Back in the saddle

Last night I finally found the box with the sewing machine in! Hurrah!

After the kids went to bed at 8.00pm I wasted no time in finding the huge pile of sewing I need to get done before Xmas and setting to work. First up I did all the little bits of mending and darning that were needed on various items of clothing.

Then I started up on some new stuff. I sewed 12 napkins (old BA first class ones... don't ask) together to make a tablecloth to match the 8 remaining ones. It's pretty rough and ready as I just zigzagged them all together but will be fine as an under tablecloth. I actually dyed these napkins from dark blue to black, but they look blue again in these photos! Weird, they are definitely black in real life. Difficult to take photos of a dark tablecloth really.






Next up were two little Clothkits items I've had waiting. These are the final little bits of sewing I need to get done before I can start the sewing I'm doing to help Santa ;)

The first is a simple doorstop for our bedroom. Our old house had doors that just wedged in place but in this nice brand new house the doors swing freely. It was a very easy pattern to sew together and I'm hoping to copy the design top make doorstops for other rooms too. It is filled with some black-eyed beans that the previous residents here left behind.




The last bit of sewing I managed last night before my eyes started going funny was a little Clothkits skirt for Papaya. A Jane Foster design again, I just love her stuff! I'd fill our whole house and wardrobes with them if could. This is called an "Easy Peasy Skirt" and it really is. I did take the slightly more difficult option though of a drawstring waist for my snake-hipped girl.



Here's the girl herself modelling it she says it's very comfy and was particularly enamoured by the flowers on the bottom!




Note the further pile of boxes to be unpacked in the background... maybe the phone is in there?! I have no photo editing software on this computer yet so photos are having to go up as is.

It was wonderful to finally get some sewing under my belt. Felt like I was back in the saddle with it all. Such a relief as well to finally make a dent in the huge pile that has been building up!

Recycled Scarf

I bought a scarf from Topshop years ago because I loved the fabric but never really knew what to do with it. Then thanks to SouleMama I spotted the Lazy Days Skirt from Oliver + S and was excited to measure the scarf and find it was exactly the right length to make a skirt for Papaya!



I really like this pattern as it makes a nice full skirt. Unfortunately the edges of the scarf were already hemmed so I didn't need to use a ribbon, but you can bet I'll be sewing loads of these little skirts, complete with ribbon hem, from now on! Obviously her dolly gets a skirt too! If I've got enough material I try to make a matching item for dolly as it barely takes any extra time and it's building a nice little wardrobe for her.