Vintage Stitching

Hello all,

Well another week has passed and unfortunately I've done absolutely no crafting this week.  It was my son's 18th birthday on Friday so I have been shopping and organising for that and of course tidying the house for visitors coming! Lol!

However, this afternoon,  enthused by this week's vintage sewing theme on The Great British Sewing Bee TV programme,  I decided to take my vintage Singer out of the box and see if I could get it to work. (I purchased it a few months ago at auction).

The machine is actually in "nearly new" condition, with no rusty bits or gunky old fibres clogging the mechanics.  I simply gave it a good oil and dust, threaded it up and off it trundled.  I didn't even have to adjust the tension, it sews perfectly and it can go at a fair speed.  

these are the reverse side/bobbin stitches

I've a busy week next week too but hopefully I'll be able to post something!  I'm trying to maintain a weekly post and joining in with Handmade Monday certainly helps. It's a lovely little community of very friendly crafters but the link up is only open for a couple of days so you'll have to be quick if you want to join in.

Okay that's me for today, thanks so much for visiting.

Wishing you all a good week.

Take care

Suze xx

I hate zips!

Evening all,

To all the sewers out there, can I just ask, does anyone like sewing zips!? I must have read and watched every tutorial out there and I'm still struggling.

Anyway, I wanted to have a go at sewing a boxy zippered pouch. I found a YouTube video by Debbie Shore for one that's made using two fat quarters and it's easily big enough to hold knitting needles and wool, so I thought I'd have a go as she explains things very clearly.

The best tip I learned from her was to use a longer zip than you need (and trim it to size after sewing), that way you can slide the bulky zipper pull out of the way.  However, I still had a problem with the fabric & zip sliding about and I had to partly unpick it about 4 times.

However, I persevered and here is the end result which I am actually quite pleased with ...

I have to admit the knitting is not mine, I borrowed it for "photographic" purposes, lol.  My mother is a great knitter and this is one of many baby hats she's currently knitting for African babies.

Linking to Handmade Monday.

and wishing you all a creative week,

Thanks for popping in

Suze xx

Tote Bags

Evening All!

Hope you have all had a good week.  I've been quite productive in the sewing department these last couple of days.  I've never sewn a bag before and when I saw a kit for one selling online at half price I couldn't resist.

It's just a small tote bag and it turns out they are SO easy to make, however the instructions weren't entirely correct so you would need a bit of  an idea on construction to make it work first time.  You don't need a kit though as there are loads of free tutorials online.

This is the finished bag from the kit ...

I thought it was such a cute bag, perfect for a little girl, that I went and bought some more fabric and I have to say I like this fabric even better ...

They're made with upholstery weight cotton so they're quite sturdy.

I'm linking again to Handmade Monday.

Okay, that's me for today, thanks for taking the time to visit.

Suze xx

Friendship Cushion

Hi all,

Well, that's January out the way, the days are thankfully beginning to get a bit longer although it's still absolutely freezing!

I have some sewing to show you today, It's my big "50" birthday later this year and so a fair few of my friends are also turning 50.

The first one to celebrate is my life long friend, we were neighbours growing up and have had many laughs throughout the years.

I've made her a double sided cushion, one side to go with her decor and the other using photos of ourselves and other close friends.

The photos were printed onto printable cotton.  I then ironed them onto some Steam-a-Seam/Bondaweb, cut them out and stitched them onto some plain cream fabric. I also made up a word cloud image using www.tagxedo.com and also printed that onto cotton.

the photos

front of cushion

back of cushion

I then constructed the cushion front and back and closed with a zipper.

I'd like to link to Handmade Harbour, which is now hosted by the lovely Vicky

and Anything but a Card, who have the theme Friendship.

Okay, that's me for today, thanks so much for popping in.

Happy Crafting!

Suze xx

Cushions and an old Singer!

Hi everyone and welcome to my first post of the year (and my first post in over a month!).  I felt like I needed a bit of a break over the festive season but I've given myself a kick up the bahookie to get me back into blogging and crafting.

As I previously mentioned, I want to concentrate more on building my sewing skills this year, so I've made a start with some zipped cushions.

I've only made cushions once before and that was with an easy envelope fold closure, but I thought I'd challenge myself to inserting a zip for a more professional finish.

The fabric is a linen/cotton mix called Hedgerow and is by Voyage, they're a Scottish firm and make some lovely home decor fabrics.  The backing fabric is 100% linen which I have to say was a bit stretchy! I used 20" feather inserts so they're nice and puffy!

I'd also like to show you my vintage sewing machine which I picked up at a local auction for £24! It came totally complete with instruction booklet, feet, knee lift, needles etc.  I've done a bit of research and it was manufactured around 1939.  My son replaced the old round headed plug for me and it works!  It's a bit stiff though so will need a thorough clean and oil.  Have to say though, I've nowhere to put it, I just bought it 'cause I liked it!

Okay, that's me for today, thanks ever so much for popping in.

Linking to Handmade Monday.

Suze xx