Kindness

The kindness and support of my blog friends never ceases to amaze me, such a supportive community.  Thankyou for all your kind and thoughtful comments.  It is really hard to think of what to say when someone has died but you were all so open and generous with your words and thoughts.  

 I have had a really quiet weekend.  Damian and Lula were away visiting his family on a speedy Christmas visit and though I miss them and look forward to hugging both of them later today, when I have stuff to deal with I need a lot of time on my own so it worked out well and I feel better for my weekend of dog and cats cuddling on top of me and a quilt, Skype, blog reading, visits, tea and sewing  Like many of you I have been sewing furiously and making slow progress.

 I should get there by midnight 24th December.  I can show this gift as it has been given, a little purse for Maria my pilates/zumba instructor.I used a Keyka Lou pattern, Pocket Clutch.  I have used a few of her patterns before and they are so clear to follow and quick to make.  This is my favourite shape, I like the tab closure (magnet underneath) and the storage inside.  Michelle is retiring some of her patterns and selling them at $3 (approx £2) for limited time only- such a bargain- check out her shop.

Maria is Spanish and is still learning English so I thought it would be fun to use text fabrics based on travel and home.  She is a great teacher, fun and giving.  I go to three of her classes each week, Zumba is Friday early evening and she always leaves me with a happy feeling to start the weekend.

I am making one of these for Lula next (Shhh! Don't tell her) in black prints, and eventually I might make one for me. I used the Vilene VH640 fusible fleece again- possibly the most useful product in the world!  Julia at Gone to Earth sent me a length and it has been perfect for little purses and pouches. I prefer this thicker loft over the 630, it handles like a dream and adheres even with my little travel iron.  The key is a damp cloth, I use a baby muslin.

The red fabric is from Sweetwater's Hometown collection, the travel linen/cotton print was from The Hey Day shop.  Katie has a little left in the shop.  The black/cream dots came courtesy of Lynne who sent me a surprise bundle of scraps in with some fabric I needed, what a sweetie x

I am just preparing a little tutorial and a print out for you all ; a pillow based on a traditional friendship block using foundation piecing.

 I would like to say it is a fast make for your gift list but in reality, even with short cuts it took me ages, it is for my mum so that makes it OK!  I am just waiting for a zip to arrive and then I'll post the 'how to make stuff'.  If you haven't  done foundation piecing before it is a good little block to start with x

Fusibles

I am not fan of interfacing- in particular, the iron-in non woven kind.  Even following the instructions closely I find it wrinkles, and worse, melts.  It makes the bag or the clothing feel a bit stiffer but not in the way I want it too and I often end up with some sort of iron glue incident.  With clothing, I now tend to buy woven interfacing, I think it gives a more professional finish- or even an extra layer of fabric instead.  With bags, wallets, purses etc I have tended to use cotton batting/wadding, I could never find the fusible fleece that a lot of USA patterns mention.  Hearing of my difficulties, Julia from Gone to Earth, sent me a couple of generous samples of Vilene fusible fleece, what can I say, it is love at first use.  This is what I made with it.

A little camera wristlet.  The pattern is from Keyka Lou.  If you want a purse to try and you haven't made purses or wallets before, this is the ideal first project- no zips, easy velcro fastening and like all her patterns, the most excellent instructions.  I bought the pattern a while ago, along with this pocket clutch which I shall be making soon and I cannot recommend them more highly.  Both patterns call for interfacing and batting/wadding but with the Vilene fusible fleece I can skip those and use one layer of fleece- I chose the heavier H640 loft as a camera needs a good layer of padding.  When I cut my pattern pieces, I layered up the feature fabric,the lining and the fleece and cut though all three- much faster!

You can see the thickness of the fleece in this pic, three pieces of fabric all backed with fleece.  Julia kindly sent the Vilene instructions for ironing the fleece to fabric.  I think a very important step is letting it cool for 30 mins- I have not done that in the past.  It adhered perfectly, no lumps and bumps on the fabric side at all.  This fleece has a lovely feel- not what I expected, I must expect.  I am a fibre snob and tend to think natural is best but this stuff is the exception.

The biggest difference I found compared to working with batting was the ease of trimming seam allowances.  Reducing bulk in the seam allowance is vital to get a professional finish on your purse or wallet.  With this fleece, I could trim it easily at an angle and feather it away, as a result the edges are a lot less lumpy, top stitching is much easier and the end product looks better.   

I will be trying more with the fleece, the lighter weight one too which I think will be perfect for bags.  If you have had a bad experience making bags with iron on interfacing- this could be your life saver!  You know me, I like to test things thoroughly and I won't big it up unless it genuinely impresses me, this definitely gets my thumbs up!  I have found through hard experience that with interfacing, you get what you pay for.  Saving a few pennies buying the cheap stuff is such a waste when it frazzles under the iron or wrinkles with the top fabric.  I know, I've been there and shed tears! 

This is such a handy little case, I may well make another to carry my phone, keys and card when going to the gym, it is the perfect shape.  Quick to sew too- instant gratification- well nearly.  Fabric roll call- Outer fabric-Melody Miller View Finder print, lining- Chloe's Closet, Hello Betty, Strap-Alexander Henry, Heath in tomato.

By the way, can I just say- Flippin' heck Tucker! (British nostalgic TV lingo- apologies, I can't help myself), over 600 followers, how did that happen?  A big thankyou and a howdy to you all x

Holiday Education

I think I am slightly warped when it comes to the concept of holidays.  It is half term week so along with a bit of catching up with friends, socialising and family time I set myself a list of challenges to achieve.  This is my standard holiday behaviour.  I work so hard to do so many things I often end up more tired than when I started.  First on the list is to master photoshop.  I have Photoshop elements 8 which is  a mini cheapo version of the real thing.   It is pretty limited but enough for what I need.  I worked out how to marquee elements of a photo- cutting out the bit you want and sticking it on a white background.   This was an early attempt on an old spool holder.  

 I also wanted to be able to draw paper pieced patterns more easily.  Eight hours one to one tuition with my brother and I have done it.  More to follow on new Christmas themed patterns soon...  Meanwhile, challenge 2, make something on my new overlocker.  Even when testing an idea I like to make something I can use so just to get myself into the swing of the stitches I whizzed round a couple of layers of white muslin to make face cloths- the sort you use for a hot cloth cleanser.

My guide for the overlocker has been the excellent Sew U Home Stretch, part of the Built by Wendy series.  I cannot recommend this book more highly.  I had soem jersey remant fabric in what you will surely agree is a most attractive design- £1 from car boot sale.  Useful as a tester.  This one armed lovely is my Frankenstein piece, testing size, fit, stitches etc.  It is an adaptation of the Rock the Boat neck project.

Impatient as ever,  I skipped actually making this as a real top, partly because I can't find where I put the pattern  pieces I so carefully drafted, and moved on to a dress.  I have an occasion to wear something formal coming up in November so it was the perfect incentive to get this done.  I adapted the Pretty Baby Doll Dress- made the neckline a little higher due to the scant and bony xylophone nature of my décolletage, and made the skirt section less full.  Instead of even gathers across the front, I pushed them to the centre section- I have a top like this so I know it works for me- less fullness at the hips  for a straighter silhouette.  

The lace was a later addition, it looked very plain when it was finished and deep vintage lace added a bit of extra interest.  I was more than a little out of my comfort zone using an overlocker/serger.  I have done a bit before at college 12 years ago on a fashion HNC but never whole items of clothing or with jersey.  This is black cotton jersey from Ditto fabrics, fantastic quality and great service.

Damian took these pictures, you can get a hint of the assistant photographer by looking at my facial expressions.

Now on to more challenges- I am trying out fusible fleece from Julia at Gone to Earth, back with more soon.  Two girls, baking, whoopie pies and cheese scones are calling me.