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 Anyway I was trying to steer clear of this somewhat outdated picture that I had in my mind, complete nonsense I kow but sometimes you just get a picture in your head and you can't get rid of it.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.