Never had this happen to me before..........

I couldn't thread the needle on my sewing machine.  I struggled for ages.  In the end I replaced the needle and everything went smoothly.  The funny thing though, I could see daylight through the needle "hole," so have no idea whatsoever what was wrong?

Anyhow, I was sewing a zippered pouch to put some charging cables and other electronics that we use when we go away.

I found a couple pieces of "scrap" fabric.  A heavy weight cotton and some quilting backing fabric that was sort of "cushy."  I didn't want to use any batting, I was being lazy!!

I bought a waterproof cell phone holder, and I bought a foldable phone charger.

We have a couple of trips planned over the next couple of months, to Ottawa and Jamaica.  Looking forward to both of them.

Also thanks for the feel better wishes.  Still not 100%, but better than I was...........

Trying a different way...

I have been sewing cushion covers for the seating set on the front porch.  When doing the upper/back cushions I wanted to try something a little different as I ran into this problem:

As you can see the elastic on the back stretched out over time.

So this time I bought thicker/wider elastic and triple stitched it to the beige fabric and then when joining everything together I triple stitched it again.

I slip it over the back of the chair and it holds it nice and secure.

I only hope it holds up better this time.

Now everything is all done it looks a bit better.

I ended up with over 3 yards of fabric leftover, so have listed it on Facebook Marketplace for $30.  If I can manage to sell it, this project will have cost around $80, including all supplies, which is a heck of a lot cheaper than buying new cushions.  If I can get three years out of this set, that's less than $30 a year.

More or less 3 years to the day.......

 I finally picked up the fabric to recover the cushions that go on the chairs on the front porch last weekend.  I managed to get the chair cushions and the scatter cushions sewn on Thursday and here is the result:

I did the edges in the beige colour, so that I didn't have to pattern match.  I'm all for making things as easy as possible.  I did put zippers in the seat cushions this time, so I can take them off to wash.

I wasn't 100% sure about this fabric pattern, but it's not too bad.  It is outdoor fabric, and that beige fabric was super thick.  Put a jeans needle on the machine to make it sew better and a longer stitch.

I still have to make cushions for the back; they fabric is all cut out for them, but was too tired on Thursday to finish them.

As for the title of the post, I made the last set of cushions almost three years to the day and you can see the post here.

Sewing

Did some more sewing this past week to use up some bits and bobs of fabric.  Barely made a dent though 😞

This used up some squares I had from a kit.  It's 14 inches square, with batting between the layers and quilted.

The back of that one.

More fabric from the same kit, but in black, white and grey.  Again 14 inches square.

The back side of that one.

Four more lanyards.........I haven't asked daughter if she sold anything, as she was super busy at work.

Then I decided to try out this pattern for a chap stick holder.  It uses scraps of fabric.

It's way too fiddly for me and my poor arthritic hands, so won't be making any more.

Not sure what I will do with all these items.

Appleby Lane

For the long time blog readers, you'll remember I set up a "sewing company" called Appleby Lane, which I made sewn items to sell online and at craft shows.  You'll also remember I had to give it up as the arthritis in my hands was making it difficult.

The other week daughter was asking if I could make her some soup bowl cozies, as soup and chili season is upon us.  I said yes no problem.  She was then talking about how everyone at her work loves her lanyards I made her.

As I had a basket of leftover things from my Appleby Lane days, I asked her if she would consider taking the things to her work to see if anyone wanted anything.  Plus I would make extra soup bowl cozies to sell and some lanyards.

Here are the soup bowl cozies I made.  I did have to buy a metre of batting at a cost of $20 for these; the fabric is all that I had on hand.  I am selling them for $20 a pair.

Here are the lanyards.  I had everything on hand for these, and am selling them for $10 each.

I ran out of the silver hooks, otherwise I would have made more of them.

I spent Friday afternoon sorting out the basket of other things I had and pricing and bagging everything for daughter.  Fingers crossed she sells the odd thing.  Then I can get rid of more stuff in my spare bedroom closet!!

I enjoyed the sewing, but if I counted my time for making these things, I would make pennies per hour as a wage.  I do it because I enjoy it, not to make a living thankfully.  I still have mounds of fabric, so need to pull more together to sell.

A look back on the week............

Stinking hot and humid start to the week...... and didn't get much better as the week progressed.

Felt like a very busy week.  Monday we were back and forward to the Optician's as where hubby got his eye's tested and where he got his glasses are two different locations and something was wrong with either his eyes or glasses.  Long story short his prescription was wrong 😡  He has been fighting on with this for four months!

We had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday at our family GP.  That always turns into an all day job as it's over and hour away from where we live.  Plus we try and kill two birds with one stone and visit one of two family members each time we go down.  This time it was a birthday so had lunch there.

Back to the doctors visit.  More tests and follow ups to be done.  The older you get the more specialists, tests and meds you see to have to do or be on!

Wednesday we had to be up just after 2am as I had an MRI appointment for 4am on my back.  Another specialist feels I have a trapped nerve in my back????  I had a herniated disc operated on back in 1998, and the pain I suffered then, does not feel the same as what little pain I am suffering in my back, but what do I know...LOL

Suffice to say we were both tired on Thursday.  Missing sleep seems to hit us both the second day after; rather than that day?  

Friday was a quiet day.  Hubby golfed in the afternoon; I just puttered around.  

Saturday the heat came back and the British football season started on tv, so that kept hubby occupied!

Doctor suggested we take bisglycinate magnesium so we started that on Wednesday.  It may help with our aches and pains, along with helping us sleep better.  Too soon to see any results; worth a try I guess?  Do any of you take that?

I have managed 5 out of 7 days of walking this week, not the best but at least I am averaging over 5 thousand steps per day which is better than nothing considering how painful my foot is.  The doctor is thinking arthritis in one of the joints on the top of my foot, but until I have the MRI in October we won't know for sure.

Then finally, I have been sewing this week.  Actually, I was doing more of the prep work before I do all the sewing.  I am making lanyards and soup bowl cozies.  The lanyards involve a lot of ironing!!  I will explain when all is sewn what I am up too.

This is how my sewing table is looking.........a mess, but an organized mess!!

This week went by fast, that's for sure.

Sewing..........

I was looking at where hubby sits and decided the flannel chair cover I made for him a couple of years ago was looking shabby.  We have a fabric sofa, so wanted to protect it where his head goes.

I hunted out this fabric from my stash.  It's a light weight cotton duck fabric that I got from Hobby Lobby a couple of years ago in Tennessee.  By the way for the American's out there, is Hobby Lobby still in business?

I even "cobbled" together some bit's of batting I had, rather than use a full piece.

I could have finished it all in one day, but I sewed it all together one day, then hand stitched the binding the next day.  I just love the look of this fabric.  It's the same front and back.  

Super simple project and fit's perfectly with our decor.

I was over at Magpie's Mumbling's and she had a link to Diary of a Quilter, and she had a tutorial on how to make a Manx quilt.  I have never heard of that before, so popped over to have a look.  I loved the look of it and may give it a try in the Winter months.  I have popped the link below in case you are interested.  I have to say Magpie always has the most interesting links to check out.

How to Make a Manx Quilt Block - Tutorials | Diary of a Quilter

I also subscribe to Sew4Home, which is a neat site.

Wet and dreary.........

 Saturday was a wet and dreary day.  We had no hydro from around 5:45 am until 7:45 am which was unusual for us.  

I decided in the afternoon to sew the final cushions for the front porch.  It really adds a pop of colour to the front porch and I am in love with the fabric choice.

I added two elastic straps to the back of the cushion to secure them to the back of the chair.

I got one inch thick foam from Len's Mill and for the two pieces it was just over $10.  So all in all this project cost just under $70.  To purchase new cushions would be a lot more.

Been busy sewing........

so haven't had time to blog.  However I have got a good job, jobbed as we say!!

The weather has been all over the place, freezing cold one day and up in the high 20's the next.  I hunted out the chairs and cushions for the front porch and decided the cushions needed freshened up.

Here is the before, I redid them in this fabric back in April of 2019, you can read about it here.

I picked up 2 metres of the poppy fabric for $18 per metre, and I took what was left of the grey/black fabric which was around 1 1/2 metres at $7 per metre.  Now I use a contrast fabric for the sides as I am too lazy to try and match the pattern on the fabric for the sides!!  Hubby wants me to make cushions for the back of the chairs (full length).  I don't have any foam, so will have to purchase some.  I do have more than enough fabric though to make them though.

I chose this fabric as my favourite colour is red and my favourite flower is a poppy.

I messed up when cutting out the sides, so sewed together the extra pieces to make the backs of the smaller cushions.

Now I am a Guttermnn girl when it comes to thread for my sewing machine, BUT I was cursing this spindle up and down.  It kept knotting up and breaking.  I need to give my machine a good clean I think.  I changed the needle on the weekend, as a neighbour asked me to sew a couple of things for her; it was a quick simple project.

This is the first lot of sewing I have done in a while.  I really had to think what I was doing!!

Another good job done.  All we need now is the good weather to come back!  We had snow on Tuesday here; thankfully it was warm enough it melted as soon as it touched the ground.

WIP

 WIP means work in progress.  

Now for those of you who craft I bet you have some WIP's somewhere waiting to be completed?  I know I do, and 2023 is going to be a "Complete as Many WIP's as possible."  It is also a use up what you have type of year as well, with crafting supplies.  I was looking for some black Aida (cross stitch material) and stumbled upon a few pieces of WIP's and various other things I had forgotten about.

I have the same issue with books.  I have a pile of books I want to finish/read and I will not be buying any more until I have read some.  By the way I still post regularly in my book review blog here.

With the price of everything going up, this is a good thing to do.  Everytime I finish something that was previously started I will make an effort to post about it here.

Here are just some of the things I need to finish:

Dishclothes to knit, book to read, bookmarks to cross stitch and Evan's first year quilt to finish off.

Since I wrote this post a week or more ago.  I have read the book, yes it was really good here is a link to read more about it on Amazon.

I finished the book mark:

I out interfacing in between the felt backing and the front bookmark and sewed them together for stability.

I have also knit a dishcloth and have another on my needles:

I also ended up buying some more of this yarn individual balls I paid $1.06 per ball.  Just got a flyer from the same store and on Friday it will be less than 60 cents per ball, so may end up going and buying more!!

Do you have that problem; lots of things that are not completed?

Just a warning swear word fabric will be shown!!

I had an order for a toiletry/wash bag the other day, so I made a couple of extra ones for the shop.  Thought I'd share with you the fabric choices.  Both bags have a laminated cotton lining, so waterproof that I get from Dailylike Canada.  Very high quality fabric and well worth the money.

I fell in love with this fabric when I saw it, but didn't have any idea what I was going to make with it.  Just love how it all worked out, reminds me of the 1920's.

Now this one has swear words on it and says, "Where's My F**king Wine!"  Would be perfect for that wine lover in the family.  They both sell for $25 each, plus shipping if needed.  For more swear word fabric products click on this link.  I will be making more products using the fabric.

This is the one I made for a custom order.  The Llama fabric is so flipping cute, don't you think.

I also make all the zipper pulls myself.  So after not doing much sewing for the past month, I am back into it again.

If you want to see what else I make please click on this link for Appleby Lane.

Finally a make for me..........

Since we got our new dining room table and chairs I wanted a new table runner; as our old one was way too long.  I saw this Robin Pickens fabric for Moda and fell in love with it.  It's called Sweet Pea and Lily.  The pale green solid fabric is a Kona solid.  It is ages since I have done any quilting, and I know why, it's kills my hands.  Very happy though with the final product; it's 64 inches long by 14 inches wide.

 The back is the large floral pattern, the binding is the butterfly pattern.

I will be following these instructions word by word.......

Or maybe not!!!!  I will however be sewing for a bit of the day as I do have a show again this coming weekend, and do want to replenish some stock.  I did finally get a couple sets of soup bowl cozies finished yesterday:

I love both patterns.  Which one do you like the best?  I sell these in the shop for $15 a pair.

I also picked up my Christmas arrangement for the outside from a local home business yesterday and it is gorgeous:

I just love the galvanized pail its in.

Ducts, Scrunchies and Peas.....

Odd combination don't you think?

Had the heating ducts cleaned today.  The house is 12 years old and the heating ducts had never been cleaned out.  So just under $250 later (we also have an HRV system) they are nice and clean.  However this is only part of what came out:

Just nasty what we had been breathing in........

I picked up a 50 cent bag of scrap fabric the other day with the goal of making scrunchies for the girls.  Got 8 made with the bag of scraps.

The blue fabric is like a velvet/minky fabric that sheds like crazy, so had to give my machine a good clean out after I had finished.  So a little thread, 60 inches of 1/2 inch elastic and three scrap pieces of fabric and my time was all it took to make those.

Now for the peas.  Made a couple more sets of pea fabric produce bags.  I just love this fabric.

I will thread the drawstrings through after I publish this post, then they are all ready to sell.  A set of three is $20 in my shop.