March 05, 2020

A whole cloth Marimekko quilt

March 05, 2020/ Claire (aka Ruby)

Sometimes a project comes along that is rather out of the ordinary and challenges you to make something way out of your comfort zone. This piece of fabric has been sitting in the cupboard for several years and then found its way to the bottom of the ironing basket, where it has been hanging out for a couple of months. Impressed that I had actually got to the bottom of the ironing basket the other afternoon, I decided it was finally time to consider what exactly to do with such an amazing piece of textile art.

February 20, 2020

Capsule Wardrobe of extraordinarily pretty things - No. 1 : The apron

February 20, 2020/ Claire (aka Ruby)

So as I mentioned in my previous post, the first thing on my list is going to be an apron. Not the sort that gets mucky in the kitchen, but the sort that you can wear over your day clothes almost as if it is part of them. The girls in Little Women would almost certainly have worn these on a daily basis as would any self respecting victorian young lady, so let’s see how a more modern version might look.

February 07, 2020

Making a capsule wardrobe of extraordinarily pretty things

February 07, 2020/ Claire (aka Ruby)

Recently I went to see the film ‘Little Women’ (twice). Have you seen it? It is Greta Gerwig’s new interpretation of the novel and I loved every second of it. In fact I was so enamoured of it that it plunged me into the world I used to inhabit as a teenager of Victorian style fantasy. I always desperately wished that I could wear the clothes of days gone by when women looked like women and wore what I may describe as ‘extraordinarily pretty things’. I remember when we were over the US a few years ago and we took the kids to Gettysburg. Driving away from it, I saw a shop selling civil war costumes - Scarlett O’hara style for sure. Oh how I wanted a crinoline dress. My husband laughed ‘what on earth would you do with it… wear it do the washing up???’ Of course he is right - I am neither actress or a drama queen. But after seeing ‘Little Women’, I saw lots of ideas that could easily be adapted to today’s wardrobe, which in my case, would absolutely have to include jeans.

January 20, 2020

Literary Threads No. 1 : Jane Austen embroidery pattern

January 20, 2020/ Claire (aka Ruby)

One of the projects I am working on this year is a series of embroidery patterns based on famous books or authors. I am a bit of a nut for books and just love curling up with a good read and a quilt. I always loved to read as a child and a lot of my favourite books go way way back. I first read Jane Austen in my early teens and have always loved the dramatisations and films that have regularly graced the screen. Such is our thirst for her stories and insights that the latest adaptation of ‘Sandition’ was in fact an unfinished novel. The fact that Ms. Austen has finally made her way on the £10 note is testament alone to her standing in the world of literature and an acknowledgement of her well deserved place in our national conscience. Why is it that her writings still have such popular appeal today?

January 12, 2020

Review : Crimson & Clover Train Case by Sew Sweetness

January 12, 2020/ Claire (aka Ruby)

Hi everyone and welcome to the sewing room in 2020. New Years Resolutions….mmmm…..well, like most people, I never struggle to make them, but can I actually keep them, this is the question. This year, one of my resolutions is to use up some of my fabric stash. I sometimes wonder what on earth I am doing with so much fabric - I would have to live three lives concurrently to have any chance of using it all up and how tragic would it be not to use it - I love all of it. So I pulled down a plastic box from on top of my cupboard and inside were some remnants of home decorating fabrics. One of them was this really beautiful piece of silk taffeta fabric, which had been carefully folded and stored in tissue paper. It was one of the those lucky finds in a bucket somewhere long ago and has been periodically taken out of it’s hiding place, lovingly stroked but then put away because I wasn’t sure what to do with it. It has gorgeous floral brush strokes and pops of embroidery to highlight the flowers and has a sheen and exoticness all of its own.

November 29, 2019

New Pattern - Skating Days

November 29, 2019/ Claire (aka Ruby)

Frosty mornings are here and all things winter are here too. My latest embroidery pattern is full of winter sparkle and icy charm. I am actually thrilled to bits with how this turned out and perhaps more especially because it was inspired by a vintage piece of Russian embroidery….a real gem, picked up at the arts and crafts market in Moscow called ‘Izmayilova’.

November 15, 2019

New Embroidery Pattern : Ski Days

November 15, 2019/ Claire (aka Ruby)

As the colder weather encroaches it is lovely to sit by the fire with the some hand stitching and this little project has been so much fun. I know it has been quite a while since I posted a new pattern and this is in part because I have been thinking hard about what direction to take my work in. I often worry that I have such a mish-mash of stuff going on and perhaps it is time to focus things a little. I have always wanted to make embroidery modern and more fun and perhaps more enticing for young people. My daughter inspired this design with a sketch … new to skiing, she is totally smitten and it seems to me that for youngsters it is really a wonderful holiday. I had already decided to make a ‘skating days’ design (more about that to come) so skiing is a natural partner for a new pair of designs.

November 10, 2019

Christmas Gift Ideas to sew - a fabric manicure box

November 10, 2019/ Claire (aka Ruby)

I love this time of year, thinking about Christmas gifts and planning what to make. I love to put together something small and handmade for all the girls in our family and thought it would be fun to post some ideas up on the journal. Early last year, I did a post about how to make a little fabric box. It can be used for whatever you like really, but in our case it has become a permanent fixture on the kitchen island where it looks after our nail polish and manicure tools. It has been a real hit. Friends and family alike sit around pottering with the pretty colours and painting their nails and for me, often in the early morning hours I like to sit by the Aga, with a candle and a book and do a ‘home manicure’. Our daughter is starting her first proper job in London next week and in packing up and sorting things out, she asked me for a nail box to take away with her. I was quite surprised but realised just how useful it has been. I made her a pretty one with Rifle Paper co. ‘Wonderland’ fabric and bought her a few nice bits and bobs to go in it. She loves it and we both said what a great idea it was for a Christmas gift, so I revisited it, revamped it and wrote a pdf tutorial.

October 08, 2019

Sweet Escape quilt along

October 08, 2019/ Claire (aka Ruby)

I don’t often join in ‘quilt alongs’, in fact I have only ever once before participated in this sort of social media ‘coming together’ kind of idea and that was at least 5 years ago. Instagram, for all the criticism hurled at it - if used ‘nicely’ can be so much fun and when I saw that Camille Roskelley was hosting a quilt along for a log cabin style pattern called ‘Sweet Escape’ I was smitten. Perhaps as well it had something to do with the fact that I am revamping one of the bedrooms in our house and a new quilt for the bed was a good idea. The colour scheme in there will be navy and yellow and white so I rummaged in my stash and ….oh what I surprise….I had enough fabric to make a start.

September 12, 2019

Abigail's Orchard - a tribute quilt and a story (a revisit)

September 12, 2019/ Claire (aka Ruby)

This quilt though, is one of my most prized possessions, a family heirloom and perhaps one of the most challenging quilts I have ever undertaken. It is made entirely on a domestic sewing machine and by hand and although I have added in a few new photos and text, it is a difficult quilt to appreciate in photographs - somehow when you can run your fingers over the tactile surface it sweeps you back to another time… the time of conquering heroes and heroines and Abigail Adams…..

August 28, 2019

Adventures of a novice dressmaker - The Peppermint Peplum top

August 28, 2019/ Claire (aka Ruby)

So this is the first dress making pattern I have ever downloaded. It’s clever, the way it works - the software somehow enables you to find the layer for your size and just print that. It took me a little while to suss it out, but once I had it all printed I fixed it together like a jigsaw puzzle. At this point, I was already thinking that I should probably use some of my Swedish pattern paper to make a copy … if it turns out well.

August 09, 2019

Making a Patchwork Bird Pond

August 09, 2019/ Claire (aka Ruby)

Around Easter time, our youngest son was home from London for a couple of days and it so happened that it was warm and sunny weather. He was lying on the grass in the middle of the garden while the rest of us were sitting on the terrace with our mid morning tea. All of a sudden he jumped up and declared ‘we should have a pond!’ and within 5 mins, he, along with my husband, had got the spades out of the garage and started digging.

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