Eye Candy

Just some eye candy to keep you going, while we were away. Wish i knew how to upload pictures, so that they stayed on a straight line.

tich

Little Bags

I remembered that years ago I made a number of small lined bags with a flap. The lining was put in as one piece, with no topstitching on the edges. I could not remember how to do it. It is really easy to put in a lining on a bag without a flap, but I was having difficulty working out how to sew in the flap, without top-stitching the top edge. Anyway I got it. Notice the buttons are not sewn in place yet. There is a buttonhole under the the grey button. There is something about completing a project that I have problems with. Now all I have to work out is how to put a lining in, using the same method, on a bag with gussets!

tich

Jelly Rolls

I know it sounds absolutely pathetic. I have been making patchwork on and off for nearly thirty five years now, and up to two days ago, I had never actually seen a Moda jelly roll in real life. I had drooled over them on the Internet, and finally I decided I was going to get one. There were some really nice ones here, and I was fortunate enough to get one on sale, and, of course, I had to get something to go with it! The service was fantastic, and the postage was really reasonable, so I would definitely recommend a visit. Now the only question is - what am i going to make with them?

tich

Fibre Tree

I recently came across the International Fiber Collaborative website. I had already seen pictures of a garage(gas station), which had been covered in 3 foot fibre panels, but when I came across this I was amazed! The website shows how the tree was constructed, and then fibre-related leaves from all over the world were attached.

There are ten pages showing photos of all the different leaves. 

It is truly out of (and part of) this world. Really interesting!

tich

Sewing at Last!

I love surfing the web, looking for ideas for things I can try, as I like learning. I have a lot of favourite blogs, which I visit every day. I was really tickled with the above picture and tutorial at http://rachel-griffith.blogspot.com/ Rachel has some really nice ideas, and she very kindly allowed me to show you the picture above, from her tutorial, here   

 I have already cut out squares of paper in varying sizes, to use up some of my strings, but the ones I am working on are 1.5 inches. I am using up a bunch of scraps I won in a giveaway a while ago from Artgirl (see http://www.colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com/ The scraps are wonderful! Beautiful colours, and I am having fun!! The second and third pictures show some of the blocks I have got done. Only the black cotton is consistantly the same size, the rest are random cut.

Thanks Rachel and Leah for the inspiration!

tich

The Bay

I realise there have not been many 'crafty' items of late, but I am still learning how to use my machine. I thought, therefor, I would give you a little eye-candy - not of the craft type, but of nature at its best. This is the bay in front of my home. It fills and empties twice a day, and each day is different. Often I just sit in the conservatory and gaze at it, or if I am feeling energetic, I walk across it, when it is empty.

Please enjoy the pictures below!

tich

Rhubarb!!

I have been very busy the last few days. No sewing, but I was offered some rhubarb, and of course I jumped at the chance. Coarse rhubarb can be chopped up and put in the freezer. If the rhubarb is left in for a while, it breaks down, so that lots of juice comes out, when it is defrosted. This makes great rhubarb wine. Finer rhubarb makes tarts or great jam. My husband is not a great lover of rhubarb and ginger jam, so I make rhubarb and orange jam. Recipe is below. 

The weather here is glorious. Beautiful blue skies, occasional white clouds and lots of warm, sunny hours. Long may it continue.

Enjoy the recipe!

tich

Rhubarb and Orange Jam

4lb rhubarb

3 sweet oranges

5lb sugar

1 pint water

1 lemon

Cut rhubarb into small pieces. Add grated rind and juice of oranges/lemon with sugar and water. Bring to boil until jellied.