Today’s project is a replacement for the spray skirt for the TK1. The current skirt came with the kayak when I bought it some 20 years ago. It was second hand then and already a veteran of a few Murray Marathons. It has served it’s owners well but has now mostly delaminated and parts of the waist casing have split. Continue reading “DIY kayak spray skirt”
The last two weeks I’ve been sewing for DH. The original request was for a couple of polo shirts to wear will working in the paddocks. Quickly followed by a request for a “long sleeve woven, or two, no make that five. A couple of work pants…. jeans would be good. Oh yeah, remember that spay skirt for the kayak you promised?” And yesterday shorts were added to the list.
It is a rare occasion that he asks me to make something ( and then it is usually something complex and without a pattern) so I was quite (pleasantly) surprised by the growing list. As a bonus, he found fabrics in the stash that he liked and selected his patterns. Continue reading “Unselfish sewing: Pants and Shirts”
Happy new year. Hope its a good one!
I must also confess that I’m not the best at sticking to my sewing plans. So many aspects of my day are the ‘have to do’ and my sewing is my ‘want to do’. But there are a few things I’d ‘like-to-do’ in 2018.
This year I’ve bought a lot more fabric than I had planned or needed to and it is starting to overflow its allotted space. So my main goal for 2018 is to make some space. My plan of attack sounds simple, but in reality it will take a bit of willpower on my part
I’ve never really needed to do this but I’m curious to know how much I do actually spend, where it goes and what gets used. I usually record the cost of fabrics, but not the notions, patterns, subscriptions, classes, books etc. I expect that I’m in for a bit of a surprise as to how much the ‘extras’ add up.
No weaving purchases unless for immediate use. I weave far too slowly to stash yarns that I’ll never get to use. Plus I still have a lifetime’s supply of rug yarn that I was gifted last year.
One of the things I need to review are my subscriptions – to magazines like Threads, Knipmode, Handwoven; but also web subscriptions. Do I really need all of them?
I’ve been looking forward to start of SG’s 2018 SWAP next week. I am a fair way into the planning phase with two possible wardrobe plans. I dived into my stash and surfaced with a colour scheme of whites, pinks and greys. The colours of a Galah – and hence the working title of “What a Galah”. Continue reading “SWAP 2018 planning”
This summer I’d like to weave and sew a lacy top. One of my first weaving projects as a silk scarf woven in huck lace and plain weave. It was so delicate. I am always intrigued with lace weaves; by how the threads shift once the cloth is off the loom and washed.
For my top, my first idea was to have a plain or textured weave for the main body, and then a second more open weave on the yoke. But first, I was a good girl, and have done a sampler of different huck weaves to see how they look, rather than diving straight in.
For the same threading, I played with 13 or 14 different patterns, depending on the treadling. I also played with using a contrast colour for the weft – to see how it looked and also to free up some bobbins from previous projects.
So here are some of the highlights from the sampler – with photos on the loom and after washing so you can see the difference.
Lately I’ve been thinking about making an Alabama Chanin style top. The idea came to me as I wanted to make the asymmetric top in a recent Knipmode mag, but couldn’t find matching plain and print fabrics. So it would be a good excuse to make my own print or embellished fabrics. I’ve always wanted to make an AC style garment. But I’m not sure if I can actually pull it off. Partly because I live in a rural area, and I don’t want to look like I’ve just stepped out of the paddock in my ripped ‘mufties’. The other reason, I’m hesitant is that I adore good craftsmanship and some of the AC techniques look a little rough ‘n’ ready. So the question is, how to make arty and not like I lost a fight with the lawnmower?
I’m dipping my toe in lightly…. Continue reading “Embroidered owl and Giraffe stencil tees”
The weather here is warming up and nudging above the 300C mark. It’s a bit late to be making a cool-weather jacket but when I saw this pattern released by Lekala (4695), I just couldn’t resist. Ordered and printed the evening it was available, and completed two days latter. Not bad going, but took two weeks to take the photos. Oh well….
I was really impressed with the August issue of Knipmode. I’ve earmarked 7 patterns to make up. Here are the first three – a knit top (#2), a woven top (#17) and stretch woven pants (#4).
Continue reading “Knipmode August 2017 finished projects”
I was doing a bird survey this morning and came across a pair of goannas in a tree. Obviously spring is in the air! The larger of the two would have been close to 2m long. The other small one was a bit wary and spiralled into a hollow.
sewTREEFROG 