Autumn sewing events

Well, it's getting to that time of year when the nights are drawing in and I'm thinking of ways to get out there and get out of the house before it's gloomy and all that you can do to keep your spirits up is to drink hot chocolate under a cosy quilt, in front of a log fire and get ready for Christmas!

Here's an event that I'm particularly excited about for Crafter/Bloggers in Birmingham (UK) ...

Sew Brum Blogger Meet Up - Saturday 31st October 2015

http://englishgirlathome.com/sewbrum/ 

Juggling pyramids and other things

Well the weather outside is frightful but the fire is so delightful... Sorry! With this weather, though, it feels like it's nearly Christmas!

I've been catching up with a bunch of UFOs (unfinished objects) and I think it's going well.

 

- I've been sewing up a tote bag with a Hot Hot Heat (videos) gig shirt logo I've had since 2004. I added fringing I bought last year and it makes it look quite BoHo.

 

 

- Yesterday I prepared a square of camp blanket to show my Scouts how to sew their names, sew on a badge, do blanket stitch, and maybe how to do a surgical suture on some wool cloth (if we have time!). I had thought of doing it with real pig flesh but then my common sense kicked in saying, "that's horrendous."

 

- I also (wow) found the foot for my sewing machine, FINALLY! My sewing room is so much like a lumber room, 'thing wanted always buried.'

 

- I am so excited to be using my Tweed, which was destined to be a quilt (but hey, destinies change), which I've sewn into some pyramid-shaped juggling balls and they look fab!

 

 

 

- Check out this knife sheath I have made too! My first foray into leatherwork but I think it's quite snazzy. It's great for my antler-handled work knife from Big Beynon's Blacksmithing 

 

 

Tonight I'm going to give my waistcoat a go and see if I can't finish that then sew up some mini wallhangings to paint, for work. I'm still working on some slings but I'm not too sure about how the pouches will work: Sigh. Woven or just sewing plaits together or maybe leather? So that's a good challenge and I'll figure it out! 

 

At least I have ticked quite a lot off the to-do list; I even managed to go to the cinema this week. Check me out!

 

Enjoy your projects whatever they may be! Always excited to hear what you are all working on too :)

Quilting clouds step-by-step

Turn your hand to quilting! These simple hand-quilted clouds are really fun to make! They could even make up part of a lovely Weather Mobile...

Step 1: take a rectangle of polyester wadding (5-7mm) and 2 cotton rectangles of the same size.

Step 2: With a pencil, draw your cloud pattern on paper and pin it to all the cotton and wadding (stacked up).

Step 3: Cut out the pattern shape.

Step 3: Sew around the edge neatly. You may want to overstitch the edges too.

Step 4: Sew some fun patterns into your cloud. Or even embroider on some eyes!

New 100% wool fabric to play with

Can't wait to get stuck into this new project!! New murky green wool blanket just in - I love Ebay! Instagram post

More Winter partlet-ing

Couple more pics. By the end of tonight I WILL have sewn the whole partlet together, except the bottom seam, and I will have finished these ties - of which I need 10. I've done 3 so far. Nearly nearly.

I took some pics to make me feel like I've actually done something. Sewing these ties together took forever last night. I went to bed at 2am: I was on a roll watching Kaamelott and doing sewing :)

I turned it inside out yesterday and now it's ... FINISHED!

Winter partlet continued

Despite some personal frustration over switching to autopilot, and sewing the wrong part of the partlet to the wrong part of the partlet, whilst working on the train (which I thought was a very efficient use of my time on the way to brunch)...

... I am now using my winter partlet as a break from the frightening issue of actually quilting my Orange quilt! It's taken me so much to get there and I don't want to ruin it. I think I'll sit down tomorrow night and tack it all up. No sense in rushing it.

So my winter partlet is all pinned up, I've read the Tudor tailor for guidance, not really that helpful, but at least there was a picture. We'll see how that goes... 

I need to make some nice ties to go in there before I sew up the sides too... Hmm... Not too keen on making ties - it's a bit fiddly - I can make big ties though, therefore less fiddly. Hmm... Ooh! Ooh! I can use my bright blue wool and some white linen I have left over. Ok, procrastination over, I'd better get onto doing my handstitching before bedtime! Here are a couple of pics.

N.b. Pincushion is definitely not an authentic Tudor one! ;)

Night!

She's back!

She's purring like a dream. I don't want to jinx it too badly just yet, though, but my sewing machine is back from the lovely people at Frank Nutt (Birmingham) and I will be hiding away in my sewing room for most of the rest of today.

From my sewing room, door everyone else will just be hearing the whispered mutterings under my breath and the light whirring of my little Brother making a delightful orange quilt. Finally all the component parts are together, they just need a bit of sewing.

... Mwah ha ha ha! ...

Late night sewing tip

The sewing machine shop informed me that you have to change your sewing machine needle every 8 hours. As someone who has not changed their sewing machine needle in as many years, that is a good tip and potentially why my sewing machine has decided to give up the ghost (that might be putting it a smidge melodramatically): pure neglect. 

A needle only costs a couple of pounds, so it's nothing major and, if you think about it, 8 hours probably doesn't equate to too much packed-in sewing time. I'll probably just start changing the needle 4 times a year and flout the rules until I become a millionaire, preferably through crafting genius. Looking at prices for new sewing machines, however, really makes you appreciate what you borrow from your mum for an extended period of time, and sometimes let her use!

And on that bombshell. night night!

Token Valentine's Day heart

If I had my sewing machine (my one true love, which is at the "garage") this would be beautifully and tightly machine-sewn... and finished. But don't cry for me Argentina! They're getting the parts in next week, by which time hearts will be redundant and I'll have to think of something else to make but, live for the challenge!

"Gorey" stuff

The Gores I have mainly been avoiding today...

Winter partlet

Ooh I eyed up some lovely fabric whilst volunteering this week and now I am going to make a madder/pink winter partlet. Partly because the lovely fabric called to me, partly because my "gores" on my Tudor waistcoat are getting me down :)

Such pretty wool. I'm using a wool blanket (100% wool) and some linen for the lining, and some ribbons for ties, I think.

Ribbons: Might make braids but my friend said that putting pink on one side, black on the other, would make really fun linen ribbons when they're tied!

Advice from a US Singer sewing manual from 1949

Still can't remember where I found this but I find it equally hilarious and unsettling. I like to imagine Bear Grylls or similar following these instructions :) Lol!

The Marie Curie TV advert has got it right. #NoChores - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwJEapdvLp0 On Scout camp, there are no chores. Just sitting with cups of tea and encouraging the kids to be independent. 

Je suis plutot les dessins de Penelope Bagieu

(Trans. I'm more like the illustrations of Penelope Bagieu)

Dessin de Penelope Bagieu http://wantit.free.fr/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/paques1.jpg 
Drawing by Penelope Bagieu (French graphic novel artist)
(Speech bubble translation: There's so much rubbish on my desk that I could hide Easter Eggs on it!) 

Et je les ai sur mon bureau, les oeufs de Paques! :-/ Excus d'etre "un creative"
(Trans. And I have creme eggs on my desk! Excuse of "a creative")  

Putting your foot down

Your machine foot that is! You'll want to do this if you are putting a zipper foot on. If you are sewing a zip onto something you will want to change your machine foot to put on the zipper foot.

On my sewing machine you simply push that lever and it drops. To put it back on you have to push the lever and put the foot up to the metal majiggy. The mechanism on the brother xl-

4060 works like a clasp so it opens to pick up the foot.

Foot is about to be dropped

Bang. And the foot has dropped

Today's blog was brought to you by the letter 'M'

Get ready for learning your Quilt Alphabet! Should be loads of fun with embroidery, quilting and potentially sequins! :) Learn to quilt a letter!

Workshop research

I'm really excited about the craft workshop I am running on Sunday. Although I am completely organised for what we will do at my Knit your own blanket square workshop, I always like to trawl the internet for a bit of extra insight about how it might go. I'm always finding great ideas for future workshops on Pinterest or by discussing ideas with friends!

If you're thinking of organising a craft workshop in your area, here is a useful link I found on Folksy - 3 Tips for running your own craft workshop.

I might test the knitting workshop on my dad. Always a useful guinea pig. I've also seen a Batman knitted square pattern that I'd like to try out before the weekend! I made my brother-in-law some Iron Man gloves recently and they seemed to go down well! I'm thinking for the next fingerless gloves I make I'll add fleece!

Fabric spree - Buying fabrics and pre-washing

When you're looking for fabric, always make sure you ask what you're getting and how you wash it. Is it cotton? Is it handmade or machine wash? Will the colour run? Is it stretchy or glossy and does that mean it will be more difficult to work with? I once stubbornly decided to make a Zandra Rhodes-inspired chiffon dress and, even 12 years later, it remains on my UFO (Unfinished Object) list! It was very slippy but one day... One day! If you can take on a fabric and win then that's all that matters!

For quilting especially, it's lovely to get some good offcuts to choose from. Think about the colours you want in your quilt first and what will go together. I've been contemplating green and pink for some time but I just can't do it! So I've bought some lovely yellow, stripey scraps (50p for a half-metre x 1m), a half-metre of dark orange patterned cotton, a sixties theme cotton pillowcase and plain yellow and orange fabrics to make a chevron quilt. I got a 1m x 2m length of orange fleece for £4 at the rag market which is just the right colour so I'm excited to start on a summery quilt. Amazing what you can get in Birmingham rag market when you're having a browse. Accessories, wool and cotton are so cheap too! Ok I'll stop waxing lyrical about my local markets but I do love them.

I'm zigzagging the edges of my new material (so the loose threads don't unravel during washing) and will wash it before cutting it - I don't want the fabric to shrink after I've made the quilt!

I also got extra material to have a play with. I might make a strip quilt or do a sampler quilt. Not sure yet but I'll keep you posted :) 

Here is a picture of the beautiful fabric I bought. If you can, jot down the name of the design (sometimes written on the selvedge) and make sure you have the right amount of fabric. I check how much fleece I will need before I go fabric shopping (or just have it in my head in case I randomly find some good fabric whilst I'm out of the house) because I know I'll want a full sheet of fleece for the back of my quilt so it looks good to me.

Happy crafting!

Baby quilt - Part Two

Woohoo my polyester wadding from www.sewandso.co.uk (£5.95/m squared, although you may be able to get a better deal down the rag market but I was being impatient and lazy so I went online) came in the post. 

So... putting my eyeballs to one side for a little while I have started to complete the final stages of my baby quilt.

More bits and bobs you might want

I have some lovely blue bias binding (2" thick) which will match the fabric colour

Blue thread or a thread that will match your patchwork colour.

Let's get to work!

The great thing about putting bias binding around the edge of your quilt is that (as long as the wadding, patchwork and fleece material are all the same size) you can sew the quilt as you would like it to be... 

i.e. patchwork with right side facing up, wadding next, then fleece on the bottom.

Pin it all together with enough space for your sewing machine foot to get down the seams of all your patches. I have put two pins on the edges of each square but you could use safety pins to pin the middle of each square. I went from left to right and made sure the whole piece was flat. If you can work at a table that is the same size as your quilt, this is best. Mine is a little too small so I have just been extremely careful with pinning my fabric together. 

**N.B. It is worth taking time over pinning and checking the back of your three layers of fabric so that it is not puckered and looks flat before you start - saves unpicking or crying later :)

Now that all the pins are in place, I'm going to sew along the seams of the patchwork sewing the vertical rows first, then the horizontals. This is sometimes called "sewing the ditches." I've used a thread which matches the pattern of my patchwork (ubut feel free to make it your own and go crazy with a zany clashing-colour!). Also, try to keep in the ditch of the seam, although it's not too obvious if you have gone off a little bit.

GOOD LUCK!

**I'm off to do this now so I'll pop up a few pics when I get back!**

Welcome to the MonsterEyesEvents blog!

I'm starting up with some fun events in local venues this year, so I am very excited for January 2015! Crafting, sewing, climbing, live music and knitting are some of my hobbies and I love spending time with family and friends. Expect blog posts, reviews and pictures about what I'm creating, facilitating, and generally getting up to, throughout the year!