{quilt} while you're ahead

66**2013 - Lecien cushions -

For the boys.

Long overdue project.

The gorgeous Lecien fabric was bought in Tokyo last August.

Ahem ahem.

 

What are you all doing this weekend?  I'm heading to the Malvern Quilt Show tomorrow and then flop with the family on Sunday. 

63**2013 - Nani Iro / Tova dress -

Neither the dress or the fabric need any introduction so I'm going to let the photos do all the talking.

The only modification I did was in the collar.  I used the directions for the Wiksten tank collar and I'm really happy.  So happy that I've already worn it once and can't wait for this nasty weather to go away to wear it again.

Sewing with double gauze was a bit tricky (actually I found the hardest part was accurately cutting the pattern pieces...) but it feels wonderful on and drapes just the right amount.

My two new wardrobe additions... any other pattern you can recommend?

56**2013 - Tova top -

The pattern has been sat on my shelf for what...two years? and then last week I finally took the plunge...

I cut the pattern pieces, studied the instructions, and over the course of a few days...

the ubiquitous and fabulous TOVA top emerged.

I used a light cotton fabric I bought in Italy during the Easter break.  I think it's French... but don't quote me on it, it's just something the guy in the shop said.  The selvedge was blank.

I'm very pleased with it!  I did it in a medium size and it fits perfectly even if it's not perfect... my gathering isn't brilliant (must practice 'gathering') and I'm not in love with the collar.  I think I'll try a simple bias binding doo-dah next time.  I also made it much shorter than the pattern suggested because it originally sat right on my hips and between you and me highlighting the widest part of one's body it is never a good thing.

(obligatory awkward self-portrait)

I will sew more Tovas, they're very wearable..  I have a Liberty fabric and an unknown voile that should be  just the ticket... stay tuned.

13**2013

one word/two photos Wednesday

planning

81//2012

Randomly on a Monday

- No 2 is at home with a stomach bug.  Yuck.

- Italy beat England in the European Football Championship to earn a place in the semifinal on Thursday. Fingers crossed.

- I finished knitting my 'Bella Cardigan' with a foot of yarn to spare. Living dangersously is my middle name. Not really.

- Now I have all the ends to weave in - blah - and the buttons to choose - yeah.

- quote of the week: "this chocolate is nice mum, but it doesn't give me inner peace like an 'after eight' does" (No 2).  Worrying I know.

- The boys have finished a week of exams.  Anybody interested in adverb clauses? in the function of the large intestine? the death of Edward II? the five pillars of Islam, in Arabic? or how to draw a simple electrical circuit?  Actually I've already forgotten that one...

- Tonight I'm going to serve them buffalo meatballs.  They don't know it yet.  They won't know untill they've eaten.  Ha ha ha.  It's the small things people that keep the world turning and a mother happy.

- It's not supposed to be raining today but I can hear distant thunder.  To hang the clothes outside or not? That is the problem. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and rain of outregeous weather... to hang, to dry no more...

- I apologise for that.

- I bought myself a kindle.  I love it.  Books don't get ruined in my bags no more.

- I still love books.

- I'm drinking a lot of green tea with jasmine.

- One of our fish is dead.

- And it's not the one who's been looking dead for the past two months. Go figure.

- Two of our fish have only one eye.  Quite gross.

- I really must go do something.

 

 

78//2012

Mr M has a brand new office.

Mr M's new office has a fabulous vintage sofa.

Mr M's fabulous vintage sofa in his new office had no cushions

Until now

At a local street fair we scored a large piece of vintage Swedish fabric (Plexus by Sven Frisedt)

And two cushions were born.

The strange thing is when I  researched the designer name he seems to have only designed this one pattern - his name is printed on the selvedge - whilst there are endless patterns attributed to Sven Frisdedt, with a 'd' in the middle.  Could it be a mistake in the selvedge printing process?  Are there two Swedish designers with similar names?

If anybody knows I'd love to solve the mistery.

 

104

I'm surrounded by mountains of stuff.

- There's the Everest of school items to de-label and re-label.

- there's the chaos on my sewing desk (my computer table is full too.  I'm currently typing on top of the ironing board on top of said table)

- there's the pile of photos that need to be put into albums (the kids have been at them, and I know it must have been No 2 because he's pulled all the photos of himself on top!)

- there's the mess of fabric on my sewing desk that must be put under control if I want to sew the hundreds of school labels in time for school in September.

Not to mention the mountain of recycling in the garage, the mountain of ironing in the basket, the mountain of toys to put on ebay.

- AND the trip to the barber shop we should have done before the holidays...

- the dry clothes hanging outside.

- the wet clothes in the washing machine.

- the dirty clothes still in the basket.

I must stop.  It's kind of depressing.  Let's talk about something else.

- I can't get over this jet-lag.  I spend half of each night awake and half each morning in a coma after I drag myself out of bed trying to regain the right night/day balance.

- The kids can't get over their jet-lag.  They spend half of each night awake (in my bed.  Why?) and half of each morning in an awful mood trying their utmost to annoy the heck out of each other.

- We all have a blissful window of about three hours in the afternoon when all is good and then tiredness takes over and it's all downhill from then on.

No, I must be more cheerful... let's see...

- I have bought all the school stuff/clothes/shoes already.  The kids are under strict instruction of not growing at all for the next four weeks.

- I have found my favourite little camera I thought I lost in 2009.  Can you believe it? It was at the bottom of an Ikea shopping trolley I used to use to cart around all the stuff for my felting course.  I'm sooo happy.  I knew there was a reason why I couldn't bring myself to throw away the battery charger and various cables.

- oh, how could I almost forgot THIS wonderful stash of goodness?

Lots of Anna Maria Horner fabric that I had delivered to my friend's house in San Diego and then took home avoiding international postage rates and import taxes.  Genius, me think.

 

Now where should we start from?

Coffee.  Always from coffee.

 

 

77/2011 ** new curtains **

Ever since I painted (re-painted) the dining room I'd been wanting to make new curtains.  Nothing wrong with the old ones, in fact they went well with the new walls... but...

the itch.

You know the one?

I toyed with the idea of using this fabric by Sanderson.  Love it.  The blue is the exact match of the wall, I love the Fifties vibe but...

the itch was still itching.  

Then I went to Ledbury with Ali (a great shopping partner in crime) and found the perfect fabric in Hus and Hem.  Incidentally the shop is full of beautiful Scandinavian design and it was hard to leave most of it behind...

This particular fabric - a heavy weight quite textured printed cotton - is called DANDY 

Designed by Gunilla Gunnarsson for almedahls (what is it about the whole Scandinavian aesthetics I found so incredibly appealing? what is its secret?)

Naturally neither the boys nor the husband noticed the change (why do I bother? eh?) until I pointed them out to them, but it doesn't matter.  I like them.

And after a great deal of measuring and keeping my fingers crossed... I even managed to match the design in both curtains.  Phew.

The itch? gone.

67/2011

u.f.o. (un-finished object)

(one of the many)

n.y.s.os. (not yet started objects)

(purchased at the Malvern Quilt Show last week)

Sigh.

53/2011 ** quilted pillow **

Girls like No 2.  He's handsome and likes to put on a good show for them... (god help me in a few years time).  As a consequence he often gets invited to girls' birthday party.  He pretends to mind, but we all know he doesn't.

This fact allows me to indulge in sessions of unashamedly pink quilting and sewing, and let's face it, I don't get many of those around here!

This pillow will be handed over this afternoon

to a sweet sweet girl (who's also in my knitting club at school).

I'm just hoping No 2 will behave himself at dinner surrounded by pretty ladies in party mood.

As if.

(All the fabric came from my stash, the front is quilted on some thin wadding to give it more body.  The back has an envelope closure) (The stash appears untouched still, I swear it's self-generating; I've been of a fabric diet since ... forever...)