Powered By Blogger

28 March 2019

Weekend away - Inspiration photo


I've been away the last weekend, and these are some random photo's from the trip, taken with my phone.

View of the pool
What a stunning pool and view. Perfect spot for sunbathing, swimming and unwinding!

Cotton curtains with hand applique

Isn't this just beautiful? It's fine cotton with the images appliqued (by hand) onto the fabric. With the light shining through it from outside, it made such a striking sight! I asked and was told a find from India.

And old bed spring that is hung up on a feature wall. Is that like a thing now? Like repurposing and refashion of old and unused "stuff". I do think it added a little something interesting to the whole layout, but not something I would like in my home though....

Slinky Blue Wrap top



Here is one of the latest projects I finished and it's my version of the Wrap Blouse of Burdastyle 3/2018 edition, pattern #115.
Wrap Blouse 3/2019
Yes, I know it's another wrap something. I just love wrap tops and dresses, what can I say. They are flattering and adjustable, so I can move the closures a little in or out as needed.

It's a beautifully blue floral print fabric and has a nice soft drape to it and a satiny finish. I think the band on the sleeve should be slightly tighter to give the sleeve it's poufy shape, but will leave it for now.
 


Above as seen on my new dress form. The dress form is the newest addition to my sewing buys. And this is the first project that I've fitted on it.



I've worn it a few times this summer, but here I actually have a photo where I was attending an afternoon ladies tea.  It’s not the best picture as the angle is a bit weird, but I wanted to show the stunning blue color and the luxurious shine. The fabric is super soft and slinky and it's lovely to wear in summer, feeling soft and cool on my skin.






04 March 2019

Toddler Harem pants



I have this lovely piece of black and white fabric with polka dots in my stash that I bought to make a cute pair of pants for my little girl. She is 3 years old and loves climbing and riding bikes and a real little wiggle worm.



The pattern is easy enough to draft yourself as the front and back panels are cut out on fold and there's only the 2 side seams and one long curvy seam in the middle.


https://za.pinterest.com/pin/572801646339810572/

To draft the pattern, I've taken an existing pair of loose fitting pants and placed it on the fabric fold but at an angle. See the above diagram that I found on Pinterest.

OK, so the trick to get the fit right is inserting a gusset in the crotch area , which is easy enough to draft and insert as well.

With the gusset in place, extra space is created over the crotch area. You know, for bending over and climbing up playground equipment.




The gusset is a oval shape and shown here. I've taken the picture before doing the overlock seam finish.


Final steps are the elastic waistband and the bottom leg seams which I have folded outwards.




01 March 2019

Beachy Hexagon Quilt



On my to do list of sewing projects, I always have a quilt in varying stages of completion waiting to be worked on. My latest project is such a quilt.

I have a huge scrappy stash in big bags and when it looks like its about to burst, I take a little peek inside to see if I have enough off cuts of fabric to start a quilt. Well the bag with blue fabric off cuts were nearing such a stage and so the scratch and dig began.

This quilt is based on the Sexy Hexy Love Quilt design from Amy Butler design and the pattern is downloadable from this weblink. Thank you Amy Butler!



http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/products/free_patterns.php

The hexagon pattern instantly caught my eye. I was intrigued with the shapes and pieces to make up the large circle like hexagons and thought it will look very striking once it's spread out over a bed.


The quilts I've done in the past were made up of blocks, strips and triangles and are pretty straightforward in the sense that you just cut out a bazillion blocks and/or strips and figure out the correct placement of the rows before the arduous task of stitching it all together.


By doing this design I hoped on cutting down on sewing-time as the pieces are much bigger and still has a final striking image that catches the eye.


The colour palette is beachy, with all the shades of blue (from the above mentioned scrap fabric stash) and to balance, I added neutrals of grey and beige.

I was inspired by memories of going to the beach and thinking of the different shades of blue in the water and sky and colour of the sand and sea shells.


          


OK, so here we are. At this point I had chosen the fabrics, cut them out from the pattern pieces and had stitched the hexagon halves together.


Placement of halves

Now to do the placement and make sure all the dark colours don't end up all bunched together in one side of the quilt and that the patterns are evenly spaced out.

There are solids, polka dot's, tiny flowers and even stripe prints in this mish-mash and it's exactly how I wanted it to be. The many shades of blues will tie all the blocks nicely together for the overall look.


Final placement and numbering of rows
I will load up final images of the completed quilt top sheet so that you can see the overall look as its ready for the final stage of assembly. 

Lay it out over a layer of batting (middle) and a layer of soft cotton fabric as the underside of the quilt.