So I have been knitting squares for Rachel's wedding beach blankets. Here are the ones I have made since the hen do.
Knit stitch (stockinette)
Moss stitch
Some weird stitch
A bit of a dodgy cable
Linen stitch
Rick Rack rib stitch
Bobble crochet
This is my current wallet. It was a freebie when I bought a baby wetsuit. It's not an item of desire, but it is extremely useful as I seem to have to carry more stuff these days. Everyday I have to look at it though. I think i'd like something nicer to look at. I've never really used my sewing skills to make any nice accessories for myself but now is the time.
I cracked open my first zip! I love the chunky teeth, they're so meaty. It's a 14cm YKK Yellow 506 zip; the smallest one I bought. I really wanted to try doing these end bits. I think they really work nicely. I stupidly got some of mine in the seam though which is not ideal. It makes it lumpy.
I used some Marguerite Stripe Yellow by Riley Blake and some Heather Ross Itsy Bitsy spider fabric. I couldn't quite fit this into a quilt but I love it. Now I will get to look at it every day.
I didn't really understand the sewing instructions when it came to sewing the second part of the zip so I sewed it wrong the first time.
I thought you pulled the whole thing through the zip opener when actually you just had to pull it through the side. It feels a lot clearer now.
If I had wanted both sides to be the right side up then I should have cut it into front and back pieces. I quite like it upside down though with the cropped text.
I am so happy with it though. I am going to use it everyday! I don't really know why I didn't make one sooner. I would use thicker interfacing next time though so make it a bit stiffer. I am already planning a second... with credit card pockets.
Finally I finished my version of Amanda's MapleO quilt. I'm really pleased with it. I enjoyed every minute of it. I really enjoy looking at all the special details in it. I feel a bit gushy about it, but only because it's so great. It makes a nice change from when I finished the Swoon; I wasn't that into it after all that hard work, but this, this I am into in a big way. I just sit in bed looking at it changing my mind about what I love most about it. Here goes...
I love the line of darker brown I had to add to the top of the block and the tiny geese and ribbon at the side. And the dash of pink.
I love the dash of pink here and the dictionary texts at different angles.
I love these stars. I wish I had made the background wider like Amanda's though. There is something nice about that. I love the Denyse Schmidt fabric, I can't believe I finally used it. It is one of my all time favourites so I can never bear to use any of it. I think the green and the grey with the dark purple really work together. I love looking at them.
I love the Pennants Waving fabric so much that I used it on the back. I might have to buy some more of this fabric. I really like the colours. It feels very minty and modern.
Here's the whole back. I managed to use up all my fat quarter leftovers pretty much with the back. I think the strips make it interesting. I love Lizzy House's Pearl Bracelets. I might have to alternate which side goes upright as I really like the back.
I love this block, it's my favourite part of the quilt. I kind of wish I had used more of the script fabric but I was worried that I would change my mind about it and hate it. In fact I really like it.
The purple and brown mix really worried me, but I think it's much better than it being all shades of one colour. It gives it some complexity.
I even managed to sneak in a few scraps of Grandad's pillowcase. It's perfect. I love it against the pale dot, another fabric I must have had for years but have never wanted to use as it's so lovely. 
The end of the month was payday so I splashed out and bought some zips to mark zipfest: learning everything about doing zips. I am going to make some zipped bags in all the ways I can find to increase my knowledge of this strange world. Eventually I would like to be a person who can dress make using zips. Then I'll learn welt pockets and buttonholes. Before you know it I'll be a pro. Sigh... or just not quite so rubbish. I have no idea what kind to buy or what the difference is between them. I probably should have chosen a pattern to follow, but I just thought it would be exciting to buy a few random ones and hope for the best. I am so rock n roll.
From Jaycotts
KSB SP10 574 - 25cm (10") open ended lightweight nylon zip - light grey
YKK ZZ10 574 - 25cm (10") regular skirt and dress zip - light grey
YKK ZZ06 516 Regular Skirt & Dress Zip: Pinks - Shocking Pink 15cm (6")
From My Fabrics
50_4711_572 Reissverschluss 4711 (572)
50_511213_576 Reissverschluss 511213, (576)
I also got a little yellow zip and an orange one:
50_4711_506 Reissverschluss 4711 (506) 14cm
50_4711_849 Reissverschluss 4711 (849) 16cm
All in all, the My Fabrics zips arrived quicker even though they're from Germany, but they were more expensive and the postage was more. The colours are brighter though and the thicker teeth are very satisfying. Jaycotts do the chunkier version but they didn't have as wide a colour range to choose between and I really wanted a bright yellow one. It was a good test though. Both shops are pretty cool. I just hope I bought the right thing. Now I am going to go read these tutorials.
I'll probably try this first
Simple zip pouch
A zip using a zip foot
A zipper end
Nice neat ends
A diagram I will understand by the end of this zipfest
A zipper end and an interior pocket
Three patterns with neat zipper ends
An interesting cutout method
I like the long end of the zip here
And lastly a fancy hidden zip
Found this in the fabric stash. Sigh. Someone is really into unfolding fabric then sitting on it.
Binding a quilt is one of my favourite parts. I just like getting comfy with it on my lap and working my way from one end to the other. I also get to revel in the fact that it's another project soon to be completed. I've enjoyed making this quilt so much that I might make another with the scraps. The fabric I used for the binding and in the quilt has no scraps! I used every last inch which is a job well done especially considering I bought it on a whim for no purpose. I always castigate myself when I buy fabric for no reason. I worry it will just sit there unused, but this fabric has done me proud and I love the stripe on the binding. I also still like the text fabric! The dictionary fabric is just growing on me even more.
I'm also pretty pleased with my wonder clips. I mean they are essentially no different than the big metal hair grip ones my mum has which are far cheaper except that they grip more accurately and easier, they don't slide off with handling and most importantly, they are shiny and see through. I am putting them on my Christmas list again as 10 is not enough!
The only worrying thing about using up stash is my thread. I haven't bought any in such a long time. I used to replace one as soon as it ran out so I had a full supply. I am a little worried as the cost of replacing all these adds up. I had to change from white to cream half way through which is silly really as I'll HAVE to buy more white thread anyway as it's just NEEDFUL.
I am thinking about the next project as I bind. Exciting times. I am trying to work out a hitlist of small projects that I can do one a month of. No big quilts! No quilts at all! Thinking...
In the meantime, The catnap contest winner is announced tomorrow. There were some really amazing entries. The Flickr group has them all. Check it out! I love them all!
I am nearly at the end of quilting my MapleO, then it will just need binding and I will put up some pictures. I have been staring at the fabrics a great deal as I stuff and drag the bulk of the quilt through the arm of my sewing machine. A lot of them were a new thing for me. I have never used 'low volume' whites and off whites really and I have always avoided 'words'. Rachel will tell you of the conversation we had at The Festival of Quilts last year where I said I just couldn't get into fabric with type on.
It's not that I don't like it, it's just that it reminds me of work. There seems to be a lot of newspaper fabric going about. Columns of text type stuff. I don't know how often most people think about type, let alone newspaper type. All I can say is that if you ever design a newspaper you'll end up thinking an awful lot about newspaper typography. So then when you see some fabric with newspaper text on it, you can't help but look at it from that perspective. I find it pains me to think of putting something like that which isn't 'good typography' into a quilt I am going to spend ages making. You might think the type looks good, but it doesn't, it never does, it just doesn't. It would be like a doctor looking at illustrations of hearts checking the valves were in the right place (but a bit less important). As an illustration does it matter if the heart would actually beat or not? No. It just looks pretty and everyone knows it is a heart. It's the same with type fabric. I am not saying it doesn't look good, just that it doesn't work technically. Who cares? No one? Right? Sigh. It just kills me. If I try to look at it as a non newspaper designer then it is fine. So that's what I have been doing. Punching myself in the face and telling myself not to be such an idiot. But I worry. I look at it and I worry. I worry that I will snap back and suddenly hate it.
I should probably stop whinging about it and just go and design my own, but then I might as well be at work! I don't know. Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. It doesn't inspire me. So poor Alison Glass' Text in Charcoal Fabric is getting my full not to close attention. I like it. I do. So I have bought it. And some 'Ledger' from Architextures by Carolyn Friedlander. As the interior grey fabric I bought some 'Scratch Rows' from Botanics by Carolyn Friedlander. The pattern is a bit feint, but I think it will look nice. Everything is from Sew Fresh Fabrics.
Enough rambling. So I have stared at my fabrics and I STILL like them! Gulp. So I have bought some more! I really want to make a bag so I thought I would start with something simple. Something that uses up some of the leftover Catnap fabric.
So I am going to make this bag from Fresh Modern Quilts. I just need to buy the zip and I am good to go. I have been waiting for the instructions but, well, they haven't surfaced yet so I might have to make it up. It is going to be my practice using zips. I have never used a zip. Well I made a pencil case for school, but I can't really remember much about it. Mumple probably did it for me. So if the pattern has not appeared by the time I have finished binding the MapleO then I will have to wing it!
So I have entered the Catnap Kitten Dress Contest run by Lizzy House.
My picture includes Penelope's snug: Meow. We have two. In case she loses one. There is no moment where Meow is not needed. I think if we went on holiday and left him behind we would have to come home and get him. Cats are important in our house. So a pocket for him seemed like a grand idea.
The pattern
The dress pattern I followed is Shannon's Sally Dress.I have made the no arms version.
About this pattern
It's really long! Which is great. You get this mega PDF with loads of diagrams and instructions so you are led all the way through. It makes it so much easier. The only problems I had were my own stupidity and inexperience which meant I ballsed up a few things and my brain trying to compute the inner/outer/wrong/right side of things. I had to really sit and go over some of the instructions over and over again. But I am not a dress maker. My mum is a dress maker. I have not made many items of clothing at all really.
I have made this dress once before. I think I have got slightly better at it this time round. I would definitely make it again as I love the pockets and I really enjoy making it. I'd even make another catnap version using the orangey fabric next time. I did alter the pattern this time round by adding the slit and button on the back as Penelope will not sit still or help with dressing so it needs to be easy.
The fabric
The fabric is from Backstitch (unless stated otherwise below. I used a few scraps for pocket lining to make it a bit more exciting), a great UK based fabric site. It's hard to get modern quilting fabric in the UK, let alone really good websites that sell it. This site is both AND it will soon be a shop in Cambridge at Burwash. You get to see the big pig, have tea and cake, hit the toy shop then cruise the fabric store. Family outing checkboxes all ticked.
So the main cat fabric is:Purrfectly Happy: Cloud
The bodice, right pocket and The appliqué cat nose are all Pearl Bracelets: Grape Jelly
The bodice inside and outer left appliqué pocket are a tiny purple spot from Fabrics Galore yonks a go
The left pocket grey stripe lining is from Little L's yonks a go. I love it so much I hardly ever use it!
The right pocket pink dot lining is a really old scrap, I have no idea where from.
The appliqué cat face is: Klona Cotton: Natural (Seeded)
The appliqué cat cheeks are:Klona Cotton: Pale Pink
Here is Penelope in the dress. It's too big for her right now which is how I wanted it. I really want her to be properly walking before I hamper her with too many dresses. At the moment we live in shorts and tights. In fact, my next project is going to be Bubble shorts. More on that later. We were going to go to The Science Museum this weekend and photograph her in the dress in some cool place or a stylish café but the trains weren't working and the wind was howling like a banshee. All the plastic sheeting blew off the house opposite and our wall is going to topple anyday. It is definitely staying indoors weather. Stickers instead.
Here are my bumbling project posts along the way
Stage 1: Choosing fabric
Stage 2: Doing dodgy appliqué
Stage 3: Sewing my schizzle together
Another Catnap dress contest update! I know you really need to know how I have been cobbling this together. Jeez, I am so hamfisted. The cutting has all been fine, especially with my new huge cutter. The pockets were easy. The skirt was pretty easy. I even managed to correct a mistake I made last time which made the whole thing a lot easier.
I even had time to put in a little label on my pocket and make the hem detail neon yellow. I do love a bit of neon.
Behold! I managed to sew double lines on the waistband and gathered them gently without snapping the thread this time. Much neater and much easier to achieve. Last time was a bit of a battle. The skirt came together very quickly.
Here I am whizzing over the gathering with my see through foot, very useful foot it is too.
The bodice was the first cock up. I cut the arm holes a bit longer as I was having difficulties getting Penelope's arms in the last one. She wriggles. She moves. She fights me. I needed help. So I made them bigger. Then I suddenly decided to make sleeves and cut the sleeves without adding the extra length. Okay, I thought, I can cobble this together. So the arm holes had weird pleats. Then I blind/invisible stitched them on like I had never held a needle in my life. I have hand bound so many quilts, how can I mess this up? I just couldn't work it out. I unpicked, I did it again. It was marginally better. The second arm better still. In hindsight I should have practiced, but, well, life is so short. Then I stood back, wiped the sweat off my brow and thought the whole thing looked like a patchwork gypsy dress. I have nothing against that, but it wasn't the modern sophisticated Top Cat look I was going for. She's not Rag-dolly Anne or Aunt Sally, she's... she's... Lordy, something else.
So I thought about it.
Then I asked Rachel.
Then I unpicked the arms. Sigh. I just HATE going backwards.
Don't look at it for too long! I can't change my mind now. They are gone.
And now me and the ace wonderclips have a date. I had trimmed the seams so there is not a lot of fabric to play with so I am carefully clipping and pinching and folding and blind/invisible hemming them together very neatly and slowly. I need to get a wriggle on if I am to meet the deadline. This endless cold is not helping, nor is watching Scandanavian dramas with subtitles as I can not look away from the screen.
