My Creative Space #5

 

So, the fun part of my creative space this week is still a little 3D obsessed!  These triangles are much more pesky (don't look too closely at that brown gingham one! - I've corrected it now) I'll show you when I've joined them all up - I want this one to be more angular than the dodecahedron ball ...

The unpicking featured in my post yesterday was to do with my other little project which had to be put on hold when Mrs Singer had her nervous breakdown.

 The sleeves had to be unpicked and re-sewn because of a weird 'one long one short' thing going on.

I haven't had the patience to sew them in yet.  That will be a little finishing project for the weekend, methinks. 

I'm doing the binding now for the neckline, but it looks a bit like a school dinner lady's tabbard, which is not quite the look I was after -  I may have to unpick that too and go for a plain  binding instead

Which colour binding do you think I should use?  

Purple?

Grey?










Dirty Pink?

Let me know in the comments section PLEASE!!! I just can't decide

Wordless Wednesday

say no more ....

Sunday Stash #4

Today's Sunday Stash is all about Japanese linens ... Yum!

These two little beauties come courtesy of my lovely friend Tomomi.  This summer, she and her husband, Dom (who has a great blog here) went back to Yokohama in Japan to complete their marriage celebrations with a traditional wedding.

With all that going on, she still managed to squeeze in a bit of fabric shopping for me!  Now, that's what I call a friend!

... Of course it's much too nice to ever actually cut into and USE! ;)

Tomomi, Dom, and I all work together -  Before I even met Tomo she was famous in our staffroom for the fabulously creative bento lunches that Dom popped open every day, to our drooling delight. 
Tupperware has never been so romantic.

... aren't these pictures a-ma-zing? 



おめでとうございます !

So, thank you Tomomi - for the beautiful fabric and for the kindness :) 

Dodecahedron Heaven & A Giveaway ...

 TA DA!

Sewing it together wasn't that tricky after all - a bit of finger pressing and it was pretty much there (that's what you get for using a mathematically designed template!)

I had intended to leave the cardboard templates in and complete it as a hollow, sharp edged solid ...

But  once it came to popping it right side out, I had to remove the stiff card as the stitching was so delicate (by my standards!) I didn't want to risk ripping the fabric  ... so I was left with a deflated little ball ...

... Then came the stuffing ...


And here it is, in all its congruent, geometric perfection  ... (well, actually, it's a bit soft and curvy!)

Next up is the icosahedron and then all the others (especially now I've discovered Archimedean solids  ... oh yes, this one's going to run and run ... especially if I win this lovely giveaway over at It's All About The Fabric ... (runs until Monday 20th Sept) GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED (I didn't win boo hoo)

Beautiful new fabric and a GIVEAWAY! <---- edit ----> I WON!!! yay!

Just take a look at this yummy new range: 

it's by Sarah Fielke - she's an amazing blogger, designer, quilter and teacher, and her blog is way inspiring ... and this is part of her new line of fabric for Lecien - and it has everything a fabric-aholic could want - spots, stripes, squares, florals and BIRDS! ... (roll on pay day!!)

If you want to take part in the giveaway ... pop on over here and spread the word ...   The last day is 30th September ...  go on ... get over there (but come back!) Yay I won!

That was the easy bit ....

Now there's just the little the problem of sewing it up!  I think I'll have to do inside out and then "pop it" through at the last minute ... eek!

Dodecahedrons "Я" Us

OK - here we go!

 blah#

blah

blah

I started by cutting out the 12 pentagons from the cardboard template (I can always refer to the photo on yesterday's post when it comes to actually constructing the ball)

And now I've sewn a few just to see if I like the idea. 

blah

blah

blah

I like the idea.  

blah

blah

blah

I'm going to give it to the maths faculty for their office ... I've always said it needed a woman's touch ... I can only imagine what their reaction will be to a girly patchwork platonic solid ...Can't wait! 


heh heh heh

blah

blah

(if you thought I was nerdy - you should try hanging out there for a few minutes!)

blah

blah

Watch this space ....

My Creative Space #4

Let's keep things platonic, shall we? ...

mmmm ... back to skool this week (I teach IT, remember?!) hence the dearth of posts - it's all been a whirlwind of usernames and passwords and online course creation.  Whatever.

Anyway, during the summer my classroom was invaded for summer school, and while clearing out the cupboards today to make way for the new academic year, I found sets of platonic solid templates for the little darlings doing maths to cut out and make ...

I think the Dodecahedron and the Icosahedrons (illustrated here) would look really fab as patchwork platonic solids ... what do you think?  .... watch this space!

p.s. if you want a pdf of either
just leave a comment

I blame the Hexagons!

btw ... here's a peek at the rows I've been sewing (just because I can't bear not to have any fabric on here!):

... and don't forget to head on over here to invade more creative space ...

Sunday Stash #3

Damiel and I are still getting acquainted , so in the meantime here's what's goin on in my...

unday

tash

 
My newest obsession is ...

yes, I admit it ...

fussy cut 1" Hexagons ...  

I know, I know, everyone's already obsessed with hexagons in the blogosphere, but for me it's new and it's the equivalent of reading a quick whodunnit/thriller between heartier books ... I need something to occupy me for short bursts ...

(No, I didn't cut all these templates out meself ... I got them here on eBay .... Thank you so much, lovely precision cutting lady Jax)

:)

Out with the Old --- In with the Even Older!

<---Before we get stuck in, let's just draw a veil over Mrs 1975 Singer's recent behaviour, shall we?  -  suffice to say, she's in disgrace and has been sent to a rehab clinic to recover from getting her levers in a twist ... I may end up having to commit her permanently ...

Today I fell in love .... (thanks to freecycle!) 

 D'you want a sneaky peek at his rippling torso? 

 Swoon!

 

Here he is in all his glory -  an early 60s Japan-made Novum Deluxe Zig Zag Mark IX - 

You should hear the motor - it just purrs, and the sewing action is like a knife through butter ... and so responsive on the treadle ... 

Like a 60s Trabant!  Maybe not beautiful, but oh so reliable ...

 

.... or a "Dauntless" WWII bomber ?

 

 He shall be named 'Damiel', after Bruno Ganz's angel in "Wings of Desire"











Look at that feed dog mechanism ... so .... handsome ....

... and he brought gifts too, look: 

 I have to go now .... 

... Damiel and I have some catching up to do ...

Squeakity Squeak

 Hey - see that turquoise and pink 'Quilt Story' button over up there on the right  ?

Let's just say I'm just a little bit squeakity squeak ...

AND I may be taking possession of an understudy sewing machine oh yes and a new home-needing cat companion seems not ... tomorrow ... 

carpe diem, I bloomin well say!

My Creative Space #3

This was the plan for a small pencil roll for my god-daughter.  An easy quick project.

I picked up the leaf fabric at Ikea in their remnant bin for £1 - yay!  The orange spots are from my stash, as are button & hair band!  I'm not sure if I'm going to use the ribbon.

So, all was going fine, stitches straight, mood elevated and then KAPOW!  I had an absolute ...

... DISASTER!!

My presser foot lever just decided to fall out on me - no visibly broken parts, so having to insert it by hand every time I need to raise the foot!  GRRRRR!!!!

<---- Looks like this may have to wait a while longer ...




Ho Hum ... don't forget to pop on over to kootoyoo for more creative spaces  (hopefully a little more productive than mine this week!)

Sunday Stash #2

Some new additions nesting happily now they've been integrated & nerdily colour-sorted  - all in readiness for the Fat Quarterly Quiltalong - yay!

Finished!

 

click for more

My Creative Space #2

So, I've finally started binding the second half of my 'quilting as therapy' quilt -(see tabs above for the background to the story)  It just seemed to come to a natural stop so the embroidered quilting is quite randomly spread - I've also hand-tied with ribbon ... it's sad to see it finish, but it marks another stage in my grieving process, I guess  ....

Don't forget to pop in to some of the many inspirational spaces out there, as curated by Kirsty at kootoyoo ...