Cutting Table

Having swapped the drawing board for the Lotas loom, I’ve found the lack of a flat space in the craft room meant I suddenly wasn’t inclined to pick up a sewing project (aside from slow stitching, which I’m doing elsewhere). So I got thinking and found a solution:

The Lotas Loom can now become a table with the simple addition of a board resting on top. The board is a piece of plywood – the lightest material I could find that came in a large enough size. Cork tiles have been glued on the underside to protect the loom (recycling something I already had). My cutting board fits on top leaving a small area at once side that currently has melamine covered mdf on it, but I’m thinking I’ll replace with an ironing pad.

Early versions had fold-down legs that attached to the front beam and castle, raising the board above the beater. Then I put the beater in the front position and discovered it sat at pretty much the same level as the castle, so didn’t bother with the legs.

The removable castle shelf that Paul made now has hinges so its sides can fold away, making it easy to stow when I’m not using the loom.

When I first put the plywood in place to test out the idea, I found myself using the surface to sort scraps of fabric and lay out potential project materials. Of course, I got a nasty splinter under a fingernail because the surface was unfinished, but it did prove that a cutting table was all that was stopping me sewing. As soon as I had added the cork, drawing board and mdf the creative juices began flowing and I had a new project underway and had made several bundles of fabric for future ones.

Rainbow Cat Couch Quilt

When I finally did some actual craft again after the big room reorganisation and craft downsize in May and June, it was to finish this quilt. I’ve waited this long to post about the quilt because it was a birthday present.

I’d ordered some multi-coloured gradient thread, but it took four months to arrive. I do wish online stores wouldn’t list items they don’t have in stock. Still, they were apologetic and kept me updated on the order progress throughout the long wait. At one point I gave up and decided to hand quilt. I gathered and bought some needles, thread and a frame, but I’m glad I never got around to it because the gradient thread is perfect.

I used white thread on the back.

The binding fabric is a piece I noticed in a scrap bin beside the counter at Spotlight while I was being served – one of those lucky fabric moments. I had barely enough, though, which is why the binding is so narrow. It was not easy to apply!

If you knew the recipient, you’d know a ridiculously bright, cosy rainbow cat quilt had to go to them. It’s always so nice when something you make chooses its owner!

A New Quilt Thing

I decided earlier this year that I wasn’t going to start a new quilt until all the ones from the Summer of Quilts were finished. Well, I completed the last one in July so I was free to start something new. What I’d been most itching to try was a kawandi-inspired project.

The Kawandi approach appealed because I like repurposing fabric and doing running stitch. I already had a half dozen men’s shirts to find a use for, some yellow mercerised thrums that would make a nice contrast, and waaaaay more old sheets for testing sewing patterns than I need.

As it turned out, I also had a piece of leftover flannelette about the size I was thinking for the piece so I decided to use that as the battling/filler. From the old sheets I chose one I’d dyed with indigo ages ago for the backing, cut it 2 cm larger than the flannelette and pressed the excess in as the hem.

Then I started tearing the shirts into rectangles and sewing those down along the edge.

Once I’d made it around the edge of the whole piece, I tucked in the flannelette rectangle as I’d seen done in videos. This was really fiddly, and I can’t see much advantage in doing it in this order, so next time I’ll simply lay the flannelette on top of the backing before pressing in the hem. But at least doing it the fiddly way means the above photo shows the fabric on the underside.

I’m not including the little fabric tassels on the corners that traditional kawandi have because, well, I forgot to add them. Rather than pull the stitches out I decided to keep it simple. It’s a piece to learn with, not an attempt to get it ‘right’ first time.

Slow Stitch Skirt

Having done two fairly random slow stitched pieces then turned them into useful objects, I was ready to make something more intentional. I had lots of ideas to choose from. What I settled on was a skirt with a slow stitched front. The base fabric will be black and the scraps sewed onto it will be colourful so the result looks a bit like stained glass. Because it’ll be washed in the machine, I’m folding in the edges of the scraps.

I didn’t want to wrangle a large piece of fabric so I’m doing it in strips to be sewn together later. The strips would be indifferent colours, with red at the bottom then purple, blue, aqua and green in turn to the waist.

My small stash of fabric scraps wasn’t going to accommodate this, so I began sourcing more. First from a friend, who supplied most of what I needed from her bountiful stash. Then by buying scrap packs at the Craft & Quilt Show, and at the Embroiderer’s Guild destash sale. I also ordered a random scrap bundle from a quilting shop but the colours were either too muted or not the hues I’m looking for.

I didn’t want the skirt to be as thick and poofy as a quilt so I’m using strips of leftover flannelette from making quilts instead of batting. For the thread I’m using up more mercerised cotton thrums, but where I don’t have the right colours I’m using perle cotton embroidery thread as well. I really like the soft shine of mercerised cotton, and enjoying stitching in saturated colour.

Cats in Squares Quilt

This was the last quilt to be top-stitched and bound, and though it was small I struggled a bit with it. Mostly in deciding how I wanted to top-stitch it. First I tried hand quilting in white sewing thread, but I couldn’t see what I was doing. Also, I’d started slow-stitching by then and didn’t want a less interesting hand-stitching project taking up all my hand work time.

Then I sewed a wood-grain-like pattern using wavy lines and the rainbow thread. At first I tried treating the cat squares like knots to be avoided, but that looked terrible. Fortunately, I’d used a longer stitch length so it was easy to unpick the bits I didn’t like. I continued with just the wavy pattern. Then bound the edges and it was done.

With all the Summer of Quilts quilts done, I’m free to make another. But it won’t be flannelette. Kwandi, or something with sashiko panels, appeals. I’m heading for the Quilt and Craft fair soon so maybe it will inspire something. Or maybe I’ll sew more clothes and non-patchworky homewares. Or maybe I’ll be sucked into a completely different craft.

Another Stitched Thing

Before I’d finished the first slow stitching piece I had the next one ready and waiting, but while I worked on the second piece my thoughts wandered down a different path: all the different applications I could put this stitching thing to. Which seems like planning, which is not in the spirit of slow stitching, and yet seems like exploring wherever inspiration takes me, which does.

I did a lot of exploring in the second piece.

When it was done, a bit of contemplation and experimental folding happened before I knew what it wanted to become. That, it turned out, was a zippered bag, with a quilted corduroy stripe at the bottom and as a tab at the side. I love it!

My favourite part of the stitching is this bit:

The stitch might be called ‘feather stitch’ in the little embroidery book I keep by my armchair, but linked up and meandering into a larger mass it looks like the pattern formed by streams joining to form every larger rivers, or the expanding growth form of tree branches. The stitched area has a satisfying texture not unlike lines of running stitch, but more fun to sew.

I’m also enjoying french knots more now I have the hang of them. And chain stitch, despite not really liking making daisies. I’ve always liked blanket stitch. But not so much the stem stitch I used for the spirals, which I kept having to unpick and redo because they looked too wonky.

A New Thing

Of course, trying to finish UFO and organise my stuff is the perfect time to try a new hobby, but in retrospect, it was doing those things that led to the hobby-trying.

Because of thrums.

This is after culling and using maybe a third.

I have quite a lot of them, and recently I’ve tested a few new ways to use them up. I tried combing some wool thrums into fluff to spin new yarn out of, but it was too much like hard work and the yarn it made was yucky. Then I made some wool thrum tassels on a day when only a mostly brainless task would do, and I was pretty happy with the result. They’ll be used as decorations at my next party thing.

These will be party decorations.

Then I realised that the perle cotton and 16/2 cotton thrums would make excellent thread for slow stitching pieces.

Ah. Slow Stitching. A woman I met at a car thing a few months ago enthused about it, and of course I’d seen examples on Instagram and YouTube. With those thrums sitting there needing a purpose, I did a bit of research, brought out my new ‘scrap fabric’ tub and started playing. I made a piece out of blue and green offcuts sewn with natural white cotton thrums, that became a small drawstring bag.

Then I started on a piece in red shades stitched with yellow, green and salmon pink perle cotton thrums.

And somehow I managed to buy a book on the subject. And some little packets of fabric scraps I found at an op shop.

I’m not sure where this is going, but that’s kind of the point. This is very much a journey-more-important-than-destination pastime. The fact is, though, that’s not very me. However, I am able to enjoy the lack of end purpose if I tell myself that I don’t have to decide what the thing I’m making will become until I’m done stitching. As with most new hobbies, the first things I made are more about learning and practising. I may grow more intentional in my choices, but for now… this’ll do.

The Art Quilt

When the Summer of Quilts ended I was left with a handful of quilts that still needed topstitching and binding. Not wanting them to languish in a tub somewhere, but needing a break from quilt-making, I decided to finish one a month. I think I’m on track. I’ll just check…

In fact, I’m ahead! I finished the Blue Quilt in March, the Purple Quilt in April and I seem to have forgotten to blog about the Bookcase Quilt in May. I finished another one this month but won’t be posting about it until the recipient’s birthday has passed. What I can post about is the other quilt I finished in June: the Art Quilt.

I decided to use serpentine stitch on my machine again in the sections of plain colour, in a matching shade. Going around the squares was fun and somehow the start and end of the stitching always met, or came close. I like how every turn happens in a different part of the wave so you get a different ‘kink’ each time. The threads needed to be tied and hand-sewn into the batting because I wasn’t sure if I could back tack using serpentine stitch. Really, I should have just done a test – it would have saved a lot of work.

It would have been fine to leave the quilt as it was at this point, but the gaps between stitching seemed a bit wide to me. I decided to do more top-stitching, this time sewing around the multicoloured squares with multicoloured thread in straight stitch. Then I did a bit of thread ‘scribble’ in the white centres, which I love. I’d wanted to do that with fabric pens or crayons, but didn’t like the results when I tested them on scrap fabric, so I’d left them unadorned.

There’s just one quilt left to finish now. Only when it’s done am I free to make another quilt. Will I? Maybe. There’s enough flannelette left to make one, possibly two, small quilts. I’m also intrigued by the kawandi quilting technique.

But I am well stocked with quilts now, so maybe I’ll also impose a rule on not making more quilts until I’ve found homes for some of the ones I already have.

Colour-blocked Corduroy Jacket

Or is it a shirt? I guess it’s a ‘shacket’, as it works as either.

It felt like I had a lot left to do when I tackled the next stage, since the sewing up is the main part of garment construction. But in truth, it was no more than an easy day’s work. I took breaks for cuppas and lunch, and one to write the bulk of this post before tackling the buttonholes.

This was a ‘just for the fun of it’ project. Though it was done in the spirit of using up fabric, the main aim was to play with colour-blocking. I bought fabric for it and have enough of five of the six kinds to put to other uses, though not for any full garment.

What’s next? Well, some sewing thread I ordered for topstitching a quilt back in January has finally arrived, so that might be next. Or perhaps I’ll fix the wool skirt that got shrunk last year first.

Cutting the Cord

I was all ready to start cutting out fabric for the patchwork corduroy shirt when we went away for a long weekend. When I got back I was tired and bound mess up the task and then I got into an organising and culling state of mine. It wasn’t until two weeks later that I returned to the project.

The catalyst, I suspect, was going to a second hand and vintage sale looking for nice pants and long skirts and not finding any. That sparked some ideas, both of garments and of creative challenges I could set myself, and the next day I was back at the cutting table.

There were a lot of pieces to cut. Six colours and textures of corduroy. It took me most of a morning and then I really needed a mental break so we went for a walk then for various reasons I was drawn away from the sewing room again.

I didn’t get back to it until the following weekend, when I sewed it all into pattern pieces and got the pockets and front yokes attached. I’m hoping to make more progress this weekend, but I’m not in a hurry. It’s nice to sew at a relaxed pace.