No Sewing and a Review of my Work

Hello Friends,

This house move is taking so long! We are in temporary accommodation number 2 now and if it all goes well we are getting the keys for our new apartment next weekend. "I can't wait" would be an understatement.

Living as a transient out of a suitcase with the bare minimum has not been an issue- I realised years ago that most of the things I surround myself with are probably unnecessary. A slow edit has been taking place since 2010, giving away to charity and enriching the local library with over 1000 books- yes I could not believe I had that many books either! My previous move involved an articulated lorry and a crew of professionals. This time all of our current possessions, packaged and carried by us, filled a transit van and are waiting in a storage locker for now.

What I have really missed is sewing. The creative hours spent starring at fabric and dreaming of what to make with it. The precise cutting of the rotary cutter producing perfect lines. Admiring the colours of the thread spools which always end up jumbled up no matter how often I tidy them in my biscuit tin. And of course the rhythmic movement of the needle with its magical powers- fabric goes in one way and beautiful things happen- dependable and steady. I have missed going to bed and dreaming of patterns, waking up early and drawing foxes and bunnies to applique on my fabric baskets. 

This sewing abstinence is getting to 4 weeks now and I have been feeling so nostalgic I decided to run through the last few months of my blog and pick my favourite makes.

Fox Notebook

Fox Mini Pillow

Floral Coaster

Fox with Tulips Linen Zipper Pouch

Birds and Cherries Make up Pouches

Felt Fox Brooch

Bunny Caddy Basket

Sage Green Bunny Caddy

Lavender Kitty Caddy

Lamb Pencil Case

Mouse Pocket Friend

Fox and Tulips Fabric Basket

Red Fox Diaper Caddy

Jumping Fox Caddy

Cat Mouse and Bunny Pillows

Bunny Bib and Burp Cloth Set

Christmas Fabric Gift Bag

Modern Patchwork Doll's Quilt and Pillow

Have a lovely weekend

xoxoxox

Fox Caddy, Raccoon Case, Squirrel and Dotty Clutch

Fox Caddy, Raccoon Case, Squirrel and Dotty Clutch

This week I have been fortunate to have time to sew every day and wanted to share the joy with you. Here is what I made.

Fox Caddy

 This is a new fox design, with more detail.

I am pleased with how he came out, I made his legs out of wool felt: they are soft and 3D.

I had some leftover fabrics from the Acacia Blue line I bought back in July and made a small case for an e-reader or tablet.

Raccoon Tablet Case

 The eyes of that raccoon are magical, I swear he can see me!

A Squirrel Basket 

This basket was made with blue edging on the top of the pockets, using my Fabric Basket Tutorial for the lovely London fabric shop The Village Haberdashery. It is written for absolute beginners, if you can sew a line (preferably straight) you can do it!

I am so proud how I patiently stitched that blue edge in the ditch and did not go over.It is my challenge this year to become more accurate and precise, getting it right first time, instead of my tendency to rush and end up ripping seams later.

Polka Dot Clutch and Strap

 This fits a pack of baby wipes and a few diapers, for a chic solution to changing baby on the go...

...and it matches the Dotty Taupe Basket

I have two more new foxes designed and the patterns cut, ready to be sewn so something to show you soon.

Enjoying the last of the autumn sunshine, warm wishes to you all.

Eva

Jolly Farm, Fox and Apple

This week under severe restrain I only bought one fabric to add to my stash.

The Trees from Jolly Farm- Henley Studio, Makeower UK

I love everything about this- the colours, the detail, the birds.

The blue is lovely too, maybe next week...

I added a little red apple to the front

I love the bright red dots. The stalk gets lost a bit in the other green but I did not have any solid green to match.

I also have been designing some new foxes.

 Something to go with this Boy Fox

Here is a girl fox

The bow is removable and she loves roses and has a button nose.

This basket has longer handles for one hand operation.

And a jumping Fox

 I have missed working with felt- this shade is called acorn and is so soft to touch.

I used plain stitching instead of the usual zig-zag satin stitch, and chose a bright orange. 

Last year I loved making the Fox Autumn Leaves Purse but it took 2-3 hours to make.

I still love the idea of fabric photos though and creating a pretty scene.

This is work in progress

The fox is talking to her friend the bird. I wanted a blue bird, like the singing Disney birds and a big dotty mushroom! The fox leg was very tricky, I drew it about 6 different ways before settling on this version that I could actually sew.

So it has been very busy here! How was your weekend?

Eva

Fox In The Rose Garden

Foxes are back!

I promised more foxes and here they are!

 Antique Pink Polka Dot On Cream and Pink Roses Bouquets

 I used antique Pink Gutterman Thread  Col.473 for the satin stitch.

 And If you like a Vintage look and bright colours, a Red Fox version.

 The background Fabric is a Petrol Blue, Green, Grey difficult to describe shade.I live the tiny flecks of yellow in this.

 I used an oily swampy green to top-stitch. Here the fabric looks more blue.

To see more about foxes, see Coral Fox and Tulips

 and Mint Fox

and Pink Fox

And something more summery

Cupcakes!

These are so cute! The hearts are red and normally I would not put them together with pink but I am hoping it worked ok here.

Have a great Sunday!