Yearbook pictures that were never meant to be

1960

1966


1968



1970

2000

Thank goodness I grew up in the UK where we don't have these awful things!

Courtesy of http://www.yearbookyourself.com/

Appley ever after.

Have I ever mentioned we have an orchard? Well, orchard might be stretching it a bit. We have a semi-fenced section with various trees in various states of decay from lack of care. Neither of us knows how to deal with them all.
Anyway, among the trees are a couple of apple trees. Every year, we say we ought to pick the apples. Every year, we leave it too late, the birds eat them, they rot, end up on the floor and get wasted. ("Always stick to the path. Never eat a windfallen apple. And never trust a man whose eyebrows meet in the middle").

It's not that we're lazy, but neither of us are that good with ladders and it's so uneven and the trees are in such a state that we wouldn't feel safe climbing up. Not anymore.

This week, Mr Marmadaisy bought himself some scaffolding for a few jobs outside, and what a perfect excuse to have a practice run at putting it up.

Of course, the goats were on hand to deal with any that we dropped.

They are quite difficult to eat whole, apparently.

Anyway, we haven't weighed and sorted them yet - they need to be sorted into "eating", "horses" and "juicing" but we have 3 trays full. I wish I knew how to make cider.

Let's get organasised!

Yesterday I had a little clear up in the sewing room. It actually wasn't too bad, except for one corner which holds all my odd bits that don't belong anywhere else.
The worst mess was my two baskets of "odds" - these are hampers that contain small scraps of fabric, bits of interfacing that might be useful and bits of leftover patchwork.
I wish I had taken a "before" picture, but I didn't think.

Anyway, I folded my interfacing neatly, threw away all the tiny scraps (how many teeny bits am I going to need, anyway?). I wanted to work out a way of storing the scrap fabrics neatly. Now, I'm not the best folder so I came up with this:

I figured that the fat quarter sized bits (on the right) could be folded and stacked. I can see what I have and get to it easily without rummaging. I also know that these are big enough bits to be of use.

The best bit though, is the small scrap arrangement. I usually keep these odds that are too small to be useful because it's always handy for checking tension, practising a stitch or seeing how a technique will work before messing up your "real" and expensive fabric. So I thought it doesn't really matter what colour these bits are - it's important to sort them by type. So, I now have rolls of t-shirt fabric, fleece, light cotton, muslin, heavy cotton etc. Now, when I want to check my tension, I just need to select the appropriate roll and take what I need, rather than rummaging in a massive box of bits. Good, eh?

Overlocked quilt

Cor, there's more to this overlocking business than just finishing seams!
OK, so it won't win any prizes, but at less than 2 days (including time taken to make dinners, do laundry, walk dogs, blah-di-blah) it's by far the quickest cover I've ever made.

It was a very simple design. I just flatlocked 3 strips together, cut them into lengths equal to their width (17cms)*, then blocked them together.

I then used a 10cm border in matching fabric. I backed it with an old duvet cover, attaching between border and patchwork. I roll hemmed the border, and underneath (on the backing piece) overlocked longer strips of co-ordinating fabric. Easy peasy.
The fabric is Folklore by Moda (2 jelly rolls made enough patches for a King size throw).

Unfortunately, the colours aren't exactly right for this time of year (because I've been putting this off for ages) so I'll have to make another for Autumn.

* My rotary cutter and I have been eyeing each other nervously for about 18 months. I used it once and decided I didn't like it. I have now made friends with it after realising that, as with most things, it's all down to having the right equipment to use with it and getting the right technique. It would have taken me forever to do this quilt without it.

How to repurpose an old towel

Another one that's not too exciting ... but a useful thing anyway! As someone with long hair I can confirm that it's mightily annoying to have your towel spontaneously unwrap and drop dripping hair everywhere.
We all have those towels that have seen better days, lost their "fluffiness" and are, frankly, only good for wiping dogs' feet.

This is quite a good way to use an old towel. Or you could use a nice new one, if you wanted to give it as a gift.

Start by marking out the towel. Fold in half, and for ease we are going to use the existing finished edge (of course, you could use some bias binding if you wanted).

Measure - on the folded side - 23cm up and mark with chalk. Then measure 8cm in from that mark. Then measure 8cm down from the same mark (ie 15cm up from edge).

These marks mean that we can make a curved mark on the folded side. I hope that makes sense.

Then free-hand draw a curve from your inner mark to the outer edge of your towel (it should be about 60cms long).

You can see on the left-hand side of this picture that I have made marks at 23cms from the finished edge, then 8cms down from that and 8cms in, and connected them in a curve.

Cut out the shape, and in the corner pin about 10cms of folded elastic .

Use your new overlocker *smile* or a zig-zag stitch around the curved edge.

Stitch over the elastic bit a few times and trim into a neat edge.

Turn the right side out, and sew a button in the middle at the front.

To wear, simply put the turban over your head, twist hair in the long side, pull up over the top of your head and fasten the elastic over the button.

Another Anna Tunic

I think overlocking is addictive. Or it could be this Anna Tunic from Amy Butler.

I made this one almost entirely on the overlocker and I'll say it again: it's quick!!
I changed the belt a bit. I was inspired by the fabric to create a thicker belt which is much more flattering for my shape. It is designed to sit under the best and cinch in the waist and I love how it alters the shape of the top. I'll model this properly later.

Sorry about the blurry pictures, I was in a hurry to get this blogged. I'm going to model it properly for the U-handblog comp (when I've brushed my hair!)

I overlocked around the neck-line and on the sleeves.

This belt was so easy to make and would look great with a plain shirt (FQF tute on its way).

Close up of the fabric-covered buttons.

I used overlock stitches on the lining and the hem.

Guess how much housework is NOT getting done in our house this week?

The Anna Tunic - overlocked!

I know I said it would be lounge pants, but a girl can change her mind!
I have had this fabric for ages, it's an old curtain bought for £2 in a charity shop. Who says blondes can't wear yellow?
Anyway ... this is a really simple tunic to make. I did the cutting out last night and put the main bits together using the 4 thread overlock stitch. Then I went to bed because it was past midnight and I forsaw mistakes and swearing.

Usually, I would stitch, then trim, then overlock both edges. This does all three steps in one. And it's soooo quick!

For the belt, I just cut a thick strip, pressed in half and roll hemmed the edges. I used yellow and white threads for this effect.

And the same on the button loops. I love how this looks with those vintage buttons.

And here it is!


I just love how it has turned out. I still used my regular machine for the yoke, but used the rolled hem around the arms and used the overlock stitch on the lining hem. I didn't need to hem the outer piece because I was sneaky and used the existing curtain hemming.

First Impressions

Well, here she is! She arrived yesterday but I was on my way out so this is the first chance I've had to have a play.

I had never used one of these things before so I was glad that it came with a DVD. I loaded it up on my laptop and followed all the examples.

The differential feed means that you can tackle a range of fabrics and achieve a good finish. I have always struggled with stretch fabrics, and the Janome (she doesn't have a name yet) seems to be just the job.
I made lots of samples and noted the settings on them for comparison.

I'm looking forward to using this rolled hem to finish off garmets.

And by adjusting the tension it is easy to create a ruffle.

After playing with 3 and 4 threads, I rethreaded the machine with coloured thread (corresponding to the threading guides) to get a better idea of what each thread does.

Although I tied these on the existing threads, I get myself in a muddle changing from 3 to 4 needles so I did actually get a bit of practice threading from scratch. This Janome has an easy feed mechanism which is ... erm ... easy to feed.

By using different threads, I could play with the tensions and understand how each one affected the finish.
And achieved some nice decorative finishes.

And this is the proper rolled hem.

Tomorrow, I plan to make some more lounge pants using just a 4 thread overlock stitch on the seams. I'll post the results.

What I did on my Summer holidays.

Well, not really. I spent a lovely couple of days at my parents' house this week, hence the lack of blogging activity. I just had my wrists slapped by Marie.
Nothing like a warm welcome is there?

That's more like it! Anyway, after a few white wine spritzers in the garden we decided on a shopping trip to the Lowry centre on Monday. Unfortunately, you're not allowed to take pics inside but I did get a couple.

And when I got home, Mr Marmadaisy had done the signage on the boat!

How cool is that??

We're popping out now for a little spin in her, so will post pics tomorrow.

Flush mufflers and cleats

The boat has arrived!




We were all very excited about it!