A Slow Week, A few Books and Pretty PJs

 Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well.  So this week has been brought to a bit of a standstill for me.  I have somehow injured my back again! This happens every now and then and I really don't know why, I exercise my core, I walk every day and I am careful of bending and lifting but every few months crack there it goes and leaves me hardly able to move.  Now I do a lot of cutting out on the floor, I know that is not good is it? But space dictates and the dining table is not a good option for bending over  either so yesterday I had been cutting out lots of pattern pieces for a suit then went to stand up and crack I could hardly move and it was agony.  So that stopped play! I struggled downstairs and sat on a hard back chair holding the table for support for about an hour before the spasms let me get to the kitchen for the hot water bottle and pain killers, couldn't get in the cupboard bending too painful.  Last night was awaful today still in pain and hobbling but not as bad, when I finally made it to standing that is because getting out of bed was a right carry on. 

So while I am feeling sorry for myself and sat with a very hot water bottle pressed to my lower back I have been looking at folding tables that could maybe go under the bed upstairs when not in use.  The trouble is finding one that goes high enough with the legs.  Some have very bad reviews and also state they are hard to put up and take down so I can do without that every day.  My other thought was if my husband could make me a folding light weight table to go on top of our dining table to bring it up higher.  So short legs on hinges, a fold in the middle and a light top in two pieces.  I will be discussing this extra job for him when he arrives home. The outcome being that I have finally decided that maybe cutting out on the floor is not so good for me, especially with my somewhat temperamental back.  That said I have been in this situation before and it has had nothing to do with cutting out.  I discovered quite some time ago that running or any kind of impact sport like that really bothers it in recent years.  

This has all left me feeling at a bit of a loose end as there are things I want and need to be getting on with, and also thoughts about how we take for granted being pain free when there are lots of people who live with constant pain. 

Well now I have got that out of the way I will show you these pjs that I made last week, this was a sample make so not for me but really cute just the same. 

Very pretty I may make a pair for myself when I am moving about again, I can't wear anything like this in bed all that fabric would twist and drive me crazy but they would be nice for lounge wear in the summer.  Agh summer that seems so far way right now doesn't it?

I also have a piece of basket weave fabric in black that arrived last week and that is going to be my brand ambassador piece for the month.  I am most certainly going to be making some sort of skirt with that because the amount of times I have wanted to reach for a plain black skirt to go with a print top and there isn't one, so yes that is the plan. 

This month  has seen me reading and stop starting with a number of books, I really don't carry on with any more if they are not grabbing me as there is just no point .  I didn't finish the puspoise by Mark Haddon, I wasn't enjoying that at all.  Then I have read Crushed and this I did enjoy, a dark theme and I felt it was perhaps a YA title but maybe some of the themes kept it from being in  that section. I am not always entirely sure how they catagorise them as I have read some titles from that section that were very disturbing!  It had me turning the pages anyway...

So that one was the best of the three, I will have to look out for more by that author.   With regards to books I have done the same thing again this week I just went into the library went to one section and picked up three.  All the browsing in the world doesn't always get me a good choice so I am taking this new potluck approach.  It found me one good one out of three last time, the bonus being I didn't buy the two I was not keen on.  I try to be very careful of buying books that I am pretty sure about before parting with my money. 

I have been watching a new to me youtube channel this past few weeks called Kutovakika, she is so fun to watch and very cheerful and I like that.  She originally started off making films about her photography which is really lovely and imaginative.  Now she focuses on knitting as she is a knitwear designer. I love all her sweaters, videography and aesthetic, why not take a look especially if knitting is your thing or just to look at the beautiful scenery and artistic shots. 

Thank you for stopping by today, any thoughts on the pattern cutting table ideas would be helpful, but please keep in mind I work in a box room so a full size cutting table is out of the question for me.

Have a lovely week. 

Weaving Fabric

 Hello everyone, this week I have continued my scrapbusting and also thinking up more ways to use them and get creative with them.  So for a change I thought I would try something new, the idea was to weave the scraps together but in a neat way, not in a rag rug way if you know what I mean.

So firts of all I cut lots of strips in four colours that I thought would go nicely, then I stitched them together at one side so that they didn't unfold, so after folding them in half I stitched down the length of each one then pressed them flat.

I was unsure what to weave them on, had a good look around, thought about the back of a picture frame then finally settled on a cardboard box.  I pinned the strips each side then set about weaving on the box.  Not the easiet but it was what I had and sometimes you have to work with what you have.

After I had finished the piece I had to press it to some interfacing to stop it all falling apart, this was not that easy as soon as I released it, it began falling away!  I quickly rewove bits and got the backing on, then I stitched some cotton to the back of it.

I suppose there are lots of ways you can use this and lots of fabric combinations mean it is endless in what you can create. Perhaps I will get my husband to create a frame for me from odd bits of wood so that I have a more stable area to work on.

For my piece I have made one of my bags, it is on one side and the other is one of the fabrics from the weaving so the bag can be used either way.

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I hope this has given you a little inspiration this morning for what to do with your scraps, other uses could be pot holders or coasters may use in a quilt or I thought of adding it to a top as a bit of extra embellishment.

Have a good week, everyone, bye for now. 

The First of Many Solid Colour Makes

 Hello, I said a  few weeks ago I would let you know how it goes with the viewing of daylight early in the day and if it helped my sleeping at all.  Well I can report that so far yes! It does appear to be working, first of all I am taking the dog longer walk first thin before I do anything else so I get a good amount of daylight there straight away.  I have always had a long dog walk at the end of the day when I finished my sewing jobs but that has meant that it is always gloomy during the winter.  So I do think this shift has helped.  I have kept the same getting up time too but then this has never really varied that much.

In sewing news I have made a plain white sweatshirt this past week, this is to fill the gaps in my very patterned wardrobe and to ensure that more things blend together well.  I have made this pattern before, it is the Simplicity 8982 and I have made it as a sweater before and also as a dress.

Last week I read the book My Name is Monster by Katie Hale, I nearly put it down halfway through but I stuck with it and it did appear to pick up but alas I was not a fan of the ending.  It was one of those that seams to fizzle out. This week my book is The Porpoise by Mark Haddon and so far I am disturbed. More on that when I have read more of it.

Today has been very busy I had to take my mum to the hospital for an appointment, she now needs more surgery on skin cancer on her nose that she has had previously.  We went for lunch after that, as it is her birthday this week and we are back across town to the hospital again with her tomorrow for the eye clinic this time. Old age is not an easy ride, she has been very healthy all her life and I am reminding her of this as for 86 she is doing really well. 

Well that is all for today back soon. 

Denim and Tweed Jacket

 Hello everyone I hope you have had a good week.  Last week I did mention that I had started on a new jacket.  This project was using up some leftover denim, buttons and topstitching thread plus a good sized piece of what I believe to be a tweed that was gifted to me sometime ago.  Now I had held off using the tweed fabric because I was uncertain what to make with it without it looking old fashioned.  I think there is a certain idea I have in my mind about jackets that made from that sort of fabric in that of people out in the country riding horses and walking about the manor house in their jodpurs, do you know what I mean? Anyway I was trying to steer clear of this somewhat outdated picture that I had in my mind, complete nonsense I kow but sometimes you just get a picture in your head and you can't get rid of it.

So I had decided to go with the denim jacket look and a mixing of the two fabrics, also the leftover jaquard lining I had in red was to give it a nice detail on the inside.  I am very pleased with how it turned out and also the idea that sometimes it is good to hold onto things for a while as the just the right idea will present itself in time.  I wore the jacket when we ran some errands on Friday and it has a smart feel to it without being a formal jacket and I think the demin does that.  Be prepared for  a number of images...

I added an additional internal pocket with trim for my phone.

There are also inseam side pockets added which are not on the pattern.

I love the pop of red on the inside.

     I only had to buy one packet of jeans buttons for the whole project as I had some other ones leftover.

So in all this was a great scrap busting/stash busting project and I feel I have something I will keep for a long time.

Not to stop there I carried on with the whole use it up theme and made some super large tote bags using patchwork.   I know I was trying to think of less time consuming projects for them rather than patchwork.  However I have only used a nine square design on each side and it is super for using up leftovers.  I have also added them to my Folksy shop and you can find the link to my shop in the side bar.

I think they are fun and of course big enough for a beach bag with towels etc.

I am off to do some work now so I will leave that with you please share any of your scrap busting ideas with me in the comments. Bye for now.

A Productive Day, Kitchen Cupboard Re-paint

 Hello everyone and a happy Monday to you all. I feel like I have made a good start to the week although I did decide not to do any paid work today and to concentrate on a few things of my own.  Mainly the kitchen, if you are a regular here you may know that I re-did my kitchen units about a year and a half ago with cupboard paint.  I researched this thoroughly before buying any paint and they did look great for a while.  Well six moths ago I did a touch up job and today I have had to do the same again.

Now I do not regret painting the cupboards, they look really well, it has modernised the kitchen and no doubt saved us thousands of pounds.  I am annoyed that I believed the tin as it said no primer needed and usually I would have primed first so now it will be a case of ongoing management I think.  We did discuss a new kitchen but I feel it is such a waste, everyone is in such a hurry to throw out and buy new and when I think that the layout would be exactly  the same as it is now that seems to me to be an awful lot of wasted money and perfectly good cupboards gone to the tip.  My other thought was well so what if they need painting, if in a few years I want a different colour it is easy enough to do for little cost.  For now they are looking ship shape. 

My tiles were also painted with tile paint when I did the whole kitchen and the shelves were added last year as I wanted some open shelving for display and to make it more welcoming.

I never did do the end boards and skirts as I thought it was a bit of a feature to keep them wood.  Knowing now that the paint is not as hard wearing as I thought I think that is a good thing as they get knocked more with three dogs.

My next project is the jacket I am working on for me. It is a stash busting job using some gifted tweed and leftover bits of denim, topstitching threads and lining fabric. In all apart from one pack of jeans buttons it will have been comepletely cost free.  I have made the burda pattern twice before so I know that I like it and I decided to mix the fabrics to give it a more modern feel.  I am just waiting on that pack of jeans buttons to arrive as I have a few left over in another packet, it is almost there.  The button holes, buttons and cuffs need finishing although after trying it earlier I don't think I will add a denim cuff as I planned as I don't want denim overload. 

I will show the completed jacket in my next post, those button packets above have three useable buttons in one packet and two in the other plus a number of bent tacks, |I have to admit I struggle to get these things in!

There was a lovely long walk with one of my dogs, the older two can't manage a long walk any more.  The light was pretty and the wind had dropped so that was good, I tend to leave my headphones out now when I go for a walk as I do feel there is that issue of being permantly connected and if I am outside then I want to hear the outside.

Well that is all for  today, how  was your start to the week? I hope it went well.  Bye for now.

Sewing Supplies

 Hello, I hope you are all well and busy making, learning and doing wherever you are.  I have been having a good look through my offcuts of fabric this week and I would really like to make a lot of it up this year into something.  Now I am not sure what into yet and that doesn't neccessarily mean into clothing either, or even for me but I would like to make a good bit of space as there are a lot of pieces that have just ended up with me becasuse they are leftover from work, or bits that I have had donated to me.  I don't like to say no to fabric, this means that my small but perfectly functioning sewing room is bursting at the seams with leftover bits.

There are these places, also full drawers and the bottoms of cupboards.

I am not a fabric hoarder, or a person who has a  fabric stash , you know there are lots of people out there talking about their fabric stash and they buy fabric all the time and never make it up.  That is not me, also if people want to do that then that is entirely up to them but it is not something I have ever done.  I tend to buy what I need then make it up.  So why have I ended up in a situation where I struggle to store fabric? Well you may remember last year I was very kindly given two big bags of fabric from an acquaintance who had lost her mum.  I did share some of this with a friend but there was such a lot, some of it has been used but there is a lot left.   Then of course I do sew alongs for Minerva, now every time I finish a project there is always lots of bits from around the edges left, now wanting to be green I can't possibly just throw all that way.  However it is not all to my taste, or big enough for garments and there are only so many bags I can store if I make those!  So I need to get my thinking cap on.

One thought I had was could I think of something quick and simple that would be a scrap busting project that I could sell on ebay, I have to say Folksy gets no traffic apart from what I send there directly myself so that is not a great one for custom I am finding.   So ideally I need to come up with something quick to make that will use the scraps but not take too long.  This way I can feel it is being utilised, I am being productive and maybe make a few pence from it at the same time, after all I do work from home now so every bit helps.   If you have any suggestions I would love to hear about them. I think quilting projects are all very well with bits like that if you are doing them for yourself but not sell on as they take forever and often people do not realise the many hours that go into things.  

My other thought while looking through things was that I need to make a much clearer system for my notions, they are currently stored in different conainers and boxes but a bit all over.  Last week when I was making the pink cardigan I was sure I had four brown buttons of similar style, I did of course but I had to look in a range of places but I got them all together.  So yes I need to get on that and do some clear labelling.

This past week I finished my book  A prayer for Owen Meany, I have to say while it was well written and had a good ending to it I felt it went on way too long.  This is not because I have anything against longer books it was just not necessary.  Quite a big chunk in the middle I felt like I zoned out, conversations about some trivial topic lasting eight pages and so on.  So I am not sure if I will read any more by John Irving.   This week I have just started Lessons In Chemistry, so I am hoping for a more enjoyable read with this one.

This was another book from Abe books, just £2 for the hardback, I get many of my books from the library but I do often find that any of the more recent ones that I want to read I can be on the reserve list for a year so buying them second hand like this is also good.  Well I need to get on with some work now so I hope you all have a good week.  Bye for now.

A New Cardigan

 Hello, it is very  cold at the moment here as I type this so I am very pleased to share this new cardigan.  It is my brand ambassador make for minerva and I am trying really hard to fill the gaps as I have said before and add things that I need.  I am a big fan of just making what I fancy and this often results in lots of mismatched things.  I have been doing better though.  So having made the Style arc Sabel cardigan before I dicided to recreate it in this pink sweatshirting and to make it a little shorter this time.

         I just used up some buttons that I had, they are all brown but a couple are sloightly different.

There has been some scrapbusting in the form of a new self drafted vest and some knickers, always good for using up all those little bits.

Now I did make more than one pair of knickers but seem to have only photographed the one pair, I really like the fabric lace combo on these. 

Last week I read Weyward by Emelia Hart, I really enjoyed this as the story is about three different women from the same family line in different points in time, there is also the women seen as witches when they were really just healers theme again.  I am now thinking I have read so many like like this now I need to get off this genre it only makes me angry.  Good book though.   I am currently reading two books a non fiction Regenesis  by George Moonbiot and also A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, I got this one as it had so many good reviews so please let me know if you have read it.

I really tried my best last week with the daylight quota but I have to say it was so miserable all week it felt dark on  every walk apart from Saturday so I don't really think much daylight was getting in.  I will keep at it, that said I did sleep a little better, not great as I wake often (menopause) but I do stick mainly to the same going to bed  time, getting up,  no screens in the bedroom etc.  I deally I would lixke to get up and read when I can'r sleep but as I don't want to disturb the rest of the house and dogs I eng just tossing and turning.

I have tried out a few new patterns for work projects this week I only tried on one as this was in my size so I may make this for myself in the spring...

This is the Rory Jumpsiut by True Bias, it is made in viscose linen and as I said it is not for me but I do like this one.

There are little d rings ties at the sides that make it pull in nicely to give it a bit of shape, it is also sewed in panels which are then topstitched so this is a lovely finish.

Other work makes were...

Alder dress grainline studio

Also the Rosco dress by True Bias

I hope you have had a super first week to the new year and are trying your best to embrace it. Take care. 

January Intentions

 Hello everyone,  a happy new year to you all.  I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas break and that you are all feeling ready for what the new year brings. I have a few intentions as I always do at this time but they are all pretty fluid as I don't think it does anyone any good to set loads of musts, fail at some point through no fault of your own (illness etc) and then berate yourself.  So what I like to do is add in more of what I would like to do, and perhaps let go of a few things too that are not serving me as they once did.

So before I start on my few little must do more ofs for 2024 I thought I would share a recent make and I have to say a favourite make of last year for me.  It is my Burda shirt 6849, I have made many times before and this is an Art Gallery fabrics cotton poplin, I really loved the print although it is narrow so I had to be a bit creative with the pieces.  The inside collar stand is in plain pink as is the inside back yoke panel.  I literally had crumbs of fabric left after cutting out so that was really satisfying. 

I have a video about the other makes I have made from this pattern and if you are interested in seeing that the link is below. 

  Find the video here https://youtu.be/qvfRdF7lgpE

Now as far as the new year goes I am starting by letting something go, now that may seem an odd place to start but really we need to make room for things.  If we always just add on more and more each year we end up feeling overwhelmed and not doing any of it. 

The thing I am letting go is my Duo Lingo in Spanish, now I have been learning for years I never travel abroad any more and have no one to practice with.  I have done it daily, mostly for the past few years and was learning by cds and books long before that.  Can I speak it, a little bit, if someone speaks in spanish at full speed I can't get anything but the odd word.  So you really need to be speaking any language regularly to learn to speak it.  I am not saying I will no longer dabble and look at my books or do it occasionally.  I have realised though that I spend an awaful lot of time every day doing something that gets me very little progress.  I am going to spend that time on something else.

I will be adding a course of some kind over the next few weeks I just haven't decided on what  yet, I like to learn so I will enjoy looking what is on offer.

Next I am going to try Huberman Labs, daily light viewing morning and twilight so I will let you know if this helps my sleep, which is terrible currently.

I will continue doing a little art each week, in what ever form takes my fancy, just for me.

Also ongoing is my dressmaking scrap book, I have kept this going all year logging everything.  There are a few missing photos where I sent event garments back and forgot to take an image but I did still log the project and fabric.  I will show this book in the next post if anyone would like to see it.

So just a few add ons for me, I hope you all have a wonderful year, take care.