shibori sample needle cases

I have a lot of Shibori samples in my fabric pile since the recent workshop I attended at Sussex Prairie Garden and I've been really keen to start using them.

I wanted to start with small scale projects, as sewing isn't always my forte, so I decided to make some sewing needle cases. A handy make for me as I'm always using track of my yarn darning needles.



I decided to go for patchwork approach and picked out some of my Shibori samples as well as some other favourite fabric pieces (you may recognise them from the cushion cover I made recently).

When it came to the sewing I mixed together some different fabrics and layouts for each case. I didn't really have a plan in mind, and instead just sort of made it up as I went along. You may be able to tell!




To hold the needles/pins I sewed some felt into the insides of the cases, and I also found some gold elastic in my sewing box which I used for the button fastenings.



They turned out well I think. It's a good thing that I wasn't going for a consistent look and feel because they all ended up slightly different sizes. I think that's ok though, especially as I was going for a Japanese Boro sort of approach.

Here they all are...



Not too shabby (I hope).

sunday morning making

I was a little under the weather yesterday so I failed to do much at all - eating cheese on toast under a blanket was my achievement of the day. 

I really hate to waste the weekend hours so to make up for it I got up nice and early this morning (very much helped by Ben's pre-dawn work alarm) and decided to get to work making a cushion. 

I picked out one of my Shibori samples as a starting point and then matched it with some other fabric pieces I had at home - I really love how they all look together. Nice patterns and colours.

It turned out really well - I love it! 

I haven't really done much patchwork sewing before so this was a good test of my skills. I think one of my vague goals is to practise making things on the sewing machine more and improve my skills (and patience levels). Having these Shibori samples to work with is really encouraging me, so hopefully there'll be more to come.

Shibori overload!

a weekend Shibori workshop

At the weekend I went back to the Sussex Prairie Garden for a two day workshop in Japanese Shibori, Sashiko and Boro. My mum came along, and Lucy and her sister Colette were there too, which made it extra nice - it's fun making things with others.

I've been wanting to try out Shibori indigo dyeing in particular for a while now and it was the perfect opportunity to experiment and explore the possibilities, of which there are many. On the first day of the workshop we were encouraged to make lots of samples, experimenting with different methods of resist using a variety of tools.

I made sure to document my samples pre-dyeing so I could refer to them afterwards. I love how they look in these photos too - lots of interesting shapes.

The actual dyeing process is really quick and immediate (only 3 minutes in the dye bath!), and it's so satisfying when you unwrap your fabric after dipping them in the indigo and see the finished result. 

In all, it was a really lovely weekend - we were lucky to have some delightful late summer sunshine, which was handy as there were many trips outside to the dye baths in the barn while we played with creating our samples. 

And in our lunch break we got to explore the garden, which is always a pleasure.

I got a bit carried away with the Shibori and didn't get around to trying much Sashiko stitching or Boro (Japanese make do and mend) over the weekend. The embroidery takes a lot longer than the dyeing and involves less equipment so I thought this would be something nice to practise at home after the workshop.

I came home with so many samples, as well as some finished scarves and pillowcases, which I dyed on the Sunday re-using some favourite techniques from my sample pile.

I have a few small-scale projects in mind for these sample pieces, which I'll share as and when I make them. And I expect I'll probably try some more Shibori at home at some point soon too. 

It's addictive!

handmade christmas: knitting needle cases

I was quite organised this year and decided to make a few Christmas presents for friends and family. I'm going to share them here over the next week or so, now that I don't have to keep them hush hush anymore.

It's been a while since I attempted any sewing projects as I often end up slightly disappointed with the results (big ambitions plus a lack of patience is my downfall) however I really wanted to make some knitting needle/crochet hook cases for both my mum and Ben's mum so I gave it another whirl.

I'd made something similar for Yumi once before too so I didn't think it was an overly ambitious project. And they turned out pretty nicely indeed!



I bought some lovely patterned fat quarters (I could get addicted to browsing in fabric shops) and used some vintage buttons that I had knocking around and managed to make these two needle rolls over the course of a quiet weekend.



My mum didn't realise hers was handmade when she opened it on Christmas day so I think that's a sign of sewing improvement!

Maybe I'll try and get on my sewing machine a bit more this year.

dimity

 My mum and dad donated me their old laundry basket at the weekend to help with my interior space issues. It was given a quick bit of a re-upholstery job first though.

Now it just needs a lick of paint...

five minute break

A cup of tea in the sun, out on the decking.

cushions

Yesterday I went to Yumi's to eat some of her lovely cheese straws and to get arty with her birthday craft kit. I also got to sit on her lovely new sofa - complete with nice new cushion covers (made by yumi). It inspired me to come home and make some cushions of my own:


I've been meaning to make use of these pieces of fabric for ages now. I received them in a swap with Siming almost two years ago and have finally turned them into something nice. And I added on a seagull too!

an interesting find

The other day I picked up 2 bags of fabric via freecycle (my new addiction) and amongst all the scraps & nice grey fabric I found these animal shapes (along with their templates) that had been cut out for use in some kind of art and craft project.


I think it's a shame that they never got put to use but I really like the simple shapes (so maybe I'll sew them onto something one of these days). I wonder what I can get from freecycle next...

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