Star MJ

 

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.  

 

 

I love linen.

The softness when it has been washed may times,

the crisp lines after pressing and the way it moves and crinkles.
 

 

It is combined here with some Tilda fabrics used to make eight point stars.  

 

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

 

 

 

 

Did I mention lavender..

 

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.
 

 

 

 

And here they are resting on my other work in progress..
 

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

Happy sewing xx

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.



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..



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.



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

Sunshine and stars

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.



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!!



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.




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.



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..



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.



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

Tunic and a cheat!

 

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 ..

 

 

and here is a view of the back...

On to other things...

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.

 

  

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. 

 

xx

 

 

Spring "Snow"

 

Two cushions on their way to my brother who requested them for his birthday,

 I like those sorts of requests!

The fish panels are quite a thick furnishing fabric and the borders are linen,
quilted with the bubbles onto some cotton wadding to give them some shape.
 

I have been doing a crochet cushion cover using the left over bits of Moorland yarn from my blanket.
It is good to have a slightly smaller project while I ponder on the next blanket.  

 

The peace above is surrounded by the scattered wisteria petals which along with the cherry blossom are making a sort of "spring snow" all over the garden.

The smell from the wisteria has been gorgeous this year and it is really starting to cover the pergola we built about 8 years ago. With hindsight I should have put a Clematis Montana or something in to spread more quickly while we waited but never mind.
 

 

It has been worth the wait.

I was asked by a friend to come up with some fish ideas for a craft workshop type thing. They have to cover all abilities but not take too long. So far I have crochet fish, fish lavender bags, recycled jumper fish and lavender fish!
If anyone else has any ideas I would be grateful if you could let me know?!
I think pillows/cushions would take too long.
Also it has to be hand sewing not machine which limits it a bit.  

 

 

 It is a wet and rainy day here but the bluebells in the wood are still full of colour if a little bowed under the weight of all the rain drops!!
 

Another very blustery day

 

My Moorland Blanket is coming along slowly and I am now on part 3.

I lam loving the pinky purpley heather colours

and they go rather nicely with this little patch of wild cyclamen in the garden don't you think?

 

The wavy pattern of this blanket produces a lovely dense feel to it which is nice and warm to sit under on these cold evenings. I can't wait to see what Lucy does for the edging because that is often my favourite bit.

 

I have also been finishing up this quilt, started a while ago now and blogged here.
 

 

The background is made up of 10" squares of recycled shirt fabrics.

The applique design was very much inspired by the quilt called Summer Chelsea by Pauline Smith in the book Kaffe Quilts Again. I have added some felt circles to the centre of some of the flowers and used embroidery to embellish them. The leaves are also felt.

 

 

I really like the simplicity of Pauline's flower design and also the stripy stems.

 

 

It is very blustery here today with lots of clouds scooting through at regular intervals,

so I am afraid the photos aren't great but at least I had a helper

to hold it up when it kept blowing off the hedge! 

 

And finally two little patchwork key fobs or mini lavender bags (just two and a half inch squares).

My way of using up a few treasured scraps while watching a film.

I wish you could smell them too.

xx

Spring and sewing

 

Spring is springing here in Cornwall and we have had a few lovely days although it is damp and chilly today with no blue sky in sight so I am happily tucked up in my attic space and intending to have a whole day of undisturbed sewing...bliss!

 

 

The daffs are up but not many of them out yet but the snow drops are a real picture.

 

 

This is my latest Jolly Molly (or oven gloves to be boring) made from scraps as usual and my method described here. This time I have decided to try some proper heat resistant wadding for the filling instead of the usual bit of blanket to see if it makes any major difference...I will let you know!

 

 

The reverse was recycled shirt and jeans. I am really loving recycled denim at the moment and have spent far too long on Pinterest looking at things like this and this and this.

 

 

 

And finally another cushion.

This one is off to another retiring colleague as a gift.

 

 

Simple 4" squares, a blob or two of applique and embroidery and some hand quilting.

 

Happy sewing.

xx

In the nick of time.

Just to share this one before it goes off to be delivered..

 

 

Luckily there was some lovely light this morning to catch it but I suddenly realised that the spot I had chosen was really a bit messy if you pan out..
 

 

The watering can has most definitely seen better days..
 

 

and the upturned yellow trug has holes in but I keep it to clean out the chickens!

 

Anyway, the cushion is finished on time and that's the main thing so I am off

to deliver it to where it needs to go.

xx

Lots of work in progress..

 

I seem to have a lot of work in progress at the moment and can't quite decide which to work on first.

The lovely yarn is a Moorland Yarn Pack which I received for Christmas and enables me to join the CAL started by Lucy from Attic24 last Friday.
Unusually for me, I did do the test samples to check the gauge and hook size needed. Consequently I am only on the 8th colour out of 20 for this week so may take a bit longer than expected
but that's ok I am not in a rush.
It is a lovely pattern and the beginning of the blanket feels very dense and cosy.
It was intended as a present but I am getting very attached to it already!

I just cant resist a close up of those gorgeous colours..

 

The other work in progress are a pair of oven gloves to replace our very tired looking ones, and a cushion. The cushion was inspired by this one I found on pinterest and is only in the early stages.

 

Anyway I had better get going and do some sewing or none of them will ever get done!

 

Happy new year to you all.

xx