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

Cute Animal Bib and Burp Cloth Set and the Pitfalls of Bad Photography

These cute bibs have me hooked.

 I now made the kitties in red

and the teddy in blue

My camera was having a meltdown as the sun kept coming out and then hiding behind clouds. It is hard to believe this is the same items on the photo above and below.

The pink was hard to photograph too- I think it may be the polka dots, they are confusing the camera's focus.

Will try again tomorrow for better shots.

Have a nice afternoon.

xo xo

Polar Bear Storage Caddy

There is something about the cuteness and soft white coat of polar bears that makes them adorable.

Upon reviewing my makes I could identify a very clear bias towards girl-orientated designs and colours. It is my mission to make some boy things in the next few weeks.

This polar bear is the start

I love love this bear! I looked at over 100 photographs of bears and made 7 sketch drawings before deciding on this one. I normally sketch like a painter and then need to simplify so I can execute it in the sewing machine.

I made him out of white polar fleece which has the advantage of no fraying. The disadvantage is due to the plushness, it is hard to make any marks for the eyes and nose. In the end, it was a guessing job with the embroidery thread. To make things easier, I think I will opt for wool felt next time.

The polar fleece is lovely to touch though!

The pocket is lined with cream cotton. After I turned it I rolled the tube 1/2" to create the upper edge. It looked so crisp and could not resist sewing a top stitch along both edges.

This blue fabric is linen look cotton and the dots look a bit like is it snowing.

Polar bears are so cute! I shall be making more of them.

Teddy Bear Pillow and Patchwork Birds

I had this white polar fleece sitting untouched for a few weeks and after watching a documentary about polar bears had a eureka moment.

 I tried a peek-a-boo aka reverse applique for the first time and worked really well with the slight stretch in the fleece.

I used wool felt for the eyes and nose because I was too impatient to embroider them

 The ears are another new technique- the inner part was cut smaller than the outer- I even managed to fussy cut the pattern, so that both ears have a "space flower" at the centre.

Yes, just the right size for a little cuddle

 The back is so soft...

UPDATE!!!! Monday 28/7/14- I showed this to my boyfriend who commented how it is all wonky and no one would want this... So after I got over the "How dare you say the teddy is wonky?, he is so cute... " I thought I could rise to the challenge and make a better one!
So the kawaii teddy has had the seam reaper treatment and it's face will adorn a fabric basket, after it undergoes a few modifications (plumping enhancements with stuffing and a little trim of excess fabric all round, a little operation to straighten his nose and possible a new eye shape- it sounds like he has gone for facelift and fillers- LOL).

But the pillow will be made again, I have been working on a new improved shape for an hour this a.m. and made a pattern. The shape is more square with rounded edged and has more height. It is ready to be cut after I finish work tonight. I hope to have something to show you later this week.

 

 This is the polar bear teddy- eyes and nose embroidered

 They look cute together- like Mr and Mrs Bear

Somehow this is more of a boyish looking teddy.

Last week I bought a sewing book which was a bit of a disaster, but there was one project in there I really liked: Birds

 A fantastic way to use up all those scraps of fabric I have been collecting

 and all those odd buttons and ribbons

 Having little hands helped when turning the tail and wings

These are the pastel floral ones and also did a couple in retro red

 Loveheart sweets, mmm!

 Thee have felt beaks and an eight point star eye

 It just fits so cosily my palm

So, it was a very productive weekend!

Have a lovely Sunday and a great week friends. 

xoxoxoxo