Category: sewing

Some peaceful time in the sewing space

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After all my summer adventures it was lovely to spend time at home, and in particular to have lots of time in my little sewing space. I have previously blogged about the Barbie clothes for the Christmas fundraiser, and after I had finished those at the end of November I just kept going. I have had a group of Barbies with no outfits on the shelf in my craft space for a couple of years, and had promised them all new outfits before I left again.

I had so much fun doing this, not only do I feel that I have developed my sewing skills, but also I love just sitting with all my fabrics, beads and shiny jewels, and playing with colour combinations. I have re-organised my fabric storage to make it easier to find things and just enjoyed myself spending hours each week creating.

I have been inspired by various things, often it is the fabric or the beads that spark an idea. This first one was experimenting with the organza from the bags I bought. Although they are only small pieces they are perfect for little adornments like these ruffles. The red fabric is a stock of small silk pieces that have been in my stash for at least ten years.

I have been using the same pattern, but adapting it with different fabrics and skirt shapes. This is one of my favourite designs and I love beading the bodices. The bodice fabric on the black and bronze dress comes from the same old silk stash. It is nice to finally be using up things 😉

I did some experimenting with layers of tulle. This is some I bought in New York when Ellen and I went, and I added sewn on beads and stick on daisies.

I love the way that this ribbon from stash goes perfectly with the daisies.

My most complex project was inspired by all the wonderful Instagram cosplay makes from the Wicked movie. I didn’t have enough fabric to make a full Glinda bubble dress, but this is one inspired by it. There was a lot of geometrical pondering to get the skirt petals done. Each petal is a double layered circle of fabric, with another layer of tulle folded over it as well.

I am very pleased with the way the beading worked. I did the bodice and the petals separately as I thought it would be easier to bead the petals while they were flat, and then added beads at the waist to make it look as if they were continuous.

This ensemble was made from some raw silk, I love working with this fabric and was keen to experiment with beading. With hindsight it would have been easier to bead the dress before I made it up, but I like the colour graduations on the beads.

I have been buying a few different doll’s heads, from Aliexpress. This Mulan one inspired me to use a piece of Chinese silk that has been around for about fifteen years.

As well as all the Barbie clothes I did a bit of Christmas knitting and crochet. First was a hat for a children’s gift box for the local orphanage. Then I made some wrist warmers for my aunt, from my favourite Emerald Wristwarmer pattern, free from Ravelry. I love the variegations in this wool.

With my new found crochet skills I made some soft baskets from a skein of variegated macramé thread. These were for my brother and his wife, for their cave house. They were an adaptation of various free patterns from Ravelry.

Then there were the usual cross stitched ornaments. These were the ones for friends, a selection of Quaker snowflakes and JBW designs.

These were the family ones, again from the same mixed sources.

I had a bit of emergency knitting to do in between the cross stitching. You may remember last Christmas the fundraiser was a little knitted mouse. Debbie, from our knitting group won it and gave it to her granddaughter in the USA. Sadly she left it on a plane and was very upset. Luckily I had most of a mouse in bits in my stash, and some spare dresses, so she had a replacement to give her on Christmas Day.

I also got around to tackling the WIP pile. I have a lot of embroideries, mainly of designs from Jenny of Elefantz, that I have been meaning to make up into something. This one got as far as being given one of my favourite Churn Dash block surrounds, but has been languishing in the pile for at least six years.

I am always in need of new project bags for travelling so it didn’t take long to make this one up. I also made up this design for my Mum to keep her embroideries in. I originally intended it to be a Christmas gift for her about five years ago, but better late than never. I loved stitching this one, again another of Jenny’s designs.

I also got some lovely Christmas presents. My Mum wanted to buy me something, rather than just give me money, and in following some of the wonderful Instagram Barbie designers I have found a whole new world of jewellery and crowns. I was lucky enough to get these for Christmas. My Glinda Barbie looks gorgeous in her tiara, and I am planning a very extravagant dress to go with the crown, although that will have to wait until autumn now.

It was a hugely productive three months, I did more in those weeks than I have all year, and am very pleased with the progress on the WIPs pile and in using some of the long buried stash. I have already started on the Christmas cross stitching for 2025, have completed two hats for donations, sent the premature baby hats that I knitted earlier last year off, and started my charity knitting for 2025. As I shall be on the road again for the next two months, and then having a very busy spring and summer, I am choosing small portable projects.

I will return in a couple of weeks, Wifi permitting to update you on what I have been doing. Until then, have fun, take care, stay safe, and thanks for visiting.

A self-taught seamstress

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Like many women my age, I did actually have needlework lessons at school. Good old-fashioned needlework, not textiles or design but reading a pattern, doing it all properly with tailors tacks and matching notches. I actually hated it, and after the compulsory two years was very thankful to give it up, one completed apron for cookery, and an unfinished corduroy skirt, (this was the 1970s after all!), later. I did do cookery, at both O and A level, which I loved, and never regretted not doing more needlework, thinking when would I ever need it?

Of course fast forward 35 years, making costumes for medieval re-enactment, and then Steampunk, and I’m really wishing I knew more. All that stuff about adjusting patterns, FBAs, understitching, how do make a successful toile, all of that has been learnt the hard way over the years. I have had some great mentors, in the women from my medieval group, and I loved the dress making days that we used to have, but for the rest, thank goodness for the internet!

I would love to do an in person dressmaking course someday, however my itinerant lifestyle means that is difficult, but there are so many good resources out there now. Sometimes nothing beats human interaction through, especially when you are trying to do fittings on yourself 😉

I am also developing my skills at Barbie couture, a whole different set is needed to work at such a small scale, and have learnt so much in the past few years, and even more in the past couple of weeks. I have been very inspired by all of the wonderful creators that I follow on Instagram. Some of them post process videos as well, which is really useful, as I can follow what they are doing.

One of my favourites is Grace Panisara She makes the most incredible beaded gowns, many replicas of ones worn in real life by pageant participants. The skill of this seamstress is amazing, and I can only hope that someday I can do something half as wonderful as this. This picture below is from her Instagram, just look at this stunning work!

Another favourite is Hoanganhkhoi whose tailored work with reproductions of all of the wonderful Dior creations is beyond belief. I have been struggling with just a few little patterns pieces and some of the jackets have 30 pieces in them! He posts videos of his makes so do go take a look and be amazed.

I have been getting lots of practise though, with the latest fundraiser, and am really pleased with what I have made. There are six outfits in total, a holiday wardrobe to see Barbie through the festive season ahead!

First make was this Christmas Day dress. I knew the fabric wasn’t going to be brilliant to work with, as it was so thick, but really wanted to use it as I had the Poinsettia flower already in my stash and thought it would go really well. Suffice to say the sleeves were a challenge to sew. I ended up hand stitching them, and supporting the while thing with a pen in the armhole while I did that, which worked well.

That material, and the black lace for the evening dress below, had come from a bag given to me by a friend, Vivien, from sewing group here. I really wanted to use the lace, as it feels very Spanish mantilla, so layered it over some dark gold, which may well be something that Kerry gave me, it certainly looks like one of her underdresses from re-enactment.

The blue outfit is another use of scraps, this was left over from when I made my friend Sarah’s wedding dress, they had a Lord of the Rings inspired celebration, and I have posted about making that dress here. This is the first pant suit I have made and it was great, so will do this one again.

It is lovely to be able use up so much that has memories attached to it. This cream fabric is left over from one of the first outfits I made for Ellen for re-enactment, a mere 20 something years ago.

Some of the fabric is stuff I have bought, particularly the lovely silks used in this purple dress, but the organza I have used for the overlay was a gift from someone.

This trouser suit also come from the bag from Vivien, and the silver for the knitted top was given to me by Linda, from the knitting group here.

I have found an amazing source of free Barbie knitting patterns here. Thanks to Lisa for thousands of patterns in multiple languages. This boob tube is an adaptation of pattern no 95, as I didn’t have enough yarn to do a collared version, but I love it.

Initially I was really struggling with zig zagging the pieces after I’d cut them out, to stop fraying, and then just before outfit number 5, I realised that if I traced them with tailors’ chalk, did the zig zagging as a single piece of fabric, then cut them it might be easier… and it was, so much easier. Wish I’d thought of that two weeks ago 😉

I am continuing with making outfits, these will just be for me so I can make them a little more complex and fragile, I try to just use single press studs, hooks or velcro for ones which will go to children, but can bead to my hearts content here and try and do some high fashion stuff. I have been stocking up on a few new things from the local Merca China shops here, they have wonderful selections of beads and bling.

I also realised that these little organza gift bags, which you can buy here in packs of 4 for a euro, will be great for embellishments on gowns. You actually get quite a lot of fabric in each one, so I am experimenting with ruffles for this red gown below.

I mainly use the patterns that I bought a few years ago, from Gail’s doll patterns on Etsy. I bought two 1960s ones, and a 1980s and there are loads of options in each pattern. My favourite patterns are the ones without arms as they are so much easier, but there are some nice coats and jackets with arms and body cut as one piece.

So if you need me in the next few weeks I will be in my atelier, faffing about with tiny bits of fabric and beads! That, my other Christmas crafting, and a new writing course with the WEA, will keep me amused for the next few weeks. Much as I love my travel adventures, I am very much enjoy time in the house with the sewing machine, although the bed still feels very big 😉

Until next time, when I shall return to posting about the summer travels, enjoy whatever you are doing. Have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Steampunk, 7 years on.

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This Lincoln Asylum event was, as Facebook helpfully reminded us, 7 years since we first attended, although due to the missing Covid years, it was the 5th time of being in Lincoln.

We loved the new activities such as the trinket swap and the 30 blue plaques to find, celebrating those who have contributed to the events.

As always we had an excellent time. We participated in the Fashion Show on the Friday night at the Assembly Rooms, which are a gorgeous reminder of Lincoln’s Georgian past.

I wore my Glories of Bombay jacket, and Ellen her House of Worth dress. She had a new tiara for the event which made her look very regal.

She also had a completely new outfit for the weekend, her Monster Hunter one, complete with Stitch in chains and Grogu in a net!

This is the same pattern she has used before and the bolero jacket and skirt look great with leggings and her Nu Rock boots. She embroidered the arm patch herself and bought the monster alert device and the hat cogs at a previous event. She even has Grogu earrings!

I wore the tablecloth jacket again on Saturday, but with the seamstress hat.

Sunday there was a Steam Trek meet up so I wore my Captain Jane way outfit and hat. Forgot to get any close up pictures though. There were some brilliant costumes at the meet up.

This trio were my favourite, so cool!

I will leave you with some of the other amazing outfits, as always such creativity. I am definitely tempted by a Slyvanian families one in the future!

There was definitely a bookworm theme going on and one lady had the, ‘What Katy Did ‘ books on her hat!

Love the Wonka family above, they always have amazing outfits.

I am currently staying on a site with no WiFi, so things may be a bit quiet here for a while.

I have lots of lovely more Trust property visits planned this week and next, and then am on to Suffolk for a week where I am looking forward to more pretty villages and coastline.

Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Busy doing something, working the whole day through…..

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I have been getting on really well with the list of things that I have to do before I leave for the UK, so much so that I managed to sneak another thing on to the crafting list.

I was getting some new stickers sorted for Katy, as she is going to be at various festivals and in the display field at one of them, and I saw this lovely slogan that I thought that I would adapt. I have various hoop embroideries featuring caravans in Katy, so thought that a Renault Kangoo would be good, in case she starts suffering an identity crisis 😉

The plan is to chain stitch around the outlines and backstitch the lettering, and add some stars stitched in metallic thread.

I have been really enjoying doing the hoop embroidery with my friends from sewing group so wanted to do some more myself. They have all been very inspired, there were lots of finishes in beautiful colours last week, and some very good works in progress.

Lynne was extremely inspired and has started a sampler of different stitches.

I have done well with the new dress for re-enactment, the dreaded holes have come out fine and I am now on the tidying up all of the seams, which involves lots of nice hand stitching while binge watching on Netflix 😉

I have also finished this cute little cross stitch, that I started last year. This will go in the front of the van when I am at meet ups with one of the van life Facebook groups that I am a member of, so people will know it is me. The slogan of the group is , ‘carpe diem’, which means, ‘seize the day’ . The pattern is an adaptation of one from a cross stitch magazine, not sure which one now.

I have backed it with some of the lovely van fabric that I also used for the other cushions in the camper.

I will also need to sort out the summer crafting projects. I will be taking some cross stitch Christmas ornaments, as I have another 8 to stitch. I will also knit at least one of the unicorns from the latest Little Cotton Rabbits’ pattern.

I will also be making some more of the Textured Dresses as they are so useful for both the knitted animals, Barbies and the Rainbow Rascals dolls that I have been knitting for Christmas boxes this year.

I have only finished Poppy so far, Violet is still in bits in the cupboard!

I have also packed my flower book as I am determined to learn to crochet flowers for a garland for Katy this summer.

They are all great projects for doing in the small space of the van. I am so excited about the summer ahead, I have 4 months on the road and can’t wait to share all of my adventures with you. Last summer I was looking forward to it, but this year I am even more excited as I know how very much I loved it last year 🙂

I will hopefully have chance for a couple more blog posts before I go. Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Everyday life in Spain, cockroach wars, the beach and lots of embroidery!

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This is a catch up post with lots of things to show you. Life here continues to be wonderful, the weather is still very good and I had my first sea swim this week which was brilliant. However I am having a constant battle with cockroaches!

In Spain they are as common as spiders and I know that they are often associated with dirty conditions but I do clean a lot, honestly! However, despite my best efforts, at least once a night one of the dastardly little creatures strolls by, while I am sitting on my sofa. They then then stop and glare at me, as if to say, ‘what are you doing here?’ I have taken to trying to catch them and remove them to a garden of an empty house across the road but often they are too fast for me. This week’s score is about 5-2 to the roaches. I love the fact that I have geckos and flamingos in my life, but not the roaches 😦

As well as the beach visit on Sunday we had lunch there on Saturday, to celebrate National Knit in Public Day in the UK. We had a lovely time, didn’t get much knitting done, but one set of the reindeer legs are almost complete now.

I have also finished the bear that I made from the Moses Basket cover for my great niece. This was a free pattern from here. The original was designed to be made from fur fabric, but it worked well from the jersey.

I added interfacing first, which I then zig zag stitched for extra stability. I decided to hand sew as the pieces were small and jersey is very mobile!

I am pleased with the end result, I am calling him Bertie for now. He has a slightly padded muzzle, and his eyes and nose are made from wool felt from a scarf.

Hopefully Willow will really love him and remember the hedgehog fabric. Apparently she used to ‘talk’ to the hedgehogs when she was in the basket so hopefully Bertie will be a great friend for her.

The Liberty lap quilt is now all hand quilted, that was two afternoons of binge watching Netflix, including the wonderful ‘Queen Charlotte’, an excellent Bridgerton prequel. I just did some very simply running stitch following the seams.

My plan for this week is to get the backing on this, and to machine sew the seams on my new peasant dress for Tewkesbury Medieval Festival. Then it is just the dreaded holes for the lacing and some nice relaxing hemming and seam tidying up to do! I am on a countdown as I leave for the UK in 3 weeks 🙂

The embroidery workshop went really well. I shared my selection of the wonderful Jenny of Elefantz’s patterns for this and also directed people to her website as there were quite a few who said they would like to do more things after their hoops. These are some of the previous ones that I have made that people were doing.

The aim was for everyone to stitch a small motif in a hanging hoop, and most people have already finished their hoops.

I always ask my friends for permission to share their photos on my blog and Brenda, who is in the photo on the right above was keen that I should tell you that she found the stitching fine even with her compression bandage.

I always aim to make workshops as accessible as possible so it was great that everyone could achieve what they wanted and found it relaxing. I love doing hand embroidery. I haven’t done any for a while as I have a large pile of finished things that have no current homes to go to, so need to find someone who wants a wool basket, hanging or pouch.

We are doing another session on how to finish the hoops with different types of backings this week. I have added Liberty and lace to my three small van embroidery hoops, and some ombre fabric and lace to the mandala embroidery, as I realised that the felt backing that I had looked very plain from the back when the hoops are hanging in the van.

So I have a busy few weeks ahead as I also have to finish sorting all of my bookings for the summer and my route through France and Spain back here in the autumn. I can’t tell you how excited I am about all of the wonderful things I have planned for next few months 😉

I hope that you are all having a good time as well, and whatever you are doing have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Precision cutting …. and sewing and pressing!

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There is nothing like working on your quilt block skills to really develop your attention to detail. Never has the phrase, ‘measure twice, cut once’, been more appropriate.

As I mentioned in my last post I have set various targets for myself for this 90 day period in Spain, and I am thankfully ahead of myself so far. I am just waiting for some wadding for my lap quilt, then I can start on the hand quilting, so thought that I would spend a little more time making blocks for a future quilt.

I still had 8 blocks left from 2020, when I did the Riley Blake block a week challenge, so I have gone back to the site and am making additional ones, using both the designs that I have already made, and some new ones.

It is brilliant that the resource is still available, as are the challenges from 2021 and 2022. Thanks to all the designers that host the tutorials on their blogs, the help is much appreciated!

I first made some scrappy Churn Dash blocks as I have so many small scraps of Liberty left from other projects. I also love making this block and it is really easy to turn it into a scrappy one. I first tried this after seeing a tutorial from Crazy Mom Quilts and it is so effective.

The second block made this weekend is the Sawtooth Star Block, I used this really clear tutorial from Amy Smart from Diary of a Quilter. She has a really helpful printable chart showing how to make the block in multiple sizes as well. I have made this one before as well, but have no idea where these blocks went, they may well turn up sometime!

This time at least, my points were fairly accurate so I am very pleased. I really love these blocks, they are just so pretty!

I have now got 12 blocks made, my aim is 42 for quilt topper for my double bed. I am putting no time limit on this, I will just make blocks as and when I have the time and the inclination. The plan will be to sash them all with Liberty, thus using up more of my scraps.

I am very proud of myself for making these, at one time I never thought that I would be able to make, and actually enjoy the process of making, anything as complex as these.

After my friends have gone I will be getting on with the last two things on the list, the medieval dress, and a bear and blanket made from the Moses basket cover I made for my great niece, Willow, who celebrated her first birthday last weekend.

I also have a pair of knitted reindeer nearly finished, for a friend here who didn’t win the ones I made at Christmas. Then it will be time to set some new goals for my summer crafting! This will include at least one of Julie of Little Cotton Rabbit’s new pattern, which is a horse with a unicorn option, so excited!

I will see you all again in a couple of weeks, until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Developing my skills

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One of the great things about having a blog, aside from all the lovely new people I meet through it, is that I can track progress of my skills. I had a lovely afternoon yesterday, finishing off the quilt top for Katy. I am so pleased with the end result, which overall has taken about 3 years.

I first started developing my skills with quilt blocks about 5 years ago, and made many for pouches and bags for friends, or that that were sold at my friend Sarah’s stall at Yarndale each year.

I have some particular favourite blocks from those makes, including the Churn Dash block, that I made so many versions of including this scrappy one.

A major leap in my skills came about 3 years ago, at the start of lockdown, when I was doing the Riley Blake Challenge to make a different block each week. I ended up with a really good selection of blocks.

It is very interesting to read those post, not only talking about developing my skills, but also looking back on how I felt at that time. It is very heart warming to think that 3 years on we have been able to return to almost normal, and have the precious freedom to travel, and more importantly spend time with friends and family.

Every year at this point I like to reflect on what was a very low point for me, after the first few weeks of isolation, when I just had to leave the house and have some human contact. Although making quilt blocks was brilliant, it was so nice to see other people again!

I am celebrating that anniversary today in my beautiful little house in Spain, still working on quilt blocks but with a very happy heart, especially after the last wonderful few months of travel!

During that challenge I learnt so many new skills, and made lots of blocks that I had only ever heard of. At the time I wasn’t quite sure what I would do with the collection. Last year I finally decided to use some of them for a lap quilt for the van, adding some blocks with embroidery to some of the Riley Blake ones. This was the progress in January.

I was debating whether to add a scrappy border after I had finished the white sashing and I am so glad that I did, it really adds to the overall effect and you can never have too much Liberty, at least not in my world 😉

I really love all of the blocks, though I think that the ones with the embroidery left over from making the tablecloth jacket are a particular favourite.

The task now is to hand quilt it, once I have got hold of some batting. I am hoping one of the local craft stores might have some, but if not will have to resort to Amazon. I am planning some hand quilting in perle thread so that it will tone in with the mandala and embroideries that are currently in Katy.

I don’t think that I have shown you the cute new tin that I got for her as well. I am collecting campervan and caravan themed tins and decorations for her as well.

Riley Blake have another challenge for this year and you can find all of the patterns here. I have been admiring people’s creations on Instagram, and although I do have other projects to focus on will definitely be making some more blocks to join the ones I have left.

I hope you are having a happy Monday, and enjoying the extra Bank Holiday if you are in the UK. I will be back later in the week with some lovely Japanese textiles for you. Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Small Spring fashions

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Twice a year our local foodbank charity here in Spain has a fashion show using the clothes that they have had donated to the shop. They always have a fantastic selection of clothes and the show is brilliant. Last year the bridal section had some wonderful things, with some beautiful vintage pieces from the 1980s and 90s. I think people probably declutter once they move here so they get rid of things they have been hanging onto for a while.

I decided that I would do a Barbie clothes fundraiser this time, previous ones have been a Luna rabbit for the Jubilee last year, and a pair of reindeer for the Christmas Craft Fair at the charity.

The doll that I have used for this set of clothes is one that I got in a bundle from Etsy. I wanted a more Spanish looking doll, and so I was lucky enough to win a bundle with this doll and four others, including another darker skinned one.

Here she is in her basket with five extra outfits.

I was originally going to do just do fabric clothes, however I did a lot of knitting of little dresses while I was away, and when I tried them on the doll thought that they looked really cute. I also thought that they would be easier to get on and off for small fingers.

The knitted dresses are from my favourite Little Cotton Rabbits, Julie is an amazing designer and I particularly love these dresses. I have knitted nearly all of them now and they are so easy to do. The pattern is the Textured Dresses one and can be found here. I have also got a few more in stock now for future knitted animals.

I did add an extra four rows after the textured section to make them long enough in the body, but otherwise just followed the pattern. The dresses are knitted from the bottom up so it is easy to alter the length.

I think they look brilliant and love the colours together. The textures make them extra special and are really simple to do.

They are just sewn up at the back to just above waist height and fastened with a button. The rest of the outfits have velcro as well for ease.

I decided to make fabric dresses in the same colours as the knitted ones as I already had the pink one above made. This one is made from a charity shop skirt for the bottom half, and stash fabric for the bodice. I love collecting small scale prints from charity shop stock and have lots in the stash for future outfits.

I also had this turquoise one made but redid the skirt as I wanted things in varying lengths. The bottom of the dress was part of an old skirt of mine so I could use the tiers and the hem. This was a really quick make.

The lilac one took the longest, mainly because of the need to fit the dress. This is a pattern that I have made many times before. It is a vintage Barbie one from GailsDollEPatterns on Etsy. She has a fantastic selection for all types of dolls, and this one is a vintage Simplicity Pattern from the 1960s.

The doll is one of the diversity range, with wider hips and a smaller chest, hence the fiddly fitting, as the vintage patterns were designed for the original dolls. The thing I have found is that even the non- diverse dolls vary so much in their shapes that it is definitely not one size fits all.

I am very pleased with the overall set and hopefully they will find a happy home next week. Then it will be continuing with more couture outfits, inspired by all of the wonderful blogs and Instagram posts that I have seen over the years.

I have just made the swing coat pictured on the pattern in a dark jade green silk with some of the ribbon stash from New York, and am also making another version of this dress in the green silk and cream brocade.

I will be using some more of the New York stash, here is a peak at three of the bundles that I got while I was away, including some beautiful stitching threads from Japan. I have the middle fabric and tulle in a lilac and a pink colourway.

I also need to work on the Liberty lap quilt, I have to take that back with me in July, along with a gift for Willow and hopefully a new peasant dress for re-enactment, (that I only started about 5 years ago!). I just couldn’t find my mojo during the Covid years when there were no events and last year was too busy finishing a Steampunk jacket and hat. You never know it might get done for this year 😉

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend ahead and enjoy the extra Bank Holiday if you are in the UK. I will be back next week with more of Japan. Have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Finding haberdashery heaven

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Well dear readers, the travel gods smiled upon us and Ellen and I were able to go on our very long awaited trip to New York in the second week of January. We had been planning this trip since about 2018, when we watched a series called Project Runway. This was set in one of the Fashion Institutes there, and featured regular visits by the contestants to the Garment District, in particular a shop there called Mood.

We had originally planned to go 2 years ago, for Ellen’s 30th birthday but as we know the world got a little crazy and so we put that trip on hold. We had not finally decided to go until just before Christmas, as we were waiting to see if anything changed with restrictions but sorted it all out and had a fantastic time. I had visited many years ago but it was Ellen’s first trip.

As well as buying fabric and haberdashery we wanted to visit some fashion collections and museums, as well as see all the tourist highlights. I will post later about those, this post is just all about the wonder that is the Garment District. It really is amazing how many shops there are, and how much there is available, we were at points quite overwhelmed with what to buy.

We were guided by a particular vlog from someone I have watched a lot over the years, Bernadette Banner, who did a New York Garment District vlog three years ago. I don’t remember the name of every shop we went it but we did visit B and Q trimmings, M and J Trimmings, Pacific Coast Haberdashery, and of course Mood!

This was just a tiny selection of what was in one shop, they had four aisles just of zips!

Ellen was looking for sparkly fabric for a night sky inspired project and had a hard time choosing from all the loveliness, though the $450 dollars a yard fabric got put back straight away! The Garment District is right next to Broadway, so as well as fashion fabric there are endless sequins, lace and feathers available such as these beauties.

We were both very restrained, even though a small fortune could have been spent. I just bought things for very specific Barbie couture projects as it was wonderful to have very small scale braid and trimmings available. I will do a specific post about that and my plans for the purchases later.

Before the shopping we spent some time at the Fashion Institute of Technology, looking both at the display of students’ work and at their current exhibition. The student work exhibition was really interesting, as much for the design boards as for the final creations.

The current exhibition at the museum looks at the interior spaces that many of the world’s greatest women designers lived and worked in. As well as showcasing their designs there were pictures of their salons, many of which no longer exist. It was a fascinating look at these creative spaces. The gowns on display were a very varied selection, and all stunning.

I am going to be working on more Barbie couture when I get back to Spain so wanted to choose two garments from the trip to make in Barbie size. I have chosen this gold one from the museum collection as I love the beaded detail on the neckline. I may not do anything as elaborate as this but it will be the inspiration.

The other dress I have chosen is this one from the film, ‘Mrs Harris goes to Paris’, which I watched on the plane. I love this and was able to get some gorgeous fabric in New York for it. There are so many amazing dresses in that film so may make others in the future, Barbie scale only though! Picture from the above link.

We also saw a great exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, all about the history of the kimono, and how it became transformed once Japan opened up to Western fashion, and in turn how kimonos inspired other designers. Very interesting with some beautiful garments.

I am now actually in the Greek part of Cyprus where I am spending some of my winter months of exile from Spain. I am only allowed to stay there for 90 days post Brexit, but that gives me a great excuse to travel 😉

I have a friend who lives here so came to see him, to travel around, and indulge my passion for church architecture with lots and lots of visits to Greek Orthodox churches. There are also stunning coastal walks where I am now so lots of posts of all that coming up.

I finished the blackwork just before leaving Spain and am so pleased with it. Excuse the rather odd blue tint in the first picture, but I am so happy with how it all looks and plan to do some more of these on my return to Spain. It was a very quick stitch, the border took the longest but really finishes off the pieces.

I have also started and finished a mandala for my van. The design comes from a book of embroidery I bought my Mum a few years ago, and it is stitched with perle thread. It has been a very international stitch, started in Spain, worked on in England and the USA and finished in Cyprus. It just needs the felt backing attaching and it can hang in Katy.

I hope that you are all well and happy wherever you are, and if in the UK have not suffered too badly with the extreme weather. I am very lucky to still be in 19 degrees and am making the most of it.

I will be back soon with the other New York post and will update you on my Cyprus adventures as soon as I can. I am staying in a mixture of apartments and hotels so will be dependant on the quality of the wifi. Until next time, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Tis the season …..

stitchesoftime2 Comments

To hold Christmas ornament workshops again! Well in my world we can do it at any point and as long- time readers know I have held workshops in July before now 😉

However this week was the workshop at my lovely sewing group. Last year the group did baubles with folded ribbon and some of them brought theirs from last year to show me, more of that later.

This year it was mainly trees with folded ribbon that people were doing, although one member did an egg, and another a bauble using the cutting into the ball technique. It was, as always, a lovely morning full of activity and sparkly ribbon.

The folded ribbon baubles that Isla and Teresa made last year were just stunning. I love the colour combinations and all of the different patterns that you can achieve with quite a simple process.

I did think that I had given up on the bauble making, partly as anything I make for friends now has to be easily posted, however after I got back from the session I got a message from a local sewing shop asking if I would do a workshop for them next October 🙂

That gives me a great reason to restock on all my pretty embellishments when I get back to the UK and make some more samples next year doesn’t it?

All of the Christmas makings are now finished so I am getting on with rest of the to-do list that I have set myself, with a few extras thrown in. I am having a quiet pre-Christmas week and have nothing planned for the week between Christmas and New Year, so will be happily ensconced in my sewing space.

I am making some more Barbie outfits, using the same pattern that I have made many times before. I spent the first few weeks of lockdown in 2020 making these gowns, and love the flexibility of the design in that it looks so good with different types of fabric and beads . There will be an evening coat of velvet to go with the dress.

These patterns are reproductions of vintage ones and can be found on Etsy at GailsDollEPatterns. They are instant downloads and very easy to use.

I am also making good progress with my Liberty log cabin squares using some vintage tablecloth material for the centre pieces. This is the bit I love the most about making these squares, deciding which of my Liberty stash I will use 😉 It also gives me chance to catch up on some sewing vlogs.

I will share progress with the Rainbow Rascals knitted dolls at some point in the future as I need to do a proper photo shoot. I am really enjoying knitting them as they are so quick and easy and I am planning two dolls and a lot of wardrobe changes for them.

I hope that you are all happy and busy whatever you are doing and are looking forward to Christmas if you celebrate it. I will be back before then with seasonal greetings, until next time have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.