At last, a sewing day.

I'd planned a sewing day for Saturday but as often happens, life got in the way. As I work 4 days I tend to use Friday's as my catch up on chores around the house. Friday was my visit to the Knit and Stitch exhibition so no chores were done, well apart from cooking. Roll round to Saturday and I had planned a sewing day but there were quite a few chores to catch up on. I won't bore you with the details as we all know the jobs that have to be done to keep life ticking over. Also Saturday wasn't as bad as I'm making out as fairly late in the day I did make a start on my sewing. It was also a good day for catching up on chores as I was home alone. No one to interrupt the work flow so I decided to go through the kitchen shelves, wipe everything down and check dates. That also gave me the chance to identify items that I needed to order, especially the additional items needed in the run up to Christmas, ready to make the Christmas cake and pudding.

Late on Saturday afternoon I made a start on the blouse as all the pieces were cut out. The fabric has a soft feel to it and it is very fine. I decided I needed to use french seams to sew it together. I took my time as I didn't want to make any mistakes and I kept returning to the pattern instructions to ensure I had fully understood them. I didn't get very far on Saturday but it gave me a good starting point for Sunday. Over the day I put the blouse together. It's not completely finished yet as I have to hem the sleeves, hem the blouse and make buttonholes and sew on the buttons. I may be able to finish the blouse over a couple of evenings so long as I'm not too tired. In my experience I make mistakes when I'm tired. It's currently on my mannakin waiting for me to finish it.

I'm very pleased with how neatly the placket went together. The pattern instructions were very clear and well written.

Today I started to add the binding to the quilted jacket. The binding has been attached to the sleeves and I will hand stitch it to the inside. The rest of the binding will take longer to do but it should be finished by the weekend.

I find the clips for quilt binding so useful. Recently, whatever I've been sewing I seem to use the binding clips.

I've found a sock pattern that makes sense to me and I'll make a start on that later this week. The skein has been rolled into a ball and looks very pretty. I found the double ended knitting needles I need. I'll probably start the socks on Thursday evening. John is out that evening so I will be able to concentrate fully until I get the hang of the pattern. Trying things you've not done before is fun but a little stressful - sometimes very stressful.

I pulled out the Red manor house quilt. The next round requires appliques so over the week I'll  cut out the fabrics and shapes I need, ready to sew at the weekend. We have an open day at work next Saturday, but I will take Monday as my day in lieu and that will be my sewing day.

The last week has been a little stressful. Both my son and daughter, who live with us, have been having a major sort out of their beongings. what they want to keep and what they want to get rid of. They have packaged up items for sale and taken items to the charity shops. It has been quite chaotic but today all is calm. The major sort out is over and all belonging are clean, tidy and where they want them. 

We have finally had some serious rain in our part of London and the garden is looking much happier.  Unfortunately it does mean the weeds will also have a growing phase but that can't be helped. I'm also noticing the morning is darker when I need to get up and by 6:30 it is dark in the evening. I'm not looking forward to driving to and from work in the dark.  At least it hasn't gone cold yet.

Take care

Lyndsey

 

Knit and stitch show

Yesterday John and I visited the Knit and Stitch show at Alexandra Palace in London. We travelled by underground and train, and then a walk up the hill to the venue. The walk isn't that long but the hill is steep and I had to make a short stop half way up to get my breath. The wind was also blowing head on which slowed progress a little. Fortunately it didn't start to rain. Once at the venue we needed coffee before we started looking at the various stands. I didn't have a shopping list for the event but I had allocated funds in case I saw any fabric or yarn I liked, and needed to take home. I had an urge to buy some yarn to knit a pair of socks. Ive never knitted any before but they would be perfect for use on winter walks.  

Having rehydrated we were both ready to look round the show. We have a system we use so we don't miss out any areas. We always walk all the way round before we buy anything so we identify the stands we want to revisit later to make purchases. This reduces the need to carry bags around with us. We met several people we knew and of course we stopped to chat. It's always fun to catch up with folks you don't see very often. The show has both fabric and yarn and a good range of embroidery patterns and floss.  Having looked round all the stands and identified the ones we wanted to go back to we headed to the restaurant for a late lunch. They always serve fish and chips on the Friday as one of the lunch options and it was well cooked and very tasty. 

After lunch we needed to make our way back to the items we wanted to buy. We stopped at a stand selling sheffield steel scissors. I wanted some new embroidery scissors as my stork scissors have been used by various members of the family for things other than embroidery. They have been dropped many times and the points have been damaged. I was very happy with this purchase and look forward to using them.

Next we visited one of the wool stands. I seen their pretty sock yarn as we walked round that morning. I wanted to buy some of her sock yarn aas it was so pretty.

I opened the skein to roll it into a ball and this photo shows off the colours better.

My final purchase was some indian block printed fabric.

I was very restrained as there were a lot of fabrics I would have liked to take home with me. However I'm currently wanting to finish the cardigan I'm knitting, to make a couple of blouses that are cut out and waiting and to finish my quilted jacket. I also have a good stock of fabrics and yarn so I can start a new project when I'm ready without needing to buy more.

Today I'm working on one of the blouses and later today I hope to get on with the quilted jacket. I have a problem in that I can't remember where I put the bias tape I bought for finishing around the edges. Hopefully by the time I'm ready to start stitching that on I'll remember where I put it.

I also want to do some work on the Red Manor House quilt. Having re-sorted my sewing cupboard I wasn't sure where it was and it took time to locate it.  The only time I can't find things in my cupboard is after I've done a good tidy up. How is it that I know where to find things when it's a mess?

Right I'm off to enjoy my sewing day,

Take care 

Lyndsey   

A slow week and a visit.

The last week was a disaster area as far as working on any of my projects. Even my carry in my handbag cross stitch project didn't get touched. It's still as it was two weeks ago.

 
Having enjoyed a quiet campus over the summer, once again it is vibrant and busy. It's more fun with all the students around but until it settles into the term time rountine it is tiring.

This month is the final month of the Chockshed challenge for 2026. I hope it's going to happen in 2027 as it really does help focus my mind to work on a project each month. My final project this year is the red manor house quilt. I haven't worked on this quilt since the early part of the year. This is an older photo showing the centre of the quilt.

This is the last round I added to the quilt. 

I also made 4 butterfly blocks for the next round but I think these blocks need to be altered as I don't think there is enough definition between the colours. There are some more appliqued blocks to make and the fabric for these has already been pulled from my stash. All I need to do is get sewing.

Tomorrow is a working day and on Friday I'm going to the Knit and Stitch exhibition at Alexandra Palace so there will be no sewing on this project until Saturday.  The Knit and Stitch exhibition is somehing I go to most years. I must check what I need by way of supplies but I don't think I need very much of anything.

Last Friday, John and I visited Blickling Hall in Norfolk to see the last part of the textile exhibition. This part of the exhibition is titled 'Journeys' and has global textiles from Karun Thakar's extensive textile collection. The textiles were in different parts of the house. As we walked up the path to the house we met Shaun the sheep. This is for their Christmas children's activity.

 

In the hallway of the house there were several lengths of fabric hanging from the ceiling. Unfortunately the hallway was quite dark to protect the fabrics and it was difficult to get a good photo.

The different rooms played host to fabric from different areas of the world. I liked this piece. There was a neat booklet telling you about the different fabrics but I can't remember where I put it so unfortunately I can't give you any more information.

I really liked these embroidered pieces, they must have taken hours and hours to complete.

The box held a piece of yellow silk that had been embroidered

Beautifully embroidered flowers and birds.

There were items of clothing in the different rooms. I loved this piece

This second dress had some information next to it.

In this room there were also some pieces of jewellry with information about it.

There were several kimonos 

It was fun seeing the fabrics and I particularly liked the embroidery. Unfortunately many of the textiles were difficult to get a good picture especially as there was low light level inside the house.

Having visited the exhibition we enjoyed a cup of tea and a cake in the cafe and I looked in the gift shop and found a book that will be perfect for my older grandson. We were going to stay with John's brother and his wife so we turned on the sat nav as we weren't sure of the best route. We enjoyed our visit with them and caught up on a lot of family chat. On Saturday afternoon we headed home to London.

I'm sad I don't have any sewing or stitching to share but I'm hoping to get back to my various projects as the new academic year settles down. Over the last week my daughter Lucy, who lives with us, has done a major sort out of all her belongings and is getting ready to redecorate her room before starting her new job. We are also redecorating and renovating some areas of the house so I shall be using my projects as a calming mechanism. Now I need to find the instructions for the red manor house quilt and make sure I know exactly where I've got to with this quilt. The sewing starts on Saturday.

Take care

Lyndsey

Cutting, sewing and a present.

On Thursday John and I went to Richmond theatre to see Present Laughter. the cast were excellent and the play by Moel Coward was great fun. The bar was open when we arrived so John had a red wine and I stuck with a soft drink as I was driving. We haven't  been to the theatre for quite some time but we have booked two more visits, one in October and one in November. I like Richmond theatre as it is relatively small and intimate, the plays are well performed and they have a range of different types of plays. The theatre itself was built in 1899 and is well cared for and has a beautiful interior.

Yesterday I set about cutting out another blouse pattern. This one is in a soft floaty fabric. I've had this fabric a while but didn't have the right pattern. I think the pattern I'm using will be perfect.

The fabric isn't my usual style but I really like it. I got the pattern cut out but I won't be starting sewing the blouse today as I wanted to do some work on my quilted jacket.  I managed to get a lot done. I set in the sleeves, cut out the lining and stitched it together and have got the lining settled nicely in the jacket.I need to alter the neckline at the front as it sits too high for me. Once I've done that I can add the binding all the way round the jacket. It fits well and I'm very pleased with it. I had hoped to attach the binding today but I run out of time but with luck I be able to sort out the neckline and get the binding machined on tomorrow morning. 

I mentioned a present in the title. I gave myself a present for getting on and finishing some of my projects. I haven't finished huge numbers of projects but there are a lot that are moving nicely towards a finish. I love Liberty tana lawn and I saw two projects I wanted to make at the Festival of Quilts. I didn't buy them whilst I was there as I like to think about things first. The first is 4 cushion covers made using applique.

The second is a lampshade again using applique and embroidery. I'm in the process of updating/ revamping our bedroom and these will be perfect finishing touches.

I'm not starting these straight away as there is quite a bit of work going on in the house at the moment. There is a new bathroom happening, new banisters for the stairs and lots of painting. 

I have had a great day sewing, I've also sorted my sewing cupboard having removed my old overlocker. It left a reasonable amount of space and the overlocker will be sold as it still works. It means more storage room for fabrics and projects which is good. The new overlocker, cover stitch machine has a home elsewhere in the house as it's too big for the cupboard.

Tomorrow I have time in the morning to sew the binding on the quilted jacket. There are some household chores I need to do  but getting the binding on will give me slow stitching for the coming week - unless I decide to sew it on completely by machine!

Take care

Lyndsey

A visit to Radstock museum.

Last weekend we were away in Somerset and on the Saturday we had planned to follow a circular walk of about 6 miles around the town of Radstock. As we parked the car it started to rain and so we decided to visit the local museum which was just across the road. The museum tells the story of coal mining in Somerset. Many people who live in the UK are aware that there was a lot of coal mining in Wales and also in the north of England but very few people are aware that Somerset had coal mines as well. Whilst the museum had a lot of information of coalmining in the area it also had exhibits of every day life for the people of the area. 

We turned left as we entered the main area and the first exhibits were about the shoe trade in Somerset.

In the cabinet next to the shoes was a Singer sewing machine. Singer machines really do get every where. This one was for sewing leather in the shoe making process.

The machine was made by the Singer Manufacturing company at the factory in Kilbowie, Glasgow, Scotland in 1928. There was a note identifying that these machines are still very popular with amateur leather workers in the United states. 

Next there was an area set up as a shop.

It was fun to see the boxes and tins neatly arranged and to recognise the companies names from when I was a child.

Being the child I am I had to take a photo of the toilet paper. When we visited the toilet at my grandparents house they had Izal paper. I remember it was stiff and scratchy! I also remember the blue laundry whitener at the front of the shelf. Everyone seemed to use it when I was young, except my mother, who didn't like it. It is still available.

To one side there were the large biscuit tins. I can remember the Woolworth's selling biscuits from these tins. You bought the amount that you wanted. There was always a tin with broken biscuits in and these were my favourite as you got pieces from a range of biscuits.

By the door of the shop was the delivery byclyle, no piling it into the back of a van for delivery.

Further along the 'Street' was the main room of a cottage. Again I remember the type of range

that was in the cottage. I was always fascinated when we visited my maternal grandfather as the range was still in use. My mother shared her stories from her teenage years of blackleading the range and also cooking bread in the ovens.

On the floor there were several home made rugs, made using strips of old fabric from worn out clothes.

On the table in front of the window there was a Singer sewing machine. I learnt to sew on an old Singer but not as old as this one. My mother gave me her Singer machine when she bought an electric machine.  Several years later I gave the machine to my niece when I bought my first electric machine. I'm not sure how old the Singer was but it still worked really well and maintained excellent tension.  

I took several more photos but they are very dark. There were textiles that needed to be kept out of bright light and no flash was allowed. We planned to go back as we only viewed the ground floor of the exhibition and next time I'll take my main camera which copes much better with low light. Having looked around the ground floor including going into the mock up of a mine, which was dark, smelly and noisy we decided to visit the cafe for a cup of tea and a cake. The lady who was serving was very friendly and knew the neighbourhood well. 

She told us about the Chew Valley lake and asked if we were interested in bird watching. The lake is an artifical lake created by damming the River Chew. Cconstruction began in 1950 and it was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on April 17, 1956.  The lake supplies essential drinking water to Bristol and the surrounding area. Because of the drought, water has been taken out of the lake to ensure a water supply to Bristol. Because of this the lake had shrunk and the wading birds were enjoying a bigger area of shallow water.

Once we had finished our tea and cake we headed to the lake. It was raining on and off but we had a good walk and stopped to watch some birds. By the time we left the rain was heavier and we headed back to our hotel. 

I have some fabrics to share and a present I recieved bu I'll write about that in my next post. I want to get some sewing time in today. As we were away last weekend I missed out on my sewing time and I have projects I want to move forward.

Take care

Lyndsey

Catching up

Last week was very busy and by the time I got home each evening I was worn out. The result... very little sewing or knitting got done. As it was busy I decided I needed to make sure I had a proper lunch break. I decided to take my lunch over to the park each day and I also took my carry along stitching. This has been living in my handbag for a while. When I was collecting youngest daughter from work I would often have a while to wait. The problem with nursing is that you can't just stop work as the shift ends. You need to finish whatever you are doing for the patient and the handover also has to happen. I'd put this cross stitch bookmark in my bag, it's small and easy to pick up where I'd left off, and on the evenings she was late finishing I'd have something to fill the time. Over lunchtimes last week I got quite a bit done. Here's how it looked at the beginning of last week.

I'm pleased with my progress, all done over lunch.

This bookmark has been around for ages so it will be great to finish it. This week I was also working on the Star Trek cross stitch during the evenings. Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of spare time in the evenings so I didn't get much done. Here's the before photo...

and after. I did some more of the yellow boxes but I also wanted to complte the blue banner but I didn't quite get it done. This will now be put away until next Monday. I have to admit I'm enjoying alternating the slow stitching projects. I should have thought of doing this earlier.

This week I'm back to working on the embroidered table cloth. I want to move the hoop this week. This is my starting point.

Yesterday John and I went to a Macmillan coffee morning organised by John's sister. We've gone to it the last two years. It was quiet when we arrived but it got very busy later. I took a couple of photos of embroidery completed by Sue Monk. This cat piece was supposed to be done on white aida and the baclground all done with black cross stitch. She decided to stitch on black aida. Her solution made the cat stand out much better.

I liked this delicate piece and all the patterns on it. It's rather small so remember you can blow up the photo.

Whilst at the coffee morning I bought some fabric and so did John. Here are my two pieces of fabric. They are both width of fabric with repeat of the pattern.

I have a plan for these two pieces but it won't happen until next year. These are John's fabrics. He also has a plan but won't tell me what it is.

These fabric are Shweshwe African fabrics. When you buy them they are very stiff, so the fabrics have to be pre-rinsed. This can be done in a machine using the shortest, coolest rinse cycle. Once rinsed and dried the fabrics are very soft.

I also won a bottle of white Malbec on the tombola stall. We'll enjoy that later in the week.

This last weekend we were away and we visited a very interesting museum about that area of Somerset. I'll write about it in my next post.

take care

Lyndsey

Playing catchup... and a finish.

This last week has been fun in places but a nightmare in others. This time of year is very busy preparing for an influx of new students but my final year students don't finish until the beginning of October. It will all settle down into a comfortable routine again somewhere in mid to late October. Meanwhile trying to fit in sewing and other crafts can be difficult.  However I have managed to fit some stitching in this week.

I decided to work on my embroidered table cloth and the Star Trek cross stitch alternate weeks. This last week was the table cloth. I didn't get as far as I wanted but there is progress. This is how it was at the begiinning of the week ....

and now. Not alot of difference but I have filled in some bits. I'll pick this up again next Sunday.

I've got the Star Trek cross stitch in the living room ready for any free moments to stitch. This is it as I start the week.

I have also done a little work on the celtic knot book mark. I have been carrying this in my handbag so I can stitch on it in odd moments.

Yesterday was a sewing day. John had gone on a walk with friends and I'd opted to stay home as I wanted to finish my red blouse. It took most of the day as I unpicked the sleeves from the body as they were not sitting properly. Once reinserted they were fine but I still needed to work on the collar, make button holes, make the sleeve cuffs and sew on buttons. Getting the sleeve right was a pain but I'm now very happy with them. I didn't have anyone to take a photo of me modelling the blouse so I've taken it on my mannakin. This will be coming with me next weekend, as we are away. It fits well and I'm looking forward to wearing it. It is so good to have finished it.

I also did some work on the cat cushions. I decided to stitch round the individual panels and I'm going to quilt round the cats with embroidery thread.

This afternoonI I plan on drawing out these two patterns. I like this pattern brand. They are easy to make and look and feel really good when wearing the outfit. I like to copy the pattern rather than cut the pattern to the size I need as this makes it easier when making any alterations / adjustments and the pattern can be use by someone else.

I also want to improve my dressmaking skills as I love making my own clothes and I would love to be better at making alterations to make the fit better.

This week at work should be a little calmer so maybe I'll have more time to play with fabric. For now I'm going to find my black threads so I can stitch round the cat shapes and hopefully get the cushions finished.

Take care

Lyndsey