Clare's Stuff

Project sofa images...before shots!

2011-02-01T22:11:00.006Z

Images of the smaller sofa, a removed arm from the larger sofa (with crud from the previous owner...nice!) and a pile of firewood...erm I mean the larger sofa frame!

PROJECT SOFA

2011-02-01T21:54:00.002Z

Well...after neglecting this blog for a while I'm back again for 2011. Each year I have a wish list of the things I'd like to get for that year. On this years wish list were new sofas for the lounge. Designer Italian style sofas like the ones you see in Elle Decoration magazine....sigh...well I don't exactly have a couple of grand to spend on furniture so I started scribbling some designs in my notebook. Could I make sofas out of some wood and mattresses? would my dad help me? Anyway, after a bit of discusion I decided to "upcycle" two second hand sofas, remodelling the frame and reupholstering. Below is a rough mock up in Photoshop. I picked up two sofas for £45 from Preloved, one large 2 seater and one standard 2 seater. After stripping the larger one (removing upholstery, foam and zillions of staples) we discovered that the frame was pretty poor quality. Luckily my dad is a genious engineer and DIYer and has agreed to make the sofa frames from scratch using better quality wood in his garage. It was still worth £45 buying the two sofas as it was very useful taking them apart to use as a basic template, and of course I will be reusing the foam (as foam is VERY expensive!). My mum has also treated me to 30m of upholstery weight chenille fabric at the bargain price of £1.50 a metre!
This is my first upholstery project (discounting simple drop in seat pads) so watch this space as I document "project sofa"!

Baby's first digital painting!

2010-10-26T19:07:00.002+01:00

knitting...

2010-10-24T21:14:00.002+01:00

...is not something I do..I can do it, but I am hopelessly slow at it, crochet is more my thing. I have enjoyed leafing through my Grandma's old patterns though, such as this doll's clothes one. Both me and my mum have had doll's clothed from this pattern. Anyway, now it's on ebay for someone else to enjoy...

she comes in colours everywhere....

2010-10-06T19:43:00.002+01:00

...she combs her hair
...she's like a raaaainboooow!

online shopping...

2010-10-03T22:33:00.001+01:00

...is my downfall...
still haven't done the dishes....

dress up skirt

2010-10-03T21:11:00.002+01:00

This is such a lovely blog with some inspiring tutorials...I must make this dress up skirt for my 2 year old niece for Christmas! Sometimes I spend so long looking at nice things online I suffer from a sort of creative overload...so many things I want to do but I just can't seem to get on with them! Can't do much tonight apart from sew a name label into my son's new coat and do dishes...I have a dishwasher in my parents shed but have no where to put it in my flat which is VERY frustrating!

crocheting rainbows...

2010-09-30T20:00:00.003+01:00

Dishes done, children in bed, bread and blackberry cake baking in the kitchen... I feel so organised! Time to finish off the Rainbow blanket! Rosie made a grab for it today...the bright colours must have caught her eye! I got the ripple crochet intructions from Attic 24, one of my favourite crochet blogs.

The Bella Dress

2010-09-19T09:40:00.002+01:00

Just finished this little crochet dress yesterday for Rosie, just in time for a friend's birthday party. It's made of DK cotton that I had in the stash...but not quite enough to follow the pattern 100% so it's a little shorter than the pattern specifies. The pattern is by Alicia Paulson and is available from her site Rosy Little Things. I know cream isn't exactly a practical colour for a 7 month old baby who's main diet is orange coloured...but she does look lovely in it!

new skirt

2010-09-11T23:11:00.002+01:00

Just ordered this skirt and cardigan from Debenhams...shouldn't have really...but anyway, done now! Boots are similar to ones I already own...except mine are not Jimmy Choos that cost a grand..
new skirt by Clare Anderson featuring knee length skirts

Jane Anderson designs....

2010-09-08T20:44:00.003+01:00

My mum is currently showing a selection of handprinted textiles made into cushions and footstools at Arteria in Lancaster. If you can make it, go and see! If you can't, then visit her website here.

pump bags and school days...

2010-09-01T20:32:00.002+01:00

school begins for my eldest tomorrow. The last 5 years have sped by in a blur but he's more than ready for school! I just need to sew him a pump bag for his PE kit. I know you can buy them for little more than a pound from shoezone and the like, but I wanted his to be handmade...like mine was. My mum made mine for nursery when I was three and I used it throughout Primary education. It's one of my most treasured possessions. She made it out of black velour and appliqued my name and a flower in blue and green felt with a green draw string. I had plans for a similar style appliqued one for my son, but he may have to make do with a plain one. he chose the fabric though, a patchwork effect with pirates, penguins (?) and other nautical themed motifs. He loves it anyway! Well I must go and make it...I mean, how long does it take to sew up a draw string bag? minutes...in theory!

long time no see...

2010-08-20T22:41:00.002+01:00

hello again...time to update this neglected blog. It's been a while and so many things have happened. A new baby was born, Rosie, who is now 6 months old. Many things have been made. Much fabric has been bought. I rediscovered the joys of crochet during my pregnancy, making blankets, cute little baby cardies... I have sewn too many clothes, too many to review in full. A lot of fun has been had on my Janome. I will have to post some pics... in the mean time, here's one of Rosie with a hand made pushchair liner and strap covers...

new sewing machine and cabinet!

2009-03-03T20:16:00.002Z

My new sewing machine arrived yesterday...the Janome 5124 Decor Excel Pro. I am very pleased with it! I was chatting to my dad about wanting a cabinet but they being too expensive so he came up with this one...custom made to fit a small alcove in my hallway next to the kitchen. All the wood and plywood was scraps in his garage, as was most of the hardware. My dad bought some castors, my mum got me the paint which was reduced and I decorated the inside with wallpaper samples from Homebase! I also bought a cabinet lock to keep little hands away from MY new toy!!!

new dress

2008-11-30T20:59:00.003Z

will post details later, but here's the pic....I think I might shorten it!

Preston Patternreview weekend

2008-10-27T20:11:00.002Z

How pleased was I that this was on my doorstep! I joined the ladies just on the Saturday for the obligatory Abakhan run, and then we went to Preston market which I had never really looked at! great stalls... which was a pleasant surprise. Ruth then drove us all to Lancaster where we went to Fabrix, my local fabric shop, and a great one! As per usual was el skinto, so only bought one piece of fabric... a fabulous red wool to make a dress, this one hopefully, if the newsagent still has my Burda mag kept aside. It was nice just to look at fabrics without worrying about entertaining a three year old! Here's some pics (nicked from Jenni!)

Prima top and skirt

2008-10-13T20:30:00.002+01:00

Made this top recently and the skirt last year from Prima patterns. Review to come... sewing has taken a bit of a backseat recently due to a busy start of term at work (and Ofsted!). Anyway, hoping to get back into it...still have that massive stash to work through!

Inspired

2008-08-01T23:14:00.002+01:00

I have piles of new fabric I must photograph and show off! I am on a mission to sew as much of my wardrobe as possible, as I appreciate stuff I have made myself more than cheap bits from cheap shops. Sewing is more creative, economical, eco friendly and ethical (I 'd rather be my own one woman sweat shop!). It's also more fun! I draw the line at underwear and socks though, and possibly jeans.
Anyway, I have already been planning my Autumn/Winter capsule wardrobe based on fave colours of purple, navy blue and teal. Got to get the rest of the summer sewing out of the way first though as I have a bit of a backlog...and home dec sewing bits to do. Too many ideas and not enough time as I am limited to sewing in the kitchen after little one has gone to bed and dishes are done... then I get sidetracked by the computer, patternreview.com and facebook. When I do do sewing it tends to be between 10pm and 1am which is not ideal really and I end up making silly mistakes!. Thankfully though as I have been off work for a few weeks my other half has taken number one son out to playgroup for a couple of mornings which has given me a chance to cut out fabric etc during daylight hours!

Recent items sewn from Prima magazine

2008-08-01T22:26:00.003+01:00

Dress I made from December 07 pattern (I think) using grey and white polka dot fabric. I made it for a 50s festival as I felt it looked a bit retro. It's a basic shift with bust, waist and back darts, extended shoulders which create a flattering cap sleeve effect, flattering V-neck and back zip and vent. It's a very flattering dress and I plan to make another!
The top was made with tha August 08 pattern and is an empire line top with a neck tie effect. I made this one out of Liberty lawn. I took in the sides to make it look less maternity style. This top has grown on me as I thought the fabric would be too bold at first! Now I love it! especially photographed in the Midland hotel toilets!

A pink makeover!

2008-07-17T00:07:00.000+01:00

in honour of my new pink bike!

Hello neglected blog!

2008-07-16T23:52:00.000+01:00

It's been a long time since I last posted to this blog or wrote any sewing reviews!
I need to post some pics of recent fabric aquisitions and stuff I have made recently!
I have sewn a couple of Simplicity patterns, a few bits from Prima magazine and have started to sew from Burda WOF again, which I have not sewn from for 6 years or so!

Simplicity 4171

2007-05-21T22:23:00.000+01:00

I bought this fabric as I was inspired by that Kate Moss dress, but decided to sew a shirt dress instead. Simplicity 4171 is great as it's designed for different cup sizes. It was easy to sew and I discovered something new about my buttonhole foot! which means I can now sew perfect button holes (I've only had this machine 10 years!!! I blame the rubbish manual!). Anyway, here's the dress, shame I wasn't hones with my measurements and made the bottom half too small so it clings to my tum and back fat! need to diet or start running or something!

want it!

2007-02-09T21:20:00.000Z

Simplicity 3835. Shame I'm so skint! Selling some patterns on ebay to raise some cash!

Pic of red dress

2007-01-20T20:23:00.000Z

Red tartan dress made with a New Look pattern that I've linked to in a previous post (can't remember the number!). Ignore daft pose! Must post review for this pattern too!

Pic of purple coat

2007-01-20T20:20:00.000Z

As promised, a pic of the coat I've made. I'm finally getting round to post a review of it on Patternreview.com.

Design your own dress

2007-01-19T21:10:00.000Z

Just had to post this site. You can have fun designing your own dress, changing details and fabrics etc. Lots of fun!

Bag of the week

2007-01-06T20:25:00.000Z

This is handbag.com's bag of the week(or month?) by Dover Street Market. it's a snip at £85! How EASY would it be to make!

the line drawings

2007-01-05T23:26:00.000Z

I like the wrap effect necklines and sleeve variations on both styles. I like the slightly puffed sleeves of view B on the top dress, and the midriff panel and sahes of the bottom dress. I also like the straight variations of the bottom dresses. Lots of possibilities to plan and think about! Another excuse for fabric shopping!

Wish list

2007-01-05T23:19:00.000Z

I don't normally sew with Mccalls patterns (I usually use Burda, New Look or Simplicity) but I like the look of these dresses. I think I'll buy the patterns when Mccalls patterns are next on offer. It's hard to tell what the details are like from the photos so I'll post the line drawings.

January Sales

2007-01-04T22:29:00.000Z

This is my new desk top image which was taken a couple of months ago. I like the composition and it works well as I have the icons on the left and the finger is pointing to a widget type menu bar thing. Looks cool. Got a new PC so have no probs posting at home now!
Anyway, I did well in the sales this year, so I may as well list it all here!

grey wrap dress £5 (New Look)
teal polo neck jumper £4 (Ethel Austin)
black pencil skirt £5 (Asda George)
black panelled skirt £4 (Peacocks)
dark grey checked pencil skirt £4 (Peacocks)
black boatneck top £3 (Peacocks)
purple cropped cardigan £4 (Matalan)
black boots £19.99 (Clarks...reduced from £69.99!!!)
Also mum bought a black shift dress from Peacocks for £3 which she doesn't think will fit her so it will be winging my way soom with any luck!
James got a top in Matalan for £1 and some brown jeans from Ethel Austin for £4

With the exception of Clarks, you can see that I like the cheapy shops! The thing is, having shops likle Peacocks and Ethel Austins within walking distance is dangerous on my wallet, as a few quid here and there all adds up. Good job I'm back at work next week!

New Years resolutions are the usual to try and eat 5 a day fruit/veg, take more care in appearance (i.e. look less scruffy), work hard, be happy, sew more, do more artwork, look after nearest and dearest, be more organised...etc etc

sorry typo...

2007-01-04T22:27:00.000Z

NAPPY NIPPA not nappy pippa!

Happy new year too by the way!

Nappy pics

2007-01-04T22:07:00.000Z

These are two of the nappies I made last week. The one on the left uses a nappy pippa for fastening. This means I can fold the front down to make it smaller to fit James as the pattern I used for these runs quite big. It is green towelling lined with green microfleece to keep James' bum dry (and also solid poo doesn't stick to fleece...it can just be shaken out into the loo...but you didn't really want to know that did you!) It has an opening in the back so that absorbant stuffing can be added and removed easily. This helps the nappy dry faster when washed. The one on the right has aplix (like velcro) fastenings and is made of two layers of hemp fleece and lined with microfleece. It's very comfy and absorbant so it will be used as a night nappy. The stuffing is a pad made from a microfibre towel and is sewn in. James wears either a large Motherease airflow wrap or a large cotton bottoms wrap with these.
Tonight he is wearing a pocket nappy that I must photograph. It needs no wrap because the outer layer is Malden Mills Windpro fleece which is water resistant. The lining is regular polar fleece. I stuffed it with a prefold nappy and a couple of microfibre pads. Fleece works as a good night nappy cover as it's comfy and allows skin to breathe. Also the moisture from the nappy can evaporate through it. Anyway, it's a cute nappy, I'll have to post a pic (along with the rest of the collection!)

Christmas update and pics to come!

2006-12-29T22:33:00.000Z

Christmas has been and the flat is now overrun with toys! I went to my parents on Christmas eve, had Christmas day just the three of us, then boxing day morning at my parents then afternoon at Marc's grans. We had Korean food for Christmas dinner as it's my fave. What I really fancied was Japanese sashimi but you need really fresh fish for that and there's not much chance of that round here despite living on the seafront! I've not had a proper Christmas dinner for years as we always do something a bit alternative. We had sort of a Christmas dinner on Boxing day at Marc's grans, but nice as though it was, it was without cranberry sauce and gravy so it doesn't really count! I did have some turkey and roastie leftovers though at mums so I haven't missed out too much!
Anyway, I have been busy with the old sewing (still using Mums machine...it's just soooo nice!!!). I have made my sofa covers which look quite jolly. I also made a red tartan dress for Christmas with this pattern. I wore it with a black polo neck and black boots. I was sewing very late at night on it. At 1 in the morning I was tying bits of fabric around my waist to make a sash (like on the picture of the designer dress in the last post) but I was so tired by then I had to stop. It looks just as nice without a belt though. Picture coming soon I promise!
I have just made two more nappies for James using a free pattern from Ottobre magazine website. One is made of hemp with a sewn in microfibre booster pad and a green microfleece inner. The other is made of green towelling with a removeable hemp and microfibre soaker pad and also a green microfleece inner. To those unfamiliar with nappy making, hemp and microfibre are fabrics with good absorbancy. Fleece or microfleece is used to line nappies to act as a stay dry barrier to wick moisture away from baby's bum. So there you go. I have photographed them before testing them on James. I wish I had photographed all the nappies I made for James before they got faded in the wash. When I was pregnant I made a load of nappies and I used to spend hours stacking and restacking them in the bathroom as they were so cute and soft. I wish I had photographed them before the inevitable wear and tear after he was born.
Anyway, photos to come... I promise!

An update...coat and sofa covers!

2006-12-18T12:21:00.004Z

It's been a long time since I updated because the PC broke down so I have been using my old ibook running OS 9 which has problems letting me access some web pages fully for some reason (something to do with Javascript). OH is installing OS X on it today so hopefully that will sort that problem out.

Anyway, I am updating this from work, so no pics today I'm afraid. I've completed my coat and worn it a lot. I'm very pleased with it. It was well worth all the extra time spent on the little details such as the bound button holes. The collar looks a bit big, but the retro look is still in so that doesn't matter too much! I'm so pleased to be able to wear a coat that only cost £25 to make. Even the cheap coats in the shops at the moment start at about £50.

I wore my coat last weekend on my two trips to Manchester. On Saturday I went by myself on a Primark-Abakans run! I bought fabric for the sofa covers. I bought 26m of orange upholstery weight chenille for 75p a metre, and I was only charged for 22m! needless to say, I chose the fabric for the price not necessarily the colour!

I then had to carry all that fabric home on the train. Don't ask how I managed to walk with it from the shop to the station, it's a bit of a blur to be honest! Put it this way, it was bloomin heavy and damn awkward to carry. The poor lad in the shop had a job folding it then put it in the thinnest bag imaginable.

Anyway, I have started the sofa covers using my mums brother sewing machine which is a whizz compared to mine. Multiple layers of upholstery fabric not a problem fro this machine! They covers are not turning out as fitted as I expected them too but at least they're better than what I had on the sofas in the first place.

I also bought a couple of metres of red tartan dress weight wool as I want to make a dress similar to the one pictured above for Christmas!

Ready to sew

2006-11-17T04:01:00.000Z

It's been a while since I last posted as the computer broke down and blogger is a banned site at work (I work at a college, and any site that is regarded as games or chat is barred). Anyway, since I last posted, I have cut out my coat fabric and am ready to sew! The only obstacle in my path is my tip of a kitchen! The kitchen is the only place I can sew when James is in bed as the sound won't travel to his room. Anyway, I am procrastinating by wasting time on the internet when what I should be doing is the dishes, then sewing. I need a coat as it's getting cold so I'd better get a move on! I will post pics as soon as I can. (The idea is that I use this blog to document work in progress)

Coat fabric and shrimps!

2006-11-04T21:48:00.000Z

A strange title for a post I know!

I got paid this week (hurray!) so indulged in some fabric shopping. I bought some aubergine coloured wool coating and some grey tweed for a jacket. The coat fabric is for Burda 8124
I cut out the lining this evening out of wine coloured satin. I also bought some buttons which are two tone burgundy/blackish purple. They blend in well. I'm going to attempt bound buttonholes on this coat because my machine is rubbish at normal buttonholes and I want this coat to look well made. I will definately practice them first! The only problem is that my copy of the pattern has a major misprint and has completely wrong illustrations on the second page of the instructions! I may have to write to Burda, although I feel fairly confident that I could wing it with the help of my sewing books. I've sewn princess seamed jackets before but I've never included pockets in the seams so I'll need to look up a technique for that.
I picked up the sofa cover pattern and it looks very easy. I measured my sofa and arm chair to determine the yardage and I need 20m of fabric! The length my mum gave me is only 14.75m. There is no way I could cut corners so it looks as if I'll have to go to Standfast and see if they have any fabric for a £1 a metre (as that's all I can afford!). It's a shame as the stuff mum gave me was upholstery quality that probably cost more than £1 a metre. Oh well. I'll probably have to buy different cushion fabric as well, depending on what I can pick up for the covers. I may leave that project for a few weeks and concentrate on my coat and jacket projects.
Now onto something different. I'm not the worlds greatest cook but today I actually followed a recipe with success that wasn't a baking recipe ;) I made devilled shrimps. I bought the shrimps from a local fish shop that sells shrimps caught in Morecambe Bay. My flat overlooks the sea and you can see the shrimping boats going out to sea. Anyway, I fried them in butter and olive oil with garlic, cumin, paprika, salt and ground ginger and served them on buttered toast. They were delicious and a very posh lunch at that! We are making more effort to eat local produce in our household and so the next thing we want to try is salt marsh lamb (which is basically lamb reared on the salt marshes of Morecambe Bay). Anyway I could talk about food but this is mainly a sewing blog so I'll stop digressing now! I'll post pics of the coat fabric and coat in progress as soon as I can.

Tired!

2006-10-26T21:36:00.000+01:00

Feeling a bit tired as I have just been typing up a load of ebay listings, which is a very tedious job! Today I sorted out the fabric stash and have a bag of scraps to get rid of and some bigger bits to ebay. I am ebaying some lovely fabric which I really like but I can't see myself ever using!
I have to make room for more fabric of course.
I cycled into Lancaster today (yes in this weather!) to pick up my sofa cover pattern and it STILL hadn't arrived. I did have a good look at the wool coat fabrics in there though as I am going to make a coat! There was some lovely dark purple wool which I quite like, but to be quite honest, I am looking for something a bit more wow, such as bright red or checks. If I am going to go to the effort of making a coat then it has to be a statement piece or I may as well just buy a coat from Asda! (although there are some very nice coats in Asda at the moment, including a bright red one)
The picture shows a piece of fabric I am ebaying, some stretch cotton which is pink on one side, purple on the other...a lovely piece but I just don't wear those colours anymore, so I can't justify keeping it.

Today's Haul!

2006-10-26T06:44:00.000+01:00

Had a successful day today sewing wise. It started off with the Croft Mill fabric catalogue arriving in the post, which is always entertaining reading. I will be sending off for several samples from this issue. Then after a board meeting with QSAND (a local arts group), my mother and I bundled James into the car and set off for Standfast factory shop. On route we stopped at Sainsburys to get cash and so I could nip into Fabrix (a very good fabric shop in Lancaster) where I picked up a couple of patterns in the Simplicity sale (4082, 4171 and another one for sofa covers which wasn't in stock so I will pick it up tomorrow.

At Standfast, you have to cross a very busy road to get from the car park to the shop and normally mum and I dodge the traffic and make a dash for it. But with James in tow we had planned to walk all the way to the pedestrian crossing which felt like miles away as we were itching to see the wonderful fabrics! Luckily though, there was a good gap in the traffic so we were able to not waste any time in getting across the road and into the shop (not that I would ever endanger my son's life for the sake of building my stash of course!).

In Standfast, there was a great selection of contemporary furnishing fabrics in stock. I had to pick up some pieces to match the fabric I had aquired for the sofa covers. Basically, mum had given me 12m of a dull mint coloured ribbed upholstory fabric for the covers that she had bought to use as curtains but never used. It wasn't my colour of choice but because it was such good quality stuff it was too good an offer to pass up. My lounge is a biscuity cream colour with cream curtains so I had to find some cushion fabric that would link everything together. I bought three remnants and half a metre of a lovely butterfly print off the roll. I wanted contemporary florals and I think these fit the bill. I have photographed them against the mint fabric although the flash has made the mint look very bright, it's actually a duller shade but you get the idea. I am still worried that the overall look will be too cold looking as at the moment we have dark red throws so this will be quite a big change! To be honest I have had variations of red, burgundy and purple cushions and throws for years so it's time for a fresh new look!

I also looked at the liberty prints at Standfast and was disappointed to see that the price has gone up to £4.50 a metre! When I first started sewing in 2001 they were £2.50 a metre. Mind you it is still very cheap. I think they have had people snapping it up and selling on ebay as now there is a limit to how much you can buy. I love sewing with Liberty cotton as it feels like silk and is so easy to sew.

Then this evening after putting James to bed I sewed most of a dress out of wine coloured jersey. It's an out of print pattern that I picked up for a quid a couple of years ago. I've been wanting to sew it for a while as it's an unusual, but very simple design and is a bit 80's style. I will tell you more about it and show you some pics when I finish it off tomorrow. Anyway, time to go and do some more surfing before ordering my samples from Croft Mills.

And here is the hat in action!

2006-10-24T23:02:00.000+01:00

Here is the hat making me look even more stylish than usual (ha!) on a trip to the park with my beautiful son

Where did you get that hat?

2006-10-24T22:41:00.000+01:00

It's a New Look pattern that I've used before
It's a baker boy style which are in all the shops at the moment. Very easy to sew and can be made from left over scraps. I made mine from black needlecord left over from a skirt, and lined it with a remnant of liberty lawn in a cool retro pattern. I added a velvet ribbon bow to the front. I love it and I will wear it all season! (unless I make another one!) The pic shows the inside of the hat showing the lining.

Hello there!

2006-10-24T07:17:00.000+01:00

OK, so this is not quite the first time I have had a blog or online journal...but I'll do my best to keep this one up this time!

My name is Clare Anderson and this is my blog where I will be mainly posting about stuff I make...hence the title "Clare's Stuff".

My main interest is sewing, and I will be posting pics of stuff I've made, and documenting the progress. I have been sewing since 2001, which isn't that long, but long enough to get addicted! I love buying fabric and patterns, and every now and again I go on a sewing binge and sew lots of stuff very quickly, before having a haitus! I have been very busy during the past year bringing up a baby, going back to work, changing jobs and moving house and so sewing has been on the back burner this year, although I sewed a fab cap the other day which has hopefully started me off on another sewing kick again!