Instead of quilting cottons, this week I bring you a selection of stretch fabric, all from Rathdowne Fabrics & Remnants.
There are all sorts of fibres in there, from cotton to lycra to viscose to polyester to wool. Entirely inspired by Nikki and her patternless skirts and tunics. I’ve stocked up on pattern card too to draft out some basic blocks that should fit me in stretch fabrics. Lots of fun ahead with these!
Thanks to Tamara for hosting Sunday Stash!
Not only does Lancefield have Sewjourn and a farmers market – it also has a terrific op-shop and an excellent book shop right beside one another! These are my oppy finds:
A little sewing box, in excellent condition; vintage patterns; crocheted doilies; needlepoint (I have been inspired by Floss and her interpretations from this book to do something creative with it); and pillowcases for dresses and quilts. There are a few pieces of Chocolate Lollipop fabric in this photo too which Emma kindly gave me. I’m planning on incorporating the doilies into clothes for the girls. I have loads of crocheted and embroidered doiles that my Nanna and my Mum made many years ago, but can’t bring myself to cut into them – hopefully I’ll have no such qualms with ones I’ve bought from the oppy!
The patterns are pretty groovy – I’ll definitely give the Simplicity one a go for myself, and it won’t be long before my girls are wanting dresses and shorts like those in the teen Butterick pattern, I’m sure!
I bought a copy of Material Obsession 2: Shared Inspiration at the book shop. I actually prefer it to the first book. There are so many quilts in there I’d love to attempt – but I’d better move on from beginner status first, I suppose. I particularly like this one:
I always like bright colour combined with white in quilts, and particularly like it when the pieceing creates secondary patterns (rather than having blocks defined by sashing). So this quilt speaks to me on a number of levels.
So, will I be able to cut these up? Only time will tell!
Like father, like son.
See, it’s not just the mothers and daughters that get matching crocheted outfits!
One of the first items of clothing to come together last weekend was Stella’s pinafore.
The fabric is a pinwale corduroy from Spotlight – very nice to work with (I used this fabric for the skirt I made Clare). The pattern is The Little Vintage Jumper by Favorite Things.
It’s a straightforward pattern that works well in summer or winter weight fabrics. I made size 1 for Stella, but think it is a fraction short, and the armholes seem to be a little too deep (although over a winter skivvy this isn’t really a problem).
The neck ruffle is a very sweet touch, and I added ric-rac to the pocket tops and the hem as well. Rather than just turning the armholes to the inside and stitching them into place I used bias binding as a facing. I find it gives a neater finish around curves. There is also a fair bit of topstitching detail.
The back of the skirt is in two parts with decorative buttons joining them together. I am still making a jacket from the same fabric – hopefully it will be finished by the end of the weekend.
Oh wow. What a wonderful weekend! I headed off to Sewjourn on Friday night with the loveliest group of women.
And we ate and we laughed and we drank and we laughed and we sewed and we laughed and some quilted and we laughed and I crocheted and we laughed and we danced and we sang and we laughed. And we sewed!
Jodie was busy with her elephants (until I spilled my glass of red wine over them – sorry AGAIN for that Jodie) and a secret project.
Annie was busy on multiple quilting projects – I think at last count she worked on five different quilts? I love this crazy block quilt. The green sashing is perfect.
My dear friend blogless Megan was working on an incredible bargello quilt. It was just like she was painting with fabric. Astounding.
Rachel almost finished this beautiful quilt top for her little girl Maya. The colours are so soft and pretty and she matched everything up so well.
Kathryn worked on two quilts – this one had teeny little pieces, and came together so beautifully once she’d done all the quilting.
Nikki was busy whipping up clothes for her daughter and for herself. She helped me to move out of my comfort zone of “follow the pattern, follow the instructions” to make a patternless skirt and top for myself. She is SO clever! And she makes a terrific hot whisky.
Emma was busy whipping up bags with shrinking sheet – a groovy product that can texturise fabric. Nikki and I were busy trying to think up ways we could use it in clothing. And what did I get up to?
There was a farmer’s market on in Lancefield, the biannual quilt show, a super op-shop and marvellous book shop were open, and a terrific clothing sale was on at the local boutique (where I was able to try on and buy clothes without my children’s input – yay)! There went Saturday morning! However, I still did finish almost everything I’d cut out.
Clockwise from top left: dress and waistcoat for Clare, pinafore for Clare, dress/top for Stella, pinafore for Stella. And a jacket for Stella is half sewn.
How DID we all get so much done? Possibly the fact that I only had about 11 hours sleep over the entire weekend had something to do with it – we were all so busy sewing and chatting that we weren’t even aware how late it was each night. I met wonderful women who were generous of spirit, immensely talented, and so much FUN! I haven’t laughed so much for ages. And even though I did miss my family, I managed to elude motherguilt. The weekend away was great for all of us (Clare did make me a welcome home card and Stella clapped and squealed when I walked through the door).
So this is us! Kathryn, Nikki, me, Annie, Jodie, Megan and Rachel. Emma is missing from the photo. Sewjourn is absolutely the perfect setup for crafty weekends away. The cottage is beautifully decorated and extremely comfortable, the studio has loads of light and powerpoints and convenient facilities. All only an hour’s drive from Melbourne! Despite feeling sleep-deprived, I am feeling revitalised and reinvigorated. Thank you SO much everyone – can’t wait to do it all again!
While I’m on a roll with crocheted bags, here are a couple of superb examples from 1971:
If only I could work out where to source the bag frames!
Tania of Jet Beads and Craft is having a not one, but two giveaways, one for Australians and one for overseas – details are here. You have the opportunity to win your choice of two patterns plus (if you’re an Australian) a craft book from her shop. Tania has a great range at good prices – I first met her online when I purchased some Melly & Me patterns from her, and since then have met her in real life. She’s a lovely woman who is very generous! Pop over and enter!
SEWN is a new quilting and sewing community website that will be launched in June. They are having some giveaways to celebrate. The creative director of the website is Sarah Fielke, co-author of the Material Obsession quilting books. Well worth a look!
I’m heading off to Sewjourn tomorrow afternoon with another seven crafty gals. Maybe I’ve mentioned that already! So far, I have this little pile of sewing ready:
From top to bottom:
And those are new zipper feet on top of the pile. Now that I have bought them I am almost guaranteed to find the old one that Stella “hid”.
Stella loves to play with pins when she’s in my sewing room. Generally she deposits them through the little hole at the top of my machine where the bobbin winder clicks across. I hate to think what the repairman is going to think the next time he services the machine – there must be loads of pins in there by now. Lucky for me it doesn’t seem to have caused any mechanical problems – although I am starting to run short of pins.
Yesterday I received another pile of loveliness in the form of vintage sheet fat quarters from Chaletgirl’s Vintage Sheet Swap.
There is now a towering pile of vintage sheet goodness on the top shelf of my cupboard. I need to make something from it!
I have also packed a small amount of crochet for the weekend away.
This is the Larksfoot stitch pattern from April’s Hip to Hook. This will be a cushion (I clearly have a bit of a predilection for crochet cushions at the moment). I’ve also packed the Wool-Eater Blanket (desperately in need of further progress), this month’s Ravelry 12 inch block crochetalong and Freya’s crocheted hat which awaits some colourful crocheted flowers.
And then there are the embroidery patterns waiting to be traced. Shall I even mention the other fabric on the table ready to make some clothes for me? Or the quiltalong fabric just waiting to become a quilt? Ah, to dream…
By the way, thank you so much to everyone who left such lovely supportive comments on my last post! You’re all so sweet.
I was going to wait until this was complete before posting it, but who knows how long that could take.
Cushion front (only) from last month’s Hip to Hook finished! Random colour choices, squares joined as I went, in a mix of 8 ply acrylic and wool. Pattern from Sarah London. Now I just need to turn it into a cushion.
We had a really delightful holiday in Cairns. Weather was rainy but warm, hospitality was superb, kids had a ball. It felt like we were away for longer than a week! I’m busy getting ready to head to Sewjourn on Friday evening for a weekend of sewing (and crochet) in the company of a lot of wonderful crafty women. So many plans, so little time to prepare! And I have a feeling that I’ll pack around 100 hours worth of projects to squeeze into around 40 hours. Ever hopeful! A bigger problem for me this weekend will be keeping motherguilt to a minimum – I haven’t been away from hubby and the kids for this long ever, and I’m missing them already. Yet at the same time I am desperate for this uninterrupted time to sew and craft on my own (well, with other like-minded people). Damn that guilt! So counterproductive.
