MORE NEW FABRIC

Mmmmhh, I just couldn't help myself. I was up that part of town last Wednesday and thought I'd pop in to Abakhan Fabrics in Liverpool. I started out not liking much, but then after perhaps my 5th round of the baskets I managed to dig out a few beauties. I'm planning to make tops from all of the pieces and have chosen a lovely shirt pattern for the stripy piece. I think I'll have to put a ban on buying any more until some sewing gets done!

NEEDLE CASES

For as far back as I can remember, Mum has always had the same needle case. It turns out it was one she had to make whilst in school! Apparently they did absolutely loads in their sewing classes whereas I only really remember making an oven glove, and only the one at that! I asked Mum to make me one for last christmas in the same style as hers and over the easter holidays I thought that Sarah might like one too! So off I went to find the felt! I bought mine from John Lewis whereas the oh so wise mother found hers for a mere £1 in one of the many pound shops in Holyhead!

My friend bought me a really lovely brooch for christmas from the online Fair Trade shop, People Tree and I was really inspired to have a go at something similar myself. Since I had the felt from making Sarah's needle case I thought I'd make my lovely friend one too, even though I'm sure there's not that much sewing she gets up too but hey ho they're always handy for those holes in ya socks hey folks?!

TRADITIONAL MAYAN CRAFTS IN MEXICO

Earlier this year me and my family took a holiday in Mexico in the Yucatan Peninsula. On one of our day trips we visited a Mayan Village where we were privileged to visit two houses which belonged to two Mayan sisters. Their husbands were out working all day whilst they stayed at home, looked after the children and created hand made crafts to sell locally to tourists. The sisters we visited specialized in hammocks and the traditional embroidered dresses, they stitched the beautiful and intricate patterns using the sewing machine and hand weaved the hammocks. We didn't realize this, but if you are visiting a Mayan village you can take along gifts with you for the Mayans. A lot of people seemed to have taken shampoo bottles and soaps from their hotels, fruits and clothes. I really wish we'd have known this before hand. If you're heading over to Mexico you can find out more about the day trip here, it included visiting Coba, a large ruined city of the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, a traditional Mexican lunch (very yum!), the visit to the Mayan village and then a quick dip in a cenote on the way back. Very refreshing!

JUST A QUICK PUFF!

I bought this little contraption from Nippori (Tokyo's fabric town) last year and have only made one small, shall we call it fabric blob?! It's really quick and easy and you can buy more of the yellow clips so you can prep loads of the blobs and fill them all in one go. I haven't decided what I'm going to make once I have a few blobs on the go but it's always nice to give something different a try! All of the instructions are in Japanese but the illustrations are pretty easy to follow. You cut a square piece of fabric using the stencils as your guide and then clip each edge of the square with the yellow clips. You sew all around the edge leaving a gap where you can pop the long tube in and stuff your stuffing down it!. Hey presto, the birth of the fabric blob! You can also make some pretty nifty folds and pinches in the fabric too to give a different effect. AH! I have just, by the amazing power of google discovered that this is called puff quilting! You can buy these sets with english instructions from clovers website here!

MY FIRST PAIR OF SLACKS!

Well Mum you were right, in one afternoon I was able to make myself a pair of trousers from scratch. It was possibly the easiest pattern I've had to follow and with the genius help every now and then from 'the sewing book' which I will shortly be adding to the library how could anything go wrong? I bought the fabric ages ago from Abakhan in Mostyn North Wales and the pattern was a vintage vogue one that I was given by my Grandparents over the easter holidays. It doesn't have a date on it but it was from back in the day when trousers were called slacks! There will be a few minor adjustments I'll be making on my future slacks from this pattern, which again is a first for me but I'm am just so happy to have found a pattern that works well for me. Smiles all round for the slacks please ladies as they will soon be replacing my pipe leg dark jeans! Mum will be so happy!

SOME FAMILY VINTAGE PATTERNS

Mum, Sarah and me were very lucky this easter to be given some old family sewing and knitting patterns, some of which date back to 1957. I couldn't decide which one's I liked best and so have taken pictures of just a few of them for you to see. Some I love and others just put a smile on my face particularly the knitting patterns with the 80's style large scale motif jumpers and The Daily Telegraphs prettiest bed jacket of the season. Mum and Sarah were quick to flick through the magazines to the patterns themselves but they missed out on some glorious adverts and illustrations from within, some of which can be seen here. I'm definitely going to have a go at making the straight leg trousers, as an avid wearer of the dark pipeleg jeans perhaps these will be the next new fashion obsession for me!

HOBBYCRAFT

A week more to go and I will be feasting on chocolate and sweets for breakfast, lunch and dinner too :  ) I can't wait for that but also spending some time with the family. My Grandma says she has a few bits and bobs including some old knitting patterns for us so watch this space! Last time I saw her at Christmas she had collected a few of these free "you can make" sheets from the Hobbycraft shop for Sarah and me. I haven't had a go at making anything from them yet but the owl and Russian dolls are quite cute aren't they?!

MOTHERS DAY

I'm just setting up the accounts for Mum, Sarah and Grandma to post up their own items but in the meantime here's what Sarah and I made for Mum, Sarah made the cushion and I made the pooch. As mum said last Sunday, 'Aren't I a lucky mum!' xxx