Turtle Doorstop

During a conversation with my niece about her wanting an Avengers bag, and my younger sister wanting a sock owl (blogs to come) it was revealed that my big sister wanted a turtle doorstop. I decided that she should be careful what she wished for and that I would make her one. Turtles unfortunately do not really lend themselves to door stop designs. They are quite flat and the way their limbs stick out they become a trip hazard. A tortoise could almost work as a doorstop,  if you tuck the feet in a bit and add the weight to the bigger domed shell, but a turtle was not going to work.

I decided that what I needed instead was a doorstop decorated with turtles. If I am looking for a good durable fabric I tend to use calico, I find it a reasonable price and hard wearing and it is easy to work with. Initially I thought about dying it and then I realised that it was the colour of light sand. This made me decide that it would be a pretty design to put small turtles onto it as if they are making their way to the sea across the sand. I also made a conscious decision to omit any predators as that would make less of a pretty present! I used coordinating light green fabric for the sides just to add a contrast.

Before constructing my doorstop I stitched my design for my front sand-coloured panel. I drew some turtles using this guide. I then cut the whole shape out of light green mottled  fabric followed by the shell in dark green fabric. I then attached the shell using iron on interfacing. I blanket stitched the body onto the panel followed by blanket stitching on the shell. This meant that the top blanket stitch went through 3 layers of fabric. It did make it harder to stitch but also made it all more secure. I embroidered the shell details on using back stitch.

For the base of the doorstop I used a cube design that I found here, keeping the dimensions the same. I adore this tutorial; not only is it helpful with a lot of pictures but it has a very chatty style and feels personal, and it turns out I also think she is funny when she's over tired! I made a couple of small changes. Instead of Velcro I used a zip at the bottom and instead of a zip-lock bag I made two pouches to go inside; the top one was filled with stuffing and the bottom filled with rice. This made it lighter to post and means that she can still take them both out and then squish them back in after washing. I was pleased with the result - it was about as classy as a turtle doorstop could be and she seemed happy with it too.

Turtle doorstop.

Skirts of Round and Square

What is easier than making a dress? Making half a dress! What is half a dress? A skirt - Hurrah! Skirts are wonderful - they are, generally, not as fitted as a dress and after the success of the skipping skirt I decided to try some of the wonderful free patterns I found online. I was intrigued by the idea of a pattern that only requires the length of the skirt and the waist measurement. I found a simple circle skirt pattern for myself - when I was little I loved full circle skirts, there was something magical about spinning and the skirt fluttering.

I wanted a knee length circle skirt but as I am only 5ft 1" it was nice to be able to get it to sit where I wanted it to. I found a pattern on J and O fabrics through Pinterest. I chose a very pretty teal Jersey fabric as I felt it would sit nicely, and spin well, and I had drawn up the pattern, cut the fabric and attached the waistband all in under an hour. I have learnt that I get the best fit of a waistband by sewing the top of the waistband to the seam created by attaching the base of the waistband. This leaves all the stitches hidden. With a skirt put together in no time at all I was very proud of myself. Then came the hem. I have no love for hems and I spent a LOT of time trying to figure out the best way to do it from the following options;

1) A roll hem - this didn't work as the fabric stretched and rippled too much.
2) Hand sew, this didn't work because I did not have all the time in the world to sew that much hem and I struggled with the tension of the slippy fabric .
3) To do a really thick hem with the sewing machine; this didn't work as there was still stretch and it weighted it down too much.
4) Stretch needle - this helped but didn't give the best finish
 5) Twin stretch needle - this was the first time I used a twin needle. I consulted the manual and the internet and found it surprisingly easy to set up.

Getting the tension right with the twin stretch needle was another matter. I wanted the lovely zig-zag behind the two lines and I just could not get it right. In the end I played with adjusting tensions using some standard cotton fabric, instead of the jersey, and putting different colours on the needles and bobbin. This allowed me to see the problems clearly and adjust accordingly. The weave of the jersey was so tight that it was not showing up. With this issue sorted I started to sew the hem, there is a definite trick to getting it just on the fold with the zig-zag incorporating the hem but I loved the effect. It was not too heavy, and the double hem looks really neat.  It took a really long time, most of which was spent with my head in my hands, but in the end I learned a lot. If I made another I could do it a lot quicker. I am quite happy with my skirt after it all... and it turns out spinning is still fun!

Me in my circle Skirt - J&O Fabrics design

My circle skirt in a spin.

I applied the same design for my daughter using some pretty pink cotton and finished it using bias binding. I love using bias binding to finish a child's skirt after it worked with the skipping skirts. It worked really well and took no time at all. I then made a handkerchief skirt for her following a tutorial I found here. I used a basic rolled hem on the squares before attaching them. I did an enclosed waistband as opposed to the plain elastic one. I felt this gave a better finish. The points sit really nicely and it is a versatile piece as it looks fab with leggings or bare legs.

Toddler circle skirt - J&O Fabrics design

Toddler handkerchief skirt - belle bebes design

Pretty Makower Ripples sands Fabric

A Vision in Purple

As I may have mentioned I was bridesmaid for my friend; this meant that I had a beautiful dress made for me and saved me the worry of finding something to wear. I did still need to come up with something for my little girl. After making the 80s style dress for the hen I was full of confidence that I could make a simple children's dress.

I went to a lovely pattern in the Great British Sewing Bee - Sew Your Own Wardrobe book. The design  is pretty with a lined top attached to a skirt, the seam is covered with ribbon and there is a zip in the back. The instructions were clear although I got a little frustrated that there are not 'front' and 'back' views of all the garments in the book. I went shopping for fabric at Nimble Fingers in Lerwick and found some really pretty purple-shot crepe. From some angles it looks blue whereas from others it looks pink. It had a lovely weave and no stretch. The pattern used two different fabrics but I was looking for a party dress, not an everyday dress, so I used one.

Child's party dress using Sewing Bee pattern.

I cut the top of the dress with the weave running horizontal and the skirt with the weave running vertical. This only worked because there was no stretch to the fabric. This helped show the two different colours off. I had no problem with the pattern layout as I don't mind it all being colour coded on a large sheet. I did, however, have two issues with the pattern; the first was that the sizes on the pattern piece were incorrect, which was confusing, and the second was that there is no size chart for the children's garments in the book. There are men and women's charts and they explain clearly that these differ from the sizes in shops, but I had no way of knowing if the dress I was making would fit my daughter. I found this incredibly infuriating and an avoidable oversight.

The dress is lined and embellished before it is sewn together at the side seams. I did not trust myself judging the pattern by eye and I was not sure it would fit as I did not have a chart to check the measurements. I decided to put the zip in and tack the rest, I put together the basic dress with no lining and no embellishments in order to fit it. As it happened the 3 year old dress size fitted fine (she was 2 and a half at this point). I then took apart the tacking stitch and put it back together as instructed with the lining and embellishments. Even though it fitted fine I was pleased that I did it that way as there is no point in going to the effort to make something if you don't make it actually fit. I was just pleased it was for my little girl as she was there for fittings, but if I had been making it for a child who I only had the measurements for then I would have had no hope.

I know some people would say that you could make up a pattern after taking measurements but if I was that skilled I would not have got a book full of patterns. I was pleased with the way the dress came together - the most problematic part for me was getting the ribbon on straight and matching at the side. The ribbon I chose was different and quite pretty as it had sequins and silver embroidery on it. It was a bit more "bling" than normal but I felt this added a party dress feel to the outfit by being something special, and I used purple buttons on the shoulders. I loved the finishing touches and embellishments to this design and I feel this made it special.

To co-ordinate with the dress I made her a little bag. the fabric I chose was lilac with purple fairies, castles, frogs and toadstools. It was "girly" but not over the top and I loved it when I bought it a year ago. I lined the bag with some of the left over fabric from her dress and made it reversible. I found the pattern and tutorial online. It was the perfect size for a few small toys to keep her occupied during various parts of the day.

Coordinating "book tote" bag

My final piece of coordinating clothing for the wedding was a tie for my husband. I had never made a tie before but I found the process straightforward. Unlike most ties the one I made was fully lined. I used black lining left over from the hen dress to go with the purple. I found a pattern and great tutorial. The main thing was getting the grain of the fabric to line up correctly with the pattern. It also took a huge amount of fabric for something that seemed so small. The main difficulty was keeping it straight and getting a good point at the tip. I was pleased with it and would happily make more ties in the future should there ever be a need.

Our daughter was also chuffed to be matching her Daddy!

Purple Tie.

Big Brother backpack

My friend announced that she was expecting a second baby and as usual I got very excited about sewing for a new baby. I then decided that I also needed to sew a big brother present for her 3 year old. I was 4 and a half when my little sister was born so I always think it is important to point out what an important job being an older sibling is and a small gift seemed a great way of doing this.

I followed a fantastic tutorial which I had used once before. When I made it last time I scaled it up for an older child which worked really well. This time I made it the size it was in the tutorial. I love the shape, practicality and finish of the bag. The main pocket and the two side pockets both have elasticated tops which make them easy to get into without any tricky clasps for little hands. The tutorial itself is fantastic - it has lots of really helpful photos at each stage and is very clear about all of the equipment you need from the start.

 It is lifted from an ordinary backpack to something a bit more special with the use of the piping round the edges. I felt this gave it a more professional finish. The one thing that I did change was the straps, as both times I made it was for a child that I did not have in front of me to measure, so I added in adjustable straps. The bag itself was very easy to put together and the only part that was a little tricky was making sure that it all went together smoothly at the top where the elastic casing went in. This was mainly because I was sewing through a lot of layers.

I used Makower pirate fish fabric that I had bought from my local fabric shop. I used both the cream and navy version as I felt it made it more fun and chose a bright orange that I had in my stash. I chose to trim the flap of the bag in red piping and sides in yellow to compliment the different fabrics. The last I heard it was full of toys and packed lunches so I think it was a hit.

Fishy Toddler backpack.

Russian Doll Bag and Mirror

For my friend's birthday I decided to make her an Amy Butler Origami bag. For me this is where it all started after my Easter turtles in 2011, as I received Style Stitches by Amy Butler as a gift. I loved this book instantly, it was bright and stylised and inviting with pattern pieces in a pouch at the back and lots of pictures and illustrations. The bags are rated from easy to challenging and I was inspired to make as many as I could find recipients for. This boosted my love of bags and sewing at the same time. The beauty of a bag is that you can be bright and bold in your fabric choice. You can also make them personal, and adjust the dimensions to suit the recipient.

Among the clutches and shopping bags were a set of 6 origami bags. I believe they are called origami bags because of the way the side is folded but that is speculation on my behalf. I have made a few of these and they are fantastic as you get the pattern for all 6 sizes. I made all six for my big sister last year as she is the one person I know that needs six differently sized co-ordinating bags!

I made just a single one this year for my friend. It was a perfect size for a make up bag or a pencil case and I made it with some pretty pink Russian doll fabric. They are lovely to put together with clear instructions. The main bit that takes skill is getting the zip in but the zip itself is exposed so becomes a feature. I made a point of using different zips when I made my set of 6. There is also a great blog that had a Style Stitches "stitch-along" and gives fantastic hits and tips if you feel you need a little extra help.

Russian doll origami bag - Amy Butler design.

I then made a mirror case with the fabric and an embroidered Russian doll on it. The cover was yet another pattern to the ones made earlier in the year. This time I pieced together a long strip of fabric with the embroidered doll placed at the top, upside-down. I then sewed the bottom third to the middle third folding over the top third to make a flap. This was effective but took some care when doing the top stitching. Like the others this was attached to the card with a peg. It was fastened with a small popper.

Russian doll embroidery on mirror.

Back to Blog, Back to Reality

It has been over a year since I started my blog and far too long since I wrote an entry but this has given me some time to ponder how the first year has gone and where I need to go now. It is fair to say that I have learned a lot from my first year. Firstly I was concerned that I would not have enough to write about with one subject - I WAS WRONG. I tried to write about film, books, craft, food and exercise oh and Shetland. I discovered two things very quickly. If I had the time to write about everything then I didn't have a lot to say, and if I was busy and had a lot to say then I had no time to write. I also made lots of notes that never quite made it to the blog.

I also discovered the bit I enjoyed writing about most was crafting and from here on in that is what I intend to do. I contemplated deleting the old non-craft posts but decided to leave them. I do not regret my old posts and I am happy for them to exist online but unless I have something non-craft to rave about I will not be writing more of them.

I have learned that I need to write more as I go even if I cannot post them until after the gift has been received. I now intend to write and save and not leave it as long. I now believe, if only for my own organisation, that I need to submit more frequent posts and at more regular intervals.

I am relieved that not many people read my blog at the moment as it has given me chance to find my feet but I do need to promote my blog more and I have plans for that. I have also decided that 2015 will be the year that I try and sell some items at local craft fairs on a very small scale and so I hope to share my experience with that daunting project.

I mostly learned that people love nothing more than a denim whale...

With all this in mind I have a much clearer vision about what I need to be doing and how I am  going to do it. I have also decided that I need to post twice a week and be consistent with this.

Felting Fun - Shetland Wool Week 2014

Amongst other things Shetland is famous for its sheep, its wool and its distinctive Fair Isle knitting which come together every year for wool week. Shetland Wool Week has been running for 5 years now and coincides with national wool week. This year I had visitors for a long "wool weekend". Wool week seems to be getting bigger each year and this year was a real treat. There have been classes and exhibitions dotted all over the islands. As I have mentioned before I am not a knitter but I loved the idea of doing something new and different so I signed myself, my friend and her mum up to a needle felting course. None of us had ever done it before so it seemed like a fun idea.

We had all tried our hands at spinning with mixed success earlier in the week and I soon discovered that I am just not coordinated enough to pull it off, in fact I feel I am so uncoordinated that I should be proud of myself for being able to walk. On the night of the felting we set out in a gale with crazy rain and went to the class in the Peerie Cafe in Lerwick. I was not sure how well the cafe would work as a setting, it is always bustling in the day and has a lovely atmosphere, so it was odd going at night but it actually worked really well. We were upstairs and there were just enough people to fill the tables. Everybody was really friendly and chatty.

The class was ran by Ana and Amy who were friendly and very approachable. They started with a short demo and then let everybody get stuck in. The principle is very simple, we were provided with prepared felt rectangles and there was a table full of prepared coloured fleece. The course information said to take an image with us and they provided books with extra. You place the fleece on the felt and stab with a barbed needle until the fibres fuse. In principle this is very straight forward and anything you are not happy with you can remove.

I had found it difficult to choose an image but when I saw the box of  beads and embellishments I decided on Mousa as the postcard I took along had flowers in the foreground. The difficulty for me came in the fact that you just have to "go with it" as its not marked or traced. I started out trying to draw and realised I had to just do it and see what happened. Initially I tried layering colours on top of each other but it was looking too stripey so I took it off. I then pulled it into little pieces and mixed it back up. It is a huge advantage that you can put something on with a few stabs of the needle and if you are not happy you can lift it back off. I loved the way that you can build up the colours and picture and I marked out my fallen walls with thin wool and felted over them to give texture.

I felted my broch separately to try and get the shape and then I felted it onto my hill. I had been quite aggressive with my felting and some of the colour was showing on the back - this was easily solved by adding another pad of felt to the back and felting it on. I added in my beads in the foreground and suddenly felt comfortable again with a "normal" needle in my hand. I blanket stitched around the edge to neaten it up and down to curiosity as much as anything I wrote 'Mousa' in local wool on the back and felted it in. I took a few minutes to decide what to write as my first thoughts were longer words and I imagined me trying to scrunch the letters in like a badly designed poster at school.

I was impressed that I had produced something in just under 2 and a half hours. It was fun to do and my piece was neat and recognisable even if I had taken a little artistic licence with proportions. What amazed me was the array of fantastic pieces around the room although I got broch envy at a much larger more detailed broch!

My friend produced a fantastic postcard based of St Ninians with a stunning moody sky. She was far more bold in her approach and balanced colour and texture with well placed embellishments. My friend's Mum excelled despite also being a beginner, she chose a Ram that she had found in the wool week promotional bag - the original design was a bright watercolour. She translated the head with fantastic accuracy and added detail to the nose, eyes and horns and it was looking lovely. She then took it a step further and padded it creating a 3D rams head that made it pop. She backed it on darker felt and blanket stitched the edge. This gave it a fantastic professional finish.

It was a lovely night to spend a night and everybody was friendly and shared ideas and designs. I will most certainly be looking out for any more classes next year.

St Ninnians by Maria Bell on the left, Wool Week Ram top right by Glynis Bennison and bottom right is my Mousa.