New bag for work

At long last I am delighted to announce that I have finally finished my new bag for work!  It has been sitting in pieces for quite some time and last Sunday, when it rained pretty much all day, I got on with it.  I love the cats in glasses material and added the denim for the base as I felt it would be long lasting.

It has 'heat and bond' inside so that it keeps its shape. My previous bag just had some interfacing and over time, it just went all flollopy (technical term) and I got annoyed with it (it did last ten years though, so I can't really complain).  I hope this one lasts as long!
I love the cat fabric (Fryett's 'Cool Cats') so much that I have bought enough to make into a  pinafore - it will probably need to be lined, so it may take me a while...  There is a rather nice blue scandi patterned fabric I have also got my eye on for a pinafore too and I have denim waiting to be cut out.  I think I am going to be busy!
In other sewing news, I am going on a workshop this Sunday, led by Stuart Hillard, called 'Free Motion Quilting for the terrified', so will report back on that next week. I am really looking forward to it.

Sewing Projects...and plans

Sewing has taken over a bit recently as I have lots of projects in my head. In fact, I have had to start a hobby notebook which so far has sewing project ideas, wish lists of plants and wish lists of more crafting goodies.  However, I am gradually  making progress on the sewing list front.  I have finally finished my cat cushion cover which has turned out just as I'd hoped.  The centre panel is a screen print onto calico, surrounded by a cat print material which I love as it makes me smile.

The back is a simple envelope  but shows off the fabric nicely.

This tunic dress has featured on my blog several times and I am finally happy with it and actually wearing it now.  It was too short originally and I made it with puffed sleeves which weren't very comfortable.  I changed the pattern to sleeveless and lengthened the hem, covering the seams with blue bias binding.  However, it was then too long and I didn't like the bias binding much.  As a last attempt, I took off the binding, shortened it a bit, and covered the bottom with cotton lace.  Now I am finally happy!

I have also finished my second Cleo pinafore.  I stuck to the seam allowances more this time so it is a little slimmer than the first one, but still comfortable and loose to wear.  The buttonholes went really well too - no unpicking needed this time!

 Here's the back.  I have worn it once so far.  It will be great for Autumn.

Here's the material for the next Cleo pinafore (it is a little bluer in real life) and then I would like a denim version.

 I also bought this sheep fabric to make a new bag for work, probably using denim for the bottom panels and this for the top/

How can you not love a stripy sheep?

My next projects are these.  Two (hopefully) simple summer tunic dresses.  I have had the patterns for a while but have never got around to making them.  I will make a toile version first, just to get the hang of the patterns and to adjust the fit - I have narrow shoulders so will probably need to adjust the pattern a bit. 

 Here are the fabrics for one of them - I really like the cheerful little birds and thought they would look great as a contrast hem or pockets or sleeves (or all three).

I saw this magnolia fabric and just had to buy it.  It may be the main fabric or a contrast - I haven't quite decided that yet.  So, plenty to keep me busy and I do need to get on with the summer dresses - I need them for work!

A new Hare-y bag

 I didn't manage to do a lot of crafting over Christmas, apart from the odd card, of course, but the one  thing I did make was a bag.   I needed a bag to carry all the stuff I take when I go for a break at work (id card, glasses, fruit, mug, tea bag, book or kindle - you get the idea!) as I usually manage to drop something on the way at least once.  I had loved the latest animal screens for the Screen Sensation kit, so I had to get the hare one as I do love hares (I shall also get the fox one when it is back in stock - they all sold out really quickly).  I used some blue and white material from my stash to screen print  (and the very detailed image printed beautifully) on one side and the other side was calico.  I lined the bag with floral material from my stash and added fusible wadding to give the bag some extra strength. 

The handles and edges were made from Chris' old jeans and will hopefully be hard wearing.  I can report that the bag works really well and so far, I have not dropped anything!

Sew-along and Spring flower material

I found Lazy Daisy Jones' lovely blog, where, most fortuitously, a sew-along is taking place to make a simple A line skirt.  Now, I have been saying for ages how I would love to be able to make a skirt which fits me (as I don't have much luck in buying clothes that fit me, then I have to alter them and don't necessarily know what I am doing). I even bought some denim as a positive start to making my own skirt and then I stopped.  I haven't attempted making clothes before (well, I did make some simple elasticated waist skirts many years ago). So, it could be said that the sew-along is perfect timing.

 My progress has been somewhat slow so far though.  I have got the denim and also some calico (as I am going to make it in calico first to try to get the hang of darts and zips).  I do need to wash the material, so that's a job for tomorrow.  I have ordered the pattern (McCalls 3341) and it has been dispatched, but sadly has yet to appear (boo!).  I have also looked at the first sew-along tutorial which has been posted.  I hope to have actually received my pattern by next week.
However, when buying zips at our local market stall, I happened to call in at the material stall and fell head over heels for this material! I don't know what it is called, but I do know that it came from Holland.

 Spring, happiness, flowers, colour - how could I not love it? Unfortunately, I could only afford half a metre at the time, but at least I have got it.  I would love to use it for decoration - perhaps a pocket on a skirt?

In the meantime, I decided to use it to add some oomph to my Spring Bunting which I made last year but had not been really happy with some of the fabric choices. Much better now!

This afternoon, I tried to make similar coloured flowers in polymer clay, to make into a necklace.  I was pleased with how they turned out, even though I didn't have cutters exactly the same shape.
Hopefully next week, I'll be able to say that I have cut the pieces of my skirt out and taken a deep breath before starting to construct!