A cheery Good Friday, lots of sewers and non-sewers, lots of hot-cross-buns.
A reclaimed blouse progressed, two dresses were altered, a dress designed, a peacock waistcoat nearly completed from scratch and Elephant III went home in time to be a first birthday gift (amazingly, the polystyrene beads did not go everywhere this time)!
An adorable baby joined us while his grandmother was creating a mat for him to lay on – he dozed for most of the session!
Woodwork project completed this morning!
Made from plywood salvaged from the built-in cupboards in my family’s 1930s, recycled Prefab home (now sadly being demolished), the box was designed to conceal the ugly, plastic container for my Bernina sewing machine bits (and match the room’s timber). Curiouss containers for sewing bits have a illustrious history as described in this Yarnstorm post.
After-school sewers were industrious this week, one worked on her sewing-machine bag; the other completed a coat for her dog, Daisy, in fabric scraps left over from the family’s sofa (as recovered by her mother).
In the photo, the coat is modelled by soft toy Steve the Gorilla!
It was delightful to enjoy the company of two pupils on their half-term holiday.
One wore the perfectly-finished waistcoat begun at her Christmas visit and began work on a second in preparation for making a third in a special fabric for her summer prom; her mother’s dungarees further progressed and will certainly be finished in time for the summer months.
The second pupil deployed her granny’s Christmas gift – an amazing, entry-level, battery-operated sewing machine – to work on a bag to store the machine in.
A joy and an honour – an invitation to make minor (reversible) alterations to an original Lanvin piece (so pleased that I had attended a morning’s hand-stitching couture course at Ray Stitch last October).
This stunning, vintage, haute-couture garment had been hired in New York to wear on the red carpet at the 2024 BAFTA awards ceremony by Rebecca Lloyd-Evans, a film director nominated for the film – Blue Bag Life. The photograph shows her leaving a reception at the Savoy to attend the ceremony.
Rebecca is an amazing talent, you can hear some of her work here: https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2016/sep/01/camera-off-grannys-dinning-out-story-podcast
A record six sewers, fortunately spread over the day – ages 12 – sixth and seventh decades!
Projects tackled were: a blouse design, tunic shortening, elephant bean-bag ears, exotic silk coat lining, baby mat letters, new sewing machine bag.
The completion of Elmer-2 was interesting. Having not been present during the filling of Edwina’s bag-liners with annoying polystyrene balls (they go everywhere) and the stuffing of the filled bags into the covers, I had not realised how challenging the task would be (almost birth in reverse)! 
Eventually, we succeeded and Jackie was able to take home her delightful elephant to present to her grandaughter – gestation period a standard 9 months! (See Elephant Bean Bag and Quiet Summer’s End.)
A third elephant is still in production. I have found some slightly stretchy, lightweight crepe to make the internal bag (left over from a failed bridesmaid toile project). As it needs to be double thickness and involved some jig-sawing, I decided to undertake the construction myself – with Sid’s help.
The first S-I-C sewers (mother & daughter) welcomed the new year on 2nd January: dungarees made progress and a shirt and waistcoat were designed for a summer prom. 
After-school sewers are making a doggy-coat (to match a sofa) and have replaced the netting of two-pond cleaners (one in black, one in white).
Two Friday sessions saw elephant bean bags nearing completion, linings secured in a pair of winter cycling gloves and the coat-lining, begun in December, moving to the next stage ….
… but, most delightful is the dog in Gilli’s doggy-drying towel bag – made in just one afternoon!
November sessions were super-busy (one Friday afternoon, five sewers were squeezed around the table with daughter and fancy-dress-borrower added for lunch).
Particularly successful were two pairs of PJ shorts copied from the recipient’s ancient, worn to shreds favourites.
And one of S-I-C’s youngest sewers enjoyed making a cushion cover with a contrasting diagonal zip from her mother’s sofa project remnants (while eating a crust of ‘Bread on a Bike’s best sourdough)!
I helped a small friend create a gift for me – his design and choice of fabrics (Niwaki knife also a family gift).
In the days after Christmas (when Covid had finally departed), more gifts were crafted: a tablecloth was made for a seed swap event from a charming length of seed-packet print (once my mother’s bathroom curtain still showing signs of mould); a conveyer belt for a vintage Dinky toy was made from elastic to replace the perished rubber one (and a coat and pair of sweatpants were repaired).
sew.in.company 