Tuesday, November 22, 2011

A nautical card

I quickly want to show you some cards I made. I just sent one to Avril for her birthday, in the BQL birthday swap. The technique used is reverse paper, and I added 2 little birds by hand.

We are moving in 2 weeks now, so I'm starting to think about giving our new address to lots of organisations, to keep things working.
My shoulder is getting better every day it seems, but I still need to take things slowly. Progress.
Oh and I did a bit of knitting, but I need to finish it before I can show you.

Have fun sewing.

Pascale

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Progress for me and a tutorial for you

It's so nice to be able to use my arm again. I went to the hospital on Friday with DH who has been a great help all along. My slingy thing is off and I was told to use my arm a bit. I can now type with 2 hands, and knit and sew. All is not perfect yet and I can't do some movements going up or on the side with my arm, but I'm more mobile.

So here is a little tutorial I made earlier for a little purse, or to wrap a small present in. You can see Christmas coming around the corner, better start on some projects. Benta from Slikstitches asked for a tutorial a long time ago when I made my first one,

 First you need 2 squares of fabric. You decide on the size, mine was 9 1/2 " because that's the size of my ruler. The finished pouch is just under 4 1/2" square.
Sew right sides together 1/4" all the way around leaving an opening in the middle of one side, for turning.

 Trim the corners, and turn right side out. Poke the corners out. Slip stitch the opening closed.

 You get this nice reversible square.

 Fold in 2 along one diagonal.

 Then fold the top corners again, on both sides. The photo is the best way to explain this.

  Sew a litlle chanel along the fold, enough to pass a ribbon through.

Now draw a vertical line (in blue but not very visible on the photo) starting from the corner of the fold, in cream for me, going down to the central fold. Sew on these 2 lines, one on each side, to form a square pouch in the middle. This line of sewing will be hidden by the next step.

 Now my seam on the left is in the fold. Do the same on the other side.

 Secure the folded fabric and you are nearly done.



The last step is to put 2 pieces of ribbon through the little chanel we made. One starting on each side. And then pull to close.
It's an easy project, you need just a little bit of hand sewing.

Meanwhile our move to the new house is planned for the 2nd of December. That date will come quickly now. I will try to do some sewing , as I can't lift things,  and show you my projects.

Enjoy your time sewing.

Pascale.

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Frustration !

I'm back from my little trip to northern France with the girls. Sorry I didn't contact you Pascale, but I wasn't very organised.
I managed to give a second lick of paint to the bathroom, and then on Tuesday last week I went to register for a horse riding lesson. As I left with DD1 in the dark, I slipped on some mud and had a bad fall. I didn't get to go on a horse. To cut the story short, I have dislocated my right shoulder with a bit of broken bone. I'm not supposed to move it : can't write, cut my meat, sew or knit. I'm developing my abilities with my left hand : brushing my teeth, holding a pencil.
DH had to come rescue us on Friday, as did my parents and sister on Wednesday. Luckily the girls are not toddlers any more, they can look after themselves for a little while.
I had taken some little projects with me but just managed to iron some fabric before falling.
That's where the frustration comes from.

I've used this time to check all my emails, and update the way my blog list is displayed. I need to do something about my banner though.
If only I could sew!

I can show you a card I made just before leaving.
 They were for the birthday swap on BQLpostcards, with cats as a theme.
My free motion quilting is easier now that I resolved the problem of tension.


I have somthing else made previously to show you, but my typing is very slow.

Enjoy your sewing.

Pascale