Scaifea's Knitting/Sewing/Cross Stitch/Quilting Projects - 2014

My posts on last year's thread tapered off near the end, because my crafting and sewing screeched to a halt when the busy holiday season came round. But now, new year, new thread and I'm ready to get back to it! Happy Needling, everyone!

My projects-in-progress:

-A cross stitch pattern of a Waterhouse painting
-A cross stitch fractal pattern bookmark
-A knitted blanket, which will be felted
-A knitted baby blanket
-Hats for kids, made from upcycled men's sports coats and shirts (sewing)
-A quilt made from old flannel shirts (still early in the piecing process)

How are the projects going?

Ha! They're not, really. Or at least not very speedily at all. I *am* nearly finished with the baby blanket, and I did get about an hour in my sewing room yesterday, so maybe I'm getting back on track, but for some reason I've just not been able to find the time lately. Troubling. Hopefully soon I'll have some finished project photos to share...

Thanks for checking in on me! I'm still here, just slow...

Good luck getting more time in the sewing room! I have the time for my crafting but lately have trouble finding the mental energy.

Oh, I have that trouble, too. Sheesh.

But - news! - I *did* finish a project!! I'll be back with a photo tomorrow, hopefully...

Okay here's the hat that I finished the other day. It's a size 2T and made of fabrics from a men's sports coat (outside) and shirt (lining):

Ooh, great hat. Makes me feel like a slacker in terms of crafting for my nephew (he's a big hat fan as well as a "British style" and dress up fan).

Thanks, Meredith! I really like the plaid in the tweed of this fabric - it does make it look quite British, no? This is the second one I've made; I'm going to try to get a few more done before posting them to etsy. The sewing is slow-going right now, but these are a lot of fun to make.

Nicely done! So cute!

Thanks! It just feels good to have *finished* something, really.

It looks great! Very 60's.

Thanks! I have another one finished now - I just need to remember to post photos...

And here are the pictures:





I want to try to get a few more finished before posting them to the shop. I'd go into the sewing room now, but, well, it's a rainy day, and there's a cuppa and a book and a rocking chair just calling to me...

Very cute!

>15 staffordcastle: Thanks!

Sewing time has been sparse lately, and with the bit of time I've managed, I've mostly been working on linen napkins - as part of my attempt to make our house a bit 'greener' I've decided on a No More Buying Paper Towels policy. Since it's just cutting fabric into squares and hemming, I've not bothered to post the results here. I'm taking a break from that now, though, for my annual spring pajama-making spree for Charlie. Here are the results so far:





A couple more pair to sew up, then I'll be cutting off the flannel pajama pants I made for him last fall to make them into shorts, too. Then back to the napkins for a bit...

Another pair finished today:

Very cute! Funny, I just went to a "no more paper napkins" system, but instead of using my fabric (which I have better uses for it), I bought a couple of random packages of cotton napkins from discount stores and am using those.

I have no doubts that even if you aren't sewing, you're being creative in some way.

>18 avaland: Thanks, Lois! I finally finished up the pajamas - cutting off last fall's pants to make shorts - and am now back to making napkins, but it's slow going, as we had a leak in the basement (=my sewing area) and I've been trying to get that cleaned up and re-organized. I lost some yarn and a few odds and ends, but not too much. I'm hoping soon to be back on track...

Glad you didn't lose too much in the basement leak!

Thanks, Meredith - me, too!

Well even after the leak clean-up, I've just been in a bit of a sewing funk, mostly, I think, because my sewing space was a bit dark and cluttered at the best of times. So, I fixed that by switching the storage room with my sewing area and now I have a new sewing space that I love, and spent the last 2 hours happily sewing away!

Here's my new sewing room! (Sorry that the photos aren't better - I'm rubbish at taking pictures of rooms):

Are you sure you don't need a few more sewing machines? :p Nice to have those drums to bang on when you get frustrating with the sewing!

>23 mabith: Well, I have cut myself off from buying anymore unloved machines, although I've been sorely tempted a few times...
And, yep, sometimes one needs sewing therapy and sometimes one just needs to play on the kit...

>22 scaifea: >23 mabith: ...and here I thought that I had a problem. At least my extra sewing machines are packed away. Your space is beautiful, just the same. I admit to a pang of envy at your beautiful work space in the center of the room.

That's the trouble with my mom and I haunting every Habitat for Humanity ReStore we go by - there are always old sewing machines.

Did anyone else watch the British series The Great British Sewing Bee?

>25 Lyndatrue: That is the ginormous dining room table that we inherited from my husband's grandparents. Makes a wonderful sewing/cutting table because it's so wide and long. I love it!

>26 mabith: I can't even allow myself to go to those Restores. I have enough trouble not buying up all the old machines I find at garage sales, which is where all but 2 of mine have come from, and I've not paid more than $10 for any of them, and one of them I got for free!
I've not heard of that series - I wonder if it's on Netflix?

No, definitely not on Netflix. I was forced to watch it through YouTube and other streaming sites (sorry BBC, but I couldn't NOT watch that show, and you gave me no choice). They don't really win anything and they're all just soo sweet to each other. It's not quite as fun as The Great British Bake Off, because the hosts of that show are hilarious and the risk of amusing TV failure is higher with baking, but my mom and I loved it.

Well, dang. I'll have to try to find it somewheres.

That is a great room for sewing. Currently I have the end of the dining table, and the pool table for cutting fabric. But one day I intend to convert a spare room. One day.

>30 judylou: After grad school, during which I had to use whatever surface available in my apartment to sew, having a separate room for sewing felt like such a luxury! Not needing to take everything out and then put it all away again every time is wonderful.

I believe it will be wonderful when I can do it here too.

>32 judylou: It will - you'll love it!

That is a great room! I have only 2 machines now, my precious Elna and my mother's black Singer. I laughed when I saw the bins of fabric! I have just emptied quite a lot of those recently. I have slowly been working on my "studio," which is half the size of the room I had in the old house, so I am having to be very compact in my storage design, thus I am using a lot of wall space. Will post some pictures when I get some of the clutter out of it.

Do it, Judy! Make it a She-cave!

>34 avaland: Ha! You can't see them, but under the table are even more bins of fabric. Sigh. It doesn't help that I can't bring myself to throw away any but the tiniest scraps, either. Hoarder Alert! Also, I should explain that the stack of white office boxes house my pattern collection. There's no way that I'll ever make every thing in those boxes, but I do love looking through them and fantasizing...

Also: She-cave - I love it!

>35 scaifea: Did I hear the words "pattern collection" somewhere? Now you've done it. I'm going to have to add in my patterns from the turn of the century as books here on LT. Besides, then I'll have more of those Unique Library Thing Books (except I'm not going to tag them as such).

My favorites are the "Pictorial Review" patterns, although a couple are Butterick (yes, they've been around that long). The oldest is "Perfect Pattern" and cost the princely sum of 6 cents. It's intended for a young girl (it says age 10 on the cover).

I love this group. It's wonderful to see others projects.

Here's a photo of my sewing desk (one of my favorite pieces of furniture).



(Wow, I should really take a newer photo. That ugly carpet has been gone for years.)

>36 Lyndatrue: Lynda: Oh, that is a lovely sewing desk!
I don't have very many older patterns, although I do have, I think, nearly every 'vintage' pattern that Vogue and Butterick and Simplicity have been reprinting, lately. I love the idea of sewing up some outfits from those collections.

>37 scaifea: I have a few of the Vogue reprints myself. I prefer those old designs. They were more graceful, and certainly kinder to the feminine form. I just put the first pattern up. I wish that they'd put copyright dates, or even publication dates, on them.

https://www.librarything.com/work/15112386/book/110134031

>38 Lyndatrue: Very cool!

The desk looks great. And the little stool looks very cool.

News, everyone! I finished a project yesterday!!

A hat, sized for a 2-year-old and made from a women's suit jacket and a women's flannel shirt:



(I need to figure out a better way to photograph the lining...):

Great cap!

Note to self: check out patterns entered in LT

>42 avaland: Thanks!

I finished another hat yesterday; this one is made from a corduroy jacket and a men's plaid oxford shirt and is sized for a 2-4-year-old:

Finished another hat today! This one is made from a lovely soft wool sport coat and a men's striped oxford shirt:

They really are too sweet. I especially love the corduroy one.

These hats are so cute! I love the recycled aspect!

Thanks! They're great fun to make, too.

I finished another sewing project today, albeit a quick and easy one - I made myself a new ironing board cover:



I just love the fabric, don't you?

That is PERFECT fabric.

Isn't it, though?! I actually did a little hoppy dance in the fabric shop when I found it...

Nice!

Ahhhhh that fabric is so cute!

Have you checked out Spoonflower where you can design your own fabric? I haven't paid any attention to how much it costs, but I have some ideas in mind...if I ever get around to it!

>52 avaland: Thanks!

>53 norabelle414: I know, right?!

>54 dkhiggin: Yep. I have a friend who designs quite a lot of fabric on that site - she even created a Bob the Builder check for me last year for Charlie's Halloween costume. I'd love to design some myself, but haven't quite figured out how to do so (we don't have a scanner).

This week I've been working on making a pattern and then sewing up a prototype for a toddler-sized peasant dress made from a men's oxford shirt. I just finished the first try today (this one is sized for a 2-year-old):

That looks great!

Thanks!

Finished another little dress today - this one is a size 3T:

so cute! I love it even more in plaid.

>60 mabith: I like the plaid, too! I've got a white tuxedo shirt that I'm really excited to use to make one of these, too - I think the pleats down the middle will look really cute (I hope)!

Ooh, it will! Did you do these from a pattern you bought/found or just work it out yourself?

>62 mabith: I looked a couple of existing patterns and then made up my own sort of based on those.

Clever! I'm currently eying a gathered skirt I bought at Goodwill, and thinking about making a tote bag out of it.

>64 avaland: Excellent! I love making something new out of something old!

I finished another little shirt dress the other day and I'm eager to get going on the next one (this one is a 4T):

I am just still overwhelmed by the cuteness of those dresses (and the cute button and embroidered detail possibilities).

>67 mabith: Thanks!

I just finished up another little dress - this one is a 4T:

I am overwhelmed with your creativity!

>70 judylou: Aw, thanks!

Here's what I've been doing in my sewing room today: I've been making and adding some appliques to some of the dresses I've made:

Nice appliques! Are these all going to kiddos you know or are you selling some?

Thanks! I'll eventually be putting them up on etsy - I'm trying to get a few more made first, though.

Nice! Definitely good to be able to post a new item regularly on Etsy, and start with at least six items in stock. A good way to be able to post a 'new' listing when you don't have a ready-made item to post is to have multiple "custom item" listings (dealing with specific sizes or extras)

Will you let people send their own shirts to you to make dresses from?

>75 mabith: I think I'll let people I know provide the shirt, but I don't want the complications involved with it on etsy.

So I decided to make a size 5 pattern for the dresses, and I've just finished the first one in that size:

Okay, so here's what I did today between grocery shopping and picking up Charlie at school:

I made a birthday crown for Charlie:



And then I got my new Pants de Fancy Machine out of the box and played with it a bit:



Here's the first little test embroidery - looks like I may be offering personalized options for the shop soon:

That is the fanciest pantsiest machine I've seen! Do you already have your shop set up or are you still building up stock?

I've had the shop up and running for over a year, but, yeah, I got the first round of dresses up yesterday.

Ah right. What's your shop name?

>81 mabith: eliza and electra

Sewed up another little dress this afternoon - I love the pink/blue plaid of this one:

Thanks for the store name! I feel like I definitely have to get my nephew one of the hats for Christmas this year. He's such a hat kid.

>84 mabith: Meredith: Aw, I'd be honored for one of my hats to grace that cutie-patootie's noggin!

My only hesitation (with buying them anything but books) is that his parents are not careful with possessions, and they haven't taught the kids to be careful either, of course. So I hesitate to buy them anything nice, as it's upsetting when it isn't taken care of (particularly when it's handmade). He would look sooo cute in it though, and love it.

Catching up! You are always busy creating something! Nice fancy pants machine!

>87 avaland: Hi, Lois! Well, I'm trying to keep myself busy these days to keep my mind off of the fact that Charlie is in kindergarten this year. The house seems pretty empty during the day, so I just hide myself in the sewing room...

Here's what I've been up to for the last couple of days - another square for the flannel shirt quilt:

Very nice! I have quite a few shirts yet to cut up. I can resist a nice pattern or color scheme. The other day at work I was looking at the blouse I was wearing to work (Land's End clearance) and thinking that it would be a fine addition to scrap collection.

>89 avaland: Ha! I do that all the time! If you like Land's End, sometime you should come for a visit here at the end of the summer, when our local Land's End factory has their ginormous clearance event. I've managed to find some pretty amazing deals there.

>90 scaifea: Don't you love factory sales.

>91 avaland: Yes! Although this particular one can get a little crazy; middle-aged housewives willing to knife you for a canvas tote... Ha!

LL Bean has outlets that sell what I imagine is overstock, last year's leftovers, sale items...etc. I can't tell you how many huge canvas totes I have bought there (sometimes they have other people's initials on them).

>93 avaland: That's what the Land's End sales are like here. I have a few totes with other people's names on them; most people who get them at the sales pick out the threads, but I leave them - I like to keep people guessing. Ha!

I've picked out the monograms on a few things over the years, but I most leave them in.

After nearly a week without any time for sewing, I made it back into the sewing room this afternoon and finished off Charlie's pajamas for the fall/winter:



Next up: Our Halloween costumes...

Waiting for the Halloween costumes.... :-)

Oh, dang! I can't believe that I forgot to post them here! Be right back...

I give you Emmet and his friend, Benny (from the Lego movie):

So cute! Look how big he's getting!

Too clever! Amazed at the talent you have.

>101 judylou: Aw, thanks! I need to kick myself into gear now, though, to get some Christmas presents finished...