A Little Light Looting

Sometimes, it’s only thing to do.

Such as when Hawthorne Supply Co. emails you to announce a Big Sale, and you find something really gorgeous in the perfect fabric weight and finish.

I bring you Art Gallery Fabrics’ ‘Flowershock’ in ‘Spell’, designed by Pat Bravo. It’s a fine, smooth poplin at 134gsm, and I bought 3.5 yards. Originally it was US$22/yard, and I got it for US$6.95/yard + shipping. Event with the FedEx satchel, it was still cheaper than the original price. I adore this colourway, and it’s going to be turned into a clothe of some sort rather than patchwork (except incidentally, as scraps). The sale is still on, incidentally, and I’m not getting paid anything to mention this, or drool over my fabric. There are some other really beautiful and interesting fabrics included in the sale. I urge you to go and look.

The photo makes the background look a bit greenish around the outside, but the true colour is the grey in the middle. It’s a hard colour to photograph well.

Excuse me. I have a pile of fabric to go and pet…

ScrapHappy April

Welcome once again to ScrapHappy Day!

It’s the day my friend Gun in Sweden and I host ScrapHappy, a day for showing something made from scraps.

I had to leave the shop name in!

Anyone who remembers this coat and the bag I made to match will not be surprised that there were luscious scraps to be used up.

The fabrics were so pretty and the pieces so substantial that I simply couldn’t bear to throw them out, although I couldn’t immediately think what to do with them. They’re also backed with grey wool batting, so not suitable for lighter purposes. They’ve sat in a bag until I had a brainwave. The coat itself is very warm, too warm for our northern climate, but something less substantial would work well.

I have an olive drab fleece gilet/ bodywarmer/ hooded waistcoat. It’s a good one, a 30 year old vintage Airwalk I bought in my early 30s, which comes out year after year on the chillier days of our mild winters. I don’t like the colour much, but it’s so useful. You see where I’m going with this, don’t you? I have just enough scrap left from the coat to cover the body part in a stained-glassy sort of way, with the joins covered with black bias tape.

This is where I’m at so far. The pieces are stitched down directly onto the fleece with strong quilting thread and the larger ones are also quilted down to make them stable. I’ve pinned down the bias tape, which I’ll hemstitch carefully on either side to cover the raw edges. It’s extremely fiddly, but also extremely satisfying, and by the time winter arrives late May/June, I should have it done. I’m still debating what to do with the hood. I never use it, and I’m contemplating cutting it off and forming a sort of rolled collar. Or not. I’ll see how it goes.

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible (including food). If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.

Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at). Fellow ScrapHappy posters, please update your lists to match the one below, as things have changed recently.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
 Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa,
Lynn, Tierney and Hannah

 

Visible mending

There was no point in going for invisible.

This is one of my favourite accessories. Or perhaps that should be necessities. It’s a soft, light, block printed Indian muslin shawl/scarf. I’ve had it for at least 30 years. It travels everywhere with me; it’s perfect for cutting out nasty draughts on planes, it has done service as an extra sheet, as beachwear, as an emergency skirt, as head/shoulder coverings in places where they should be covered, as a picnic blanket, and as an impromptu shopping bag, tied up like a furoshiki.

Yesterday, it was lying on the bed, doggo was frolicking and larking about on the bed, and big old greyhound toenail met scarf. A rip occurred. It was tidy and straight. I didn’t lose my mind, but it clearly needed mending.

Options: a) matching all the colours perfectly (a lost cause); or b) creating a strong mend that was durable and not too obvious. I opted to go for a strong mend that was not too obvious. And while I was at it, I had a play with the decorative stitches on my sewing machine. It works. The mend is strong and secure, the scarf is still supple, and it doesn’t leap out and poke you in the eye.

It’s good to love something enough to fix it properly.

A Message from the Universe

When life tries to tell you something, listen.

With Obstacles one and two, I thought I just needed to press on regardless. Obstacle three smacked me upside the head and I finally paid attention.

This is where I’d got to. (Things look just a tiny bit different now, but you’ll see that in a later post).

Obstacle one was Higgins deciding that my paper pattern was a delicious treat I was withholding from him, and he was going to chew chunks out of it. ‘The dog ate my homework’. Literally. But seriously, it wasn’t that bad, and after hearing the rustling and hurtling around the corner of my work table to see him mauling my hard work, I managed to rescue it before anything terminal happened. It’s patched and a bit soggy in places but still perfectly usable.

Obstacle two was the overlocker (serger) unthreading itself again, and again, and again. I finally got it going once more, and zoomed up the second front dart (hidden under the outer pin tuck on the bodice front).

And that’s when Obstacle three made itself known. I’d been so preoccupied with getting the dratted edge finished off that I’d failed to notice I’d had the corner of the neck opening tucked under. I’d sliced a good inch off the corner. It had all been going too well…

People, I listened, finally. It was time to call it a day.

Having conceded defeat, the Universe permitted me to rescue the situation. I added a ‘feature’ patch to even up the chopped off corner. I will be adding a button to make it look more purposeful, and a loop on the other side. Neither of them needed, but we do what we must.

Tomorrow, I shall be gathering the centre part of the back, then stitching on the back yoke. If no more thunderbolts are sent from above, I might try and join front to back at the shoulders and maybe, just maybe, let in the sleeve heads.

Watch this space. I’ll try to avoid bloodshed.

The Unmaking

Sometimes, you just have to do it.

Unmake something you love, so it can live again.  I have – had – a favourite top. It was made of fine, smooth cotton lawn, in a vibrant shade of orange with white motifs on it. I bought it in an op/charity/thrift shop for $5, and wore it weekly for many years. It was perfect for our climate, it was cheerful and comfortable, and I loved it.

It was starting to show its age. It was faded. I’d mended it once, twice, and then it started to get very thin under the arms from wear and friction. And then the neck band started to fray and wear through. I had to concede. Time and physics defeated me. So I began the Unmaking.

Have you ever tried unpicking overlocking/ serging? It’s a Lot, especially as it was good quality 4-thread overlocking. I was urged to simply cut it off, but if you do that, you lose your seam allowances. So I unpicked every single thread. Then I starched the pieces firmly and pressed everything flat (or as flat as they’d go after years of curving around me).

And then, remembering how they’d all gone together, and where bits might have been trimmed off, I traced around every piece onto large sheets of butcher’s paper, and labelled and ruled straight grain lines and marked where pieces should match up.

I’ve modified the pattern slightly. I’m making a simpler front opening. There was an elaborate placket around a slit in the front neckline. I don’t need that, it contributes nothing to the design. I’m going to add a simple facing and make a rectangular slot.

The Unmaking is done. Now I’m ready for the Making of a new friend.

Double whammy

I admit it. I bought fabric.

Half a metre, and it’s beautiful. We were in Coramba, west of Coffs Harbour, meeting Dale and Wayne for lunch, together with both doggos.

The pub in Coramba has a spectacular view out the back, is dog-friendly and has very, very nice food.

And the quilt shop is two doors down…. What can I say? Nesting Needles is small but packed with all sorts of luscious stuff from fabrics to threads to kits to yarns to crochet hooks to interesting tools. I visited last time I was in the area, and some of what I bought featured in my patchwork coat. Dale bought a book and an embroidery hoop for decorative mending on jeans. I bought just one single piece of fabric. I’m quite proud of my restraint!

And then lunch, which didn’t disappoint either. I had an absolutely delicious prawn, bacon and roasted corn chowder with toasted and buttered Turkish bread. Other delights included crumbed lamb cutlets with salad and local fish & chips. We had to get take-away boxes…

So, I count that as a score on two fronts: fabric, and lunch with friends.

ScrapHappy January

Welcome once again to ScrapHappy Day!

It’s the day my friend Gun in Sweden and I host ScrapHappy, a day for showing something made from scraps.

I found something in the bottom of a box I was clearing out. What is it, you may ask? It’s a glasses case.

Many years ago I got a pair of Timberland prescription sunglasses. They came in this seemingly flat bit of brown cardboard. Well, it’s not totally flat.

With the aid of a couple of magnets, it turns into a rather spiffy firm glasses case, and then back to a flat object again. Not only space saving, but also made from recycled materials (except the magnets).

So I thought I’d have a go at making my own. As you do.

I haven’t got very far with it, but I have managed to make a pattern (it’s actually two pieces, hence the pins holding the bits together).

Also, I’ve picked out some of my very brightest scraps, on the basis that it’ll be hard to lose in the depth of my purse.

I have my fingers crossed that I can make it work. I have some magnets somewhere. I have some sturdy card. If I can, it’ll be featured in a future ScrapHappy. If I can’t, you probably won’t see it again unless I decide to decoupage all over the existing item!

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.

Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at).

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, 
Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
 Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa,
Lynn, Tierney and Hannah

And to everyone who only joins us for ScrapHappy Day, a very Happy New Year or other seasonal celebration of your choice.

First makes of the year, and finally – progress!

Time to make some inroads on all those PIWs (projects in waiting).

First, two quick and easy makes.

Yet another variant on my favourite top. Yes, it IS most definitely very bright, but you know me. And those are very me colours. It’s also very light and cool and the fabric is pleasantly smooth. It was also the last of the bolt, and at 1.7m (1.8 yards) it was definitely not big enough for the usual pattern layout.  Several extra seams later, I made it work without too much visible awkwardness.

And then, in a heavier cotton, a light jacket for when the weather starts to get cooler. Again, fiddling about required, as the pattern called for cutting double fronts to face the front edge and side/shoulder seams. I wasn’t about to waste that amount of fabric; overlocking is just fine for an unlined jacket and I cut my own front facing much more economically. I love the fun fabric and it will look good with jeans and t-shirt or my saffron wide-leg pants. Oh, and I added pockets, of course.

And finally… finally, I have sandwiched the Delft quilt, which you last saw here, nearly a year ago.

Ideally, I’d have liked to spray baste it, but that would have needed more than the two hands I was blessed with, so pin basting it was. Outside, on my only large-enough table, in 32°C/ 90°F. Oh, I know how to have a good time…

Now, your thoughts, please. The quilting thread colour options are white, navy or pink. The first two will disappear into the background almost completely. The pink will show a little more, but that would be intentional. Which do you think? Currently I’m leaning towards the pink, if only to pick up the light pink used throughout the quilt, and the backing, which is also light pink, but I’m prepared to be convinced otherwise. Or maybe another colour altogether?

I’m obviously going to be hand-quilting (because hexies, all hand-pieced, etc), so this will be a long, leisurely process, if rather hard on my right hand. Now, I just have to decide if I’m going to do my traditional clamshell repeat, or come up with something different. As always, it’ll be one shape repeated, edge to edge, since for me the quilting is to hold the layers together and add texture; the real story is the fabric and the colour. I deeply admire those who craft sensational quilted designs on their work, but it’s not for me.

And now, I’m off to soak my fingertips in rubbing alcohol to start that callus process. You may laugh, but it helps.

The days are long, but the years are short

Gretchen Rubin had it right. And the years just keep on getting shorter.

This year has been a bit mixed for me. Sad and bad stuff has happened, balanced as always by good and happy things. I have much to be grateful for and a few things to feel a bit despondent about. Overall, though, the Husband and I are still celebrating life with gusto.

The Husband, as always, is my rock, my biggest supporter and my safe place. Marrying him was the best thing I’ve ever done.

Higgins is a joy, a demon, a greedy piglet, a rubbish-bin raider, a snugglepup and a huge personality. I’m so happy to have him as my daily companion, torment and joy. He is beautiful and clever and totally self-centred and rather too self-aware for comfort.

I give thanks for my friends, my distant family, my home and my contentment. I’m grateful for continued creativity, the joy of books and being at peace with who I am. I’m grateful for hands that can still hold a needle, and eyes that can still see to sew.

I thought I’d share a few of the last things I’ve made this year. There’s a lot more in progress, as it were, but nothing sensible to show you. Maybe the new year will bring me more energy and impetus. More on that later. In order of what you’re seeing: a jewellery pouch for the Dowager; three fabric storage baskets for… stuff; two extra-large bowl cosies for wide pasta dishes, made from 12 inch squares.

Unlike other years, I’m not counting my empty thread reels, or totting up my makes, or making resolutions or plans. I’m offering up gratitude for what I’ve achieved, giving myself credit for the things I’ve finished and being gentle with myself over things unfinished or not done. It’s hard to accept, but I’m getting older, stiffer, more easily tired, and pushing myself to achieve purely self-imposed targets is, well, stoopid.

So, the health stuff. It has been challenging. I already have an impressive ‘grocery’ list of issues: migraines, long term chemotherapy damage both mental and physical, arthritis, degenerative spondylolisthesis, spinal fusion with chronic pain, GORD, T2 diabetes, newly diagnosed Menière’s Disease and BPPV, and now the latest, o joy, a heart condition. LV diastolic dysfunction and a leaky tricuspid valve, to be specific.

The last item on the list is going to throw a spanner in the works… It means I may be a bit less present in Blogland, posting, reading and commenting a bit less. I don’t want this, but it seems to be my new reality. I’m grateful for small mercies, and I really hope this doesn’t come across as a pity-party. It’s just what is.

As my Ma used to say: “Eat what you’re given and be grateful”…

ScrapHappy December

Welcome once again to ScrapHappy Day!

It’s the day my friend Gun in Sweden and I host ScrapHappy, a day for showing something made from scraps.

It has been a bit exciting around here, what with preparations in case Tropical Cyclone Jasper hit. Fortunately, he decided to wander off northwards, so we’re safe, if very wet and gusty. I needed to keep myself busy so I didn’t check the Bureau of Meteorology website every.single.minute. I picked up quite a few gingham fabrics when someone was selling her mother’s former stash. There was rather a pretty coffee/cream version, and another orange/white version. There wasn’t enough of either of them to make what I wanted. Yes, yet another Butterick B6024 top. But there was enough to make it using both fabrics. But is this a scrappy project, you ask? No, not the top, but the decoration I made for the top definitely is. I don’t normally like stuff like this, but I thought it would look cute.

I cut out 12 circles from scraps of the orange gingham and 2 from the coffee gingham, stitched the orange pairs together for the petals and the coffee for the centre, ‘glued’ them together at the back with a scrap of iron-on interfacing, and added an orange button for interest.

I think I like it. And if I later decide I don’t, I’ll take it off, add it to a hairslide and wear it on my ponytail to match the top.

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.

Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at).

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, 
Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
 Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa,
Lynn, Tierney and Hannah

And to everyone who only joins us for ScrapHappy Day, a very Happy Christmas or other seasonal celebration of your choice.