Sunday 19 October 2014

Sewing and Bargains

I'm doing another Craft Fair at the beginning of November so I wanted to make a few diary covers. This usually involves my desk getting covered with embroidery threads, and the only exception this time was that I decided to tidy them up too. I made cardboard 'bobbins' for some of them and spent ages untangling and winding and then putting duplicate spares in a bag. Then a couple of days later I decided to clear some more drawers and spread the threads out a bit, make them even tideier and easy to choose. These are all the drawers:


One of the pieces I'm using for a book cover is a piece I made years ago. I wanted to see if I could make a subtle plaid design by laying out bold stripes of colours on my two layers, it was more subtle than I thought, but I like it. I've cut to size and sewn the inside pocket edges so far:


You might remember this next piece from when I tried some commercial pre-felt from Heidi Feathers. The silk hadn't attached in a couple of places so I added blanket stitch, then decided to add some more simple stitching in the blocks of colour. I'm still working on this, and have added a bit more since I took the photo:


I went in to Manchester city centre this week, which I don't often do, so made the most of it looking for bargains. I found a couple of elasticated summer dresses for £1 each so got them because I liked the pattern, they were only tiny though, so once I cut the top off, the bottom was a bit bigger than a pillow case, but well worth £1!


In the same shop (Primark) I treated myself to a 'scarf' because I liked the pattern, it's actually the size of a door!


I saw this scarf in a bargain shop and thought I'd see if it nuno felts well:


And, I couldn't go to town without a trip to Abakhan fabric shop, where I got some more braiding:


And probably the best bargain of the day, I found a roll of silk fabric, down from £10 a metre to £3, so I had to get some :)


10 comments:

  1. Hello Zed, it looks like you had fun on your shopping trip to town. Some very pretty finds. Your book cover colors are very bright and bold. I always love adding stitching to projects. Nice to get organized, hey???

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    1. Thanks, Judy :)
      I do like it tidy, but can never keep it that way!

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  2. I love getting organised but it always seems to take four times as long as I think it will.
    Your little drawers are great for embroidery threads.
    Love that piece of silk in the last photo!

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    1. At least 4 times longer! I could have made a couple of book covers in the same time!
      The drawers are from IKEA years ago :)

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  3. Wow - you found some real bargains there. Can't wait to see what they will look like when felted. Your thread drawers are super-cute too, what a great idea :)

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  4. Love the tidying prior to starting a new project. It's become a ritual with me.
    Jacqui

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    Replies
    1. If you ever run out of things to tidy, let me know :)

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  5. wow quite a shopping spree Zed! Some real bargains there.. Look forward to seeing what you do with it all :)
    x

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