Downloaded....

...patterns..they may be instant but take a while to stick together and then trace....

This is for The Brooklyn Coat from Tesutti..hopefully I will get it cut out while waiting for paint to dry!

Well.....

...that wasn't the start to the new year I wanted....three days into 2017 and I ended up in A&E at two am. Luckily twenty two hours later I was home ( an attack of AF)
This year I'm trying to get through the fabric stash mountain. This is hopefully a wearable toile but I'm not holding my breath. Marcy Tilton patterns turn out a little on the large size... I think I should have bought the medium. The fabric is something I bought from a fellow member of The Sewing Forum, it's a waxed cotton, terrible to press and a tad hard to sew. (the forum is down at the moment, hope it will be back soon )

But look at that lovely welt pocket!

bright cotton poplin lining.

It's all but done... just waiting to find the right buttons.

Stuffed!

....last week I took a workshop with Jaki Bogg.... Textile taxidermy.
What a great day

I had no idea how these things were contructed..till I had a prod and poke at the sample... it's easy when you know how. Contruction was a bit slow because it's all hand stitched and I had a hard time trying not to be too neat...it's supposed to look shabby, I did try! and for once I followed the instuctions.

I used bits from my Linton Tweeds collection.It's quite a large piece, around18 inches tall.

If you get the chance to do this workshop then I would thoroughly recommend it.

I've Found..

..a little time to finish the binding on this quilt...

The fabric is Peanut Butter and Jelly by Basic Grey for Moda...Sadly Basic Grey are no longer making paper products.

only a little way to go.

Almost...

...forgot! It's time for the Crafty Individual's challenge. The theme for January is Lace, Buttons and Bits and Bobs. I've used the CI 358 stamp inside the embroidery hoop die by Eileen Hull for Sizzix

The stitching is on paper but you could stamp it onto fabric with a fabric transfer ink pad, put it in a real hoop and embroider it.

If you would like to take part in the challenge then hop on over here and upload your project

Not Much...

..Gluing and sticking going on but there's been a bit of sewing...
Being a little on the large size and a certain age stylish summer cotton tops are hard to come by..so out came the sewing machine

The Alder shirt dress has everything I wanted.. fitted around the bust but lots of room around the middle for a cool comfortable fit.

I shortened it to fingertip length to wear over cropped jeans.

I just love the yellow elephant fabric.... from Regency Rags, it's a lovely soft cotton lawn.

The pattern needed the usual adjustments.. a FBA...a dart out of the neckline and an added smidge on the side seams... It worked out so well I made another, you can see the fabric in the first picture. 

It seems the mojo just might be making a comeback... fingers crossed.

Just Got....

..To love these little critters...

 and I'd like to say they were my idea but they're not.. I just followed the instructions.... there's a first!
If you would like to make some too then here's where you can find the pattern..be warned she has some fabulous things..
Happy sewing.

Cutting It....

.. Fine, I've got around four days to get this stitched together. It's cut out, the toile has been done and fitted so it should be fairly straight forward..I'm making the black and white version, it has a V shaped back too.

Wish my waist looked like that... it definitely won't in a size 20!

Though all that fullness hides a multitude of sins!

All Dressed

..Up.. I don't often go to big  events (anti social springs to mind !) and therefore don't have any dress up kind of clothes so I had to make something. This is Simplicity 1459. I wasn't sure about the big collar but... it balances out my big hips. This floral one was a practice dress, the fabric is Rose Trellis by Michael Miller from The Sewing Center in Scarborough. I think it's worked out quite well..... and it fits.

It was a bit on the short side so I has to use bias tape to hem it.. so I dug into my vintage stash.

The buttons weren't the right colour so I used a Copic pen, perfect match

This is the one I actually wore.. I love the fabric, it has birds, feathers, masks in picture frames all in a lovely cotton sateen... a bit

Commedia dell'arte.. It was the bargain price of £2 a metre fom Immanuels in Burnley. 

The Wheels....

... Have fallen off!...this little wheeled vintage sewing table has been in the loft forever..
I've decided to give it a new lease of life..Sadly the interior has to go, it's stained and a bit whiffy..
I'm not doing it shabby chic...

it's getting a proper coat of white satin paint.. undercoat and all.. the sides will be covered with some of my 'best' papers.

and the inside with something bright and cheerful... shouldn't take too long!

A Little....

...Retail therapy never hurt anyone..
Bank holidays mean car boot sales...I bought some printers blocks

Some fabulous vintage glass baubles... I managed to haggle and got them half price.

Earlier in the week I shopped in Standfast and Barrack's mill shop in Lancaster, going to make bags with this to sell at out next craft fair

Some more bag material from Immanuele's in Burnley... what a place!

and quilting fabric from The Sewing Centre Scarborough.. well worth a visit, this is for aprons and quilts. 

 

 couldn't resist this kitsch little deer.. he's destined for aprons too.

and finally a piece of Liberty linen... soon to be a jacket...for me.

I Love...

... Lucy!

I've been busy making aprons for our next event at the end of the month...

If you're interested then the details are on our FB page... there's a link in my sidebar.
I need to get the 'Glue and Stick' head back on... I feel the need for paper!

Wise... Revisited...

.. You may remember this post...It is the most commented upon post I've ever had..Thank you everyone.    Nicestuff have  two fairs next weekend ( check out the Nicestuff  link in the sidebar if you want more info) so I thought I'd make a few to take along...

I hope people will like them.

Quite the little parliament.....What a hoot!

It's Back On...

...With the sewing head..I've become quite a fan of Marci and Katherine Tilton 
Their patterns are quirky and what's more important loose fitting and ageless, I love this jacket. I've made it in a yellow mustard knitted boucle but have plans to make it in a linen stripe... if I can find any fabric...

Talking of fabric there are some stunning prints on their website but postage from the US is becoming prohibitive...

I won't show any pictures of the latest 'bin job'!

No Fitting....

... Required!.. a little bit of relaxing sewing, one size fits all!

A small Christmas table runner,35 x 96 cm approx. this will probably end up on the Nice Stuff stall sometime in the future.

It was made using this ruler

It Seemed....

... like a good idea at the time...I started my crafting life as a dressmaker.. (some time ago) but it has taken a back seat for sometime now...after a long break I made a few dresses last year which were successful so I decided to spend a little more time sewing.....Dear me I now know why I took a long break...I wanted a sleeveless shirt dress, nothing complicated..After numerous alterations to the pattern and two toiles, a day of putting it together

IT'S NOW IN THE BIN!

..and the revers were perfect!....you know when something feels like it's wearing you instead of you wearing it?... well that's how it felt....and it looked just like an old ladies overall!....the more I looked at it I just couldn't get that thought out of my head.
I just can't find anything in the shops that I like that fits.... WHITE STUFF... MAKE BIGGER SIZES!
Maybe I should stop eating pies.... now where's that cup of tea and piece of cake.

Pinned!

.......I've been busy... A friend and myself have taken the plunge and decided to sell some of our stuff!
A lot of quilts are going (hopefully) but I wanted some small pieces as well so I made pin cushions. We have a few local craft fairs booked ....there will be a Face Book page ( not my department... I don't do FB) with info of where and when we will be.. as soon as it is up and running I'll post a link.
We have decided to call our little project Nice Stuff.

This is how I made the pin cushions.

Cut two circles of fabric .. I used the Big Shot.

Stitch around the edge... cut an opening in the center, this eliminates sewing up after stuffing

Stuff and roughly close up the hole.Cut a flower from felt..I used the large flowers die 

Take a length of  thread, long enough to wrap 4 times around the pin cushion, start by inserting the needle in at  the top and out at the bottom, repeat between each petal pulling the thread tight. 

Sew  a button on the bottom

And the top..

.. Now you don't need to buy one of mine ... you can make your own!

I'm Not So....

..Enthusiastic about this quilt now I've started it, I loved the fabric when I bought it ( French General,  Le Petite Ecole from Moda  It's more muted in the flesh.) it just doesn't appeal anymore
But I've started it so I'll finish it.

The oblong diamond was created by stitching squares at each corner and flipping over..then trimming.

Here are all the trimmed corners.... yes I've stitched them all together...

Maybe I'll get around to making something with them....Project 574!