A Quiet Week With Lots of Sewing - W/E 22nd March 2025

This week started with a treat. OH took a day off from cycling and took me out to a Car Boot Sale on Sunday morning. I had a great mooch around for a couple of hours whilst OH went for a run and got a cup of coffee and then we headed home via Selco, to look at some bricks to build a brick patio in the garden. There were some nice ones, but we just have to price them up now and make a decision about which ones we want to use.

When we got home, I spent the afternoon writing some new blogposts that will be published over the next week or so. I also needed to find a home for my car boot sale purchases, so I headed up to the sewing room to put most of them away. 

Whilst up there, I did an hour or so of machine sewing, on both a new slow stitch project for LB and on making a bag from a skirt that I purchased at the charity shop last week for £1. I put the zip in and sewed the main bag pieces together. I now need to work on the lining and then figure out a way to attach the straps. It's coming along. I'll probably post about it when I've finished it, if it turns out okay.

After supper, we settled down to watch the final episode of season 4 of Yellowstone. It's been our go to for weeks now, so I'll miss watching this now we've completed all the available seasons on Netflix.

On Monday, our neighbours on one side were having builders starting work on building into their side return. As a consequence, the lovely mature honeysuckle will have to be cut down. I have tried to root some of the new shoots, but I don't think they've had time to root, but I'm hoping they will before the fence comes down.

My calorie counting has been successful in that I've lost 3lbs in the last week, which feels good. At least my weight is finally going back in the right direction. I went for a run on Monday morning, but just a very slow 3km, as that was all I was feeling.

I then went out to do the weekly shop locally. I'm staying well away from any charity shops and any other spending temptations for the remainder of this month, as I've spent way too much money already on things that aren't essential. I was at work for 5pm on Monday, which went okay.

On Tuesday, I was booked into my usual session at the gym. Over breakfast, I decided to do a little bit of financial work, namely finding out the balance on a couple of small pensions. One from an ex-employer isn't worth much, so I'm contemplating cashing that one in come the new financial year.  The other, my current employer is also small, as I only work part-time, but it was interesting to see how much it is currently worth. I have a couple of other pensions from jobs I did way back, which will give me some income when I reach the age of 60. (Not long now!) I really need to get updates of their current value as they are getting close to maturity.

My class was good and then after lunch, I had to take a walk up to the pharmacy, as I needed them to provide me with an emergency supply of one of my medications. I thought I had another blister pack, but had completely run out and it takes at least 2 days for the prescription to come through. Thankfully they were very helpful and gave me enough supply to see me through until then. At least it helped to increase my steps for the day. I also dropped into the library whilst out, for the first time in ages. I borrowed these books and am currently reading the book about sustainable living which is quite good.

On Wednesday, I had a lie in and read for a while. I decided to have an exercise free day, as I was waiting for a delivery and just wasn't feeling like going for a run. I took pleasure in hanging out at home doing some sewing and reading. I did a bit more work on the handbag that I'm making from a thrifted skirt. I'm now just waiting for the webbing for the strap to arrive, so that I can finish it.

I also did some work on my hexi star quilt. I thought that I was close to finishing it, but realised tonight that I need to make more of the hexie diamonds to fill in some gaps around the edges. I think this project is going to take a full two years at the speed I'm progressing with it. (I started it in November 2023)

On Thursday, I got up and had breakfast, whilst creating more hexies for my quilt. I eventually went out for a 5km run. It was pretty warm and sunny today, which was lovely, but it made it quite hot for running. When I got home I spent most of the afternoon making more hexies, then a bit later I retired to the sewing room to finish the bag I've been making. I've posted separately about this. I was very happy with the results. 

I then decided to start work on a new scrappy project bag. I've always got so many projects on the go, I can always make use of another one. For this one, I used lots of scraps of lighter coloured vintage and other fabrics, that I really couldn't imagine using for anything else. I didn't quite get it finished, as it got late and I don't like to disturb the neighbours with the sound of my sewing machine. I don't know why it feels so satisfying to use up scraps, but it always does. I decided that from now on, I'm going to keep all the very small bits of offcuts and bits of thread from quilting and sewing and try to use them as stuffing for projects, rather than throw them into landfill, which is what I've been doing up until now. It will be interesting to see how much I collect over time.

On Friday, I got up in a leisurely manner, as I didn't need to be anywhere until much later in the day. I spent some time on my hexi quilt project today and then did a little more work on the new project bag, but once again I didn't get it finished as I had to get ready for work. Work was good tonight, I enjoyed my shift doing my favourite job.

On Saturday, I had to get up and out to the last free gym session until May. To be honest, I'm not sorry that the term has finished, as it will be nice to have a lie in on a Saturday morning, especially for the next couple of weeks as I'll be working late on Fridays. The sessions will re-start in May. I'll just have to make sure I go to the gym in the week instead.

On leaving the gym, I headed into our local town centre to get something I'd run out of and then walked back home via the pharmacy to pick up my prescription. By the time I  got back I'd done almost 10,000 steps, which is just as well as I won't be doing many more for the rest of the day. It got a couple of errands done though, which is good.

In the afternoon, I decided to enrol on a new sewing course. It's one I used to go to many years ago, probably more than 10 years ago, more like 15 actually. It's a nine week course, attending 2 hours per week on a Tuesday afternoon. There was just one place left, so I thought I'd better book it before it got snapped up. I did check with my manager at work that it would be okay to be unavailable on Tuesdays whilst attending, and she was fine with it. It wasn't too expensive either. I paid just £53, which really is a bargain for the tuition. I want to attend mainly because I want to make a dress using a pattern I bought at the car boot sale, but think I'll need the guidance of a teacher, as I haven't done any dressmaking for a long time. To be honest, it will be nice to get out and do something outside of the home and meet new people too. I'm looking forward to it starting in late April.

The rest of the afternoon, I spent doing some more fun scrap fabric work in the sewing room. I decided to start on some scrappy rolls and see how they go. I'm just jumping from one project to the next at the moment, but I'm enjoying myself.

We finished the week watching a new series on Netflix, which is a prequel to Yellowstone, set in the late 19th century when the Duttons are on the move to Montana. It's quite good and will give us something to watch over the next week or so.

Making A New Handbag From a Thrifted Skirt

This last week, one of the sewing projects that I've been working on, has been to make a new handbag from a skirt that I bought from the charity shop from the £1 bin. It's a new feature in one of my local charity shops, so it's worth a rummage. I bought the skirt with the intention of wearing it, but when I got it home, despite it being my size, I didn't like the fit and felt it was probably a bit short. I could have re-donated it, afterall £1 isn't a big loss, but I did like the fabric.

The skirt was made of a thick upholstery type fabric in a leopard print, and I do love a good leopard print. In fact, I'd been tempted by a leopard print bag in Primark the same day I bought the skirt, but decided not to buy it as I wasn't 100% keen on the style of the bag. Anyway, the idea of using the skirt to make a bag came to me and I decided to give it a go. I'm afraid I was so enthusiastic to get started, that I didn't photograph the skirt, so you'll have to trust me on that one.

I'm currently enjoying using this bag on a daily basis, which I bought from Primark 18 months or so ago. I use it regularly and it's a great size for me. It fits my purse, keys, travel card, phone, tissues, lipstick, shopping bag, etc., which is all I really need to carry around with me. I wear it cross body and it sits comfortably. It's my ideal bag currently, so much so, that I bought a second one in brown to swap out when I feel like it. 

It's a pretty simple design, so I decided that I'd try to make my own pattern from it to make the new bag. I basically drew around the side and base of the bag onto a sheet of paper.  I then cut out the pieces from the skirt to make the bag from. I also cut out the same pieces in black linen (left over from the shed sofa cover) for a lining. I didn't make a pocket on the front or inside the bag, as this was complicating things too much for my liking, so it's a pocketless bag, but it will still be fine for what I need, as I'll probably use it more for days/nights out rather than everyday use.

I bought a pack of 3 black zips that were the right length from Home Bargains for 79p and sewed one of them into the leopard pieces before sewing them together and then I hand stitched the machine stitched lining into the outer part of the bag. These were the relatively easy bits to do and here's how it looked at this point in the make:

The next job was to attach some straps to the sides. I used some more of the leopard fabric to make small covers for the ends of the bag to give a neat finish and made them wide enough to stitch some webbing into.

I ordered 2m of black polypropylene 38mm webbing from eBay which cost £3.50 and also I bought a bag from the charity shop that had suitable hardware on it to use for the strap. 

This is the bag, it cost £3. It's not in great condition, as some of the trim is flaking, but the strap hardware is perfect for what I needed and it would have been more expensive to buy the hardware separately, so I decided to go with this. I will probably donate the body of the bag to the next Zero Waste event, in case anyone wants to use it as a handbag organiser or for storage, rather than throw it away, as it is colourful, well made and has lots of pockets and might be useful to someone.

Once I'd figured out how to attach the strap, I was able to put it all together and finish the bag. It was a bit tricky, as the skirt fabric was too thick to attach the small end covers by machine, so I had to sew them on by hand, which may prove to make them less strong. Only time will tell. The second hand fittings worked perfectly and I made the straps the same length as my current bag which works well for me.  Here's a couple of final pictures of the finished bag:

It can be worn quite long or quite short, whichever you prefer. I personally prefer to wear it short. It can even be worn inside a big coat, which is especially good if you're in a crowd and want to keep your bag secure.  I'm really happy with how it worked out. It was tricky to attach the handles as there are so many layers of thick fabric and strapping to sew through, which was difficult with a domestic machine, but I think I managed to make it strong and secure enough. Only time will tell. I'm now looking forward to using it next time I have a night or day out.

In total, I spent £7.77 to make this bag. I probably could have bought the Primark bag for less, but where's the fun in that. I now have a pattern, two more zips the right size and the know how to make more of these bags if I so wish, which is much more satisfying.

Car Boot Sale Haul - March 2025

On Sunday morning, OH and I ventured out to my favourite Car Boot Sale. It was the first sale since probably October, so it was lovely to go back and have a mooch around again. It was a lovely day for it too, although it was pretty cold, especially early on.

We got there at about 9.30am (it started at 9am). This time, I decided to start at the end of the boot sale and work my way back, as I never tend to get to the last few stalls, so I thought I'd do it differently and try to get around all of the stalls.  It was very busy with lots of stalls and lots of shoppers.

I went with a limited budget of £20. I tend to always limit my car boot visits to this amount as it's way too easy to spend a lot of money if you take it. OH had a quick look for some tomato plants, but nobody was selling any, so he headed off for a run, leaving me to look around.

I hit the jackpot on the very first stall I came to. Everything was either 50p or £1 and I spent £6.50 but got a whole heap of stuff, mainly for slow stitching, but a few other bits too. Here's a few photos of what I got from this seller:

These vintage postcards cost 50p each and date from the 1920's. I couldn't resist the dog and puppies as it looked a little like our dog that died last year and the vase of roses card was just delightful too.

This is a little Royal Doulton Marbella jar or pot. It's a bit grubby, but it's lovely and is in immaculate condition. I think it may be missing a lid or maybe not but this was 50p too. It will be great as a pencil pot.

These lovely matches in a little glass jar were also 50p. Once they've been used the little jar will be useful to store something.

The remaining items were all sewing related and for the remaining £4.50, I think I did okay. Here's a few pictures:

Wide black cotton tape great for scrappy or snippet rolls.

This was probably the best item I bought. It is a pack of 30 Liberty lawn cotton fabric squares, 2 each of 15 different designs. This was a total steal for £1.

A small cross stitch kit, which although pretty, I will probably only use for the threads.

Another huge cross stitch kit, which I won't be making but which provides masses of thread to use for slow stitching.

A bag of bright green buttons.

Another small packet of colourful buttons.

A brand new 20m reel of burgundy satin ribbon which will be great for gift wrapping or slow stitching.

And finally, five fat quarters of cotton quilting fabric. I know I don't need any more fabric, but the blues in this pack were very pretty and for 50p or £1 this was hard to leave behind.

From other sellers I bought the following:

This huge pack of fabric patches for slow stitching. These cost just £1 for over 30 patches, which was fantastic value.

This cute crochet pattern book for LB who loves all things Japanese and enjoys making small crochet animals. This cost 50p.

This lovely uncut multi-size Butterick dress pattern for £1. I have a dress already in a similar style and it is very flattering, so it would be great to be able to make something similar myself using fabric from my stash, although I would probably make it a slightly longer midi length.

Four lovely greetings cards for 50p each. These will all get used in the next few months.

This super cute vintage Xmas decoration cost just 50p. I just love kitsch vintage Xmas decor and this was a total bargain. So happy with this.

I bought one item of clothing, namely this khaki animal print dress, for £2. I love the print, but sadly when I tried it on at home, it just felt too short and  tent like which wasn't at all flattering. I do, however, think that it could be made into a midi skirt without too much difficulty, so I may try to do this at some point, as I will be way more like to wear it like this. Any offcuts can then be used as scrap fabric for other projects.

Last but not least, I bought 4 bright pink primroses for £1 each to put in the metal boxes in the garden. They will help brighen things up until everything starts growing.

There were a few other very small inexpensive items bought, plus I bought a bowl of 9 oranges for £1.50 and then I was spent up, just 50p left, but I think I did okay with my £20 and I'm very happy with everything I purchased.

Some Changes, Some Sewing Projects and A Bit More Garden Maintenance - W/E 15th March 2025

On Sunday, the week got off to a slightly different start, as on account of being scheduled to work on Monday afternoon, I decided to do our weekly shop locally on Sunday instead. I had a bit of a lie in and then got up and did a bit of machine sewing on a current project, before getting ready and heading down to breakfast. I've really got my sewing mojo back at the moment, so I'm running with it.

I had a leisurely breakfast and then headed out to do the shopping. Going locally, there are many less distractions and possiblities for overspending, which is good.

It was another lovely sunny day, I decided to wear my new chunky boots for the first time with a skirt. I was happy with how they looked. I wore some thick boot socks inside, which made them much more comfortable. Here's a photo:

Later, when OH got back from cycling, we ventured into the garden to do a bit of pruning. I did more supervising I have to admit, as most of the pruning involved using a saw, which isn't my strong point. I'm loving being in the garden again now the weather has picked up, but we are forecast more cold spells before the month is out, so I'm making the most of it while I can.

The washing machine wasn't working today. I googled the fault setting to find that it had a drainage issue and must have had a blockage or kinked pipe. OH managed to mend it later, thankfully, so I could finally do my laundry.  I spent the rest of the afternoon doing some slow stitching. I finished one project and started another small project. I've already posted separately about the things I made.

On Monday, I decided to make some changes to my everyday habits.  The weight I lost has steadily been creeping back on and I've decided that the only way to stop it, is to go back to a calorie deficit. It's not something that I really wanted to do, but I think it's necessary. I've been way too relaxed about my eating and consuming too many snacks, so I've decided to take necessary action and get it under control again.

I've also decided to make a couple of other small habit changes. One is to spend at least 5 minutes per day sewing. It's an idea I got from Just Get It Done Quilts on YouTube, to ensure I make time for sewing. Today, I did a bit of work on my latest slow stitch project. I had 5 minutes worth of machine sewing to do on it, which I did before getting ready for work. I also did more handstitching on it later in the evening whilst watching TV.

I wasn't working until 1pm on Monday, so I went for a run in the morning and then I decided to cycle to work for the first time. It's only a 15/20 minute cycle ride away, it was a dry day and I was leaving work at 5 when it was still light. The ride itself was okay, but when I got to work, it turns out that leaving my bike in the stockroom isn't as easy as I thought, as it is full of stock and equipment and I have to be careful where I leave it for health and safety reasons. I felt a bit thwarted by this, so I'm not sure I'll continue unless there's somewhere else I can leave it.

I also started another small habit today, which was to try to wash my face and brush my teeth well before bedtime. I usually always leave it until I go to bed, but I want to get into the habit of doing it earlier. This is partly to help my skin breathe without makeup for a while, to help me avoid snacking late at night whilst watching TV and also to avoid those very occasional nights where I just feel too tired and don't bother. I feel that this might be a difficult one to get to stick, but we'll see how it goes.

On Tuesday, I managed to book into my usual class at the gym at the last minute. On leaving the class I headed into our local town centre. I bought some more new gym socks from Primark, plus a t-shirt and some earrings. I then bought a few bits for the house/sewing projects from a small hardware store. Finally, I dropped into a favourite local charity shop and spent £7 on a t-shirt to wear for the gym which cost £1.50, a couple of bits for my slow stitching which were 75p each

and a brooch, which I couldn't resist. I also bought a skirt from the £1 box, but I'm going to cut it up and use the fabric to make a bag with, as the skirt is a little short for my liking. 

I was working on Tuesday evening and had a good shift at work on one of my favourite jobs. The shift passed really quickly as a consequence.

On Wednesday, I was due at work 1pm till 5pm again and I decided that having been thwarted at riding my bike to work, I would attempt to walk it. It's a 2 mile walk and took about 45 minutes which wasn't too bad. It's mostly across wide open parkland which makes it quite a nice walk too. My shift was okay, but passed a bit more slowly. On leaving, I decided to walk home too, so I ended up doing over 11,000 steps which was good. I felt pretty tired though. I may do this again when my shift times and daylight allow, as it's good to get me up and moving around more and costs nothing.

Some good news on Wednesday, when I received a letter from the Nationwide Building Society, with whom I have a savings account, telling me that I'd be receiving £50 in my account next month, to thank me with regard to their recent takeover of Virgin Money. I'll happily take it.

I was off work for the rest of the week from Thursday. It was lovely to have a lie in and get ready in my own time on Thursday morning. I caught up on reading my favourite blogs over breakfast, did some banking and then got ready to go out of town to do a bit of shopping. I'd run out of a few essential things and fancied a trip out and a change of scenery. 

My shopping trip went well, but I did spend a bit more than I intended and I overspent on the £25 thrifting budget by £11, on account of finding a few good things in the Charity shop. I need to stay out of charity shops now for the rest of the month which may prove difficult. I've will, however, do a little post on what I bought.

On Friday, I decided that I was going to have a day at home. I did go out for a 5km run late morning, but the rest of the time was spent at home, sewing, pottering, etc. I started work on a new small hand bag. I created pattern pieces from a bag that I already own, cut the fabric pieces out from the skirt that I bought earlier in the week and then pinned and tacked the zip in and the pieces together ready to machine sew. I'm not sure how this project is going to pan out, but I'll do my best with it and do a post about it if it goes well.

On Saturday, I was late up and had to quickly get ready, have breakfast and head out to my usual free gym session. It was worth it though, as I felt much better for it. I picked up a freebie on the way to the gym, namely this letter rack. I've decided to use it in the kitchen to house all my spending/money/weight loss journals that I use on a daily basis to track my spending/calorie consumption. It keeps them all neatly together and easy to access. It's got a few marks here and there, but they don't bother me.

I did a bit of cleaning in the afternoon, made a veggie chilli for supper and then just chilled really for the rest of the day. We've now nearly finished watching four seasons of Yellowstone on Netflix. It has got better as the series have gone on. I'll miss watching it and look forward to when season 5 is available to watch on Netflix. We're going to watch 1889 next, which is a prequel movie to the series and then we'll have to look for something new to watch. Any suggestions are welcomed.

Some Slow Stitching Projects

Recently, I've been getting more and more intrigued by slow stitching projects. There is something so very therapeutic about sewing by hand and embellishing the things you make, using items in your stash. I have been collecting haberdashery and fabric for many years now. I don't really buy much anymore as I already have so much, but I have tended to keep things and not use them, thinking that I'm saving them for some future project.

I've now decided that the future is now and I'm enjoying finding ways to use these items, be they iron on patches, favourite fabric scraps, fabric labels, buttons, lace, ribbons, trims or odd hexies.

This last week, I started a couple of new slow stitch projects. They both did involve some machine stitching too, so they weren't  strictly slow stitching, but there was quite a lot of handstitching involved in both projects, more so the second one.

The first  project was this book pouch. I've recently started picking up a book to read now and then and it inspired me to make a fabric book pouch to house my current read and transport it if I travel, etc. It's not an essential need, but it gave me an opportunity to work on some slow stitching and use up some scraps and other pieces of fabric in my stash.

The outside of the pouch is made up of patchwork pieces that I machine sewed together. The lining inside was made from a favourite fat quarter I had languishing in my stash.  I embellished it with some hexies and iron on fabric patches and some pom pom trim and it was just a fun make and makes me smile.

The second item I made was a sewing/needle case. This was virtually all slow stitched by hand. The only part that was machine stitched was the inner cushion pad for pins and needles and the attachment of this to the outer cover with a central row of machine stitching, just for strength and neatness really. This was another really fun project. I used a scrap of William Morris fabric for the outside of the case and used fabrics of the same tone for the inside pockets and pin cushion.

I included pockets in the front and back of the cover, to hold cards of thread, scissors, a needle threader and a stitch unpicker, so that the case holds most of what you might need to do small sewing jobs. It is ideal to take with me when travelling, to hold all of my useful sewing notions in one place.

I also attached a couple of small hexies for decoration and to add safety pins and buttons to. The front of the case is decorated with a small sew in label I bought years ago. This was the perfect project for it. I also made a decorative patch using fabric paint and neutral fabric to add to the front of the case.

Here are some pictures of the finished case:

I needed to buy one thing to complete this project, namely a small pair of scissors to fit in the back pocket. I thought I had some, but I couldn't find them, so I bought some at Home Bargains for £1.49. I may attach a snap fastening to enable the case to be closed shut and then it will be good to go.

I really like the end result and it was such a joy to make. I'm not sure what my next slow stitch project will be, but I'm enjoying the process and moreover enjoying using up some of the things in my stash.

A Better Week On the Whole - Week Ending 8th March 2025

This week got off to a busy start. I was working on Sunday from 1pm to 6pm and the store was very busy again on PayDay weekend. The sun was shining too, which probably helped to bring people out. I had a good shift.

On Monday, it was weekly shop day again. I used a 10% off voucher at Lidl and got over £8 off my shop which was a bonus. I treated myself to a geranium plant for the garden in Lidl, which cost me £2.69.

I used a £4.75 Holland and Barrett voucher to reduce the cost of buying a few things there. I also went to my favourite charity shop and spent £10 on a few choice items, but I've posted separately about these.

The only other purchases, were ones I made at a different branch of the store I work at, as I wanted to take advantage of a double discount weekend. I bought a few things, some for the home i.e. tea towels, oven gloves and some soy wax candles, the latter of which I'm going to put away for OH to give me as a birthday gift, a couple of small gifts for LB and a couple of other small accessories for me. I saved nearly £8, plus the savings as a consequence of most of the items being on clearance. I felt like I'd done enough shopping for a while. I'm hoping to keep the rest of the month to as minimum spend as possible.

On Tuesday, I headed to my usual class at the gym. It was another sunny but cold day. It's amazing how much more positive you feel when there's a bit of sunshine. I was working in the evening, and needed to get the bus to work and do a little bit of food shopping before I started, to get a couple of items I'd not got with the weekly shop, so after lunch I got ready for work early and headed out to catch the bus.  I had a good shift at work again and OH picked me up as he'd needed to use the car.

I was working again on Wednesday afternoon, so after a really good night's sleep, which is rare these days, but much appreciated, I had a lie in, a late breakfast and then got ready for work. Work was okay, until that is, I unintentionally got embroiled in some workplace politics, which really ended my working week on a downer. I deliberately avoid this kind of thing, but sometimes you get unknowingly dragged into the issues people have with others. It upset me. I'm just glad I'm not there for the next four days.

On Thursday, it was lovely to wake up knowing I didn't have to go to work. I got ready and then did a bit of sewing, starting a patchwork tablecloth for the kitchen table, as I needed something to clear my head of work. I then decided to go for a run, as I also needed to move my body. It was a lovely sunny morning, so it felt good to get outside.

After lunch, I went back to my sewing machine and completed the tablecloth. It was lovely to spend a whole afternoon sewing. I've not done it in a good while. Here's a photo of the finished tablecloth:

I used some larger pieces of fabric for this project and was able to use up quite a few bits from my stash. I don't think I would have used it for anything else. I made it double sided, using one fabric for the back:

I was happy enough with the results. It's not perfect, but it's good enough and the colours are a good match for the kitchen.

Later, I picked up this book that I started reading a while ago and I finally actually finished it. This book was about Barbara Hulanicki of Biba fame. I bought it when I went to a Biba exhibition last summer. It was a good read. She had amazing success with her business in the 1960's and 70's, before it was bought out by British Land, an infamous property company here in the UK. It was the first book I've finished this year. I've got a few more that I've started and I might try to finish reading them. A couple of them I started on holiday in Tenerife, but never finished.

On Friday, I didn't need to be anywhere or do anything, so I had a long lie in, a late breakfast and then showered and got ready for the rest of the day. It was another sunny day, so I decided to go out into the garden and pot up my new geranium into a bigger pot. I decided to place it on the step to the shed to brighten up that end of the garden. 

I then decided to wash some empty plant pots and tidy them away ready for the new growing season and potted on all of my trees in pots.  They now shouldn't need potting on for at least a couple of years if not longer. It's a job that's been on my to do list since last year. As you can see, I like to make use of old kitchen bins and dustbins for this purpose. They make good larger pots once holes have been drilled into the bottom. for drainage. I'm not too worried what they look like. This does make them very heavy once filled, however, hence the wheely bases to make them easy to move around the decking and prevent rot underneath.

 

I pinned some new shoots of a honeysuckle that grows down our side return into pots of compost to root. This plant used to be glorious, but it was cut right down when our neighbours built their new fence and as they are building an extension into their side return this year, I imagine that it will be removed altogether, so I decided to try to save some cuttings and grow them into more plants. It will take years to grow it to the mature beauty it once was, but I'm going to try. I've got a few weeks before the builders start, so I'm hoping they'll root by then.

Finally, I sowed some lettuce seed for transplanting into the allotment. I used lots of egg cartons that I've been saving every week. I'm hoping they'll work well as seed trays.

I had a lovely relaxing afternoon in the garden. It became a bit overcast by the end of the afternoon, but it was lovely just to get outside, tidy up and do some jobs I'd been meaning to do for a while.

On Saturday, I did my usual free gym session. When I got home, it was lovely and sunny, so I decided to have a cup of tea sat out in the garden. Whilst out there, I got the sudden urge to tidy out and move the greenhouse. Our neighbours will be starting building work in a few weeks and I wanted to move it a bit further away from any building work. I was limited with regard to how far I could move it, but hopefully it's in a slightly better place now and it felt good to sort through everything, clean underneath and tidy it all up ready for the new growing season.

After lunch, I did some sewing on a new project I started the night before. I've decided to make a book pouch using a combination of patchwork and slow stitching. I really enjoy these small projects that can be finished in a couple of sittings. They are very satisfying to make and I'm slowly learning to use up favourite fabrics and notions that I have in my stash, instead of keeping them to use for who knows what. I'll post a picture when I've finished it.

It was nice not to work this weekend and to spend time on some creative pursuits and necessary tasks. In all it's felt like a much more productive week. Lets hope it continues.

Exciting New Scrappy Projects

As you all know, if you've been following my blog for a while, I'm obsessed with using fabric scraps, probably more so than larger pieces of fabric. I love a good scrappy project and I've tried out quite a few different ones over the years.

The latest scrappy projects that I want to try, are mainly inspired by KateMustSew on Instagram and Marion's World on YouTube and are definitely my idea of fun. 

Kate's way of using scraps isn't solely attributable to her, as I've seen others use it too, but I was especially inspired by the creative ways that she uses colourful scraps to make her quilts and wall hangings.

One method she uses, is to take card machine or adding machine tape, and to sew fabric scraps onto the tape, creating scrappy rolls of fabric that can then be incorporated into a quilt or other projects or used as binding. I love watching videos of her making these scrappy rolls and then trimming the edges of them with a rotary cutter.  So, a few months ago, I decided to buy some card machine rolls on eBay.  Here's a picture:

This box of 11 rolls cost me just over £5, so approx. 50p per roll, which I thought was very inexpensive to potentially provide me with hours of fun making scrappy rolls and using up my fabric scraps. They're not the thickest or widest rolls you can find, but I'm sure they'll be good enough for anything I want to make initially. 

Marion (YouTube@marionsworld24) is another crafter who absolutely loves working with scraps. I've enjoyed watching her videos in which she makes a few different projects, such as 10 metres of scrappy yardage, a scrappy table cloth and a kawandi style quilt. She also does videos on slow stitching, rug making and lots of other crafts and her craft room tour video and her video about thrifting for fabrics are great videos to watch.

I'm particularly interested in trying to make a scrappy tablecloth for the kitchen table. I'm going to give it a go the next time I get some free time and I will probably use dark blue fabrics as I have quite a lot of these in my stash.  The main reason for this is that the kitchen is partly painted dark blue, I made dark blue curtains for the patio doors a while ago and the other reason being that dark colours don't show up spillages quite so easily, which are virtually inevitable in the kitchen.

So, here I go again, delving into new scrappy obsessions to use up my scraps and fabric stash. I'll take you along with me on the journey and we'll see where it goes.