Christmas in Summer Exchange

Sarah and I had our annual exchange and the theme this year was Christmas. Once again this was fun to put together! So much so, that we both wouldn't mind doing it again.

Look at the pretty ribbon that was on the envelope!

Sarah made me a lovely biscornu...

 Here are all of the fabulous contents of the package together,

Thank you again Sarah! I honestly love it all.

The Necessary Clutch Wallet

There was an advantage to being up at 5.30, I managed to finish my batman purse!

You may notice scratches on the clasp that is because the clasp did not fit well together so I used pliers to try and make the hole a bit wider.

I need to make sure the measurements are more accurate as I seemed to be a bit short on some parts.

The pattern was The Necessary Clutch Wallet by Emmaline and the only change I would make to the next one would be to use a heavier stabiliser for the main purse piece and the flap to make it sturdier. Overall, I'm very happy and once again there were tears of joy. I do plan to make the mini version as when we go away, I don't really need a big purse.

I've realised how terrible I am at replying to your lovely comments so I'm trying to rectify that. This Saturday, I'll be picking up HMS Victory from the framers so I'll make sure to get a photo!

Enjoy your week!

HMS Victory - finished!

Today, I finally finished the backstitch on HMS Victory so without further ado...

HMS Victory 29.06.2016

I love it! Not all of the backstitch looks great right now but I'm hoping when the framer stretches it that it will go back to how it is supposed to be. That's one of the downsides of long backstitches. It was a pleasure to work on this and my dad has requested one but he'll have to wait a while ;) 

I already know what I'm working on next, a trio of owls however I've got some other bits and pieces to sort out before then. See you all soon!

A few sewing finishes

I'm glad to say that I've had my sewing machine out and have managed to cross 3 items off my to do list. 

I made a sort of "mug rug" for my overlocker to sit on as it has sticky feet and pulls the glass out of the coffee table that has become it's temporary home (second photo). I didn't use a pattern for this and it was fairly straight forward. However, for the life of me I couldn't get the bias binding to sit nicely even though I had no problems when applying it to a sleeveless top. I received this fabric panel from Steph.

The next accessory for my overlocker was a nicer dust cover than the plastic sheet that came with it. I got the sewing fabric from a shop in Ely. I put this together using this tutorial which is specifically for this machine. I didn't have fusible fleece on hand so just used interfacing which doesn't seem heavy enough to me so I may add fleece at a later date.

Brother 1034D cover

Overlocker, mat and cover in it's temporary home

As I've begun to use my rotary cutter more, I decided I needed pattern weights instead of trying to manoeuvre around larger items from around the flat such as cups. I must say filling them with rice (without a funnel) and sewing the gaps closed was a tedious job. For these little delights, I used this tutorial. 

I still have two bags, a top and a skirt to finish sewing but there's also 3 cross stitch items that need to be finished by mid-July. Where do you all find the time to fit in multiple crafts?!

Half-way!

Short post from me today. Getting back into the swing of things after exams, don't get the results until next 2 weeks time.

I'm over half-way on HMS Victory and I'm absolutely loving it!

I got a beautiful gaming laptop for my birthday so I've had a good go at Overwatch, Insurgency and Ark. Loving ark at the moment, I'm building a wooden house which requires a lot of wood (80 pieces for each foundation) and we're starting to get a small collection of tamed dinosaurs.

I now have an overlocker which is taking some getting used to but I'll just have to sit and practice...that is when I can work up the courage to rethread it! I am trying to fit more sewing in over the holidays. I'm making a toile of 2 corsets, 1 overbust and the other underbust.

Tried on the toile and not sure about the sizing. Although the grommets are around a £5 a pack I may buy a couple more so that I can lace up the toiles to get a better idea of how it looks without pins holding the front and back in place.

I hope to catch up with you all soon! Have a good week :)

Nearly halfway!

Hello ^_^

As the title suggests, I'm nearly halfway on HMS Victory and I wish I could spend more time on it but exams start next week.

12/05/2016

I have started 3 new projects for the stream, 1 birthday present and 2 SALs. 

Field of Remembrance 

I haven't got much done on the SALs so I'll save those photos for later. However, one of them isn't going very well and has been put in the naughty corner as I've frogged it countless times and I'm only up to the second step of the first part. 

I bought a few sewing items after the excitement of finishing the bag like an A2 cutting mat which is fabulous to use. I also bought these charts as one is discontinued and the other fits lovely on a piece of blue hand dyed fabric that is in my stash.

Last but not least, the weather has been lovely in Durham, Can you believe it?! I can't! Here a couple of photos from the nature reserve behind the estate I live on :)

Thank you ever so much for the lovely comments on my last post and I will get around to replying to them all. Your comments really made my day!

Enjoy the rest of your week :)

Departure Satchel by StudioCherie

Hello everyone, it's me again.

I am here with a finish :D There were tears of joy when I snipped that final thread. The pattern used was Departure Satchel by StudioCherie. The fabric is from Frumble.

Back

Front

Small laptop pocket

Divided pocket

Secret pocket (well, not so secret now)

This bag was a HUGE learning curve for me, there were times I felt like giving up but I persevered and it was all worth it in the end. I'm going to have a scar from this project. I was cutting notches in one of the seams and decided that my left index knuckle could do with one as well! It's sore but looks like it's healing up nicely. I'm going to go dry my eyes now, so proud that I got this finished.