Super Galaxie First Aid

I have been in Accident and Emergency, hospital and my GP for various tests, checks and scans recently, and I can only assume my sewing machine is feeling left out. Today, as I finally got started on a project I have been promising to make for a volunteer on TheSite.org, it started knocking and grinding and we had to attempt some first aid.

Innards on the outside

They are complicated things these sewing machines...

Here's the project in progress (if anyone is wondering, it will be the logo of the 12th Mechanized Brigade - our volunteer is also in the army). I was using Heirloom stitch which is a very thick stitch involving a lot of needle movement - but I don't think this should cause a problem.

I tried to do some minor adjustments before taking the side off - they just led to three sad and broken needles. With some trial and error, I managed to solve part of the problem but the knocking was still there.

Unfortunately, our first aid failed to fully identify the problem so, while I did get an interesting look inside my machine, I am going to have to take her to be serviced.

Sorry G, you'll have to wait a wee bit longer for your cushion....

Wedding date cushion - with applique and embroidered letters

Tom and Jess only wanted handmade presents or donations. So, of course, it was an excellent opportunity for me to make a huge cushion! I used lots of the left over bunting scraps to create the letters, which I appliquéd on using what my machine calles 'patchwork stitch'. It turns out some of the bunting material, and the yellow backing was perhaps a bit thin, so I had to do some hand touching up afterwards.

I printed out letter templates, cut them out and pinned them to material, ready to cut round. A fiddly job with some of the smaller letters, but here they are ready for sewing.

I should have realised at this point that the base material was perhaps a bit thin - you can see how easily it's creasing.

Sewing the letters - you can just see our adopted black cat Blur, who likes to help. For this cushion, I wanted to have a go using the fancier of the letter stitching options on my machine. Here's the practice run.

And here's the real thing - only a wee bit wonky!

Almost done- adding the zip using the zip foot on my machine.  Most places suggest you tack round zips to hold them in place as you sew, but I usually find that as long as the hems are well ironed, you can just hold it in place as you sew it in.

And finally, a couple of green heart shaped buttons I couldn't resist - these are from Our Patterned Hand on Broadway Market.

Buntingtastic - summer wedding crafts & creations

Bunting laid out in preperation

Two of my oldest friends got married recently and asked me to help out with some of the decor. Along with the groom's wonderful aunt Annie, and the bride's sister Anna, we sewed over 200 metres of bunting, and bought and hemmed lots of colourful material as table runners.

Bunting is one of those things that can be as easy and quick, or time consuming, as you make it. We chose to use pinking shears (or zig zag scissors) to cut out the triangles - this way they won't easily fray, but we don't need to spend hours hemming each triangle. We then used binding tape, folded in half and machined together, with the triangles slipped in every 8 inches.

Triangles cut and ready

It's lucky we made a lot, as the marquee was pretty big...

Setting up..

I'm not sure if it is possible to overdose on bunting, but we came pretty close...

You can see the bicycle wheel chandeliers, in between the normal ones, in this picture too. They looked great with solar powered fairy lights entwined around them after dark. You can also - just - see the colourful table runners. Anna and I made some of these each -  I got the material for the ones I made from Z Butt on Brick Lane - another recommendation from DIY Couture.

I was looking for sweetpea colours - as these were the flowers of the wedding, grown by various family friends. These were then cut into long strips of different widths and lengths and hemmed down each side and to a point at the end. 

Some speedy hemming! We laid them over the white table cloths to add some colour. 

Setting up - centrepieces etc still to add

I'm also rather proud of this ginger, brandy and cream creation I made as our contribution to the desserts. I'm not a great cook, but the nasturtiums from mum's garden really made it look pretty - and they're edible too!

The wedding went fantastically. Here's the happy couple on their wedding rickshaw being ridden away from the church by the best man, under a shower of dried flower petals.

And another, from behind, with a just married sign made by the best mans girlfriend Helen.

And, after a wonderful day, I had to share the amazing gift the couple gave me as a thank you. Tiny sewing machine earrings - which I plan to wear with my 'scissors' necklace :) Thanks Tom and Jess - it was a pleasure!

Threaded letters - a peekaboo card

For the first time, I had a go using the embroidery settings on my machine to write these birthday messages for little Leo - on a simple felt card.  Lots of his favourite animals including owls and 'lilydirbs'.

And if you look under the flaps... you can tell Leo is Alex's nephew - silly faces and fluffy blonde hair all round!

And, while Leo was 2, Rich was 21, and I made him some felt numbers, with wooden buttons and secret dinosaurs peeking out too - you're never too old for hiding dinosaurs...

Spotty and multicoloured - another Apple Patch

It was nice to be back at the sewing machine after a couple of weeks where I've been too ill to face it. Last night I finished off another 'Apple Patch' - a case for my own laptop - with multi-coloured squares and a spotty lining.

I got the spots from a warehouse style shop in Brick Lane, as suggested by DIYCouture's wonderful fabric shops guide.

 Here you could buy cheap fabrics for £3 or so a metre (minimum spend £12 - but that wasn't a problem!)

Lots to choose from in Epra Fabrics. Next came cutting out the squares, something else I did a couple of weeks ago.

  

Finally, the normal sewing and sandwiching to make the finished product.

 

Ready to sandwich with the 'walking foot'. After the pieces are sewn together, I use a fabric cutter to trim them all to the same size. It's easier to have a bit of leeway with the wadding and lining when actually sewing them together.

The finished product was a little larger than planned - not quite the snug envelope of the others I had made. I blame slightly mushed 'ill-brain'! Still, it means I can also carry the cable with the laptop inside the case - so it could be an advantage after all.

Cloth & stitch beaches and tents

I've started using my sewing machine to make my cards as well. Poor pastels and paints not getting a look in any more. It's a great opportunity to experiment with the different stitches my sewing machine does.

This one was for Olly, requested by Alison

A tent in a wood for Nat on her birthday.

Apple Patch for iPad - and a walking foot...

This one is blues and greens, but a very similar style to the previous case - although obviously iPad size. This was the first project in which I used my walking foot - a rather scary looking sewing machine appendage. Here is is, finished.

The alignment is rarely perfect with machine patchwork - you need paper templates and hand sewing for that. Still, I'd like it neater.

In process - ironing the hems flat makes it easier to join the strips together.

Leftovers

A walking foot is useful when quilting. Normally, material is moved through by the little grooves which sit on the base of machine. When quilting, you often have thicker material - and a number of layers - in this case, the felt top, the wadding and the lining. If the material is only being moved through by the bottom grooves, the three layers can slide apart.The walking foot moves the top layer at the same time to avoid this. Thanks to Rachel from Brother who taught me this at Fabrications.

A picture supposed to show the difference between a normal foot and a walking foot. Not sure it succeeds.

A walking foot close up - what a monster!