Quiet Time

May and June have been fallow months for creating – too much gallivanting and way too hot in the sewing room!

Despite the heat, the DofE student has made progress with her project, wedding suits have been altered, darts added to a linen dress, curtains made and shortened (my least favourite tasks) and a stunning wedding gown adjusted – providing three different fabrics to create a plaited headband.

The fabric cut from the curtains will be used for a quilt – the hunt is on for complementary scraps!

Book-club Blouse

Made to order for Pat to wear to her monthly bookclub meeting. Inserting complementary coloured piping on sleeves, pockets and hem was fun.

The final fit is a little snug but there was limited fabric available – it also features on the Friends of Rock Road Library Noticeboard, 12 March Post, and will make another appearance soon as a summer frock!

 

Any one for tennis?

This week’s sewing challenge was to create a tennis ‘skort’ dress – to wear at a new club which requires players to wear white.

Sid approves the ‘toile’ (a version made in cheap fabric to trial fit and style).

Double-take

These bold print ‘slacks’ were such a favourite of mine that, when they began to fade, I made a second pair!

(Fabric John Lewis furnishing, cotton Passion-flower print)

A Good Friday!

Of course, there were Hot Cross Buns at the Easter workshop – and delicious, home-made lemon biscuits.

Participants were learning to knit (thank you ‘Associate Expert Tutor’ Pat), cutting-out a blouse (Duke of Edinburgh project), making progress on the Marta quilt and creating a pom-pom Easter chick.

(Not surprisingly, Sid decided to find somewhere quiet to snooze and did not carry out his usual pattern layout inspection.)

 

Attending a Workshop

Today, it was my turn to attend a workshop!

Organised by SPAB the location was the headquarters of the William Morris Society in the coach-house of Kelmscott House, his former Hammersmith home.

We enjoyed excellent talks, inspected original prints and designs, then dived in at the deep-end to create a work inspired William Morris’s approach to craft.

My companion and I began a joint project – a cushion for her daughter – using a border designed by Anne and Morris-designed script.

We selected the shortest of the suggested Morris quotes:

‘Give me love and work – these two only’

As I had not previously encountered the double-sided interfacing used for applique and have very little embroidery experience, I was on a steep learning curve.  Happily, workshop leader Susan Vickery was extremely helpful and we thoroughly enjoyed our day.

The work is still in progress!

Mothering Sunday Weekend Friday 2

On Friday, a project which has taken over three months to plan and execute was collected.  The challenge was to convert a set of ‘pre-loved’ curtains for use elsewhere in a seaside holiday home where the ‘vintage’ brown print curtains were in need of replacement. The recycled curtains, a good quality plain textured weave, were too short and there was not quite enough fabric to cover the expanse of windows in the new location.

Sid carrying out an inspection of the fabric:

The solution was to create two sets of curtains by adding blocks in complementary shades of ocean blue – original heading tape and linings were retained and matched.

The result is very pleasing – 10 curtains matching top and bottom!

The fabric remnants were used to make half-a-dozen unique cushions.

Design and calculations:

 

Mothering Sunday Weekend – Tabbards

A very pleasant Friday afternoon spent with baby Anabelle’s quilt-making grandmothers (and mother) making two simple work tabards.

Needles in a Haystack!

Most weeks, at the end of the school day, I spend a few hours in the company of a delightful 5-year old.

Today she enjoyed playing with the glass-headed pins in my favourite pincushion which once belonged to my grandmother.

Without any pins, I was able to squeeze it to extract any fine needles lurking in the middle.  I was astonished by the number I found – around 70!

Sound advice from my mother is to put needles in sideways – or use a needle holder!

Claire’s Coffee & Cake Bunting

19 March is a very sad anniversary for my family.

In fond remembrance of my sister, I began some bunting using some cheap cake print fabric I bought many years ago to use at the wonderful, fund-raising coffee mornings that she regularly held at her home.

The bunting will be used to promote ‘cake’ events at Rock Road Library.

The Reverse

I enjoyed selecting the fresh Spring pink, blue and green fabrics – reminding me of our favourite childhood Blackberry Farm stories.