The Year of Green Frugality

Summer's over, school is back, and it's time to get back to work. And, in my case, to put my new year's resolutions up on the blog!


This year is all about saving. Saving money, and knocking that mortgage down, down, down, and saving the earth by being as environmentally friendly as we possibly can.


We've always been a pretty green-minded family, but the last couple of years have almost had me in a panic regarding the state of our earth. It is so disappointing to see our elected leaders sit on their hands whilst Rome, and everywhere else, burns.


However, there is plenty that I can do as an individual to reduce my impact. Not coincidentally, a lot of green ways are also very frugal ways, so I'm going to bring the two together and make this our Year of Green Frugality!


The rules are as follows:

 - Abide by the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle) as much as humanly possible.


 - Think very long and hard before making a purchase. Nothing is to be bought unless it is truly needed. Ask the following questions: Do I really need this? Will it serve more than one purpose? Can it be passed on to others in good condition when we no longer require it?


 - If the answer to any of those is yes, then the purchase can be made. It should be, however, at least one of the following: ethically made, second-hand and/or from an indie producer.


- Make as much as possible in the home. This will range from jam to clothes to laundry liquids. Not only will I be saving money, but I will value the things I have produced from high quality materials and will also be able to avoid environmentally destructive ingredients such as palm oil. This means that you'll probably be getting a hand-made or edible gift for your birthday. Hope you like it!


It all sounds a bit full-on, doesn't it? But truly, a lot of this is just about being more organised with my time. Mondays are going to be devoted to cleaning and cooking, so when I come home tired and stressed later in the week I can grab that pre-cooked meal from the freezer, rather than resorting to take-away and squillions of plastic containers. Which I will eat whilst admiring my mostly clean apartment. Win win!


Speaking of plastic, we are trying to avoid it as much as possible as well (like that time we went plastic-free). I'll be hitting up our local health food store and buying lots of our food from their bulk bins. It's going to be great - cooking as much as possible with fresh, non-packaged produce is going to be good for landfill AND good for my tummy!


I'm also on a mission to use up the craft supplies that I have here before even thinking about getting more. I have enough fabric for my wardrobe needs to last me a while, so I really want to work through that before I even think about justifying any new purchases. I had a major clean out last year of my fabrics and yarn, so the only things I have left have already been allocated to particular projects. Tyger will need some new things, though, so I'll have to just get my fabric kicks making things for her! I am banned from buying any new patterns, though - I have enough to sink a ship, and should really what I have. It's going to be tough, but I am determined not to crack!


We have also decided as a family to continue with some big hitting carbon reductions, such as remaining car free (using bikes, feet or public transport to get where we need to go) and to restrict meat to two meals a week, max, being veggie or vegan the rest of the time. The Galumph and I have also decided that rather than buying things for each other (things! things! the last thing we need is more things!) we will give experiences instead. Rather than a gift which we will have to find a home for and never end up using, we're going to go to concerts or exhibitions instead. My house will remain uncluttered, and I'll get a romantic night out with my husband. Ahhh, I'm liking the sound of this already!


So watch this space and see how we fare with our Year of Green Frugality. It's officially starting today - I'll keep you up to date here and on Instagram with our progress. If you have any tips or advice for me, please share - I'd love to hear your thoughts on ways we can reduce our impact!

The Fabric Stash Of Shame

Jorth sat on the hard chair, and looked around her fearfully. Why had they brought her to this interrogation room? She hadn't done anything wrong, but she began to fart nervously all the same.

Suddenly the door burst open and two navy clad people walked in. One was a large woman with a florid face and a bad blonde-dye-and-perm combo, and the other was a small thin man with an equally thin mustache sitting like a nasty slash upon his upper lip. The blonde slammed a sheath of papers down on the desk and growled "So, Ms Jorth, I suppose you are wondering why we have brought you in today??

"Well, yes..." began Jorth nervously and then jumped as the blonde snapped "Don't interrupt me!" She exchanged a look of disbelief at her colleague at the nerve of their prisoner and then said in a scary quiet voice "Do you have anything you might like to tell us?"

Jorth stared with fright into the blondes' bloodshot and watery blue eyes. "Nothing!" she whimpered. "I haven't done anything!" This statement caused the blonde to tilt back her head and laugh uproariously. "Nothing!" she mimicked, clasping her hands together in mock earnestness. Reverting back to her yelling voice she said "So I suppose it was a Jorth look-a-like who was seen exciting The Fabric Store with new fabrics on the third Tuesday of July, hmmmm?"

Jorth started in her chair. "Well, yes, that was me, but I don't see what the harm is" she said.

"The harm?" echoed the blonde. "There's only the harm to your cupboard which won't close, and harm to your bank balance, and HARM TO THE STASH BUSTING PLEDGE YOU MADE!"

The man tut tutted, and spread out the papers showing surveillance pictures of her making the purchases. Jorth sat frozen, fear paralysing her. They knew! They knew all about the fabric she had bought. Her mind began to panic, wondering what they would do with her now the truth was out.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Enter!" barked the blonde, and an Australian Post employee walked in, looking with wonder at the scene in front of them. "Er, is any one of you Ms Jorth? I've got a delivery of crochet books here for you."

Jorth shuddered as the blonde snatched the parcel and shouted triumphantly "Do you see this, Bernard? More evidence!" The Australia Post employee looked sheepishly at Jorth and said "Sorry, but ya gotta sign. Signature here please."

Once Jorth had signed and the Australia Post had departed with a cracker of a story to tell her colleagues over lunch, the blonde slammed her fist down on the table and started screaming at Jorth "YOU. ARE. ON. FABRIC. AND. YARN. PROBATION. DO YOU HEAR ME?!?!??!" Jorth, covered in the spittle that had flown from that yelling mouth managed to whimper "yes!" before dissolving into sobs.

The blonde leaned in close, so close that Jorth could smell the sickening scent of sardines and coffee on her breath and snarled "If you so much as purchase a single length of fabric, or another ball of yarn, or any sort of craft book or instruction manual before you get through both your summer and winter fabric/yarn stash, then all your craft privileges will be revoked. Imagine a life without craft, hey?"

With that threat over her, Jorth really began to bawl. The blonde looked at her in disgust, and said to Bernard "Get rid of her. I don't wanna hear about this girl unless it's news of a finished project. Freaking craft junkie!"
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Help me save my skin by getting rid of some fabric, and enter the amazing, awesome Liberty Birthday Giveaway comp!

Birthday dolls

There are several very nifty things about the dolls I've just made for Grumble's birthday:

1 - They are all made from scraps or recycled materials (excluding the stuffing). Even the buttons, which came from a box of used buttons I bought on eBay aaaaaaages ago. Austerity crafting at its best!

2 - Each fabric, being a scrap from another project, has a memory. The pink doll, for example, features fabrics left over from the pjs Grumbles and I made. I really like that about these dolls.

3 - They are so darn huggable! Especially the pink flannel one. Which is good, because her arms are kinda permanently in hug-mode, due to my wonky sewing. Um, design feature?

4 - The pattern, from the amazingly talented Nic of 60 piggies, is free, so you can made some for yourself. Give Nic a virtual internet high five, ok?

5 - When Grumbles wakes up on her birthday morning and sees these two perched on the end of her bed, she's going to LOVE them (I hope!)

Jelly Roll Party Bags - with a tutorial!

I love jelly rolls - those brightly coloured strips of fabric kindly put together by quilting fabric lines to give you a taste of each fabric in a particular collection. I bought a jelly roll from Moda Fabrics recently when I was putting together this quilt for Grumbles (and yikes, I still haven't finished that. Bad me!) and then was left with a whole bunch of strips which didn't fit in with my quilt plan.

Then yesterday when I began to draft a pattern for Grumble's party bags, I struck inspiration - why not make calico and jelly roll strip bags? Brilliant, eh? After all, I do have a roll of calico sitting in the cupboard, and heavens knows I have enough scraps to sink? build? decorate? a ship. After patting myself on the back for my amazing stash busting (yes, yes, so it's one strip at a time, but who's counting?) I got to work and made these bags for all of Grumble's friends to take home. I quite like the thought of a more permanent keepsake, and am holding tight to the hope that her friends will love these bags, and merrily fill them with all their treasures. Please humour me on that one.

So I hereby present the Jorth Jelly Roll Party Bag Tutorial.

Step one:
For each bag cut out 2 pieces of calico measuring 22cm/8.75inches by 25cm/10inches.
Cut two pieces of jelly roll strip into 22cm/8.75 inches by 6.5cm/2.5 inches. These will be placed onto the bottom of each calico piece.

Step two:
Sew your jelly roll strip onto the bottom of the calico pieces. Press the seam down towards the jelly roll strip, then topstitch along the seam line. These make the front and back bag pieces. If you like, finish all your edges now.



Step three:
With right sides together, sew the front and back bag side seams together. Sew the bottom edge of the bag (the strip part) together.

Step four:
Press down and then sew a 1cm/0.5inch hem at the top of the bag.

Step five:
Cut a 35cm/14 inch piece of ribbon, and attach the centre of the ribbon to the centre back of the bag, about 2.5cm/1 inch below the hem. Your bag is now complete - fill with party favours and then tie the bag closed with a lovely bright bow!

Tulle Hair Ties

Grumbles and Jorth were sitting at the kitchen table, intently planning her 7th birthday party. Since Grumbles was only allowed a big party every two years, this was quite an event to her almost 7 year old mind.

"So!", said Jorth, sucking hard at the end of her pencil as she looked at the list in front of her, "we're agreed on a cup cake cooking party, yeah? With Pass-the-Parcel as the game, and fairy bread to snack on."

"And party bags!" said Grumbles. "Don't forget the party bags!"

Jorth grinned at her daughter. "Of course we'll have party bags, you duffer. What do you want to put in them?"

Grumbles sat and thought hard. Finally she said "Mum, I'm not really into all the plastic junk that most people put in theirs. Can we make the party bag things?"

"Ahhh!", thought Jorth. "She's a maker, this one! And wants to be plastic free! I'm as proud as punch."

The kid wanted to make, so we did make. First cab off the rank are some super sweet fluffy tulle hair ties. I googled around for a bit, and found this tutorial from Martha Stewart. They are really very simple: basically you cut a long piece of tulle, then do a long gathering stitch down the centre (either by hand, or using a sewing machine). Gather up the tulle, then firmly attach to a hair tie. Done! Repeat 10 times so all the party girls can get one.



After making these, I am TOTALLY thinking a garland of bigger and even fluffier ones would be the height of awesomeness draped around the living room!

Blue Cowl Dress

It was just as I suspected - warm woollen stockings and a singlet did the trick, and starved off any chill that may have been felt whilst wearing my new cowl neck dress. That, and my old faithful winter coat when riding my bike - that back neck cowl really wouldn't have stood up to any winter winds!





Project Details
Pattern: McCalls 6069 - Easy 1 Hour Dress
Fabric: 1.6m viscose/polyester print jersey from Tessuti Fabrics (and a remnant piece at that - score!)
Notions: Elastic (1cm wide) for waistband.

This was a quick and easy dress to sew up, but I would never, ever have gotten it done in the one hour claimed by the pattern envelope. I would say it took about 3 hours to sew up all together, but I did take my time about it. For example, I sewed every seam on my normal machine using a stretch stitch, and then finished the edges with the overlocker. I also hemmed the cowls properly, instead of just leaving the edges raw, as I prefer a nice neat finish. If you just used an overlocker for this dress you might just get in done in an hour, but I don't think it would look as good. Besides, I'm always leery of using an overlocker instead of a machine to join seams, as I find that the overlocker can quite often stretch and splay fabric. Not a good look, and it doesn't make for a nice straight seam. Maybe it's just my overlocker that does it, but I do prefer to take my time and get a good finish.

The only alteration I made on this dress was to lengthen the sleeves. It's a funny thing about me - even though I always pull my sleeves up, I don't really like three-quarter length ones, and prefer to have longer ones to hoick up. Strange, but true.
It's very comfortable to wear, and great for cool but not really chilly days - provided I have my tights and singlet on! I'm already planning another, and you can get no better compliment than that.

Autumn Stash Busting

The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things.

Oh, bugger that, thought Jorth. The time has come for me to make a list, as I have too many projects stashed away, and they are threatening to overwhelm me!

So, inspired by both Nic and Suzy, I present to you the official Jorth Crafting List of Autumn 2011, based on what is in my stash. I'm also going to follow Nic's lead and put myself onto a strict stash diet. No more purchases until the backlog has been cleared!

Sewing
Red skirt (Burda pattern)
Pink viscose top (Vogue 1020)
Liberty splatter dress (Burda Magazine 8/2009)
Liberty splatter skirt (Burda Magazine 9/2010)
Spotted black coat that was cut out last year
Black wool dress (McCalls 6199)
Cowl wool dress (McCalls 6069) in pink wool knit and another in blue viscose knit
Liberty shirt (Simplicity 2255) - almost done, just need to do the sleeves!
Our Favourite Top in pink linen knit
Blue tencel dress for Grumbles
Grey corduroy dress for Grumbles
PJ pants for Grumbles and myself
Softie doll for Grumbles

Knitting
Black yoga wrap (only 1.5 sleeves to go. C'mon, Jorth!)
Black and pink striped jumper
Pink baby shrug for a friend
Striped cardigan for Grumbles

Eek! There is a list longer than my arm of other things I want to make, particuarly in the knitting department, but I must be good. I'm sick of looking at stash. The worst part is, that's only the winter stash I'm tackling. There's a whole pile of summer weight fabrics that are also hidden away...

Pink and red sorta stripes

Back in the day, when I was studying fashion design, one of our teachers told us that if we ever made a mistake in a garment we should never declare it to be an actual error. Instead, she breezily informed us, we should tell people it was a design feature.

So that big pink section you can see that has no red stripes? Well, don't you go thinking that it's because I ran out of red wool. No darlings, it's a design feature!



Oh my gosh, who am I kidding? This is what happens when you go rummaging around in your stash, and come up with one smallish ball of red, and one and a halfish balls of pink. I thought I could beat the odds by doing four rows of pink to two rows of red, but the gamble obviously didn't pay off. Still, Grumbles is super happy with it, and I got to do some stashbusting. Year of Frugality AND austerity crafting still going strong round these parts, you see.

Project Details
Pattern: No pattern per se, just four rows of colour A then two rows of colour B in stocking stitch
Yarn: Cleckheaton Country Silk in Ruby and Pink (just tried the Cleckheaton website, and this yarn has now been discontinued)
Needles: 4.5mm

And then there were four

Two things:
(1) All the above four dolls, and 19 out of the 23 dresses sold at the school fete. Hoorah! Yay for me!

(2) I really, really, REALLY need to take my Christmas cards down. It's nearly April, right?!?!

The Static Wriggle Dress

The senior detective lent back on his chair, and fixed Jorth with a baleful glare. "So, young lady" he said. "You've come in here declaring yourself to be the perfect candidate for the undercover surveillance position at the Vogue Patterns Archival Museum*. There's a cabal entrenched in there that are making sure valuable vintage patterns are never allowed to see the light of day, and we're determined to smash the ring preventing the sewing public from accessing and using them."

The detective paused the fill his pipe up with tobacco. Jorth sat impassively, watching him go through his particular brand of pipe-lighting ceremony, and used the time to ponder the job being discussed. It was horrid to think of all those gorgeous vintage patterns that were not being allowed to see the light of day. In a world that was overrun with slovenly dressers who thought that a g-string hanging out of saggy stained tracky daks paired with a too-tight t-shirt that was embellished with glittery lettered statements such as "Wannabe P0rn Star", classy design-driven vintage patterns were more important than ever! Jorth was determined to play a part in their rescue.

Finally, encased in a haze of blue smoke the detective started up again. With a hard look at Jorth he said "Listen up: not only will you need sewing experience and vintage pattern knowledge, but you'll also have to look the part and never let them suspect that you are working for the Vintage Pattern Wiki Freedom Squad**. How do we know that you can keep your cool?"

Jorth threw him a confident smile and said "Why, sir - I'm so darn cool that my dress has it's own built in air-conditioning. When do I start?"

After admiring the back of her dress, the detective grinned then pressed the intercom button on his desk. "Mandy? Organise the employment papers for Miss Jorth here. I think we've found our gal!"

Project Details
Pattern: McCalls 5845 (ugh! Out of Print, it appears)
Fabric: 1.15m Japanese cotton "Kobe Static Grey" from Tessuti Fabrics (sold out now, alas!), plus 1.15m silk/cotton voile for lining.
Notions: 30cm zip, hook and eye

I quite like how this dress is rather demure at the front, but a bit "hey, momma!" at the back. And, yes, it is nice and breezy on the back on a hot day! Not bad for a remnant piece.

The one change I did make was to sew my darts on the inside, instead of out the outside like the instructions requested. Forgive me, McCalls pattern designers, but I just thought that was a completely daft design concept. I felt it would make it look like you didn't KNOW that darts were meant to be on the inside. Plus, how would they sit nicely? Huh? Sorry, but no outside darts for me.

*Totally made it up. But wouldn't it be cool to be let in amongst all those vintage Vogue patterns for a day that I'm sure they have stored away somewhere. Or a week.
**Fighting the good fight on behalf of cloistered vintage patterns everywhere.

Drape Drape 2 dress for Grumbles

You didn't really think that Grumbles would allow her mum to have a snazzy Drape Drape 2 dress and not get in on the action herself, did you?



The pattern was easy to redraft for Grumble's size - I simply found a singlet pattern in an old copy of Ottobre Magazine, and used it as the foundation. The fabric was left over from making this top. Austerity crafting at its best!

The only downside is that as soon as Grumbles sees me in my Drape Drape dress, she races downstairs and dons hers. And then proceeds to tell every aquaintance that we meet that we're wearing the same dress. It's a tad too matchy-matchy for my liking, but heaven help me - I wouldn't kill her buzz for the world.

Project Details
Pattern: Redrafted Dress #2 from Drape Drape 2, made to fit Grumbles
Fabric: "Original Wally", a cotton blend jersey from Tessuti Fabrics

Resolve

It appears to be that time of year again - the time to get out a fresh sheet of paper and a newly-sharpened pencil, and to jot down the resolutions for the year. With that, of course, comes hopefully a modicum of self-analysis: Who am I? What do I want to do this year? Who, exactly, do I want to be? And above all else, can I?

So here are mine, pretty much off the top of my head although they have been percolating around the noggin for a few weeks now. Fingers crossed I stick with them!

Year of Frugality
Much to the groans, but then agreement, of the Galumph, I proposed a year of frugality. We both want to just knuckle down and pay as much extra off our mortgage as we can, so we have decided to watch the pennies a whole lot more. I think the key to this being a success is to be more organised. Last year, for example, I got into the habit of buying lunch on the days I worked. Nice as that was, those lunches sure added up. This year I will make sure I always have a little something stashed away in the freezer to take in, rather than duck out to take away.

I'm sure there are a thousand more little ways we can make our dollars stretch further this year. I just need to figure them out, and apply them.

Stash Busters!
This is tying in with the Frugality pledge. I have loads of fabric and yarn sitting in my bureau at home, so I want to try and make up as many of those as I can rather than buying things for new projects. Fear not - I shall treat myself as the need/uncontrollable want occurs, but there are plenty of wannabe projects already hiding away in my cupboard that require my attention first.

Waste Control
I have a zealot's burning desire to minimise to the nth degree how much our household wastes. To this end we are looking at a composting solution to cut down on our food scrap waste (looks like a wormie bin will be the way to go), and I'm trying to avoid packaging as much as possible.

Plastic Free
Apart from necessities (medicine, deodorant etc) I'm trying to go all out for plastic free this year. Milk will be the exception, as it's simply too hard to find in glass bottles, and the plain plastic bottles are the most easily recycled. I was doing pretty well with my plastic free pledge, but the sneaky bugger has snuck his way back in to my home again. No more, say I, no more!

Oil Free
Another green goal is to further reduce my reliance on oil. It's running out, you know, so the quicker we can take steps to reduce oil consumption now, the better off we will be in the future. For my family this means remaining car-free, eating as locally as we can (joining a local box scheme has already occurred), purchasing only locally made goods and reducing our energy usage.

Just Keep Sewin'
Last year was a personal record buster on the sewing front. Apart from one dress (aw c'mon - it was on sale!) some pjs and bathers, I made all my own clothes. This year I want to keep on keeping on - and with that stash busting pledge it looks like I shall have to!

Click that Shutter Button
I'd really like to improve my photography this year. Last year was pretty good, but I know I can do better. I can definitely do it more often, for starters!

Don't You Have a Blog or Something?
Yes, I do, but I'm not sure you could tell by the amount of updating I did in the second half of the year. Please allow me a moment to hang my head in shame. So much for my update every day pledge - phwmph! I do enjoy writing my blog, so this year I'm aiming for regular updating rather than locking myself into a daily pledge. I want to be reliable for both my sake, and yours.

Hey There, Chicken Arms!
A few weeks ago Grumbles was trying to do cartwheels on a lawn. Poor kid couldn't do one to save herself, so I sauntered over to show her how it's done. Um, wake up call: My upper arm strength is so feeble that I could barely manage one myself. I was rather shocked - I thought doing a cartwheel would be like getting up off the couch - a simple action that I wouldn't even have to think about. Ruh roh. So after that blistering moment of enlightenment, I've been doing push ups every morning. Granted I can only manage half a dozen at the moment before collapsing nose first onto the floor and begging for mercy, but I'll get there.

So there are pledges for the year. Watch out 2011 - here comes a greener, fiscally enhanced and superbly toned upper armed Jorth!

The Stripey Bandit

There's a new bandit in town. You'll know her by her clever disguise - she can bounce the sun's glare directly into your eyes from her mask, rendering you blind and enabling her a quick get away.

You may also know her by her dodgy dance moves. The Stripey Bandit sure does like to rock on!







Project Details

Pattern: Dress #12 from Ottobre Design Magazine 2/2005
Fabric: 1m of stripey cotton print, which wasn't quite enough - boy did I do some head scratching trying to fit all the pattern pieces in! Still, yet enough stash buster, so I'm pleased.
Notions: elastic for sleeves and neckline

I adore this dress - I'm so happy with how the stripes look going both ways. It's a winner!

Red Peasant Blouse

Now, forgive me if I'm wrong...





...but I think somebody is rather pleased with her new top!

Project Details
Pattern: Peasant Blouse from Ottobre Magazine 2/2005
Fabric: 50cm cotton from stash. Love a stash project!
Notions: elastic for sleeves and neck edge, plus shirring elastic

Watch out for more of these this summer!

Jorth vs Fabric Scraps

Oh my sainted aunt - what is that... that thing vomitting all over my kitchen table?



Before I end your suspense, a little background: today I had the day off work, and decided to get cracking on Grumble's summer wardrobe. Foolish me thought it would be a mere matter of opening the bureau door and fishing out the fabric I had in mind, but instead I was confronted with a jumble of fabrics all threatening to spill out of the over packed cupboard, and all baying for attention with the same refrain: "Remember me? I was meant to be a dress by now! So when you gonna sew me up, huh? HUH?"

With a sigh I set aside my initial intention, got down on my hands and knees and began the job of sorting through the fabric stash, and figuring out my plans. Fabric that I did have a specific project in mind for was neatly folded up with the corresponding pattern placed on top, and carefully lined up on the shelf. Scrappy bits that were kept for whatever reason were reevaluated, and either consigned to the op-shop bag or to the 'other projects' pile. And all those weird odds and sods were put into a bag to be donated to the local kindergarten.

After working steadily for a good half hour, I rocked back onto my heels and surveyed with satisfaction the work I had done. But alas! I had forgotten the scrap bag. Now that I came to think of it, I hadn't come upon the fabric I wanted for Grumble's top, so I took the scrap bag out to the kitchen table, and began to hunt for it.

All those scraps - mostly left over pieces from clothes I had made for Grumbles - spilled out onto the table. Here was a piece from her first summer dress. Here was a piece from the jeans I had made, and lined with spotted cotton. Here was a piece from the top she wore on her first day of kinder. Here was a piece for each day we were happy, sitting in the sun, just my girl and me. Each one felt like a precious memory, and couldn't be thrown away, but collectively the bag seemed to be taunting me. "LOOOOOK!" the scraps brayed, "Look at all these pieces left from the clothes you made your child. Clothes for a little girl that you can never make again, because your daughter is growing up faster than you would like, and you can't have any more children, so you'll never be able to make those clothes again. BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

Good grief! It was like the fabric elephant in the room had come to life. I almost burst into tears looking at all the pieces. The worst thing is, though, that even though I don't want these scraps to hang around as a reminder of what-might-have-been, I don't want to throw them either. The bittersweet memories were suddenly too much, and I was feeling them too deeply. I was standing in my kitchen, having a meltdown over a bag of cloth, battling to keep my emotions in check. But bloody hell - the cloth scraps were winning!

Then I thought of something. My salvation, so to speak. I would make the scraps into a yo yo garland! That way I could do something useful with the scraps, and keep the happy memories associated alive, but could put it away when I tired of it.

Restraining myself from doing a little happy jig, I leaned in and whispered to the fabric bag "So! What do you think of my clever plan?"

The scrap bag was silent. It knew a winner when it saw one.

Little Red Riding Hood

Grumbles had a 'dress up as a character from your favourite fairy tale' day at school yesterday. Let me tell you, there were no stinkin' Disney Princess outfits for us. This, my friends, required yours truly to whip up a Little Red Riding Hood jacket and the Grumbles looks pretty darn cute if I do say so myself.

Added bonus: she now has a jacket to wear all winter long to boot. Score!

Project Details
Pattern: Jacket from Ottobre 1/2006
Fabric: 100% wool from Tessuti Fabrics
Notions: Two recycled buttons from stash

I have wanted to make this project for eeeeevvvvvveeeer, but somehow never got around to it. There were always more important things to make, like jeans for Grumbles, or dresses for the school fete, or another Vogue 8184... ahem. But then inspiration struck, and we have a winner (which is good, because my sewing mojo totally felt like it had gone awol. It was pretty easy to put together - a nice Sunday afternoon job - and the hardest part was maintaining concentration whilst I hand-scalloped the edging. Still, it's a nice touch and what's a bit of RSI when your favourite gal needs a costume?

And Grumbles verdict? "It's really nice and beautiful and I really love it and it looks pretty and that's it full stop!"

Well! No higher praise indeed!

The Three Way Dress Production Line

I have two weeks to transform those piles of fabric into 12 dresses for the school fete. Eeeeeek!

This is now officially the point where I start to wonder why oh bloody why didn't I just volunteer to man the cake stand for an hour on the day. Gah!

On the bright side the above picture demonstrates some serious stash reduction. I can actually close the cupboard door now!

Another Three Way Dress

I am proud to announce that I have gotten over my addiction to Vogue 8184. Completely over it! Instead I've been concentrating on making Three Way Dresses from Ottobre magazine 3/2009. Would you believe that this is the fourth one I've made? Craaaaaazy!

Yep, it's just been like swapping cigarettes for carrot sticks. Or changing your Saturday night ritual of stuffing Burger Rings in your mouth with a chaser of two six packs of beer to training for a mini marathon. Breathe in that fresh air! Make a change for the better! Find something positive to replace with something negative. And I'm using up the stash again! It's all good, people, all good.

(Jorth suddenly remembers that some unfortunte people replace weed with crack cocaine, and her mood plunges with the sudden realisation that maybe this Three Way Dress thing isn't such a hot idea after all...)

Flower brooch

Now, I could have stood in the kitchen, reading the invitation handed to me by Grumbles and quickly figured out which Barbie or book or bauble to buy the hostess. Easy as pie. Walk down the street, turn into shop, select made in China piece of crap that will break in two days (earlier if the child's brothers decide to have a bit of fun with it), ask assistant to wrap, please, pay the money, walk home.

Or I could sit down with Grumbles, have a nice little chat about what her friend would like, and what her favourite colours are, and then we could comment on how she is indeed a little lady so we'd best make her something ladylike.

And then we could spend a happy half hour playing with fabrics, cutting out patterns, rummaging through the button jar, finding the perfect ribbon and then stitch by stitch sew it together with love.

I'm pretty sure you can guess which option we took.

This would have to be the easiest brooch in the world to make:

1 - Cut out a nice flower shape pattern in paper.
2 - Find two pieces of complimentary fabric that will fit the flower pattern piece, and interface the back of them with the toughest interfacing you own.
3 - Cut out the flower pieces from the interfaced fabric.
4 - Find some ribbon and a button, then sew them all together. Then attach a brooch pin to the back.

Voila!

More sewing from the stash!

It was dark inside the stash cupboard. Fabrics that normally wouldn't have been friends in real life, let alone deign to sit next to each other on a fabric quilt for all of eternity, were squished uncomfortably together in overflowing bags. Liberties sat next to stripy cotton prints from the '70s gifted by goodness knows who's mother, and tried to turn their aristocratic noses away from the mothball smell.

Normally the cupboard was quiet, but of late the murmurs and rumours were becoming louder. "She's sewing from stash!" some said, shocked by the very thought. "It's the mortgage, you see!" others kindly explained (usually those who had been there the longest, and been through austerity-fuelled crafting binges before). "The money is tight, so she's mending and making do. It's the new green!"

"Oh puh-lease!" tutted a rather gaudy patchwork cotton. "Let's get this straight: Crafting is the new green, which is the new black, which is the new ridiculous!" "Hush!", said an older and rather staid poplin. "Do you want to be chosen, or not?"

Despite the assurances, the sense of disquiet was palpable. Each sat quietly with their thoughts. Did they actually want to be the chosen one? When next would the bright light of day come flooding into the cupboard? Who would be removed? Would they be ironed, and made nice once more, or would they be used as play fabric by grubby and sticky fingers? Was it better to be taken out, or to stay safe and still with the one's one knew...

Then the day came. Quickly and decisively a bag was removed. Fabric was loaded onto the table, and scrutinised intently. Deep inside their cotton weaves, fibres shook with fear. Suddenly, two were chosen, and the rest were cast back into the darkness. As they soothed their troubled souls, the sound of the sewing machine could be heard. Straining in the dark, the stash fabrics listened for sounds of distress but none were heard. Then night fell, and all once more was silent.

The next morning, they heard familiar voices call to them in the magic language of fabric. "She's made us up!" the selected two cried out in joy. "We are now a party dress for a dear, sweet girl, and we have been ironed, and trimmed, and made up with love. We are so happy! Goodbye, dear pals - we are off to see the world!"

"You see!", exclaimed the older stash fabrics to the bewildered newer ones, "it's good to be used. Let us hope that there is much more stash hunting to come!"

Project Details

Pattern: Three Way Dress from Ottobre Magazine 3/2009, size 110cm

Fabric: Amy Butler I think? Who cares, it's from the stash and it's all good (and it saved traisping around in the heat yesterday looking for a birthday gift!)

Notions: 130cm grosgrain ribbon, once again from stash