What I did with my 1987 Wedding Dress!

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What I did with my 1987 Wedding Dress!

Last weekend my boy Joe married his girl Caroline at Limbricht Castle in the Netherlands… It was the first wedding in our family for a very long time and of course such an occasion prompts you to think about life and love and how the years pass by. I wanted to do something small and special with my needle for my new daughter in law and way back when the first wedding was planned in 2020 had made the decision to do something with my own wedding dress.

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Making a 'Plaidish Quilt'

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Making a 'Plaidish Quilt'

Once everything was done and dusted, I am just over the moon with this project. I would definitely make this pattern again and I just know that this quilt is going to be used and treasured and hopefully in lots of sunny day photos of family days out. When I look at holiday snapshots from my childhood, my Mum is often wearing the same sundress year after year and I like to think this quilt will turn out to be like that, in all the pictures, soaking up the sunshine and happy family times.

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Making a fairisle cowl, Beatrix Potter at the V & A and a Cumbrian weekend

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Making a fairisle cowl, Beatrix Potter at the V & A and a Cumbrian weekend

This post sounds all a bit of a mouthful…and it may turn out to be a bit of a ramble, but several things that began separately all seemed to conspire to form a whole rather lovely adventure.

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Making a patchwork Jeans tote bag

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Making a patchwork Jeans tote bag

Upcycling or recycling is such a valuable thing to do, making something new out of old jeans, scraps, buttons beads and just having the best fun in the process creating a whole new piece. It will always be the St. Kilda bag to me and what’s more it is perfect for a book bag. I hope one day to visit St. Kilda and I’ll be sure to take this with me - now that would be a wonderful photo for my scrap book.

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Making the Style Arc 'Anita' Blouse

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Making the Style Arc 'Anita' Blouse

Back to dressmaking here today and spring/summer wardrobe planning….did I really say that? I am not a wardrobe planning kind of person, but it was one of my resolutions this year, to declutter and reorganise my wardrobe and making some new things is part of it. However, the course of true sewing love doesn’t necessarily run smoothly and this one most certainly didn’t!!

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Creative Mending - a wool jumper and an embroidered patch

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Creative Mending - a wool jumper and an embroidered patch

As part of my drive towards sustainable living, I have been wanting to attempt this for a while. There has been loads of inspirational images popping up on instagram and in the wider media about how to look at this, but it was buying, Flora Collingwood-Norris’ amazing book ‘Visible Creative Mending, that finally launched me on my way with it.

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Knitting a Capelet

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Knitting a Capelet

If you are wondering what a ‘Capelet’ is (and I didn’t know at first) it’s a small cape that usually just covers the shoulders. They seem to have been quite popular in the 1920s and 30s. Over the last few years, poncho’s have been very popular and they do make sense, keeping you warm but allowing your arms freedom of movement. A capelet is much the same, but shorter and sort of somewhere in between a cowl and a poncho. Living in an old stone house in Yorkshire, I confess it can get quite chilly in winter and these are the perfect solution and they have such a vintage vibe too.

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Making reusable makeup remover pads

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Making reusable makeup remover pads

This year I am resolved to find more ways to live sustainably.… ..I also have a huge stash of fabric and need to work on some more dressmaking projects and other small ideas which can help with sustainable living. One such little project has been so much fun to work on this week and I am completely thrilled with the results. Reusable (and completely gorgeous) make up remover pads.

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Making the Greenhouse Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman

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Making the Greenhouse Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman

When you finish a big project like this…especially one that you have wanted to make for a long time, the satisfaction is immeasurable. Every time I look at it, I feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that brings me a lot of happiness. This is the real joy of a hobby like this and I truly believe that being creative, whether it is painting or ceramics or sewing or cooking or gardening, is the way to find peace and calm within yourself. It has been a great way to finish up the year in the sewing room and I am prodigiously proud of this quilt.

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Making a knitted nordic Christmas garland

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Making a knitted nordic Christmas garland

Tiny knitted christmas trees adorned with pearl buttons and wooden stars….sounds like a dreamy little project doesn’t it. This is something I have been wanting to make for several years and somehow it always gets left too late and I am not organised with the right sort of wool and it gets relegated to the next year list yet again.

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24 Days of Sashiko ...

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24 Days of Sashiko ...

The real joy of the internet is stuff like this….. I mean, seriously, it is just a wondrous thing to be able to follow a little programme like this, share your work and be amazed by people from all over the world, doing the exact same thing in every kind of coloured thread on every tone of cloth. It connects you to fellow stitchers and opens up new worlds of possibilities.

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Making a Safari Cushion

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Making a Safari Cushion

The real joy of embroidering is when you can make a special gift for someone you love and this project has been supremely joyous in every way. I wanted to make a gift for my sister and brother in law who have recently done a bit of a make over in their living room. As they have just got new sofas, I felt a cushion was a good option and In thinking what to make, I thought of the holiday of a lifetime that they went on a few years ago, on Safari in Africa and decided on a safari theme. Yumiko Higuchi’s beautiful (aren’t they always) book of embroidered animals is just so gorgeous that it is easy to get drawn into her world of spectacular sewing and feel inspired to have a go.

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