Day 14 - Another day with Florence

I am not very good at this very organised photo a day thing (sorry to Meg from The Byron Life), as life does just get in the way here & there ... school camps, work, cleaning the house, etc...anyway, today after having a one on one with a pilates instructor trying to learn how to find my transverse abdominals again (eep), and then being pumelled by my wonderful osteo (who I tend to hate for up to 2 days after seeing him), I came home and made piping with Florence Broadhurst. Nice. Cutting strips. 2.5cm strips sewn together & then piped. I love the look of them.

I have managed to finish the throw cushions without too much of a hitch...
Oops, forgot to leave the zipper open... I always tell myself to remember, then on the last one...I forgot...

The 3 cushion covers for the throw cushions which I have finished now.

I also put a zipper in one of the large sided cushions before picking up number one son from his first school camp. He is now very very tired and there is lots of crankiness going on here, but he did have a really good time.

Stitch the zipper to the folded over fabric on right hand side of the zipper.

...leaving the top of the zipper 10mm from the top edge & the top stitching to be 7mm from the edge of the fabric.

Lay the other folded piece of folded over fabric so that the entire width equals the width of the cushion sides (make sure that you have enough to overlap the zipper on the outside so that you will not be able to see the zipper once the cushion has be finished) and pin the zipper to this piece of fabric, keeping it even the whole length.

Top stitch this on the underside (the zipper side) keeping the zipper foot to the edge of the zipper fabric.

Finish the bottom of the open ends of fabric off neatly so that they will not open and that the zipper cannot undo any more.

I hope this is helpful & makes sense - let me know if it doesn't

A photo a day in August - Day 12...Florence Broadhurst

Today I am spending the day with Florence...Here she is drapped over the knitting machine that I haven't yet worked out how to use : ( ...that is another story. This fabric is going to be cushions for a friend of mine who has commisioned me to make them for her. Lovely to work with gorgeous prints.

For some much better artistic photos, head to The Bryon Life and see all the photos that people have been taking during August.

Don't forget to leave a comment in the post below if you want win the giveaway!

drawing, writing, sewing...

I've been very busy, too busy to look up infact. Got a class starting tomorrow with the girls (unfortunately no boys signed up) to learn how to sew on a machine. They are going to make a bag whilst they are learning in the 8 weeks. So I have had to transcribe my pattern in my head to paper & all of the instructions to make sense.....lovely little drawings & take photos of them to pop into the instructions...and now its time for bed. I hope I don't dream of bags.

Fidgetty fingers

Necklaces, originally uploaded by megs threads.

A little something that I have been doing in the evenings...and seeing what happens when crocheting with different mediums..wire, linen thread, cotton thread and vintage buttons

Now that's a tool!

It took me a good while to work this one out. I got it in the fantastic stash from Betty (my friend's relative who had worked as a seamstress), so I knew that it must have had a really good use. I finally worked it out & it is REALLY, REALLY useful - still.

Can you work it out? Those blades are sharp & turn around so that you can select each one. It measures 12cm long & the circle is 5cm wide & the blades are 9mm, 14mm & 18mm wide. Does this help?

Beautiful Rain

I love the sound of the rain, the feel of the cold, it has got me thinking about winter, even though it it not quite here. Time to haul out the winter woollies and get knitting. I'm knitting a vest for my son who came home from school very sick today (spewing - I hate spewing - I am very good at acting the good mum, but in truth, I hate the spew). I don't know why I am knitting a vest for my son. The last 2 (hoodie) vests that I knitted for my other sons (to their specifications) have never been worn - not because they are ugly - but because they never get cold. In truth, they only occasionally wear a zip up hoodie, and as my 5 1/2 yr pointed out, if I had made it in fabric, he might have worn it. Yet, the 8yr old insists that he will wear it....if I knit it in footy colours.....Hurrah! So, here I am, knitting the same pattern again (in the biggest size possible so that it will hopefully fit for a while...). Let's hope that I get it knitted before the footy finishes.

My greatest learning curve has been that I can't knit it on the circular needles (my needles of choice) as I am doing vertical stripes - now that was a valuable lesson. As my friend's husband is oft heard to say whilst she is knitting, and unravelling... "Are you having fun yet?"

Out of Scraps

This is a little bag that I made up yesterday afternoon from a scrap of towelling fabric. It was an odd shape, hence the odd shape bag, however, it seems kinda cute for a mobile phone. Nice and cosy for winter. It was also my first time with the "clicker". I stuffed up the first try with the press stud (had it upside down), smashed one old wooden cotton reel, but in the end, got it right. I have demystified the press stud.

The bean bag

Now That's a bean bag! This was the last bit of the "let's fix up your room" & he wanted a bean bag that was as big as the one my brother has, so, with a whole bunch of fabric, a bit of fiddling around with an old pattern out a Stitch by Stitch book (gotta lovum) - tada. Very hard to get out of... and fits the family in. (just note the beautifully done boards that skipshopper did with my brother's help - good huh! Sealed with organic oil...mmmm)

Hip hip hooray

I know that things have been a little quiet here, but this is no reflection on real life. Kids have all gone back to school (yep! All of them now!) without too many hitches. Am trying to work out what this new life means... Working with school chicks to make a fruit & vegie garden.... Shell shocked about the bush fires surrounding our city & gathering everything I can to help out... Sorting out the 2 car loads of stuff we have inherited from hubbie's grandparents house...more to come still... Silently swimming in the North Melbourne pool trying to swim through my migraines.... Trying to find my sewing room again after the hol's have finished (have just remembered that's what I do!) as it has been filled up with with everyone else's things and bits I have gathered along the way :)...

Now I need to get ready for the Maribynong Makers Market on 14 March as I just found that I got accepted! Yay! Hip Hip Hooray. Time to sew.

surprise package

I received a lovely package in mail yesterday from a clever girl, SaffronCraig & it was such a lovely surprise. I had forgotten that by just visiting her site she sent me a gorgeous piece of her hand printed fabric. Now I have the lovely joy of thinking of a project for it!

I will be opening the Salon again this Saturday between 10am & 12pm for those who are after last minute Chrissie pressies. You can call me 0407 124 553 for the address or email me megsthreads@gmail.com.

angels

The boys call her the fat angel, I kinda like her. They made her. Do ya reckon yellow pages could have timed it better for new books? An entire afternoon & morning activity. Yay. Wouldn`t want more than two though...

wish upon a star

Ahh, I loooove decorating for Christmas. These are really easy to make. I stole the idea from a show that we watch on Friday nights & adapted it to use materials that we have at home. Kids can make them & you can hang them too.

Cut strips of paper from magazines (the more colourful the better), then loop the ends so that they cross over about 3cm.

Punch a hole though the middle of the crossed over bit & the middle of the other side as shown

Stick this onto your split pin.

When you have enough on there (between 7 & 12), split the pin & then bend over the ends so there are no sharp bits & you will also have something to hang a string or fishing wire from!

Check the shop, come on Saturday or Tuesday for some hand made goodness between 10 & 12(megsthreads@gmail.com) and get into the spirit.

ahhhh

a month of handbags

new & cute purses

fresh new tees

stacks of hats

did someone say pens down yet?

see me tomorrow at market 3031 whatever the weather... :)

why oh why

Why oh why does kinder finish 1/2 hour earlier than I am ready? An extra 1/2 hour would have enabled me to actually finished this wrap tunic in one session rather than drawing it out over the entire day...
And why oh why did I make this tunic in size 10 when I am not even nearly near that? I really like it, and Bessy gets to wear it until I sell it at the market. It's cute and it wraps (I do have a bit of a thing for a wrap).

Thanks Caroline for the pattern & thanks Jo for the fabric.

Now I'll need to make another in my size for me after I resize the pattern (my least favourite job).

board of inspiration or bored

This is my inspiration board which I did refresh not so long ago, however, when I was taking photos, I began to wonder whether it or I was a little bored...maybe it's time for a change (or maybe I am procrastinating again). Looking at it, I do seem to like the flowery thang....

Hey, been playing with t-shirts, and am quite happy with the result

found fabrics

In this last week I have been really lucky to have 2 friends pop by with unwanted fabric and clothing for me to rip into and allow my creative juices flow which has been a bit of fun (and a little overwhelming). Some of it I may not touch for a while as my time is quite limited and it just doesn't "talk" to me yet, but is too good to chuck, some is too bad to store & has moved on already and some bits just got me thinking a little left of field (more on that later once I can get it to work...).

Anyway, I am pretty happy with the wrap skirt with the big pocket which was a great piece of fabric that I found at the bottom of one of the boxes (that will be at the market3031 on 22 November in Kensington and you can see me there!)

The other thing that I was inspired to make yesterday was from a great big pile of shirts that came from my second chance encounter. Now these clothes were huge which has some advantages on my part. There is HEAPS of fabric. So the first thing that came to mind was a light spring scarf as seen on my male model below.
Now what to do with all those collars and sleeves? Trust me, I'll think of something. I hate to see anything go to waste. Oh, and there are a few suits I have my eye on chopping and changing. Oh what fun!

lazy weekends

Phew! Love a long weekend. Time to play in the garden, hang out in the hammock, play with the kids, renovate the bathroom, hang the odd door, make a few reversable hats and brooches and sit back and relax. Thank goodness it's back to school and work today!

five or ten....

yeah, OK, so I am crap sometimes at finding the time to turn the computer on. Fighting my way through the humdrum of inner suburbia mumsy life that just seems to take over so that I can't even see the computer anymore. I even get to the point where I forget that I have a blog and shop...let alone an entire room that is just crying for me to sew in and make stuff and sing really loudly outa tune... Anyway, as it turns out, I have squeezed in a bit a time to make a bit of stuff that started with Matt (the other half) saying "why not a bucket hat?" and ended with having a great time playing with Aunty Cookie's scraps from her sewing room (thanks Aunty Cookie!). The hats are totally reversable, so what you see are only 5 hats but 10 choices. I am excited and having fun with them. I am also playing with new skirts and new brooches & if you want to see them, come on down to market 3031 in Kensington on 22 November between 10 & 4pm. I will fight my way out of the house to be there.

these walls around me

These are the some of things that I have hanging on my walls in my room as part of my inspiration. From some I love the colour, others it's the cut or the fabric or the patterns. What's on your wall?