Category Misc.

Monday montage: New sewing books!

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Well, it’s Tuesday and I haven’t written a Monday Montage for a while, but there are some nice-looking new sewing/craft books coming out imminently or that were published recently. A couple of these are definitely going on my Christmas list, so I thought I’d share what I’ve found!

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A Beginner’s Guide to Making Skirts: Learn how to make 24 different skirts from 8 basic shapes by Wendy Ward. I already have Wendy’s Beginner’s Guide to Dressmaking book and it has a number of sweet and simple designs that are suitable for any beginner. My interest was therefore piqued when I saw this book in the offing, but it was only really when I saw the blog posts Wendy has been posting about each “chapter” of skirts in her book that I decided I’d definitely like to have it. I just popped over to her blog to capture the link for this post and noticed she has also just announced a fantastic competition for UK residents related to this book. I can’t enter, but if you want to win a truckload of goodies, head over there at the link above and check it out! Continue reading “Monday montage: New sewing books!” →

Our handmade wedding (sort of) in scenic Scotland…

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As I may or may not have mentioned, (I really don’t recall), I got married again in May. And when I say again, I mean to the same person! We got technically married in the States last year as part of our moving process (I am non-American), but we had what I regard as the “proper” wedding, with all our relations and friends, on May 21st, in my homeland of Scotland. I decided to put together a little post documenting the handmade/decorative details that went into it, so there are some gratuitous wedding shots here, particularly of the landscape, and no sewing. 🙂 So if you’re allergic to weddings, best look away now. I always like looking at other people’s shots though, so hey… this is for you guys that feel the same way and anyone who’d like to browse someone else’s ideas!

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Continue reading “Our handmade wedding (sort of) in scenic Scotland…” →

Discoveries of a novice: Intelligent/smart fabrics – they do WHAT?

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I had absolutely no idea that there were fabrics in this world that could do the sort of things James Bond could only dream of. I came across the subject in the intro of my fab swatch book, Swatch Reference Guide for Fashion Fabrics. I read about the cross-breeding of spiders with goats to make spider silk. Yes, that’s what I said: spiders with goats. I assumed this was some sort of weird joke, but when I read it out loud to my husband, he said “Oh yes, I remember that in the news”. WHAT? So maybe I’m the last person in the world to know about it (and I regard myself as a reasonably well-informed person), but if the goat/spider phenomenon (and others to follow) passed you by, here’s what they are talking about. Continue reading “Discoveries of a novice: Intelligent/smart fabrics – they do WHAT?” →

New make: Adventure Tank + I bought a serger!

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Yes, I did it! I went for the old favourite: the Brother 1034D serger/overlocker! And very exciting it has been too. Okay, it clunks along with a fairly noticeable thump and the motor is no Rolls Royce specimen: a smooth ride this is not. But you know what? It works great and I couldn’t be happier so far for the budget-friendly price. I spent a couple of hours practicing threading, which makes me sound very diligent, but it actually took me a couple of hours to crack it after the threads broke the first time. I have it now though and have had no problems. It’s really not that bad: it was one tiny little thing that I’d missed. Continue reading “New make: Adventure Tank + I bought a serger!” →

Discoveries of a novice: Essential websites

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If you’re new to sewing, and online (the latter of which you presumably are if you’re reading this), then you’re probably trying to figure out which websites are the most useful for a newbie. Well, there are lots of great sewing websites I’ve both found and that have been recommended to me. I’ve listed five below that are free and that I reckon are invaluable as a resource/tool to learn and gain inspiration from: Continue reading “Discoveries of a novice: Essential websites” →

Sabuda, pop-ups and some mysterious cases!

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Hi everybody!

A little bit of an unusual post from me today as I won’t be discussing sewing at all! I thought I’d like to add a little bit about another great craft-related love, which has been around a LOT longer than making clothes: papercraft and, in particular, pop-ups.

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A scene from “The Wizard of Oz” by Robert Sabuda. This 3D hot air balloon turns in the breeze! Can you see the little basket attached to it?

What motivated me to write this post I hear you ask? (Maybe). Well, I saw something on Indiegogo that got me so excited I ran through to my husband squealing. And I don’t squeal. Ever. Okay, so if you’re the sort of person who likes any or all of: puzzles, adventure games/board games, escape rooms, pop-ups you’ll probably like this. If you like Sherlock Holmes or know who Robert Sabuda is, you’ll definitely like this. If you don’t like any of the above, probably best move on. 🙂 Continue reading “Sabuda, pop-ups and some mysterious cases!” →

Giveaway: duplicate patterns and Shape Shape 2

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A short but hopefully sweet post from me today. For a variety of reasons (mostly related to my terrible memory) I recently realised I have a few duplicate patterns and a duplicate pattern book (all unopened) in my collection. I can’t say they are very similar to each other, but I thought it might be a nice little giveaway to anyone who is interested.

They comprise:

1. Shape Shape 2 book: a Japanese pattern book for women

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Continue reading “Giveaway: duplicate patterns and Shape Shape 2” →