Sewing for Pleasure Treasure

I'm still without a trusty small camera, so my photo taking is somewhat lacking, I do have my large and heavy DSLR but it's not always practical taking it around, especially indoor events as the flash is pants!

So when I journeyed off to the NEC last month to the Sewing for Pleasure event I was sadly cameraless and it did feel weird, not being able to snap away at things I wanted to remember, or ideas. I'm hoping that I'll join the 21st Century soon and get an iPhone (used) as I hope the camera on that would do for these sort of occasions, especially when stealthy snapping is required.

So no photos of the event but I can verbally report back that I had a good day out with my Mum and succeeded in nearly all of my shopping list, which was my main reason for going, as locally it's hard to get good pieces of cheap/reasonable dressmaking fabric.

So what did I get....

2 metres of cotton lawn @ £10pm, I hoping for a top out of this, I'm not sure whether it'll need a lining though?

1 Liberty FQ

3 metres of blue jersey @ £6pm from Fabrics Galore, I've got a Prima tunic pattern in mind for this and I'm wondering if I'll have any left over for toddler leggings

1 FQ, just because I couldn't resist!

My mum treated me to the fantastic dress/tunic pattern from Sew Me Something, I really liked their stall and they'd had all the patterns made up in various fabrics, which was really helpful. We got this near the end so I didn't get any fabric for it but I know I won't make it yet, not until I've used all this other fabric!

1 metres of cotton lawn @ £10pm, I'm thinking of adding this to my blue Liberty stash and finally starting an EPP project

2 metres of jersey, which I'm hoping to use with last months Prima pattern, it's a bit garish but I think I'll use it for my first attempt at the pattern and then if it doesn't look right or if anything goes wrong I won't be too upset!

1 FQ, probably for EPP

They only thing I couldn't find was a good grey linen/chambray which I wanted for the hexies in my last post so I may have to source that online, it's a pity as I was in the mood to get going with that project.

That's left me with that uneasy feeling of what to start first.....and also it means I need to tidy up the dining table if I want to cut out large bits of fabric...it's the starting that's always the worst!

But as I've now posted, I hope that might shame me into getting on with something instead of procrastinating ;)

I'll let you know....

Festival of Quilts Goodies

So after admiring all the hard work in the quilts and having a sit down for a breather and some lunch, it's time to shop!

First rule of quilt show..have a set list

Second rule of quilt show..have a budget!

I had projects in mind that I needed fabric for, such as toddler clothes and did well to find what I needed.

These are destined to be a reversible hat, from the Oliver and S book, I've made one before and little Rowan's been wearing it to nursery all summer!

This dolly kit was from The Bramble Patch and I hope it will be one of Rowan's Christmas presents.

Some cord from Mulberry Silks for friendship bracelets, a bit thicker than I wanted but it's proving to be quite hard to find a thin cord.

From Colour Craft I got some tools for lino printing, I had hoped to have a go with the girls in the holidays but so far haven't had time.

Gorgeous thick cotton from the Eternal Maker, as always I had a hard time at this stand, I must go to their shop someday! I wanted some material for winter toddler trousers, it might be a bit jazzy but we'll see!

This flannelette caught my eye and I broke the rules because I still haven't got a project for it but it's rare to see printed flannelette!

Lovely heavy cotton from Fabrics Galore, again for toddler trousers but now I'm thinking I might see if I've got enough to complete a small bag pattern I've got as well!

I hadn't seen these little mini charm packs before, this was from Simply Solids and I wanted one of these mugs from Lu Summers when I saw it on her Twitter feed!

Theses were only 20p each and I thought they'd look good as embellishments or on a quilt.

Silky soft cotton from Cool Crafting who had lots of interesting kits, the buttons are for a toddler romper I was half-way through and the fabric for another hat?!

Digitally printed I fancied this as a wall hanging or cushion.

I also had on my list to get a large Creative Grids square, which I did and have used already!

The shopping is as much fun as the quilts! Another lovely trip, I got home tired but inspired!

I'd love to hear if you went and what you bought!

Fibreworks and the Festival

Last Saturday I had a trip out to Chipping Norton for their Fibre Festival.

This was a new event organised by the Fibreworks shop in town and held in the town hall.

We arrived early in the morning and already the hall was buzzing, there were lots of stalls, varying from wool to other creative crafts.  Lots of demonstrations running through the day, all of which are offered as classes at Fibreworks.

The stalls were mostly run by the tutors of the courses and they were all lovely and welcoming, eager to talk and to explain their craft.

There was patchwork and quilting, which I'd love to do, sewing children's clothes, kanzashi flowers, flower arranging, millinery and fabric printing.

All the stalls were beautifully laid out, it wasn't too crowded and I wanted to sign up to all the courses offered by Fibreworks!

The demonstration on when my mum and I arrived was rag-rugging so we were eagerly watching as we were signed up to do this on the following Tuesday! It really got us excited and gave us a chance to think about what materials/colours/shapes we'd like to produce!
The venue was a lovely space, I'd never been before but it was just the right size, it even had room for some tea tables and they have fabulous large portraits on the walls, very grand!
I really hope it is the first of many, it was easy to get to, easy to park and there are plenty of places to go after for a bite to eat or shop! We had a good mooch around all the charity shops, which were full of lovely things - pity I couldn't afford the £85 for the Poole pottery set I spied in one! 

I did manage to get an early birthday present from my mum at the fair though, a, lovely Liberty and bead bracelet, I'm afraid I've mislaid the makers card, do let me know if you can help credit this.

So after a very hectic weekend, which included mine and my daughters birthdays and a party, on Tuesday we were ready for our turn at rag-rugging! Even though I was shattered, I was definitely ready for some 'me' time!

We arrived at the Fibreworks shop at 10am and were warmly greeted and sent upstairs to the craft room.

There were 5 of us on the course and our tutor Claire quickly talked about the history of rag-rugs, about how they used to be made from fabric scraps, worn out clothes and how they would be rotated through the house, a new one made for best at Christmas for the parlour, and then each rooms rug would be demoted down the hierarchy of rooms, to the lowly back door rug which when worn out would be composted!

I love this make do and mend philosophy!

Then we got stuck in (with tea and biscuits) to having a go with some scraps, the technique is very simple, with the latch hook you go through the hessian from front to back, then bring the hook out a few strands away, then push the hook shaft all the way through through both holes (this opens the latch), then you place your rag piece on the hook end and as you pull through both holes, the latch closes and holds onto the rag.

I found the process very calming and methodical without having to be too worried about neatness or perfection, the charm is the handmade-ness, it doesn't have to be perfect!

So then we had a think about what we wanted to produce and we were able to get a piece of hessian cut to our liking and think about a layout or design. I had taken some t-shirts with me but the shop does have a stash for you to use as well. Claire recommended using old t-shirts/tights/ socks as the jersey doesn't fray and usually rolls up into nice coils, if using cottons its best to cut up with pinking shears and that gives a more shaggy look.

Mine is hopefully going to be mainly blues and greens in blocks/squares/triangles, I'm not sure how long it will take to complete though!

Before we knew it, it was 1pm and we were done for the day, I think the timescale was spot on, enough to get started without being too long. We all headed home with plenty of fabric, our piece of hessian and our free latch hook, which was great value I felt for the course fee.

I definitely think we'll be back for more courses!
If you want to have a go, they have two more rag-rug courses coming up:
Tuesday 17 September, 10am - 1pm
Wednesday 6th November  10am - 1pm
http://www.thefibreworks.co.uk/classes.html

Fabric Haul

I have had a fabulous time in one of our local charity shops this week, they have moved all their linens to a new upstairs room, so now there is lots of space and lots of fabric items in it!!

They've got a lot of duvet covers, sheets, tablecloths, napkins, tea-towels, curtains and lace doilies etc so I've had a good rummage round and spent a nice time in there while kiddie-less!

So for my first haul I got a large length of tartan which even though it feels like upholstery weight I'm going to try a dress pattern out on it, as it was only £2 I feel able to muck it up and not feel too bad!

The floral duvet is hopefully going to be a dress for my eldest when I can sort through and find a pattern to fit, she's five but her sizing is more like a seven and it's getting harder to find free patterns in magazines for this size, they all seem to concentrate on 2-5's!

The pink & white cottons as for my stash, as I knew my eldest would love them, but not sure what they will become yet!

And a Country Living to top it off, with a cuppa (and being able to read it in peace!) - bliss!