September Weekend Projects

Working for the Council has some benefits, the best of which is the Midlothian September weekend. I have a four day weekend to play with, and for the first time (probably since we moved up) we don't have visitors!

The original plan was to make a practise version of my wedding dress (above left), but with the prices of fabric up in Edinburgh, and the amount of fabric needed for my first draft pattern V1094, I decided to get a pattern with a little less fabric. So I chose New Look 6723, and a beautiful vintage wallpaper-esque navy blue fabric. I think I need the most practise on the bodice, so went for a basic one to start with, to work my way up. I'll keep you posted with progress on this one.

The project I've first started is a re-working of the orange skirt (in the centre of this picture), when I first bought this skirt it was a number of sizes too big for me. So I did my usual job of taking it apart and adding a couple of pleats. It sort of fit, but having lost a little weight over the summer, it has just become unwearable. So I've gone back to basics, taking all the seams apart, and making the pattern pieces from New Look 6128. I ran out of fabric to do the waistline, so I've added in some dark green and blue tartan as the pocket pieces, adding some contrast. I think it works, but will have to wait and see if I wear it when it's finished.

You've seen a variety of pictures of my flower embroidery, and I'm coming to the end of finishing it. So I bought some teal pom pom trim (my favourite kind of trim) and I'm going to add it to the edge of the pillow/ cushion to make it slightly more cushion looking (hopefully). Also, Im thinking it needs something a little more in the main area of the cushion, feels a litte white to me. I've got some plans for how to fill this in... watch this space!

Obviously I have taken on way more than I can do in this weekend, but it's quite nice to have exciting plans ahead. Ill update you soon with my progress!



Deborah

Great Granny Greens and pre-nostalgia

I had a fantastic evening with Granny Greens last night, and I'm super proud of everyone for getting their fancy french knots done. Saw some beautiful inspiration, and some old friends!

I hope everyone who came along had as much fun as me, and I'm looking forward to you bringing your embroideries along to Granny Greens next week.

Last night made me feel a little bit pre-nostalgic, I'm going to miss you Edinburgh! So on the way home, in the drizzling rain which didn't appear to touch me at all (see, the rose-tinted haze has already come down). I took this picture of the lovely night lights over Dean Bridge, one of my favourite views of Edinburgh.

Embroidery Workshop

I'm running an embroidery workshop on Monday 10th September for my co-organised craft group Granny Greens. It will be a beginners course, providing all the knowledge you need to be a whizz bang freehand embroiderer.

I'll be providing my knowledge, and the knowledge of wiser others for the teeny tiny fee of £1.50 for materials! For some great hints and tips before you get there, check out Wild Olive . There are some lovely illustrations in this series of posts, which are very simple, colourful and easy to follow.

I'm buzzing with ideas for the workshop, and would love to hear yours so get in touch! @DFabricate or leave a comment below.

For more details on the workshop, or what we do at Granny Greens click here.

Hope to see you there! Deborah

The Night Circus

I very recently read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It was a fantastic read that I thoroughly recommend. It's so rich in fantastically imaginative imagery which I found very inspiring. This novel really demonstrates how a novel can depict intricate and expansive landscapes, which is one of my favourite aspects to a novel.

When sat in work, attempting to divert my mind from work based things, I couldn't help but draw a circus tent as I daydeamed about running away to the night circus and becoming a trapeze artist (not that this is physically or mentally possible), then I had to add a carousel... and a slide... and the pencil drawing is what I ended up with numerous meeting minutes later.

I then coloured it black and white as per the circus colour scheme, I love the strength of the black and white, I may make this into an embroidery in the future, perhaps on black fabric in white? Let me know what you think. Also,what doodles have you drawn that looking back, you're actually quite proud of?

Deborah

Embroidery bonanza

 

For my birthday this year, I received some beautiful vintage embroidery transfers from Mr T's mum. Having just started up properly with embroidery, I'm really exciting about practising some techniques, and finding some new ones to fill in the gaps in these lovely patterns. I've got four plain cotton pillow cases (I call them pillow cases but they're actually too big to be cushions and too small to be pillows) to decorate, and so I've chosen the following pattern:

 They are far too chintzy for Mr T's taste, but as usual I'm sure he'll suffer in silence. I'll try and include some dark red, and some navy, that should keep him happy.

So, in order to copy over the pattern, as I didnt want to damage the pattern anymore than necessary (some of the transfer is starting to peel away, leaving little black spots all over my desk.) I just laid the pattern under the top layer of cotton, and traced it over in my trusty wash away pen. And I ended up with this!

Those with good vision might spot the failure of a bird with a big cross through it on the right, I do want to add some birds/ bees around the flowers, but will try and find a better pattern elsewhere as the birds on this pattern look a little odd.

Having traced over the pattern very roughly I then filled in the detail freehand. I'm very happy with how it came out... but we'll just have to wait and see what kinds of stitches I might need. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Deborah

Picnic blanket skirt

Over the summer I made the tilly and the buttons picnic blanket skirt.

I first made it in a mustard yellow wool mix but the fabric was a little heavy, making the gathering a nightmare and the skirt look a bit big. I'll still wear it but wanted to give the pattern another shot in a lighter fabric. So I decided to make it from a lightweight john lewis cotton, lined with anti-static (because I wear tights so often).

It was a great success and I haven't stopped wearing it since it was finished! As you can see from the pic, I didn't have anything that went with it, but that was just a good excuse to go shopping.

I would really recommend this pattern for those people who are fairly new to sewing but understand the basics, and are looking for the next step up. The instructions are well illustrated and easy to understand and there are no pattern pieces to contend with. Let me know if you give this pattern a go!

You can find the pattern here:


Deborah

A world of silence... And a sneaky peek

It has been far too long since my last post. I can only apologise, but I basically dropped off the planet when I moved past Hadrians wall.

I believe therefore that with the upcoming move down south, and my shiny new phone that does pictures and everything, perhaps it is time to start again.

So here is a sneaky peek of a very exciting project that I have on the go. Nothing I can say just yet, but that I'm very much looking forward to in the near future. Watch this space.