Little Makes of Late

Lately, I've been crafting little things. Embroidering small motifs on tiny cotton bags, stitching felt brooches that give new life to snippets of op-shop doilies, making drawstring project bags and sewing tea towels into tote bags.

A tote bag made from an op-shop tea towel.

(I 💗 the bold Australian flowers!)

While I've been forced to 'downsize' my crafty project plans, thanks to bursitis in my right shoulder, I am actually enjoying the quick results and satisfaction that simple, short projects can bring. Many of these little makes will be gifted come Christmas time. From my hands into another's ...

A drawstring project bag made with linen I covered in 'olive twigs'.
(Bag pattern from Melissa Wastney's book, "Sweet and Simple Handmade".

Tiny cotton bags with embroidered motifs.

(Motifs by Melissa Wastney & Charlotte Lyon.)

A little felt brooch became a gift for a very generous lady.

(Thank you, Maria, for your gorgeous linens!)

These little makes mean some bigger projects ...  a knitted shawl, a linen dress, a larger leafy applique and a few more besides ... are waiting idly for me to get back to them. Soon, I hope! 

What crafty projects, little or big, are you working on right now?

Meg

A Tiny Felt Brooch

Little blanket stitches frame a sweet snippet of embroidered flowers, attaching an ever-so-small piece of long-ago stitching to a scrap of soft, woollen felt. Pinned on to a dress or a blouse, with a small pin, and it becomes a tiny brooch.

A tiny handmade brooch.

Tiny brooches like these, made by the talented Jude Van Heel,  featured in a recent issue of Grass Roots magazine (No. 248 Aug/Sept 2018). I set my copy aside, the instructions flagged for when a little window of time opened up for making one. Just such a time presented itself on Saturday evening and I so enjoyed the quiet time I spent stitching the little circle of flowers to the felt backing. Even with very careful stitches, so as not to fray the edge of the old linen, this project took less than an hour.  

A little safety pin for the back.

I didn't have a brooch pin for the back but a little safety pin works just fine. It's only tiny and very light so it doesn't pull on the fabric that it's pinned to. 

Perfect for a dress or a blouse.

I love that a project like this makes use of old embroidered linens, perhaps those stained or forever unfinished or floundering in op-shop piles. I always think the stitching too beautiful not to find a use for and this is one tiny, sweet way to make something from such linens.  I'm sure I'll make a few more soon. 

Meg

A Little Bit of Boro Mending

I tend to live in my favourite pieces of clothing until they are worn, ragged and frayed.  I  keep wearing them unless and until decidedly embarrassing holes, in less than strategic places, emerge in the faded fabrics. Such garments are then piled up for mending where they may languish for a long time. Either that or they become "gardening clobber". My favourite (and only) pair of denim shorts reached this point recently and, rather than send them to a pile from which they may not return any time soon, I decided to mend them but in a way that makes a feature of their patches. 

 Patched shorts.

Boro is a traditional Japanese patchwork where scraps of cloth were used to mend clothing and quilts. In doing so, the life of garments and quilts was extended and they were often passed down through generations as they remained useful. I used this simple online tutorial to help me try a little boro mending to extend the life of my very worn shorts. 

My well-loved shorts.

I cut patches from material scraps I had left over after sewing this dress. I love that this process uses scraps of fabric, reducing waste and finding a purpose for what otherwise may be thrown away. After pinning my little fabric patches in place, I stitched little sashiko running stitches, worked over and on top of the fabric patches. It was a lovely, repetitive and quiet process. While I gather there are certain dos and don'ts in regards sashiko, mistakes are imperfectly perfect too!

My imperfect sashiko stitches.

Stitches securing patches to denim of my shorts.

I experimented with little criss crosses too ...

Little crosses.

I love the little mushrooms, seedheads and flowers that peek out from the patches I've stitched into my old and much-loved shorts. No only have I mended them and extended their life but I've added something to them which I like very much. 

Making some of my own clothes and learning ways in which to mend and alter the ones I already have is in direct contrast to the culture of fast, cheap and disposable fashion that sees Australians dispose of 6000 kilograms of fashion and textile waste every. ten. minutes! It seems too that there are many other home sewers like me who are developing or rediscovering their sewing skills and making their own clothes in order to bypass fast fashion and waste associated with it.  As Jane Milburn, whom Chel over at Going Grey and Slightly Green wrote about recently, asserts that we develop a true appreciation of our clothing when we have made it ourselves. I certainly would find it hard to throw away the garments I've made ... I know just how much unpicking I did!

I've no doubt I will need to continue adding patches to my well-loved denim shorts. It might get to the point where they are more patches than original material! I might have to patch the patches even!

Do you sew or mend your own clothes?
Meg

Stitching in Zinnia Colours

Last year, I grew a lovely drift of bright and happy zinnias. Their pink, yellow, orange, red and cream petals coloured-in the garden. When trying to decide on a little stitching project, after feeling inspired by several embroidery books from the library, I kept coming back to the zinnia-coloured threads in my stash and so I began ...

Little zinnias on linen.

Simple little flowers, made with tiny french knots for centres and what I think of as a not-so-neat satin stitch for petals, are beginning to scatter themselves across the linen inside my embroidery hoop. Randomly placed, repeated as many times as I wish, tiny and some even a little smaller than that, imperfect and so soothing to stitch.

Brightly coloured & freely-formed flowers.

I'm not sure what I'll do with this little square of embroidered linen once it's done. Perhaps another small project bag, a pocket on a simple skirt, a central and flower-y panel on a reusable tote bag ... what would you suggest?

Last year's colourful zinnias.

Whatever it becomes, it was lovely to be reminded of the zinnias I grew in last Summer's garden. Stitching happiness!

Have a lovely weekend.

Meg

Embroidery Inspiration

I have loved stitching since I was a young girl. My Grandmother had an old chest of drawers filled to the brim with her beautiful handiwork. I loved to pull out one heavy drawer at a time and carefully look through all of her delicate linens.  Each piece embroidered with the tiniest of stitches, intricate and so beautiful. 

I remain fascinated with embroidery today. I love to look through the piles of old linens in op shops, antique stores and markets. When I hold a piece in my hands, I wonder how old it is and who made it. Occasionally, I will find a piece and bring it home with me, a treasure from yesteryear. Sometimes, I will wash and iron it carefully and use it in our home here to lay out on a table or to sit a vase of flowers or an ornament upon. Sometimes, I will cut out snippets of the embroidery, usually from stained or damaged pieces, and incorporate them somehow into a new project such as a little gift bag or pouch. This gives an unwanted piece new life.

My most precious piece is a set of napkins that my Great Grandmother stitched in what is now very old linen. I love the intricate, cut-out circles. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to do such neat and careful work with her needle and threads. I feel so very lucky to have pieces which connect me to her and which were worked in her hands so many years ago. Do you have a precious handmade treasure that has been passed down to you?

An intricate cut-out circle stitched by my Great Grandmother.

Precious napkins!

The back of my Great Grandmother's embroidered circle.

Although nowhere near as old, some of my favourite stitched pieces are those created by the very talented Melissa Wastney of tiny happy. I simply adore the little flowers, twigs, leaves, dots, dashes and marks that Melissa makes on fabric. I love the nature that she draws with her needle and threads.

 A beautiful project bag made by Melissa Wastney.

Very tiny and happy stitches. ❤ 

Very occasionally, I pick up my own needle and threads and create something with tiny little stitches. (This project bag was the last piece I made using embroidery.) Usually, I find inspiration and ideas from nature or drawings or in the library. On a recent trip to the library, I found several books which I have been reading and looking through again and again since I borrowed them. I'm not sure yet what I want to make but I'm sure I will settle on something soon. In each book there are some wonderful ideas. 

Inspiring embroidery books from the library.

What I loved most about the inspiring book, Rebecca Ringquist's Embroidery Workshop:  A Bend the Rules Primer is her whole approach to stitching. Colourful, layered, textured, different. I love that she's included a photo of the back  of one of her pieces in all its messy fineness in her book. One of her dropcloth samplers would be an ideal project for someone to learn a range of stitches while creating something beautiful from the practice. 

In Nancy Nicholson's book, Modern Folk Embroidery, I love the simple little pincushions that repurpose bottle tops with little pieces of felt and some stitches. Similar bottle top pincushions can be made using the tutorial over at the beautiful blog, Tea Rose Home OR this tutorial over at the Muse of the Morning website. Something useful and pretty from something that would otherwise be thrown away. The folk arty style of the projects in this book really appeal to me. The stitched bird on the front cover reminded me, as soon as I saw it, of the incredibly colourful birds that Julie created with felt, fabric and stitches over on her blog, JulieLou.

For something different, Japanese Paper Embroidery by Atsumi, Minako Chiba and Mari Kamio has me thinking of stitching onto paper and card. Beautiful little projects like greeting cards, notebook covers and little photo frames are included in this book. So many possibilities!

Time for a little stitching is a definite possibility this coming weekend. I hope your weekend holds lots of happy possibilities too.

Meg

Spring Beginnings

The weather here has been Spring-like for a little while now. Many days of warmer temperatures reflecting the very short Winter we have had. (Perhaps that is the new normal??) It is very dry here and I heard over the radio that it is predicted to be a hot, dry Summer. (Perhaps that is the new normal too??) The first new leaves are beginning to unfurl on our neighbour's Plane Trees that spread their branches well over our shared boundary. I love these beautiful, deciduous trees and how they mirror the weather and seasons. It seems though that they only lost their leaves a short time ago and now they are readying themselves for Spring. I wonder if they had a long enough Winter sleep??

A Spring leaf unfurls.

In our own garden, our little native bees are taking flight from their hive sooner rather than later each day now as the temperature reaches 18C earlier. Did you know that native bees only venture out when the temperature climbs to that magic degree? The native birds are making good use of the bird baths; coming in to drink and splash about in the cool water. The first snake, a carpet python curled up in the eaves of the verandah, has been spotted and a pair of nocturnal Long-nosed Bandicoots have been visiting at night, leaving their tell-tale drill holes throughout the garden and lawn and forcing us to think up ways to protect our plants. (We put up a temporary wire mesh fence, dug well into the ground to try to keep them away from the base of the avocado tree...we'll see how that goes!) The last of late Winter's offerings have been harvested; a few lettuces, leeks, baby potatoes and little sweet pea posies among them. 

A pretty posy indeed!

From the very few passionfruits left after sulphur crested cockatoo raids, a deep yellow and tangy passionfruit curd has been made. Some for us and some for friends. Fresh, locally grown and sweet strawberries were enjoyed with a french toast breakfast and a creamy Fathers' Day cheesecake sponge, a cheat's "cheesecake" really for there is no cheese in it at all, was a special homemade treat for Dad and Grandad for our Sunday afternoon tea.

 A little pot of passionfruit curd. Mmm!

Sweet local strawberries make perfect french toast toppings.

Homemade sponge underneath with a creamy "cheesecake" topping.

One new craft project and one rediscovered project are taking shape. A soft blue cotton washcloth is forming on my knitting needles and a little hand-stitched tote, that I began years ago, is being completed one tiny hand-sewn stitch at a time. Although more time consuming than using a sewing machine, I am enjoying the slowness of hand sewing again. 

 Brown linen and a soft cotton lining held together with hand-sewn stitches.

We spent a lovely evening in at our city's South Bank to celebrate the birthday of a special young teenager friend. A train ride in, a shared Mexican meal with much laughter and fun, a ride together on the big Wheel of Brisbane that offered a twinkling bird's eye view of our city at night. Finished off with a slice of divine homemade chocolate birthday cake, it was a happy Spring night indeed.

I hope you have had a happy start to your new season too.

Meg