the "ugly" quilt and other stuff

I think I mentioned last time I did a round-up of my makes, that I'd started an "ugly" quilt which is supposed to be made with fabrics you're not particularly fond of. Needless to say, I didn't like the blocks so I've assigned them into the "use later for something else" box and there they'll stay until I decide what to do with them. I re-started the quilt with fabrics I did like and was more than pleased with the result.

I used more of my massive collection of 4½" squares for the back.

Douglas told me he prefers the back to the front and I can see his point. There's more logic to the back as I deliberately placed the squares in a dark/light/dark or light/dark/light setting which is very pleasing to us mathematically-minded people. The front is, just in the way it's done, almost a random placement of fabrics which can feel messy somehow. Either way up, I'm happy with this quilt. 😊

I then made some napkins for Debbie - 2 Christmas ones and 4 bright summery ones.

In amongst the fabrics I have to make things for Debbie was a small plastic bag of cut pieces meant to be made into a tablerunner. Well, all I can say is, it's a good job I am that previously mentioned mathematically-minded person because this took a LOT of sums to try and get this to be remotely tablerunner sized. I managed, though, and this is how it looks. I had literally 12" x 2¼" of fabric left when I'd finished sewing the binding on. Talk about cutting it fine!

I still have lots of fabrics in Debbie's crate but I decided to give myself a break from patchwork and made another couple of tops using New Look 6344.

This photo is not a good representation of the fabric - good job I'd taken a close-up to show the stars. This is a better match to the real thing!

The other top (same pattern) -

That's quite a good match to the fabric but I took this photo to show the teeny tiny spots on the fabric.

I don't know what's next on my lockdown making list but, no doubt, I'll think of something.

Stay safe! 😷😊

how I made my mask - it's easy!

I promised to show Debbie and Joanna how I made our facemasks so I made another one taking photos of each step and am putting it here to share with anyone who wants to use it. This is NOT meant to be a mask for our wonderful NHS workers. It's NOT a medical mask. It's just meant to try and keep us a wee bit safer when we're allowed out after lockdown. I don't make any claims that it will keep us safe from coronavirus but it might help.

There are a LOT of photos but it's really easy, honest! I only took lots of photos to try and explain what I did - it would be much easier to explain if you were in my sewing room and I could show you but that's not allowed right now so we do what we can!

Here's what the finished mask will look like.

What you need - finely woven cotton fabric. 2 pieces 8" wide by 7" high. They don't need to be different fabrics - I just used different ones here to be able to show front and back more easily.

2 pieces 6¾" long of 3mm wide soft elastic or soft cord elastic. The important thing is the "soft" part. If you use a firm elastic, your ears will get sore! This is a good time to use up that cheap elastic you thought was a bargain but it turned out too soft to use. That's what mine is!
*edit* This photo is the uncut elastic. Joanna got herself all confused about how long her cut elastic was in comparison to the photo. Sorry about that!

Measure down 1" from the top of your front fabric at each side and pin one end of your elastic pieces there. Pin the bottom ends 1" up from the bottom edge. Make sure you have the tops of your pins sticking outwards so you can pull them out at the next stage.

Pin your back fabric to your front fabric with right sides together. Pin all the way around leaving about a 4" gap so you can turn the mask. I use double pins to show me where to stop. (I started sewing at the white pin on the right of those double pins.)

Sew all around with a 3/8" seam - leaving the gap open. Don't sew over the pins - take them out as you go. When you get to the elastics, leave the pins in as long as you can without stitching over them so you don't lose the elastics! When you get to the elastics, do a backstitch over them to hold them more securely. I'm pointing at that backstitching in this photo.

Press. Clip the corners diagonally - close to the stitching but not too close!

Turn the mask through the gap and poke out the corners. Press folding the seams for the gap into the inside. Pin the gap closed. No photo of that - don't know why!

I'm going to show how do to the pleats using a template. You can do it without the template but I find it easier with it. To make the template, take a piece of paper or card and cut it to 6¼" tall. The width doesn't matter - mine is about 4" wide. The 6¼" is the height your mask is meant to be at the stage we're at. PLEASE don't worry if your mask isn't exactly that size. As long as it's close, it doesn't matter!! None of my masks have been exactly that size and they're fine!

Okay, fold your paper in half lengthwise. Draw along that centre fold line. Instead of me taking you through all the steps to make the template, I'm going to show the photo of the completed template - I hope it makes sense!

The top foldline is 1¾" down from the top edge and the bottom foldline is 1¾" up from the bottom. Each pleat is 3/8" deep. Draw in all your lines.

Fold your mask in half and put pins in where the centre is.

Open your mask back up and put the template close to the edge at the right hand side matching the centre fold on the template to the centre pin on your mask.

Where you've drawn the lines, put pins in your mask.

As you can see from that picture, my template is bigger than my mask but, as long as the centre folds match up, we're good.

Repeat the pinning on the left side.

Okay, let's get pleating. This is the bit that's harder to explain than it is to do.

Take the right side of your mask and fold it on the centre foldline and fold that downwards - towards the bottom of the mask. The second pin is where the back fold line is so you're folding on two lines for each pleat - one at the back and one at the front. So, in this photo, the back fold is where the blue pin is and the front fold is where the orange pin is. I pinch the front fold with my fingers and fold it all along that blue pin then fold it downwards and pin it to the mask. (See I told you it was harder to explain than to do!!)

Reposition your pins to hold it in place.

Next fold on the top foldine again folding the pleat downwards.

Repeat with the bottom foldine. You might find that the folds overlap slightly - just move them down or up a bit so that they're lying free of each other.

Repeat the same procedure on the left side, folding all the folds downwards.

Stitch all the way around your mask about 1/8" from the edge. When you've sewn down the pleats, turn the mask and sew back over them again then turn, sew over them again and continue around the rest of the mask. Take your time especially as you sew over the pleats. Again, don't sew over the pins. This will close the gap you'd left for turning earlier. This photo shows the extra stitching over the pleats.

This is how your mask will look now.

Give it a press to flatten the pleats.

This is how the back looks. You could wear it either way - remember the pleats need to fold down towards your chin, not up to your nose!

And me wearing the finished mask - no make-up, in need of a haircut but who isn't these days? LOL

I hope that helps. You could add in a channel for some wire at the top - your mask would then not be reversible! I didn't do that because I couldn't find my florist's wire. I couldn't have tossed it before we moved house, could I? Surely not! *gasp*

Anyway, as I said already, these masks are NOT meant for health professionals. I don't know if they'll keep us safe but we do what we can.

Let me know if there's anything you don't understand and I'll do my best to explain it better.

Stay at home. Stay safe. We WILL meet again! 😷💕

been a busy bee!

I looked at my photos to see what I'd made since the last time I blogged and I amazed myself at how much I had done!

First I made myself a couple of blouses using my most used pattern - McCall's 5359. I wish I had kept a tally of how many times I've made this blouse! Here are my newest renditions - both using fabrics that were left over from other projects so these really felt like I got something for nothing!

The next is another version of New Look 6344 which is fast becoming another pattern that I make over and over again. Well, as the saying goes, if the pattern fits, sew it. I don't think that is a saying but it should be! LOL

The stripes on this fabric made my eyes go funny a time or two as I sewed it - and when it gets ironed too - but it's totally worth it. I love it!

Next, I made Douglas a couple of pairs of boxer shorts which he wears as jammies. When I got the pattern out, I had noted on the back of it the last time I'd used the pattern - 2016. No wonder his old jammies were looking the worse for wear!

I then sewed up 4 more patchwork stockings for when the lockdown is over and I re-open the tartan bee.

Scotland is being advised to wear masks when we go to the supermarket or where we're likely to meet a lot of people. Well, I'm not doing that at all and Douglas is only going to the shop for the Sunday paper these days but I thought I'd better make us a couple of masks anyway. My first attempt - from a pattern I found online was NOT good - no photos of that one as I took it all apart! These ones I made based on a dentist's mask which Douglas had been given when he was at his work before the lockdown. These are much better than that first attempt.

I just noticed I'm wearing the blouse from the first photo in this photo!

I then started another quilt which is called an "ugly quilt" - you're meant to use fabrics you're not fond of which all sewers have in their collections. The theory is you'll use them up in a quilt and they won't seem so ugly. Well, I tried it with some fabrics I wasn't that fond of but didn't like the resulting blocks either. It kind of makes sense when you think of it - if you made a cake with ingredients you don't like, the chances are pretty high you won't like the cake either! I threw those blocks into a crate to be used later as backings for something else and re-made the blocks using fabrics I did like. Much better!

I then sewed some 9 patches for the backings using some more of my VAST collection of 4½" squares. They're now all pinned together in blocks ready to be quilted and then sewn together using the quilt-as-you-go method I used for the scrappy quilts I made a few weeks ago.

Today I was playing around making a fabric origami pouch which I had seen on this blog. Needless to say, I didn't make it exactly as I was supposed to - do I ever follow instructions properly?? 😉 I like it a lot! If/when I make more, I think I'll make them a bit bigger.

I'm already in the middle of making another blouse - this time from a different pattern! I'll let you know how that goes! In the meantime, stay home, stay safe.

a runner, some stockings and bread

I've done quite a bit of sewing - but then, that's not unusual for me. As the sign on my sewing room wall says "my sewing room is my happy place" so it makes sense that I spend a LOT of time in it. So, what have I been making?

Well, Joanna asked me if I'd make her a runner for her living room window sill. She gave me the sizes but told me she didn't mind what colours I used or the design I chose. I had a bit of a think and decided to do a sort of bargello design and this is what I came up with. I am sooooo happy with it.

For the back, I used a piece of Russian doll fabric that I've had for quite some time. Joanna loves Russian dolls so I reckoned, if she didn't like the top, she could always turn it upside down ... but why she wouldn't like the top, I just don't know! She does like the top! She's only seen it in photos but, as soon as we are let out, this will be heading her way.

After that, I made some stockings for my tartan bee shop. First a couple of patchwork stockings -

And a couple of cuffed stockings.

I've temporarily closed my Etsy shop as I'm not going out right now - even to the post office. I have plenty of other cuffed stockings cut out and ready to sew and have 4 sets of squares ready to be sewn into the patchwork stockings so plenty to keep me going.

We were running out of bread so I'd been using my breadmaker quite a few times. It makes perfect bread every time but I got a (crazy) notion to make some in my mixer instead. My problem - always! - with non-breadmaker made bread is getting it to rise properly and this time was no different. After waiting nearly 5 hours, I finally just thought "to hang with it" and put it back in the mixer for its last 10 minute knead. It then went into its tin and did rise - because I set it on the open grill door whilst the oven below it was on! After baking it looked good.

It tasted good - if a little salty - but, as I said to Douglas, the breadmaker bread is so easy in comparison and tastes good too so why put myself (and my Kenwood) through the torture?

I'd put in an order for groceries 3 weeks ago and they got delivered yesterday. There seemed to be an awful lot but, since it's nearly 6 weeks since I was at a supermarket, I'm not beating myself up about it. As expected, there were some substitutions most of which I understood. The one that puzzled me was, I ordered 2 small bags of shredded iceberg lettuce. The bags weigh 100g each (about 4oz). They didn't have any so what did they give me 2 bags of shredded iceberg lettuce weighing 260g per bag. OMG! I don't know if we'll get through that much lettuce - I thought it might be a bit of a struggle to get through both 100g bags! I'm going to have to investigate if lettuce soup is a thing.

Stay home! Stay safe! 💕

2 finishes and a lion

I spent a l-o-n-g time last week finishing off the two quilts I was making with my scraps. I am sooooooooo happy with them both. I've decided I'm giving one to each of our girls and they're both delighted by the idea.

Here's the front of one of the quilts:

And the back:

The front of the other one:

And the back:

I used up most of the scraps I had - although they seem to be breeding again!! - and I used up oddments of bindings all joined together for the outside bindings. I didn't have enough of the navy blue sheet I used for the fronts so used up some jade and some jade/blue stripes on the backs. I didn't have quite enough of the stripey one to do all the rows so used a navy spot on one of them - on the 2nd and 4th rows - and a navy stripe on the other. All in all, a LOT of leftovers were used up in these quilts. Very chuffed about that!

So, the lion. When our girls were wee, I made them a big sit-on lion which we called Benny. Debbie asked me if I still had the pattern for him but I didn't so the internet searching started. Joanna did most of the work but didn't quite get there. She showed me a lion she'd found which was similar but wasn't a big sit-on one but it was by the same designer which meant I knew what to look for. I found the pattern on ebay and, within days, it was in my grubby paws. This is the picture that goes with the pattern.

Debbie assured me she'd make him herself but asked me if I could do the pattern for her - it's printed on a grid and you're meant to draw if copying it on to 5cm grid paper. I decided I'd rather see if I could get it to print out to size so I scanned a 4 wide by 5 high block from the pattern which is what would fit on a sheet of A4 paper, printed that out and WOW! it printed out with the grid measuring 5cm. I couldn't believe it had worked at the first attempt!

Anyway, I printed it all out, stuck it together and cut it all out and this is what we've got.

We've got all the fur fabric, the felt, the laces for his face and paws ready to go but he'll have to stay here until we're allowed out again. Hopefully in the not too distant future.

On that note, I have to say, the worst part of being on lockdown is the lack of family hugs. I am definitely a hugger and to not be able to hug my girls and my wee girlies is so hard. Like I said - hopefully in the not too distant future. Stay home. Stay safe. 💕