Thank you for lovely comments yesterday, I kept busy to keep thoughts from creeping in.  In fact I didn't stop either on the machine or the computer.  This project has been in my head like a crafting ear worm - (song that you can't get out of your head to the uninitiated).  I made a half log cabin wonky pot holder for a friend who has given me so many things and is an all round lovely.  She loves cooking so I put in lots of kitchen fabrics

On an aside, I spent ages working how to cut this image out from its background and I did it- if a little raggedy, I think I should've done something else so it has no background but next time I will nail that.  It is free photoshop type software on the oddly named Gimp. I used the magnetic scissors tool with this tutorial if you want to give it a try- warning it is a bit fiddly with a mouse.  

I made the potholder by drawing it out template style on paper first and then cutting round adding on seam allowances.  

Haven't done it this way before but I liked it.  A lot of prep initially but when it comes to sewing up, it is ready in minutes and you could reuse the pieces.  A little bit of masking tape reversed in a little sausage on the back of the paper pieces stops them moving when rotary cutting.

The backing is a bit of a carboot  find that I love.  I used a square spiral with 1/2 inch apart lines and used vanishing marker.  Nice and easy to do. And I had some matching thrift found plates to match!

Pot holder was inspired by this great find.

A Swedish translation from 1978 with so many great things inside and some stranger- quilted braille anybody?  There are odd copies for sale on Amazon

I will keep coming back to this book for more it is so packed full inspiration and ideas.

Enjoy today x

Sorry, it's a sad and brief post today.

I have just found out that a parent who comes to my music classes died yesterday.  She has been terminally ill all the time I have known her - nearly a year and a half, but she fought the whole time and was the best mother to her little boy.  He has a bank of memories inside him and we have ours to tell him what a great mum she was and a lovely person. 

 For Lydia xxx

10 Little e-books: How to Sew

I have had the chance to review some sewing e-books published by David & Charles.  They are from a set of 10 to look at on your computer, iPad or iPhone, pretty and attractively laid out and the templates can be downloaded from the website.  My favourite is How to Sew: Applique

There are clear photos and easy instructions.  Although all the books are aimed largely at the beginner or those without much experience, I picked up some good tips- e.g. machine sewing applique using a Denim needle size 12/14 as they are extra sharp for piercing extra layers.  There are instructions for a range of shabby chic style items: a heart patch, vintage linen flag bunting and a laundry bag with cute camisole and knickers design- all available as downloadable templates.

How to Sew:Basics has info on hand and machine sewing for new sewers.  Like all the books it encourages a make do and mend approach reusing fabrics as well as buying new.  The inserting a zip section-often a challenge for old and new sewers-is excellent.

As a basics guide it does gloss over a few things that could've done with more detail, especially for beginners- rotary cutting is a real challenge when you haven't done it before as is adding binding, both needed more info.  As with Applique there are some good tips, e.g right handed sewer should sew right to left, left handed sewers left to right- sounds obvious but it hadn't occurred to me before reading this!

How to Sew: Patchwork is a quick guide to patchwork basics including seminole or strip piecing.  The  pig cushion on the cover is a nice starter project although making a 'Simple Quilt' out of satin is perhaps harder than it looks ( and it looks very pretty!)- cotton would've been a lot easier to handle.  

 

Like the other books,  How to Sew:Machine Sewing has some good tips- lined paper to practice on when you first sew to get your stitch straight- and clear concise text and pics.  All the books would have benefitted from just a little more eye candy with the fabrics and the styling, often the beautiful photos in sewing books are the real inspiration and some of these were a little on the ordinary side.  The prettiest pics I saw are from a book I didn't get to read- How to Sew: Hand Sewing.  Now, this pic really entices me to make the set

All ten books are available to download from 16th Aug at www.rucraft.co.uk and at only 99p each they are a bargain taster guide to different types of sewing and like pick and mix you can choose your favourite!

What do you think?  You can click on the double spread preview pages to get a larger view.  Would you use a sewing e-book.  Could be handy if your computer is near your sewing area!

Japanese Sashiko

Last Saturday we visited a Japanese Sahiko exhibition in Plymouth which has been traveling around the UK.  It was a rather dimly lit room and no photos allowed but I managed to find enough publicity materials to illustrate and whet your appetite!   Sashiko means 'small stitches' and at its simplest is when layers of cotton- normally indigo dyed and often recycled from other clothing- are stitched together with a simple running stitch horizontally for strength.  It was traditionally used for work clothing - it is hard wearing and warm- and the exhibition featured these garments alongside designer pieces influenced by the process.

Sashiko is seen as an example of Mingei where everyday items-ceramics, kitchen utensils, practical clothing- made by anonymous craft people  are "beyond beauty and  ugliness".  I love this, makes me think of the growth in handmade crafts today, people making potholders and tea towels etc for family and friends.   It was the domestic and smaller items that interested me rather than the coats and jackets made largely for men but the little things were not displayed as well and had less information.  There was even a dish cloth made of scraps of indigo cotton clothing and stitched sahiko style.  These are leg protectors.

Pre 1955 Work pants with lots of patches for repair and strength- it seems trite to say lovely checks but they are very decorative

You can read all about the hard lives of the women who stitched these garments and much more in a pdf from the  exhibition curator and look at great pictures of hand protectors, tabi and more.  There is a very quirky picture of pins and needles stuck into a piece of tofu like a pincushion!  This is for Hari Kuyo, a special thanksgiving memorial on 8th February for worn sewing needles and pins.  As well as laying needles to rest in tofu the user takes time to thinks of secrets buried deep and "too personal to reveal".  Fascinating.

A week of book posts is coming up, I have found lots of lovely vintage sewing and children's books and I have some new sewing e-books to review. All coming this week! 

Ing things

A parcel arrived from Ingrid of Ingthings from another giveaway that I won-I feel a little embarrassed  but I'd like to share and I beg you to visit Ingrids blog.  I have been following it for a while- she posts a lovely picture everyday of vintage things she has found or she has in her home and some quirky text- there is google translator as text is in Dutch.  She has a fun sense of style and beauty and I love to look at her daily image in google reader.

I knew I would love what she sent- we have  similar tastes I think- and I do.  An origami bird, a beautiful  large felt pincushion  with a cute card tag and a vintage Dutch postcard-  treats!  I am going to send her some of my  little memory cards and a pic to say thank you!

Foodie Blocks

I have promised Lula that I will complete her quilt this summer and most of the work needs to take place in the next couple of weeks.  This has been in my head for a year although it did change a lot, still changing now as I think about it a bit more.  The picture blocks are now finished- I did the last two today and yesterday.

Based on a Cath Kidston mug- the big kind, great for a morning cup of tea- I have my early grey out of one each day- although this is hot choc, not tea.

These blocks represent some of her favourite things and I thought hot choc and ice cream are still going to be in favour in a few years times (you can see some of the other blocks here).

Piecing time now, on the minty fresh featherweight- I am using a new to me quilt as you go method- I can't cope with great big bits of quilt!  I found a very interesting method here- I'm going to test it out.

Lucky, lucky, lucky

Unusually for me I have been very lucky and recently won 3 giveaways!  I know I cannot quite believe it. I am not usually a winner of competitions or lucky draws or lottos or anything random like that so I am very pleased and touched by the generosity of all the great crafty bloggers out there.  My first came today from , scraps form Alissa of Handmade by Alissa (she has some lovely pictures of her new sewing space up at the moment).  I won some scraps and as there were 236 comments for the giveaway I felt very lucky to win some-  I chose orange and turquoise as I am making a baby quilt in these colours.  Here they are with a cute card!

I am going to start by using them for a pieced border on the quilt- they are perfect for this!  Two more parcels to come, one from the Netherlands and one from Israel.