Baby Esme's quiet book

Well its safe to say that the photo challenge went by the wayside as my real life took over!

I did find myself a little bit of creative time and started to put together this little felt book for my granddaughter.  She has got a recent fascination for untying shoe laces and I thought I would do a page with some ribbons or laces on that she could undo to her hearts content or as often as her Mum will retie them!   Once I looked on Pinterest I saw so many great ideas for quiet books that I found it hard to limit myself!

I am currently working out what I can sandwich in the pages to give them a bit of noise when she plays with them.  To "bind" the book together I am planning to include a couple of loops of tape or ribbon on the edge of the page and then tie them together with a double knot and hope she can't undo them!

We have a friends wedding next weekend and I am hoping this is going to live up to it's name and keep her quiet for at least 5 minutes.

She loves twiddling with labels so I thought these mini bunting flags might work for her.

I stuffed the apple tree with off cuts and scraps of the felt I had accumulated, I thought this would give a bit of texture when  she is handling and bashing the book about,

Glad to say this didn't challenge my zip sewing phobia!

She is too young at the moment to understand the concept of putting something into the envelope but she will love the button and the lift up flap.  If it survives I will make a little something later that can be slipped in there for more fun and games.

I know she will enjoy tugging and pulling these loops of ribbon around, she already has toys with short strips of ribbon and she love grabbing them, usually followed by trying to eat them! well she is 8 months old.

Last but not least a couple of shoe laces which were the catalyst for this project.

I like the idea of the book being tied together so we can remove pages that are no longer relevant and replace them with whatever new and exciting thing that entertains and educates her.  There are some superb examples on Pinterest and I look forward to bringing my take to some of them in the future.

Any advice or ideas for future pages would be very welcome.

#MMMay16 Me Made May

Well May is almost over and this is my first post of the month! I am happy to say that I was able to fulfill my pledge to wear something I had made myself at least once each week during May.

Blue white linen skirt

It was by and large a Me Made Monday and the most worn garment was this linen mix skirt that I made a couple of years ago.  I adjusted New Look 6035 as my waist is larger than the pattern size, I think it may be a little flat in the centre area where I made the increase, but I also think that I can see it because I  am looking for it.

Navy dress

This navy dress got a couple of wears but I do find the neckline a little wide.  This is the dress I made at the Sewing classes I took last year so the pattern was not my choice, however, I am pleased with the the quality work I did and it has made me realise that I the more sewing I do the better my skills will become.

Last but not least is the red spotty top I made last year and is one of the favourite garments I have made.  The fit is not perfect and each time I wear it I realise that I need to explore how to do a FBA (Full Bust Adjustment).

So there we are my first Me Made May completed and my first post for May 2016,

How was your #MMMay16 did you meet your pledge or did life get in the way?

Making Lavender Sachets

I have been meaning to make these Lavender sachets for months but as usual my attentions were diverted to some other passing fancy.  As I was starting to pack away some of my winter clothes I felt like now was was the right time, although with the current snow, sleet and hail here in the UK most things have already been unpacked!

Lavender Sachets

The fabrics will probably be familiar to you, if you have been following the blog for a while, as they have been used in the Summer tops I made last year and also in the bags for the Advent Calender.  My Magpie tendencies won't let me throw anything away that I think might come in useful.

Stamped fabric

Knowing that the finished items would not need to be either washed or worn I took the opportunity to stamp onto the white fabric (one of Hubby's old shirts), using a little kit I brought from the local market.  Influenced by the soothing properties of the lavender I chose to stamp words associated with it............ peace, calm, zzzz. 

Stamping set

They are nice and simple to make and are ideal for using up scraps, hence the different shapes and sizes.

red spot lavender sachet

If you have only a small amount of fabric it can still be used for decoration or you can have a different fabric on the front to the back, you really just have to play around with what you have to hand.  I toyed with putting buttons on but couldn't find any that I felt fitted in, maybe on the next batch.

Choose your design

Lay out the design until you are quite happy with it and then sew it on, it needs to remain in place but isn't going to get any hard wear so you can leave some edges free, I do however recommend the use of pinking shears or you will need to hem your edges unless you are looking for a frayed edge.

Hem  along the sides

With the design facing inwards hem along the edges leaving an opening at one end, a bit like a pillow case. On the red spotted sachet I pinked all four edges and stitched on the outside, as it adds another texture.

Bag of lavender

Turn the bag through so that the right side is showing, you can press it to give nice crisp edges or you can be a lazy bones like me and just go straight to filling it with lavender.

filling the lavender sachet

I found the least messy way to fill it was to stand it in the bag containing the lavender and use a piece of rolled paper as a makeshift funnel, then just pile it in there. You want the sachet to be quite well filled so I would suggest over filling and tipping out the excess.

tuck the ends in

When you find the right level fold the ends of the sachet inside to give you a nice neat edge and sew along.

Red stitches

The red stitches of the visible hem contrast nicely against the white of the fabric

3 lavender sachets

All three sachets are tied together by the use of the base fabrics as contrast on the other two.

This would have been a nice quick make if done on the machine but I opted to hand sew and underestimated how long that would take me, luckily I wasn't under any time pressure.

These are ideal as birthday or Christmas presents, it is never too early to make a start!

Just a reminder that the Me Made May challenge starts on Sunday, I hope all who take part have fun with it, please feel free to leave a link on here to your blog or put up your instagram name so that we can follow you.  I haven't decided how I am going to document my little effort, but as my pledge is only once a week it won't take up too much time!

For those in the UK enjoy your bank holiday weekend and I hope you get to see some sunshine 

Free make for April

I felt like it was time for a change from the mini bunting tea light holders I put together when I had my crafternoon at the beginning of March.  I wanted something more spring like and hit on using a left over paper napkin I had put on my Easter mood board.

up-cycled jam jars

I haven't tried sticking paper napkins to glass with a glue stick before but it seems to have worked!  The smallest of the three took the longest to do as I thought it would look sweet if I cut out some of  the flowers.

pink roses

For the largest -an old mayo  jar, I roughly traced bird shapes from the Sania Pell book ""The homemade home", I thoroughly recommend  this as an excellent source of inspiration and great detail on how the projects can be achieved.

Spring birds

I found this a little more challenging than the roses as the layers of paper separated so I decided to go with that and flipped them over to make a "facing" image.  Each of the bird shapes are a little different as I didn't want them to be too uniform.

And the last one was the most simple, I just cut a length of the napkin and wrapped it around the final jar and tied it off with a bit of paper ribbon I had salvaged from Christmas day.  I put a couple of loops of this around the necks of the other two jars to finish them off.

Wrapped jar for Spring

I have arranged them on the mantle ready to use this evening although I must remember to add batteries to my shopping list as some of the twinkle lights are not very bright.

Spring mantle

When I set up the twinkle lights I try and maximise their output by using the glass jars and the mirror, I have used one set of lights between two jars draping it over the top of the battery operated candles.  It may look  little odd in the day light but it works really well in the evening with the big light turned off.

On the whole I am very pleased with the result, I did have to remove any excess glue from around the shapes but it rubbed away very easily and left a nice clean finish.  I made the mistake of trying to do this straight away but it tore the paper so my advice would be to wait until it has dried.

Total cost was zero, the napkin had sat in the corner of the dining room since Easter and was in danger of ending up in the recycling, the paper ribbon was salvaged so just the cost of the glue which was probably less than a penny.




A quick update on the Navy skirt, I have changed patterns, when I went to cut it out I realised that because of the pockets it would be too confusing for me to work out how to taper between the waist and the hip as well as adding the pocket so I have gone for a much simpler design.  As usual with my sewing I am spend a fare amount of time thinking about it and faffing around instead of getting on with it, somethings never change.  I am hoping to get it done this week,  so long as I don't get distracted!


Have you had any free makes lately? or are your energies being directed towards your sewing ?

In the Navy - new look 6106

I have settled on the project to get my sew-jo back, nothing earth shattering or too wild just a nice simple navy skirt New look 6106 view B but knee length.  I brought a vast quantity of this navy cotton fabric for very cheap from My Fabric Place a couple of years ago and this is the last of it.  It is a little bit heavier than a standard dress cotton so I think it will be fine for a summer skirt. I used some of it to make the dress that was the project for the sewing classes I attended last year, I haven't worn this a great deal as the pattern is not one that I would have chosen, however in the interests of making do and mend I will endeavor to wear it during Me Made May 16

New look 6106

I have a lot of navy and white striped tops that I wear with jeans or the light weight navy trousers that I picked up from Next last year so it should slip into my current wardrobe really well.  If I was a more confident sewer I would love to do this with a contrasting mustard, red or even orange thread, but I am aware of my limitations and will be happy to have a wearable skirt at the end of things!

Contrasting threads

I will need to tweak the fit on the pattern as my waistline is hiding under a comfort blanket made up of Christmas and Easter chocolate! so I will need to pick up a larger waist size than hip size and taper down, also I don't want such a pronounced "A" shape so I will need to do some more tapering to achieve this.  Tears, tantrums and triumphs will no doubt follow I will share all of course!


There is a half price sale in the UK on all Simplicity patterns at the moment if you are looking for a bit of inspiration why not have a little poke around.  I love this vintage wrap around dress but after my disastrous encounter with the walk away dress last year I think I will just stick to admiring from afar!

Simplicity 8085

Anyone else got any sewing plans or is your sew-jo still missing?

Me Made May 2016 #MMMAY16

Last year when I was just taking baby steps in my sewing life I was fascinated by the Me Made May campaign that is run buy Zoe, the premise is to wear something that you have made yourself everyday during the month of May.  It is an opportunity for the sewing, knitting, crocheting and crafting family to be proud of our achievements and to go out in the big wide world and proudly show off our talents. Many participants post photos on their blogs and through the usual social media outlets, just search for Me Made May 15 to get an idea of what was happening last year


You make your own pledge that fits with what is achievable for you and post it  in the comments on Zoe's blog, here is mine

 sandra gilbert said...

'I, Sandra from snadralovesblogging.blogspot.co.uk, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '16. I endeavour to wear at least one homemade garment each week for the duration of May 2016'



I don't have a huge amount of homemade clothes so I wanted to aim for something that I knew I could easily accommodate as I felt this was very much about participating. If the weather is good I will wear more as most of my homemades are summer clothes.


Looking back to my blog last year here I was full of enthusiasm for Me Made May and made some very committed sewing plans to go the whole nine yards and have outfits for the full 31 days, how times have changed, I haven't sewn anything this year at all!  There are sparks of life in my sew-jo and this is helping fan the flames a little more, I am planning a new skirt, I just need to narrow down my choice of pattern and pick the fabric.


So is anyone else making a pledge for #MMMAY16 ?

Sew-jo inspiration

My sewing mo-jo has taken a vacation and it feels like it is time to get it back to work so I have dressed my newly painted  mantle piece with a spot of vintage sewing haberdashery to fire up my Sew-jo

Vintage Sylko boxes

Vintage sewing pattern

The Vulcan children's sewing machine

Ladybird book of sewing

Vintage haberdashery

Sew-jo inspiration

 The framed vintage sewing patterns were from this January post Free make 2 I don't know if my sew-jo has returned but I certainly need to organise my vintage haberdashery collection and share a few more pis and pieces on here.

How is your sew-jo? have you got any projects on the go or do you need a bit of sewing inspiration?

2016 is on the way

I have been enjoying some lovely slow days with late starts and nothing more strenuous planned but hanging out with the family and the odd game of cards while still making our way through the mince pie mountain!

I must have been a goodish girl all year as I got quite a lot of things from my Christmas wish list and several that weren't there too. They were mostly sewing related; I will post an update in the new year, but all I will say is Hubby did pick very well.

One of the items on my wish list was this set of three notebooks the covers were styled by Sarah Moore, the author of Vintage Home, who's work I greatly admire and find very inspirational.

I have decided to use one of the note books to start planning projects for next year.  At the front of the book I am going to put in all the projects that I have started but not finished or those where I have brought or collected the necessary items but not actually executed the deed.  Each project gets it's own page this way it can be removed once a decision is made about it's future.  I thought that this would

• Give me a bit of a shock when I see how many WIP projects I have

• Analyse why they haven't been finished eg lack of skill, don't like how it was coming together, needs something to finish it, didn't have enough time when I was making it

• Realise I got carried away when I brought/collected it and it's not something I really want to make

• Help me get organised 

• Stop me me spending too much in the January sales (ha ha ha)

At the back of the book I have started putting in new ideas for the coming year.  I think my mantra for 2016 should be to complete one project before I start another, I know that this will be quite challenging as often I start out with one idea and it grows into something else and suddenly I am completely absorbed by the new idea but I guess this is also part of the creative process.



The second notebook will go into my handbag, I always keep one in there and find it handy to

•  Jot down ideas and do little doodles of things I want to make. 

• Keep a note of people's sizes for when we are browsing in Charity shops - we are always on the look out for clothes that would be suitable for when we attend the Goodwood Revival

• Sometimes you just need a bit of paper!

The one I am currently carrying around is almost out of pages so I will transfer any useful information then do the swap.

I will hold onto the third book for now maybe it will be used at the beginning of 2017 to record all the projects that didn't get completed in 2016!

Wishing you all a very fond farewell to 2105 keep all the good stuff and leave the bad stuff behind x

...Advent Calendar ...the count down is complete

The final steps in my Advent Calendar extravaganza involves blowing the dust off the sewing machine and using a combination of scraps from my Summer sewing and one of hubby's old shirts to make some little draw string bags.  After Christmas they can be used to house some of the baubles when they get put away on 12th night or I might find a use for them around the house.

I am trying to tap into my resourceful side for this project and make do with things I have around the house or that I have left over from other projects, this does exclude the chocolate treats that will be going in.  If you are interested in these fabrics they were brought from Abakhan Fabrics in the Summer but there may some left still

I have kept it really simple, cut out a rectangle of fabric and attach your decoration to what will be the outside of the bag.

Fold over the top of your fabric leaving a gap large enough to thread your drawstring through and sew.

Sew up the sides but do not sew into the channel at the top that you have just created. Thread your drawstring through the channel on each side and tie the ends together to create a loop. Turn through the bag and draw up your bag.

I have created the three bags in different sizes to add to the eclectic nature of my Advent calendar and also to fit with the scraps of fabric that I have available.

The final make for this project is some air dried clay ornaments, although you could use salt dough. These have been a long time in the planning and I picked up some cookie cutters and a child's rolling pin in the sales last Christmas.  It was just a case of rolling it out to a suitable depth, I still haven't worked out exactly what that is. Cutting out the desired shape, popping a hole in the top using a drinking straw so there will be somewhere to hang the ribbon.

So that is the last of my makes and the Advent calendar is now complete.  The Advent photo challenge starts tomorrow and I will put up the list for anyone who wants to join in, although I don't think that it will come as a great surprise that day 1 is a photo of my Advent Calendar.



My gift tag give away will be drawn tomorrow and I will announce the winner on the blog on Wednesday so get in now if you want to be entered just leave a comment on this post there is currently only one entrant so the odds are favourable.

Sewing 30 minutes a day in October - week 1

How hard can it be to fulfill the challenge of sewing 30 minutes day in October?

A little harder than I had initially thought.  Of a potential 3.5 hours I succeeded with 2.5 hours and only one of these was a 30 minute stint. I found that once  I had started something I wanted to finish it or I had to get to a point where I could walk  away and easily just pick it up (not that there is anything complex about these makes).

One of the things that ate into my time was that I didn't think through the whole process of what I was making so I was running round getting buttons and trimmings and string and things.  There was of course the creative process of deciding what to use and how I wanted the finished item to look.

Grey felt heart

This was my first make, I blanket stitched the edge with embroidery floss using 1 white and 2 red strands I was trying to get a bakers twine type effect which is not quite there, maybe 2 and 2 might be better. I raided my vintage button collection and thought that the proportions of the little button were perfect.

Red felt heart

The second one took a little less time as I had everything to hand and I had learnt from the first make to include a hanging loop!

White felt heart

 
For the last one I broke out one of my Cath Kidston heart buttons, I have had them for a while and these seemed like the perfect project.


I am happy with my makes in the first week of this challenge and I am looking forward to next week.  I think I need to dedicate a little time to planning so that I do more sewing and less running around!

Grey, White, Red felt hearts

Did anyone else take up the challenge?  its not too late to join in, you could always do a mini challenge and join in for the week.