Category Archives: Sew My Stash

Setting Deadlines

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Deadlines are not something that you would generally associate with being retired. Most of the time I coast along comfortably and do what needs doing in a timely manner, often with the aid of a list.

However, now and then I find that I have a project with a completion date that I know will not be met if I continue to just do a bit now and then. So, patchwork is taking priority at the moment.

Here is the work in progress.

This is the first stage of laying out the blocks in preparation for creating Disappearing 9 Patch blocks.

Here is a detailed description of how it is done.

Time to do some more sewing.

Feeling Accomplished

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Today I have completed 2 sewing tasks that I have been working on recently.

The first is a shirt for my daughter using a pattern and fabric which she provided. The linen fabric was a delight to work with as was the pattern which came together beautifully. I am really pleased with the result.

The other was a skirt which I spotted at the op shop a few days ago. The colours caught my eye initially and although it was supposedly my size the waistband was much too small. For $3.50 it was definitely worth buying and refashioning. I removed the side zip and recreated the waistband with it flat at the front and elasticated at the back. I am looking forward to wearing this as the weather warms up.

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.