Shabby Chic

Well, the cushion front is done!  Not sure about the "experimental" centre panel - should have spent more time thinking about it - but it's done now and doesn't look too bad in reality.  I could add a central button but doubt it would stay there very long in this house!

Not quite the luxury of some faux chenille but not bad for an old sheet and might improve with age - there's not much that comes with a label "Must Tumble Dry"!

Another sample ..........

I have ideas for more faux chenille .......... a lap blanket would be nice for the winter evenings if the fabrics weren't too heavy ........... too many ideas too little time!

The shirt ............. I'm still looking to pluck up enough courage to cut out the real thing!  I already had the pattern (well 2 actually) but didn't have any intention of using them anytime soon when we saw this Italian shirting.  I am thinking grandad collar and suggested that it might go with the navy suit for a wedding we are attending shortly so need to get my skates on and fingers crossed!

I bought a metre of this lightweight cotton just because, like you do, and himself thought he'd like a shirt in this so I got some more ....................

I picked up some lovely quilting cotton - kitchen blind in mind but thinking it would make a lovely sleeveless summer dress for a toddler when himself said he would really love a shirt in this ................ now this is juxtaposition!!!

So we now have enough fabric for 3 shirts!  Toile also fits no 2 son who would like "loads" of shirts ............ plain, striped, check, not too heavy - just like the toile ........... well apart from the pattern!  Steady on eh ............. fabric don't come cheap and I'm only gonna live once!!
 

Ooooops ...................

Recycling one worn cotton sheet into a luxurious faux chenille cushion .............

 Revisiting possible designs for cutting on the bias .....................

  

So why did I mark out, stitch and start cutting the middle square on the straight (not sure what's happened to the pistachio green in this pic)?

Will be interesting to see how I rescue it!  My excuse is that I was distracted by somebody in the kitchen making these ...............

From the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook bought from here using a free delivery voucher found here .  I have to say that it's a lovely book.

And on another positive note (at least for the moment) ............. the toile I made for my husband's shirt using McCalls pattern 8409 seems to fit ok ............ well after I lopped 4" off the width.  The pattern comes up big ......... well not just big but huge so have gone one size smaller than comparable RTW.

The sleeve length is about  right so I'll have to add some extra seam allowance and am going to get rid of the curved bottom (by request).

Oh, and I won't be using a relatives old quilt cover for the real thing!
.

"Chickens"

My parents called in at the weekend and mum said "Ooh, you've made another chicken". Chicken? Who said anything about chicken?

Mum grew up surrounded by pigeon fanciers (grandfather & uncles) so the (rather loose it would seem) significance of the coloured head and rings on the legs. The ringlet on top of the head well here's a picture of me as a baby ............

Her dad was a "Simpsons" fan so rather than a "Homing" pigeon, I called it "Homer". Thought I'd explained this - perhaps I hadn't? Sorting through my bag of scraps earlier I found pieces for two more "chickens" that I'd cut out but scrapped so I.ve decided to make them up too - will post pics when they're done.

I've finished the bag ..............

Thankyou for your comments. I managed to stitch the handle in on the machine albeit breaking a needle in the process but it's probably time it was changed anyway. I've thought of another type of bag that would suit the handle but wouldn't know how to make the bag - thinking cap time!

I changed (covered) the blue silk binding in the end - not because I didn't like it but for ease of finishing. The bias part at the top was part of the seam allowance which I decided not to trim off due to the bulk hence the bias wasn't really wide enough neither did the blue silk lining have enough turning at the top now that there was the extra height so I went with the cotton and a cotton lining - it was easier to work! I think I've achieved what I set out to do so it satisfies a whim!

The reverse - ruffled up with my fingers ..............

The colours in these pics are somewhat different to those the other day - I think the true colour is somewhere between the two.

I always find the differing between peoples tastes and preferences very interesting. Mum loved the cream cushions I made recently but didn't give my bag a second glance!

Another One Finished ....................

The brief (my own of course) was to create some cushions for everday use which will withstand laundering well ie. still look good this time next year. I've learnt that tassels, beads etc. on cushions in this house don't wear too well!

There is a secondary purpose for the ones I am doing at the moment too - a relative of my husband always says to me "I only have my old industrial machine which doesn't do anything fancy like zig zag so I only do ordinary sewing". I don't know if her machine has the ability to do FME but I hope to show her that there are other things she can do with straight stitch,

I am continuing with the roses. I took the following pic the other day so I have done more now - 30 to be precise. I need to do 64 and that's without the little filling in ones!

Is it fun to do? I'm not sure. It requires a high level of concentration so can be quite tiring. It is a fiddle. I'm not really sure what is best but I am using the open toe embroidery foot so at least I can see where I'm going.and the mini screwdriver to poke fabric out of the way.

Like the chenille, this technique does use a lot of fabric but these three cream cushions have been created from the back (plain cotton for the chenille and roses) and front (for the backing fabric) of a little used quilt cover acquired when my parents changed one of their spare bedrooms into a living space a few years ago. I had intended to cut it down to a single size which would have been a good deal quicker but just never got round to it so, for me, they have been economical and the ready made buttonholes and pearl buttons have been useful too .....................

Accessorising

The dust and paint fumes got to my respiratory system and caused havoc for the best part of a month. However, this past week I have started to feel better so it's time to get on with some accessories for the living room. Here is the first cushion .............


I love the texture and shabby chic essence of faux chenille quilting even if cutting the channels through all those layers is rather hard going on the fingers.

Another coiled fabric bowl - this one's for keeps!

"Summer Garden" Bag

I first heard about the Sew, Mama, Sew bag competition after reading about it on somebody’s blog but, unfortunately, I can’t remember whose.

Having decided on chenille quilting as the technique and a square as the shape of the bag, the pattern was determined by folding a piece of A4 paper into a square and using the offcut as the side and base panels. I then made a mock up with paper and sellotape to ensure that the size would work and worked out the stitching design on graph paper. The main panels are approximately 8” square and identical.

Originally, I had thought about using a navy/blue colourway but I soon changed my mind once I sorted my fabrics out and came across the gorgeous slightly sparkle cerise fabric that I purchased at Alexander Palace several years ago. I had been saving it for something special and this was just the project. In addition, the predominant colours (cerise and lime) in the bag are just the same as some of the plants in my garden right now. Each chenilled panel comprises 6 layers of fabric (some hand dyed) - (from bottom to top) cerise, orange and yellow through to lime.

I had been thinking about some linear surface decoration (a small amount of stitching/beading in the cerise colourway) on the uncut channels but, having seen the results of the cut panels after washing and tumble drying, I very much liked the surface texture and contrast of the uncut channels against the cut edges of the other lines - see close up photograph - so decided to leave as it was.

The bias binding and handle tabs were cut from the same cerise fabric as the bottom layer of the quilting pile and each panel was bound separately before being hand stitched together to form the shell of the bag. The lining (tonal yellow fabric) was made separately with each panel (a quarter of an inch smaller than the washed and dried outer panels) being constructed separately, hand stitched together and then placed into the outer bag before being slip stitched into place around the top. Small squares of craft vilene were covered with fabrics and stitched into place in the central squares to give a little contrast. The bamboo handles were purchased from Hobbycraft earlier in the year with no specific project in mind - my husband reminded me about them and this was just the opportunity to use them. I think they work really well..

Although I have tried to ensure that the rigidity of the panels (layers of pelmet Vilene & insertion of plastic canvas) will help the bag to keep it's shape, this bag is not designed for everyday use but for occasions when something a bit more special is appropriate.

The tabs for the handle findings looked a little long so I have taken the bag apart and made them a bit shorter which I think looks better.




I have made a couple of felted bags in the past but this is my first “fabric” bag and I am quite pleased with it. The finished article has inspired me to do more bags and I have another on the go though it won’t be ready in time for entry into the competition as there is quite a lot of hand stitching on the front panel and I have yet to decide on the finishing/handles etc..