A couple of fish would look nice hanging from the cupboard. The tail was a bit narrow on the first practise one ............. easy to sort
As a hanging ornament I didn't really like the rounded bellies nor the closure point I'd decided on .............
Different opening for stuffing and symmetrical is better (for me!) ...........
And some fatter ones too ........
No adornment! Less is sometimes more my husband says. Yes, I know but no decoration at all??????
I still have lots of blog stuff to catch up with but in the meantime I finally finished the pink and green patchwork window blind ............. it's up and I actually love it!!!!!!!
.
It's taken me about 6 months to shorten a couple of pairs of floaty chiffon trousers for my mum. They were horrid to work with and I'm still not sure they're short enough until I see her to try them on. More recently she produced this top with weird sleeves for me to cut up and use as I please.
Instead, I've transformed it into something wearable with a simple alteration. I cut it straight down the grain from the armhole seam and across the grain for the sleeve hem. It was horrid to sew but I managed a pretty neat job on the outside.
One doesn't need to be a genius to realise that many more of this particular top would sell (to ladies of a certain age) with the plain short sleeves and they'd be cheaper to produce with a lot less fabric too. Fashion often prevails over commen sense but is this really "fashion"? In any case, perhaps my "show and tell" will encourage somebody somewhere to refashion/upcycle something that a simple alteration would make usable.
I want to create creative things but there's lots of more mundane stuff that require doing and finishing right now. Before I settled on the bedding in the previous post, I ordered this nautical set from Laura Ashley. It was absolute rubbish ......... really thin. Acceptable for quilting maybe but not a duvet cover. The co-ordinating gingham sheet was so thin I could envisage a foot going through it within a week! No problem (apart from the cost to send it back!) except that I purchased some matching (used but very good conditon) matching curtains. Ok, well I can get my money's worth out of them by cutting them up and using them for other things. This blind needs finishing (is it really a whole year since the I pieced it together?).
I was going to put the pic up again but can't save it from blogger to the laptop - something to do with Google Chrome (we use Firefox) and a script stopped working it says. Blogger just doesn't want to be my friend any more. I click on links to blogs either via google, my blog, from other blogs etc. and they flash up for a split second before reverting to a blank page. I can't comment on many blogs except, and that's only sometimes, to reply to somebody elses comment and then I can't get back to the comments to see what else has been written. Sometimes I even get the blog doesn't exist (or something to that effect) but then I can find it later ............. it is very frustrating and I really don't know how to get things back to normal ............. clearing cookies, ad and virus scans all good this end.
Going back to the Laura Ashley stuff, I cut the blackout lining from the curtains yesterday (perfect for backing the blind), put it in the washing machine on a very gentle 45min wash ............... and the backing disintegrated into bits!!! The label did say "dryclean only" (and "made in China") but I've washed this kind of stuff plenty of times before so either it's very substandard or been affected by hanging in the sun but, saying that, I've had this kind of lining in south facing windows before and it's washed no problem. There's so many blobs everywhere it looks like it's been snowing beneath the washing line!!!!!
Am now going to see if any of it is salvageable before I cut up anything else ...........
Not quite sure who won the cushion fight Diane, daughter thinks she did because a) she has two and b) her square one is much plumper! She is right about the plumpness - two cushion pads of the same size from Ikea and one is much plumper than the other ...... you can't tell when they're purchased rolled up tightly in bags ........ but the buttonholes are much nicer on the blue one now I know what I'm doing on the Juki or, more to the point, allowing the machine to do it rather than interfere because I didn't have faith that the machine would actually do it automatically so to speak lol!
.
The bedding I was after is £45 for a single quilt cover and £13 per pillowcase so I was more than pleased when I managed to get a kingsize cover, double flat sheet and four pillowcases for the same price! I've reduced the cover to a single so combined with the fabric from the sheet there was plenty enough for another single cover using just over £3 worth of popper tape. Forgot to take pic of the 2nd cover but basically it's wide bands of varying depth using the three fabrics with the nautical stripe on the reverse.
Two sets of bedding (plus two extra pillowcases) for the price of one ........ I'm really very happy with that! There was plenty of fabric left for the two planned cushions though the bolster didn't happen. I don't do well with feather pillows (they make me wheezy) but I did buy a feather bolster pad a few years ago. Getting it out of the bag I brought it downstairs, placed it on the sofa and went to look on the laptop to see exactly how I'd done the last (foam) one. My eyes started watering so I rubbed them ........... they were instantly very gritty, puffy, swollen and even more watery and the whole of the whites were completely bright red. I hadn't done anything except touch that feather bolster so my husband threw it straight in the bin whilst I loaded the throws from the sofa into the washing machine. I know I'm allergic to dustmites ........ sneezing and a bit wheezy but this was another level! Fortunately I was fine after just a few hours.
The cushion that did get done ............
The kids don't really say much about my stitching exploits. The very occasional "What's that for?" or "I don't want you to make me anything for Chrismas (sigh)" so the very best bit for me was when my husband said they were arguing ............. 20 and 25 and they're arguing over whose cushion(s) are best! YES, thankyou!!!!!!!!!
With a hospital visit imminent I suddenly remembered yesterday that I hadn't made my husband the promised cover for his Kobo Touch. In a flash I thought it would be easier and quicker to find a tutorial on the net and amend the measurements to fit ............. wrong! Not reading it through before hand I found it rather long winded to follow, got to step no. 10 and the said points didn't match at all. Never mind, I worked it out and got there .........
I like the back pocket for the lead .........
I think that's enough with that fabric for now though more to catch up with soon ..........
.
