SweetMyrtle

nettles

there was a large nettle patch at the allotment just by the pond when we took on the plot last year. my other half thought it was a pest so has cleared it (though luckily not dug the roots out ; )

nettles are so resilient so i am looking forward to some young shoots emerging this year and I will try to contain them to a wildlife patch at the bottom of the plot. I'd like to harvest nettles for teas and also for plant dyeing. I will save a dock plant too just in case we get stung (there are a few nearby). i had been bought up in the knowledge that a dock leaf rubbed onto a nettle string will calm it and remove the itchiness and last year had to test the theory , i am happy to report it is true and worked a treat!

 

allotment

 

Just coming up for a year ago we were invited to look at an allotment (half) plot that had become available nearby. Half of it was very overgrown and the other half had been tended only a little in the past 3 years by 3 different tenants.  The original plot holder, a hippy vegetarian guy known as 'Polly' had become ill and then sadly died but had gardened right till the end on his beloved plot. Everyone spoke with affection for him...even though the plot needed a lot of work it just felt right and we said yes please, we would like to take it on.

We have had our first year and are slowly reclaiming parts of it, gradually removing old weed suppressant that is disintegrating... it is a slow job.

We are very lucky that the plot has an apple tree and lots of currant bushes and also some rhubarb. There is a small pond which need some repair but it did had frogs in last year!

This picture was taken on the day we took the plot on. We are looking forward to our second year.

indigo ~ alchemy

last summer's magical indigo starter

needlesspost ~ round 2 'Blooms'

 

Last year I took part in a s l o w embroidery project called #Needlesspost,  a 'pass it on postal embroidery project inviting collaboration through needlecraft between strangers' I wrote about round 1 here

Round 1 was to start an embroidery using a third of the cloth leaving space for two further collaborators to add to the piece. I really enjoyed round 1 as I found it so freeing, to start something knowing it would be passed on.  Round two felt different. Here I was to add to the work started by Debbie. Debbie had created a beautiful embroidery and it felt like such a responsibility to take over. I wanted to honour what she had done whilst adding something of me, but  I didn't want to ruin it!

 

 

Debbie sent me a letter and a green rose ring which I wear often.

I set to playing with some felt and thread.  Debbie had named her piece 'Circles'. These circles said flower centres to me  so I began to create some 'Blooms', first playing and positioning and then rejigging until it felt right.

 

 

 

 

Magic cat loved laying on it when I was trying to take photos though I was careful to keep the jelly beans and sherbet dib-dabs for the next recipient, away from him. I had a lot of fun and was interested to see how much colour I had used, especially as my contribution to round 1 had been fairly muted blues. When i finished I sent off the embroidery to Amanda, who sent it to I don't know who. The final result can be seen here. along with some of the other finished embroideries.

Amanda Wayne and Ellie Shipman who instigated the project are planning an exhibition  at some point and I think also a future project. All very exciting. I am really looking forward to meeting some of the other contributors and seeing all the embroideries displayed.

 

self-care

i have been unwell recently and feeling a little vulnerable.  much of this stems from having loss of consciousness experiences with seizures. i have suffered from these on and off all my life but they have recently increased and i am going through the process of trying to discover why. as a consequence my confidence has dipped so i am digging deep and trying to boost this through healthy eating and living. yoga, meditation and visualizations are my allies as is dancing and i am loving dancing to calypso music each morning to get me up and moving ; ) we often bury our worries and anxieties and try and move forward but it can be like wading through treacle. i am acknowledging mine and self-care is paramount to my well being.

i made a new vision board to support me

 

details

noticing through the lens in my parents garden

loving the vivid greens

bees gathering nectar

the first of the cherry tomatoes turning.

happy days of Summer, I hope you are enjoying the plants, insects and fruits this season too

Flower meadow dress

My latest make is a dress ;  )

early last year i took a trip up to the wonderful Fabrics Galore shop in London with my sewing partner Alice, my dear friend Janet Clare and one of our lovely sewing class students Kate. It was an enjoyable trip and we all came away with lighter pockets but lots of delicious fabrics to work with. One of my purchases that day was 2 metres of pretty floral cotton lawn. When i chose it i was thinking it would make a wonderful kimono style dressing gown.

I finally took it down from the shelf in my studio, just a month ago and decided to use it to make another New Look 6184 . My original dress was unlined but as cotton lawn is very lightweight i decided to line it. When i started cutting into it i had forgotten that i only had 2 metres and this dress needed almost 3. The full skirt version has 4 side panels and i was 2 short so i searched the internet in the hope of finding the same print. i was so lucky as Minerva fabrics had some!

The dress  is a pretty straightforward make. i love that all the shaping is at the neck, in the four pleats, so no darts to stitch. the pattern is fairly quick to sew up too and gives instructions for facing the neck and  binding the seam with bias binding. As well as two neck variations the pattern comes with two skirt options. the full skirt, which i opted for, is made up of 7 panels so a few seams to sew and neaten, but it is all doable. I had double to sew though as i was lining it which took a little longer.

There are a few methods one can use to line a dress and i chose the method of leaving the side seams and centre back seam open and sewing the lining to the main fabric at the neck and the armholes. After clipping the seams i turned the garment right side out by passing the bodice through the shoulders. This can be confusing the first time you do it but it works brilliantly and with a little additional understitching means that the neckline and armholes are beautifully finished off.

After i had sewn up the side seams i checked for fit, then added the skirt and a concealed zip at the centre back and finished off the seam. I must admit that i neatened all my seams with my overlocker for speed as i was itching to wear it. Then i just had the hems to sew;  i machine stitched a narrow hem on the lining and used a hand sewn herringbone stitch to finish the hem on the cotton lawn. I love my new dress and when i wear it i feel like i am wearing a fragrant flower meadow. i seem to have a thing about flower meadows it seems  ; )

now i just need to finish off my jenna cardigan to wear with it.

sewing for the home - the 'Flower meadow' blind

last year i bought some beautiful cotton lawn locally. i fell in love with the print of gorgeous pink flowers on the blue and crisp white background. 

I decided that i would use it to make a roman blind to hang in our bathroom so  that each morning i would be greeted by  it's cheeriness and i could make believe that i was bathing in a fragrant flower meadow!

I started the blind last summer then for some reason put it to one side as work and other jobs took it's place. I remembered recently that this uncompleted project was still in a bag under my work table so out it came. I only had the Velcro, rings and cord to add and  the baton to fix up and it would be ready to hang.

Meanwhile over on twitter i saw that Amanda from Sew Deputy was using the very same fabric to make  herself a Ruby dress. We exchanged tweets and Amanda said the fabric reminded her of the TV program Rosie and Jim. We then reminisced about Rosie and Jim which our children had enjoyed watching when they were younger. So my flower meadow blind nearly changed into my Rosie and Jim Blind!

we still have my youngest girls Rosie and Jim dolls plus a duck, not the real one from the program but a wooden duck i got at a car boot sale which i am strangely fond of and who always seems to to survive any de-cluttering i do.

i love my new blind and it really does freshen up the bathroom and  my man even let me borrow his new drill so i could put it up.

Amanda finished her Ruby dress and managed to snap a picture next to a barge! for those of you that remember the program you'll understand why. Do go and have a look at her creation.

If you love the fabric then White tree fabrics  sell it, although i think after Amanda made her dress they sold out, but i see it is now back in stock ; )

Back to Basics E book

I am really excited to tell you about a project that i have been involved in which launches on the 21st April!

The project is an e-book called Back to Basics - Your essential guide to Make do and Mend

This book is the brainchild of Jen Gale, of the brilliant Make do and Mendable website and who has been blogging about her families journey of living resourcefully and sustainably  since 2013

As part of a Screw work Let's Play 30 day challenge she decided to bring together many bloggers  and creatives with make do and mend expertise to produce the book.

I have contributed a chapter called Hem it! which shows you how to mark up and sew a variety of hems, including trouser and skirt hems. I also worked with Jen to proof and edit the whole book.It has been great fun to be involved and i think the book provides a super useful reference for anyone who likes the idea of making and mending , who wish to be resourceful, get creative and save money. After reading it even I would feel confident attempting a bike puncture repair!

The book contains a whopping 19 chapters, and 150 pages of Make Do and Mend information.
Fellow collaborators include  darning king Tom of Holland, and creator of Sugru (that amazing stuff that has a myriad of clever fix it solutions) Jane  ni Dhulchaointigh, as well as Tamara Melvin and Lauren Guthrie who were both contestants of the Great British Sewing Bee.

The book will help you get started, or teach you some new skills, in all of the ‘basic’ Make Do and Mend areas. From sewing to sugru, and punctures to plugs, there really is something for everyone, no matter where you are in your Make Do and Mend journey.

If you’ve ever wondered how to make a pattern from a charity shop find, or re-use the yarn from old woollies, then wonder no more as this is all included! As well as covering the basic skills, the book also has great tips on  how to make your clothes last longer (from a real live West End Wardrobe Mistress!) and natural methods of cleaning your home, which  i especially liked.

Each chapter lists the equipment you need to get started, and then talks you through each stage, with oodles of colour photos to illustrate the text. There are also 8  projects to enable you to put your new found skills into practice straightaway.

here are the contents

 

Looks good doesn't it, and all for only £8  and delivered straight to your in box.

Each contributor has written their chapter for free but will get a percentage of the sales that arrive through their individual affiliate link , so if you would like to buy a copy pretty please click on the picture link below. This will take you to a page on Jen's site with further information and a final purchasing button.

Many thanks and Enjoy!

 

Needless post ~ round 1

a few months ago i spotted a link on Ray Stitch's facebook page about  collaborative embroidery project which intrigued me. once i had followed the link which stated that this was a 'pass it on postal embroidery project inviting collaboration through needlecraft between strangers' i was hooked, i signed up straight away for #needlesspost

my motivation for getting involved was that i love to collaborate. Also although i sew for a living i am not an embroiderer, so for me the idea of personal experimentation and engagement excited me too, you know, pushing myself outside my comfort zone, and of course i knew it would be fun. so i stepped into the unknown and made a start.

I wanted to use what i had. i am lucky to have built up supplies over the years of buttons and threads and it felt good to use them.  Each participant was asked to choose some fabric, no larger that 50cms x 50cms and to embroider something. the project embraces the 'slow' so we were to hand stitch whatever we wished on to about a third of the cloth leaving space for two further contributors to add to the art work we had started.

I found a piece of cotton which had once been part of a bed sheet and starting stitching.

Faced with a blank piece of cloth is rather like a blank page. it can feel intimidating, yet also full of possibility.

i started thinking about waves and sea as scrolls, perhaps with words embroidered, but then i felt the need to add a few scraps of fabric to cover some of the white. on reflection perhaps i needed this to  lessen my fear of the 'white page'.  a spiral started to emerge * i love spirals* so i then decided the best approach was to work instinctively without over thinking and to allow a design to  appear, and to enjoy experimenting with the type of stitching i am drawn to.  My personal embroidery inspirations are Jude Hill's beautiful stitched stories. I also  love sashiko and Japanese boro textiles and kantha quilting which all use  little rows of straight stitches, to either mend or add decorative detail.

The large embroidery hoop i was holding the cloth securely in, once removed, left a contour of a circle which i defined with couched down thread. it started to take on a moonlike feel... i stitched some 'craters' and then decided to add fabric behind and cut away...  it really was fun to just experiment, also adding rescued buttons from my stash.

i kind of didn't know when to stop then i wondered if i had used too much of the cloth, but no, two thirds were left.

when i had finished i packaged up the embroidery with some sunflower seeds from my garden for Steph who i was sending the piece to and dressed the parcel with some dried lavender also from my garden. i also made a card with one of my photos and wrote her a wee note.

round 1 was finished. i thoroughly enjoyed the process and loved that it felt expansive and non precious. Creating something that you know you will giveaway is really freeing, a gift. sewing love into each stitch.

i  can't wait to see where Steph takes the piece next and how it evolves over the next two rounds.

i then waited for a delivery of round two of #needlesspost which i will blog about shortly, and share with you how the process for me continued.