Bag lady

One of my bucket-list items was selling something handmade at a Christmas market. Check! Now I’ve done it.

I made these little fruit-and-veggie bags out of some mesh curtains from Spotlight, and some cotton cord. There were three sizes, and each pack had one biggie, two middle-sized ones, and one littlie.

big

middle

little

I’m pleased to report that all 20 sets sold out by midday. It’s kind of boring sewing, but all the same I love that they’re out in the world preventing plastic bag usage. I haven’t spotted any at the farmers’ markets yet, but I’m keeping a look out…

We’re lucky in Wellington to have several weekend farmers’ markets, with great seasonal produce at a bargain price. Lately I’ve been eating so much corn that I’m expecting to turn into a giant corn cob at any moment. Or possibly a giant cherry, it could go either way.

Anyway my next bucket list item is staying in an over-water bungalow on a tropical island. Bring it on!

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Here comes another one – New Look 6968

And this one wasn’t made in a day. It’s version A this time, but without sleeves.

The fabric is a cotton sateen from the Fabric Warehouse, which I bought when Penny (from Dressesandme) was in town.  Actually I think she’s now better known as Penny (formerly from Dressesandme) – I’m not sure where else she’s found these days. Anyway for me this fabric has a memory attached to it, which is the best kind of fabric really.

I just love the neck detail, and obviously with this print I had to sew it VERY VERY carefully so the darts were symmetrical.

I wasn’t sure if it’d end up looking like a Magic Eye print, causing passers-by to gaze at me crosseyed and shout “I’ve got it!”. But no-one has (yet), so I think it’s OK. Did Magic Eye even make it out of 1993? Let’s move on, quickly.

You may have noticed the zip at the top there – I attached some ribbon to either side of it, and it’s the loveliest way to make it a bit special. I machine-stitched it to the facing and lining on one side (right side of facing to wrong side of ribbon), and slip-stitched the other side to the zip by hand.

There’s a blind hem, and a kick-pleat at the back (or a vent? I always wonder if kick-pleat is the right term. It isn’t a pleat).

And you’ll be seeing this one again, I’m afraid. In fact, I already have fabric purchased for iteration 3. I really need to branch out and make some new patterns.

A slightly out of season jacket – Simplicity 2209

Only slightly out of season… today is summer but it’s officially “gloomy” according to the Met Service. Gloomy is not something Wellington does very often, so I had to look it up in the dictionary. One of the definitions was “a good day for blogging”*, so I got right into it.

Here’s a jacket I made a little while ago, with fabric from last year’s Fabric-a-brac.

The pattern is Simplicity 2209.

It’s a sweet little jacket, with three quarter sleeves and a single button closure. The collar can be ruffled or flat.

I had a few fitting dramas with this one, but I think I got close enough in the end. I also made a few alterations as you can see – full length sleeves, added lining, and made regular buttonholes. All of these were done because my fabric was winter-weight and I wanted the jacket to be a bit more weather-proof.

Next time I’ll make the original version, maybe in a heavy cotton if I can find a good one. I do like the single-button closure and shorter sleeves; it would be great for the warmer parts of the year.**

*Results not guaranteed in all dictionaries.
** By which I mean January to March.

Vintage sheet quilt

“Oh Pinterest,” I cried at 11pm the week before Christmas, “Pinterest, you are a tease and a heartbreaker. Year after year I am lured in by a pixellated promise of a stylish frock, a delicious meal or a piece of homeware that will take no more than a single hour to construct! Yet every year I am left toiling into the wee hours. How short our memories and fickle our desires.”

I give you, a quilt.

The inspiration for this was this gorgeous thing, as seen on Pinterest. All year I’ve been collecting old cotton sheets from op-shops (and honestly, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop, I love them so).

The batting is an old woollen blanket, also from an op shop. And the backing is a stripy sheet which must be like one my grandmother had, because it sure seems familiar.

The only new materials are the mouse-coloured squares used for contrast, and the thread used to quilt it. (Maryanne told me it was important to use cotton thread, so I did).

I pieced the binding from leftover bits of sheets, and used this method to machine bind it (because it’s a lot quicker than nearly nine metres of hand stitching, it looks perfectly good, and honestly, it was nearly midnight). If you are using this method, I do think it’s worth using an edge-stitch foot to get the line of stitching perfectly even.

 

Been busy, baby (or, you’ll never guess what my new year’s resolution was)

Yep, it’s a classic early-January post, guess who made a new year’s resolution to do more blogging? I have several things to show you, but here’s the first (and the second to the twenty-fourth, if you want to be pedantic). If you’re not into cute, look away now. My two scallywag nieces have been the best scrap-busters ever.

First there are these two little dresses, one from red wool and the other from green fleece. I think I found a free kids’ t-shirt pattern somewhere, and improvised the rest. Win!

Next is a teddy bear onesie, which was a giveaway from Nordic Patterns via Sew Mama Sew… strangely I can’t find any trace of Nordic Patterns any more. The pattern’s still there for download, though.

Then there are leggings (another freebie, from ToddAh)…

and shorts, using the “panties” pattern from Style 3699…

and overalls, using McCalls 2372 …

and two versions of the adorable Penny Playsuit…

One has a lovely zipper which came from Stitchbird:

And I had enough fabric left over to make matching t-shirts for their mummies (using the Deer & Doe Plantain pattern):

Lastly, for Christmas presents I whizzed up a few pairs each of the Oliver & S sunny day shorts.

These were a hit, even the size 3 ones (which looked a bit hip-hop to me, but then the recipient is pretty cool herself).

I didn’t realise I’d made so many things til I put them all together like this! Anyway, girls, if you’re reading this from the future, don’t forget, I have an ulterior motive.