I'm part of a craft collective called "Granny Green's big night out". We're taking part in voluntary arts week by creating an exhibition of all the lovely things we've made in a shop in tollcross. Here are some pics of the the finished display.

In honour of the ZX Spectrum's 30th birthday, here's a link to a spectrum related cross-stitch by Mr X Stitch:

Thanks to the spectrum for teaching me to programme!

I made a lino cut the other week. It's got some of Edinburgh's iconic buildings on it, see how many you can spot! It's also got some song lyrics in it, from a song called 'City of Stone' by my very talented friends, the Weatherfolk. I did a time lapse video of the making of the print, and I'm going to make some prints next week that you'll be able to buy!

 

I love this beautiful video showing Rajasthan block printers at work, and the intro reminds me of our visit to Jaipur too!

 

Made this cushion for a friend. For anyone who's seen my sofa you'll know we have a very similar union jack.

Will need some more old denim before I can make any more. Anyone have any jeans they're throwing out?

The skirt's looking quite finished now. I sewed the lining to the skirt and attached a waistband. The waistband is finished with some nice bias binding to make it look good. I've hemmed it too. I did that on the machine using the blind hem stitch because the wool is thick and patterned enough for the stitches to be invisible.

It won't get finished today because I tried to sew a buttonhole using the machine and it wouldn't work through the layers of fabric and interfacing. So I'm going to have to find some big hooks and eyes instead.

Just some hand finishing to do now.

So yesterday I didn't do any actual sewing. I did make a pattern (it's the basic skirt block we made at college plus a box pleat, lapped zip and waistband.) and read up on how to do things.

Today I cut out the pieces and finally got the machine out.

As of now I have the outer layer complete. I still need to construct the lining and attach the waistband.

Here's some photos of the work in progress. There's photos of the zip being inserted and details of the box pleat from the front and back.

Yesterday I went to one of Edinburgh's fabric shops and spent quite a while stroking and cooing over fabric. Eventually I picked out this tweed which feels appropriate now that I live in Scotland. I'm going to make a very straightforward pencil skirt and so I bought some lining, a zip, bias binding, and at the last minute was also reminded to buy some thread!

Progress photos coming up.

I like doing sketches, it's great to get your ideas out on paper. You can tell I'm rubbish at doing hands and feet - they just disappear into squiggles!

Sketch 1: An extremely basic shift dress.

Sketch 2: Casual shirt (I have no intention of trying to make the skinny jeans!)

Sketch 3: Wide legged wool trousers and a silk blouse.

Sketch 4: A blue silk top, obi belt and tweed pencil skirt.

 

My plan is to begin with the silk top, plan the design in detail, draw the pattern, experiment with some kind of detail for the top and I'll share the whole process with you.

It's a few days into the brand new year and I'm just getting started on what I hope to do. For the last couple of years I've been learning dressmaking and pattern drafting. I've published a few of the things I've made on this site but this year I don't have the necessity to make things to be marked. 

I decided that what I'd really like to do is to make some clothes that I would like to wear, and not just for special events, things that I could wear any time.

Luckily, I have a box of fabric. This is a box of decent lengths of fabric that I've bought at one time or another because I've really liked it, yet without a particular purpose for it. My plan is to use that fabric and supplement it with new purchases.

I've got a gorgeous blue silk that I bought in Jaipur last year. It drapes really well and is soft yet it's quite rich and heavy.

There's another silk, this time a blue, grey and orange liberty print. I got this at Liberty's shop in London when I went in 2010 and discovered their fabric collections.

Another Liberty fabric is a soft cotton lawn in pink with patterns of flowers, foliage and the odd bunny rabbit.

So here's my fabric, and in the next post will be some sketches of what I plan to do with it!