BLOG 473

Blog 473

I have been suffering this week and I have been good for nothing. I have been laid low by a nasty chesty/wheezy/coughy/coldy bug! I wouldn’t mind but it was the first time this year that I chose to have my flu injection and they threw in the pneumonia injection too!! I should have been bristling with the wherewithal to keep these bugs at bay!! That said it has been good for quiet and gentle sewing which is just what I needed to get on top of the Xmas gifts I wanted to make.  Two serviettes boxes and one tissue box have now been completed.

 

             Serviette box

 

 

            Another serviette box

 

 

              Tissue box

 

In the above picture you can also see some mini gift bags into which I will be putting a mini gift for sewing friends. These were fun to do and making them utilised some of the machine embroidery skills I have learned from others. I started with some pelmet Vilene and cut the pieces to the size I wanted. The long piece is scored so it will fold easily to form the base of the bag.

I wet the Vilene thoroughly and used silk paints to add colour which seeped gently along the fabric. Once dry I embellished them with coloured fabric scraps, sheer fabrics, and stitches by hand and machine. Here is the decorated Vilene.

               Mini bag 1

 

 

 

            Mini bag 2

 

                 Mini bag 3

 

I added a printed silk lining to each piece using a fusible so each piece was complete unit in itself.

             Lining

 

 

In preparation for construction, I used a wide close zigzag to finish off the top of the small side pieces. Then the sides were stitched to the base in the same way. Then in one continuous line, I sewed the sides to the front section, sewed along the top edge and then sewed the same side to the back section. I repeated it for the other side. I am very pleased with them and they are just right for a mini gift!

            Adding the sides

 

 

 

          Constructing the bag

 

 

             Mini bag 1

 

 

            Mini bag 2

 

 

           Mini bag 3

 

 

I added a matching ribbon tie and tissue paper to complete them.

             Completed mini bags

 

After finishing all my Xmas gifts, I indulged myself and constructed another pansy for my collection.

               Another pansy

 

  

             Collection of pansies

 

Christmas is gradually creeping up on us. I hadn’t felt much like decorating the house until this weekend so here’s the first area I have decorated.

 

              More Christmas

 

And isn’t it such a joy when you can get the grandchildren interested in sewing. Here’s Katie concentrating hard and getting on with one of her hand-made presents.

 

            Katie