Sunday 5 November 2017

Star MJ

Star MJ Quilt
 
This quilt started life as a soft linen shirt given to me for recycling.
The shirt belonged to a friend of a friend who had sadly passed away, but the person who gave it to me shares my love of making things and recycling and so I pondered on what best to do with it.  
 
Star MJ Quilt
 
I love linen.
The softness when it has been washed may times,
the crisp lines after pressing and the way it moves and crinkles.
 
Star MJ Quilt
 
It is combined here with some Tilda fabrics used to make eight point stars.  

Star MJ Quilt
 
Hand quilted with simple squares and bound with some red linen bias.
Finished size is 33 by 44 inches.
 
Star MJ Quilt
 
 
 
 

Wednesday 1 November 2017

Burgandy Skirt

Wine skirt
 
Finished this one last week.
It's a simple A line skirt made from some thick burgundy linen
which was in the remnant bucket in the lovely Stone Fabrics.
It was a close shave getting the pattern out of the odd shaped remnants
and I had a seam centre front and back to make it fit.
Since the Hadley Top I am a fan of top stitched seams and used them here to finish the centre seams.

Wine skirt
 
This isn't really a great picture of the skirt as it doesn't do justice to the colour somehow
but you get the gist.

Skirt facing
 
And just take a peep at the facing which I edged with some spare liberty bias
left over from another project. I love it when a little piece of leftovers
 is a perfect match for what you need.

Scabious
 
Also just had to share these beautiful Scabious flowers 
which I got from a local roadside stall this afternoon and couldn't resist.

Wednesday 11 October 2017

Hadley Top number one..

Hadley Top
 
I have been admiring all the Hadley Tops on Pinterest and Instagram since it came out and took the leap last week, printing out the pages of pattern. The instant access of digital patterns is great and I even quite like the job of cutting and sticking all the A4 sheets together a bit like a jigsaw
- sad I know! 

Hadley Top
 
The pattern is the latest from Grainline Studio. It comes with great instructions and
there are even tutorials over on her blog if you need extra help.  

Hadley Top
 
One of my favourite things about this pattern is the dipped hemline at the back
which gives it a lovely shape.
This fabric is a soft, indigo dyed cotton and I used a fine linen for the facings to give it extra shape.  
 
Hadley Top
 
Sorry about the indoor photos but the weather is awful here today and I couldn't wait to share it.
Hadley Top number 2 is already cut out from some linen I had in my stash...
 
Have any of you tried any Hadley's?

Saturday 23 September 2017

Eclectic Blue

True blue cushion
 
Just finished and now hoping to get it in the post ASAP.
As I said the cushion is for my niece and the colour was based on a quillow made for her by my Mum. I cheekily asked for the leftovers and set to work adding in scraps of linen from my stash. Linen is a favourite for making clothes and there are always bits left over from cutting out patterns so I have quite a collection and luckily much of it is blue!

After piecing together the front, I quilted it onto a piece of cotton wadding.
There was no great plan so it was very much make it up as you go along...  

WIP
 
As the nights are drawing in, the machine quilting was mainly done in artificial light 

WIP
 
but I managed to find some daylight hours to add in some hand quilting..

True blue cushion
 
Can't believe the cheek of this little fellow who decided to take a look! 

True blue cushion
 
The blue shirt used for the reverse of the cushion actually came from my brother..her Dad.. 

True blue cushion

  So all in all it was a bit of an eclectic mix,
with a big dash of love and good luck wishes in there too.
xx
 
True blue cushion

Sunday 17 September 2017

Did I mention lavender..

Lavender bags
 
Three lavender bags smelling wonderful with the first of this years lavender. The smell has been filling my little roof space but they are packaged up now, ready as a gift for a friend.
 
lavender bags
 
 
lavender bags
 
And here they are resting on my other work in progress..
 
WIP cushion cover
 
the start of a cushion cover for a niece who is off to Uni this week. I am a bit behind really so I have given her the cushion pad to take with her and the cover will be following in the post!
 I don't know about you but making a present like this is my way of thinking about her as she sets off on a new venture.

Mini lavender bag 
 
And finally this tiny lavender bag/key ring.
You may remember me making a bunch of these last year and they have been more useful than I had anticipated so there will be a few more this year too.
 
Mini lavender bag
 
Happy sewing xx

Thursday 24 August 2017

Summer harvests

 
 We have been away camping and I have done very little sewing over the last few weeks but did take my crochet blanket with us for a bit of relaxing crochet. It has been dragged about a bit and I keep finding bits of grass and undergrowth caught in the stitches but they are easily pulled out.    
 
I am enjoying the bright summer colours mixed with the more gentle greys and this lovely ripple pattern is an old favourite. Lucy from Attic 24 has a really good pattern on her blog here.  



 
The apples are starting to drop now and I have been picking them up ready to take to the apple man for pressing. Every year he says that it is getting too much for him  and I just keep hoping that he will still be there next year. It is such a brilliant way to use the apples as there are only so many apple crumbles you can eat! The juice is pasteurised and keeps for ages- makes good Christmas gifts too.  
 
 
I don't mind picking up the fallen apples and am always helped by Tally who likes to chew on a few as we go along.

 
The other harvesting going on around here is lavender. A really good crop and so there should be plenty for making lavender bags once it is dried.  
 
 
Hope you are having a good summer too.
xx

Thursday 6 July 2017

Making me smile :)

The new dress is in regular use and looks much better in the sunlight with a bit of blue sky and a splash of aconitum..

Dress IS in use

Other things making me smile:

The first Hollyhock flower of the season is open..

first Hollyhock flower of the year

The old teasels have survived to stand beside the new ones..

teasels old and new

And this little pot of Marguerite daisies stands by the front door to welcome us home each evening..

Marguerite daisy


Wednesday 28 June 2017

Dress IS

Dress IS

Photos not great sorry,  but it is pouring down outside and I can't seem to coordinate time and sunshine at the moment. Anyway, the dress pattern is an old favourite which is a combination of two dresses from the Stylish Dress Book by Yoshiko Tsukiori- dresses I and S.
My previous ones are here and here if you want to take a peek, both linen.

Dress IS

This time I made the pattern up slightly looser initially because the last one pulled a bit sometimes across the back. I then got the usually direct but often helpful feedback from child number one, who said it was a bit "sack-like"!! She was right I think, and I decided the best option, (not to mention the easiest one due to not having to take out the zip) was to try a couple of rows of shearing elastic across the back..

Dress IS

This is a technique I learnt while make a Washi Dress- seen here - which is another favourite. The Washi Dress has 6 rows of shearing and the stretchiness of it makes it super comfortable.

The fabric, mentioned in my last post, is Indigo Pond Life bought from Merchant and Mills. It is such a soft cotton and drapes well. I used a double thickness to line the bodice and a plain muslin to line the skirt.

Dress IS

All in all it has worked out ok which is a good job because the black one has finally worn out.
xx

Sunday 18 June 2017

Sunshine and stars

WIP

The ripple blanket is growing slowly, ideal for carrying round for a sneaky bit of hooky while waiting to pick up various people from various places, you know how it is.

WIP

The colours are still a bit of "make it up as you go along" but I find the regular bits of grey help to tie it all together. I didn't used to like grey that much as a colour to work with but maybe it has something to do with the fact that I have a slowly increasing number of grey hairs that I am trying to embrace!!

Apatched knee

This was just a very quick project finished out of necessity. My favourite jeans developed a hole and it may be stylish for the kids to have ripped jeans but I felt a bit of a pillock. I have been looking at some sewing ideas on Pinterest here, and here, and thought I could try a bit out on the offending hole.


New fabric

This beauty arrived all wonderfully packaged from Merchant and Mills a couple of weeks ago and I have finally decided it will be a dress. The fabric is Indigo Pond Life and is a really soft cotton. More to come on that one.

WIP

Why is it when you are trying to get a picture that there often seems to be a slight gust of wind just at the wrong moment..

WIP

That's better. Five little stars, another work in progress. Using linen recycled from a shirt and some Tilda fabric kindly bought for me for my birthday. Thanks Mum and Dad.

Antirrhinums

And finally just had to mention these lovelies- last years antirrhinums which survived over winter and are just flowering their hearts out and making me smile.
xx

Sunday 4 June 2017

Tunic and a cheat!

Dress E
 
Just finished a new tunic.
The pattern was taken from the "Stylish Dress Book" by Yoshiko Tsukiori. I love the Japanese pattern books and spend hours looking at the pictures, trying to imagine the patterns made up in different fabrics. The blog "Make Something" written by Karyn is really helpful because she has made up a number of the patterns which she kindly shares. The dresses can look so different depending on the fabric and length chosen and Karyn has made things I wouldn't have tried from the book, but that end up looking completely different. 
This is Dress E, made without sleeves,  just binding the arm hole edges with bias strips cut from the dress fabric. The pleated front panel and gathers along the back make it a super comfy dress or tunic. And it's got pockets too, my Nan would have approved!
It's a very light weight and soft cotton, indigo dyed I think.
 
I have made the pattern before in a linen cotton mix, with sleeves. Just to compare here it is ..
 
Blue linen dress
 
and here is a view of the back...

Blue linen dress

On to other things...

Cushion detail

This cushion was made using left over Moorland Blanket (more here) yarn
and it is already in use on the sofa. It's a bit of a cheat if I am honest as I just sort of appliqued it on top of the old cushion front that had seen better days, reusing the back with a zippered opening.
Super quick and very lazy of me but sometimes a bit of a cheat is ok I think.
 
Cushion and start of a new ripple blanket
  
In the basket is my next crochet project, a new ripple blanket using two shades of grey and other leftovers from various projects. It's a "make it up as you go" project because my leftovers basket was starting to overflow. 

Blabket detail
 
xx