Still here

Im not gone. I haven't forgotten... it is just that I have been a bit concentrated on this sewing machine business. Learning by trial and error can be fun and helps to develope your creativity, inteligence, etc... but it can be such a pain from time to time... like when the machine doesn't do what I want... who says we humans control machines??

On the other hand it is also harvesting time... broccoli, carrots, more strawberries...and since we can't eat it all at once, we have to wash, cut, freeze...




On the other hand it is also time for making jam... peach jam...


And peach crumble...


So yeah, basically, we've been eating a lot these past days... as always.
But hey! I also did some stuff. I made a large lap of white felt using some merino tops, and then combined it with some canvas type fabric. Cotton but thicker, don't know the name... and came up with this:



And then I tried this pattern to make a box type bag... you can't really tell by the picture... but it is box-ish! :)




And... recycle recycle... never throw away... with the fabric scraps, those bits one ussually end up on the floor... a flower with unidentified use yet: brooch, corsage, just simple adornment of a bag or... something!



Next week news coming about a "give away" which will be hosted by another blog. What will be given away is this bag I painted specially for this ocassion:


But that is for next week.
Hope you all have a nice sunday!

New old machine

A few months ago I received as a gift, a very old sewing machine. The neighbour of a friend of mine, a very old lady, was moving away and she wanted to get rid of this machine she hasn't use in... decades. It is actually a machine from the 60s. Old.
I have absolutely no clue about machine sewing. The little sewing I have done in my life has always been done by hand. I always wanted to learn and never had anybody to teach me (my grandma refused because since I was going to University to study big things, what was the point of learning how to sew... that was her reasoning which I still don't get).
I had that machine laying around (like everything, in the living room) until a few days ago I finnally sat my mother in law in front of it and gave a command: "make it sew!". No, not really or I wouldn't be alive now.
She sat there and patiently showed me the laberynth the thread has to follow, through loops and holes and little needle eyes. The secret thread underneath...aaaaha! so that is how it works! I didn't know about it!!! And all sort of things. And she said... ok. Sew. That was a command. And I folded a piece of fabric and stepped on the pedal... and I haven't stopped since.
No, not a pro yet (or ever)... not by chance. Buuuuut, just to make myself learn, I decided to make two little bags to take as a present to a play date with my kid. We were going to visit girls, so... little bags I made:



And then I got excited by the results (hey, pretty darn good for a first timer!) and made a combined bag, two different fabrics... and lining!!!!




Wait wait... that is not all... I do work with hand made felt after all, don't I... I made a few laps of felt and then tried them on the machine... shouldn't be so thick next time. I tried that "free hand sewing' thing... kinda fun!

(two different shades of green merino and some linen fibers)



(beige merino -black in the front- and those stripes are silky lint).


Not fully satisfied, after all I am in experimentation phase, I went and downloaded a bunch of free patterns from Amy Buttler..........pffffffffffff.... not only is everything in inches (ok, I could do the math...could...maybe...); but I think...nonono... Im sure that that is a complete other league. Delusional, moi???? naaah.
So back to simple.
I harvested some lavender from my garden yesterday, so this morning I made small little sachets with fabric scraps, stuffed them with lavender and put them around in my drawers. My drawers, because my husband can not imagine his socks smelling like lavender. I made extra small sachets to include in the packages sent to customers.


And last... recycle, recycle, recycle.... nothing gets thrown away: a multi-scrap sachet.



This should provide enough reading for the rest of the week...hahaha...
Have a nice monday!