Thrifting Fun

A little bit of thrifting going on here...I've been trying to keep my purchases down a bit, and that includes thrifting. I have so many sewing supplies, and I want to use them! But there are always a few things that catch my eye and are really irresistible. 

Here are a few things I've picked up lately. Notions: I've found some cute buttons and I love collecting them. (Although I've put a moratorium on packaged bias tape and rickrack for the time being - I now have 3 shoeboxes full, so have to use some before buying more) 

I've found a few small pieces of pretty fabric that could be used for little summer tops -- the yellowish one is actually a long, pleated silk skirt I want to upcycle. 

And a few bigger pieces of fabric, mainly duvet covers. There was a sudden appearance of beautiful cotton IKEA ones at my local thrift and I had to decide on just two. One of them has two different colorways on either side, which is really ideal! 

My biggest weakness when it comes to thrifting is definitely patterns. I love them and will pick them up whenever I can. Lately there haven't been too many, since two of my regular 4 thrifts aren't carrying them. But I have found a couple. 

For now that is it for me. I want to use some of these right away - after all, I bought them because I think they are so pretty! We will see how long these materials marinate in my stash. What are your biggest weaknesses when it comes to thrifting? Notions, patterns/books, or fabrics? 

Side Quest: enjoying a local quilt show

I was fortunate to get out to a big local quilt show a couple of weeks ago -- I always look forward to it! While it's mainly traditional quilts, I still love visiting and seeing what people are doing with fabric. This time there were a few art quilts in one section and some fab quilted clothing in another. So it was a fun day -- and of course there are always those vendors of fabrics and sewing notions to tempt a visitor! 

You can check out the Piecemakers Facebook page to see the announcements of the winners and a lot more. But if you're not on FB, I thought I'd share a few of my favourites with you so you can enjoy it too. 

Weekend Review: The Atlas of World Embroidery

 

The Atlas of World Embroidery / Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood
Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, c2026.
400 p.

I was lucky to come across this large and expensive book through my library system. It's quite big, full of 300 colour illustrations, and gives a great overview of embroidery from around the world. That is both its strength and weakness - because it covers so much, there is of necessity just a few pages on each style and region. But it gives a great sense of what's out there, and what you may be interested in then researching further. 

I thought it was an enjoyable one to flip through, and with so many images to examine that it was creatively satisfying. I flipped first to Ukraine to see what she'd included, and of course because there are only a couple of pages she could only touch on the basics. But this was in a chapter on Eastern Europe, with other, similar countries covered as well, so you could see the fine differences between countries. But there are so many regional differences with one country as well! 

This book made me hungry to explore more into areas I wasn't as familiar with, and the illustrations just piqued my interest in wanting to know more. I'll have to look up other histories that cover just one style to get more in-depth. This book, however, introduced me to a ton of styles. 

I liked it, found it absorbing, but not sure I'd spend the $60 price tag on it for my own collection - it's more of a browsing kind of book for me. Thank goodness for the public library! 

Literary Sewing Circle: a Project Round Up!

 

We had many fun projects shared for this round, inspired by Susin Nielsen's Snap! 

I'll start with a few members of PatternReview who read and sewed along. 

DT Sewing Stories decided to make a bucket hat, inspired by the possible need to hide your face when having coffee with a disgraced friend 😆She used the Merchant & Mills free pattern for this one, and incorporated a lot of scraps to make it. 

She also made a blouse by mashing up two older shirts, also inspired by Parker's upcycling habits, using McCalls 7351 as a base. 

Silverdell used a fabric inspired by tea towels, in a nod to Parker's upcycling, to make a pretty blouse from a pattern in a Japanese sewing book. 

MsIngie made a pair of denim overalls using McCalls 8162, inspired by Parker's boss' outfit near the end of the book. 

SewLSC made Vogue 1901 in Ankara, inspired by Parker's sundress at the end of the book, with its red and yellow floral design.  

Kittykate went full on Parker and actually made tea towels... to use as tea towels 😉

Elsewhere, Sew.Focused used some upcycling magic to overdye a thrifted linen shirt from sickly pink to a rich blue, with a few small alterations to improve the fit as well. Parker's influence once again! 

Jan on Instagram upcycled a vintage nightgown into a pretty blouse, inspired by Parker's sewing habits. 

Sara made the Montrose top by Cashmerette, and says: 

The inspiration  was firstly floral to represent Frances's love of gardens although my fabrics are not an explosion of colour as France's garden was described,.  It does still represent a love of floral.   Secondly,  Parker was a creative soul who hand sewed clothes, and the  colour blocking from fabric I already had represented Parker's approach to clothes, using different fabrics,  tea towels for example.   The fabrics in my shirt were all from my stash, so I 'made do'.    Finally three stripes which are a nod to Geraint and his wardrobe of Addidas track pants, owning at least three pairs in different colours.  There were sixteen references to Geraint's track pants in the book, which to me indicates its importance  in character development.  I don't think I shall ever look at Addidas track pants again without thinking of Geraint and maybe cringing just a little!!    

And of course my own project, which was also inspired by Frances -- I made the Norma Blouse by FibreMood, in a fabric that reflects Frances' time in the pool. 

And now for our Prize Winners! We had two sponsors for this round: BF Patterns and Beaton Linen. Random number generator was used to pick our two winners. 

The winner of one PDF pattern from Beaton Linen is:

Sara for her Montrose Top!

The winner of one PDF pattern from BF Patterns is:

DT Sewing Stories for upcycled blouse & bucket hat!

Thanks to everyone for a fun round, and for reading and sewing along. Look forward to this September for our next group read! 

Literary Sewing Circle Project: a Norma Blouse in swimmingly cheerful yellow

And now for my own project for this round of the Literary Sewing Circle! I was inspired by the fabric with this one. I love yellow, and had seen this fabric at my local Fabricland a while back. So when I was thinking about what to make inspired by Snap, I couldn't help but think of all of Frances' time in the pool. And this Bathing Beauties print had to be used! 

I decided to make the Norma Blouse by FibreMood. I downloaded this pattern quite a while ago when it was their featured free pattern. I looked at a few reviews online and decided to make a couple of changes. I raised the V of the neckline by an inch, and added 2" to the length. I didn't change the sleeves at all. 

I basted the last 5 inches or so of the side seams so that I could try it on once the buttons were on and decide if I liked the width or not. I had added about 1/2" to each side seam, but I thought it was just a little snug at the hemline once I finished. So I took out about 3.5" of stitching on each side and made a side slit. I think that was plenty, and it fits more comfortably now. 

One funny thing about this was that I spent a lot of time trying to decide on buttons. I had some yellow ones ready but they just didn't seem to work. I'm not sure if they were the wrong tone, or just faded into the background or what, but once I tried these little red ones I knew they were the way to go. The pattern calls for four buttons, but since there is one at the very top of the placket, and then one right at bust point, I just measured and decided to add a couple. I went with six, although could have left the bottom one off. I like it this way, though, and I do prefer buttons to be set closer together than patterns often call for. 

I really like the sleeve on this one. This is a medium weight cotton, so the gathers at shoulder and cuff really hold their shape nicely. 

The blouse is a wee bit short, even with my added length and short torso -- when I raise my arms the hem raises a bit too, and so I think I'll be wearing higher waisted skirts with this one for safety's sake ;) 

I love the colour! The only change I wish I would have made is a small swayback adjustment - there are a few too many wrinkles in the lower back but oh well, it's not the end of the world. This is a cheerful summer blouse that I think I'll enjoy wearing. 

Weekend Review: Embroidered Interiors

 

Embroidered Interiors / Penny Dowdell 
Stash Books, c2026.
160 p.

This is a fabulous new embroidery book, with a distinctive style and many new tricks for the embroiderer! I wasn't familiar with Dowdell's work before I picked up this book but am very impressed by it. So much colour and detail and lots of full coverage work that feels lush and complicated. She also uses extras like attached items or cutouts with images behind the holes cut into the working fabric. There are many cool ideas here that I haven't seen elsewhere, and she makes it seem easy. 

This is a project book, with a range of patterns provided, with instructions for each step, threads and stitches given, and all the extras explained (like adding coloured plastic for a stained glass effect). The patterns and guides are very clear, and include all sorts of interiors, from bedrooms to libraries, conservatories and dining rooms like the cover. I am impressed with the style of stitching and the complete instruction given. Anyone could learn this technique by following this book. There are also cute additions of sleeping cats and dogs in some of the scenes which could be added anywhere, really. An interesting element is how she shows that an entire 'set' can be stitched, or you could do a closeup of just part of one of the patterns if you want a bit more of an up-close view. Because of this, there are so many options to stitch from this book. 

I thought this was a wonderful book, very generous in the amount of information and guidance given. The style feels a little different from what I usually see, and is quite inspiring. I do love the cozy vibes! There is a stitch guide included, but she uses just a handful of stitches, so beginners could learn those and then tackle some of these complicated looking pieces which are just made step by step.  

This one is a hit, in my opinion. Just a little different, full of useful patterns, info and encouragement, and so cute.