Happy New Year!

The festive season seems to have whirled by as usual and here we find ourselves in a brand new year! I can't say that I've made any resolutions, I learnt many years ago that just because I decided something at new year, it didn't make me any more likely to stick to it. But new year always feels like a fresh start, time to rethink or restart. My house is often the lucky recipient of new paintwork or rearranged furniture at this time of year for that very reason.

But first on my agenda this year has been the beginning of a big sort out. I'm something of a hoarder so this is always a mammoth task. But in my usual spirit of reusing/recycling I like taking something new and giving it new life. This time it was an old ripped pair of jeans. The denim had got to that stage where it was lovely and soft to the touch, so even though the jeans were no more we couldn't resist using the fabric again. Above is my new needle case, finally I will have organised needles!

My daughter also got a new skirt (seen above) and bag (her name will be sewn on in due course). The bag is a particularly whimsical one as it's made out of the old jeans pocket.




Never one to leave someone out my son also got a new bag (again name to follow). He is going to keep some of his character cards in here. So happy child as he has a new bag and happy Mummy as his cards are kept together :)

I hope the new year begins the start of fun times for all of you as well.

Linen, Onions and Applique!

With the recent push towards a more eco friendly lifestyle more and more events and shops are doing away with plastic carrier bags in favour of reusual options. Over the last year I seem to have accumulated a few of these from various sources. I appreciate the sentiment and linen does make for a fantastic durable bag. My only quarrel has to be the designs that seem to have come my way. All these bags were free and consequently covered with advertising prints.



This didn't really inspire me to use them on my normal shopping trips so they've found uses in my home instead. The bag above became a handy place to store my onions in the kitchen. But the more I looked at it the more I realised that the design had to go. With the sewing machine out and some bondaweb I set about raiding my fabric store to applique things that seemed to fit my kitchen better. This was the end result.



I'm very pleased with how it turned out, and I think my onion storage now looks quite smart. The only problem with applique is it's so fun and easy to do that you start looking about your house wondering what else you can adorn. It's also a wonderful way of using up those fabric scraps that weren't big enough for a sewing project but you couldn't quite bring yourself to throw away. I do think you have to be careful not to go over the top though. With this bag I cut out a lot of shapes and tried different placings before I commited to a final design. Next on the applique pile is a summer top, that is if the sun ever returns after all this rain we've been having.

If you've never ventured into the world of applique there really is nothing to be scared of. All you need is some fabric, some bondaweb, a pencil and an iron.



Draw a design on the paper side of the bondaweb (bondaweb is available on a roll from haberdashery shops or online). Cut out around design leaving a bit of a edge. Place the bondaweb paper side up onto your fabric. Press down with a dry iron.



Cut out your design along your pencil lines. Peel the paper side off the bondaweb.




Lay it down on your bag/top/whatever press again with a hot iron and hey presto it should be stuck!




Next all you need to do is finish off your design. I favour a zig zag stitch running around the outside in a constrasting colour. Of course if you don't have a sewing machine a simple running stitch works as well. Then stand back and admire your handywork!