Green Caterpillars and Bramble Stripes

When I was younger, cotton reels were wooden, and there were lots of crafts to use these.  I remember one was collecting quite a few, painting them green, threading some elastic through the middle and turning them into a snake or a caterpillar.

Another was to make a 'knitting nancy' - remember these.  What a slow way to make an iCord.

Source

Fast forward a few years, I am now an adult, but where are all those lovely wooden cotton reels for me to make into something else?  Yep, replaced by cheap plastic ones.  Argh.  What is a girl to do?  And then I saw a project (I'm really sorry, I can't remember where I saw this first), and this is what my empty plastic cotton reels look like now:

Pretty cute right?  Little scraps of some of my favourite fabrics, wrapped round and glued down.  They reside in glass jar in my sewing room looking very cheery.  I made two or three and I was hooked, so I went through my hoard of threads, got rid of those last few yards that I would never use, and now I have quite a few.  I thought it would be fun to use fabric in the same (or similar) of the thread that was on the reel.  Just because!

So there you have it, not quite green caterpillars or 'knitting nancy's', but I rather like them!  And, a few less items in the landfill!

Oh, and I'll just let you see some more socks that I have just finished.  I love purples and greens, so this Patons Kroy in Bramble Stripes is pretty much perfection!  More details on my Ravelry page.

Sewing Pattern Sale - Discount Code

OK, so I have a couple of sewing patterns hanging around, and it is about time to share the love!

Since I have fallen down the LagenLook rabbit hole, my tastes have changed (although there will always be some totally unsuitable patterns that will stay with me) and these patterns are are patiently waiting to be loved in a new home!

I have started listing them on Esty - I am up to 100 so far (how many?) so do drop in and take a look.  I am selling them for $4 (regular patterns, many OOP), - $10 ('fancy dan' Vogue OOP designer patterns) and postage at cost (although the UK comes in at $10).  Loads of bargains to be had - postage will be combined :)

And to make a sweet deal even sweeter, if you enter the discount code SDSC20 . . . . you will get another 20% off.  Woohoo!  This runs until the end of August.

I live in a smoke free home/don't smoke so no 'nasty niffs' and the patterns I'm listing are all 'factory folded' although there is some minor wear and tear on the envelopes.

Come one, come all - I'll be listing them for the next few weeks, I'm sure!

You can get to my shop via this link, or click on the 'Etsy Page' on the right of this post.

Anyhoo - can't stop, I've got some Vera Wang, Belville Sassoon, Anne Klein, Calvin Klein and DKNY to list!

My Sewing Room - Sewing Classes - Class Pass

One of my local sewing stores, My Sewing Room, is offering a 'pass' for sewing classes this summer.  You buy a pass and then can attend as many 'class pass available' classes as you like during the summer.  It looks to me as though pretty much all the classes are covered, and as after 2-3 classes the pass would pay for itself - I signed up.  I have taken a few dressmaking classes in the past and learned a huge amount about fit etc., so thought this would be fun too.  I am signed up for about 6 classes including four where I will make a quilt top, one making a 'tuffet',  and another making the Spicy Spiral table topper that I took last week.

This is a seriously clever pattern and has been a hit for many years.  I have been trying to get hold of the pattern but it is only available in print and has been hard to track down.  I managed to get the ruler that is needed, a 10 degree wedge ruler (actually, the pattern calls for a 9 degree wedge ruler, but the difference is not an issue) pretty cheaply for $20 at the Heritage Quilt Show in May and waited patiently until I could find the pattern.  Then guess what - yep, it was one of the patterns offered by My Sewing Room.  Woohoo!  After rummaging through my stash I was able to use up 8 fat quarters in blue and yellow.  To be fair, you do not use up all the fabric in the fat quarters, so more scraps to play with!

This is where I have got to so far - I 'just' need to quilt and bind it:

The wrinkly white fabric is the batting, I'll trim it up after quilting.

Doesn't this look super complicated?  Actually it isn't.  It really is very simple.  All straight line sewing.  The key is the wedge ruler and the cut pieces.  If you get a chance to try this pattern out - I would highly recommend it.

Once it is done, I'll share some more photos.  I think would be a great table topper in Christmas fabrics too.  One lady in my sewing class was using batiks in rainbow fabrics, and another used Laurel Burch blues/purples.  I really don't think you can go wrong with this pattern!

Do you have any 'go to' patterns that are a lot easier than they look?

Seriously, More Bags?

Said my husband when I showed him my latest makes.  In my head it makes perfect sense.  First of all I bought some lovely yarn from Caterpillargreen Yarns.  I had already made a pair of socks from their yarn previously and I could hear some more skeins calling my name!

This yarn is seriously gorgeous.  The yarn is dyed in stripes (and having dyed yarn myself I know how labour intensive it is to dye stripes).  It is not cheap, but it is lovely!

This yarn is has grey stripes with one bright pink stripe.

It looks very nice 'caked'.  I had started a Noel scarf, it is an asymmetrical triangle with garter stitch stripes interspersed with lace stripes.  The knitted stripes can tie in with the dyed stripes for more impact and when I get to the pink - that will be in lace.  I may also have one of the grey stripes in lace as well.  I think that will really reinforce the quirky shape.

But I have a problem.  I can't put grey and pink yarn in a blue or a red or a green knitting bag . . . . so I made a grey and pink one!!  It is based on the Noodehead Wide Mouth Pouch.

Phew, that feels much better!  The fabric is quilting cotton that I have had had for years.  I think the pink is from Wal Mart/Fabricland and the grey was leftovers from a wall hanging I made about 10 years ago.  The lining was a fat quarter I picked up on my trip to Australia in 2013.  I liked the aboriginal print, but was put straight by the shopkeeper who advised that the other fat quarters I had purchased were aboriginal prints, but this one was a 'white man's' version.  Oh well, I still like it and it contrasts really well with the pink and grey so it all worked out!

But that is not all.  Once you start making these pouches, all sorts of fabric combinations jump out at you and beg to be made.  Like this lovely fresh, green version:

And a very cute one made from glorious Tula Pink fabric.

And talking of Tula Pink, here is a lovely little coin purse from the same fabric:

So yes.  Seriously more bags!

More TG Love!

I have been on a bit of a Tina Givens splurge recently - no surprise, right?!  And have some Violets and Holly Pants to share with you.

Firstly, I was really taken with this tunic from the TG Couture website:

I thought that it looked quite similar to the Violet, and as I have some similar coloured linen mix fabric, I made one up!

Mine is certainly different - I really can't get on board with the un-ironed look.  I really wish I could, maybe one day!

Some of the contrast linen and some printed cotton makes for a fun patch on the back!

I added a couple of ruffled strips to the back to breakup the expanse of fabric, as well as the fun patch on the back.

I've also made about three pairs of TG jeans, this time using the Oprah pattern, which is very similar to the Holly.  And I cut out the wrong size (the pants are cropped and they would have been a bit snug around my calves) etc, etc, no spare fabric.  Argh!  I had just enough leftover to cut a couple of 2" strips so I decided to make them into 'Holly's'!  As the strip was not long enough to run the full length of the pants, I pieced them together and highlighted the error with contrasting thread!

I do like my 'butt labels'!!

The legs finish just above ankle height and look great rolled up.  I serged the inside seams so the thread can be seen.  It's not really noticeable except for when you take a close-up!!

The fabric is a really lightweight denim, 97% cotton, 3% spandex and drapes nicely.  They have a dropped crotch - not too pronounced and are really comfy to wear!  The pockets are large patch pockets sewn on top of the fronts and caught in the side seams.  I lined them with 100% cotton fabric for strength and stability and they are rather lovely!

I do have some more goodies to share and make notes on - I just don't want to overload the photos.  I also noticed (or perhaps it just appears more obvious) that I have steadily been putting on weight.  Sigh.  I know that these designs are not conducive to 'flattering/slimming' and I really don't mind that at all.  What I don't like is my chubby face and arms so I will need to work on that . . . . .

How is your summer sewing coming along?