Xmas Felt Mice

Hello

Went to the knitting and stitching show in Harrogate, lots of lovely things to buy including this cute pattern to make a Mouse.  I got carried away and made two but one went to live with Olwen my dog walking buddy.

You can buy your pattern/kit here https://www.houseofzandra.co.uk/

They are fairly quick to make if you like hand stitching.

Cheers

Sharon

Fabric Advent Calender

Hello

My good friend Steph rang me earlier in the year to put her order in for her Xmas pressy.  I always make her something and this year after seeing the one I made a couple of years ago, she asked for her very own advent.

She is going to get her pressie early this year, hope she enjoys it.

I put a little something on No. 24 so at least she will get a surprise on Xmas Eve.  I will post what it is after the event, handmade again but not sewing related for once.

Its the earlies Xmas present I have ever done.

Cheers
Sharon

Baby Quilt No. 13

Hello

Well after saying I was done with making baby quilts last year, I have made another one for my friend's new grandchild, a little girl.

As I had left it a bit late for speed, I made the patches larger.  The bonus of this was at least one teddy in each square could be seen and not chopped in half.

Picked out the red to do the bindings.

There, dare I say it, my last baby quilt!  Famous last words.

Cheers
Sharon

Antique Mannequin, hairy pigs and wind carved stone

Hello

We had another trip to Beamish Museum.

They had this on show, not seen one like before.  At a guess at Victorian but no information on it, it was in the stores building.

The hairy pigs were enjoying the sunshine.

We then went for a few days Scotland, Burt is slowly getting used to the sea but not up to having a paddle yet.  Last year I couldn't get him anywhere near it so he has improved.

The cliffs were an amazing red sandstone, this old wall was built in the 1850s the wind has worn it away.

 Burt enjoyed his trip away.

Cheers
Sharon

Singer Sewing Machine 28K Coffin Top

Hello

A friend asked me to look at her old sewing machines in the loft to see if I would find a use for them.  One of the machines was in a lovely mahogany coffin top.

Its a Singer 28K, my sister could do with a handcrank, her granddaughter is sewing on a toy chainstitch but the stitches can unravel easily so a lockstitch is the answer.  I already had a 128K dated 1933 so she can have that one and I will replace it with this one.

There is very little difference between  the models, the 28K has more decals, its bobbin winder is lower down and it doesn't have a little button on the shuttle holder that lifts up the bobbin.  The attachment cover is wood instead of metal.

The coffin top lid had lots of scrapes, scratches and watermarks on it. I was given a furniture touch up pen many years ago and the colour was a good match so I "coloured in" the marks!  Then gave it a polish with a good quality wax.  This probably not the correct way to restore it, someone once told me to how to get the old French polish off was to pour methylated spirit onto surface then throw a match on it!  Yikes not that brave.  There was one problem, I left the lid in the conservatory and although it wasn't a boiling hot day, it was sunny.  When I got home from work, the top of the lid had warped an bit and the glue holding it down had failed.  I got my book binding glue, which you can use on wood, applied it then turned the lid upside down, then weighted it down with a 221 sewing machine overnight.  Phew, it worked the glue held and its fixed.  Won't let it near the conservatory again.


The machine itself is in fairly good condition considering its age.  I didn't have much to do with it apart from a good clean and polish.  I looked up the serial number and it was made in 1906 so its a 113 years old.

I used the cleaner and polish from the Featherweight shop in the USA.  For the shiny bits, used Bar Keepers Friend, its very good at cleaning tarnished metal.

It came with a good selection of original attachments including these binding ones.  I could never figure out how they attached to the machine.

 They come with a special foot which has a screw on the back and they slot in that.

The little quilting guide also fits on to the special foot.

 I gave it a good clean and oil, probably the first its had for decades.  It is very smooth to use.

So thank you Joss, I will treasure it.

Cheers
Sharon

Two Well Dressed Rabbitty Hares - Luna Lapin

Hello

Why make one rabbitty hares when you can make two.

They both have pretty dresses with peter pan collars.

Two little felt coats complete with antique mother of pearl buttons, thanks Julie for your lovely gift, its taken a while to find a use for these teeny buttons.

I was going to put fancy pants (French lace knickers) on them but they got fluffy tails instead.

I thought that making dinky dress and coats would be easier than full size ones but these were fiddly to make.  It was made easier using the Singer Featherweight, its got a lovely little foot on it which was perfect for doing the top stitching.

The felt shoes were easier to make than I thought.

Got a piece of grey felt left so might make a boy one.

Rabbity Hare - Luna Lapin

Hi

I bought this book as a gift for my lovely sister, Sandi then another one slipped into my shopping basket. I thought we could make little Rabbity Hares together.

I have never made a "soft toy" before so this is a whole new world for me.  She is made out of felt and the rabbit body and head are sewn by hand except the ears, they are done on the machine.  Unusually, all the seams are over cast on the outside.  I struggled with this at first, seams should be hidden?  But it works beautifully.

Here she is just her arms to attach with lovely vintage shell buttons.  She also has button eyes.

When I brought her home from my sewing group, Burt my collie thought she was a new dog toy and nearly ate her.  This frightened the Rabbity Hare and she went into hiding for a few days!  Naughty Burt.

She has a lovely  wardrobe of clothes to make, I haven't done dressmaking for 30+ years, wonder if I remember how to do it.

Patterns and fabric all ready for action.  I have been saving the lovely ditsy buttons, they are perfect for little garments.

Watch this space.

If you fancy making your own Rabbity Hare all the details are here https://www.coolcrafting.co.uk/

Tapestry Cushions

Hello

There is a lovely company who do tapestry kits called Ehrman.  I have done a few of their cushion kits in the past.  You can find the company here http://www.ehrmantapestry.com/Departments/Cushions-and-Pillows.aspx

The first one was this dark one with Roses.

That was followed by this larger Foxgloves one.

Then I did a couple of mini kits (not made by Ehrman) which I put into cushion panels.

This lighter Rose one was on my frame for years, I got 90% of it done then for some reason (probably when I bought my first Singer Featherweight!) it got put away unfinished.

I was recently given an Ermin kit, it was unopened.  So I had to finish the Rose one before starting a new one.

I had this glorious green velvet panel in my fabric stash, it was actually an upholstery fabric sample someone gave me, it still had a label on the back.  It also had a rubbery finish on the back which transferred onto the paintwork on my Singer 221 machine.  This had to be carefully cleaned off the shiny black paintwork, crikey will have to be more careful.

The new project is a Pansy cushion,

Pansies are one of my favourite flowers, they smell so nice and look so happy!

I've had a quick look on the Ehrman website, I couldn't see the Roses and Foxglove cushions so they mustn't have them anymore.

Cheers
Sharon

Tilda Fabric Project

Hello

Found a use for the fat quarter pack of Tilda fabric.  This is the second project from this book.

Embroidery panel done, I haven't done a very much of this especially the satin stitch on the letter L.

It's a stationery pocket to hang next to my desk.

It has a pocket for pens and another below for stamps (no more searching, I will know where they are).  I used the Tilda ribbon that held the bundle together for the hanging loops.

I will keep any letters that need me to do something with them instead of just putting them in the filing box and forgetting about them!

Cheers

Sharon

Beamish Museum Shed Envy

hello

I am a shed sort of girl, perhaps its being brought up on a working smallholding farm in Yorkshire.  I have 2 lovely sheds (well one is a summerhouse) and my greenhouse is masquerading as  shed!

We took Burt to Beamish for a day out, it was my birthday treat.

Great place, I drooled over their sheds.

This little hook caught my attention.

I think this posh looking shed is made out of an old boiler.  The windows are great.

They have rebuilt a cottage belonging to quilter, the poor chap was murdered.  I thought that there would be quilts in there but no, just one on the bed and quilting frame in front of the fire.  He designed Durham Quilts.  There was an article in one of the quilting magazines about this.  I thought that they would have had a collection of quilts in there and make a big deal out of the quilts but the chap dressed in period costume was only talking about the murder.  I was a little disappointed re the lack of quilts.  My sister had been to Beamish, she was given a guide and in was a quilt trail for you to find quilts in the other buildings, unfortunately we weren't given anything when we paid to go in, the girl on the desk was too busy admiring Burt the flirt! She must of forgotten.

Burt the collie, enjoyed his day out.

The even rebuilt the cottage with a crack in the wall.