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.

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.

Sewing, knitting and lists

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing jumper - showing work in progress sewing in ends

Do you use lists? I seem to be pursued by them. I have a weekly list which details the things I really ought to be working on. This test knit was one. I needed to get it finished for the 17th July since the designer needed my report by then. I managed to complete it a few days ago, earlier than planned since there was going to be rather a lot of ends to sew in. You can see some at the top. These alone took three days since I really cannot stand having to complete more than around 30 at a time. 

Completed jumper

The other deadline on the jumper was getting it ready for handing over at a family gathering on Saturday. It has been much admired, but the recipient hasn't yet worn it. It was far too warm a day.

Next Free Machined project

The main reason to have a weekly list is because I really do tend to prevaricate and could easily run over time on some of the deadlines which are coming up. The FME projects I have been stitching lately don't really need to be completed until the middle of November. However, if they don't get started now I really don't see that the stitching will be completed and the resulting pieces made into anything by then. I completed the blue one shown last time, and have now started the yellow/blue one above. For this one I have added a water soluble fabric over the top with a grid drawn over it to keep the overall design to a reasonable size. I got started with this at a sewing group meeting during the week in Chester. I must remember to find a trolley to hold my sewing machine. It is so heavy to carry anywhere.

Making books

 Another deadline was getting these small book covers completed ready for a NWCQ session on Thursday. In the end I added another three complete books and added stitched pages into the five shown above. They were needed as a fundraiser for the Contemporary Quilt stand at Festival of Quilts. It was nice to be able to hand over eight completed books at the end of the meeting. These are all scraps of my printing experiments bondawebbed to corrugated card which had protected some knitting needles I had ordered online. The pages inside were scrap paper - envelopes for the most part. It is nice to be able to use up items which would otherwise become waste.

New test knit project

This new test knit will be a jumper for me. Knitted from the top down it has a lace yoke which you can see more clearly in the photo underneath. Another deadline, but this one doesn't need to be completed until the middle of September. I still can't afford to let it sit since the yarn is 4ply! It is a much bigger project than the children's jumpers I have been knitting so far.

Showing detail of the lace yoke

I managed to get the deadline muddled on the next piece - the Pinfold Challenge. The Crazy Patchwork piece should have been completed for the August meeting. Most people seem to be making larger quilts making more than one block. One was enough for me. The easel is a miniature one since the quilt is only 6.25 inches across (16cm) and 6.5 inches high (16.5cm).

Completed Crazy Patchwork challenge

I managed to complete the Stowe bag which has been hanging around my workroom for what seems like ages. The bias binding edge was some lovely printed bias I bought a long time ago and never got around to using. Such a useful bag it has now been given to my daughter. It is made in a rather nice denim - a mid weight fabric, not too heavy.

Completed bag

Speaking of bags, I came across this printout in my collection of patterns a few days ago. My circular needles had been getting into rather a mess since I had had to put my fixed needles into another folder which was already full. I used the left over pieces of denim for the main body of the bag and found a pretty blue print for the contrast sections and bias binding. I must remember to take a photo of the finished folder. It is already helping me to make my knitting needles somewhat tidier. Hopefully it will make finding the right size easier too.

New holder for my fixed circular needles

During the week I had a small delivery from Thermofax Screens. Two mini screens of a robin and a bee. I used them to decorate these two shopping bags ready to hold gifts for the family gathering on Saturday. I sprayed the bags first using the acrylic sprays I bought from Lidl some months ago. The motifs were printed using black screen printing ink. Yes, I did remember to put plastic sheet inside the bags as I sprayed and printed them.

Present carrier bags

Earlier this week I travelled to Blakemere for lunch and a wander around. I picked up these items - a vintage pattern from 1976 for my collection, and two large wooden printing blocks. Sadly these haven't photographed very well. I must print with them and show their designs that way.

Lucky find - pattern from 1976

Two new-to-me print blocks

Speaking of lists, I have already written the list for this coming week. So far there are just eleven items listed. This does feel rather too short a list since I started with twenty last time. At the NWCQ meeting I ended up chatting about lists to a friend sitting on the same table. She tends to prioritise hers. I hadn't the heart to own up to having most of the elements on my last list as priorities which had to completed during that week. In the end, I managed to complete nine of them - the ones needed for the family gathering and a couple of other items needed by other people. I'm hoping I might complete the ones I need for myself this week. However, there are some repairs to costumes which must be completed first. Wish me luck.

Printing, quilting and completing bits and pieces.

block, stencil, thermofax and gelliplate prints

I had a lot of fun with the MEG group on Friday when I organised a print workshop for them. We played with my gelliplate, stencils, home made blocks and wooden blocks, my thermofax screens too. I took in all three of my print boards and a couple of easels to make an extra table. 

The photo above shows the collection of prints I managed to achieve during the day. It will be interesting to see the collection of prints made by the rest of the group. It was a really friendly session with not a lot of chat, since everyone was concentrating on whatever they were working on. Thanks everyone.

House 1 - now finished.

Butterfly block now complete.

As you can see, I have been finishing things off over the past few days. The first of the house blocks is now quilted and bound. I think I just need to add a bugle bead for the door handle.

The butterfly block doesn't quite feel finished. I think it needs some more stitching, but will have to wait until I decide exactly what is required. A few butterflies would be nice.

knitted waistcoat under way.

I also got started with the knitted waistcoat. I do love the way the pattern grows under my fingers. Yes, that is a small pocket. I shall be adding the edging at a later stage. It seems to have been missed out of the pattern, but is shown quite clearly in the photograph. It shouldn't be a problem to recreate.

A house in a day, quilting and other things

Completed cotbed quilt

It has been rather busy here since I last wrote anything to the blog. My apologies for that. I have been busily quilting the cotbed quilt and also completing the cushion to go with it. These are for a very special baby who came to visit last weekend. She went home with the quilt and also the cushion. Her mum and dad were, I am very pleased to say,delighted with them.

Completed quilt with the cushion

The quilt size is designed to fit a cotbed rather than a cot since that is what the baby will be using when she is a little older. At just four weeks old at the time of writing this, her mum is more likely to use the cushion for the moment.

View of the quilting on the reverse of the cotbed quilt

I never know whether I overdo the free machine embroidery. However, since I enjoy stitching it it is probably okay........ what do you think?

Completed cardigan

This cardigan also got finished during the weekend. I had left the crochet edging until the very last minute since I wasn't that confident about doing it. I had to grab the cardigan back, briefly, to get a photo of it whilst the baby was being changed. The mum really liked it. Can't say that the baby was too impressed. Free design by Martin Storey called "Elly".

Closeup showing the crochet edge

I've also started putting together some pages for a book I need to complete for an exhibition in October. I'd better get this done before I get involved in anything else.

The pieces started as a Chinese Whispers challenge. Such fun. The idea is that each person taking part finds a photograph. This photo is not to be shared with anyone taking part. This is my photo. It was taken during a visit to Hong Kong back in 1998. The dragon carving was one of a pair of temple lantern holders.

Original photograph

I next made a textile piece, A5 size (8.25" x 5.75") based on this photograph. This was then passed to the next person in the group, Anita.

Chinese dragon - my design

Anita then completed her own interpretation of my piece, returning my design back to me.

Japanese lettering and fireworks - Anita

Her piece then went on to Meryl, who made her own interpretation of Anita's piece. Part of the challenge was that we were not allowed to show anyone any of the pieces during the course of the challenge. We couldn't chat about it either, to anyone taking part.

Chinese acrobats - Meryl

Meryl's piece was then passed to Glenice, whilst Anita's interpretation of my piece was passed back to me.

More acrobats - Glenice

Glenice passed her completed piece to Minnie while Meryl's version was handed on to me.

Circus acts - Minnie

Minnie was the last person in our group. She completed her version and then handed both Glenice's version and her version back to me at the final exchange meeting. We then all showed our little collections to everyone, disclosing the original photos at the same time.

Although I have only written about my own theme, I should explain that everyone was collecting work for their own themes. 

Here are the pieces I made for each of the other members of the group. In all, we had three groups working at the same time. We should have fifteen books to show at the exhibition. 

"Music" - made for Minnie

Accidentally dyed fabric with silk scraps appliqued in place. Free machine embroidery and couching. The white threads show the outer edges of the A5 shape.

"Garden" - made for Glenice

 The background fabric was printed onto cotton sheet using my computer. It was a scan of a piece of paper which had been painted with acrylics. Free machine embroidery and quilting over silk scraps appliqued to the surface. The faint white stitches delineate the A5 edges.

"Fairground" - made for Meryl

 My own printed fabric with thermofax and stencils over a piece of cloth originally used to mop up spills of dye. Free machine embroidery of the figures.

"Celebration" - made for Anita

The background is a piece of silk which I had dyed. Silk and satin pieces appliqued over free machine embroidery. The strings are couched in place.

Lastly, the "Build a house in a day" challenge which Pinfold members took part in earlier this week. Needless to say the basic house was completed during the session, but the stitching took rather longer. I still haven't quite finished it.

 I still need to stitch the tree and tree trunk. The idea came from this bag which I found in the latest edition of "Love Sewing". Still not sure whether this will turn into a cushion or a wall hanging.

Printed fabric and introducing Humphrey.

Newly printed fabric drying

More fabric drying

These are the fabrics I printed using some of the fabric I showed last time - I have used fabric paints to print these. I wanted to collect together some samples using different types of print media ready for a print workshop I am giving later in the year.

My print board

 I just love the patterns collecting on my large print board. It gets more interesting each time I use it. The small board wasn't required this time since I was working outside. However, that is collecting some interesting patterns too.

Printed dyecatcher which had been used to clean up after another dyeing workshop.

Another printed dyecatcher. Having a paperlike texture, they print really well.

This piece had been printed before being dyed.
I have added the same design over the top using a thermofax.

I really enjoyed the session and managed to print quite a few pieces, The last one shown above is one of my favourites since it is going to be such a useful background for something one day.

Humphrey

I need to introduce Humphrey, a small dog made during a short workshop with Alsager Creative Stitchers. Such fun. Rosemary, who lead the session made a small butterfly for each of us to attach to our little figures. You can see the other creatures here.

That butterfly. So sweet.

Humphrey is barely 2.75inches tall (7.5cm) and the butterfly is just one inch (3cm) wingtip to wingtip.

Rowan Apache

At the meeting I was asked if I could complete this project - the design is called Apache and is by Sarah Hatton for Rowan. The yarn is Summer Tweed. Since the back had been completed and the two fronts only needed a little alteration before completion, it really didn't take long to complete. The top is now finished and ready to be returned. Hopefully, I should be able to hand it over next week.