Bags of time?

I can't believe its December already!! What have I been doing with myself? Today is a rainy old miserable day so I've spent it sorting through photos and updating the shop with new products I've been working on (well, 1 new product). There will be others soon but christmas fesitivities may well get in the way.

Did I ever post about my obsession with bags? Any kind? Little miss P has the same obsession so I've been working on several different things. This apple pencil case was a present for a good friend of Miss P's .

I meant to make little miss one too but didn't get roung to it till this week (bad mother!!).

I made hers out of some very precious japanese fabric I bought at great cost and which depicts her favourite disney princess/costume/story of 2009, sleeping beauty!! Of course I screwed it up a bit(as I always do with expensive fabrics). Still, she won't notice on christmas day when she tosses it aside in favour of brightly coloured noisy plastic!!

If you look closely you can see I even made little zip cover tabs! Ooooerrr missus!

But it didn't stop there oh no sireee! I just couldn;t stop making bags!

My next experiment was a clutch that I've been wanting to make for oh so long! Its the first thing in a long long time that I have made in one sitting, from design, to completed project. I even threw caution to the wind and went straight in with a liberty print which I never, ever do when I'd designing. I'm never this reckless with my much loved liberty!


I was so pleased with the way it came out. Methinks clutches will become a present for many a good friend in 2010! Im also going to turn it into a pattern...... at some point!

The final entry into my portfolio of clutches is this little work in progress. I can't take credit for the design its a shameless of copy of one I saw on a much loved blog (when I learn how to add links I'll drop one in!!) Is it ok to copy for personal use and then blog about it? Anyway, its destined for a little friend of miss p's from santa!!

It was the legs that did it!

I'm having real problems configuring my new studio. I just can't seem to 'get it right'. I bought a new chair on a whim and love love love it (it was the legs I think I fell in love with) but sadly it seems to fit better into Mr B's office than the cosy nook for hand sewing I had in mind :( . Methinks his office will have to be said nook from now on!!

This wkend I took every single thing out of the stuido. A sensible person would have organised sorted and planned the event but not me. Everything is in boxes, all jumbled up and outta control and in the midst of it I've got lots of bunting orders to get out in time. Arrrghghghgh.

Time to sit in said lovely chair with a cup of coffee and stick my head in the sand!

make do and mend

I love second hand furniture and have been on the look out for an old sewing box for as long as I've been sewing (about 20 years!!)! A couple of wks ago I found one on line! I nearly wet myself! The only snag was I had to go into the second hand shop to buy it, and, as it was out of town, I had to wait till the wkend (I've only just started driving in France and have yet to drive further than the school and back!). Everyday I checked on line to make sure it hadn't gone!!
It was an agonising wait! I was at the shop door before it opened, first in the queue, drooling! I walked in and there she sat, all dusty and unloved and yet again I nearly wet myself, she was to be mine, all mine!!

I stroked her tenderly, paid the man and took her to her new home.

Then lined her trays with lovely Heather Bailey paper which I have been saving for oh so long!

Bliss....

Now I have no excuse to mend socks and sew buttons. All my hand sewing supplies will live happily ever after in their lovely new home!

Catch up!

Its been a while since I've posted. A lot has happened, but I had a rare moment of clarity today… Since little miss p was born I’ve been playing catch up.

Catching up on sleep, catching up on housework, trying desperately to catch up with friends whilst at the same time catching up with housework!!, chasing, and never catching up with, admin (which always seems out of control). Catching up with orders and customers, catching up with enthusiastically started sewing projects. Trying to catch up with blog posts, which I have swirling around in my head but which never seem to get published. Catching up on little miss p’s blog posts, beautiful pictures which chart her adventures, all neatly uploaded into months with a catchy one liner ready to sum up the mood.

Finally and most painfully catching up with my body which I’ve pushed to the limit, and which no longer wishes to co-operate in my quest to catch up and produce a sibling for little miss p.

I haven’t posted for quite some time. I didn’t want this blog to become about the emotional me..... a self indulgent outpouring of my deepest neuroses. I wanted it to chart my progress as I develop my sewing skills, however the two are interlinked.

So, today I'm sitting in my new studio, on my new old chair looking at a messy, a very messy studio, with my fave mug of coffee and my inspiration note book. I'm going to stop trying to catch up and enjoy the moment.

More orders and a little extra

I have a lovely customer who regularly orders bunting for her freinds and family. I wanted to make something special for her so she knew how much I appreciate her coming back. I made the Amelia bunting in a special colour scheme of pinks and purples,

and then made these very cute little birdy lavender sachets to hang in her new wardrobes! They were such a delight to make and I spent ages photographing them in different positions around the house! (at that point I realised I need to get out more!!).

These were made from an existing pattern from the book last minute quilted gifts. I love the way they came out but I wanted them to have a bigger flatter tail, so I redesigned and made muslin examples (will post more pics soon, honest!!). As soon as I have time I'll make them 'proper' and let them fly into the shop (now I've written this I HAVE to do it!!).

Its been a while...

since I posted! There is a lot going on around here!! Fortunately its all good news! I've had a flurry or bunting orders, including my first Australian comission. The buyer was such a lovely person I pulled out all the stops. I included some of my fave liberty prints and the colour scheme she selected for her daughter's name was perfect. I was really pleased with it!

The buyer left some lovely feedback in the shop so it was worth all the effort. Making stuff to sell can be a real roller coaster. Somedays you feel great, somedays you are convinced your stuff is rubbish and why would anyone want to pay money for it. Making this and the appreciation from the seller makes it all worthwhile and keeps me sewing!

Manic

I'm in a mad panic to try and sort easter in a day. We travel to blighty tomorrow to spend easter with family and I am no way near ready, i still have eggs to buy, birthday presents to send and projects to plan to do while we're away. The reason for this mania I can't complain about though. I've had a flurry of bunting orders this week and I've been beavering away sewing for newborns and birthdays, and coming up with some new colour combinations. I've also been working on graphics for the shop to show custom listings and new photos. I especially love the way the detail for the gift bags came out!

This is a scheme I've put together for custom pink and purple bunting, reminds me of bubblegum!

And this little selection is being put together for a little girl called Florence, lush!

the wheels on the bus go round and round...

Little miss P's fave song at the moment. So I made her a bus to sing about!

Its raw edge applique, machine sewn with a darning foot & free motion. When you get up close and personal you can see I need to practice more!

In my head...

This has been in my head for so so so long! I can't take credit for the design myself, neither can I credit the person who originally designed it as I have no idea where I saw it. I just saved a pic and then recreated it and I think its the best thing I've made for little miss p's bedroom so far. I loved every bit of the process and it came together so so so quickly. I used the english paper piecing method which is so satisfying and easy. The pics aren't great we have been starved of good light in Paris but there were a couple of rays which broke thru the grey clouds so I quickly snapped a few pics just before I finished adding the trunk (notice the pins holding it together!!).

Because its a wall decoration I left the papers in and used good old cellotape to stop them falling out. This process gives it a great 'structure/stability' for putting on the wall. Even the edges were cellotaped so there are no stitch lines on the outside. I was really lazy with the trunk I just bondawebbed it on.

The biggest problem is where to put it, it looks great on every wall so I can't decide. Its currently moved to her door and has a bird next to it to keep it company! I can't wait to make more! I think I'll do 3 more to reflect each season, I could even make them into a quilt... the possibilities are endless!

supersize pincushion

I've been meaning to make this pincushion, desiged by Anna Maria Horner for absoluetly ages. With spring once again in the air and looking like it might be here to stay for more than a day (I started this post before the weather changed!!) I got out my scraps and decided to use ginger blossom fabrics to make it up.

I think I was putting if off as I was worried about sewing the curves as its made up of 8 segments. I have a love hate relationship with curves, I love them, love looking at them, love the shape they make, they are so aesthetically pleasing! But sewing them sometimes sends me doolally. In fact I'm actually stuck on a baby jane block cos I just can't get the curves right. Sorry I digress.

This pattern is so easy and produces a chunky pincushion. I really enjoyed sewing it, little miss P stuffed it with her tiny finger and I finished the base watching more of The Wire, what a perfect way to spend your day!

Doll quilt

This is the first quilt I ever made from start to finish without the aid/support/finishing skills of my mum. Its a doll quilt for the ikea dolls bed we bought for little miss P (this was before we reaslied she doesn't like/play with dolls. She's a 'sofite/cuddly toy.. preferably rabbit' kinda gal. It breaks my heart when she rejects the dolls I make for her. I had such dreams of spending hours dressing dolls and decorating dolls houses.....

This quilt was supposed to be added to an 'upgraded and reworked' version of the full bedding set which IKEA supplies, however, due to aforementioned blip in my vision of my little girls childhood, it never got finished. She never played with it. I always meant to finish it though, so, when I talked about it to a friend who then went on to actually do what I only talk about it inspired me to take action.

So, you'd think I'd make it easy on myself, oohhhnnnooooosireeeeeee. I decided to start with the little pillow which was a blue colour which showed through the fabric. So first I created a cream lining to mask the blue.

I then made an envelope pillow, but I wanted it to tie in with the quilt and I wanted to learn a new skill and creating piping is something I've always wanted to try. I used a tutorial from Portabellopixie


These are a couple of picks of the corners. I can't post a picture of the whole thing as some of went the sides were a bit wonky. I was pleased with my first attempt but need perfect the skill, its harder than it looks but the effect is great!

That dress!

Is it just me or does everyone have a sewing project nemesis? Before xmas I started a dress up cinderalla outfit for little miss p. I did it proper like. Bought a proper pattern. Read all the instructions from start to finish. Bought everything I needed to be able to make it in one sitting, u know like proper sewing folk do. I even made a muslin draft of the bodice so it couldn't go wrong.... ahhhh but it did, it ALL went wrong from start to finish. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. I had to redo the bodice about a million times because I sewed it in the wrong order or upside down. The fabric slipped all over the place when cutting, when sewing. It was like trying to sew jelly and the tuille.... don't get me started. The sleeves didn't fit, EVER, even though I tried 3, yes 3 times!! Needless to say it wasn't finished for xmas.

I must have a screw loose, because to try and lift me from my sewing lull I decided to have one more try. ET voila!!

Post christmas things continued to go wrong, but I wasn't going to be beaten so I made a few changes just to get it done. I cut so many corners its a wonder it didn't turn into a quilt. I got rid of the sleeves and put in elasticated straps instead.

I finally handed it to little miss P today and she loves it (even though its not finished properly and its too big) but it turned out ok, especially the side drapes.

Whilst filing the pattern away into my pile of sewing projects never ever to be repeated I couldn't decide if I'm a crap sewer for not being able to complete the pattern as intened, or in fact I was a genius sewer (yeah right) for being able to adapt it into something that I think works better. Hmmmm, actually what I decided was that I'm going to design a new simpler pattern which anyone can make without the trauma I've been through. I wonder what kind of sewer that makes me then?

killing 2 birds with one stone!

I love scrappy bits of fabric. I find it hard to cut into a beautiful piece of fabric sometimes but with scraps I feel reckless and inspired. So, to get my sewing mojo back I made my first scrappy log cabin block.

First I cut out a 2 inch square. Then I found all my favourite scraps and cut them into 1inch strips. I sewed randomly and tried not to think too hard about colours, and finished with white cotton. A new addiciton methinks! Unfortunately it means even fewer scraps are going to get thrown out now ;)

Oh yeah, and now I can't stop making them!

This one came out a bit wonky but at least I'm sewing again!