Roses are Red.......

For a couple of weeks now, in our 'exclusive boutique', there had been a black silky skirt with large red roses on it.  It was (fortunately) a size too small (cough, cough) and really not my 'thing' at all - although those who know me would say that black and red are definitely my thing!!!

Anyhoo, I kept looking at this skirt - mainly 'cos it's colouring made you look, i.e. you couldn't really miss it - and the cogs started going around in my head about what I might be able to upcycle it into.... So last week, before we went in, I made the decision that if it was still there, I would buy it.  I was fed up of seeing it on the racking!

So having had to endure the sarcastic wit of the the guy in the shop - he takes the mickey out of me every week!! - I made my way to the back of the shop and yep, there it was, still there.  I removed the item from the racking, double checked that there were no pulls or tears in it and 'bagged' it.

Enduring more sarcastic comments from the guy somewhere along the lines of "had I made sure it was my size.....?   did I want a hat and bag to go with the outfit.....?  it would look lovely with the pink feather boa he had in the back of the shop......" etc., etc., after giving him my £1, I made my escape and brought the skirt home.  I washed it then when it was dry hung it up in my sewing room (ex office), and again pondered on what I could upcycle the skirt as.

Over the week I measured the panels - 3 in all - and realised that I could make a vest top as long as I didn't mind two side seams (as per normal) but an added one up the back - not too bad but the pattern was very strong and I really didn't think I could carry off the finished article especially given that it was a very, very bold pattern and that ladies of a (cough, cough) soon to be certain age shouldn't wear sleeveless tops.

Therefore it should come as no surprise but I made a shopping bag out of it and the left overs will made one of the soft toy patterns I have just bought as well as possibly making it into the currently being worked on 'hexi-quilt'.

• Note.   Yes, I know I said I wouldn't be doing another one this side of hell freezing over following the dramas with the denim one, but I should be safe here - I am hand sewing for goodness sake!). This new quilt is currently being hand-sewn as the nights are drawing in and I can make the hexies watching the TV.  I will obviously post later about this particular project when I have sufficient done.

I have made quite a range of shopping and tote bags so the making up of one now comes quite easily. I had to play around with the back side of the bag as the front skirt panel wasn't quite big enough to make the two panels I needed.  I pieced the back panel and also the handles but, if I do say so myself, the handles have worked out pretty well..... not so sure about the matching up of the pattern on the back panel but I knew this was going to be a pain in the ***e.  The finished result is great and I am pleased with it.

Just to be different, I have made a cover for the bag, you know like the one you get on an umbrella?  I know I shall probably lose it and so I am now going to try to see if I can somehow attach the cover to the bag.  Maybe make a pocket that you can fold your bag into......... I know I have a Kagool somewhere that you can do that with............ just got to think on where it is......

Here is the finished result..... a bit in your face isn't it?  Yes, but no one else will have one like it and I definitely won't lose it.

See you soon...  :0)

Dino (part 2)

Well I rejigged the pattern I had made and made the neck a little more vertical.  I searched my stash(es) of material to see if I had any blue material - not something I was aware of as most of my material is old curtaining, pieces of end of roll, bits picked up at rando and blue isn't a colour I go for.

Anyhoo, I happened upon a piece of cotton that I found in a basket of off-cuts which had white spots on and it coincidentally was the right size for the pattern - yeah I know right?  Everything happens for a reason.

I didn't think that the cotton would be strong enough to be man-handled as I thought the toy would be so I continued on and managed to find a piece of lining cotton.  Pieces of felt were also brought out and compared until I had the right colour - red - for the scales, feet pads and eyes.  All done, I set about cutting and sewing.

I doubled up on each of the body pieces - two spotted front and back, two lining pieces to match - I wanted to be doubly sure that he was strong enough to put up a fight with a 7 year old.  As you can see I corrected the shape of the neck to make him stand taller rather than look as if he was eating off the floor, then it struck me, I could have used my giraffe pattern! DOH!! Anyhoo it was too late by then and I was pleased with my solo effort so no harm done.

The felt was a real pain to sew with!  I hadn't used it before and the fibres kept getting caught in my needle.  Fortunately, as I was using Lucy (my hand-crank), I was able to stop and start lots of times to clear the clog but eventually (and with a few more coppers in my swear box), the toy was done.

When I stuffed him I tried to make sure that it was done evenly and tight in the neck again to help make it stand up.

To be a little different, I trawled the t'interweb and was able to find a small teddy growler.  This is a small cylinder which, when tipped to one side, growls.  I remember a lady made me a large teddy bear with one of these inside when I was little and I loved it.  I thought the little lad would and also it would be 'different'.  It came a couple of days later and I was able to put it into the tummy before I finished the stitching.  

I love my Dino!  The finish is clean, the stuffing was smooth and the material suited the project.  The only think I wasn't happy with was the growler.  It worked intermittently and it was a little on the quiet side - not that I wanted to frighten the little guy, but I wanted more of a roar than a meow. 

Anyhoo, I loved it and apparently when the little lad received it, he never let it out of his sight all day!! I would call that a result.

See you soon  :0)

My Brachidiplodocaurus Dinosaur

Following the success of Gerry, my giraffe (see previous post), I was asked if I would be able to make a dinosaur........?  Thinking I might possibly be able to find a pattern, I set about looking for one. Unfortunately I didn't much like the free ones I found so wondered if I could make one by simply combining my Nelly and Gerry patterns.............. (did I say simply?? oh dear!!!)

With a little selotape and a lot of imagination, I tweaked and twisted and finally came up with a pattern I thought I could make up.  As it turns out mine looks like a mixture of Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus dinosaurs: characteristics from one are mixed with the characteristics of the other - totally unintentional but quite cool....

Anyhoo, as readers will know, I always make a trial product up so that any tweaks to the pattern can be made enabling me to correct anything along the way or add notes to the instructions so that any subsequent makes, go smoothly and with fewer - if any - mistakes.

I found a piece of flannelet which I then cut out using my pattern and, due to the texture of the material, used my pinking shears 'just to be safe'.  Not entirely satisfied with the size of the discs for the 'paws', I cut three different sizes.  I will use the larger of the three in the first attempt and will probably tack them in by hand so that if they are the wrong size, I can easily remove and replace them with one of the other sizes.

First I worked out where I wanted the eyes to be.  As I hadn't asked the age of the person I was making my dinosaur  for and googly eyes are not something that I keep a stock of, I decided that I could save any risk of him swallowing a button by sewing an eye on which was made out of the same material I was going to use for the 'paws'.

Using my large stock of buttons to find a size which worked, I traced the outline of the eye onto the pattern which I then cut out.  I then marked the wrong side of material with the shape of the eye and then used the same button to cut out the shape from the material I was going to use.

To keep the material in place whilst I sewed it on - too small for pins and fiddly for my huge fingers - I sprayed a small amount of Gunold® KK100 (fabric adhesive) to the eyes which I then fixed permanently using a small running stitch on my machine as close to the edge of the felt as I could.

I then pinned the leg pieces to the main body, right sides together. Then sewed down the back of the legs, the in between bit and front of legs of one side, right sides together.  I remembered when I had made the elephant that the 'paw pad' circles were sewn on after the leg pieces had been sewn together so I followed the same procedure here.

I checked that all the seams had been closed securely and then began 'fighting' with the 'paws' to get them into position on the end of the legs.

The larger of my felt circles were too big so I unpicked the tacks and tried the middle sized ones.  These were great and so all four were added to the bodies I had just sewn.  These were sewn on with the leg material to the top of the two pieces under the foot of the machine and the felt pads on the bottom.  Slowly but surely is definitely the motto here!






The body was beginning to look something like!

I asked if it was alright to add bits onto my dinosaur which weren't on the 'original'.  Apparently the young guy I was making the toy for has ADHD so I didn't really want to do something which could affect him.  I was informed that this would be ok, so I cut out some scales for the dinosaur's back.  I cut two lots as I had done for the paws and eyes so that I could compare colours and see which I liked best.

The dark green felt I had chosen for the paws, also looked good as the scales so I decided to use these.

Both pieces of felt were sewn together, giving the felt a little more body and stability.  At first the machine did not like the felt - see picture right - but with a little tweaking of the tension and stitch length, I managed to get it done

The scales were then pinned to the right side of the neck of one of the body pieces with the scales facing down.

This done, I started to assemble the dinosaur proper.

The first part is to sew the tummy bits together, remembering to leave a gap so that you can stuff the animal once it is finished.  I have learnt from the two Nellies I have made that to ensure the seam doesn't come undone or rip whilst you are stuffing, double back a couple of times on the start and finish of the two seams either side of the gap.

The legs need to be pinned out of the way of where the seam is going.  Pin them up on the wrong side of the body pieces so that you can sew the seam on the belly correctly.  When you are ready to sew, pin the body, right sides together and sew the belly ensuring that you don't catch the folded area in the seam.

I then rearranged the body and pinned it together ready for the final push.  The sewing was quite easy but when I came to turn him inside out, I realised that I hadn't left myself a lot of room for stuffing. There were also some places along the tail where the seam was coming undone.

I turned him back inside out and used a small zigzag stitch in the places where the original seam was a little too close to the edge of the materials and had come undone.  He was then turned back the right way and stuffed.
I am quite pleased with my first attempt and it is the first thing I have made without a pattern.

I can see now that the neck needs to be lifted on the pattern and needs to be smoother between the body and the neck - i.e. straighter without the dip.

I also need to make sure that the seam allowance is the same all the way around - the tail is a little lumpy.

All in all, not a bad first attempt and he will take his place on my recently culled bookshelves.  I now need to find some plain blue material and contrasting one for the paws, eyes and scales.  Watch this space - coming to a blog near you..............  :0)



 

Gerry's in Town

Well today was my first Saturday 'me' day in a long time. I have been part-time at work this week only doing two days and have filled the other three doing the garden and reclaiming the house from the dust bunnies! I therefore felt that I deserved the day off and would spend it doing some sewing.  (What I don't tell you is that I had a ton of washing to do and the weather has taken a turn for the worse - raining - and my tumble dryer has just bitten the dust!! so what I had planned to do wasn't going to happen anyway).

Having had a disastrous first attempt - usually the way to go with me anyway (see any of my previous posts) - I had enlarged the original pattern and taken care to cut it and my next choice of material out.  (Daughter left iPad out so was able to take photos of the start of the project. material shown is the wrong side out......)

Having returned from purchasing a new tumble dryer, I made the obligatory pint of coffee, set my CD off - Mark Billingham's Lazy Bones - and began to sew.  It was so much easier with the slightly larger pattern - my fat fingers were able to manoeuvre the material through the machine - electric (!) one - and soon I had all the pieces made, ready to put together.  I ironed all the seams I could and began to sew them together.

From the first attempt you will remember I had extra bits of material sewn the wrong side so that when I turned the sewing the right way round he had inappropriate bits between both his front and back legs - see previous post.  I was so careful this time so make sure I did this particular part slowly so as to get it right.

Anyhoo, I was so pleased when I did finally turn it the right way around when there were no extra bits sticking out anywhere!!!  I then set to and stuffed his legs, head and neck and the shape began to emerge.  The last few stitches were then added to close the opening on his tummy and eh voila!  Here you go - the finished article.

A little more stuffing in one leg and little less in another but apart from that tiny adjustment, I am so pleased with him!

Now what next????  :0)

You're having a giraffe!!!!

Well, this week I decided that I wanted to try another soft toy and came across a pattern for this giraffe - cutie-pie!

I sifted through my 'hoards' of fabric and found a couple of combinations that I thought would look ok and set about cutting out the pattern and the bits of material.  Wanting this to be as good as I possibly could with the 'trial' run, I took my time and spent one night tracing and cutting.  Due to the material type, I used my trusty pinking shears and decided that I would the use the electric machine.

As with previous projects, the first attempt is the trial run where, if I come across any problems, I make a note on the pattern for the second - hopefully better - run.  I started around 8.30pm - hubby fast asleep on the couch snoring so tv was out and it was too early to go to bed!  I finished it around 12.45 and just went to bed.

When I got up this morning I turned the giraffe the right way around and groaned.

I have obviously slipped up when I was sewing the two leg parts together as poor old Gerry has extra bits in between both his front and back legs.  Think I am going to have to practice this part of the project a few more times before doing the 'proper' one.  I am also thinking of cutting the pattern a little bigger - can't have a giraffe smaller than an elephant!! lol

Watch this space.  :0)

WALLET TOTES

Having finished the quilt, I decided that I would take things a little easier and go back to trying out bag patterns.  This turned out to be a really good idea.  I had pattern for a two tone tote from one of the free sites which I had just the right fabric type and colour for.  I cut it out and virtually had it done in a couple of hours - this is a record for me, a personal best - and I had used the electric machine! The bag was finished the following day and given to my Aunt to use on her holiday this week. Needless to say, she loved it!

       I didn't take photos as I went along because I was 'in the zone' and on a mission to get it done.  
      Plus my antiquated mobile doesn't take them and there wasn't anyone around who could.  
      Must get this situation rectified!  Here are the two bags done.

So now bereft of any projects, I sat with files of patterns to select my next one.

I found this project - Wallet Totes - again from one of the sites I trawl and thought (in a moment of insanity) that it would make a good project and give me some more practice of working with zips. I have made two Kennedy bags (see previous posts) and they had zips, I have also made a quilted cosmetic bag but really, three zips done; more practice required.

So I spent last night selecting materials, finding zips and cottons and cutting out.  As it was still relatively early, I then put three bases together to the zip part and then did one, just to try it. Success so far.....  I also managed to find hubby's phone and took a sneaky photo just as I was about to start sewing........

The zip sewing took a little practice - the first one zip I sewed I sewed too close to the teeth and then couldn't fasten it up.  I unpicked the zip but unfortunately there was not enough of the pink material shown in the photograph above to recut the bottom pieces so I now only had two examples cut....

I then managed to sew the second one - the pale blue one - inside out (!) and due to the weave of the fabric, I couldn't unpick it without spoiling either the zip or the material.  I was getting really frustrated now so I switched off the machine and went to refill my cup.

Taking a deep breath, I began my final cut example.....  They say thrid time's a charm and it was!  It went really well.  The zip around the whole bag bottom went so much better than I had expected - still not completely happy with it as there is a little 'pleat' near the zip head when the bag is open.  However here are the finished photos of the bag; closed, outside and inside.

I now have a few more larger zips where I need to work out how much larger I need to cut the base - I can hear you groaning from here, stop it!! I know maths isn't my strongest subject but I think I can so this...  The finished bag is a little on the small side, but my Aunt (my bestest 'customer') loves it and uses it to carry books in when we find them on our travels......

bag fully closed

bag open - outside

bag open - inside

Bottom's Up

I have for some time now, wanted to re-cover the seat and back of my chair.  I 'inherited' the chair and it wasn't in a particular good condition then but over the years, the seat had slowly become more thread bare and the material on the top edge of the back was getting very thin also.

I found a pattern for a slip cover and put it to one side with a view to doing at some point when either I had to or finally had the time to do it.  I knew that I would need time to think about how I was going to do it as the chair I have is very different to the one shown on the pattern.  Let me explain......

'Normal' typing chairs have levers underneath the seat where the user can adjust the height and position of the seat along with maybe another for the position of the backrest.  However mine is slightly different - see photo.......

The seat does indeed move up and down but there is no lever; there are two 'locks' either side of the seat and they are quite bulky.  The pattern I had was for a slip cover which effectively had a drawstring type of fastening which, on examining my chair, would not work with my design of chair hence the reason to have to think about the pattern.

So, one rainy Sunday I bit the bullet and sorted through the (many!!!) boxes of material I had and came across a piece of heavy cotton which had a design in the middle I felt I could 'fussy cut' so that the design was centred on both the seat and the back rest.

I needed a pattern so began taking the chair apart so that I could (hopefully) remove the remains of the existing cover as a template.  I couldn't work out how to remove the seat pad from the seat. Several attempts, scraped knuckles and after I had unscrewed all the visible screws and getting nowhere, I finally lost my temper and 'attacked' it with a very large screwdriver.

Instead of it breaking or chipping, the seat unclipped.  What a surprise!  There are four clips which grip the metal edge of the seat in strategic places on the seat.  Well this was now so much easier!!!

The original cover had been stapled onto the seat pad and so again with the screwdriver, I attacked the material which, was so badly worn, came out of the staples very easily.  I then realised that the seat pad was really thin at the front of the seat.

Along time ago, my Mum wanted to recover her headboard and bought some material which I guess is used by upholsterers to use for this very purpose; it is heavy duty material which is difficult to cut, does not tear and is quite thick.  She used it very successfully for her project and I thought that I could use some of the remaining 'hoard' to re-line the seat.  So I found a large enough piece and cut a pattern wisely marking the front of the piece so that I didn't make a mistake!

     Readers of my blogs will already be familiar with previous lessons learned - pins and 
     soft tissue do not mix, care required when counting (especially quilt squares), placement 
     of  embellishments (especially close to the seam) and obviously checking you are sewing
     the correct side to the correct side so that your final piece isn't inside out!!!

I then checked that this piece would cover the whole of the pad with sufficient spare material to be 'gripped' by the seat/pad.  There was so I then used this template to fussy cut the top material.  This particular part of the project was the most frustrating.  I eventually pressed a cross in the middle of the material where the middle of the cross was more or less centred in the middle of the design and tried to line it up with the middle of the head boarding material.  I think I did a pretty good job when you look at the finished cover, but it was pretty tense in my sewing room..........

With the use of my recently re-found stapler and spray glue, I managed to recover the seat.  I was really very pleased with the result.  With that done, the back was a breeze!  I followed the same process and again used the spray glue and stapler to fix the material to the rest.

I borrowed my daughter's iPad in order to take the photos.  Unfortunately the lighting in my sewing room isn't studio quality and that's why the colours look different on both parts.  I can promise that they are from the same piece of material and the seat in the photo here is the 'proper' colour.

Not bad, even though I say so myself.  Feels much comfier too with the additional 'padding'.

I then stated that the chair my husband uses at work was in more of a sad state than mine had been and so I asked him to bring his chair home the following weekend and I would 'overhaul' his too.  As you can see from the photos, it should really have been condemned to the skip!  Nevertheless, I washed it (which made a HUGE difference), and then used a piece of upholstery fabric to recover the seat and back rest.  This time the seat was screwed to the base of the chair and so I had to also then remember which screws went where when I put it back together again.

This is the seat pad - or should I say what's left of the seat pad!!!

Finished chair.  Another project which success relies on the choice of fabric.

Hubby is really pleased - especially as the additional padding means that he can't feel the ridges of the seat base!

First Quilt (proper) part 8

HOOOORRRAAAYYYYY

Yes its actually finished.  I finished yesterday (Sunday 15 March).

To be honest I had been putting off the binding as I just couldn't get my head around the mitering aspect.  I have watched video after video and even tried it out on the sample mug mats but even then, the corners didn't look right.

The weekend was going to bad anyway as it was the anniversary of losing my mum and Mother's day so it was going to be a toughee!  However, there was also two hockey matches on - one Saturday, one Sunday - so I decided to bite the bullet and use them to my 'advantage', take my mind off my troubles and just do it.

I made the binding on Saturday.  I cut 3" strips which I then folded in half and then folded the edges into the middle making one side a little wider than the other (tip from one of my videos).  You will know - from previous blogs - that my maths isn't that hot (72 squares etc etc....!) so I didn't bother measuring the entire outside of my quilt to make sufficient binding, I winged it.

The binding was placed to one side and I again trawled the net for alternative methods for finishing my quilt along with any other binding 'how tos' just in case.

Sunday came around and I set my stall out......  computer loaded with Miss Marple stories on CD, angle poise light correct positioned, Lucy freshly oiled and loaded with a full shuttle bobbin and three spare (just in case) and the obligatory pint of coffee.

I set off pinning the binding to the back-side of the quilt but then realised that I didn't need to do this as the raw edge of the binding ran along the edge of the quilt.  This saved time and fingers being pricked.  Lucy 'chomped' through all the layers and the stitching was just right.  I followed the instructions for the mitred corners and was pretty pleased with the back.

When I reached the beginning of the binding (the other end) I trimmed off the excess - like I said, maths not my thing - there's loads of binding left!! - and managed to make quite a neat little join.

The problem started when I got to the first corner on the top side.  There was far too much binding!  I couldn't understand what had gone wrong.  I had followed all instructions even to the point of slowing the video and practically going frame by frame so I didn't make a hash out of it.   Pointless!!

Anyhoo, after quite a lot of folding in and folding in again, I managed to get them something like but not even close to a mitre.  They are neat (I think) and tucked in, not ruckled or anything but not what I wanted.




Needless to say, my first quilt is done!  This is the view of the back and closer view of the stitching in the ditch .....

 IF I ever decide to try another one, I will find a pattern a lot easier to do and chose something other than denim to make it out of.  Mind you, for now, I'm gonna quit whilst I am ahead and get back to some 'quicker, easier result' projects and I already have a list!

First Quilt (proper) part 7

When I wrote my last post, I was undecided on how I was going to quilt it and the colours of the thread I was going to use.  Well, as a sort of 'practical distraction', I went to meet a lady in the village who is part of the Buttercross Needleworkers group and spent time discussing quilting/sewing etc and she gave me a couple of ideas which I hadn't even considered.  So now, fully inspired I wanted to start straight away on my quilt......  Unfortunately being Saturday afternoon, everyone was in the house and I needed space (to lay out my quilt) and quiet (so I could talk to myself in an attempt to believe I could convince myself that what I doing was doing was going to be ok).

Eventually, Sunday afternoon came around, Hubby and the kids were waved off - ice hockey match in Peterborough -  and after cleaning up, setting off the coffee maker (knew I was going to need a few pints!!), washing the kitchen floor and then accumulating everything I would need, I began assembling my quilt.

The first thing I needed to do was iron the backing which I did and also used some spray starch so that it would firm it up enough to hold its shape whilst I set about the pinning marathon!  I then also sprayed the backing - once dry - with Gunold KK 100 temporary adhesive spray and laid the wadding on top of that ensuring that there were no 'bubbles' or creases in it.

That done, the last step was to lay out the denim top and pin like it to within an inch of its life!!!  Half an hour later, I must say that I had had enough!  My knees were cold - from kneeling on the kitchen floor - and my back ached - from being in the same position - and I had lost two nails down to the quick :0(              However, I had half of the quilt pinned and stabilising pins on the other half so that the layers didn't pull away from one another.  I really couldn't do any more pinning but felt that half the quilt could be sewn and that would help me pin the other half but not so rigourously.

Whilst the quilt was laid out I took the opportunity to trim the spare backing/wadding but not too close to the edge of the denim just in case.  I had some spare denim squares which I had decided I was going to use to trial the different and new - thanks to my chat with Chris - ways to quilt my project.  This done, I pinned two squares to the spare (still having a little left and adding this to my 'stash') and placed these on my machine ready.  As this seemed to be a natural break, coffee-time ensued.

Having had a pint cup of coffee, I carefully carried the quilt into my sewing room and set about organising it to accommodate the large (goodness me it was big and heavy!!!) quilt I now needed to sew. All my sewing boxes were placed above head height, laptop moved, other stuff also moved until I had a clear desk and area to the left of my desk. I then trialed the quilting ideas.


Although I quite liked the 'X', I realised that there would be a lot of ends to deal with so, I plumped for method 2 - square.

I then felt that I could possibly 'get away with' only sewing every other one but would check out this when I had two rows done.  Happy that I had made the decision and that the choice of black thread would work on both sides, I took a deep breath, put the Agatha Christie tape in the machine, pressed play and began to sew.

The sound of the machine was interrupted scarily regularly with the sound of pins dropping to the floor and the occasional 'ouch' from me as a pin stuck into my more softer and delicate parts!  (Note to self - must get some proper quilt pins if I am going to do another one).

Lucy (my hand-crank) was coping admirably with the sewing but I was struggling with the turning of the bulk of the thing (this is fast becoming a thing!). However with a few of the squares quilted I was really rather chuffed with the result.

A decision was made there and then, rightly or wrongly, that I would quilt each square rather than every other one.  I know I will live to regret this (and my boobs are feeling sore just thinking of more pins) but I am secretly enjoying this part of the project.  It will though be the first and last quilt I make like this.................

Well, I have managed to take a break from the quilting just long enough for one of my daughters to take a photo of the mess I seem to have created.  Yes, there is a sewing machine in there somewhere but not me!  I have also rethought the pinning and have pinned each centre square only.  Much better!

Updates to come - sooner I think rather than later.... :0)

First Quilt (proper) part 6

Well, thanks to the Sheffield Steel Dogs who had a game yesterday, I was able to check out my quilt 'strips' on the wadding/winceyette and the Ikea lightweight tog quilt to see which of the two 'paddings' I am going to use as my final (final) 'quilt'.

Well the Ikea solution sounded good but in practice the outer fabric, I don't think, will last very long before it's torn.  The fabric seems to be similar to a lightweight interfacing material and, although we won't be playing tug-o-war with it, I don't think it will be long before repairs will need to be made or  (even worse), another quilt for the underside!! lol groan!

Therefore I will be using the wadding/padding I got from my trip to Hobbycraft as I was correct in thinking that the seams would be too 'uncomfortable' without it and I am also going to be brave, bite the bullet and sew all the rows together first then sew all three parts together.  I haven't decided what colour thread to use yet as my denim is mainly blue (doh - obviously) but the backing has a cream background with pictures of black animals all over.  (see photo right)


As there is quite a lot of sewing to do not to mention the quilting part (!!!!), I will pin everything down within an inch of its life and any bits I have to 'trim off' will be used to sample thread colours both top and bottom of the quilt.  That way I will be able to work out what tensions to use them under (if they are different makes) and also check out the finished look before I commit myself 100%.

Initially I thought, to be on  the safe side, I would 'stitch in the ditch' for this one as it is my first and there is so much 'faff' on the top side anyway.  However, I wasn't counting on the number of seams on the reverse of the topside and the many different ways that they lay.  Stitching in the ditch has now now been ditched (! pardon the pun) and I will have to rethink how I am going to quilt it.

As a final decision hasn't been made on the colour of the threads I will use and I know that I will be trimming off some of the winceyette/padding, I can also trial quilt using some of the odd pieces of denim I have left to experiment with the quilting.   I think I may also revert back to using Lucy - my hand-crank - as she really doesn't care what I throw at her, she just sews!  The hand control will be better at a slower speed even though I will only have one hand to guide the whole thing through the machine.  This is the theory - practice may be different and I may stop with the electric one.... will let you know.

Who knew there would be all sorts of decisions to make - thought it would be just sew and go!  Yes, I do know what thought did, thank you!  lol

However, there may not be another post for quite a while now as I can see these last two stages taking a lot of my early mornings up.  Wish me luck................................. :0)

First Quilt (proper) Part 5

Well, I am getting there - finally!  Made up the deficiency in numbers - 72 squares out - boy not really a deficiency is it?  Nearly another quilt - lol!

Anyhoo I have begun to sew my squares together.  Following advice from web-buddies on 'sewmamasewcircle', I am sewing rows of single squares and then sewing these single rows together.

I have also broken out the electric sewing machine too.  It is so much easier having two hands to guide the material through.  I won't become a convert though, I still love the sound of my hand-crank and love the control it gives me.  I can see the benefits of the electric one though and won't be so reluctant to use it in future - we all have to move on eventually or we get left behind!  Gosh, hark at me!

Apologies for the blurriness of the photographs - hubby did these on his phone - kids out and needed the photos now before I continued with the last single rows to be sewn together.

Now all I have to do is to decide whether to 'quilt as I go' or sew it all together and then quilt it.  Really not sure as this is the first quilt I have made and it is sooooooo big and going to be so bulky.  I was advised to maybe not put any wadding in between the top and backing layers. However I think this may not be an option as the seams on the denim are quite thick - don't want to sew it and then find that the seams are uncomfortable.

I will have to wait until the next ice hockey match to put the quilt together and pin it so I can see how much there will be to sew if I go with the wadding - I need the front room floor to spread the materials out.  Hey ho!  Updates to come..............

First Quilt (proper) Part 4

Well, I feel like a right muppet!!!

I had the afternoon all to myself last Wednesday, due to there being an ice hockey match on, so I thought I would have an hour or so with the squares I had been making for my quilt, the piece of fleece I have for the backing and arrange the squares into some sort of 'random' pattern.

I spent time ironing all the squares so they would lay flat, then moved the furniture around in the living room so I had sufficient floor space to lay out the backing piece completely and then began laying out my lovely piece of fleece.

I have already spent time (it seemed like hours) squaring each individual piece into a 6" square using my rule and rotary cutter but I am really pleased with the result and the iron just made them seem even better.  Once all were ironed, I had a huge (or so I thought) pile of them and took them into the room.

I took the squares and laid them into rows of 9 - not really taking any notice of the evolving design as I knew I would be 'faffing' with it later.  However, when I had laid all my pieces out I realised there was quite a lot of the fleece piece still visible!!  With a heart wrenching thud, I realised I was several squares short of my quilt!

This is not a euphemism but went some way to describe my mental state at this point as it was soon plain to see that it was more than just 'several'; in fact I was 72 squares short of a quilt............... gggggggggrrrrrrrrrr!!!! I was sure that I had enough to start stitching together....  How had I made such an error?

Needless to say I am now cutting more parts and sewing even more squares...........  Thankfully, as the pattern is random, I can use different pieces of 'odd' denim and other comparable fabric to continue the theme as some of my 'original' pieces have been used up.

Who knew I would not have enough squares?!

Note to self - measure, measure and then measure again!

Anyhoo.......... pictures to come when I can cajole one of the daughters to take them for me. Watch this space.........

Well pictures as promised.................... 

These are some of the squares already sewn - they still need to be 'squared up' and then, when I have made up my deficit,  the second marathon sew-in can start; sewing them together................  Looking forward to it.  Roll on the next hockey match  ;0)