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

Bits, bobs and brooches

 

Hi folks and thank you for popping in.
This week I have been using up some leftovers and making some small projects.

They will probably be going towards a charity craft sale later in the year.
I like the idea of making a box of stuff that can be added to
when in need of a "small fix" of sewing, between the bigger projects.
 I used to make things for the school fair but our primary school days are now well and truly over!

 

First up were these brooches..



 

I had a shape in mind and hunted for a tutorial but couldn't find the right one, so after a bit of playing around and a few false starts these were the result. Has anyone else found a good fabric flower tutorial that I may have missed?

It's early days yet and there is a bit more experimenting to do shape wise..
 

 

The very first one was made to put on Mum's birthday present...
 

Next up were a pile of little 4" pockets ready to be made into lavender bags.

Most of the material is left over baby quilt fabric.  

 

 

 

And finally some little 4"(ish!) pincushions.. 

 

 

with recycled denim on the reverse and a little tab for decoration. The cute tab was tape given to me by a sewing friend so I'm not sure of the source, sorry.
 

 If anyone has any other ideas for craft sale makes,  I'd be grateful for some tips?
 

I hope you have a good week.
Vicky x

Life and Lavender Bags

Sorry for the lack of posts and thank you for coming back to look!

I will be up and sewing soon.

A bit of this and that..

Finally a sunny day when I am not working and a chance to take some photos!

This was a mini quilt made to sit on top of a table to protect it from mug marks and scratches.

I appliqued some felt circles which is a style used by Wendy Williams in her lovely book

"Wild Blooms and Colorful Creatures".

The Bees are two lavender bags made from this years crop of lavender. 

One is now in my car and the other has been purloined by child two.

Then there was a tunic dress which I made using the basic pattern for Dress A

 from the Stylish Dress Book mentioned before here and here.

 

I made some alterations in that I took out some of the width and added a capped sleeve and pockets. 

 

Sorry about the poor photo but you get the impression!
The dress is made from denim and the pockets from some more of the Lazy Daisy fabric
by Brandon Mably  that is a favourite of mine.

I have really been enjoying the Frocktober Posts over at The Drapery.
I just wish I lived close enough to visit the shop.

And finally an African Flower Mandala Pot Holder.. 

 

  

This was made using a great tutorial here on a blog called Crochet with Raymond.

 

Unfortunately the blog is no longer in use but there are some lovely tutorials and ideas.

 

 

 

I like the back too and the whole thing was done in a day or two.

I can see a few of these being made for presents, I have already started a second.

 

And the chrysanthemums are a flowering their little hearts out and look like they are enjoying the sunshine as much as me!

 

 

 

Lots to share today...



 

 

Firstly a Sprocket pillow that I made as a Christmas present but didn't get to photo.
 Luckily my friend took some lovely pictures and sent them to me.
The pattern is one of my favourites, and is from an excellent tutorial by Cluck Cluck Sew and is found here.
I made this one from scraps of recycled cord trousers.
 

 

The reverse has a pocket detail which is a back pocket from one of the pairs of trousers!



 

 Next up, and again a favourite, this time a skirt.
New Look pattern 6053 view E.
Made from blue cord and involved my first attempt at a concealed zip. 

 

 

I haven't tried a concealed zip before but having liked the way they look on shop made skirts I thought it was worth a try.
 

 

I'm not even going to attempt to begin to explain how I did it (because I can't!!) but having read various tutorials and watched videos, I found the You Tube video here most helpful for me.

It was fiddly but I really like the result and will definitely use them again.
 

 

Then there was the Jolly Molly situation..
 

 

 

How sad is that!!

I have made a fair few as presents for others and had failed to look at the state of my own.

 

So I set to work with some strips from my stash.

 

I found the most amazing shirt to back it with, and felt grateful for the fact that my brother has such brilliant shirts to recycle my way.

 



 

If you fancy having a go at one yourself you can find my tutorial here.
 

Just had to make a couple of lavender hearts with the scraps and some purple linen/cotton scraps that are left over from the next thing on my 'to make' list- more soon.



  

And finally, my first bunch of narcissi from a local stall..
 

 

Have a good week.

 

Bitesized crafting!

My daughter was on BBC Bitesize looking something up this week and I thought that it was a good description of my sewing and crochet at the moment.

Not much time, so small projects that can be finished quickly - bitesized crafting.

I received a lovely present of 6 balls of Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino this Christmas

 (thanks Mum!).

The possibilities are endless.

So far I have made a pair of fingerless gloves..
 

I have made some of these before and they are based on the idea by Lucy at Attic 24.
(Blowed if I can actually find the gloves over there, sorry!)

 

Basically just two rectangles sewn  up the sides leaving a gap for the thumbs.
Thumb hole edged with double crochet.

This time I put some scalloped edging around the wrist end that has the added benefit of making it a bit more stretchy around your arm.

 

And now I've started a granny square that I think will be a cushion..
 

And my final bit of bitesized crafting is a lavender bag that I have made for my stinky car.

 

I think it's a combination of wet dog and a back window that was left open,
 but anyway it needs a bit of lavender!

Hope you have a good weekend.

Lavender Heart Tutorial

 

I thought I would do a little tutorial as I haven't done one for a bit.

 

It's a good one for using up scraps especially the ends of strips if, like me,

you have just made a peg bag.

 

Anyway start by drawing up a template heart.

 Mine is about 16cm in height and 15cm across but you can make it however big you like.

I made mine from cardboard.

Place the template on a piece of plain fabric.
This piece will be covered in a minute so any old scrap will do. I used an old pillow case.
Draw round the heart template using a fabric marker (or biro!).

Next lay some small strips of fabric over the heart until you get a colour and pattern combination
 you like and the heart is completely covered.

Then take the strips off, placing them on one side and keeping them in order.

Place the plain fabric with the heart drawn on it, right side down on the mat in front of you.

Take the first strip and place it right side up on the top of the backing fabric (mine is a bit further down to show you the placing but it's ok as long as the heart is covered.
Then take the second strip and place it right side down on top of the first strip, matching the bottom edges, and sew a straight 1/4" seam through all three layers as shown below.
Then open out the second strip so they are both right sides up and press.

Add the next strip in the same way, right side down onto edge of second strip and continue until the background is covered.
I think this method is called 'stitch and flip'.
 

 

If you turn this over you should now have the heart shape drawn on the back..





which can be used to cut the heart out.
 

 

 

Next, it's time to make the back of lavender bag.
 

This can be made of any fabric really but I like to use linen.

If, like me, you haven't got a big enough piece,

 just join two bits together and add a bit of ric rac or ribbon to cover the join.
 

You can also add a bit of embroidery if you want to.

 Here I used two strands of Anchor embroidery thread and backstitched the letters free hand.
 

 

 

Place the linen on the table right side up, and place the fabric heart on top of it right side down.

Pin in place, keeping any embroidery roughly in the middle of the heart.

Sew around the edge about 1/4" in, through all layers, leaving a 2" gap for stuffing.

 

(You can also add a loop of string at the top of the heart, in between the two layers before sewing this bit if you want it to hang up. Remember to put the loop in the middle and the ends sticking out so that when you turn it inside out the loop will be on the right side.)
 

 

 

Trim away the excess linen, and clip the curves before turning right sides out.

Press with an iron before filling, as this helps the finished heart to look neater.

 

I filled mine with half lavender and half toy stuffing as I think this keeps it's shape longer but it's up to you.

Sew up the opening by hand (I use ladder stitch for this bit).
 

 

 

 

 

Alterations

I hate alterations.

The laborious unpicking of seams that have already been finished off securely is one of my least favourite things, but this week my thrifty (some would say scottish!) genes took over.

First it was the blouse.

It was far better than the first attempt but nevertheless has remained in the wardrobe. Not helped by my daughter who said that it looked like a uniform (and she was right).

So after a little unpicking and a bit of bias binding I think it may be wearable.

Then there were the school trousers.

He wanted long shorts.

I found a pair of longs that were scuffed around the bottom (well that's most of them really) and chopped them off.

Then I used the bit I'd chopped off to fashion a pocket..

And ta da..

And they must be OK since he has worn them all week.

 

While all this making was going on inside, outside in the fields around us they have been busy, cutting the grass and making haylage.

I love watching the process.

And finally, a little lavender house with the end of the lavender from last year as the new lavender grows.

A swap for some ornamental grass.