stripey

I bought this happy stripey jumper in a charity shop a while ago. I love the colours, but its rather too snug in the bosom department, and roll necks are hot and itchy, so I've been wondering what to do with it..

I'd like to try to make it into a little waistcoat, so I need to cut it right up the front...

.. and cut off the arms...

hmmm so now I'm committed to carrying on!

I was going to cut off the collar but now I'm thinking I might keep it but make it smaller.

Thinking about how to finish the front edges, either by using some of the fabric from the sleeves (on the left) or make binding from a bit of a favourite cotton fabric (on the right)?

I could even use the left over sleeves to make a pair of hand warmers, as Spring still doesn't show any signs of arriving!

Anyway its past my bedtime so my hot water bottle and I will adjourn for this evening, and carry on tomorrow. I'm not sure if this is going to be a success or a cause for much swearing, and then end up as several stripy teddy bears or similar!

buttons v zips

Well the only sewing that has happened this week was the exciting task of replacing a button fly in Mr P's trousers with a zip- he says he can't be doing with button flies, so why did he buy the trousers, we ask ourselves....?

wednesday inspiration

thinking about a leafy quilt..

jim jams and tablecloths

I have finished the quilt I've been making for my friend who brings me the cast off pyjamas and tablecloths from the charity shop rag-bag. (thanks to Mr P for valiantly holding it up in the rainy garden!)

I wanted to make a quilt which had an underlying structure but which still looked scrappy, so I used blocks in three sizes, 6.5 inches, 4.5 inches and 2.5 inches, so however you arrange them they fit together- magic!

I started by laying out some pieces to see what went together. My friend likes blue so that was the starting point. Most of the fabrics are recycled, with a few pieces of new fabric- I couldn't resist the one with the deer and silver birches!

.... all joined together:

and sandwiched with the wadding and backing (with a little help from Molly)

I wanted to quilt it in quite a free way, so I machine and hand-stitched in bands at 6 inch intervals:

... which by complete coincidence made the stitching follow the pattern on the back, which is a lovely cuddly old flannelette sheet:

I think combining hand and machine stitching is a good compromise between time and craft. I use perle cotton for the hand stitches, and I can't be called a very neat stitcher, but I like the overall look.

Finished with a scrappy binding:

For me this is the best kind of quilting, with soft old fabrics that make a beautiful thing which seems to have a history and a life of its own. 

 

wednesday inspiration

little helpers

Just as well this quilt will be going to a cat lover, because I've been getting a lot of help with it..

The kitchen table is the only large flat place in this little house, and I do tend to get 'help' from the resident cat population!

Of course the quilt will be washed when its finished, to get that lovely crinkly-quilt look, and to remove any stray cat hairs.

under construction

When I look at the blogs of other more organised mortals they seem to show a single project from start to finish, but I always have more than one thing on the go at once. 

I thought it might be time for a progress report...

First, the quilt with steam cars on it, which is going to end up a bit like this:
(ooh err, another glimpse into the tangled mass that is my brain!)

... and on the back burner until that one is finished is the Matisse ladies (and radishes) quilt:

I am also making this blue and white quilt:

..for a friend who works in the Macmillan Cancer charity shop, and dives into their rag-bag of clothes not good enough to sell to bring me treasure in the form of slightly used jim-jams and tablecloths! Its a very worthy charity which I like to support, so its a mutually happy arrangement.

Meanwhile this huge quilt is still patiently waiting to be quilted:

I blogged about it on 20th October

http://molebags.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/old-and-new.html

but other things keep taking priority. Maybe by the time I'm a hundred and three it will be ready to put on the bed, along with the ubiquitous hexagons!

and in between times I am making a purple velvet Austin Powers lookalike suit for a teddy..

never a dull moment!

small blog meet

I'm having fun meeting up with fellow bloggers at the small blog meet over at Lily's Quilts:

http://lilysquilts.blogspot.com/