Playing with Fabric

Having made great strides with learning to crochet this year it's giving me confidence to sidle up to the sewing beast to see if we can make friends. Actually having signed myself up for a five day course on dress making in July, I'm not so sure it's a sidle so much as a full on dance outside it's lair! Last year I was resolving to just play around in the shallows before diving in but without any focus all I've done in over a year is mend a couple of split seams.  So I've got the course as something formal to look forward to and a couple of months to get in the shallows and splash! In a quiet hour on Sunday I got out the machine. Gulp, needles and hooks were never as frightening as that monster! I just took an old nightie, cut it into some bits and sewed random seams and squares and then the urge to make something kicked in, so a little lavender sachet was made. Then I heaved a big sigh of relief and quit while I was ahead! Little and often is the motto for the next few weeks and then hopefully I'll feel a little more sure of myself.

 

Then I had a real play as a reward for my bravery and fortitude. On an impulse I bought a sample pack of Liberty fabrics from a stall at last year's summer school and it is one of those silly purchases that I have been so glad I made so many times since. They are one of my dearly hoarded treasures. They live at the top of a drawer of other crafting things and I smile whenever I see them. 

Just so pretty! So precious! Foolish but happy making. When I saw little, bitty embroidery frames at Lupin Handmade a wave of PurlSoho wall-ishness washed over me. 

Photo from The Purl Bee

Well perhaps more just splashed a bit in my direction given the weenier scale but I had a lovely time trying to choose my favourites for the frames.

Some of the larger prints, though much favoured, wouldn't quite work.

While other large scale patterns surprised me by how well they shone in the spotlight. So much fun!