Medicine bag

Another quick project, or 2.

One bag is on it's way to Glasgow, with DD1, and the other one will be used by our family when we travel. Experience has taught me that if I forget the paracetamol, I will need it, same for anti-histamine tablets, or plasters, so I tend to take them if I am not certain there will be some in the house we are visiting, and especially if we are staying in a hotel.

I found the idea and pinned it on my Pinterest, from the blog "A spoonful of sugar" and adapted it on a bigger scale.

Enjoy your sewing.

Pascale

A washing bag for University

Tomorrow I'm driving my first born to Glasgow University. She is packing her stuff, there is a lot of it... And between the other things, i had to make her a wash bag.

She chose this lovely print with the typewriters, I kept half of it. So completed with some cotton fabric I had. Pink gingham ribbon to finish.

I will miss her, but am grateful for modern ways of communication. Between emails, texts, Skype and Facebook I should be able to keep well in touch.

She is the last one to go back to school, the summer is over. I have several projects that need to be done around the house, but there should be some sewing as well.

Yesterday I led a workshop in Boutis for the ladies from my quilting group, the Golden Lion Quilters. They liked it and I will help them again at our next meeting in 2 weeks. I still have to finish a project started 2 years ago. It will happen.

A bientot.

Pascale.

Little travelling bags

As we are soon going on holidays I made some bags for the girls to carry their personal items in the suitcase. The seams are basted and they are very simple to make. The only tricky part is to leave an opening for the casing of the ribbon.

These are for DD3. She chose the fabrics from my stash.

The bird fabric is a print by Lotta Jansdotter.  I love it and there is no point keeping things because they are too nice.

The bigger bag is useful for shoes or as a laundry bag.

These bags are for DD4, my youngest. She loves the Kath Kidston style, and has now got some curtains with red flowers. I saw this green fabric at the Malvern show in May, had to buy it for her.

Here is a photo of her bedroom, but as it's the evening it's only electric light.

The boxes and curtains come from Ikea, and I added some lining to the curtains as well as shortening them .

It helps that I love sewing.

Enjoy the summer 

Pascale

Mug rug like Kate's

As I was browsing on blogs, i happened on Kate North's and saw this with a cup.
I found it so nice and an evening I just drew it and made it using the technique of reverse paper applique.
Mine is my own interpretation but there is a lot of resemblance.

It liberates me to think I could make another one easily, draw a design and go.
So maybe.

Enjoy your sewing.

Pascale.

Christmas Craft Sale

You know Christmas is coming when you find reindeers in an outlet village shopping centre.

Or when you are invited to take part in a Craft Sale. This one happened at Lower Shaw Farm in Swindon, last Friday, 30 November. I took a quick photo of my stall, not very easy with all the things happening around.
I had half a table and sold a few things, had a chat with very nice people and enjoyed myself. I am to bring it all back for my knitting group who meet in the same place on the second Monday of the month.
I bought from another lady a pot of jam, lime and ginger. As it is almost gone, I hope she will bring her stock back and I will buy some more, some to eat ourselves and some to give away.

This little owl to use in the kitchen was waiting for eyes for ages. Made with the block Drunken Path, alternating the fabrics and the direction of the blocks.

This sale meant I rummaged through the things already made, finished some projects I had forgotten about, and created new items for the sale.
What was the most difficult for me was to find the right size to make an ipod cover. I had 3 trials to get it big enough, and apparently it needs to be taller for the Ipod5! My daughters love their music and all the games they can play on these clever little machines. DD4 uses her's to read her emails as well.
So here are the covers.

 One is missing, sold before I took the photo. It had the black and red writing and was a bigger size, like the blue.

DH chose the fabric so that it is a bit manly, I like it, and put some purple inside for fun. there is a pocket to store the earplugs, and my inspiration came from this pin, but when I follow the link I can't find the post. So you only have the photo.
It's a way of avoiding more plastic, and I love the contact and cushioning of the fabric.
I need to make another one for my camera before it gets damaged in my bag.

My thought since I started making coasters, zip pouches, etc... was that I could always use them as presents for the people I love around me.

Enjoy your sewing.

Pascale.

Little things to sell

I'm hoping to take part in a craft fair before Christmas, so figured I'd better start sewing to make some stock. These are the results over 2 days.

 I made 4 coasters with fruit fabric. They were fat 8th already used a bit on another project.

 And then I made 4 peg bags with wooden hangers, child size from Dunelm.

That's a beginning for a stall. I know I need to make many more projects, but I reckon that small and inexpensive things will sell better than a small quilt for example.

Wish me luck.

Enjoy your sewing.

Pascale.

small round zip pouch

I saw this pattern and tutorial on this blog :" Dog under my desk" by Erin Erickson.

I liked that idea, although the family was not so keen, I thought they might use them once they are made. Either to protect their ear-buds for the iPod, or other small things like coins or keys.
I have not bought the new tutorial she made but used the one on the blog, and made some notes as I went, as well as some changes. So here we go.

 Do not cut circles. It is easier to work with 5” squares as the fabric tends to move when you sew the zip on. Better cut the shape at the end, after sewing the circle.

I’ve cut the pull fabric as a 2” square as on the photo of the tutorial, and then followed the instructions.

 I've cut enough fabric to make 6 cases, in different fabrics, mainly left over from other projects.

 On the sewing machine I use a Zipper foot, and a walking foot when there is wadding in the construction. It helps the fabric move at a regular pace.

 I sew the backing to the zip first, with a very small seam that will disappear later in the seam allowance, before sewing the front plus wadding. This way I am sure that the back is not going to move while I’m concentrating with the front.
I have used some zip by the metre, where I fit the pull myself. I tend to buy 2 metres at a time and cut to size. As I am in England I buy them from Dunelm. I believe they are made for cushions or upholstery, but perfect for small items as well. You have to put the pull on before you sew the zip as it can offset the 2 sides of the zip by a margin.

 Oh and for my round shape, as I couldn’t download the pattern There was a storm in the afternoon and the internet was down for a while), I used an Ikea plastic bowl. It is just the right size for my 5” squares, but you might find something else in your own kitchen.
I sewed 1/4" inside the line drawn with erasable  pen.

 It’s better to cut off the wadding before cutting the fabric down to a round shape. You have more grip on the fabric and can reduce the bulk created by the wadding.

 This is my case, right way out, but I preferred to sew around on the outside. It flattens the shape and gives it more definition.

 And so at the end I made 6 cases for my 4 girls and as presents. I am sure we will find lots of use for these. I just need to find a metal ring to put in the tab.

 Slightly open so that you can see the lining.

I hope this makes you want to do more sewing, or start a little project that doesn't tie you down for long.

Enjoy your sewing.

Pascale.

Liberty table set

This is the last little project I finished. I started on holidays as it was easy to take with me. It was at Easter mind you. It's the label that slowed me down. Funny how I don't like doing the labels.

 And here is a detail of one of the blocks, the binding and backing.

 I was given tiny bits of Liberty fabric and thought I would use them up in this project. Needless to say I still have a few small bits of fabric left.
Maybe fabric lasts longer when it is cut up in small parts.

I wanted to try a classic design on a small scale, and do it fast. I think the result is very nice.
Now where should I put it...

Enjoy your sewing.

Pascale

My Japanese lantern box

I bought the book "Rangements a coudre" by Cecile Franconie, as mentioned in my post on the crochet holder. So this is the second project made from this book, and again it is a small project, easy to start and finish. There are still at least 2 things I want to make from this book.

 For the author this box is supposed to hold your thread while knitting. the only problem I could see was that you could not take your project away from the box if the thread was coming out of the lid through a hole. You are stuck with the box until you cut your thread. So I decided to skip the hole in the lid.

 Each face of the box is made with fabric glued on to a solid interfacing, same with the lining. There was a lot of hand sewing to put the parts together, but the result was worth it.

 My only remark about the pattern is that it should tell you to make the lid bigger than the bottom, otherwise it just falls inside. I had to remake a lid slightly bigger so it would close properly.

And finally I have this postcard below, stuck to the wall above my cutting mat. It's a reproduction from the second world war, and there is a reedition of the book of the same name. I just like old things related to sewing, and there are not many in advertisements.

I am not the only one noticing things linked to my hobby in movies, articles, museums, books. I suppose we become a bit obsessed, in a good way.

Pascale

Japanese folded purses

A new little project.

We made these in our patchwork group, The Golden Lions, in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The pattern is not mine, in fact I don't know where the lady found it. So I don't know if it is protected and can't give a reference. That's why I will just show you the photos of my project.

 Maybe I can still tell you that you start with 2 squares of fabric, sew them together and turn them right side out. Slip stitch the opening closed. Then it's a question of folding and sewing by hand.
It's a very enjoyable little project, although I find that it is difficult to guess the finished size from the beginning squares.

Maybe I could try with a rectangle, or an hexagon ! with paper first then on fabric. That would be fun.

So thanks for reading me, and if you know the source of this pattern and could drop me a line, I would be very grateful.

Pascale.

Crochet holder

 For some time I have followed the blog of Cecile Franconie, she is french and writes in french but don't let that stop you from visiting and having a look. She uses embroidery to the maximum, adding ribbons and beads. Her choice of fabrics is different and opens new doors.
Her blog is "Facile Cecile", and she also has some projects published in magazines, like Magic Patch, which is translated in English, and books like this one "rangements a coudre". Her next one is coming in March.

Let's come back to my crochet holder. I've used some liberty fabric inside, a piece of ribbon to close it, and some crochet along the top edge. This makes all the difference from other crochet holders, and is in the style of Cecile. Why make simple things when you can make beautiful things.

She admits to spending a lot of time sewing, crocheting or knitting, as well as having a big family.

  So I hope to have inspired you to discover somebody new, or maybe you already knew about her work.

 Have a good Sunday.