Weekend Workspace

I have long hankered for an out-of-the-way sewing space where we spend some of our weekends.

I now have a wonderful sewing space in our spare bedroom in London and it has spoiled me somewhat.

getting a little nourishment

Our weekend dining table is pretty useful and it is right in the heart of what goes on in the house but it all has to be put away again at the end. It kinda puts you off a bit and I definitely do less at weekends when we are away than when we have weekends in London.

I have a spare sewing machine for here (well, I have a couple as it goes but I don’t say that out too loud in case JC is listening), I have sewing baskets and accessories that I have been given, found, inherited, car boot bought or had already so I’m set up in that respect.

The spare bedroom is out of bounds because we have people staying here loads and need it to be ready all the time.

set up in the alcove

But we do have little box room/bedroom (which is really only a glorified cupboard) that has become a dumping ground and somewhere for JC’s drum kit but it has 2 windows and gets lots of light so it is just about perfect.

I’ve had my eyes open for a little table to sit into the alcove in this room so that I could set up a tiny tucked away space. If I’m clever and don’t allow my workspace to spread, there will still be space to put up a single stow away bed for any extra bodies that might be staying at any given time.

In my search for a table, I have taken to dropping into a super little antique shop on Albert St in Spalding. (I think it is called The Attic) and is run by a very jovial chap called Jeff.  At my last visit, and on the back of a casual conversation about needing a small table has sorted it out; Jeff had the very thing on his van, just collected that morning and needing some attention.

my little Singer 221K set up and ready to use

It was cold having been in an unoccupied house so needed bringing up to temperature. It also needed cleaning and nourishing to bring out it’s best qualities. It has an all important drawer and was incredibly inexpensive.

It is now sugar soaped, waxed and in place. I haven’t managed to use it yet as my machine now needs some repairs but it is there and ready.

one of my mum’s sewing tins – I love it

I have plans for shelves above so watch this space.

Clothes Cloning

my joules tunic

I went to a talk at Stroud Green WI last year that was about cloning your clothes. The talk was by Claire-Louise Hardie of Great British Sewing Bee fame and it tweaked at my old skills of pattern cutting and making my own clothes.

I keep threatening to do it again after years and years of filling my wardrobe with off the peg instead of unique made to measure items.

joules original and my clone behind

Inspired by Claire’s talk, I dug out a few items of clothing and all the tools that I hadn’t had occasion to use in a while.

I promptly set them aside when I got distracted by work, christmas, commissions and work again to name but a few.

It has sat for months and looked very like it would be condemned to my large pile of unfinished works.

almost identical – no zip, slightly smaller & pocket detail adjusted

Until last weekend.

I’d actually got around to making the pattern some time ago. I’d bought a dirty cotton drill remnant in my favourite little sewing shop (The Cloth Shop) in Market Hall of Wood Green Shopping City and had also cut it out (remembering to mark it up properly with fold lines, tucks, darts etc etc thank goodness).

neck detail – should have cleaned the lose thread off!!

The cloning process and the pattern making had gone quite well but I wasn’t convinced that I had got the slight shape and size changes I wanted to make quite right. It would be fine, the remnant was only £5 and if all else failed, I’d repurpose any disaster into something else entirely.

needs washing and ironing again but it fits

It only took me a few hours to assemble the various parts and it went much better than I expected. Even the dreaded sleeves eased into the holes with only a tiny unwanted crease.

pockets adjusted to hold my sewing bits and bobs while I work

It needs washing and ironing again but I’m delighted with my new sewing tunic that is cloned from a Joules tunic that I rather like.

scrabble picture

scrabble letters

My sister received a gift of a scrabble picture some time ago and I loved it. It has her better half, her daughter and her dog’s names on there and it is delightful

word score with names – 37 by my reckoning

I liked it so much, it inspired me to make this for friends. Unlike most of our friends these guys are really hard to buy for. They have everything they could possibly want and more besides so a gift is a real challenge.

A personal handmade scrabble picture is like nothing else that they have and seemed to be the perfect solution.

ta da

This doesn’t work for everyone (unless you use those all important blank tiles!!) and not all pictures get a high score but I love them and they are just such fun and about as personal as you can get for a family.

coming together

I thought about adding their pets – a cat (I think she’s called Shearer but that might have been the one before?) & 4 hens (heather, kylie, rose and peck) but it would have looked like the scrabble board itself.

 

And let’s face it, who knows how long Kylie/Heather/Rose/Peck will last before she/they become fox food or sunday lunch??

I love it

flower cushion

scattered flowers cushion

This is one of my long awaited ‘to be finished’ projects and I have taken advantage of a quiet weekend to finally give it some attention. it is now finished and I’m pleased with the effect.

a bunch of flowers

The idea had been floating around in my head for ages.

I loved the playful and pretty fun of the flower basket cushion I made ages ago and sold at Harringay Market for someone’s christmas present. I wanted to do something that was floral but less figurative and randomly dotted with flowers.

detail

The fabric is a remnant from the curtain making lady that my friend Anna gets offcuts and roll ends from for me and the flowers are from pretty scraps left over from bunting and previous makes.

ready to appliqué

The flowers vary in size and style but it is very jolly and reminds me of the summer as we settle into the dark evenings and mornings of autumn.

Anyway, I’m off to take advantage of the quiet and finish a few more bits!!

pretty baskets

handle fixing detail

I have a bit of a weakness for whicker, it’s true.

I already have more baskets than is strictly necessary.

loaded

I have my fruit and sloe picking basket, my food basket for a trip to the village butcher, I have a basket that holds sewing projects that are not quite finished, I used to have a basket for fabric scraps, our old picnic baskets transport some of my makes to the market, I’ve even turned one into a sewing box for my niece, and I also carry all my cards and labels to market in a little shopping basket too.

It’s fair to say I have a few and my husband’s irony laced comments about me needing more baskets when I add to the stash is justified.

pretty handle detail

But…..

I ignore him (of course) and now I have a new basket which is for all those bits that lie around but never seem to have a proper home.

I’d seen this particular basket a few times on a stand at our local car boot sale but had resisted the temptation. The seller is actually a trader and sells the ‘collectables’ at the car boot sale and keeps the ‘antiques’ for the fairs.

We’ve bought a few things from him as he always has interesting pieces that are in good condition.

candle snuffer and note books

As the car boot season is drawing to an end for this year, I decided I wasn’t going to resist any longer nor risk missing out so now it is sitting with my lovely Dear Emma fabric bowl on the side table in the living room.

storage solutions

yummy scraps of fabric

It makes me quite sad and certainly fed up not to have been sewing or blogging for what seems like so long.

I really miss it and it cheers me up so much when I am doing it, it should be on the NHS.

overflowing

I’ve spent what feels like weeks with my lovely work station visible out of the corner of my eye but just out of reach and not a single one of my projects has been completed nor a new one started

BUT

I have sort of been busy with stuff related to my sewing.

I, like most makers (read hoarder) can’t bear to part with even the smallest scraps of pretty fabric.  It’s great to have around and always comes in handy. There is always one bit that is just perfect for a certain something.  It brings with it storage difficulties though.

boxes

All makers have storage issues to a greater or lesser extent and there just doesn’t seem to be the perfect solution especially if you are badly short of space.

neat and tidy

I just couldn’t resist these two lovely wine cases that I found at a car boot sale (where else??) recently. They are a very good and attractive storage solution for my appliqué scraps that have been, until now, either escaping the confines of a shallow sided basket or in a deep hessian bag which makes getting at all of them a bit of a challenge.

neatly stored away

These little beauties will sit under my sewing desk where the bags used to reside and I am happy that they are an attractive and tidy solution.

I have separated the patterns from the plains to make it even easier and I am quite pleased with the results.

tada

I look back over the few months since I set up my work space in here and it has really changed. I’d like to think it is becoming more interesting but I’m fearful that it is just getting cluttered!

Let’s not think about that, got to get on with the making bits now!

workroom

my making corner

I have been slowly but surely adding bits to my workroom (and to my piles of lovely fabrics too but I’m keeping quiet about that for now!!).

My husband would call it cluttering……

pin board and shelves

They have to be neat (ish!!) though, I can’t work in chaos. That in itself is a huge challenge in a limited space and I still have to do a fair amount of tidying up after my makes to avoid small messy piles accumulating in a small space.

paint brushes, needles, buttons, lace bobbins…..

I’m very short on storage space but I seem to have found a home for nearly everything.  If I can get some of my makes finished and get onto the new ones I want to try out (like making some new clothes for myself!!!), the fabric stash will slowly reduce and the piles of applique scraps will start to diminish.

my vintage needle cases and thimbles

I’ve made some bunting for my room too as it seems only right to have some myself.  I have put some of my favourite or most recently acquired books out and my Bonne Maman jam jars are ready and waiting for me to find the time to fill them with a load of buttons I bought at a thrift shop recently.

burger bear is lurking in there

I have no doubt it will change around again if I find certain things are not quite where I need or want them but just now, it works pretty well for me and I am constantly grateful to finally have this.

tidy and ready for some making

It is a real space of escape for me at weekends when all the evidence of normal work has gone.

 

It is peaceful and quiet and I can lose myself in what I love doing. It is a few rare moments when the stresses of my normal working day can’t creep in because my head is full of lovely making thoughts.

burger bear guarding my fabric pile that will become little pinafores

A real sanctuary for which I am enormously grateful and I can’t believe it took me so long to get!!

We still haven’t worked out how to get over losing our spare bedroom but I’m sure if anyone wants to come and stay badly enough, they’ll put up with a mattress on the floor!

farbrics ready, scissors ready…

fabric bowls

remnants from The Cloth Shop

I was inspired some time ago by my purchase of a dear emma fabric bowl to make an odd one of my own but  I wanted them with a fold over top and contrasting linings.

cutting out

I wanted them for use around the place for the various ‘bits and pieces’ that seem to need a home but don’t have a specific one or are in transit to somewhere else.

outside ready for patterned lining

My original need for them was so that I had somewhere to put all the threads that I am using so they are easy to get at. Since thinking about making them though, my big top drawer on my sewing table seems to work well for these so the bowls will now be used for lots of other things sewing and miscellaneous alike.

lined and turned the right way for finishing

I got a remnant of some fabulous heavy upholstery fabric from The Cloth Shop recently that is weighty enough to make a fabric bowl work so I got on with it this weekend.

pinned ready for top stitching

They are surprisingly easy to make if you get the basics right and allow yourself a little tolerance here and there.

tada!!

Preparation and making sure you don’t skip on the stages is the key to neatness but you really have to have the right fabric to make them stand up.

3 different sizes with 3 different linings

I love the fact that they are completely reversible to suit your requirements and I will change the combinations and what is on the outside depending on where the bowls end up living.

grouped together

I will make more (possibly a nest and definitely some as presents) that are pretty and contrasting but also some that are decorated on the outside with applique.  These plain ones, however, are perfect for and will go into my work room and onto shelves around the flat.

complimentary fabrics

A very satisfying little project before I get on with the rest of the things that I want to do and those that I still need to finish.

contrasting seersucker lining

getting through those projects

boys shoe/gym/swimming bag

I really haven’t been able to enjoy any making time much lately as work is unexpectedly hectic and very demanding.

It’s quite frustrating because my workroom also doubles up as my office and I have to look at my lovely fabrics, projects and machine everyday with the thought that I would really much rather be sitting there doing that than sitting here doing this.

But I’m managing to very slowing making headway through my unfinished projects and I haven’t added too many new ones to the pile so far!

I would have made more headway had I not managed to leave behind all the car boot booty, the bias tape, interface and fabrics that I bought last weekend.

train bag

Never mind, there is always something that does’t need those things for finishing and I can still be getting on with one or another.

book bag

I have had to completely abandon some projects since I first started them and condemn the fabric to the scrap box.

It is because they just weren’t the success I had hoped and I need to go back to the drawing board or I have completely changed my mind about some of them and no longer think it is worth spending the time in seeing them finished.

fish bag (WIP)

I get an idea into my head and try different types or versions of the same thing and the results are hugely varied.

fish bag

Some first attempts work brilliantly and some really need work.

fish detail

Some ideas will just never be realised successfully but that can honestly be as much of the fun as doing something that you know you can successfully make.

lavendar bags

Bags seem to be the order of the day at the moment so I managed to get a handful finished but there are still some that need my time.

I’ll get the next batch of these bags sorted out and then I think I will concentrate on getting the cushions finished before I get on with some more of the little dresses that I love making so much.

Ironing Board Covers

fabric for the job

An ironing board is necessary part of our household kit.

Especially if you sew

But they are pretty boring and not usually very attractive.

I dislike the quality and feel of most commercially available ironing board covers. I’m not that keen on most of the patterns available either.

With very little effort, however, making your own is very easy.

edges formed and cord threaded

Using the old cover as a template, simply measure out your fabric.

Don’t forget to add for your hem (about 2.5cm) which needs to be doubled over and stitched with a double row of top stitch about 1cm away from the edge to make it strong when you tighten  to fit but also to allow your cord to be fed through,

cord clip to hold it tight

If you are lucky like I was with my £5 board from the closing down sale at woolies (thanks mum!) it has a cunning little piece of plastic to help you tighten the cord!

board with the trimmed wadding to fit

I was going to make the cover in the same fabric as I used to make the cover for my shopping basket but sadly, I have very little left and it certainly isn’t enough to cover my ironing board.

shaped at the iron stand end

I like the floral print that I made Millie’s pencil roll out of and I still have a few meters of that left so I decided to use that instead.

I had various lengths of cord spare from doing a bit of picture framing that were long enough to do the job so I only had the wadding to buy (I wouldn’t even have had to do that except I no longer have any left in my stash!!!).

done

It didn’t take long at all and now I can iron out the freshly laundered additions to my fabric stash.

washed and ironed car booty fabrics