Happy Halloween Garland

Upcycled Bedding Bunting!

Halloween seems to be becoming a bigger event each year in the UK but most of the decorations are either imported, plastic or both. I wanted to create some that are kinder to our planet and was therefore delighted to source a 'well-used' duvet cover costing just 50p! 

I forgot to take any photos before I attacked it with my scissors, so 'borrowed' this image of an unopened set from the internet!  The pillowcases were missing from my set but the sugar skulls on those would have been rather too big for bunting anyway! 

I was able to cut 80 pennants/flags from the duvet cover, not such bad value for 50p!  The bells were from a thrifted wire Christmas decoration which, after taking apart with pilers, yielded enough bells for many, many more projects to come - The 70 I used here didn't even seem to make a dent in the stash!

In the bottom of my bead tin were these tiny skulls from a batch I picked up at a car boot sale years ago.  They're not really my thing and I wasn't expecting to find a use for them but they worked out pretty well on this project! 

Halloween wouldn't be Halloween without cats, so here's the gorgeous Luna 'helping' me with my stitching!

The sugar skull duvet cover was originally from George at Asda and they stock lots of lovely seasonal designs. I was also excited to find this used set featuring the most adorably kitsch Christmas Kittens!

Once I've finishing stitching it into some upcycled Christmas items, I'll post some more photos and perhaps even a tutorial or two!  It really is gratifying to take an item which at first appears 'worn out' and then find lots of salvageable areas to cut out and stitch, creating new items for many more years to come.

Meet Orla!

Our Hairy Sausage Dog

In the previous post I hinted that we had welcomed another set of paws into our hearts and home.  As regular readers might know we are very much a cat household, and already have three gorgeous felines - Two British Shorthair sisters, Luna and Lola, along with Digby, our daft Oriental boy.

Hubby and I have never been 'dog people' but our daughter ended her first year at university with nearly four months laid up in plaster, having been diagnosed with a benign bone tumour. She and our son have always been keen to have a dog and in a moment of weakness, whilst feeling sorry for Alice, we agreed to find an adult rescue to rehome.

Our search led to Orla, a 4 year old wirehaired dachshund.  She had been kept with fourteen other dogs and used purely for breeding. She was very shut down and had absolutely no idea how to 'be a dog'. When we took her in she had stress alopecia, so her ears and nose were completely bald and she also had very little fur on her sides. The photo below was taken after she'd been with us for 3 months, her nose and ears had grown back but her sides remain very sparse.  Her poor undercarriage bears witness to multiple puppies and her nipples pretty much touch the ground😢. The day she arrived we took her for a short walk around the block which left her lame for 3 days, so she had clearly not been out before.  Her most testing issues were a complete fear of humans and no toilet training. These were by no means the only challenges however and, as novice dog owners, we did question if we had made a sensible choice.

Fast forward 5 months and her progress feels nothing short of miraculous!  She's pretty much house trained and has also all but stopped 'submisson piddling'. It took at least 4 months for her to open up and show an interest in life, but she now loves playing with her ball and even enjoys a game of hide and seek with my hubby!  We're extremely proud parents and take a ridiculous amount of joy watching her overcome such an appalling start in life.  

She charms everyone she meets and is quite the celebrity on her walks! It feels like the entire local dog walking community is following her progress and she loves meeting her doggy and human friends whilst out and about.  She is a very comical dog, both in personality and looks and we're constantly asked what breed she is.  Some people hazard a guess at a hairy sausage dog, others suggest a Dandie Dinmont Terrier and just a few know she's a wirehaired dachshund. 

She is very gentle with the cats and generally gives Lola and Luna a wide berth as they're not very playful. Digby is a high energy male Oriental and chases her around the garden before they come in and collapse together on the sofa!

The cats have lots of lovely beds and scratch posts so it seemed only fair that Orla should also have some nice things of her own too.  I was therefore very excited to find some gorgeous wirehaired dachshund linen fabric in two slightly different styles and snapped up a metre of each!  Orla is now the proud owner of two personalised quilts, each backed with cosy fleece for warmth. 

Orla is a nice short name to applique!

Having two blankets means that we can have one in use and one in the wash.  I used a wavy stitch to quilt the fleece and linen together and a blanket stitch to attach the personalised labels.  I then bound the raw edges with a wide satin bias binding, which remind me of blankets from my 70s childhood! 

Orla seems pretty happy with both of her new blankets!

 

Precious New Baby Gift 

Personalised Applique Bunting Garland

Wow, it's been a year since my last post!  It's flown by and I have been sewing but just haven't found the time to blog my projects and magazine work.  I wonder if it will be another twelve months before the next update?!

Anyway apologies (and excuses) over, I made this cute lemon yellow bunting for the new granddaughter of an amazing joiner who has been working his magic in our home for over twenty years!  He takes my random eBay purchases and customises them into stunning bespoke pieces of furniture which then blend seamlessly into our home.  Having the services of an artisan carpenter is a privilege we don't take for granted!

This project was a little different for me as, for the first time ever, I used a die set to create the letters.  I've always previously drawn and cut out my applique pieces by hand. Each method has its advantage, creating my own allows me the absolute freedom to create fonts and images, in any shape and size, limited only by my imagination. However, die cutting is much quicker and gives a sharp professional edge to the letters which I couldn't possibly replicate with scissors.  

I stitched the applique pieces in white thread, rather than my usual choice of black or dark grey, as I felt this would be more appropriate for a new born baby.  The buttons are from a vintage stash inherited from my great grandmother and the spotty bias binding was upcycled from a thrifted dress. 

 

We've also been hearing the pitter patter of tiny feet in our house, here's a clue until the next blog post....

🐾🐾🐾

Felted Wool Hot Water Bottle Cosies - Applique Fun!

Love Sewing Magazine September 2021

September's Love Sewing Magazine is now in the shops and features lots of gorgeous autumn projects including these pure wool hot water bottle cosies, designed by me!

Like the majority of my creations they're made from upcycled materials, in this case felted wool sweaters.  Producing your own luxurious pure wool felt is easy, as it actually just shrinking things! Any wool jumper marked 'Hand Wash' should felt but those labelled 'Washable' or 'Superwash' have been pre-treated and  therefore aren't suitable. I source my jumpers and scarves at our local charity shop, where they also put by for me any that have already been inadvertently shrunk!  Once you've found your chosen items simply chuck them in your washing machine on a hot (60° or above) programme.

As autumn is now fast approaching, I decided on a cute 'Woodland Critters' theme using natural toned wool and fabrics.  They would also make super Christmas presents, as each family member could have their own design and they'd look equally good stitched up in much more vibrant colours.

The most exciting part of the process is adding the machine stitched details, it really brings the appliques to life!  I usually just use a reduced length straight stitch and an 'open toe' foot but you can also drop your machine's feed dogs and then free motion embroider to your heart's content.  

 

As ever our cats couldn't bear to be left out of anything going on, however mundane.  I was going to get a couple of pictures of the full magazine spread to share but ended up thwarted by Digby who decided to give the pages a good chewing instead!  Luckily Lola is far more well behaved and was happy just to watch his daft shenanigans.

Applique Zipper Pouches & Bunting

 Personalised Teacher Appreciation Gifts

My daughter finishes school next week before (hopefully) heading off to university in the autumn. Schools in the UK, like many throughout the world, have spent much of the last year in lockdown. Those in the North were particularly affected, with far more closures than down South.  Some elements of the UK press would have their readers believe that teachers have been on an extended holiday over the last 16 months.  Nothing could be further from the truth, my daughter's teachers have been amazing and consistently delivered high quality lessons via Zoom whilst also being physically available in school for vulnerable students. 

It's therefore been a pleasure to stitch gifts marking our appreciation for the fabulous job they've done.  Sewing for women is pretty straightforward but I always struggle to come up with ideas for men.  After quite a bit of faffing (timewasting!) I finally decided to upcycle school badges, previously unpicked from outgrown uniform blazers.

The first 'male' gift was this pencil case.  I stitched the salvaged school badge onto one side and on the other the recipient's initials. I designed the letters in the style of an American Varsity font, which was perfect for both the school theme and masculine tone.

 

The second masculine gift also used upcycled school badges, this time stitched to pennants on each end of a string of personalised bunting.  It's for my daughter's very wonderful Head of Year and, whilst he may not have a use for it at home, he will hopefully find a place to hang it it in his school office.  As before I created the letters in an 'American Varsity' style also adding a red ric-rac trim and yellow tape to coordinate with the colours in the badge.  The flag fronts were cut from an old work shirt of my husband's whilst the backs used old school shirts! 

Once the men's gifts were completed I started on the women's and for these I used a cute pencil case design which I  had previously created as a pattern for a magazine.   

I wanted the gifts to be personalised, so embroidered names on the fronts rather than the original 'Write on' sentiment

 

Whilst I was stitching away I was usually kept company by at least one of our three cats.  Luna also seemed keen to make another appearance here at SewforSoul, so here's some bonus kitty spam!!

 

Thank You Teachers!