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.

Me Made Everyday - Week 2 and other projects

Records for Me Made Everyday - week 2

I have continued the Me Made theme for the second week running. You will note that some items do get worn quite a lot and will feature in future weeks records too. I brought my warmer clothing down from the loft today, so some of that will start to feature as the weather gets colder. Some of my cardigans have featured this past week and I have also started to need my woollen hats and fingerless gloves.

Culottes and blouse as worn on Friday.

I am still trying to remember to take photos each day, but find keeping the records in my notebook rather more practical. It is interesting to find out exactly which pattern was used for each item, especially when they were made some time ago. It was a really useful reminder for the blouse shown above since I found it very comfortable to wear and it would be nice to make another from the same pattern at some stage.

I have started knitting a rather attractive jumper to replace one made last year which my elder daughter now has. This one is another test knit from Aidasofie. I have made a number of Yvonne's delightful designs over the past few months. This one will be a light green since this is a colour I do not have a great deal of in my wardrobe. I look forward to getting this one finished so that I can wear it.

Since the weather is getting colder, I bought some lovely needlecord to make another, warmer pair of trousers. Not sure which pattern I will use yet. This brown will look really nice with the green of the jumper I am knitting......

A project which I will need to get on with this week is the t-shirt toile for the "Artful T-shirt" course. I got this cut out on Wednesday at Moulton Sewing Group, taking full advantage of the large tables they have available. My worktable is just not big enough here in my workroom.

The fabric is some jersey which I bought a few months ago for a different project. This will help me check the sizing before starting the course properly. I have started watching the videos which explain the processes required. The main t-shirt will be an interesting project. I think I now have all the fabric I need, but will check again once this trial piece is finished.

The "Sew the perfect fit" course is still ongoing with the next fitting session coming up very soon. It will be interesting to compare notes and see how close this next set of toiles is to a "perfect fit". I haven't got any fabric in line for the final dress, so I will need to start hunting around for something suitable. Hopefully, there will be a suitable weight in my stash. 

Repairs and other possible disasters

Mum's quilt before work started

 The past week has seen me planning the repair of a quilt I made for mum a few years ago. Called "Square Dance", it had been much loved and regularly washed and it had seen daily wear since being handed over.

One of the damaged areas

There were a few areas of damage where the fabric was beginning to break down. I must admit that I really hadn't expected the quilt to have shown so much wear so quickly. Since mum was rather upset to see it in this state, I agreed to repair it and then return it. I intend to make another quilt for mum so that this one doesn't get the same amount of wear in the future.

After chatting it through with some friends at the Moulton Sewing Group, I went ahead and drafted a few designs to patch the damaged areas. You can see my original sketches in the photo above and this close up.

The quilt is currently being stitched and I plan to hand it back on Friday. There is still quite a lot of work to be done, with all the footprints needing to be bondawebbed in place and then stitched. The squares have all been attached and quilted in place to add strength to the damaged areas. There will be more photos once the work is all complete.

I have been getting on with some of the mending in my pile, as mentioned last time. It is not an interesting task but I will be glad to see a gap where that particular collection of objects currently sits.

My scrappy cardigan has now been stitched together and is nearing completion. The strips for the button and buttonhole bands have also been knitted and stitched into place. I am really unhappy with these. As you can see the bands are pulling almost as if they are too short. This is the nature of ribbing, unfortunately. Although this is exactly as the original design instructions stipulate in the pattern, I really don't think it works. I shall be unpicking these pieces and knitting them with the ribbing running 90 degrees from the current position. Why is the ribbing in the orange? Well, I don't have enough of either the cream or the white, or even the pale grey. I must admit that I don't think the orange colour works, so will use this opportunity to try a different colour. Ah well, back to the drawing board on this one. Hopefully I can get it finished before the cold weather comes creeping in.

A tidy workroom at long last - sewing too!

 I have spent a couple of days getting my workroom rearranged and tidy. It has been well worth the effort since I now feel comfortable enough to get on with the sewing projects which are waiting for me.

Tailor's dummy and bookshelves beside my cupboard

The first of these you can see on Aggie2, my tailor's dummy. It is yet another toile for the "Sew the perfect fit" course which I am doing with my friend Eilene. This has been quite a learning curve to date, but it is good to learn a new skill and it will help my dressmaking skills. I look forward to feeling confident that any clothes I make will fit properly.

My sewing desk, cluttered as always

Speaking of sewing projects. I have a third pair of these cargo pants cut out and ready to sew. The pale blue light denim should make for a comfortable pair. I just need a bit of time to settle down to getting these started.

I bought some more fabric on Friday to get a couple of projects under way. The floral jersey was bought from the Fent Shop in Macclesfield. The last two and a half metres from the roll. It was a little more than I really needed, but I couldn't leave that extra length. This is intended for another long sleeved polo neck jumper to add to my collection for the autumn/winter. There should be sufficient fabric to make a second top, though I am not entirely sure which design to use.

Floral jersey fabric

Quilting cottons

The half metre lengths of quilting cottons will be used to help me repair a quilt I made for my mother a few years back. This has been loved and washed over the years and is definitely in need of some tender loving care. I'll share some photos another time once I have decided exactly how I am going to tackle this repair. The fabrics were bought from The Quilting Box in Macclesfield.

Walking through a couple of local charity shops I found these scarves. They are now washed and resting with my feltmaking supplies to help me with some nuno felt experiments. I really feel the need to get some felt made before too long. The loose woven piece might be better suited to some of my hand stitched projects, but since it is quietly unravelling itself as I watch, it might be better to felt it into something.

Mending pile

While tidying up my room, I found my pile of mending/alteration projects. These have been ignored for far too long. I have challenged myself to get ten of these pieces finished this week. I have already finished five of the easiest - replacing buttons, minor repairs to seams. The items concerned have already been ironed and are hanging up in my wardrobe ready to wear once more. I need to tackle some of the more demanding items next.

My scrappy cardigan is nearing completion. All the knitting has been finished, I am just stitching the ribbing sections into place. These were knitted separately, which is quite an unusual method. The sewing together may take some time yet since there are also quite a number of ends to sew in too!

Last week my copy of the latest book from the Contemporary Quilt group arrived. It is a record of the quilts which were selected for the "In print" exhibition. I have a quilt in this collection so it was rather a thrill to see my work in print, literally. You can see the previous posts where I blogged about my quilt here and here.

I haven't been able to see the exhibition for myself just yet, but will be able to see the quilts for myself early in 2019 when they are shown at the Quilters Exhibition and Fabric Sale in Nantwich in January. They then travel to Quiltfest in February.

In case you are interested, the remaining venues showing this exhibition are:

October 2nd to 30th, 2018
The Curve Gallery, Carnegie Library, Bangor, Northern Ireland, BT20 4LH

Sunday 20th January 2019
Quilters Exhibition and Fabric Sale, Nantwich Civic Hall, Market Street, Nantwich, CW5 5DG

February 7th to 15th 2019
Quiltfest 2019, Llangollen, Wales

March 26th to April 25th 2019
The Old Chapel Textile Centre,
Newbury, RG19 6HW

So many things to do

Well, it has been rather busy here since I last posted. My brown jumper is now complete, although it is still too warm to wear it just yet. At least it will be ready and waiting for me when the cold weather does arrive.

There has been a lot of work done knitting the scrappy cardigan. I have completed the left sleeve , both fronts and am now working my way across the right shoulder. This will be a really cosy cardigan once it is complete.

I found these three stamps going very cheaply in a local charity shop a few days ago. I don't usually do any paper crafts, but these will be interesting to work with. I'm going to experiment and see if they will print on my collection of dyecatchers since are very similar in texture to paper.

These three pieces were completed at a recent NWCQ workshop where we were making postcard sized landscapes using scraps of fabric. These have been free machine embroidered using variegated threads. I am not sure exactly what I will use these for just yet, but will not be sending them through the post since I feel they are rather too dull. I will probably add to these to make larger pieces.

Walking into Aldi a few days ago, I discovered a series of these packs. There are five different dyes contained in applicator bottles ready to be filled with water and used. I couldn't resist, picking up this pack. It contains yellow, lime green, leaf green, brown and black. An interesting combination of colours.

Yesterday, I prepared 3m of calico. After washing the calico I tied rubber bands around sections of the fabric pleated other areas using bulldog clips. I had a lot of fun applying the dyes. This morning the fabric was ready for the next stage - rinsing out the excess dye and then a gentle washing and a final rinse. The fabric is now drying on my indoor washing rack.

The colours may well have been rather more intense had I added less water to each bottle, but I am rather pleased with the results.

I worried myself the other day by listing all the projects I would like to complete in the next week or so. There were fifteen in all. One needs to be completed by Wednesday so I really must get on with that first. 

Sewing, book pages and knitting

Messing around with images ready to put together as book pages

It has been quite a busy week with quite a lot of sewing done. The first two book pages have been completed for the Pinfold Book Challenge. 

These first two pages were for the "Feathers" themed book. I went back to the Crows for inspiration for this one. "Birds of a feather flock together". The Crow Fair took place recently and so the idea stuck.

I used my own rust dyed fabric on top of a piece of rough calico. The grey pieces are painted bondaweb. The pages have been free machine quilted to add texture. The figures of the birds and the dancers have been free machine embroidered.

I have now started work on the second pair of pages. These are for the "Leaves" themed book. I'll take photos to show next time once the stitching is finished.

Work did start on the third book pages too, but I wasn't happy with them and so a rethink is in progress.

I decided to start work with my collection of 4ply yarns. They are all either Debbie Bliss Rialto 4ply or Rowan Soft 4ply. Since the yarns are so similar, they work together very well and it is not possible to see where one make of yarn starts and the other type ends. Sadly, both yarns are now discontinued, so I am picking up extra Debbie Bliss skeins while I still can. I know the collection I have will only go so far since this is going to be a cardigan. I am adapting the old Phildar pattern you can see above. This was for double knitting yarn. I made the original cardigan back in the 1980s and wore it out long ago. The stripes on this new version will be narrower since I don't have a large amount of any of the colours. Chatting to the owner of our local yarn shop, I was able to pick up the last two skeins of cream and have a look at her collection of odd skeins which are also for sale, but not on display. I plan to save some of the cream so that the second cuff will be the same colour as the first. I will sort out the button bands, collar and ribbing for the waistline once I know which colours will be left.

 The brown jumper is still an ongoing project. I am working my way up through the decreases on the raglan at the front. Unfortunately, the colourful 4ply project is far more interesting to work on......

Sitting on my work table are the recently cut out pieces for my second pair of cargo pants. I intend to get on with these later today, but have the "Leaves" pages to finish first.

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..........