New year, new post

 First, the UFOs:
The only one I finished was the Fabric baby book. One of my colleagues was expecting a baby, so I finished it all except for the cover - and then we all started working from home before I could give it to him, and he's now left the company, so I guess it will keep for another baby! It's quite nice though

Once that was done, I made a rainbow blanket for my friends who were also expecting. It was made with rainbow yarn so I didn't need to keep switching colours, and it came out quite well, if a little bit longer than I meant it to.

 

I even made an easter chick from a kit!

By then lockdown/working from home was in full swing, so I didn't get much else done till later in the summer as work was busy. I did manage to make a "bumblebee costume" one evening thanks to a random request:

Once work quieted down a bit at the end of September, I had more free time in the evenings (bed times had also got a bit earlier I think). So I made quite a lot (well, quite a lot for someone only sewing two hours a day) of clothes for the small one - mainly leggings but also a dress. I also made some for a couple of her friends. And we managed to finish the hat to go with her red pinafore, she requested doll's clothes for her scary looking doll one day, last of all I made her a party crown for Christmas.

I did manage to make some things that weren't children's clothes, too - mainly presents, but hopefully I can make myself something in the new year!

The best thing I got all year (got it in January, which seems so long ago) was my zigzag attachment which means I can do zigzag seams with my Singer sewing machine - otherwise I couldn't sew all these lovely knit fabrics!

And this year I've signed up to the 52 week sewing challenge on Facebook, so who knows I might be able to post a few more blogs since I'm documenting it all there anyway.

Where are all my pins? UFOs and the pile of shame

I'm sure many crafters have a similar problem to this: you go to start a new project, but your pins/crochet hook/ embroidery hoop are still being used for a previous project that's not quite finished yet. This year, I'm trying to finish off some of my UFOs (unfinished objects). So far I've completed three new projects and not finished any old ones! So here's a list of my current UFOs and how long it's been since I started them. At the end of the year I'll do a review post to see how many I managed. Crochet shawl - started Nov 2018 My friend was making shawls to give to a women's shelter near her, and I offered to help. However life got in the way and somehow this got abandoned. Hopefully I can finish it off before next winter. 40% complete.

Dress - started May 2016 After I finished my vampire cosplay, I was all enthusiastic about sewing and I found a pattern for a summer dress that I could do as part of a sew-along blog. I was most of the way along (though the instructions were a bit frustrating) and then I found out I was pregnant so it seemed kind of pointless trying to make a dress that might never actually fit me. I packed away my sewing machine into a cupboard as we needed that room for the nursery. However I'm now more or less the size I used to be, so I'm going to try to finish this off and adjust the size a bit if I need to. 75% complete

Quilted Square - started Feb 2014 I intended to make this for a friend's baby when it was born. The child is now five. I have the quilting all done, I even made a label but somehow I didn't manage to finish hand stitching the binding around the edges. 90% complete

Fabric baby book - started 2007 I got a kit to make a baby book with embroidery when my niece was born. She's eleven now and I still haven't done it! I would have made it for my daughter if I had remembered where it was. 5% complete

Camp blanket - started 2000 ish You could argue that a camp blanket is never finished as you keep collecting badges throughout your life. This is true, but I have quite a lot of badges to sew on in a bag somewhere. Priority low as I don't go camping any more! Kingfisher cross stitch - started 2003 This was a Christmas present from my sister as my name when I helped with Brownies was Kingfisher. The main part of the picture is done, but I have quite a lot of awkward stitches on their own to finish the picture. This has been packed away in a cupboard for about eight years. 60% complete.

Last but not least - the mending pile There are several things gathering dust on my mending pile. I should really get around to fixing them - if I could remember where I tidied it away to. I'm not going to bother listing the projects that I bought things for and never actually started. That would be too long of a list...

Marzipan does sewing! - 19/9/11

As I said in my last post, I've got my sewing machine back with me again after two years of it being in storage. It was my granny's machine, so it's about 75 years old and still works really well.
The main thing it can't do that new machines can is sew backwards (which is generally solved by turning the work around!) and sew in zigzags, so I can't easily do buttonholes. It's hand powered so you have to be able to feed the work with one hand, but that's not too difficult and it makes it much easier to regulate the speed. It probably helps that I'm left handed! Here it is:

A thing of beauty

is a joy forever.

Inside the little box are all the extra feet to do things like hemming, attaching braid, quilting and sewing on zips. Luckily I also have the original instructions so I know how to use them. I'm very glad to have it back!

 

So, apart from gazing at it's beauty, I'm also getting on with some projects I've been meaning to do for a while now. First I thought I'd start with something small and (allegedly) simple - a cover for my Bible.

Bible open

Closed up (I managed to get the church on the front cover!)

All unfolded

There's a pocket for a small notebook and a pencil too.

Making it was more complicated than I expected, not having made a book cover before. I probably should have made a paper pattern first but I just used the book to find the sizes. The cover is quite tight-fitting. It's fastened by poppers, which I sewed on the wrong way round to start with!
Not bad for a first attempt at machine sewing for two years though. My friend has asked me to make her a dress so I need lots of practise!