Pink and purple - a request.

I said I was never making another one. 

I had made way too many and producing on demand was tiring me out.

But as we all know we should never say never.

And really it was rather fun.

Searching through the old curtain samples, mixing and matching till my mind said it was right. 

I even managed a little pocket inside and for me that is worse than most people's fear of installing zips.

Just hope the little lady likes it.

Making

I'm having heaps of fun making these colourful quilt as you go blocks. 

Of course I am doing the easy part because Jan Mac from Oz Comfort Quilts is going to be putting them together into a full sized, bound quilt. I expect this one will go to Bundaberg as it only has a light wadding and would not be warm enough for the colder parts of Australia.

So far I have finished 12 blocks and will try to get another 8 done in the next few days.

If you want to join in the fun of sharing you can either send finished quilts to Chookyblue or unfinished quilts or even just a few blocks to Oz Comfort Quilts.

The instructions for making the blocks can be found here.

Happy sewing!

For the chair

It seems that I have passed on some of my love for old things to at least one child.

Kara, my eldest, keeps appropriating my precious finds. This chair cost me a mere two dollars at a garage sale years ago. 

It was quickly recovered and then served as a dog chair downstairs at our last house. It's been sprayed for fleas many times and lately washed with a gentle bleach solution. The rain hit it often and possibly even the rottweiler and some native birds have sat in it. 

But now it serves as a cushion holder in Kara's bedroom. She claims she is taking it when she moves out shortly along with some of my other vintage bits and bobs. 

OK. I've agreed but only because I have too many. 

The latest batch of cushions were made from recycled skirts - one from a swap and the other bought at the thrift store - and filled with brand new inserts gifted by a friend who bought the covers cushions but didn't like the fact that they were so plump. 

The map at the rear is a piece of printed fabric found on the net and turned into a throw with a backing of fabric from Ikea.

My Make it in May Skirt

Thanks to Miss Curly Pops lot of skirts are being made this month that might otherwise never have seen the light of day.

This is mine.

A simple circular table cloth which had it's waist hole cut out weeks (and more) ago.

It's a lovely winter weight fabric and I am very glad that it will be able to be used this year.

For more wonderful and neat sewing try the Flickr group.

Slightly inspired

OK
 Maybe not so inspired but at least it got me out of doing the dishes. 

I promise that the colour looks better in real life.
What is really good about this refashion of a dated jumper is that I have just rescued it from the huge pile destined for a trip to the op shop.
Originally the top was bought with this sort of idea in mind but what happens to so many of my ideas also happened to it. It got hidden amongst all the rest of the garments that were bought secondhand so as to be refashioned.
I finally got tired of the huge pile. I had no idea what was in there and we have just received a no-fault termnation of our rental premises set to take place in about three months.
So it was either cull everything again or move huge unknown piles to the next place.I chose thw first option as the last move nearly killed me and I want this one to be easier.
Then tonight, while reading this post over on the Re-Fashion Co-op I got back enough mojo to actually do something.
A quick cut up the centre, some complimentary lace zigzagged on and I have a new cardi.
Maybe I'll hang on tho those bags for a couple more weeks and see what else pops out before I take them back.

 I didn't realise when I cut the jumper that it had a button closure in the back. 

But really, you would have to be a contortionist to know that my new top has an opening in both the front and back! 

         

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 And here is my wee helper.
 He's not deep in thought, just enjoy off cuts from the sour dough bread.
Nearly as good as chicken.

Super fast sewing

Just a quick sew up of a pencil case with fabric from the stash. 

A note pad made with left over scrapbooking papers and a few other bits scrounged from the paper drawers and there you have it. 

A few things to occupy a two year old who has a day full of sitting in front of her.

And then there were two.

A bag

Little jobs = lots of satisfaction

They are only little bits of sewing but to my mind they equate to three more jobs off my list so three less things I still have to do.
The skirt I picked up from the op shop the other week was a size 12 which is really a tad (or more) too small unless I wanted to wear it as a corset. That was easy to fix. Simply remove the zip, cut about 3 inches off, reattach the lining and the zip and now I have a really happy skirt to wear.
Next was that long forgotten quilt top. I simply cut a piece of the corner fabric to match the over all size, sewed around it at 0ne in the morning, turned it inside-out and ironed it.
One new bed cover for those hot summer nights.
And last was the Bible cover I finally whipped up for myself out of material I found under my bed whilst seeking the backing fabric for my bed cover.
Three simple, simple jobs but so often I don't possess the push to just do even the simple tasks.
In other news I have taken the 14 days free trial on ancestry.
Lots of late night trawling, digging and even the odd skeleton in the closet being revealed.
Lots of fun.

That sneaky UFO

It was hiding for nearly six years and I forgot about it in my purge last year. 

I am so happy I did. 

When I saw this post whilst perusing google images I suddenly know that I could use this gorgeous top that I still love as a summer bed topper.

I think I will just lengthen it with a bit of the corner fabric still hiding somewhere. 

So there you go folks: when I said I had no UFOs lying around I was actually telling a fib.

Cover for Dibs

Working on ....

Cushions for an elderly couple who have just had their lounge repainted a soft shade of green.

The sashing mimics the wall colour and the idea for the Japanese influence was their big Japanese fan above the settee.
I'm having heaps of fun.
Hope you are too.

More bags in my creative space

In response to all your lovely comments on my last bag I decided to make a similar one and pop it in my madeit shop.

I have also decided to make a couple of others and will put them in as soon as they are finished.

Here is the next one half way done.

For a peek at what other creative people are doing this week go here.

Another t shirt embellished and refashioned

 I hope I'm not boring you with all my refashions but I'm having heaps of fun doing them. 

This one is done with a simple $5 tee from K Mart.

Why?

Because I liked the colour. 

Specifically I wanted a colour I could wear with this circle skirt which was made a couple of years ago from an old tablecloth.

But a plain $5 t shirt isn't very inspiring so I decided to jazz it up with the help of some doilies.

Unfortunately, two doilies were hurt in the course of this job.

I used two squarish ones and laid them diagonally along the v neckline then simply sewed along the original seam line and snipped the left over pieces off in the back and zigzagged them neat.

The work didn't take much longer than the typing of this once I had made up my mind to do it.

Because the top was a little long and wide I took it in on the sides and ruched it up by applying ordinary 1/2 centimetre elastic along it using a largish zigzag stitch.

I found that the elastic needs to be stretched almost to it's ultimate stretch to give the effect I want.

And that's about it.

Except that I then decided to use the scraps I had cut offfrom the sides and make a little decoration for the centre.

Psst.

Thankyou to everyone who said to mow.

I did but it's rained heaps this week and it all needs redoing.

O dear.
Looks like I'm going to have to do it all over again.

T-shirt refashion

Take one Black Pepper t-shirt with a touch of bling

Cut a couple of inches of the hem. 

Slit it down the centre.

Shape the neckline and undo and inch or so of the shoulder seam.

Sew beautiful cotton lace purchased by beautiful daughter whilst in New York along the bottom.

Sew more beautiful lace along the centre.

Do a touch of handsewing, including attaching some buttonsand neatening the shoulder seams etc.

Now you have a refashioned Black Pepper t-shirt jacket.

Hooray!

Refashioning - How to enlarge a too small t-shirt

This tutorial will only work if your t-shirt is longer than you would normally wear it. I am a short person so am quite happy generally to shorten my tees. Or you may wish to use co-ordinating or contrasting fabric from another tee. I have also seen this done simply to featre a favourite piece of woven fabric so that is another option for you.

I generally wear an XL but found this perfect size M at the oppy today. I knew that I really wanted to spend some time playing around with unfitting clothing and doing some refashioning so this was a perfect start for me.

First I cut off the hem just above the stitching line. 

Then I cut a section approximately 7 cm from the bottom of the t-shirt. You must work out how much you will need to add according your t-shirt size.

The best way is to measure your bust. Then measure the bust of the t-shirt when it is lying flat and unstretched. Take this measurement away from your bust measurement and you will have the overall difference. Next you need to divide this for the two sides and add on two seam allowances. This will tell you how wide your inserts need to be. Hopefully you will still have enough length on your finished t-shirt for your height as well as inserts that are long enough to go from waist hem to sleeve hem. Please calculate these before proceeding.

 

After that I carefully removed the side seam being sure to only cut off the smallest amount. 

 The 7cm (0r whatever size you are dealing with) strip from the bottom of the tee is then split into two pieces by cutting the side seams out.

One piece gets sewn into the gap at each side, being carteful to align hems at the waist. 

After that you simply cut off the extra pieces at the sleeve and hem according to your taste. 

 If you want to turn over a hem at the sleeve you will need to leave enough allowance for this when you cut off the extra bit.

Please don't forget to clean your seams according to your favourite method.

If you are a novice when it comes to sewing with knit fabrics like I am then I would suggest taking a slow speed and gently feed the fabric in from the front and side. 

DO NOT pull from the back or you will stretch the fabric.

I used a 1/4 inch seam in size 3 stitch length (Brother machine) and cleaned the seams with a simple zigzag, feeding the seams in slowly again so as not to buckle them. Of course if you have an overlocker or serger and know what you are doing with knits this will all be a breese for you. As it is the project does not take a long time.

Enjoy!

I may or may not be back to show you how I further embellish this top. (that's if I even do!).

A bag for Patricia

I find it amazing that a  project that has defeated my creativity for months could suddenly be finished in an hour and a half after midnight.

But there it is.

I was asleep or almost asleep when this bright spark leapt in my brain and next thing you know I had produced the long awaited bag.

Just a little purse bag and not precisely according to my original plans but it is finally done.

I'm thinking that I probably should have nipped the sides in but Pat says it is fine as it is.

Hope some bright sparks leap in your brain from time to time too. 

A blast of purple.

I love it when a gift is exactly what is wanted.

When the squeels of delight are better than a monetary reward.

I knew Melly wanted a cover for her big Bible so that it would not become wrecked or distorted from constant use. 

I only meant this for the short term until she was able to get a professional one but she says it is so perfect that that is it.

Good thing it even matches her bedroom!

First clutch for New York

This is my first version as a trial of the pattern.

It is an all in one piece but next time I think I will add the flap in seperately. 

I didn't like turning the inner corners although this may be the best way to have a neat, compact finish. 

The lining has it's own reinforcement made by cutting heavy sunblock fabric to the exact size of the finished article and top stitching them together in a pleasing pattern.

I think that worked because it means there is no extra bulk in the seams but the piece is still stiff.

The strap is one of my Mother's necklaces. 

Next time I need to use a smaller magnetic closure and place the magnet on the flap so there is less interference with credit cards. 

Also a flat button would have been better than one with a shank.

Other creative spaces are here.