Foxs Lane: sewing machine

Showing posts with label sewing machine. Show all posts

Saturday, April 28, 2012

and finally - a dress.

With the decision to leave my sewing machine at home when we left on our six month caravan trip, came the fear that I would lose my passion for sewing. That I would forget how to make a pattern and whip up a dress. That when we got home I would find it easier to buy than to sew.

From memory, I missed Nina Bernina twice while we were away. Once when we were camped in Broome next to a family of little girls who danced out of their caravan every morning wearing little rainbow peasant dresses. And again when I picked up a bunch of old bits of fabric from a garage sale in Dongara.

When we got home I whipped up three me sized dresses out of desperation. Three dresses made from old sheets and curtains in my stash. Three dresses inspired by a photo in a Japanese pattern book and then made by tracing a dress I already had.

And after them, I walked away from the sewing machine and didn't go back.

And then the other day I went to check out the new yarn section in a quilting shop nearby. And while I was stroking the yarn, Miss Pepper it seems was pulling out fabrics for a new dress. Three fabrics; spots for the body, doggies for the sleeves and butterflies for the frilly bit.

I don't remember the last time I bought brand new fabric. A part of me resented the cost and the non-sustainability of the purchase. But a bigger part of me loved that she planned the project down to the last detail. That she took for granted that her mama could and would sew her a new dress. And to be honest, I adored her choices and loved the feel of the crisp, new bright fabrics.

So we bought them home and one dark and dreary late April afternoon, I made a pattern, cut the pieces and sewed a dress.

It was slow going. At times I doubted that all the bits would fit together. But I loved it. The whole process. And I even cut a pattern out of baking paper to be certain that I could make it all over again.

I've even had a few teensy-eensy thoughts about reopening my online store.

Maybe.

It's a shame I left the photo shoot so late that it was almost dark and all the edges were blurry.

But she loves it and asked to sleep in it, so I'm happy.

So how about you?
Do you prefer to use old/recycled materials?
Or do you get a thrill from the new?
Have you sewn anything lately?
Or are you working with wintery warm wool?
Are you having a wonderful weekend?
I hope so.

See ya later hot potata!
xx

Monday, December 26, 2011

Quilt top!

One week after we arrived back home I decided I couldn't ignore the neatly packaged up, freshly serviced, sewing machine near the front door any longer.

One week after we arrived back home I was folding some fabric in my sewing room when I was struck by a sudden and very powerful urge to make a quilt.

I think at this stage in time I should tell you that I have never before made a quilt. I have possibly even made a little joke once or twice at the expense of my cutting up fabric and sewing it back together friends (sorry). I had always thought I might be irritated at the fussiness of quilting. That the exactness might not suit my personality. That quarter inch seams and self healing mats might belong to a culture I would never be a part of.

But like I said, the urge struck and who was I to ignore it.

So I gathered up some vintage sheets.
I measured them and cut some strips.
Then I dealt with an incident with Miss Pepper and the rotary cutter and some blood (lesson learned).
And I pinned and sewed the bits of fabric back together.
And then I cut them up again.

And then I got up on a chair and off the chair and on the chair and off the chair to fiddle with the design.

And then I sewed it all together and pressed the seams.

And ta-da!!! A quilt top!!

The wonderful and incredibly beginner friendly pattern is Kate's. I think the hardest part of the entire process was trying to take a picture without the wind blowing it up and around.

I'm a bit excited. And I can hardly wait until midday tomorrow when Merrilyn's shop opens and I can buy some wadding stuff.

Eeeeeeeeeeeep.

In the meantime, as I wait, I'm rummaging through my scraps drawer and googling beginner quilt patterns and dreaming about my next project. I think I'm hooked.

Merry, merry.

xx

Monday, June 13, 2011

The journey.

The fabric selection.

The ripping of strips to even up the edges.

The saving of these strips for some future project. Maybe a crocheted rug, maybe plaited bracelets, maybe something else entirely.

The over locking of the edges and admiring the fairy floss like fluff and threads.

The sewing of these long strips together and then the top stitching.

Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Can you imagine how many times I'll hear that phrase over the next few months??

Yesterday we drove to Melbourne and had lunch with my Grandad who is going overseas for a month, played at a playground, went to a cousin's wedding and sang karaoke and ate chips at the after-party.

Today we are having a home day and my folks are coming to play.

Tomorrow Farmer Bren will drive to Melbourne for a funeral.

What are you up to?

ps. We love you R and J. xx

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Purse.

Hey look I made a purse!

It was a test of Nikki's fab new pattern.

I think it was probably the first real structured thing I have ever sewn. It was such fun!

The pattern was easy peasy to follow and so exciting as it came together really quickly and looks so professional. The only problem I had was identifying all the different wadding, interfacing and villeins and then working out which side was the adhesive side of each, but that's just me and my inexperience.

The red floral fabric I used came from a church garage sale last year. I was the only customer there at the time and the ladies were fussing over me telling me that no one sews anymore and how excited they were to see the fabrics I bought walking down the street one day. It didn't take them long to recognise me as the girl who bought Tom and Lois's place. And then there was a whole discussion of what we are doing and what ever happened to them. I like small towns.

I've had a few practices to see how many of my necessities I can jam into my new purse and as you can see, I can fit a tape measure, my phone, some moisturiser/sun screen and my knitting. Its a big change from all the crap I usually carry around. I kinda like it.

My Farmer Boy thinks it looks like one of those old fashioned ice packs they had in the movies.

Carrying it makes me feel a bit fancy. Like I need to go to a garden party or something.

Funny that the only party I attended this weekend was a nine year old boy's. The activities were wooden spoon carving, Tarzan rope swinging, cross bow shooting, bush food foraging and bonfire lighting with flint. My girls had a ball. It was very different to the fairy, pop-star, make-up, cup cake type parties we have here but they got right into it. I left my new purse at home though.

I highly recommend Nikki's new purse pattern. If I can make it, you certainly can.

I do hope you've had a lovely weekend.

And I hope the week to come is fabulous.

See ya. XX

Friday, January 21, 2011

Lacy bits.

Gosh it feels like I haven't been near my sewing machine forever.

I blame the school holidays. There is always someone who needs me for something and it can never wait. Also it is much easier to be part of the action and get my crafty fix with a portable project like knitting than sitting with my back to it all in the sewing room.

But I think I've also been lacking in reason and inspiration to sew too. The girls have enough clothes for now, I have been happy rotating the same five sun dresses as my uniform and all my fabric is folded so neatly on the shelves.

No amazing ideas have been waking me up at night begging to be sewn and I haven't seen anything that I've desperately needed to try to make.

But then today this gorgeous little parcel arrived from lovely Brydie and now I am full, full, full of ideas. That's all it took. Thank you so much Brydie I absolutely adore every last scrap.

I'm seeing frills on the hems of dresses and pants and pockets and hats and collars.

Now I kinda want to push Miss Pepper off my knee and get the other two to make something for dinner so I can get some machine time. Maybe later?

Have you been sewing lately? What's been inspiring you? How have you been getting your crafty fix? Have you got a big weekend planned? Are you making, baking, knotting, knitting?

I hope you have the most wonderful weekend. XX

Oh and don't forget my auction and all the other wonderful things up for grabs for a great cause at Toni's.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

A day.

We've been away at the beach for a few days. We left last Saturday when things just seemed too big and too difficult too deal with and came home last night.

Today is a strange, dream like, flitter from this job to that job kind of day.

We have been on the phone to plasterers about fixing our soggy kitchen ceiling, the boys have been chainsawing trees that have fallen down since the rains and have started to clean up around the place and we have been discussing leaving on our caravan adventure sooner than we had planned.

Indi is moving boxes of my stuff out of her new bedroom. Inside these boxes I am finding treasures from another time. Old diaries, fabric scraps, photos and other mementos from my life before now.

In one box I found the wings in the photo above. I made them and wore them to a dance party in the bush one time.

All my craft work used to be made in this fashion. I would draw an outline on a scrap of old op shopped blanket and then set my sewing machine to zig zag and colour in the shapes with millions of stitches.

After so many stitches, the work became hard and three dimensional. I haven't sewn like that in years.

This is today's craft. A row here and a row there on my grey cardi.

It is such slow going and the pattern is complicated but I am loving it.

And today the puppies started to eat food.

They gobbled it up using their whole bodies to launch them further and further into the bowl.

I feel the same sort of melancholy I felt when my babies started to eat solids and became less baby and more person. Any minute now they'll move away from our house and in with the chooks.

I'll miss these snugly, furry, sleepy puppies.

And I am thinking about all those affected by the floods. I can't imagine how emotional and physically draining this time must be.

I am crocheting round and around the back of the cushion cover and can hardly wait to stitch it all together and see how it looks.

Please be generous and make a bid on it if you can. ALL money raised goes to disaster relief for the families and communities that have been devastated by the recent floods.

What are you up to this sunny Wednesday afternoon?

Bye for now. XX

Monday, February 22, 2010

Thinking & sewing.

Sometimes I have so many ideas in my head and so little time to actually make them, that I'm scared they'll run away never to be seen or heard from again.

The visual diary is a brilliant invention but for me, most of the time, it just feels like another thing that takes up my time and gets in the way of the actual making.

Sometimes when I finally get the time to sit down and make something I feel so overwhelmed by all my ideas that I don't know where to start. And then other days, like today, I feel like I have had so much time to process this idea that it comes together straight away.

In my head I had already planned this smock top. I knew which bits would be odd, what shape it would take and I had sorted out all the added details like the pocket and the binding. So when I had a minute to choose the sheets, cut the pattern and stitch it all together it was quick and easy.

The sleeves are a concession to the slightly cooler weather forecast this week but I am not going near my stash of cord and denim til March or April. I am not a fan of cooler weather or sewing.

I hope your Monday is a funday. XX

Monday, September 28, 2009

How Indi made a softie.

This morning Indi (aged eight), and I found ourselves home alone for a few hours and decided to make an owl softie.

First off, we heat set one of the owls we screen printed yesterday. We did this by ironing the back of it.

She then drew around the shape of the owl adding a couple of centimetres, the seam allowance.

Then she cut along the line she had just drawn.

Earlier in the week we had been to the local craft shop to buy some elastic and the girls chose a fat quarter each for holiday crafting. I love letting them buy fabric because it is guilt free shopping for me. Indi chose this floral print.

The printed side of the owl and the right side of the floral were placed face to face and then the two were pinned together.

Indi then cut the floral fabric by tracing around the owl shape.

At this point I decided she was probably ready for a quick sewing machine lesson so I got out my old Bernina, saved for exactly this moment, and set it up.

I showed her the basics and then drew a whole lot of squiggly lines on some fabric which she traced using the machine. She got it so quickly and was dying to make something.

She then machine sewed around the line of the owl print that could be seen from the wrong side. Obviously this seam could also be hand sewn.

I marked a big line on the fabric for where she had to stop sewing. A gap between the start of the seam and the end has to be left for turning the right way out and stuffing. The gap was about eight or ten centimetres wide.

She then pushed the owl through that space we left in the stitching to turn it the right way out. She used the wrong side of a texta to press into the ears to push them right out into shape.

And then she stuffed him with enough stuffing to give him a good shape but not too full or he wouldn't be cuddly.

I forgot to take a photo of the seam she sewed to close him up. Obviously there are ways to do invisible, neat closing seams, but as we were in need of a quick finish at this point in time she just machine sewed along the outside.

Then, assuming we had finished, I left her to go and make a call and when I got back she was accessorising her owl by sewing him a scarf.

What fun!

Tomorrow she wants to make a bag.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

My Creative Space.

I've sewn in the last label and I'm delivering frilly bloomers to the new Lark shop this morning.

My (our) creative space this week, the first week of the school holidays, is here at the girls' art and craft table. It's been awful, wet and windy weather outside, so this is where we are spending a lot of our time.

The making area is just off the main living area but still in the same room. Here the girls can express themselves and make a bit of a mess while they are at it.

There are lots of bits and pieces to inspire them to create. We seem to accumulate crafty equipment, bits of nature and odds and ends we come across because you never know when you'll need just that right bit. Sometimes it's that bit that inspires a whole new project.

And we have a big cupboard to store all their crafty bits and pieces in. Looks like that top shelf is in need of a tidy.

At times it does get sticky, covered in glitter or so covered in art work that you can't see the table or find what you are looking for, but it's a small price to pay for having a space that encourages making and creating.

For more inspiration and creative spaces pop on over to Kootoyoo