Lovely lazy Christmas and a bit of sewing

I'm having a lovely time enjoying the Christmas break and I hope you are too. I haven't been anywhere much just out with the dogs but I did get to go and have lunch with my two lovely friends today so that was good and  a reminder from one that I haven't posted recently so here I am.  Now that I have recharged a bit by being away from work I have done a bit of sewing, I started this patchwork cushion this morning and I have just finished it when I got back from my outing.  It is a central square and then you just keep adding a rectangle as you go around, I literally just cut the fabric as I went along and used lots of prints.  I'm sure the patchwork experts will be saying no that is not how you do it you are supposed to plan and see what colours go where etc. Well I like the cushions to look a bit wild so never mind.

I've realised since I finished it that the deer fabric I used near the bottom has resulted in all the deer having their heads missing, whoops! I like the riot of colour any way.  I first saw a cushion similar to this a few weeks ago on this blog  attic 24 Lucy does mainly crocheting but she had done a post on colourful cushions so if anyone out there knows if there is a name for the design on my cushion let me know.

Also read some fabulous craft books while I've been off all from the Tilda series.

I think the fairy tale wonderland was my favourite although some of the figures and creatures look very intricate to make, they do come with patterns but my books were from the library so I wont be using those, but good inspiration and gave me a few ideas for themes I may make things around.

I also made today a make-up bag/ clutch purse for my Folksy shop  I used the cherry vintage fabric again wow that stuff is lasting to say it was a piece left from a dress.  I thought I might make a few of these and see if they get any interest.

It is lined and has a zip so I suppose it could be used as a small bag to hang from your wrist. I have a full week left so I will crack on and be sure to make more. 

Also having ideas about making dolls so hopefully will have something to show on that front soon. Right I'm off to list that make-up bag on folksy then a cup of tea and my book. Have a lovely Christmas and I will leave you with this image of my tree. 

Turquoise Tartan Dress and another bag

I've been busy these last couple of weeks and managed to get a bit more sewing done, I bought some gorgeous turquoise tartan from the fabric shop  two weeks ago and made up a lined shift dress with zip.  I'm really pleased with how this turned out and the fit, again I didn't use a pattern as I feel they are all pretty much the same and once you have made a few dresses you no longer need to bother with over priced expensive patterns.  I urge anyone who sews and uses patterns to take the plunge and buy some cheap fabric and  deconstruct a dress that fits you well and have a go at making your own.  Once you have done this  a few times and changed the styles and yes made a few mistakes, you will save a fortune on paper patterns.   I had a straight dress that I like but I didn't take it apart, I don't need to do that anymore, I just lay it down and cut around it  allowing plenty for the seems and trying on. I make up the dress and also put in the zip, I try it on and it is only at this point that I mark all the darts using pinning, it is best to try on the dress inside out to do this  and you will get a perfect fit. You can also figure out if you need to take in the side seems at this point and if the neck is where you like it.  When you have made all these adjustments you can cut out your lining and mark them all on here also. I could give you endless instructions and some pattern making books I've had from the library make it look very complicated but the best thing to do is jump in and have a go.  Buy some fabric that is cheap and you have nothing much to lose and you will learn, it's far cheaper to do this regularly than take a course.   Here is my dress below.

Here I have unzipped it so you can see the black lining, I already had the lining so it only cost me for the fabric and zip which came to £6.00 for the fabric and £2.80 for the zip, the dress fits perfect and when you consider people pay  around £6.00 for a pattern alone you can see why I don't bother. 

A friend of mine had also asked me to make her a bag that she wants to give as a gift so I have also been getting on with that.  I had a leather bag that someone was giving away and the top wasn't very nice  I also had some new fabric with butterfly design that I bought for myself and had only used a little of.  i bought purple ribbon from hobby craft and a bag strap from the charity shop.  Finally I had a floral second hand dress with lots of fabric in it and some denim of course.  

Here is what I came up with

I cleaned up the leather with leather leaner and it came up lovely and soft, it has a zip fastener and I used the dress as the lining I like it so much  I want to keep it but I can't as it is promised to someone else even though they haven't seen it yet.  I love purple.

Clothes Dyeing 2

Well I dyed the T-shirt but it did not come out well.. When it was wet it looked ok but then you have to wash it and when it dried it appears to have strange patchy marks all over it. Its a shame because the mark on the back looks a bit like a pattern. If that was even all over it, it may look like an effect but its not!

Here is the before

Here it looks like flour is wiped down the front, Oh dear more strange patterns on the back.  Now I only wore this T shirt rarely under things before so it can continue its life in that way now.  I used the correct quantity of salt so maybe I just didn't stir it enough.  I'm sure these dyes are better if you are just brightening to the original colour and not changing it completely. I think any future dye attempts will be done naturally.

I have a lacey effect jumper with a low neck I will probably wear it under that as the neck area at the front looks ok.

I found some good ideas at Burda Style, the flower mashing dye job below looks great.

I think that is the way to go next time, not trying to get it even, if I stencil it on or use an item such as a leaf or petal then I think the results will be more acceptable.  So I have learned something, how not to do it.