Happy Christmas me!

I think I was remiss in that I didn't do a sewing-related Christmas pressie post in December. Well, now is the time to let you know that one of James' Christmas gifts was a trip to Brussels to include a visit to CREATIVA - an exhibition for crafters. 

How exciting, I thought!  We couldn't really make much out from the website so I wasn't sure what to expect - but since we were spending the weekend in Brussels, along with our friends Sarah, Russel and baby Izzy, we didn't think it would matter if the exhibition turned out to be a flop.

Anyway, we caught the Eurostar last Friday, and on Saturday morning, Sarah and I left our menfolk in charge of the babies and the snack pots (they were headed for Antwerp Zoo) and we negotiated the Brussels tube system.

The day started well when a lovely french speaking lady gave us her spare tickets for the exhibition, as we walked up towards the entrance (thank you, whoever you are!) and then got even better as we walked into an enormous hall, and were handed a free sewing pattern and reusable bag to put all our goodies in...and then we looked up and saw...this

 Craft shopping heaven!

All morning was spent browsing up and down the isles, making sure we didn't miss anything. We were very controlled and the purses didn't come out until after lunch when we started filling up our shopping bags.  I would estimate that the hall was a third filled with paper crafting, a third with jewellery making and the most astonishing array of beads, findings and embellishments...and a third filled with fabric (joy!)

Want to see what I got?

Here's the haul:

• A large piece of french linen, printed with cream polka dots
• A funky roll of vinyl, printed with glossy magazine covers (I'm thinking insides of make-up bags)
• A metre of this "Big Daisy Dot" Michael Miller print

• A metre of that abstract design cotton (top middle - not my normal colours but I thought I'd add it to the stash)
• A large chunk of Echino
• Two stamps, one with text on, to give stamping on fabric a go!

•  Three fat quarters, including that gorgeous tape-measure fabric
• Plus a length of opulent ribbon and some Liberty binding

•  This fab vintage style fabric that I had to unfold before taking the picture, just so can see the fab-ness!

• A whole host of little bits and bobs - including a jar of teeny buttons, an "F" button (guess who that's for!), three reels of sewing related sticky tape and a little wooden red-riding hood (for what purpose, I'm not sure!)  

All in all, a VERY pleasing day, and the babies apparently loved the zoo (and they even got some sex education when some Condors decided to get...errr friendly!)

To top it off we found a cool fabric shop when wandering round an arty part of Brussels the next day where I picked up this zingy vinyl, and two metres of cotton by "Petit pan"

Hmm....more fabric is entering this house than is going out at the moment...I need to get sewing!

x

Am I mad?

I joked about it in my last post, but since then I have actually decided to make my own wedding dress...however, even whilst I am typing this I am questioning my sanity! Why is she doing this, oh why? why? I hear you ask...

Well...
a) I don't want a traditional dress, I want a fifies style below knee frock with big underskirts (like the picture above - oh how I would like my waist to look like that!), but in a bright print.  Somehow this feels a bit more achievable than a traditional wedding gown with all the embellishments!
b) I've hopefully found a 1950s specialist designer/dressmaker who is local and has agreed to give me some "in the moment" lessons and guidance
c) Wouldn't it be totally cool to wear a one-off, and say to everyone, "Oh this? I sewed it myself...(!)"

I'm meeting the designer on Thursday, but from our phone call last week she suggested I practice inserting invisible zips.  Not one to need any excuse to sew, I had a go yesterday...following a few You Tube videos I found.

First time round my zip was extremely visible! (forgot to get a picture of the sorry state though). I unpicked it and found some advice online to iron the reverse of the zip to flatten the rolled over teeth, enabling stitching much closer to the zip teeth.

It worked!  Here's a photo to prove it:

And what did I sew the zip to?  Well, a little dress for Felix of course!

(whilst I am pleased with the zip and the applique, I am really not pleased with my other dress-making skills, namely, not thinking to add a facing or a lining, making a right hash of binding the armholes, and the width across the shoulders which makes Felix look like she's wearing an overall - live and learn eh?)

 

So back to THE dress...I am told that half the battle will be finding the perfect fabric.  I am also told that quilting cottons will be too heavy, so I am shocked to find that despite the task being fabric shopping, I am seriously out of my depth!  I would not know a dupion silk if it smacked me in the face!

Therefore, can anyone recommend any good dressmaking fabric shops in London or the South East where the service is friendly, the fabric is excellent quality (I don't mind paying for quality in this instance) and the shop carries a good selection of prints?   We are heading up to London next week, to Libertys and The Cloth House.  But other shop recommendations would be very welcome indeed!

x

Bonkers quilt is coming along...and a slice of fabric heaven

I definitely had a moment of angst with the plan for the quilt I mentioned in my last post.  Having cut 45 10" squares in VERY bright fabrics and arranged them in 3x3 blocks of 9, it all looked....well...a bit bonkers.   I was more than slightly concerned that the finished quilt would look like a pair of dungarees I had in my late teens...you know the sort, worn along with the tatty dyed hair and the army boots...and somehow I think that's what's good for 1990's dungarees, probably isn't good for a quilt now!

I persevered, and made the first couple of sets of disappearing-9-patch blocks (shown here on my car bonnet because it was the only dry place outside!)

and do you know what?  dungarees or otherwise, I liked them...

Spurred on I finished the other sets and pieced them all together last night to give me a completed quilt top measuring 56" x 70".

Phew, that was a pleasingly quick top to make...I think I may add a border to give it a little extra size but due to poor planning I don't have a 70" length of any of the solids.  Anyone got any good ideas for pieced borders?

In other news, I have to admit that I had an online fabric splurge with my Christmas money (thanks to both sets of parents!) a couple of weeks ago.  The first of three anticipated parcels arrived earlier this week, so you can imagine my glee when out spilled this selection from Pink Castle Fabrics.

Some yummy solids Kona Cyan, Bone, Stone and Pepper.

Plus a whole host of half yards that just took my fancy as I was browsing..including the clocks from Melody Millers new line, Ruby Star Shining, some Etchings and some Joel Dewberry.   Typically for me, none of them match, but I love them all!

And then, as I was about to hit publish on this post...the postman arrived with another two parcels.  Out came the camera again...how lucky do I feel!

From the Fabric Shoppe I'd chosen this Mod Green Pod Kaufman print, and these adorable birdies by David Walker for Free Spirit.  And Susan, I'd just about packaged up your birdies, but since the envelope is still open, I can add some of these in, if you'd like :)

In this package, I'd also ordered a pot luck bundle...2 yards of scraps (although I don't think I call just shy of half a yard a scrap!) so by chance I've got myself some of the fabulous scissor print I keep seeing everywhere at the moment.

And finally, the last parcel was from The Intrepid thread...and it did not disappoint... half yards of Lark by Amy Butler, and Terrain by Kate Spain,

A yard each of these lime green parrots by Tina Givens, this Aubergine Domestic Bliss print by Moda,  and the "Dazzle" print from Andover fabrics

And then (as if that wasn't enough!) two mini half yard bundles - Taza by Dena Fishbein and Karavan by Valorie Wells.

It's all a bit much, I think I need a lie down (and a ban on Internet shopping until Easter)

x

Time off

My trusty Husqvarna and I have been having some quality time apart this week.  It's just so lovely here in Hastings at the moment, and I was a bit "sewn out" after last week, so we've done a bit of this:

and a bit of this:

and of course a bit of this:

(Brit Bee ladies, I thought since we were sharing photos I'd show you some of the lovely James, since you already know what Felix and I look like!)

Not the sewing machine has had a complete holiday, I had some fun making Susan's Drunkards Path blocks:

I may be being daft, but I seem to have missed why this lovely pattern is called Drunkards path...can anyone enlighten me?

And I'm trying out some designs for handbag mirrors with cases.  I bought the machine and the kit to make 250 of the things when I was 35 weeks pregnant and slightly hormonal!  I thought I might cover them in vintage fabric scraps, and make little cases like the one below for selling at the craft fair in November, but I'm still not sold on the design - it's fiddly to do the lining and I'm struggling with witty phrases to add to the front.  James vetoed my suggestion of "Have I got spinach in my teeth??" saying no one would buy it!

Any ideas?  I also thought maybe adding a ribbon with a keyring?

Oh and finally, I left my computer alone for a second and it oddly found it's way to Whipstitch fabrics and ordered me a pile of nifty fabrics - how clever is that? :)

x 

I spent the fabric fund!

I went to the Festival of Quilts on Thursday...and I spent all my cash!!

 

It was brilliant, not only were there hundreds of inspiring quilts / works of art to be viewed, there was shopping galore AND I got to meet two of my bloggy Brit Bee friends in real life :)

 

I did take a few pictures but then got carried away and completely forgot to get a photo of Terri, Judith and I:
a) nattering
b) stroking fabric (we did quite a bit of that)
c) shopping
d) making inappropriate jokes
etc

 

Before I show you pictures, I just need to give a big "whoop whoop" to my mum for entertaining Felix whilst I got on with the above.  Thanks Mum, you're a total star :)

 

So back to the fabric..I was spending my fabric fund (the proceeds from selling vintage stuff in a local antique shop over the last couple of months).   Last Thursday, this totalled £177, ,all of which I managed to spend, plus a teensy bit on my debit card :)

Firstly, accessories:

• A much belated purchase of a 24" ruler - no more wonky strips for me - I kept accidentally clouting people with this - sorry if that was you...
• A large can of 505 (swear by it!) 
• A new rotary blade
• Bargain freezer paper

And then fabric basics:

• Two metres of grey pinstripe cotton - I'm thinking bags and linings
• Two metres of navy/white pinstripe cotton - the same
• One metre of a very soft linen - quilt backing
• A metre each of a vibrant Kona shade from Mandy at Simply Solids - not sure what for but I love them!

Couldn't resist:

• Two half metre Echino prints - Cameras and cars - LOVE these, the only way I could possibly use them is if I cut them up really small!
• Two half metre Melody Miller prints, one from Ruby star Rising, and one from the latest range, Ruby Star Spring, just because I HAD to own one!

A few random choices - I wanted to make sure I didn't come back with just one type of fabric, so I chose:

• A stunning print by Dan Bennett, plus two prints from the latest Philip Jacobs range (I think!)
• A half yard of a Liberty "map" fabric

• An amazing heavyweight London map fabric that was 98" wide
• Some Oakshott cotton (thanks to Judith I made a beeline for this stand!) in a totally gorgeous neutral Earth shade
• and some spotty upholstery weight fabric

 Phew, how happy am I?!  Haven't had any time to work with it so far..but am itching to get my scissors out!

I'll leave you with a few iPhone pictures of just some of the gorgeous quilts that caught my eye.....be inspired!

x

 

More sewing (and shopping!) than blogging this week

I've been a bit quiet on the blog front this week.  This is because I found that whole evenings were consumed by browsing other blogs, updating Flickr and writing posts and I wasn't actually getting any sewing done.  Please, other bloggers, tell me I am not alone in in this affliction/addiction? :)

Anyway, to redress the balance and more importantly meet the deadline for the cushions I am making for a local shop, I've been a busy stitching bee over the last few evenings.  I've pieced four cushion tops and am going to start on the backs tonight, pictures will follow when they're complete to prove I've not just been bunking off :)

In the meantime, I made a little fabric shopping trip to Eastbourne today.  Felix has decided that sleeping in her cot during the day is "so last month" and therefore trips in the car or buggy are a good way of getting her to have a rest (this is my excuse, and I'm sticking to it).  This was also the last of my splurges on fabric for a while as I've decided not to return to work for a bit.

First stop, a new find, The Owl and Sewing Cat, which stocks a great range of modern US fabrics.   I bought this lovely selection of prints:

Plus some polka dots.  Can one own too many polka dots?  Clearly the answer to this question is no :)

And a couple of fat quarters that I couldn't resist.

I then headed over to C+H fabrics, which have a more standard selection but do my favourite shot cotton in grey which I'm using for the cushions.  I finished their roll (3.9m) and also went for small amounts of other tones to try and break me out of my current grey addiction  - except that another grey linen snuck in somehow - how did that get there? :)

Ooo and to top it all, I found this pattern in a charity shop (for 50p) as Felix and I were wandering about

It's definitely been a successful shopping day :)

x

Dizzy Dinosaurs

Back to the quilt soon, but on saturday night I tackled another of the "Crafty To-do's" from my ever growing list.  This one was designing a fabric to print using the Spoonflower website.  This would probably have been lower down my list, but I was already on the website, printing InspiredbyFelix labels for my cushions (1m of fabric yields c400 fabric washable labels yeay!).   Anyway, whilst there I spotted "Project Selvage" which is a competition Spoonflower are holding. 

The task is to design a baby boy fabric, the top prize, to design a collection for Michael Miller!   Now, as a relative novice to fabric design, I don't expect to win, or get into the top 75 (on which the public vote), but this competition gave me a focus so I gave it a go.  I've been promised a copy of Illustrator from a friend, but whilst that's on its way, I managed with Powerpoint (years of working in business makes you pretty powerpoint proficient!) and other free Photo programmes. 

After faffing about for a couple of hours, I came up with "Dizzy Dinosaurs"

I have ordered a swatch and entered it into the competition!

Seize the day, I say!

x

The cure for crafters indecision

If in doubt, buy fabric!  Yes, yes I know I don't need it, but when faced with a half decent selection of patchwork cottons (at C+H fabrics in Eastbourne on Saturday), I just cave.   James and Felix gave me 10 minutes (they both seem to find fabric shopping rather torturous) and I came out with the following:

A lovely selection of purples for a baby quilt. I'm planning on a sliced coins design (click here for gorgeous examples from Don't call me Betsy's quilt along ) in graduated pinks, purples and maybe the odd green.

A metre of this delicious lightweight cotton lawn for a summer dress for Felix

My "of the moment" favourite grey flecked cotton

and for no particular reason this Amy Butler print - the green got to me.

It hasn't been all shopping and no making.  I hemmed a curtain on Saturday night, and then unpicked it because it wasn't straight  :( grrrrrr

Oh, and I did attempt one of those vintage soft toys from my earlier post.  My favourite is the tortoise, but it turns out she is supposed to be a pouffe and is 14 inches high.  She's still on my list (don't worry Nic!) but I thought I'd start with something simpler, and I went for this owl pattern.

Only my version was going to be cotton, smaller and hopefully a little more modern (!).  In the end I sketched my version of the pattern and winged it.  Here is the result:

Almost unrecognisable? Cute or creepy? I can't decide!

Anyway, I'm on a roll now, so expect some more stitchings in the next couple of days...
x

PS Happy Valentine's Day - and big thank yous to James for my gorgeous "Felix proof" bracelet xxx