Shearwater Kaftan in Nani Iro Double Gauze

I'm doing some tinkering on the blog and need to delete all my draft posts........I found this one, which has been hanging around for a couple of years I think. Anyhow, I'm not sure why I never completed the post but it seems a shame to relegate it to the waste bin.

In short, it is a Shearwater Kaftan (one of three I have made - the first was another Nani Iro double gauze made while I was pregnant with Katie and was so comfortable - double gauze is really the best fabric ever invented).  I'm afraid I haven't the foggiest recollection where I found the Nani Iro, I think it was probably a UK online shop.  Previous double gauze purchases came from overseas but it is pretty easy to get hold of here now - yay!

It is a lovely straight forward pattern.  Slightly fitted and perfect for summer  Just what it says on the packet in fact!  I think I made this one a little too long (it worked well with a bump but less so without one) and the next one was a wee bit shorter and probably a little more flattering.  Not sure what else to say - if you're looking for an easy summer top to sew then I'd definitely recommend you give it a go!

Free As A Bird Quilt

My, or rather Katie's, Free As A Bird Quilt features Maze and Vale handprinted fabrics.  I started collecting them a couple of years ago - just 2 or 3 fat quarters, a couple of sample packs and a couple of miss-print packs too, bought here and there as a treat.

I didn't have any very definite plans when I bought the fabric, I just knew I loved it and that I'd love to have some.  I think, also, that since Leslie's was one of the first blogs I ever read that  liked the idea of supporting, in a very small way, her handprinting adventures - not that success was in doubt as she is very talented.

Some time last autumn a quilt idea slowly grew on me - after one of my 'pull them out and gaze at the lovely fabric' sessions.  Once the idea settled, probably during the night, I quickly got to work selecting the right co-ordinating fabrics.  A mix of soft pinks and greys, the odd hint of green and a wee pop of red too.  

The design is a disappearing nine patch (in this case 5" squares made into nine-patch blocks - and then quartered and put back together) and I had some careful planning to work out a square size which would minimise wastage of my Maze and Vale and one or two of the other fabrics as I had very little of some of them.  

I was unsure about backing until I spotted the Kokka Swallows flannel from Raystitch.  I guess you'll know by now how much I love flannel and mixing fabric textures and weights (maybe one of the reasons I love my Maze and Vale selection so much since there's cotton, cotton:linen mix and linen in there) - and it seemed perfect for the quilt, especially once I realised it was just the right width so I could make full use of the selvedge to selvedge pattern.

The binding is a mix of the reds used in the quilt and I played safe with the quilting and stuck with my usual not-quite-straight-lines across the width.  

It finished at about 100 by 120 cm (40 by 47 inches) - which seems perfect for Katie, especially since she'll move up into a big girl bed, and out of her cot, some time in the next year or so.........but I'm not prepared to think much about that big girl step just yet.

Once I'd though of the name 'Free As A Bird' it really seemed perfect, I think it suits the quilt and it suits Katie (along with her Sunshine quilt, too, of course) - she's a very happy and independent wee girl.

The other children aren't completely neglected and do have their own made-by-me quilts and blankets but they were made several years ago when I was very much less skilled.  I think that I'll make them each a proper big quilt once they are around High School age (which means Finn needs one soon as he'll be at High School next year, and 11 at the end of this month - I have my eye on this design but will need to consult him and then, if he likes the idea, involve him in fabric choices - which could be interesting given his level of colour-blindness!).

Me!

We're loving our summer holiday here in Forest Poppy land - I'm way behind on blogging and there's loads I want to talk about (quilts, clothes sewing and Scottish holidays in the sunshine.....now that does need to be recorded so I won't forget!) - but I am popping by to blether about none of them - instead I'm here to tell you about me.

Super tote - one of my favourite makes

It is less than a week to the Fat Quarterly Retreat  - and I'm excited but just a wee bit nervous too.  There's a lot of people going and only a small handful that I know.  So, this is for any new visitors in advance of the Retreat, except I'm really not sure what to tell you.  Here's some things::

1. I'm 40 - and my ticket to FQR is my birthday present - it is good to be 40!

2. I have four kids  - Finn is 10, Angus is 9, Islay is 6 and Katie is just 22 months.

3. John and I met in Peru and we both love to travel but don't do so much just now (see no. 2 above!)

4. Until having Islay I worked as a forester and loved it - maybe one day I can do it again but it could be tricky as we now live in East Lothian which is very beautiful but rather short of trees.

5. I loved making things when I was little but really found my love for sewing once I stopped working.  I love to quilt and really enjoy making clothes too - I'm still very much learning and teaching myself as I go along.

6. I'm not very keen on having my photo taken (which may be why there's a huge backlog of clothes which I haven't blogged about - photo below shows the usual results) and I'm not too well acquainted with hairdryers and make-up - look for the person with her hair looking hugely bushy or pulled back in a scrappy bundle.

7. I love to be out in the countryside, walking and cycling and don't really like cities but I do love a short to visit London - can't wait in fact.

A typical photo of me....bushy hair and trying to hide - Shearwater Kaftan made by me

Me and the kids last week in the River Lyon - perfect Scottish summer holidaying

My Aeroplane Bag -it holds my machine but not my cutting mat - how to I get the mat to London?

I still have a fair bit of prep and organising to do. Not to mention packing for a camping holiday to France - I am joining John and the children at a friends house in Portsmouth after the FQR and we are heading for Dover on Monday morning.  I'm trying not to think about the likelihood of forgetting something important.

Hope to see you in London and please say hello! 

My super Super Tote

I love my new bag, my super Super Tote.  Probably even more than I love my Aeroplane Bag.  The combination of fabrics, style and size make this bag pretty near perfect for me at the moment*.  Apologies now if I sound smug - I'm feeling smug!

The pattern is Noodlehead's Super Tote.  The pattern has a lot of prep and loads of steps but everything is well laid out and straightforward.  It took me quite a while to put together, it wasn't a quick make for me, but the time and effort was well worthwhile.  

I think, with most projects, I usually have at least one or two points which I wish I'd done differently or a bit where I have made a wee error..........but, possibly for the first time, there really isn't anything I'm not happy with.  When I first spotted the pattern on Anna's Noodlehead blog I knew I really wanted to make it but also knew I couldn't unless I could do so without spending much money - but I was very conscious that it would be a shame to skimp and use fabrics I didn't love.

 

When I was digging around for fabrics to make my FQR Name Tag swap I remembered that a couple of the Flea Market Fancy prints I bought last year were in half yard cuts** - which would be just enough to work for the main part of the bag.  Yay!  The handles were eked out of leftovers from a quilt commission (linen from here).  I had just enough metro dots for the recessed zip.  But I did buy the Yarn Dyed Essex Linen in Black for the gussets - once I had looked out the other three fabrics I couldn't convince myself that anything else would work nearly so well (I found it here).

I'm a very happy Super Tote owner -  I hope your week has started as cheerfully!

 *I do admit to having quite a few bags but I do use them all.  I much prefer moving from one bag to the other for different trips and outings depending how much I have to carry, whether the car is involved, how many children, pushchair or not......a lot of variables and mostly they influence which bag suits best.  So, despite John's disbelief,  I don't think I have too many.....I won't say just enough either though (as there's always the chance I'll spot a new pattern that will fill a new niche!).
** I almost never buy fabric in more than a fat quarter cut so I was really chuffed to realise that I did have enough of a special fabric to make this tote.

Aeroplane Bag for me

I couldn't be happier with my new bag.  It, the Aeroplane Bag, practically jumped out of the computer screen at me the first time I saw it.  I have long longed to make Amy Butler's Weekender Bag but it scares me, I have seen too many comments about it's tricky bits and am now pretty wary of it. And I don't want to waste a lot of good fabric on making a bag that isn't sewn well but I do hope to make one some time, perhaps when I have more time to ensure I get it right.

Rather ironically my Aeroplane Bag is made with Amy Butler fabric - rescued from a dress I haven't been wearing (wrong fabric for the pattern really - you live and learn).  So it was pretty cheap to make. I made the long size which means I can fit my sewing machine and pretty much everything else (I hope!) that I need to take to the Fat Quarterly Retreat this summer*.  

I've stolen a couple of ideas from Kerry - for simplicity I used webbing for the straps, so much easier and I like the look too.  And I added an outside pocket on both sides.  The pockets are held by the straps and bottom seam.  They are cut from the hem of the dress but since I wanted a deep seam to be sure the pocket was secure I have lost the triangle tip......better that than things falling out the bottom of the pocket because of a dodgy seam I reckon.

This was my first attempt at internal zip pockets and I'm really pleased with the results.  I'm sure much of that is down to a very well written pattern.  
The only parts that went a little wayward are the zip ends on the main zip, which are fine but not perfect - I have used a very thick chunky zip and found it hard to get in close and get the ends tucked away while catching all the layers.  And for some reason my darts along the top don't match up - I didn't spot this until I was sewing the two sides together and, since the excess fabric had been cut away, there was really nothing I could do about it.  It isn't very aesthetically pleasing and really bugs me (see last photo - the bottom left dart is nowhere to be seen coz it's way off to one side).  I must have made a serious error when marking out the dart positioning.

I scrabbled together interfacing and so on mostly from leftovers from other projects but Katy has a good post on sources for the various bits you'll need (unfortunately written after I'd started cutting and sewing, but it might be of use to you if you are thinking of making one). 

 * I have a lovely travel bag which I made when I first started sewing again, around 4 years ago.  My aunt treated me to a day sewing at her local quilt shop/workshop (Borderland Fabrics in Jedburgh) - we had a really fun day and my aunt was such a help and so very encouraging.  She makes the most wonderful quilts - much more traditional and detailed than my usual style - and I guess that day really fired up my interest in learning more.  Anyhow, the bag I made then is very well used and loved but won't be big enough for this summer's trip to London.......not many bags take a sewing machine easily!

1, 2, 3, 4 At The Sea Shore - Number Beanbags

Do you remember a photo of gorgeous fabric and felt from The Village Haberdashery a few weeks back?  Annie sent it to lucky old me to play with and I turned it into a set of Number Beanbags.  Today there's a tutorial on Annie's blog, The Daily Stitch, so you can make some too.

Head on over and have a look, Annie's photos are wonderful.....I just wish she could photograph everything I make!  She also deserves huge congratulations as she has very recently had a beautiful baby boy.

All images from The Village Haberdashery

Simple straight skirt in chicopee corduroy

Remember the lovely Chicpoee corduroy I showed you earlier in the week?  I managed to make the skirt I had planned.  The pattern I used is from Burda Style Magazine - it is a downloadable pattern, with instructions, bought from their website.

When I say with instructions I am more than a little tongue in cheek - although I have sewn quite a few clothes in the last few years they have all been from Indie pattern designers and my goodness I can  tell the difference in the level of detail and thought put into the pattern writing.  I really doubt I'd have been able to develop my skills the way I have if I had started with patterns such as this*. And that's not to say I have reached any great heights but that I can now sew moderately difficult garments....providing I have instructions to follow!

Yes, the pattern was cheap but not all that much less.  So if, like me, you need your hand holding I'd suggest sticking with, and supporting, our wonderful Indie designers.  I did manage to work out what to do but it took a little head scratching and grumbling along the way.

I'm so pleased I stuck with it though.  The skirt fits perfectly and is very comfortable.  The lining really helps with that I think.  Perhaps I should explain the lining ?!  I bought it from Belle and Boo a couple of years ago.  I think I bought 3 metres because it was incredibly cheap...I had no idea what to do with it but was sure I'd find a use in the end.  Now there's only just over 2 more metres to use!

I only needed 1 metre of corduroy (from The Village Haberdashery), much of it which was paid for with a voucher I was lucky enough to win after completing one of Annie's surveys**.

I found taking photos of the skirt very hard.  We don't have a decent sized mirror (the skirt photos in this post show what I mean!).  My little helper was a bit of a hindrance too.........especially once she started making her way inside the skirt.

I couldn't resist making a zip pouch with some of my remaining fabric.  I used Noodlehead's open wide zip pouch tutorial.  Quick and easy although I dread making the box shaping.  I seem to be a complete failure at getting the seams to line up properly.  You can see in the last photo that it lines up perfectly on the left hand side but not on the right (and that was better than the first attempt).  I'm not sure whether I'm missing a little trick here or if it is just a mental block I have.  Oh well, I don't suppose it annoys anyone except me especially since the pouch is to hold my gubbins and to save important things - like plasters - from getting lost in the bottom of my bag.

*I have noticed that Lynne of Lily's Quilts has been making similar skirts this week and has written a wee tutorial.  The end result is similar and looks very simple.  I think the method is a little different but if you'd like to try this sort of skirt it might be worth a look - Lynne's has no lining and the shaping comes from cutting a taper in the sides rather than front and back darts.

**You can sign up to join Annie's Customer Advisory Board and from time to time you'll be asked if you want to complete a survey giving your views on potential new fabric lines the shop could stock.  The surveys only take seconds to complete - and I enjoy taking part, seeing what fabric lines are coming up and potentially influencing the choice - and each time one participant is randomly selected for a £10 voucher.