Everglade Quilt

My plan is to try some new things this year. First up is some hand appliqué. This is the Everglade pattern by Carolyn Friedlander.

I'm using a mix of fabrics. Each block needs two 4 1/2" squares so it has been fun searching my stash.

These are nice and portable and quick to do in the evening while watching tv or listening to podcasts.

I think I could become addicted to this hand sewing thing.

McCalls 7497

There has been big decluttering and cleaning going on here. I bought  The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up quite a while ago and have been putting off reading it, but Chris read it last week and now he's motivated to sort the house so now I'm reading it.
I've sorted some of the girl's clothes and realised they really need some more pyjamas. Olive chose some fabric (pink of course) from Spotlight and McCalls 7497.

I cut a size 4 for the top and bottom. I made a couple of changes - I hemmed the sleeves instead of using bias binding and I made my own bias binding. I also applied it differently - I sewed it to the wrong side and then folded it over and sewed down on the front. 

I'd bought a bit of extra fabric and Milly wanted a pair of pyjama shorts from it, so I used the same pattern in a 12 and they fit perfectly. I'll definitely be using this pattern again.

Simplicity 2246

I bought Simplicity 2246 when it first came out thinking my Mum would like it and then forgot about it until last month when Mum asked me to make her a shirt dress.

I pulled out the pattern and drafted a two piece collar and then changed the front placket to be one piece on each side that folds over. I planned on making a muslin from this fabric, it's not really something my Mum would have chosen, but as I cut I thought I may as well make it wearable just in case it does fit. 

 Quilt a bit of luck involved in making these plackets matching up!

 The verdict - extremely wearable! In fact she loved the bright colours and has worn it a few times already!

Liberty Lawn Top

Olive has a lot of dresses in her wardrobe and is lacking in tops so go with shorts so I looked through my Japanese Sewing Books and found a cute little top and then found the perfect piece of Liberty Lawn in the stash. 

It is from this book which I'm sure I've had since the twins were little. ISBN 9784529047005.

 I haven't used a Japanese Sewing book for a while and it took me a few minutes to find the pieces and get used to tracing again.

I wasn't sure which was the front piece and which was the back and I suddenly remembered I downloaded Google translate as soon as we got to Paris. It is complete wizard, I have gone from working only from diagrams to being able to nearly read the entire instructions!

The pattern has you sewing two channels and threading through elastic, instead I went for one of my favourite techniques - shirring. Five rows on the front and five on the back, a little less than 1cm apart.

 Other than taking up the hem a little I didn't make any alterations. I would normally just overlock the side seams, but I am glad I used their instructions for a fully enclosed seam, it is a lot neater.

SaveSave

Fabric Shopping in Hong Kong

Hong Kong was the last stop on our trip so I waited until there to do most of my fabric shopping. My excellent husband pulled out a rolled up bag out of his suitcase and told me to fill it. The first stop was Sham Shui Po and the Hawkers Bazaar.
It was even more jammed with fabric than I imagined.

There was lots and lots of nice wools and cottons. Chris bought a few pieces for me to try and make him pants and maybe a jacket one day.

I found one place with lovely lingerie laces.

After the Hawkers Bazaar we wandered to Tim Ho Wan for lunch - an amazingly yummy and very cheap Michelin starred restaurant. It was so good and the girls loved it too.

Then we headed to Ki Lung Street, some great bargains here on basic fabrics and shirting.

I had read about Moon Yue Piece Goods on a few blogs, it is on Yu Chau Street and is definitely worth a visit. It is up some stairs and took a little bit to find, but I'm glad I did, they were extremely helpful and I picked up a few nice pieces of silk.

The other place I bought fabric was on the second floor Western Market. Definitely not as cheap as Sham Shui Po, but some very nice fabrics in there that I didn't see in Sham Shui Po. I couldn't leave without some of this beautiful Italian silk brocade. 

And that is the end of my fabric shopping travels from 2016.
I wish you all a happy and wonderful 2017!
SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

Glam Clam Quilt

I finished the Glam Clam Quilt just in time for Christmas.

I quilted it with lots and lots of straight lines. As soon s I started I regretted how close the lines were, but it is not a huge quilt and it does look better with more lines so it was worth it. 

 Olive loves it. My sister suggested I could make her a king size one. I think the 12" template might be good for a project that size!

Mini Southport Dress

And the winner of I Love Churn Dashes is Abbe! 

Amongst the end of year parties, assemblies and Amelia and Grace's graduation (yikes) from Primary School I managed a little sewing. Our wonderful local quilt shop has this great Tula Pink snail fabric in and I knew Olive would love a dress out of it. I used the Mini Southport Dress from True Bias. 

In the never ending mixed bag of buttons I found some ladybird buttons. A perfect match!!

SaveSaveSaveSave

Japanese Craft Books - Embroidery

A peek inside the other two embroidery books I bought in Japan.

ISBN 9784579115051 - This might be my new favourite embroidery book, I love every design in there.

ISBN 9784529055130 - lots of nice designs on felt and linen.

Garden Snails Quilt

I had a huge list of things that needed to be done over the weekend, but I woke up on Saturday, glanced through Instagram and all of a sudden I was paper piecing a snail. 

Garden Snails Quilt - pattern by Pen and Paper Patterns

Yumiko Higuchi Embroidery

I tried to choose just one embroidery book to buy in Japan, but that was impossible. Three of the ones I bought were by Yumiko Higuchi.  Once I get through Christmas and finish some quilting that needs to be done I have plans to try something from each book.

ISBN 9784579114917 - beautiful two colour embroidery.

ISBN 9784529056373 - embroidery that incorporates fabric and felt scraps.

ISBN 9784579115389 - embroidery through the year.

SaveSave

I Love Churn Dashes

I'm so excited to be part of this great new book from Martingale - I Love Churn Dashes!

I made two giant Churn Dash Quilts for the book. They are both 36 1/2" x 36 1/2" and can be made with jelly roll strips.

Martingale is having a huge give away - you could win one of 15 eBooks!
I've also got a copy to give away to an Aussie which I will get to you before Christmas. Just leave a comment telling me what you're sewing this weekend and I will choose a winner on Tuesday.

Fabric Shopping in Kyoto

The great thing about fabric shopping in Kyoto is that there is a fantastic fabric shop right in the middle of the main shopping area - well two actually as there are two branches of Nomura Tailor close to each other. The smaller one in the mall has more quilting cottons and lots of those lovely linen/cotton blends. There is also great notions and yarn. 

The main store is out of the mall around the corner and is three stories of amazing fabrics and notions. Cotton, silk and wool in all colours and patterns. There are also great remnant tables, worth a rummage though if you have time I may have popped in a couple of times before I made any decisions. 

A couple of my buys, a spotty wool that I hope becomes a coat for me next winter, some cotton/linen and a lovely textured cotton that I plan to make into a dress.

I managed a couple of hours to myself to wander the streets while everyone else found a playground. I headed straight to Sou Sou - an amazing collection of shops close to each other. Each one stocks a different collection of things from women's clothes to split toe shoes to bags (I may have come home with one of them). Up the stairs in one shop (it might have been the bag shop, it is a bit of a blur now) were Sou Sou fabrics to buy. There was also a collection of lovely remnants. 

I managed to find Linnet, which was tiny, but oh so lovely, everything in there was beautiful, such amazing linens. 

I didn't manage to get to any yarn shops, I went searching for Habu, but unfortunately it had closed a few months before. On my search I stumbled across a lovely antique shop and spent my yarn money on some wooden moulds instead.

SaveSave
SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave
SaveSave