Everything Else! | Sewchet

September 10, 2014
by sewchet 12 Comments

Hazy Days of Late Summer

Wow, what a glorious Indian Summer we are being treated to! Together with May, September is my favourite month and both are often surprisingly good in the weather stakes, this year being a classic example.

I took the opportunity, after the school run, to take a few snaps in the morning sunshine. This is my outdoor crafting space (click image to view larger);

They have just baled the second lot of hay this year and, I don’t know about you, I rather miss the old way of baling. Somehow the green polythene wrapping that farmers prefer nowadays isn’t as aesthetically pleasing is it?

Tess hopped up on the day bed where the quilt is warming up nicely in the already hot sunshine.

I’ve got a WIP to show you; a Christmas present of a blanket for a family member.

I’m also going to paint these two bedside tables that I picked up in a charity shop yesterday for a song;

The leaves are dropping from the Elderberry bush already so soon the hens will have to find shade elsewhere in the garden.

Mind you, they perch on the crossbar underneath the table sometimes and it does provide shade later on in the afternoon. Amber likes to sit there just to be close to us.

We have a young apple tree in the garden which isn’t doing very well although there are a few apples this year again.

But the hens LOVE them!

Enjoy the sunshine!

September 4, 2014
by sewchet 3 Comments

The Three Seam Challenge.

Meet Shawn. Shawn is an inspiration and I challenge ANYONE not to be motivated to try their hand at sewing after reading her blog.
She just proves that, with a lot of imagination but very little cash, you can do huge things.
The way she transforms the ugliest charity shop finds into cute new garments is amazing; check this post out:

For The Simple Life

My goal tonight is to prove to the world that anyone can refashion. If you have a sewing machine and an hour you’ve got this in the bag. Tonight is simple, but it goes to show a little tweaking can go a long way. I’m about to look way too excited in an oversized men’s dress shirt. You ready? Bam!

This is my “you silly people can do this too” face.

The color is off in the pictures, but it’s a gorgeous emerald. Green is my favorite color and it works well with a lot of my fall wardrobe. First, I took a tunic dress that fits me well and laid it flat on the inside-out shirt.

I used this to outline my would-be dress in chalk.

During this process I noticed the former owner had written their name along the seam with the buttons. Sorry Langerack, but this…

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August 20, 2014
by sewchet 8 Comments

Cornish Days

Together with The Masses, we have descended on the magic that is Cornwall for the week. Staying with my cousin in her holiday home near Newquay, the boys and the dogs are in their element spending time on different beaches every day. Personally, I’d rather explore rocky coastlines than sandy stretches of crowded beach, but it is lovely watching them clearly loving every minute. They tried body boarding for the first time:-

I’ve also had a little “me” time in which I put my feet up and did another row or two:-

Fifi and Tess joined me; such loyal creatures, they never like to be far from my side.

There’s a beautiful view of the church from my Crochet Corner;

My new backpack has made its maiden voyage too, here sitting on an ancient door handle, but earlier swinging nonchalantly over my hubby’s shoulder all day. Only a real man can rock a multi coloured, in-your-face, crochet rucksack in public and not bat so much as an eyelid!

Such a pretty cottage….

Off to the aeroplane museum shortly (the joy of having boys!) but hopefully I’ll get chance to sneak off to a gallery or six later:)
Don’t you just love summer holidays!

July 30, 2014
by sewchet 3 Comments

Work In Progress Update (and a lovely video of my young sons crocheting!)

Well, another glorious Summer day – boys are naked trampolining, naked swimming and…..naked crocheting. Yes, really!

I love the Summer holidays (when we have a good Summer!) because we are outside from the moment the boys wake up until the moment they drop through the sheer exhausted joy of just being boys. And I have far less washing to do because…who needs clothes?

We really do make the most of the good weather while it lasts and, as I don’t like to leave them in the pool unattended, it means I have a good excuse to relax on the day bed in the garden and crochet/read for a large part of the day. How lucky is that?

As such, my latest blanket is coming on a treat so I thought I’d show you a quick update. This is the Greengate style one that I ended up having to write my own pattern for because Google Translate didn’t do a great job. If anyone wants it, I will try to work out how to do a PDF for downloading but until then you will have to email me and I can send the pattern to you.

So, here it is so far;

I had a few of my favourite books on the table next to me to dip into for when I got Crocheter’s Cramp. I love ‘The Handmade Home’ by Cherry Menlove (real name, apparently!) and it’s exactly the kind of book I would love to write one day. Hers stemmed from a highly successful blog but publishers are only interested when your blog has more than 10,000 folowers though, so might be a while yet as I’ve only got 20! Still, I can dream can’t I and I do have thirty-plus years of material to edit down first!

After a couple of hours playing in the garden, the boys needed a rest and decided to join me on the bed with their crochet.

Bertie is only eight and Freddy just seven, so they’re not old enough to be put off by the stereoptype that ‘crochet is for girls’. I will encourage them while I can; not that Bertie needs any encouragement – look how big his blanket is getting!

Freddy is short tempered and gets frustrated quite easily, but Bertie has so much more patience than me and quietly explains to his little brother how to put any mistakes right.

I was watching them and I couldn’t believe how fast Bertie can crochet now so I took a short video.

Here it is if you want to use it to inspire a youngster of your own:-

Video of my 8 and 7 year old sons crocheting!

My husband is NOT interested in crochet.

He does Man Things, like cleaning out the pool….

July 22, 2014
by sewchet 10 Comments

New Range, Outdoor Living and Crochet!

Blimey it’s been a busy couple of weeks – so much so, this is my first post in a fortnight and I can’t fit it all in! I’ve been quite productive on the creative front and have loads to show you, so I will try to catch up in the next few days and hope you’re not too bored…

First up, the most exciting event. Well, for me, anyway because I cook loads. Our ‘old’ range cooker pretty much gave up the ghost after seven years of hard labour and I kind of decided that, as you get what you pay for, I might as well upgrade seriously.

This is the old one…

..and this is the lovely new RED one!

(If anyone knows how to change an oven thermostat and repair a grill element, we have an electric range cooker with ceramic hob going begging…!)

Four ovens including a slow cooker and five induction rings on the hob – I’m in cooker heaven, seriously, and I need to make more jam. We’ve just finished the last of last year’s jam and the new crop of blackberries is looking promising, although it’s a fine line between them being ripe enough to pick and the hens deciding when they’re ripe enough to eat. At least they can only reach the lower berries so we should still have plenty for jam making. About another four weeks, I reckon, before the first berries turn black and sweet. It’s a thornless bramble which is perfect for the garden, and domestic varieties are always much larger, juicier and sweeter than their wild cousins. They also ripen earlier which means the picking season is extended – good news for our household of blackberry lovers. Blackberry and Apple Crumble anyone?

We only have a small, young apple tree and an elderberry bush in our (quite large) garden which means shade is almost non-existent and, in this current heatwave, makes it too unbearably hot to enjoy the garden. The hens have commandeered the elderberry bush so my lovely husband created a shady retreat just for me!

Gazebo up, it needed bunting obviously. Well, doesn’t everything look better with a string or two of bunting??

Then, I had a brainwave and decided to utilize the under-used daybed from my sewing room as an outdoor sofa. After a bit of under-the-breath muttering and “Why do want me to put the bed outside?”, husband complied.

I covered the ‘sofa’ with some patchwork throws I made thirty years ago – very faded and a bit worn, but I tell myself that it adds to the rustic charm!

I piled it up with loads of squashy cushions including the crocheted ones I made recently and it looks soooo inviting that everyone who comes to the house dives straight in and that is where they stay!

I even get to use it too sometimes! There’s nowhere nicer to relax and enjoy a bit of crocheting with a G&T.

This is what I’m working on, curled up in a cosy corner of my new favourite place…..

…..Ta da!

I’ve got a few more ‘Ta da’ moments to share with you in the next few days, so watch this space!

In the meantime, here’s a snippet of my latest work-in-progress using Drops Paris Cotton – it’s already my favourite project to date!

June 21, 2014
by sewchet 1 Comment

Ascot Ladies Day – What to wear??

Formal dress with on-the-knee or below length skirt, shoulders covered, hat or substantial fascinator. That’s the easy part, but what actually to wear?

I have just one hat which I bought second hand over ten years ago. I still love it and see no point in buying another. It was a designer bargain and it comes out for weddings and Ascot and, as it is a classic navy, goes with everything.

I have a navy leather Osprey handbag (a bargain from TKMaxx) and some L K Bennett navy wedges (another bargain from Kilver Court) so the accessories were sorted.

I bought a lovely red-with-white-polka-dots dress from TKMaxx for our first wedding anniversary last month when we went to Geneva and haven’t worn it since. Red and navy are great together, so I decided to go with that.

But I don’t own a suitable jacket.

It was Monday and Ascot was on Thursday so, knowing I could spend an entire day shopping and still not find what I was looking for, I popped over to Hanson’s fabric warehouse in Sturminster Newton with an aim to making one.

What a fabulous place, I love going there! I wanted a bolero style and ended up going for this one by Simplicity: –

I really wanted navy silk and couldn’t believe it when they didn’t have any:(

Anyway, as I only needed one metre of fabric and lining, I bought navy linen and red silk. My theory being that both would be useful additions to my wardrobe and, at less than forty pounds including the pattern, a bargain to boot!

I don’t know if you can see on the picture of the pattern above, but I made the navy one in style B and the red one in style F.

This is the navy one; slightly longer in length and with a straighter neckline: –

I bought some gorgeous coat lining which looks fabulous,

The only gripe I had was with the actual pattern itself – it really was too simple and the lack of tailoring lets it down in my opinion. For instance, the lining was too simple without any facings and the armhole edges were just overlocked which was awful. I found some black satin ribbon in my stash and bound the raw edges with it and it looks much better now.

I prefer to buy Vogue designer patterns which are very advanced, but are more likely to take ten hours rather than the two that this one took! I didn’t have much time and anyway, this really was the only style I liked in all the pattern books that would suit the outfit.

When I made the red one I altered the pattern slightly so that the lining was inserted differently and is consequently much neater.

Look at this finishing – much better!

The silk is a dupion with a slub effect – it shimmers as the light changes. Here’s a close up.

I put the finished outfits together on a hanger and decided to go with the red jacket, which is ironic considering I would have bought navy silk had it been in stock:)

So this is me, champagne in hand, ready to go….

…and this is with my lovely friend Andrea with whom I had a fabulous day!

Do you want to see some more? Yes? OK then; this is Dawn on the way up in our minibus.

And, yes, we are drinking champagne at 8.30 in the morning:)

These are the other girls we went with.

At the Winner’s Enclosure waiting for Her Maj to arrive….

And here she is!

They hand round a Carriage List so you know who’s in which carriage. It seems Rory Bremner hob nobs with royalty!

This was a typical crowd around one of the many champagne bars…..

…and this was the champagne list. £80 for the cheapest bottle!!!

Here are a few photos of the outfits and hats on display –

So that’s the story of my Ascot Ladies Day outfit dilemma – what did you wear?

June 13, 2014
by sewchet 2 Comments

Handmade Recycled Greetings Cards For School Fair Or Summer Fête

Blimey I’ve been a busy bee creating all manner of loveliness for the School Fair tomorrow!

Earlier in the week I made some fudge and then I designed a summer fête inspired box in which to display them. I was trying to think of some quick, easy and cheap ideas for making something which would sell at the fair, when I remembered the forty-or-so sheets of recycled brown card left over from making our wedding invitations last year. Bingo! Greetings Cards would be all those things and should make a good profit for the school.

I sketched and cut out some card templates of several different designs, then cut the shapes out of scraps of wrapping paper. Keeping in mind the necessity to appeal to all ages and both sexes, I chose a mixture of colours and cut out the following; bunting, balloons, kites and ties.

I stitched the shapes with a basic straight stitch on the sewing machine and embellished some of them with glued-on paper clouds. The cards were left blank to make them suitable for any occasion, apart from a few that were printed with ‘Father’s Day’ as it is the day after the fair. I wrote my website on the reverse so that, if they don’t sell, I can put them in my shop for sale:)

So far forty cards have cost nothing, so I bought 50 manilla envelopes for £1.29 and 50 see-through bags for £2.75. They look MUCH more professional presented this way and each card has still only cost 8p! (Not including my time, obviously). This serves another purpose though, as it protects the cards from damage and dirt as they get handled.

Now, what to do about a box?

Knowing that people like to rummage through everything easily, I decided to customize a shoe box to make a long, thin “shelf” type display box. This is what they look like….

I’m secretly quite chuffed with the whole thing! Hopefully that’s given you an idea of a quick and easy craft make for your school fair or summer fête – handmade greetings cards for just a few pence each.

June 3, 2014
by sewchet Leave a comment

Vintage Treasures and The Craft Revival!

Unless you’ve been asleep since 2006 (pre-recession), you can’t have failed to notice the revival of traditional crafts and the resurgence in popularity of all things vintage.

Being a child of the seventies with no television(!), we had to find other ways to entertain ourselves in the long winter evenings after the dusk curfew. My grandmother taught me how to knit and crochet and my mother inspired me to learn how to sew – I have been making things since the age of five. During the eighties I was rarely seen without a garment I had made, whether it was a mohair jumper (itchy, but very trendy back then) or a tailored jacket with “power” shoulder pads (ridiculous on my diminutive 5’2″ stature!).

My house was filled with junk shop and auction “treasures”, and my furniture was comfortably dressed with home made quilts, cushions, curtains and anything else I could make myself. My baby daughter wore the most adorable sets of all-in-one, bonnet and even matching shoes, all lovingly and painstakingly made by hand and shown off with pride.

Then came the late nineties and millennium. Ikea and Primark reigned supreme with their cheap flat-pack furniture and throwaway clothes. Everyone could afford to buy new, discard when they fancied a change and repeat every twelve months (about the length of time the furniture was made to last – only a matter of weeks for the poorly made clothes.)

I was embarrassed to admit that I could knit, sew and crochet. I would let people assume that the ironically fashionable “distressed” furniture were new purchases, not the genuine article having acquired a gorgeous patina during the course of an interesting century or so of being. I am ashamed to say that, with the end of a long relationship, I succumbed to change and donated twenty years of accumulated “memories” to various charity shops or sold at car boot sales for pennies.

Out went vintage kitchenalia, antique pine dressers and patchwork bedspreads. In came soulless Ikea bookshelves and acrylic throws.

And I hated it.

When the recession took hold I was in a new, happy relationship (we’re now married with two children), in a house we bought together and the need for change took hold of me again.

This time, I reverted to my true nature and gradually filled our home with things I loved, mainly eBay bargains (easier than auctions) or charity shop finds. Sewing and crochet were still not cool, but I didn’t care and made new heirlooms to replace the ones that I’d foolishly given away.

Gradually “Knit ‘n’ Natter” groups became The Thing, vintage tea rooms popped up on every corner and everyone knew what a Granny Stripe was. Charity shops are the place to be. Second hand is no longer a dirty word and hand made is valued over mass produced.

I’m in my element and I couldn’t be happier about the change – which is the only good thing to come out of the recession!

I thought I’d share with you the lovely bounty of things I bought at our local St. Margaret’s Somerset Hospice this morning. I spent £12.49 in total, a snip and far more beautiful than anything you can buy today.

This vintage pickle jar complete with fork for all my home made chutneys;

An utterly divine jam pot – I swear my Wild Damson and Port Jam will taste even nicer served up in this!

A tiny mint sauce boat – just perfect.

This table runner, not vintage, but so pretty – brand new and still in its original packing!

All this second hand loveliness for £12.49 – amazing!

Do you love vintage and hand made? Show me your second hand bargains and hand crafted masterpieces – I would love to see them!

May 8, 2014
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My Craft Studio

I love having a good nose into other peoples’ craft studios/sewing rooms/work spaces – whatever you want to call them. They’re just so inspiring!

Anyway, when we no longer had the need for a fifth bedroom (for which, read ‘loft’), I laid claim to the peaceful space under the eaves and set about creating my perfect workspace.

Perfect for me, that is, so I could put my hands on whatever I need immediately, without wasting precious sewing time hunting for pair of (sharp) cutting shears, NOT the really expensive pair that my husband ~~ruined~~ borrowed to cut cardboard (“But they’ll be fine – I only used them once….”).

Nobody comes up here, not because they’re well trained or under threat of death, but because there’s nothing of interest up here for them (apart from my old iMac which has been superceded by the latest model for my Photography business, but is perfectly suited for browsing Pinterest and Blogging). So I spend many happy hours in creative peacefulness surrounded by fabric and yarn – there’s even a pretty fabulous view when I stand up and look out of the velux window.

The fact that I still enjoy peeking into other craft studios prompted the creation of a separate, easy-to-find, dedicated page devoted entirely to images of my new space. Find lots of photos of my loft craft room under the tab named “My Craft Studio” at the top of the page. Here’s a taster…(click on the image for a larger picture).

May 6, 2014
by sewchet Leave a comment

New design swing tags

Wahay, my new swing tags/business cards have arrived from Moo.com!

After lots of deliberating and inspiration from the brilliant Pinterest, I decided on a very simple design; an image featuring my creations on the reverse with just text on the front. This will allow the addition of a little handmade brooch as a token of appreciation for my lovely customers:)

This is how they look in situ: –

I bought a paper punch with a doily edge a while ago with the intention of creating this pretty effect.

This is the reverse: –

I’m quite pleased with the final design; what do you think?

Sewchet

Sewing, crochet, crafts, accessories, baking, tutorials,

Category Archives: Everything Else!

Hazy Days of Late Summer

The Three Seam Challenge.

Cornish Days

Work In Progress Update (and a lovely video of my young sons crocheting!)

New Range, Outdoor Living and Crochet!

Ascot Ladies Day – What to wear??

Handmade Recycled Greetings Cards For School Fair Or Summer Fête

Vintage Treasures and The Craft Revival!

My Craft Studio

New design swing tags

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