Let Sleeping Cats Lie

This week, for the first time in a very long time, I made something for me to wear. It was only a pair of pyjama shorts but it made a change to swap 1/4” seams for French seams.

 

The pattern was from Lekala and I lengthened it by a couple of inches. I downloaded it (along with many others) a few years ago when their fixed sized patterns were free to download. The fabric remnant cost the grand sum of £1.50 and the elastic was in the goody bag from last year’s Fat Quarterly Retreat. The little ribbon bow (so I don’t put them on back-to-front) was made from one of those ribbon loop hangers found in knitwear which I always cut off as I don’t hang my knitwear. So, all in all, a very cheap and cheerful project.

i-Padded: an updated tutorial for a mini iPad case.

Hello if you've found me via the Sewing Directory. Have a look around and I hope to see you again :-)

A few months ago, Fiona from the Sewing Directory sent me a few FQs of Art Gallery fabrics and asked me to write a tutorial for a case for a mini iPad. I paired the FQs with some fabrics from my stash and revised last year’s iPad case project into a fully illustrated, step by step tutorial with a full size pdf pattern.

The new and improved tutorial is now on the Sewing Directory so why not head over and take a look (and check out all the other information that is on this fantastic resource). The updated pattern and instructions can also be found in my projects/tutorials section of this blog.

What a lot in a little box!

Earlier this week I found out I was a lucky winner of a cushion kit giveaway run by VerryKerryBerry and Seamstar. To my delight, the prize arrived at my desk yesterday, but when I saw it, I wondered how on earth a cushion kit could fit into such a small box. (I didn't try, but I'm guessing it is sized so that it fits through a normal domestic letter box.)

I resisted the temptation to unpack the box at work as I thought my repacking skills might not be up to the job. When I got home, I was amazed that so much fitted into such a small box. In all, the box contained:

• 6 charm squares
• A piece of natural linen blend for the cushion back
• A piece of natural linen blend for the patchwork squares
• Calico
• Wadding
• Dotty bias binding
• Embroidery thread
• Piping cord
• Invisible zip
• Instruction card

 

 

As expected, I wasn’t able to get the box to shut when I put everything back.

The cushion kit was part of Seamstar’s monthly craft club and they have a special half price box offer until the end of May. There is also the chance to win a box of your own via Twitter or have a look at their Facebook page for more competition opportunities.

Sewing club day out - British Quilt and Stitch Village

Last Saturday, a few of us from Liverpool Sewing Club had a day out to the British Quilt and Stitch Village in Uttoxeter.

I did a little bit of shopping and bargain hunting.

I saw some very inspiring quits (but took some very poor photos).

And I even got the chance to do some sewing on a very fancy Pfaff machine.

Thanks to some luck in competitions and the generosity of the organisers, we didn’t have to spend our pennies on tickets, so we had more to put towards shopping. There is a good mix of traders at this show, including some who I've not seen at the larger shows, and with a little bit of hunting several bargains were found. It was a pleasant surprise to find that a few spaces were still available on the day for most of the workshops and we had a fun hour with Lorna Knight making fabric postcards.

This show is starting to become a favourite of mine – it is a more manageable size than Festival of Quilts and as I’m not a knitter, it is more focussed for me than Harrogate’s Stitching & Knitting show. I think better use of the available spaces was made this year compared to last year, especially for the location of the workshops, and I look forward to seeing how it grows for 2015.