Category Archives: Sew My Stash

A Successful Search

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I think I have managed to collect enough suitable fabric for my next patchwork project.

This was a fitted bassinet sheet that I spotted in the op shop yesterday.

I unpicked it and salvaged the elastic.

My basket of new and used elastic of various types and lengths. It is surprising how often it yields just what I need.

Some of the squares have been cut up and added the collection and I will do the rest tomorrow.

The newest pieces are in the bottom right-hand corner. I am looking forward to making a start on the sewing before too long.

Share and Repair

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Yesterday I made a new discovery – the Bendigo Share and Repair Shed. I stumbled across this gem from a Facebook post advertising a destash sale of art and craft materials. When I arrived at the address I discovered that it was so much more than just a one-off event.

After perusing the various offerings I came home with a selection of goodies – most with a specific purpose in mind.

Two pieces of fabric which will yield a total of about 35 squares for the ‘pink’ quilt that I am preparing to make.

Another piece of fabric suitable for patchwork but no particular project in mind.

A large piece of curtain fabric which will make some great tote bags. I am planning to make some more to donate to the Community Pantry for people to use (and reuse) when collecting groceries.

The final piece of fabric is this fine cotton fabric which is blue with a tiny white spot. I am thinking of making a summer dress for myself. I think this is probably quite old as it is less than 90cm (36 inch) wide. I will have enough as there is more than 2 metres of fabric.

This close-up gives a better indication of the print.

The premise of the Share and Repair Shed is to make a donation/offer and I was happy to pick up all of these pieces for $9 as I will be able to give them new life in various projects.

I also had a quick look at other non-craft items that were available and I was quite excited to pick up these 3 jars to add to my collection for when I am making jams, pickles etc. There are always plenty of jars around but I like to limit my collection to a couple of different styles. These have a wide mouth and are easy to fill.

All in all it was an enlightening and fruitful visit and I am sure I will be back again before too long.

Patchwork Prep

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Now that the last quilt has been completed and is with its new owner, it is time to show you my future patchwork plans.

I have been cutting out blocks ready for a quilt that is predominantly pink. It will be an 18th birthday gift for our elder granddaughter at the end of next year so I have plenty of time. I have about two-thirds of the total number of squares required. These all came from various pieces that were in my stash. Now that I have sorted out exactly what I have I know what I am looking for as I peruse fabrics and garments in the op shops. I am looking forward to getting started on sewing some of the blocks. However, unlike previous patchwork projects, I have decided that I am not going to actually start sewing until I have cut out all of the blocks I need.

Meanwhile, I have begun assembling some fabrics for another possible project. This is not much more than a vague idea at the moment but I am thinking of red, black and white.

Of course, my sewing is not limited to the patchwork. I am generally tackling several sewing projects concurrently. I also have socks to mend, a pair of denim shorts to modify slightly and several linen tops/dresses which I plan to refashion for summer. My other goal is to make some fabric tote bags to donate to our local community pantry for people to use when collecting groceries.

A Spot of Sewing

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Food preparation and cooking has been my main focus for the past few days as we prepare to host a birthday lunch for GMan on Sunday. There will be more details about what is on the menu in a future post.

Today I managed to do a bit of sewing in between the cooking. I had noticed that the covers on a couple of the spare pillows were looking a bit stained and generally less than ideal. So, I decided that it could not be too difficult to replace them.

The first step was to carefully slit the end of the cover and remove it. The inside of the pillow is simply no more than a compressed bundle of microfibre filling in the appropriate shape.

I used the old cover to cut a new piece of fabric from some offcuts of sheeting in my stash and stitched 3 sides before carefully replacing the pillow inside.

The end was then pinned.

Finally, I stitched and finished the seam with bias binding.

The 2 revamped pillows in their pillowcases and back on the bed.

Finished and Delivered

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I have been working furiously over the past couple of days to finish handsewing the binding on the quilt. I had set myself a deadline as we were going to visit our daughter today. It is no mean feat to hand sew tiny stitches around 8 metres of binding but it is now all done and the quilt is firmly ensconced with its new owner.

Here is the final result.

Apparently, someone else thinks it is pretty good too.

Now that I have completed that job I can turn my attention to a few other jobs around the house that need doing.

A Dog’s Day

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During the past few days my time has been consumed by some admin work I am doing for a local community group so it has not really been suitable material for a blog post.

However, today I got back to some serious mending and it was all about our dog. She is now nearly 4 years old and has lost many of her destructive tendencies but a few persist.

We bought her a small foam couch 12 months ago when we moved here and it had remained intact until a couple of days ago. She was in the sewing room in the sun when GMan discovered her latest antics. A significant piece of the fabric had been destroyed and there were several small pieces of foam being chewed off. I was not pleased at this apparent brain snap. Anyway, I have hand-stitched a decent-sized denim patch to cover the damaged area and I hope we do not have a repeat performance any time soon.

The other project was to revamp her bed which was definitely looking much the worse for wear.

That is actually the second version in almost exactly 2 years. You can read about the first one here.

It is just as well that my fabric stash includes a number of quite heavy upholstery fabric pieces so it was a simple matter of finding another suitable piece to make yet another new cover.

Here it is – ready for bedtime.

42 Finished

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This morning I completed the last stage of the final seven blocks for the patchwork quilt I am working on for my daughter.

The pile of 42 blocks does not look particularly impressive for the amount of work that went into them

However, the work is more evident once they are all spread out. The next step was to adjust the blocks to get the best balance of colours and patterns.

I think I am happy with this layout.

A Red Beret

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Tonight we are going to an event with a French theme. So, I decided that a French-inspired outfit would be a good idea and a beret was needed.

I watched a YouTube video on how to create a pattern to make a beret and then dived into my stash to find a suitable fabric. A piece of red uncut cord was the perfect weight and colour. For ease of fitting I chose to finish the inside edge with a piece of ribbing rather than the traditional binding.

There will be more details about the event and my whole outfit in the next blog post. Hint: There will be more of my sewing featured.

A Safe Scarf

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I have a shoebox full of scarves in various weights and colours which I wear on a regular basis. However, yesterday I made myself a new one which is a bit bit different and rather special.

It is a infinity (loop) scarf made from some fabric scraps from my stash. The particular feature that prompted me to make this was the ability to create a discreet pocket for valuables. I had seen a similar item advertised a few years ago as being suitable for travellers and I had always considered making one. 

So, I finally did it. I used a lightweight crinkle cotton as our next trip is to Hawaii so a heavy fabric is definitely not required.

You can see the zip and pocket section more clearly in this close-up. The zip was also a salvaged one from my stash. I was fortunate to have one in an appropriate length and colour.

The zip opening and pocket are large enough to hold a passport. The ability to carry my passport and cash discreetly and on my person is an important consideration when in busy public spaces when travelling.

Here is an example of me wearing the scarf with my passport in the pocket section of the scarf.