More holiday sewing

 These Laurie Wisbrun fabrics were already teamed up with some brights and a grey/black polka dot, but I'm not entirely sure what I had in mind for them. A table runner, perhaps?

 I've been thinking about making some craft bags, and I have at least four options here that will work very well. The dark navy/white Aunty Cookie fabric in the lower left hand corner is one I'll selfishly keep for my own knitting. Love it!

 My kitchen wil definitely welcome some place mats made from this lovely Hometown range by Sweetwater and there will definitely be enough left over for a table runner as well.

 I've had this honeysuckle print for ages, and found a couple of fabrics to go with it. It might need some oomph, an orange or yellow, perhaps? Another set of placemats there, I think.

This London map print is destined for a drawstring bag, and I just decided that the house print might be a good choice for the lining. I think I have a photo of London buses transferred to fabric which might become a pocket or applique.

 The yellow polka dot will become a giraffe, and the Viewmaster print from Ruby Star Rising is meant for a pillow.

Some more Ruby Star Rising fabrics for another pillow or maybe for some shopping bags, I think.
Well I seem to have my work cut out for me here - or rather, it needs cutting so I can get down to some serious sewing. Family and friends beware - there will be a lot of placemats and bags under the tree for Christmas if I get round to it!

Back in the saddle...

 In spite of all good intentions, I fell straight off the blogging habit yet again. I blame lack of time to sew, and hence very little to blog about. I've still not found my way back to the sewing machine, but at least I've started sorting through the ever growing piles of fabric on my cutting table (no sewing doesn't equal no shopping...) and tried to remember what they were intended for. A visual record might be helpful, so here goes.
I managed to snag a pile of Sandy Henderson's Henna Garden in all colourways - just love that pattern! I will use some of it for a pillow. I have some fussy cutting in mind, so the pattern will continue from piece to piece. Borders will be made from a natural colored cotton/linen blend, I think.

 I couldn't resist this line, "Ca 1934" by Cosmo Cricket - placemats, I think. Possibly for my sister for Christmas?

 The christmas range from Sweetwater plays well with these black and brown fabrics with "fa la la la" all over. A table runner or placemats for Christmas, I think.

 There will be quite a few placemats this Christmas, it seems. Here's another group I have in mind. Some Kaffe Fassett, some Curio and a white with black lettering.

These will become a larger quilt, I think. Somehow they all remind me of Italy: terracotta walls and roof tiles, latin letters, doors, peaches, bees, vines, mosaic, flowers... all put me in mind of summer days. I added a blue Amy Butler fabric here, but maybe a more turquoise water or sky fabric will be better? And I need to come up with a pattern...

Well that's some of my ideas so far. I have more pictures to share, but I need to do more tidying up before I actually start making stuff. A bit of open space around the sewing machine often helps, I'm told...

Bags of inspiration

I have been sorting through old issues of Marie Claire Idees lately, trying to throw some of them out. Let me tell you: it's not easy! Each issue is so full of inspiration, but reason tells me that I will never get round to making all this stuff, so I've resorted to taking photos of the most exciting ideas to store them digitally and I just thought I'd share some of them.
I'm always tempted to buy all sorts of pretty beads, but I have resisted because I haven't had anything to use them for. This bag might just tempt me for real, though - I love the sampler-like fields of beads on this linen bag. Since they are all kept in one colour, the design doesn't become too busy, and it reminds me a bit of a Klimt-painting. Hm, maybe I need some beads after all..

This bag is from an old issue and I've had it in the back of my mind for quite some time as a technique to try, maybe not for a bag, but for a small quilt? The bag is made from two strips of solid fabric, in navy and white, and I love the combination of rows of stem stitches (I think) and negative space that make up the pattern.

 I think it would be interesting to make a small quilt with solid strips of several colours and an all over pattern of stitches in one or two colours.

 I have been eying those sweet crochet bags that seem to crop up all over the place lately, but as crochet doesn't seem to be quite my thing, I tend to give up after a square or two. Just adding my samples to a linen background along with some embroidery might be just the ticket for me.

This school bag is a fairly simple design - I have a pattern for a messenger bag that would be just right. What I love about this, is the panel of photos on the flap. One could make some kind of collage of photos with special significance to the recipient and transfer them to fabric... - good idea!

The only question now that I have filled my mind with so much inspiration: do I really need more bags???

Doing stuff...

Summer is definitely over, and life is getting back on track after lots of hard work in the wings here. Nothing serious, just  lots of stuff that has needed my attention and left little energy for making stuff and that means not a lot to blog about either. The storm outside tells me that there will be more indoor time now, and I have spent more time with my sewing machine during the last couple of days than I did during the whole month of September. I didn't realize how much I had missed it, so I'll definitely be making more time for sewing in future. And I really need to make some stuff too: the postman has been kept really busy bringing parcels to my door lately, and more is on it's way. When a quilt shop on the other side of the world informs you that you are currently one of their best customers, you know it's time to slow down with that retail therapy...

I've delved into my yarn basket as well, and came across this half finished scarf. With more storms coming, it might be a good idea to finish it soon! I'm knitting stripes in two different colourways of Noro Taiyo (found in London last summer) and just love the colourplay developing here. Hopefully it will keep my interest for long enough to actually finish it. I'm not a natural born knitter, I think - my knitting tends to alternate between energetic needle movements followed by long periods of stretching and patting and admiring what I have done so far. Not the most efficient method, I know!