And then there were three…. It’s bag fest time. Last weekend was my annual foray into bag making and I get so much pleasure out of plotting and planning what it will be, researching the options and gathering the supplies. This year it is the Yarn Minder Bag by Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness.
Read MoreHello there…. a short and sweet post today about a short and sweet project. This gorgeous Boro Inspired Kinchaku bag was just exactly what I needed as a project to weave in between weekends away visiting family and long over due jobs in the house and garden. It is a non messy, user up of scraps and entirely relaxing little sewing project that produces something super pretty and super useful too.
Read MoreHi everyone and welcome to the sewing room in 2020. New Years Resolutions….mmmm…..well, like most people, I never struggle to make them, but can I actually keep them, this is the question. This year, one of my resolutions is to use up some of my fabric stash. I sometimes wonder what on earth I am doing with so much fabric - I would have to live three lives concurrently to have any chance of using it all up and how tragic would it be not to use it - I love all of it. So I pulled down a plastic box from on top of my cupboard and inside were some remnants of home decorating fabrics. One of them was this really beautiful piece of silk taffeta fabric, which had been carefully folded and stored in tissue paper. It was one of the those lucky finds in a bucket somewhere long ago and has been periodically taken out of it’s hiding place, lovingly stroked but then put away because I wasn’t sure what to do with it. It has gorgeous floral brush strokes and pops of embroidery to highlight the flowers and has a sheen and exoticness all of its own.
Read MoreIt starts with a denim skirt - I have probably had it over 10 years and it is a more than a bit dated. I haven’t worn it for a long time, but it found it’s way into the cupboard in my sewing room because of the embroidered band on it - I always planned to do something with it. It has been sitting there for about 4 years and last week, I was clearing and tidying my sewing stuff and I plonked it on the floor of my sewing room with a firm intention to get on with it
Read MoreA while ago (actually 4 years to be precise) I made a ‘Weekender’ Bag from Amy Butler’s pattern. It was not an easy make, especially for someone like me who had never used piping before and is not all that comfortable with zips. It actually turned out remarkably well and I have used it plenty. It is not brilliant though and I have often thought about making another one …. with hindsight. Recently I saw on Instagram, a beautiful version made by ‘a.crafty.fox’ and was suddenly inspired to try again - helped by the fact that I am just finishing up my second ‘Shoreham’ quilt, I had a million scraps left over and figured the two were a match made in heaven….or is it hell.
So here we go again - a text print weekender bag…..take 2.
Read MoreIn assembling the bag you need the 3 C's 'Chocolate, Chardonnay and Courage' but perhaps most of all GO SLOW. Read, re-read and take your time.
Read MoreTwo days to go before packing and so, before our computer is whisked away and I have to sign off for a while, I just wanted to update you on my summer accessories project. We have a couple of big occasions this summer, our youngest son's final Speech Day at school and our daughter's graduation from university, so I wanted to make some pretty things to use. I am not much of a clothes person really, but accessories....I love. So what do I have to report. Well, first of all... Anna Maria Horner is a total genius. The needlepoint clutch bag is quite simply the prettiest project I have ever worked on and its going to be really lovely.
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