Nothing much happening

For the last couple of weeks, my sewing has taken a back seat.  Have have been sewing, don't think I haven't, but it is December and the days are short and the sun low.  I like to sew in natural light, so after 4pm is too late and at this time of year in mid afternoon the sun is in my eyes.

But don't think I haven't been sewing.  I finished my pinafore dress and have started a blouse.  

I am making view A in a silver coloured satin backed polyester crepe, I have only got the sleeves to do on it now.  The fabric was in my stash and one of my students was wanting to make the blouse, as she is a beginner, I needed to check out the pitfalls.  But it is vintage and I wanted to make a vintage blouse anyway.  Interestingly it has a zip in the side seam!  I'm hoping to get it finished and wear it on Christmas day.

Hopefully today I will pin the Indigo quilt to it's backing and wadding, but not sure how I am going to quilt it.  But as it is all squares I think circles will look good.  

Today I will be putting up my tree, not a Christmas tree, but a mid winter tree.  I like to put it up a week before midwinter and take it down at least two weeks later (I'm late this year).  However, there are a couple of Christmas presents to put under it as well, so it doubles up as a Christmas tree.

My sewing classes have now finished and will continue in the New Year.  It is hoped I will run a beginners' class, with a pop in class for the intermediates at the same time.  Watch this space.

You will notice that on the front page of my blog I now have a button linking you to my Folksy Shop.  I am in the process of opening the shop again and will be putting kits and supplies on there very soon.

Teddy Kit for Sale

I have today had time to put my teddy kits on eBay.

With free delivery the kit is only £7.50 and to complete your own bear you will only need to had your own material and optional ribbon.

The item number is 321604934828 and my seller name is jaki.clai.  

Busy Week

Time to reflect on how busy I have been this week and all in all I think it has been a very successful week.

Again I have been struggling to sleep, so have found myself in my work room at 6am in the morning (it is 6:30am as I am writing this blog).  I have found this a great time to finish off things.

The first thing to be finished was my Seamstar Lucky Elephant Hanging.  It now takes pride of place above my sewing machine.

This table runner was the next thing to be finished and is now posted to Germany.  It was a piece of material that came with the December 2014 issue of Love Sewing Magazine.

Thursday afternoon saw me glueing and sewing the rings onto my IMA Double Wedding Ring Quilt.  I have omitted the small segments, as I am fed up of making the applique pieces.  As I have already said it is something that I have enjoyed learning, but don't wish to do again.  Obviously, I may need to use the technique for other items, but the rings were not my favourite.  I now can't wait to quilt it, but first I need to buy a small amount of material for the sashing on the border.  I am thinking of trying to get a yellow close to the centre ring colour.  It's sort of mustard/greenish/yellow.  The border and back will be made in the dark grey, which has lovely butterflies on it.

When I finished the top of the quilt (that has now been put away), I cut out the lining for my grey and purple tartan pinafore.  This has now been sewn together waiting for a zip, which has been ordered.  Hopefully I will have it finished for the 10th of December.  This date is very significant.

Last Wednesday the 26th of November, was the last lesson in my Beginner's Dressmaking Course and the ladies were so sad to see it finish that they have asked for a further lesson.  This will be on the 10th December.  I was so chuffed, that I couldn't say no.  They want to come every Wednesday, but alas, we are waiting for Lorrayne to confirm the dates of next year.

So to say thank you for my ladies who have stuck by me I have made them Christmas presents and here they are:

They are 5 needle cases and each one is slightly different.  The patchwork cotton was from Seamstar and part of one of their craft kits; the linen on the outside is also left over linen from one of their craft kits, as is the wool felt on the inside and the grosgrain ribbon; the lining is from an old pair of linen trousers.  I hope they like them and think of me when they are sewing in the future.  I know one of the girls will keep coming on the odd Wednesday, as she will want to make a dress for a wedding she is going to.  

I just hope next year will be more successful.

As for today, will I be sewing?  NO.  Not until the zip comes for my pinafore, I won't be sewing . . . . . . but I have fabric and buttons for a blouse . . .

IMA

Or Invisible Machine Appliqué.

Yesterday (instead of going to work) I went on a one day course to study this technique with Dawn Cameron-Dick.  Dawn travels the country (and further afield) giving lessons, talks and demonstrations and if she is near you in the new year, go to one of her classes.  They were chilled and relaxed and Dawn has a depth of knowledge to draw on, I certainly picked her brains and taken away things to add to my classes.

I have always loved the look of the wedding ring quilts, but didn't fancy all the piecing of those fiddly little bits, but Dawn has a great way of making them.  I have to admit, that, once this quilt is done, I won't be making another.  But, never say never, as I will be using the technique for other applications.  The day was great, and I for one, learned loads and took away ideas for my dressmaking classes.
Here is my quilt so far, all the rings are pinned for transport and ignore the freezer paper ring.

The fabric was from Seamstar and is a collection called September Blue.

New Table

Well what a busy week I have had.  So sorry for not writing in my blog, but I have plenty of things to tell you about.

It started on Saturday with a change in my shifts.  I had to work four day shifts, that's four 5am starts and four lots of 12 hour shifts.  Mum went into hospital, so was visiting her after work, then to bed and back to work.  No time for sewing at all.  Mum is better now and at home, so will be spending time going to see her, she had the plate from her leg removed, she is on her feet, with a walking stick, but can't drive.

But despite all of Saturday to Tuesday taken up with work, I have been very busy with my sewing and now on reflection am very pleased with what I have achieved, even though they weren't in my to do book.

Wednesday started with me sewing the top for my Indigo quilt.  Two packs of Moda 5" squares in Indigo a fat quarter from my stash and some calico and by Friday morning the top was finished.  Made in the super simple disappearing nine patch, and I can't wait to quilt it.  As dragonflies appear on the red section, it would be great to include these in the quilting as well.  In the evening, I made some baby clothes for "Oh Sew Sweet Shop".  These are samples of the material they are stocking and are a pair of trousers and a a Kimono one piece.  

My Horn Table has arrived, this can Wednesday morning when I was out and in the afternoon, hubby and I put it together.  Although a bit big for the space at the moment, it will be great when my room is organised.  I have a plan to get more room, but that will mean me sewing and selling lots of things, therefore reducing my stash.

Having finished the top to my Indigo Dragonfly Quilt, I was in a mood then for more patchwork.  So Friday morning I got out my Bloomin' Steps Scrappy Blue Quilt and did about an hours worth of piecing.  I am having mixed feelings about the scrappy quilt.  You spend hours cutting up small squares, then spend hours putting them together.  The size of the squares are 2" and I am making a king size quilt, a momentous task if I say so myself.  But to truly call myself a patchwork and quilter I suppose this is a right of passage.  To make it harder, I am making the back in "a mile a minute", I just hope I can find a machine needle that will be strong enough.

Getting the patchwork out of my system I was able to do an item on my "to do" list.  this was to cut out my Grey Tartan Pinafore Dress.  Putting my new table to use I was able to cut out the pattern with complete ease.

You are probably reading this and thinking I have been very busy with very little time for other things, but I have done my housework, went skiing on Thursday and on Friday went for a three hour walk with hubby and dog.

Now what to do today? 

  

I can knit too

I mentioned in my last blog about me knitting as well.  I don't do this on a small scale either.  I can definitely call myself industrial when it comes to knitting.  

Most times I actually buy the buttons, then find a knitting project.  But my hubby has other ideas.

We are both avid skiers, and Tony has always fancied a woollen ski jumper.  

Here he is proudly wearing it.

This jumper pattern is the Le Massif 2004 and was knitted in a beautiful wool from Texere Yarns.  The main body is knitted in the round and on very small needles, so had over 300 stitches on it!  One of the tricky bits is the armholes.  You complete the jumper all the way up to the neck, then cut a hole for the sleeve and sew them in!  I was horrified.  I started the jumper in September 2012 and true to my word I got it knitted in time for him to go skiing as it took less than 4 months.

But, unknown to him, at work I made him a hat:- 

He loves the hat more (he has no hair), and the jumper is too warm for a normal english winter.  

One day I will knit myself a jacket from the collection.

Loosing My Mojo

Yesterday I was sewing away and felt completely uninspired and my fingers felt like sausages.  Most of this could have been because I am getting over a cold, but it could also be I have been doing too much.

Even so, I have been beating myself up for it.  I've been making myself feel bad.  So this morning I thought it is time for reflection.

Something useful I learnt on teacher training, was the art of reflection.  We very rarely stop to think where we are in life, or how far we have come.  Life is a journey after all, but unlike a journey we have no map, we rarely stop at a roadside cafe and get the map out, see where we have been, calculate how far we need to go and what our are aims should be.

To start reflecting we need a starting point.  I mainly have three things, when it comes to my sewing, to help me do this.  I have three books, one for "Things to Do", one for "Development" of designs/kits, and a third that is a "Journal".

The book of "Things to Do" comes into use now and again, I am after all a Pisces and hate being tied down to demands!  At the moment though it is in vogue with me and I am sticking to it.  I started it again when I felt my Mojo was waning and also because my stash was getting out of hand (again).  Yesterday, when I didn't feel like sewing, I opened my "Things to Do" book and completed 3 items from the list.  So on reflection, yesterday was very productive.

My "Development" book, is one that I am very proud of.  This came about when I started teaching at Oh Sew Sweet Shop.  My lessons, kits and ideas to develop go in there.  

The journal has now been running for over 3 years and everything I sew goes in there.  (I knit and make lace as well, but they don't go in.)  This was started because I work shifts and was thinking that I didn't sew much, so, everyday that I sew I make an entry, sometimes only one or two lines, but mainly a page.  I then bought a POGO printer (these are great, a Polaroid(R) printer producing business card sized pictures that are self adhesive) and take pictures to put in my journal.

Along with quilts, craft items and gifts, I have also been adding to my wardrobe.

These are my wardrobe items so far:

A-line skirt developed for sewing lesson

Linen Dress for a Wedding

A-line skirt variation 

Pillowcase dress variation

Kimono style dressing gown

Dress Upcycled to skirt

Skirt upcycled to a top

Silk Maxi dress

Librarian Blouse in Liberty Cotton

A pair of jeans and a dress upcycled to a skirt

Shift dress in John Kaldor polyester

Mock wrap dress in John Kaldor jersey

Blouse made from left over silk

Pencil skirt made from stash

These are items I have made for my wardrobe, as well as these I have made 54 other items either sewn or knitted.  That is more than one item per week finished, plus working full time, plus teaching 3 hours a week.

On reflection I have made loads of things this year so far,  I should be very proud of the new items in my wardrobe, also I have a right to be tired - I've been busy.

Now where is that grey and purple tartan . . . . . 

Up-cycled Skirt

In my last post about my Uncle's Army Buttons, you saw a rare photo of me.  In this photo I am wearing a linen suit and a silk top.  Would you believe the top used to be a skirt?

A beautiful silk skirt

The skirt was a great find at my local market.  On the market is a woman who sells second hand clothes, but always great things.  I believe I bought the skirt for £4.50 and it is 100% silk, with pin tuck and insert detail.  The colour is unusual, a dusky pink, dusky burgundy mix.  Over the years I have tried to wear it, with cream, taupe and dusky pink tops, but the colour match and tone were never right.  

Then on Facebook this summer there was a lot of chatter about the Collette Blouse pattern and that it was free.  Duly downloaded and adjusted I realised that the skirt was big enough to use as the material.  All the detail on the skirt would be incorporated and give a great accent.

When I wore the skirt no one ever commented, but people love the top.  Also I find it goes better with  linen as a blouse than as a skirt with a linen coloured top.

An even better blouse

Army Buttons

Whilst tidying my work room, (as you all know I am sorting my work room to make it better organised) I came across a set of battered army buttons.

From the back, they look like they have just not been looked after, but the fronts (especially the top left one) intrigued me.  On closer inspection, they were buttons from the uniform of someone in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (bomb disposal), and the marks looked like something shrapnel would have done.

They were the buttons from the army uniform of Great Uncle James Donald Bradley - Donald to his family.

This is Donald wearing his uniform with the buttons.  I am missing 3 small ones and two large ones.  At the time of his death Donald wasn't wearing the uniform, but a bomb did kill him.

On the 26th April 1939, Donald joined the RAOC, signing on for 4 years.  On the 20th March 1940 he was posted overseas with the Scottish 58th Light Anti Aircraft Regiment.  He was then plucked out of the water at Dunkirk on 2nd June 1940 and sent with the rest of his remaining comrades to Penhale Camp, Perranporth, Cornwall.

Donald had two passions, swimming and poker.  His strong swimming ability saved his life at Dunkirk, rumours are that he was in the water for a day and helped save the lives of many of his comrades.  Penhale Camp was (it has now been redeveloped) on the north shore of Cornwall with an enviable beach and surfing waters.

On 7th July 1940, the day he died, he was on his way to the beach when he stopped to watch a high stake poker game.  At the same time, a German bomber was on his way back to Germany and had some bombs still on board.  He dropped them over Penhale Camp, one of them near to the poker game.  Donald, unlike some of his comrades, didn't die straight away.  He later died of his wounds at Newquay and District Hospital.

As he was on his way to the beach, he would not have been wearing the uniform.  But was it in his locker?  Were the buttons given to his family and have been kept all this time?  I will never know. But they are buttons, they have a family history connection, I love buttons and I love family history, what a great way of connecting people to their long lost family?

This is me at Donald's Grave side

This is the field at Penhale Camp, where the bomb dropped.

Sewing Kits

The last couple of days I have been working towards getting kits designed, written up, or made up.  With a goal to selling them on the Internet.

I have set up an eBay and a PayPal account.  The first kit that hopefully should be available is the Miniature Teddy Bear.

Tonight I have been working on a Miniature Christmas Stocking design.  It is a great little design that will only need scraps of material, and who hasn't got scraps?  The top is machine embroidered and for hand sewing phobes, there isn't any!  The inside is lined with a synthetic satin, (but you could use any fabric for the lining) and the addition of a ribbon hanger completes the look.

Miniature Christmas Stocking

Not doing as I should

Well today I should have been concentrating on doing a few UFO's.  But made a tutorial for my Miniature Teddy's instead.

Take a look at the side of this blog under Techniques and see what you think?

Soon the pattern with be available on eBay to buy as a kit.  

I will let you know when it is available.

Hopefully, the teddy I made today was the last Teddy I will make for a long time.

Tidying my Work Room part 2

Well sorting out my work room has been going on at a pace.  I've even got my hubby to join in and help.

Funny how little things start an avalanche.  I happened to mention to my husband that I wanted to sort out my work room and, that I have taken out my lace making equipment and was going to sort it out and put it away.  The conversation continued until eventually it lead to us going to ikea and hubby constructing a new desk.

First of all, I showed hubby a picture of the Horn Cut Easy MK2

This is to replace my current cutting out table.  Which is an old dining table that now only has two legs and has seen too much action to survive this round of reorganising.  So we went into my work room (which is only 3m x 3m) and we set about designing the new layout. He said I should buy the cutting out table and then went and found a desk on ikea's website to replace my existing work bench.  This is going to be recycled and used as a work bench over some cupboards and shelves.  Instead of paying for expensive fitted wardrobes, we are going to move the existing cupboards, but before we do that we are (or rather I am) going to decorate.  Hubby is going to fit a new floor, put in some extra electrics and, source a new ceiling light, because he says the existing one is too dull.

So all in all I am one lucky lady, I have a work room, I have a clever and talented hubby who is going to build and construct things for me, also I will soon have a beautiful new work room freshly decorated and with a new workable layout.  

I say soon, we are putting it on the back boiler until after our ski trip.

Now where did I put that list of UFO's . . . . . . 

Tidying My Work Room

The other day I had an hour to spare (lucky you I can hear you shout), so set about reorganising my workroom and clean (sorry I had to swear) it.

Taking up a lot of space in my workroom is my lace making equipment.  So I set about getting to it, this itself was not easy as it was hidden under mountains of other things.  Once found, I took them out and placed them in the hallway, for a decision as to what to do with it all later.

Then I hoovered, dusted and moved things around, quite merrily for the next half hour or so. When I had finished, there was no more space in my workroom than before! How could this be?

Well the two main culprits (after the lace making equipment) are: firstly my stash of material; and secondly my burgeoning pile of unfinished objects (UFOs).  I also have a dressmakers' dummy and a mannequin, but they don't count.

Firstly my material stash is split into categories and then stored accordingly.  I have nine drawers of scraps, each draw holding a colour theme.  I then have a box of cut cotton for scrap quilting.  I also have a picnic basket of material, this is mainly cotton for quilting.  Three large boxes contain dressmaking material of various types; from silk and satin to denim and leather.  Stood on their ends in a corner are rolls of interfacing, material and wadding.

As for my UFOs.  They are everywhere.  Mainly in bags either sat on the floor or hung on hooks.  Mostly, these are projects that should be frogged, but I don't give up that easy, and I will finish them.

I have a list of things to make/finish off.  This list was started in August and I haven't done anything other than what is on the list.  This is working so far.

Once this list has been finished I will make another list and I think I will have two columns.  One for items to make from my stash, and the second one of UFOs.  I know I will stick to this, I may even buy a book to write it in!

This has worked for me before, and I know it will work again.  Now, how to stop buying more material . . . . . . . .

Halloween is coming

Today I have made one of my favourite quick makes, a Halloween Ghost.

It's simple and cheap and check out my instructions on the right hand side of this blog

More Miniature Bears and Bunnies

Today I have been mainly getting lessons ready.

I started with finishing my two miniature samples and getting them photographed.

Christmas Bear

Spring Bunny

Grandma's button box came in handy, as when I opened it I found a packet of small plastic white buttons, ideal for their joints.

Once I had finished making and photographing these two, I then wrote the instructions for the Hipster Brief.  This has gone really well and is looking good.  

I am going to relax tonight and get some knitting done!!!!

One Week On

It has now been over a week since my first session of teaching  "Beginners Dressmaking" and I think it went well.  

There were nine students in total, three more than I would have liked and also my timings for the lesson plan were for six. Despite this we got most of it completed as I had planned, they didn't seem to notice they hadn't done them all and really the things they didn't do, were on the more advanced side and can be done later in the course.

All of them are a great bunch of ladies and they have mixed skills.  One of them was a complete beginner and hadn't even got her own machine; three of them did mainly patchwork and quilting and were now ready to "cross over" to dressmaking; a young girl is doing her Duke of Edinburgh's Bronze Award and had chosen to do dressmaking as her skill; the others, were what I would call dabblers, had come to expand their knowledge.

I was listening to some of the remarks that they were making, (when they thought I wasn't listening) and they were all encouraging.  But, they are so loud, they also said how difficult it was, but surely if it was so difficult, why were they talking so much? 

I was so happy to see, that, when they arrived, they all had fear in their eyes, but on leaving, they looked tired, but happy and many left talking happily about their experience and their joy in coming.

Here are pictures of some of the class,  

Hard at work, but smiling

Some are laughing

Can't wait to see them all next week!

First Day

Today feels like a first day at work.  Tonight I will be teaching the first lesson in a course of lessons I have developed.  I have been working hard all summer to put it together.  The lesson is full, I would have preferred to teach to only 6, but there will be 9 in total.  Yikes!  Nothing to do now, but to take the plunge, how many can say they have a dream come true?

Miniature Teddy Bear

Delivered this chap to the sewing school the other day.  In October I will be teaching how to make him, and they needed a sample.  He is quick to make, takes about an hour to two hours.   I love to give him as presents to people (adults mainly, due to him having small buttons) and he's great for using up scraps.

I will have to redraft him as his nose is a bit too long and thin and not at all cuddly bear shaped.  Also I am going to have to make a brother of him that is a bit more photogenic. In real life he is great and has a very soft check, but under harsh light, he doesn't look so great.

I am also thinking about making him a little brother, but I have very little time and I'm not sure what making a smaller teddy would prove.

Knickers again

This morning I have drafted the hipster knickers again and made up another pair.  This is definitely the design I am going to go with, now I just need to write the instructions and the lesson.

I just hope my neighbours haven't been watching me whilst I've been laying knickers out in the garden.

Knickers

This week I got an exciting delivery and impatiently had to wait until today to use it.  

170m of picot elastic

In October I will be teaching a class I have called "Knickertastic" and I have been making knickers now for the last couple of months, but I only had a small amount of picot elastic, so I ordered this lot from ebay.  

I drafted a pattern and did make a pair of knickers a couple of months ago (sorry no photo), but they came out too large.  This was because, at the time, I hadn't got a clue how to adjust the pattern for the stretch in the cotton jersey.

So using Kwik Sew Pattern 2908, and bits and pieces in my stash I made a pair of knickers. Here they are:

From the measurements I have redrafted my draft and and made a pair of hipster knickers, these are now the same size as the Kwik Sew ones, so I now know I have the right calculations.

All I now need to do is: draft all three sizes; write up the instructions; make a lesson plan; and put together some kits for the lesson in October. . . . . . 

(The bright pink elastic is for me though, I have some beautiful bright pink stretch lace elastic that will become knickers and bras for me).

Time to reward myself with an evening of knitting.