Getting Organised......

So it's been a hectic couple of weeks and the sewing machine hasn't left the cupboard!  I've also neglected my blog and indeed I've still to follow up on the lovely awards that SewRuth sent me before Christmas!

So I'll get organised now to update you all on our trip to Crufts and our recent Boiler mishaps. Then  I'll do another post to follow up on The Award SewRuth gave me, and my selection of my favourite blogs!

Crufts!  Great fun all round.  Honey didn't take stage fright, although she was a little cautious on her first round.  Second competition was a different story and she seemed to cope with the crowds and the noise and   to our delight the team they were part of came 4th - so we came home with a beautiful Crufts rossette and lots of smiles!

Boiler Chaos!

Friday morning last week and we had no heating.  Tim investigated and as he did so the boiler blew out and covered the boiler room and kitchen in a fine layer of soot!  Then the electricity went out and a look outside told us we were snowed in!  Hectic! 

Luckily we have a generator in the shed, and Tim has  "Little Devil" gas fired blower thing which was drafted in to warm the kitchen.  We remained snowed in and without mains electricity until Sunday evening, and all did a lot of mopping.  I didn't look in the boiler room 'til this week - because of course it is also our laundry room!

This week I've spent all week washing towels, sheets and clothes that were clean before the boiler mishap!  We're still finding soot in unexpected places....  but I think we're winning now!

Oh and guess who had a birthday!

So more sewing soon......

A Little Progress on The Dress

I finally got all the pieces cut out.  I also decided to try and line the dress, and so cut out all the bits again in the lining material.   Well except the arms.... I'm not sure lining the arms is a good idea.....

I managed to sew up the top half in the lining and put it onto our "Suzie".  My middle daughter chose the name - she also made Suzie the same size as my dimensions..... which I was disappointed to note required more expansion round the bum than the bust!

I sewed up this section with the real fabric as well, and managed to insert the zip, but then forgot to take another picture......  

And at this point the project will have to go on hold again for a bit....  Honey our JR Terrier is going to Crufts to compete in the YKC Agility classes on Thursday and Saturday - So I'll finish with a couple of Sunday's club practice session.

Her show name is "A Taste of Honey"  

Patchwork Paintbrush Roll :)

This is probably another diversionary tactic... ("the dress" is now all cut out  and ready for sewing).  However the notion to do a little quilting with some odds and ends hit me this morning, and I decided to make myself a paintbrush roll.  

I didn't measure anything, but just kept stitching bits together.  Added some left over fleece for batting and then folded into shape, sewed the pockets and finished with bias binding.

Looks the part I think.  

Oh and it's another stashbusting project as everything was from the cupboard!

Cloth Roll Paint Brush Holder

I should have put some paintbrushes in this to show it off properly .... but this is a cloth roll for paintbrushes.  One piece of fabric and a little bias binding - so simple.

This first one was given to a friend in art class - and he very kindly gave me a donation towards the charity I raise funds for:  Invest in ME ( Their website and donation page here )

Anyway it seems that others are keen to get their hands on these cloth rolls, so I'm making a few more.  AND then I'll need to make one for myself too!  

Who noticed?

Just recently Sew Christine (http://sewchristine.blogspot.co.uk/) listed my blog in one of her posts.  (Thanks Christine & I've enjoyed reading the other blogs you listed too.... )

The link she used looked right when I read the address (http://sallysewssomething.blogspot.co.uk/)  - HOWEVER when I clicked on the link, it appeared that my blog had disappeared.

Quickly I followed my computer's book mark to my blog.... and looked in HORROR  at the web address:

http://sallysewssometing.blogspot.co.uk/

Sally Sews SomeTING!!   How did I do that!!!  There must have been a crumb of toast under the letter H that morning....

Anyway, I now have both blog addresses and have the THING one pointing to the TING one and that will have to do!

Big DUH moment!

Oh and I should mention that Sew Christine is doing a GIVEAWAY on her site at the moment.  You should go on over there and check this out!  

http://sewchristine.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/time-to-catch-up-move-on-and-have.html

Enjoy.

Finally - just for fun here's a photo of Patsy in Pink that I did for the Turn FB Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness a while back.  :)

Cutting Out the Pieces for My Dress!!

It's taken a while to pluck up the courage to finally cut out the pieces for this dress. Luckily however it seems that the Size 12 stated on the pattern does, after all, actually refer to a UK size 12, even if the annotation, "Sizes U.S.A. only" suggests otherwise.  

Bust body measurement it gives as 34" for size 12.  Sounds about right?

Now last time I cut out a pattern I didn't get everything quite right - so this time I'm going to try and do it all a bit more carefully.  I even ironed the fabric and the pattern, and weighted the pattern pieces down with books ready for cutting.....

Except when I started to cut, I realised that books were not enough.  So I pinned the whole lot to the carpet beneath....... is this a standard sewing practice??

Okay so this is just a short post - because I finally plucked up the courage to CUT into the material!! & I'm feeling very proud that I managed to cut out all the pieces for the bodice part of the dress without accidentally cutting off even one of the little triangle marker things! 

The dress saga will continue..........

The Girls Sew Too! - Coats for the Dogs

 One great thing about having a stash of material, is that when the notion takes "TO SEW"  there is always something in the cupboard to inspire.

This time it was my youngest daughter and my son's girlfriend who got inspired.  Coats for their dogs today!  First we made a newspaper pattern using and existing coat.

And with a bit of help from the dogs transferred it to some material...

Inner and outer trimmed to size... 

Out with the Singer sewing machines...

And here we go...

It's all about concentration

And the end result.... modelled on Honey and .... and ... well Gypsy wasn't here so a toy horse was drafted in to give the idea..

And later.... Gypsy in her new coat!

Two smart dogs I think.