After/before antique wood chest/trunk, no lid, torn and chipped veneer, which was glued down and stapled down in places, and I didn't remove the metal. It's expensive to find real wood and cast iron
Measured sides, sewed a bag with drawstrings from a cotton suiting I had in the attic, cream with white pinstripe, I like neutrals as they're good for small spaces, everything matches, unisex.
2 x Mr W's old jeans (grey and charcoal, 2 x 2nd hand cotton placemats and 2 x cotton 2nd hand napkins for pocket linings, 2nd hand cotton for bag lining.
I interfaced the handles, bag and top of pockets. As I was using jeans, I had to cut the bag outer in 2 parts with a seam allowance and piece. I topstitched the handles in charcoal Gutermann thread and medium grey for the bag.
I edgestitched the bottom where the box corners meet, but pressed the sides down for a softer look.
Mr W is going to take this to the craft fair for handmade shopping!
Mr W's new denim shopper. Tote / shoulder bag made from a deadstock remnant of soft denim, only had enough for 1 bag. The cotton lining is 2nd hand, it arrived with a quilt top made by someone else I purchased & quilted/bound for charity. I interfaced the facings and the top of the pockets, but usually interface the whole outer. I edge stitched the creases.
Vintage embroidered placemats made into a quilt. I had 12 but used 2 for pockets in a tote bag. Then I added fabric scraps I had on stash and yardage on stash, one of the blue-grey florals is 2nd hand yardage. Own design, no pattern.
Backing and binding: Art Gallery Fabric
Quilting: straight line in Gutermann thread white and Superior Thread cream back
Batting: Hobbs polydown.
A few years ago I sewed a skirt and a skirt lining from the wheat print grey cotton and the white dot on white cotton, the cotton was too thick for lining and the poplin was too thin for the style. I found the remnant of the white print so had enough for the inner border.
The other blocks are the remainders of 2 Moda layer cakes. The prints are Holly woods by 3 Sisters and Le Beau Papillon' by French General. Yardage: blue gingham lefftover from a babyquilt/picnicquilt, the main navy print, cream dbinding and the cream thatched border are all Art Gallery Fabric. Batting: #hobbspolydown as I wanted it to be lightweight for spring despite using Christmas holly. Backing: is Stoff, white polkadot on grey.
Pattern is Arcade by Fabric Cafe.
My friend wanted 'Keep on Rucking' embroidery, I didn't know what that is, it's hiking or walking with weighted rucksacks! I machine stitched it in green with a leaf for outdoors, both sides.
100% cotton teatowel with crossiants on, cotton promotional tote bag, both never used. I prewashed the fabric and reused the loop and care label from the teatowel.
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Itch to Stitch Boalsburg Pullover made from me three mens rugby shirts, Mr W was going to charityshop them as they didn't fit anymore. I pattern matched the stripes. This is a great pattern for using up scraps of t-shirt or jumper fabric leftover from other projects too.
This is my own design but again it's just a simple technique, I followed a disappearing 9 patch tutorial but arranged the blocks so they formed centre squares instead of diagonal trailing blocks. Then I added a 2.5 inch border in cream Art Gallery Fabric (Ethel's Vintage print), a 5 inch border in Michael Miller cotton, and the binding in the same. For the bobbin I used beige/cream for the main and navy for the binding.
I used charm squares (5 inch), which I prewashed and but did not remeasure them, I think I will try layer cakes instead (10 inch) then cut to size. The packs I used were Connecting Threads Americana, I loved this one but ran out of fabric and it's out of stock, I paired it with the white/cream and some of the navy in two Starlight Gatherings Moda charm packs, I still have some blues left for making a tiny baby quilt for Fallon. I cut extra charm squares from Art Gallery Fabric 'Ethel's vintage, and a white AGF which had tiny gold symbols. For the remaining reds, I didn't have any red fabric, so cut 5 inch squares from a blouse I made in 2016/2017 (too small), the pink and grey cotton I purchased in a quilting shop in Nice, France! Then the black with pink floral was a remnant in small pieces, I had purchased the fabric a few years ago and it was a nice heavier weight poplin, sometimes unbranded cottons are labelled as poplin but too thin for quilting. The backing is 2 metres of Rico cotton in cream with pink hearts, heavier than quilting cotton. The finished quilt is 63 x 51 inches (throw size). Mr W is holding it for photos!
I am very keen to make more quilts or even Christmas crafts! I don't have many fabric scraps, but I am saving 100% cotton scraps and taking apart unworn clothing, which is fewer and farther between these days, now I've slowed down my garment making. I also picked up some layer cakes in a sale, already prewashed! I prewash the cottons as I prewash my fabric by the metre, so it all shrinks at the same rate, and it has less of a crinkled look.
I purchased two amounts of Warner oilcloth or glazed cotton, the first I made into a knitting tote bag for someone at work this one I used with a pattern I've made before - Elbe Textiles Buckley Tote. This particular fabric is estimated to be from 1980 so it is older than me! I had 108cm and the pattern calls for 110cm so it was perfect. I made this for Stephen to keep, he will have to use his cotton canvas Buckley Tote for shopping and keep this one for special storage items! I lined it in Lady McElroy cotton lawn in salmon pink palm leaf print. My changes to the pattern - the pockets are self lined rather than folding inward and I added interfacing to the top. I also interfaced the whole bag in heavy interfacing and one half of heavy interfacing for the straps (full interfacing didn't fold nicely as they are double folded / 4 layers, turn edges into the centre and fold). I also had to cut the outer in 2 parts as the print is directional, with a 1cm seam before interfacing.
I added a seam:
