Unselfish sewing round up – babies and birthdays

I’ve talked before about how I actually love unselfish sewing. Although I love to make myself a new dress or skirt, sometimes the option for a quick and simple project or something you wouldn’t wear yourself can be great fun.

So I thought I’d start a regular(ish) round up of my unselfish sewing projects.

This month has been a busy one for birthdays, so I’ve been making:

• A zipped make up bag for my mum, with a couple of Body Shop goodies, using this excellent tutorial to remind me what to do 

• Another zipped make up bag for my friend, filled with miniature cosmetics and labelled ‘dirty stopout kit’ – sadly forgot to photograph until it was wrapped in this gorgeous John Lewis paper

 

• A teapot-print apron for another friend who is mad keen on baking and cooking. I used this Purl Bee apron tutorial which was so quick and easy – then realised that my fabric was a bit thin and decided to add a lining which I then battled with. But – quite pleased with the result

 

• A baby dress (using this pattern) for a friend’s new arrival, using leftover fabric from a Simplicity top and Megan dress

  

• Quick bunting for aforementioned new arrival’s big sister, so she doesn’t feel left out (no picture I’m afraid!)

I really enjoyed all of these projects, and most of them used leftover fabric from other projects which is great (easy on the budget and I hate to waste good fabric). I made cards for all of them myself too, using pretty scrapbook paper and my own calligraphy, which is sadly still slightly wonky!

It’s about time I got going on Christmas presents now…will share anything I make in another post!

Creating a studio space of my own

 

Over the past six months, I’ve found myself spending more and more of my time making, sewing, crafting and drawing, and I can’t get enough of it!

I’m now in a really lucky stage where I’ve just moved into a new (family sized) home, and have the space to claim a whole room to my hobbies. Spoilt or what?!

I’ve been soaking up inspiration for a while, with Artemis of Junkaholique’s workshop shed being one of my favourites for a wonderful space without needing a massive room.

Having agreed with the boyfriend that I could claim the smallest bedroom for my studio, I was pleased to find that it was bigger than I remembered.  The downside – there was cappuccino-coloured woodchip on the walls and the most disgusting carpet I’ve seen in a while.

Here’s the before picture (excuse the poor quality in the rush to move in)

I knew I wanted my space to be light, bright and airy so I wasted no time in removing the old carpet and painting the floorboards white which made a huge difference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I opted for a short term fix to get the room set up as early as possible while we tackle the other projects around the house, so painted the woodchip white and will try to look past those ugly lumps and bumps! The result is a really nice bright room that feels like a wonderful blank canvas and lovely place to spend my time.

 

I got a cheap black filing cabinet on eBay and fixed it up with some Annie Sloan paint to brighten it up, and used the Ikea furniture we already had for a desk and storage.

I’m hoping the room will evolve over time as I get prettier storage, a rug, and add a gallery wall and a few more pops of colour around the room. Oh, and some plants! Can’t get enough plants.

I’ve already spent a few evenings in there making cards and a stash-busting make up bag, and can’t wait to spend more evenings making and creating new things.

Joining the sewing community

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One of my reasons for starting this blog was to engage with my creative side, share my passions and meet like minded people. None of my friends sew or are particularly crafty (to my knowledge at least!) so I liked the idea of having a space to share this side of me.

There are so many fantastic blogs out there focused on sewing and I’ve loved taking inspiration from them and starting to comment on them and join in the conversation – as a newbie blogger and sewist it’s nice to be a part of it.

So it was wonderful to meet Claire from I Want to Be A Turtle and Hannah from Cinderellis Sews for drinks and chats about sewing projects, excessive fabric stashes, cats and gin.

Claire and Hannah are far more experienced than I am and have an incredible memory for pattern names and numbers, not to mention expertise of techniques and fabrics that I can only hope to acquire. It was pretty humbling to realise how much of a beginner I am (I have only been sewing less than 2 months after all!) but also inspiring to see what I could achieve in the future.

Hopefully as time goes on I’ll get to meet more people in the sewing community in the future, and for now I feel more confident to tackle my next sewing project with the knowledge that there are a couple of people I can pester for help if I get stuck!

A celebration of making things by hand

Hello and thanks for stopping by! I already shared a little bit about me on my about page so I thought I’d share a bit about my story and how I ended up creating this blog.

When I was little, I loved a lot of different things. I loved to paint and colour in, I used to sketch dresses and dream of being a fashion designer and every year I got the glitter pens and stencils out to make Christmas cards.

As I got older, some of my classmates were really talented artists and I became self-conscious of my efforts and decided that I wasn’t creative. And over the years that label stuck.

But about a year ago, I tentatively bought a sketchbook and started doodling. I got inspiration from lots of amazing blogs and individuals and started practising hand lettering. I made a few handmade Christmas cards for my family.

As I gained confidence in making cards, I bought some needles and wool and started learning to knit (I can’t say I’ve progressed much in that but I have made a scarf good enough to wear!).

Then the final step for me was taking a beginners sewing course and that was it – I’m now hooked on all things craft and handmade.

For some reason as adults we place these ridiculous expectations on ourselves that everything we do has to be perfect – can you imagine feeling like that as a child?!

The beauty of something  made by hand is in its imperfections that show someone has put time and love into making something, I firmly believe that.

So here’s to all the crafters, makers, shakers and bakers, creating beautiful things, by hand.