Somerset and Charity shop finds

I have been on holiday this last week in our caravan to Somerset. We stayed on a  working farm which had pitches and also static caravans, the field we were on was fantastic as it was huge with beautiful views and there were only four other caravans on it which were all really well spaced out.

Here you can see the lovely setting for watching the sun go down in the evening. There were donkeys in the field opposite which were friendly and my son enjoyed going over to see them, one did try to eat my hoodie though!  It was only young.

We have had a caravan for about four years now and this means we are able to get away a lot during the school holidays to different places for a reasonable cost. I work in school myself and family holidays during the school holidays can be really expensive. The caravan gives us the opportunity to have lots of breaks, without it we may not get to see so much of our lovely country. We don't always get good weather though and this can sometimes spoil it but that could still happen even if the holiday was costing a fortune. We loved the site which was called West Hill farm if anyone is interested in going, the only down side was there was only one toilet and shower each for male/females however they did appear to be in the process of building a new shower block and we never had to wait for the facilities as it was not a busy site. That is the way we like them and we always stay clear of the huge camp sites as they just don't have the same feel.

We always try to get out and see as much of the area as possible, one of the first places we visited and returned to more than once was Weston-Super-Mare which I loved  and can't believe I've never been before.

The weather was fabulous which helped of course but a lovely place. The sea front was spacious and clean and views out to sea were so good you nearly forgot you were in usually grey England. 

We had some lovely meals sat looking out to sea and we usually eat in the caravan but it was so lovely with the sun shining that when we visited we ate at one of the restaurants on the front. I had a gorgeous Greek salad.

We also visited Minehead which was smaller but also very nice, the beaches here were also very good. There is also a lovely tree lined street full of shops and small coffee shops with quite a few charity shops thrown in, always good for a look around.

Minehead

We visited the small habour of Watchet also but I didn't think it was somewhere you could make a day of. It was pretty and had a small railway station with steam train and a boat museum ( also very small) 

We also always try to make good use of our English Heritage membership where ever we go and while we were in the area we visited Cleeve Abbey and Mulchelney Abbey (I may have spelt that wrong) The membership pays for itself after a few visits and it makes for lots of days out.

I mentioned the charity shops well I managed to get a few bargains while I was there, in one town I found an animal rescue charity shop up a side road and I got a yellow skirt for £1 and a blue dress for £2.45 in another shop I got a patterned dress for £2 and here they are..

This dress is a bit long so I will perhaps shorten it, i also think it would look good with along sleeve t shirt under ( I have one in brown) thick tights and boots for Autumn/Winter.

Cushion Tutorial - the easy way

Hello I haven't been around this last week as we have been away in our caravan to Somerset and had a lovely week, it stayed dry and was also sunny which doesn't usually happen when we decide to go off somewhere but the weather held out for us this time. I will share some images when I get the chance we only got back this evening so there is lots to do.  I thought I would share some basic instructions for the bright cushions I posted on earlier in the week and those bits of fabric I had left.
First you need to measure your cushion to see what size you need, alternatively if you already have the old cushion cover you can measure that.

Now depending on how many panels you have you need to work out how wide they need to be then add a half inch each side plus an inch to the length for your seam allowance ( it will be a half inch seam allowance throughout).

You could also just play around with your fabric and lay it on, make sure your cushion is covered with enough over hang for seams, sew them all together then make your neat fitting square once you have done this.  This may be preferable for anyone who is put off by adding it all up and working it out, after all the cushion is unique it doesn't have to follow any set rules.

That is what I did in the one above.

You then need to press your seams open, don't skip this bit as it will not look right otherwise.

Then you are going to add a zip, I recycled the ones from the old cushion covers as its always best to use what you have , just carefully unpick, being super careful at the ends as in my case the zipper had already been trimmed and could fly off the end if you are not careful. Pull out all the loose threads.  Lay it on your two  cushion sides which should be facing right sides together, wrong side up facing you.

I mark at each end with a pin as in the photo. Now remove the zip for now, and sew a half inch seam down to the pin stop and reinforce, go down to the other end where the other pin is and sew a half inch seam again up to the edge.

Now you will have a gap with no stitching down the middle, turn your stitch on your machine to the longest length and sew all along between the pins keep it loose don't reinforce as you will be unpicking shortly.

Now open that seam flat, add your zipper foot to your machine, lay the zip down right side facing downwards and sew closely to teeth, you will know where to position it as you have your pins in place still.

Repeat up the other side.

Now you have in your zip but no opening! take your seam ripper or small scissors and release that loose seam up to the reinforced stitching at each end of the zip.  This should have ensured your zip is in nice and even on both sides. You can top stitch at this point if you like on the right side, I didn't in this case.

With right sides together sew all around the cushion using half an inch seam allowance ( did I mention make sure your zip is in the open position first) You now have a nice cushion shape, snip off the corners then zig zag or overlock all around to prevent fraying.

Now neaten all edges, get rid of al those stray threads and turn through. put it on your cushion and admire your work. I know there will be people out there saying I don't do it that way, well that's fine, we all find our own way. Also not all my cushions are made this way, but some are, it's quick. I also use envelope backs, concealed zips, plackets and velcro but that is something for another time.  There may be a lot of photos but this really is a quick way to do it, have a go and let me know what you think.  Here is the cushion below.

The leaf fabric on the cushion is left over from a skirt I made so when I wear it I will be blending in with the furniture! Back soon with some holiday images and great finds from the charity shops there.

Holiday dress

Well I got on with it and I made up the dress this morning from the cotton jersey. It didn't take very long as I  have made a couple in this style before as they are really comfortable and I didn't need a pattern.  A used a dress that I know fits me well and is also made of a fabric with a bit of stretch, I place the dress on top and cut out allowing a good seam allowance with a little bit extra at the top to allow me to place darts.  I decided on a length then cut the skirt in two pieces with a slight circle shape to it.

Then I pinned in place where I would like my darts based on the other dress, and cut a facing piece for around the neck and one in interfacing, I also cut long strips of fabric to fold and bind around the arm holes.  I always try on half way through when everything is put together just to check the fit and in this case it needed no adjustments.  So I hemmed it and finished all the  binding and here it is.  You can't make out the colours very well but it has a purple and brown spot pattern, it may look good with a purple belt but I don't have one I will keep a look out for one but for now I will be wearing it as it is.

The other dresses I have done in this style I have done the skirt differently and cut out the skirt as one long rectangle and then added even pleats towards the centre front and back. This fabric felt more flowing and a lighter weight so I though it would work better just fitted to the waist and I think it does.