easily distracted by shiny things…
Posted in crafty things, fabric on Dec 8th, 2011
Hello! I feel as though I’ve been away for ages. I’m so busy at the moment I’ve barely had time to breathe, never mind blog, but I made this yesterday and I thought it would be a nice little something to show. It’s a somewhat experimental piece of nuno felt, about the size of a sheet [...]
Without wishing to put anyone off the idea of buying my organic cotton fabric, this is what it looks like when it comes out of the washing machine. In these days of synthetic fibres and “easy-iron” fabrics, this might come as a bit of a shock. Thankfully, a few minutes with a nice hot iron can [...]
Oh, I have so many things that I’ve made and haven’t told you about yet… and I have a new job, and new ideas and new plans… but first of all I need to do a little bit of clearing out. It’s more than three years since my order of Bishopston Trading fabrics arrived, and [...]
Starting to work with the organic cottons again reminded me that I’d already put together some designs for skirts that were very similar to the blue cotton tunic dress. Large pockets and a ruffle, although I think I’d go for an elastic waistband rather than darts and a zip. I drafted these little sketches way [...]
This is a little tunic dress, from one of my own patterns. The main body of the dress is blue organic cotton from Bishopston Trading. The yoke and assorted other parts are also organic cotton, from Kaffe Fassett’s collection for Rowan a few years ago. The pockets are set into the side seams, because it [...]
Posted in exhibitions, fabric, inspiration on Aug 12th, 2011
I managed to miss the Horrockses exhibition at the Fashion & Textile Museum, so I was delighted to pick up a leaflet for Basildon Park and find out that I could see them a little closer to home. The dresses were beautifully displayed throughout the house, but the highlight for me was this lobster-print skirt [...]
Everyone knows that yarn and fabric bought while you’re on holiday doesn’t count as stash, right…? On the left is two balls of Schoppel Wolle’s “Flying Saucer” sock yarn. It’s dyed two strands at once, so that when you unwind it into two balls you can knit two identical socks. If you follow their pattern, [...]
Posted in fabric on May 16th, 2011
While I’ve been thinking about making lingerie and slippers, I thought I’d have another look at what’s out there in terms of organic and fair trade fabrics. I still have a lot of my Bishopston Trading organic cottons, but I wanted to find out whether there was anything new and exciting around. The samples above [...]
It has to be said that I’m well known for making ridiculous dresses from quilting fabrics with completely inappropriate prints. So when I discovered that eQuilter were stocking Dr Seuss fabrics, my heart leapt! There are seventeen different prints, but I think that these two are the most suitable least inappropriate best ones for making [...]
Posted in fabric, re-enactment, shopping on Aug 12th, 2010
Last weekend we paid a visit to Broadlands, where there was a multi-period historical re-enactment weekend going on. As you can see, the weather was absolutely ideal for a British summer’s day out. As it turned out the Victorian Redcoats didn’t have to shelter for very long, but it was certainly very wet while it [...]