques as the quilt. These will be put together into a book available for those coming to visit the Festival of Quilts. This will take place from the 8th to the 11th August at the NEC in Birmingham, UK.

Work in progress

Caribbean beach.

Same beach as the above photo.

This is a sample which I am currently working on. The design is based on the Caribbean photos above. I took the photos myself whilst on holiday, and is rather an experiment in using sheers and playing with texture.

Octagon and square quilt - in progress.

This next quilt is a hand sewn project. I'm really not sure what the eventual size will be, or even how I will quilt it. Still, I am enjoying playing around with the colours in my quilting cottons stash.

January 2013 Journal Quilt.

February 2013 Journal Quilt

March 2013 - Journal Quilt

April 2013 - Journal Quilt

These are the first four of my journal quilts for this year. My theme for the year is "Shadows and silhouettes". It has been a good excuse for messing around with different printing styles and applique. I am woefully behind, however and need to start the May and June quilts. However, the work being done on my Horizon quilt is taking precedence. Ah well, I might just be able to catch up by the next deadline - the next four journal quilts need to be completed by the end of August.