sewing for Canada

May was the month where I seriously started sewing things to take to Canada - both for myself to wear when there and for the girls.

First I made some shorts for the girls. I decided not to elasticate the waists until I got there so I wouldn't have to guess their waist sizes.

Next I made a pair of dark navy shorts for myself:

Then I made a couple of nighties for the girls. I self-drafted the pattern and am hoping that they will fit!

Here's a close-up of the fabric. Isn't it fun?

Next I made another couple of vests for myself like the white one I made last month.

Next a couple of blouses from that old favourite pattern McCall's 5359 - long out of print!

Then I made the girls dresses out of whale fabric. I wasn't too sure about this fabric when I bought it but Jo was with me and persuaded me that it was fab. Now that I see them sewn up, I have to agree! the pattern is the Camille dress from Puperita. I can't link to the pattern right now as her site is down at the moment.

Lastly, Debbie asked me to make Emily an embroidered seat belt cover indicating that she was deaf and wore 2 hearing aids. This is what I came up with.

Of course, I also made one for Isla.

That's a lot of sewing this month! I suspect even more holiday sewing will be done next month! Bring it on!

birthdays

May is the month of birthdays - for Jo and myself. For Jo's we went out for snack where I had a monster of a hot chocolate -

- and a monster of a scone. Both were delicious! Presents were given and a good time was had by all!

Two days later I had what's commonly referred to as "a big birthday". Jo's card to me was ingenious!

I got some lovely gifts which all made me very happy!

We had a combined birthday tea with all sorts of good things. Yummm!

And Jo added some number candles to the cake. Yummm!

It's a good thing that birthday food doesn't have any calories, eh? 🎂 🤣

HST quilt and using up some stash

Last month, I showed a photo of a pile of half square triangles all ready to be made into a quilt. I'm delighted to say, I got the quilt made and I LOVE it! See:

Here's a closer view to show off the quilting. I used a rainbow variegated thread and a serpentine stitch - aka the wiggly line stitch! - through the diagonals of all the squares and along the black sashings. I am so pleased with how that looks. I will definitely be using that thread and stitch again!

On the back, I used a grey fleece from my stash. I don't have many of these left - I'll need to keep an eye out for the next sale of fleeces in Asda! They're really lovely as quilt backings and, if I wait for a sale, they're also a good price! Win, win!

Next, I made myself a new nightie. I didn't have enough in the length of the fabric to get the full length of the nightie but I managed to cut a couple of strips out of the sides of the fabric and just joined it on to both ends of the fabric before cutting the nightie out. It worked out perfectly which pleased me no end! You can see the join but that doesn't bother me one bit. Another piece of fabric used up for a worthy cause!

I made myself a vest for my holiday. I took a pattern for a top (with sleeves) that I knew fit me and adapted it to be a slightly longer sleeveless version. It's very comfortable and will, I'm sure be well worn in the heat of July in Canada!

I decided to dig through some of my stash and use up some bits to make some new oven gloves.

You can see in this photo that I didn't have enough to make the backs so I just joined bits together to make them work. They're only oven gloves, for heaven's sake. Who cares if they're patched together as long as they do their job?

Lastly, I had a piece of fabric that was big enough for a couple of pinnies and a couple of pairs of oven gloves so that's what I did. I love them!

I'm so pleased to have used up more bits of my stash although it never seems to go down very much. Might be because I keep buying fabric, maybe?? 🤪

pinnies, oven gloves and joined up bump

I had some of the faces fabric I'd used earlier for pinnies and oven gloves for myself and Jo so I used it to make more of the same. First off, a couple of pinnies for Debbie:

and a pair of oven gloves:

Then I made a couple of mini versions for Emily and Isla. I won't be posting these as we're visiting them in Canada in July. I can't wait!!

This next "make" is a bit strange but, honestly, I am so pleased with it. Every time I make a quilt there is always bump left over - the wadding used inside the quilt. It's always small strips or bigger strips, small squares or bigger squares, small rectangles or bigger rectangles. You get the picture. Well, I decided to join all my leftover bits together to see how big a piece I could make. This is what I ended up with. It measures 52" x 50" so big enough to use in a quilt. All made out of leftovers. And, when it's used in a quilt, nobody would ever be able to tell it was joined up bits. I feel like I definitely got something for nothing there!

I made up some half square triangles for a future quilt. I hope to be able to show that soon!

I told you last month I was knitting a cardigan for Isla. I got it finished and I'm chuffed to bits with it. I know it'll be a bit big but, apparently, that's how the girls like their cardigans so it should be fine!

So, that's my March makes. I wonder what I'll get done in April?

February's bits

I've been trying to get this post written since the end of February. So many things wouldn't work the way I wanted them to - specifically the photos were annoyingly fuzzy and I couldn't figure out why. Today, for no apparent reason, it all started working again! So I'm going to post this in a hurry just in case it all goes to pot again!

We started February with Douglas's birthday. Jo got him this card - soooooo brilliant! LOL

I found a recipe in my recipe file which I hadn't made before. I have no idea where it came from but I decided to have a go and am glad I did. These are sooooo delish!!

Here's the recipe:

I finished the stained glass quilt for Jo. I loved making this. It's such a happy quilt!

I always keep notes of how I made my quilts so, as this was a repeat, I looked back at my notes to see how I made the back. That saved me so much time as I just followed my own instructions and it worked out perfectly! Here's the label and you can see the yellow fleece I used for the backing.

Lastly, I made another smalls bag. I found myself getting annoyed at only having one when I might need one for lights (my bras) and one for darks (my tights) so now I have 2 smalls bags and don't get annoyed (at that) any more!

I'm currently knitting a cardigan for Isla. I'm up to the armholes of the second sleeve so nearly done. I hope to get it finished soon and make a start on one for Emily. I doubt I'll get Emily's finished in March but I should have Isla's ready for showing off in March's post. 🤞

makes for January 2025

I started the year by making a new smalls bag. The one I was using was beginning to show signs of over-use so a new one was needed. It's not particularly pretty but it does the job so that's fine by me!

I then decided it was time to put together the Squares and Chains quilt the blocks for which I showed back in November. This is the front - all made from the contents of my scraps boxes:

I LOVE it!

And this is the back with a label I sewed on my sewing machine. I was sure I could reduce the size of the font but I couldn't figure out how to do that so I just used it in this big size. I also should have balanced the lines better but, you know what, if anyone complains about it, I'll tell them where to go!! 😝

Jo gave me this faces fabric last year and I decided it was time to use it so I made a couple of pinnies ...

... and some oven gloves to match. Jo got one pinny and a pair of gloves and I kept the others. They've already been slotted in to the pinny/oven glove rotation. I LOVE them!

I'm now working on another Stained Glass quilt. I made this one back in March last year and decided I'd make another one this time for Jo.

All the squares and strips and sashings are cut and I've made a start to the blocks.

I'm loving re-making this one and I know it'll be just as stunning as the original one.

So, that's January done. How can a month of the year be gone already? 😵‍💫