A Christmas Treat

Hello and I hope you are all relaxed and ready for the big day without too much stress.  There seems to be too much stress for my liking around what is supposed to be such a peaceful day Anyway we decided to have a gift for each other ( that is my husband and I) in the form of a day out.  We decided to go and see Chatsworth house all decorated for Christmas on Friday, it was such a lovely day and I am glad we went even though it rained all day long!  We still had a walk in the gardens too with the brolly up.  Here are a few festive images of Chatsworth House for you...

 As we walked around different rooms were decorated for different countries so it is really worth a look if you can get over to Yorkshire over the holidays.

 My husband managed to get much better photos than I did, it was very atmospheric but my camera didn't like that.

We are going to return in the summer to do the gardens only but in fairer weather.

I made a bag to order last week also for a friend, this one will be a gift for her daughter.  I am pretty confident she will have never seen this blog so I am ok to share here.

Not so much recycled with this one as I let her choose what materials she wanted so they were all ordered special.  She seemed very pleased with it so that is positive.

I also did one of my Minerva makes this morning, I have three as they all turned up at once but now I am off work it is the time to get on with things.  I chose this faux leather for bag making but as it is light I made a top instead.

It has a crumpled effect, so it doesn't matter if you don't want to iron.

Well that is all for today, I hope you have a Happy Christmas .

A Christmas Dachshund Poppy Top

That title is quite a mouthful isn't it? Well here is my latest Christmas sewing make, when I was in my local fabric shop last week I saw this gorgeous cotton fabric that is just perfect for Christmas, the shop is Happy Hare and if you are in the Sheffield area I suggest you have a look.  They have a lovely selection of craft fabrics and are really friendly, they also do lots of classes if you are looking to improve your skills.

Now I only bought a metre as I didn't know what I wanted it for but when I got home I saw this Poppy top pattern from Simple Sew that my friend passed on to me a while ago.  It does say it requires more fabric on the  pattern but there is always a way!  For me it was just a case of places my pieces right up to the very edges and making the facings and sleeves shorter.  It was a squeeze but I just managed it.  I am very satisfied with the tiny pieces that are left ;)  here is the finished top and I will talk you through the rest below.

The light in here was not great for photographs but I wanted a festive setting!

I will alternate the shots so that you can see the top better, I really like the pleats on this top and they matched up perfectly.  

It has this keyhole detail at the back and I really like that, as you can see I am wearing a top under it but that is only because it is winter.  If I was to make this top in a different fabric for another season it wouldn't need any layering.

I used a little turquoise button to pick out one of the colours in the dogs little Christmas jumpers.

The only other adjustment I made to the pattern other than shortening the facings to fit it on the fabric was to put a little pleat on the sleeves.  The reason for this was that I used cotton fabric and on the cover image the top is clearly made in a floaty fabric.  So my sleeves stood out rather than falling softly onto my shoulders so to counter this I just nipped them in a bit in a little pleat and topstitched it down.

I am very happy with how this top has turned out, it is true to size, it has basic pieces and instructions and would be a very good pattern for a beginner.  In fact I would say if you are stuck for a last minute present for someone who sews then why not get them this pattern, if you are buying fabric too though please check the back of the pattern  and buy them the correct amount.  I am able to squeeze this out of a metre because I know my size well and I have done this before. Also I only just managed it, so you wouldn't want someone to be disappointed by not having enough fabric.  Disclaimer here, I am not sponsored buy Simple Sew I just really loved the pattern. 

Here is my little roll of fabric...

Here are the pattern pieces squashed onto my little piece of fabric...

Obviously I cut them off at top length as this pattern can also be made as a dress, I will probably do that in future as well as making some long sleeved versions of this blouse.

It was a relaxing and very accurate make, the facings lined up beautifully and I didn't need to take it in as sometimes happens with a new pattern.  The pleats on the front are very easy to do  so don't be put off if you are a beginner.

What Christmas clothes have you all been making? Please let me know in the comments below and also if you have this pattern and what your thoughts were. 

Bye for now, take care. 

December...ing

A little earlier in the month this time but I thought I'd make an early start...

Making a winter dress, I bought this fabric a few months ago when I visited my local fabric shop with a friend.  I have only just made the dress as I wanted to save it for Christmas,  I know that when I make something new I always want to wear it straight away so I have saved this for the season.
The fabric is cosmo, it is Japanese and feels like a linen but I am not certain of that.  It is a good weight.

It is now fully complete but I do not have a daylight picture or one of me in it yet I will try to get one over the coming week. I only just had enough fabric so I used binding for the neck and just squeezed enough fabric for strips for the arm holes.   The lining is a combination of black and white lining, I stitched two pieces together to make a piece big enough as I didn't have enough of either colour.
It has a side zip, front and back darts and a couple of small shaping darts at the neckline to stop any gaping.

Here it is when I cut it out, just a few small pieces of fabric left, I

used another shift dress I made previously from my own pattern as a guide to cut around. Most of the shaping and fitting was done on the mannequin with a few tweaks when trying on.

Listening to some wonderful new music on youtube, I found this gorgeous song the other day after hearing it on UCB radio You came anyway by Ashton Lane it is a Christmas song but a little different  but if you listen to it you will hear the story.  Also Matt Kearney The Air I Breathe is another good one.

Designing more bags, I made this one yesterday and added some applique leaves, the coloured cottons are from a little solids sample pack I received with some fabric a while ago they are only about 5cm square but I have found this little use for them.

Paper crafting a card for a friend, I have not made any cards for a while but I enjoyed making this one. They can be time consuming if you make all the parts yourself and then if people just discard them after so you have to weigh up how much you enjoy the process I suppose.  The thing is with other crafts in fabric or yarn you know your efforts will last for more than a coupe of days.

I found a use for old magazines here as the balloons are fabric image pictures cut up.

Thrifting books from the charity shops, a couple for me and a few for friends. I am collecting the original Jane Austin books for myself, I gave up on the Austin project as I was finding they do not do the originals justice.  I picked up The Miniaturist  as I loved it when I borrowed it from the library.  We picked up a couple last week too when we visited but have not got any images of those to hand. I try to find the ones in the best condition.  Here are todays finds...

Eating probably too much in the way of starch, I am finding I need pasta and potatoes and gravy.  Really filling stuff at the moment, it must be the cold weather.  Today I found these gluten free, vegan friendly mince pies in Holland and Barrett.

 I have tried one and they are quite nice if a little crumbly as all gluten free food generally is.

Looking at sewing magazines on youtube, yes I know this sounds a little strange but the idea was that I wanted to get a feel for a few different magazines before subscribing to one.  I was  interested in Burda and Knipmode.  I have tried in the past to get in touch with Knipmode but they never responded to my email.  I found that Saturday Night Stitch on youtube has done browse throughs on both magazines throughout the year so you can get a  feel for them that way.   This was really useful as I  now know that I do not want to subscribe to either as from what I can see a lot of the pattern styles are repeated with very little changes.  What I like is the ideas, so I will use these as a reference point then make the patterns myself just using the images for inspiration.  Go and have a look it is quite fun to look through the magazines and hear the opinions and preferences of others.

Well that is all for today, have a good week.

Using up the Scraps

This dark and dreary weekend I have managed to use up some more of my fabric scraps, some of my own and some gifted from Jo at Three Stories High.  There are still plenty left so expect to see more over the coming months, I have also used some of the bag rings I recycled from the rescued bags my mother in law brought from the charity shop rag bag.  They don't put out on display bags that are tatty but the bag furniture does come in handy, I also hate to see zips going to waste.  Now zips can be a pain to unpick but you have the satisfaction of not having to buy a zip and saving the old one from the bin, win, win.  It is also not so bad to unpick listening to a podcast or watching a show on a dark night. Here are a couple of the bags I have made using odd bits...

So this one has some gifted denim and cord from Jo, cherry fabric scraps that have been appearing in all kinds of things for the last few years and will continue to do so down to the last cm! Also the lining is leftover from a mock jumpsuit I made in the summer.  The design is a bit different on each side for this one.

This second one has some recycled shirts in the mix, a skirt and some new vegan leather. Well not new this week but it was new when I bought it ;)  I also took a little photo of the process as I make a mess on the dining room table.  I am always surprised at going form 'oh what will go with that bit of fabric?' to 'Ooh I like that together!' It just goes to show don't be too hasty in throwing out those oddments.

I have my own little pattern that I made for my own style of bag I did wonder whether it might be something I could have printed up and market but as I am not a big name I wonder about the viability of that?  I know you can have your patterns printed but there  are so many out there already.  I was listening to BBC radio  on the laptop while cutting and sewing most of these, also a few podcasts, it keeps me company and you can learn something new.

The next bag is a custom order that I was asked to make for a colleague, I am certain the person she is gifting it to will have never heard of my blog so I am safe to share.

They have a bit of a love of flamingos in the family so this fabric was ordered just for this, I hope the recipient likes it and appreciates the one off nature of such a gift.   

There is such a lot of stuff out there at the moment that can be bought on mass, cheaper and quicker from China or elsewhere but unless we all want to walk around in exactly the same clothes with all the same accessories cheap and quick is not better in my eyes.  Well ok I do like cheap but when relating to pre-owned bargains not mass produced items.  

In relation to this I also find that I get more pleasure out of finding unusual bits in a charity shop or planning what to make with fabric than I would from just going out shopping for new.  This is probably due to the maker in me but if you go in a shop and there are rails and rails of the same garment doesn't it put you off? When I first began sewing in my teens I remember going out in a particular dress and lots of people asking where I got it, as I made it myself they couldn't go out and buy it off the rail.  They could buy the same fabric and try to recreate if they were inclined but I made the pattern too so chances are there wouldn't be any exactly the same.  I liked that and still do.

There was also an evening of making make up bags, more scrap busting and these smaller projects are great for using up random bits.

All of my above makes are available on my Etsy shop here  apart from the custom flamingo bag.  I do have fabric left so will make another but in a different style, or paired with other colours.

Productive?  Well I haven't been out much and the dogs have been getting restless, I had a hospital appointment Monday and been under the weather since.  A bit drained but I can sew from a chair so that is ok, what with one thing and another I am tired so wonder if I am now a bit anaemic.  Must buy some iron supplements to be safe I think.

On a plus note I did manage to get out today to have lunch  with my two lovely friends.  We went to Jameson's Tea Room and I have never been before, it was wonderful, piano playing, beautiful tea cups and pots.  I told my husband about it after and I could see he didn't get what was so cool about that.  It felt a bit like stepping back in time to a quieter more elegant time, although I do realise that if we did step back to such a time  I would more than likely be serving the tea rather then drinking it!  They were also very good about providing me with GF vegan options an the cook had made GF vegan scones this morning (I emailed a few days ago so my requirements didn't come as a  surprise).

I don't very often go to that part of the city so it made a lovely change and we do hope to get together again before Christmas but with everyone being so busy we can only do our best. 

There were a few books returned to the library, I borrowed a couple of Frederick Backman books more to follow on those later and I also checked my placement in the queue for The Handmaid's Tale I am number five now and The Testaments number 82!  I think I will make an exception and just treat myself to these but perhaps wait for The Testaments in paperback. I think Margaret Atwood has certainly seen a revival in sales from her book being televised.  I have read a few of her other works some good some not so much but all a little odd I think. 

Well that is all for now, let's hope for a brighter week. Back soon.   

Christmas Sewing

Today I have been using up some of my donated fabric, a friend of mine gave me a bag of fabric a while ago with offcuts in it as she knows I will use them up.  This particular piece today was the bottom piece from a curtain project I believe for her little boy.  I have already used some of the other bits and one piece was big enough to make my son a new blind for his room see it here.

I decided to make some Christmas stockings for my Etsy shop, I also added a personalised name tag. People will have to notify me of the name choice of course.  I thought it was a nice way to use up the fabric and I will also be doing a few gift ones.  I have more donated fabric in a different design, my husband said the other piece of fabric is not very Christmassy though!  It has pink and blue splodges on it, I'm sure I could make it festive with a few tree shapes or something.

Anyway here are todays makes, I enjoyed making them.

They are intended for any gender!  It always gets me how the little  boys at school think pink is just for girls and blue for boys, they are just colours and colours are for all of us I say.  I did put a boys name on this one however purely because it was a nice short name and I wasn't hand embroidering a long one that wasn't staying!

I wrote the name on in pencil then just stitched over it by hand, no specialised pen required although if you are afraid of hand stitching there are fabric pens you can buy to just write the names on.

There are now some very small bits of the star fabric left so I am wondering what tiny project I can make with those, maybe a little pencil case if I mix it with something else or a garland?  I vow to have used it by my next post.

It has  been a wet and dreary week this week, dog walking confined to the  pavement as the park is just sludge, heating turned up and feeling tired by 7.00pm.  I refuse to give in to it and stay up until my usual time as I know it is not real and just my body responding to the lack of light.   My husband has bought a stand for his bike so he can train on it when the weather is bad, it was not expensive so a good idea I think.  I do see people getting soaked as they cycle from work and I think no that is not for me, I need fine weather to get me outside on a bike.

I went to watch my friend and colleague in Shrek the musical at the Lyceum on Friday night they have been rehearsing hard for that for months, she said she will miss it now it is over and they have to audition each year to be in it.  That will be my one night out for a while now though I have to say I will not be buying a drink in the theatre again I will smuggle my own in, the prices were ridiculous and my drink wasn't even nice and to top it all you get to drink it from a plastic cup.  The last time we went for my husband's birthday  he had a bottle of water in his back pocket and they didn't check him, just my bag so note to self big pockets ;)

There has been an assortment of books started and cast aside recently, the most recent is 'Crushed' once again a book in the general section that I am sure is more for teenage girls, I got so far and could go no further.  I am at a point where there are so many books I really don't need to force myself to finish them.  I do have a bit of a problem with that and I think it started as a child, like I have failed if I don't finish it, so I am being ruthless as reading is supposed to be a pleasure not a chore.   I am currently reading 'This is Your Brain on Music' by Daniel Levitin, I've had it a few weeks and just renewed it as the other bad books have taken up too much of my time.

I'm off now to finish my jobs, ' The War of the Worlds' starts tonight so I am going to give that a go, back soon.  Take care.

Autumn Makes

I have made a quick long sleeved t-shirt today, these are the things I tend to do in the colder months as my sewing area is very cold even with the heating on!  My sewing table is in a room off the kitchen that has a tiled floor and at this time of year that is not a good choice unless you have under floor heating and I don't.  I suggested putting a rug under the sewing table and my chair earlier but my husband said the table won't sit properly on it.  As the dogs have the run of that room when we are out replacing the flooring is not an option in case of accidents.

Anyway I will give you a peak of the t-shirt now, no pattern required just cut around an existing one and I am enjoying doing v-necks now so this is another V-neck.  The fabric was bought a few weeks ago at John Lewis, I got away with .80 of a metres just to save a few pounds.  I loved the soft feel of the jersey and the little stars so I thought I would just go ahead and treat myself.

The fabric was lovely to sew as well, I just did a double fold on the sleeves and hem and the neckline has bias binding. This is going to be the season of the long sleeved t-shirt for me, I love craft cotton prints but these are the clothes I wear so there will be more comfy jersey sewing going on.

I am also making tops a little longer to keep out the cold, tucked in or left out are versatile.

Another little make was a pumpkin pin cushion copied from Jo at Three Stories High she very kindly sent me the link at the bottom of my last post so I had a look and made one for myself.   I have to say I stabbed my fingers about four times trying to push the needle all the way through, there was a bit of cursing going on.  There are now some strategically placed pins covering the blood spots on the pumpkin.

To be honest I am not sure my version looks very pumpkin like but oh well it does the job.

There has been another bag created for my etsy shop, I popped that one on last week and also linked it to facebook.  That did give it an initial boost in views but they promptly went back down to just a few the next day.  I am trying all I can and reading all the tips, advice appreciated.

Earlier this week I finished The Salt Path, it was quite an emotional read so I now need something a bit uplifting to follow that up.  When I started the book I thought there was going to be more of a resolution for the couple and while they may have discovered a lot about themselves on this journey I am still astounded by the way they were wronged by a former friend.  If you have read this book you will understand what I am referring to, the idea that people can have their lives snatched from them in such a way is just too dreadful. 

As always book recommendations are welcome I always add your tips to my library reading list. That is all for now, I am off to find a film to watch on the T.V take care everyone. 

Free Craft

On the run up to Christmas (there I mentioned it!) I was wondering how many of you are searching for free crafts and patterns.  There are certainly many kits and ideas available to buy but isn't that moving away from the traditional idea of a frugal crafter?  I am not saying we shouldn't buy or treat ourselves to these items but ideally it is wonderful to use what we have or make something new from old when we can.

I have had denim and fabrics passed onto me from friends, my mother in law currently has some old handbags she has held onto because she knows I will unpick the zips and hardware from them, I was even given some vinyl floor samples once 'to do something with'.

It used to be the norm to salvage things and make new and then came the fast fashion years and everyone seemed to turn away from homemade.  Things are changing and people are beginning to see the value in reusing and buying items to last, the only downside is that charity shops are not as cheap as they used to be as they have grown in popularity.  This could have a negative effect as people may be turned off from buying a used item when they can get a new one for less, just a thought.

It is wonderful to see all the colourful quilts that fellow  bloggers are making and I think that has to be one of the best uses for scrap fabrics.  The designs are unique and totally eye catching, I have only done a little quilting and patchwork myself but the results always surprise me I feel no matter what your skill level we can all do something.  Many templates are available for free, here are some of my past scrap busting projects.

This is leaf is great for scraps.

My cathedral window is a bit wonky but colourful.

These two cushions are again a great way to use up scraps, the pink one is called pin wheel and takes a bit more work but I like it and have done a couple of those.  I think with any kind of patchwork you can make something bold and different, and better than anything you would find in the shops.

I don't how many of you out there this will appeal to but it is certainly worth a look and it is the range of free printables available on Papercraft inspirations  website.  Even if you are not into papercraft yourself you may have children to keep busy on the dark nights up to Christmas.  Some of the designs I am sure would keep young people busy for a couple of sessions if you go for the more adventurous designs and there is no rush to complete them just yet.

I am going to have a go at these cute penguin cards just as soon as I have figured out what is wrong with my ink.  That is the thing I suppose you have to have a printer but you don't have to print off every element on the download, some of the shapes could be cut out of recycled card.  I just thought this was handy to share as a free resource.

Love sewing magazine also have free pattern downloads find them here if you are looking for clothes patterns, these can run to a lot of paper though so if you are brave enough just deconstruct and old garment and use that as a pattern for fit.  Things like sleeve length and overall length do not really require a pattern and once you have done  it a few times you will wonder why you ever bought patterns.

I currently have fabric for a dress and a top but I have been holding out on making them yet, they are for my winter wardrobe and I know as soon as I make things I want to wear them so it is like saving a treat.   There is also a handbag cut out with a design pinned to it on my table also part of my current slow sewing.  If I had a rush of sales in bags I would crack on but there is no need currently for any rushing.

Today I made another experimental carrot cake, it is a bit odd.  I seem to do a couple of amazing cakes followed by a slightly odd one every now and then.  Maybe it is so I don't get too complacent about gf baking, who knows?

Well that is all for now, take care and  please share any free crafting links you know of in the comments below.

October...ing

These ...ing posts certainly come around quickly don't they?

Settling into the new season and only beginning to get used to getting up in the dark!  What happened there then? The dark mornings have literally come out of nowhere and my body is resisting getting up without daylight.  I am seriously considering trying out my SAD alarm clock again but the only trouble is it bothers my husband. I'll keep you posted.

Making a handbag as a gift for my friend, I had a lovely day sewing yesterday, planning it and finishing it off.  I am going to use similar colour ways for another one for my store but not the same of course, never two the same!  I hope she likes it.

I may add a few beads to the charm, if it doesn't look too much.

Same on the back minus the butterflies.

A bit of hot pink lining.

Reading 'Adventures for your Soul' by Shannon Kaiser, it is a bit airy fairy for me in places although I do enjoy positivity I draw the line at asking the universe for everything and it appearing. I'll carry on though as you never know there could be that one little thing in there that I just love. Also 'What the Dog Saw' by Malcolm Gladwell, now I have loved his other books but this one is very much a series of shorter articles.  A little disjointed and not what I thought but then that is my fault for not reading the review thoroughly.  On a brighter note I have loved 'The Corset' by Laura Purcel this was night time reading for when I go up to bed .  I like something gentle and non threatening before I go to sleep so this book just fit the bill.  I usually have a few books on the go non-fiction, a more challenging novel and an easy read for bed. My mum doesn't understand why I don't read them one at a time however they suit different moods and times of day. Does anyone else agree? 

Baking cakes, my latest was a lemon and walnut cake it was supposed to be just lemon but I didn't feel it was going to be nutritious enough so I swapped 50g of the sugar for ground walnuts and the water for soya milk.  It tasted amazing and I will make it again, no photos as it went so fast.  My gram flour eggless quiche did not fair so well .

Entering lots of sewing prize draws online, this is not something I usually do but I thought why not.  My friend enters these draws and she is incredibly lucky ,maybe some of it will rub off on me. 

Eating lots of seeds, I began doing this after reading an article on seed cycling to regulate hormones in the Healthy magazine.  You eat 1-2 tbs of flax seeds and pumpkin seeds for the first 14 days then switch to the same amount of sunflower and sesame seeds for the next 14 days.  You start all this on day one of your cycle.  It is easy enough to just add to cereals, I am hoping it may be helpful for migraine as I have a definite link with the timings of these.

Walking in the woods and being amazed by the size of the toadstools, much bigger than my hand and keeping my dogs away as they eat everything and we can do without more illness.

Appreciating all that I have, family, friends and a cosy home.

Take care everyone. 

Oddments Top

A little while ago the lovely Jo from Three stories High sent me some offcuts of fabric that she was clearing out for my bag making.  When they arrived I was looking at how they sat together in the bundle and thought I would like to make a top with them if possible and still save little bits for bags.  That idea has sat around in my head for a few weeks and today I got on with it.

The idea being that I would use some of the denim for the side panels and the white and black print for the centre.  I also wanted to use one of the floral fabrics for neck facing and a pocket.  I got the pieces cut out and then I wasn't sure I had picked the right fabric for the pocket.

I stared at it  for a while and then decided to use the other floral that was in the pack, a little darker but still with the right colours.  To be honest I think either would have worked but I had to make a decision.

I am really happy with it and I know i will wear it a lot, I used an existing t-shirt to cut around and just placed the fabrics underneath.  To make the facing show on the outside I simply stitched it the opposite way then topstitched it to the outside.

Now that I have the facing and pocket cut in the other colourway I may have to do another patch top using some of my other pieces.   I made  one similar to this in jerseys earlier in the year and that one is worn often with jeans.

A bag will follow at a later date Jo! This was quite early afternoon and the light was already fading as it has been such a gloomy day.

I did manage to snap a couple of images in the garden of things that made me smile this week, a few lovely flowers that are still coming into bloom this late on.  They are from a mixed  pack of seeds I planted earlier in the year they seen to have taken ages to come up but now they are adding colour as everything else is fading.

They are planted in the planter stand my husband made for me last year so they are up off the ground.

What a colour!  Just what you need after lots of rain, it is just sat there surrounded by dead leaves this one.

I will definitely buy more of the mixed seeds for next year as it is such a nice surprise when they come up and you are not quite sure what to expect.

Also we are still getting cherry tomatoes from the green house, they just keep coming.

Well  I hope you are all having a lovely week, back soon.