Saddle Bags for my Scooter!

Next week we're going to Crufts and, as my mobility is pretty rubbish these days, I'm bringing my mobility scooter.

And I thought a few extra stowage places might be useful, cos I really don't want to use the pensioner's wire basket on the front!

Two fabrics.  First a bit of black material salvaged from a "once-used" BBQ cover, from which I made the seat cover.  Then a delightful little piece of doggie fabric that my friend Rosie found, and bought for me, last summer.

Two pockets made, with the black fabric as an inner and the dogs fabric just covering the front.

 Then the two big pockets sewn on to either side of the seat section - and these look way better than a wire basket on the front!

Crufts - Here we come!

Adding a Zip to my Bag

I made this bag last year, and have enjoyed using it.  It has one annoying feature however, and that is that the top, being just a flap, can't be secured.  

So I thought I'd remedy that.  First step - Cut the offending flap in half.

Next stitch the removed end of the flap, to the other side of the bag opening.

And trim away the extra material.

Neaten up the edges with some matching fabric.

Add one zip to the opening.

I prefer it already...

Remember to leave enough zip out either end to let the bag open.  The discarded bits of fabric became the tags for the ends of the zip.

And there it is - a bag that doesn't keep spilling it's guts out every time I set it down!

The bag was originally made from an old pair comfortable cotton work trousers.  Check out my post here from last year.

At Last!! Sewing Machine Mended!

The feed-dogs were broken, and apparently there were no replacements in the country!
 A 6 week lead time turned into a rather longer wait.

However, today the mended machine was collected and so WATCH THIS SPACE....

Sewing madness will re-commence shortly.

Oh .... and I suspect that very shortly Sally Sews Something will hit 10 000 page views!  :)

Thoughts on Sewing and Stuff!

My sewing endeavours have taken a bit of an extended break due to the delay in a replacement part arriving to fix the feed-dogs of my Singer.

Yet all around me sewing continues.

It seems that once the sewing bug strikes it becomes infectious, because several friends have taken up sewing and are likewise inspiring others around them.  My good friend Rosie has even been to a Saturday Quilting Day and there managed to meet Gillian, an extended family cousin, also sewing.

Actually the pictures above are not so recent.  The last one shows the bits I used to make a tug toy for my puppy Finn.  Hopefully he and I will be able to start competing in Agility next year.  (Agility Blog)

And in the mean time I wish those feed-dogs would hurry up and arrive so that I can continue some sewing.

A Request for Help.

Friends  please could you consider signing and sharing this petition. Karina Hansen is a severely ill ME sufferer. She has been forcibly removed from her parents' care by psychiatrists. Her parents have been denied contact with her.

I am moderately affected by ME (and this has affected my life dramatically). I cannot imagine how awful it would be to be removed from my family and treated as though I just imagined that I was ill!

Avaaz Petition: Justice for Karina

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Justice_for_Karina/

As a result of coming down with ME I have lost my job and the ability to do many of the things I love.

I have however had the full support of my family, friends and doctor: who all understand that this is a very physically disabling illness.  I am coping relatively well by using a mobility scooter to get about and my family are helping me to keep positive by facilitating activities that I can enjoy.  

Karina is in her early twenties and has been removed from the care of her family.  She is much more severely ill than I am, and I find it hard to imagine that a civilised country could treat anyone this way.

Please help the ME community take a stand against this outrage!

Please sign and share widely.  Thank you.

Ugandan Fabric Top on Holiday!

I should have put a post up when I'd finished this...  Big mirrors in this hotel room so here's the top all made up and in use.  

The fabric came from a trip I made to Uganda in 1999 and was bought in a  market town in N.W. Uganda called Arua.  Buying it was quite an experience as every stall holder hustled to sell us something.  Then carrying it home on bicycle taxi (ladies sit side saddle pillion) was rather a white knuckle ride.

Just wish I'd bought more bits of fabric at the time, for it wasn't expensive, and the colours and patterns were amazing!  This top was made using a Prima magazine pattern, but I made it several inches longer so it could be worn as a dress in its own right.

Summer Sewing!

My daughter Elaine has been on a real sewing spree!  She said she'd do a guest post here, but is now rushing out on some social whirl and so has left me with some photos to share of her summer creations.

The first item is a dress that she made from fabric I had stashed, and mighty fine it looks too I think!

Edit to add picture of pattern used by Elaine 

She also bought some floaty material on our recent excursion to the fabric shop in Carrickfergus and made this neat little top (copying the outline pattern of one of her existing tops).  She made the skirt to go with it.

Finally her last item this week was this flowery top.  She and her friends went back to the shop in Carrickfergus last week, and this material and the skirt material came from this second foray.

And her friend Joanna, who had never used a sewing machine before, got very inspired to create a bag for herself out of some rather vibrant fluffy fleece material!

This fully lined bag was the end result!  Way to go Joanna!